Although no substance is harmless (Letter: Marijuana not a harmless herb, Dec. 10, 2011), cannabis (marijuana) is among the safest. In over 5,000 years of documented medical use, there has not been a single death directly related to the relatively safe God-given plant (see the first page of the Bible). That's safety on a Biblical scale Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Re: 'More study needed on effects of marijuana' (Daily News, Dec. 14) Madeline Bruce may be interested in one statistic regarding the God-given plant cannabis (marijuana). In over 5,000 years of documented medical use there hasn't been one single death directly related to cannabis use. That's safety on a Biblical scale. Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Mission RCMP is warning both legal and criminal pot growers of an increasing number of violent robberies they believe are linked to an organized crime group. Cpl. Sharon Siluch said the number of "grow rips" is on the rise in Mission, with the robberies becoming increasingly violent. So far in 2011, 32 properties have been targeted, with violence being used in almost one third of the attacks. "We believe there is an organized criminal group targeting all types of marijuana grow ops in Mission. We're concerned because we've observed a growing level of violence during grow rips," Siluch said. [continues 292 words]
A call by a group of B.C. health officials to support the cause of marijuana legalization drew generally favourable reviews from Province readers, who say the so-called war on drugs has failed. With legalization, revenues to the government would increase, as opposed to the enforcement to eliminate it, which costs more money. The U.S. would probably be able to reduce their debt by billions, and Canada would also have new revenue coming in. Pot users would be happier, the government would be richer, with less debt. Legalize pot now. [continues 320 words]
MARYSVILLE - A trio of personal testimonies as to the benefits of medical marijuana was met with interest by the Marysville City Council on Dec. 12, as two citizens of Marysville and one from Lake Stevens urged them to allow the city's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries to expire on Jan. 5 of next year. Nonetheless, the Council voted unanimously to extend the moratorium into June of 2012, after Marysville City Attorney Grant Weed warned of potential confusion in interpreting the existing laws regulating medical marijuana, as well as conflicts that could arise between municipal, state and federal laws on the subject. [continues 503 words]
A crowd of about 100 people turned out in Kelowna Wednesday night to voice their opposition to the federal government's omnibus crime bill. But it was not just the Conservative's plan to get tough on crime that came in for criticism. Kelowna-Lake Country Tory MP Ron Cannan -- a conspicuous no-show -- was also targeted by the clearly anti-crime bill crowd. Several audience members expressed anger that Cannan refused to show up to defend the government's plan, a bill that combines nine previously unsuccessful separate crime-related bills into one. The Tories could not get them passed through the House of Commons because it did not have a majority. [continues 507 words]
It's commendable that Kraige Kinney (Letter: "Just say no to for-profit pot shops," Dec. 21) voted for citizens with serious health issues to use the plant cannabis (marijuana) medicinally. Many citizens with severe pain (for example) are able to choose using or already have been using significantly more dangerous and extremely addictive narcotics with many side effects (including possible death) that leave them feeling like zombies and unable to function or work. Cannabis has historically also been used for muscle spasms, nausea and many other ailments with far less side effects than pharmaceutical drugs. Citizens deserve the option to use the natural and safer God-given plant for those medical conditions. [continues 57 words]
LAKE COUNTY -- There will not be two measures regarding local marijuana laws on the June ballot after one group of proponents failed to submit signatures by Thursday's deadline. Supporters of the proposed "Lake County Act to Adopt Federal Marijuana Laws" informed county election officials on Thursday that they would not be turning in names, according to Maria Valadez, deputy registrar of voters. The group began its signature-gathering effort last week and needed to gain support from at least 2,115 registered Lake County voters by the end of business Thursday to qualify for the June election. [continues 188 words]
To the Editor, Re: Trustee's past not something to laugh off, Letters, Dec. 15. Madeline Bruce continues her recent pattern of using shoddy science and misunderstood claims to justify her beliefs. She cites Carol Falkowski, who claims 100,000 people a year seek treatment for cannabis addiction in the U.S. Leaving aside the fact that this assertion is not backed up by hard data and that Falkowski is a heavily biased source, what Bruce fails to recognize is that in the U.S., the vast majority of all those seeking rehabilitation for "'marijuana addiction' are doing so for the sole reason that they have been brought to trial for possession of a small amount of the drug, wherein they are given the choice to go to jail and have a criminal record, or to declare they are "'addicted' and seek treatment. [continues 147 words]
A Supreme Court judge has said that Abbotsford Police exceeded their powers when they gathered evidence at the scene of a medical marijuana grow-op without a search warrant in February 2009. Justice Brian Joyce ruled at the end of a voir dire (trial within a trial) in Chilliwack Supreme Court on Monday that the evidence should be thrown out against Pencho Batanov of Abbotsford. He was due to go on trial Nov. 21 on charges of unlawful production of marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking, but the case was delayed by the voir dire. [continues 343 words]
To the Editor, Re: Marijuana prohibition a bizarre, expensive approach, Guest Comment, Dec. 17. Christopher Foulds is right, the crime bill treats casual marijuana users with more force than it treats perverts. Meanwhile, Health Canada's proposed changes in conjunction with Bill C-10 clause, its amended clause 41 and its mandatory minimum penalties (the Safe Streets and Communities Act) will result in sick and dying Canadians who refuse to relinquish their Personal Production Licence and Designated Growers being targeted and jailed. [continues 60 words]
The majority of British Columbians believe alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, a new Angus Reid poll suggests. In an online survey among 800 British Columbian adults, 59 per cent of respondents disagreed that regular marijuana use is more harmful than regular alcohol use. The poll also found that 54 per cent of B.C. residents do not agree that marijuana is a dangerous and addictive drug, and 51 per cent say they don't believe that marijuana is a "gateway" drug that can lead to the use of other dangerous drugs such as heroin. [continues 214 words]
California Attorney General Kamala Harris formally asked the state Legislature earlier this week to clarify state laws on medical marijuana to bring certainty and consistency to both law enforcement and patients. It's about time someone took action on the issue. The Legislature needs to take up the request. Under the state's medical marijuana law, the attorney general is authorized to issue guidelines on legality. As attorney general, Gov. Jerry Brown essentially made dispensaries legal if they were nonprofit cooperatives or collectives. As a result, storefront dispensaries boomed -- and the federal government stepped up efforts to go after them. [continues 85 words]
Increased funding for anti-marijuana law enforcement in both Canada and the United States has failed to decrease marijuana supply, potency and use, a new report suggests. The report entitled How Not to Protect Community Health and Safety: What the Government's Own Data Say About the Effects of Cannabis Prohibition, released by Stop the Violence BC, uses 20 years of data collected by the Canadian and U.S. governments. "It's an audit of the governments' own data and what it shows ... is that cannabis prohibition has been a spectacular failure, despite pretty astronomical increases in funding for anti-marijuana law enforcement," said Dr. Evan Wood, a physician and founder of Stop the Violence BC, a coalition of prominent police officers, health professionals, legal experts and academics. [continues 299 words]
