RCMP Const. Derek Kryzanowski has advice if you are thinking about ripping off your neighbour's outdoor marijuana grow-op. He said you might want to reconsider based on a Sept. 6 drug bust at a Merville-area acreage. The owner of the property was arrested after 37 mature marijuana plants were found growing at the rear of his property. "Investigators discovered the plot containing the plants was encircled by electric fencing," reported Kryzanowski in a press release. "The plot was under video surveillance set up in a nearby shed." [continues 84 words]
The self-proclaimed high priest of pot will be back in court next month looking to strike down Canada's marijuana laws. Hornby Island resident Rev. Don Hogan will be at the Courtenay courthouse June 11 to 13 putting forth a legal constitutional challenge to the legality of the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act. This is not the first time Montreal-born Hogan has challenged the courts following an arrest for possession of marijuana. "At the same time it is also my intention to challenge the validity of Health Canada's application process for access to medical marijuana," said 56-year-old Hogan. [continues 395 words]
With eyes in the sky, Mounties, the military plus police officers from Saanich and Victoria often scour Vancouver Island in search of outdoor marijuana grow operations. The integrated team of police officers, with assistance from the Canadian Forces, takes aim at eradication of marijuana and its impact on organized crime. Just because a helicopter lands on a property does not translate into officers making a bust or finding a grow-op, although this occurred on Aug. 27 on Hornby Island. Earlier this summer, an unmarked helicopter working in conjunction with an RCMP-directed eradication program landed twice on the property of Hornby Island's Bernhard Weiss. [continues 253 words]
A team of police officers, with assistance from the Canadian Forces, have taken flight in search of outdoor marijuana grow operations on Vancouver Island. Mounties worked alongside officers from Saanich and Victoria, with their goal during the annual project to locate and destroy marijuana grown outdoors, often on Crown land. "The location of these outdoor marijuana grow operations poses unique challenges for our officers," said Const. Darren Lagan from the RCMP's drug and organized crime awareness service and spokesperson for the operation. [continues 141 words]
A team of police officers, with assistance from the Canadian Forces, have taken flight in search of outdoor marijuana grow operations on Vancouver Island. Mounties worked alongside officers from Saanich and Victoria, with their goal during the annual project to locate and destroy marijuana grown outdoors, often on Crown land. "The location of these outdoor marijuana grow operations poses unique challenges for our officers," noted Const. Darren Lagan from the RCMP's drug and organized crime awareness service and spokesperson for the operation. [continues 141 words]
It's an ugly drug, one that only takes 10 minutes to produce. For that reason Alberta wants Ottawa to give it more ammunition for the battle against crystal meth -- for good reason. The effects of using this drug are horrendous, especially among the teens who are turning to it, a cheap drug to purchase compared to smoking pot or using crack. A 24-year-old Edmonton addict lit his gasoline-doused body on fire. He suffered third-degree burns to more than 50 per cent of his body after chugging gasoline and pouring it over his body and then lighting himself on fire. [continues 217 words]
Three Consecutive Days In His Red Serge. But Const. Richard Huculiak won't mind dusting off his ceremonial RCMP attire for visits to Falun, Lakedell and Pipestone schools as part of his duties as a DARE instructor. Falun is first on the agenda, with Huculiak helping teacher Monica Robins and her 16 students graduate, April 11, starting at 1 p.m. DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. Huculiak and other instructors usually spend a few hours each week in the classroom going over a set program initially introduced to students in Los Angles in 1983. [continues 484 words]
Gwynne students learn how to deal with situations thanks to RCMP Const. Richard Huculiak's instruction Don't bully fifth grader Sierra Zielke -- she's learned how to handle herself thanks to the dedication of an RCMP instructor teaching the DARE program. "We talked about how to deal with a bully," Zielke said prior to Gwynne School's inaugural DARE graduation. Zielke was answering a reporter's question on what she learned under the tutelage of Const. Richard Huculiak, who has taught DARE for more than four years. [continues 864 words]
Kazan Has a Nose for Tainted Cash. And the four-year-old Czech-born German shepherd, currently under the tutelage of Cpl. Scott Chapman, has put his nose to good use as a member of the RCMP's canine unit. Before arriving here three weeks ago to establish a canine unit out of the Wetaskiwin detachment, Kazan was instrumental in a major cross border money laundering and drug bust in Burnaby, B.C. "We were on a house search and Kazan found the money hidden under tiles in the kitchen," recalled Chapman, who is looking forward to his fourth posting in an 11-year career with the Mounties. [continues 970 words]
