Recommendations to province include municipalities sharing in cannabis economy Local municipalities should share in the revenues of a legal recreational marijuana economy and should retain the authority to regulate retailers and suppliers in their communities. Those were among the recommendations approved by Parksville city council Monday, Oct. 23, in response to a request for input by the provincial government into provincial regulation of marijuana beginning in July of 2018. The non-binding recommendations followed a report from Keeva Kehler, the city's director of administrative services. [continues 499 words]
Residents speak of need for local marijuana shop For some Qualicum Beach residents, medical marijuana is part of their everyday lives. But they will still have to go out of town for remedies for their ailments. At Monday's (Oct. 2) regular council meeting a motion to issue a temporary-use permit for a medical marijuana dispensary on Fir Street failed. Only councillors Bill Luchtmeijer and Neil Horner voted in favour of issuing the temporary-use permit. While discussing the permit later in the meeting, Luchtmeijer said Qualicum Beach is probably a very appropriate place for a medical marijuana dispensary. [continues 440 words]
Dispensary looking for temporary use licence Despite some members of Qualicum Beach council being unsure on whether to allow a marijuana dispensary in town, council is ready to hear from the public on the topic. Council voted Monday during its regular meeting for staff to give proper notification to residents about the marijuana dispensary. Council would then receive the comments from the public and vote on whether to issue a temporary use permit at the Sept. 11 meeting. Coun. Anne Skipsey was the only vote in opposition. [continues 427 words]
Thank you to Ryan Scott and Lisa Leger (Letters, March 16) and Scott Harrison (Letters, March 14) for shedding some light on the marijuana issue. Mayor Lefebvre, it is great to be so law-abiding. I agree if you are speaking about fair, reasonable,realistic laws. However, like our marijuana laws, that should have made marijuana legal 30 years ago, there are some unreasonable, unrealistic, unpopular laws that must be disobeyed to cause change. It is too bad that Rosa Parks could not come to discuss the issue with you. I am sure that Rosa would understand Marc Emery and his wife and many others suffering from the same discrimination. Do you think residential school survivors would recommend obeying the power establishment again? It was the law! [continues 57 words]
When marijuana is legalized for distribution and sale it will be tightly regulated and controlled and the places that are selling it now will, in all probability, not be legally allowed to in the future. The ones currently selling marijuana are not only operating outside the law, but are doing so at the expense of the rest of the business community because they are not paying appropriate contributions to the government in the way of federal and provincial taxes. And I'm not talking just about PST & GST. [continues 57 words]
RCMP raid medical marijuana dispensary Well, it lasted a month. The WeeMedical Wellness Centre, a medical marijuana dispensary that opened in downtown Parksville in February was raided by RCMP and closed by the City of Parksville last Wednesday afternoon. "As we speak, right now a warrant is being served on the medical marijuana shop downtown," Staff Sgt. Marc Pelletier told councillors while addressing a budget request for additional members for the Oceanside RCMP detachment. One 25-year-old woman was arrested and released on promise to appear in court on charges of trafficking and possession with intent to traffic, RCMP said. [continues 427 words]
Council votes to request closure of 'illegal operation' in city A new medical marijuana dispensary has opened its doors in downtown Parksville, and Mayor Marc Lefebvre wasted no time beating around the weeds in sharing his opinion on the development. "When I was elected mayor I was elected to uphold the law, and I swore that I would uphold the law,"Lefebvre told councillors during Monday's regular meeting in council chambers. "The law in Canada still states that this kind of operation is illegal and I'm not interested in having an illegal operation in my city. [continues 532 words]
I fully agree with recent letter writer Anthonie Den Boef ('Addicts should only get one chance at taxpayer help'). However, I cannot refrain from adding to his letter. Why is it, we always address the symptoms, but never the cause? If we remove the cause, the symptoms will disappear. I once flew to Singapore and fell in love with this city just by getting off the plane and entering the airport arrival hall. In front of us arrivals we could not overlook a large sign announcing "Drug dealers will face an automatic death sentence." [continues 100 words]
Our so-called civilized society is in moral decay. Every day we hear of persons purposely causing severe harm to their own bodies as well as placing the lives of police and medical aid personnel at undue risk. Whose fault is it when a person overdoses on illicit drugs such as fentanyl? Are the parents or the grade schools at fault for failing to properly raise and educate the person? Possibly, but we should not overlook personal accountability for one's own actions. [continues 202 words]
Yes, there is a fentanyl crisis, but it is one we made ourselves in our all-fired enthusiasm to control everything. The Drug War had its origins almost exactly 100 years ago when legislation was created both in the U.S. and Canada to "control" cannabis and opium, and were largely racially-inspired attacks on unpopular minorities who used these substances (eg. Chinese labourers working on the CP railway, and disposable artsy types). Since the Second World War, the drug problem has grown like Topsy, each ill-advised exacerbation of the laws being reliably accompanied by an increase in prison populations, in the U.S. from 500,000 in 1980 to about 2.2 million in 2013. [continues 181 words]
The homes overlook Parksville Bay in what seems to be an idyllic location. Just below the sunny decks of the houses on Sutherland Place, residents say illegal drug activity is rampant, constant and destroying their quality of life. A group of residents who met with The NEWS this week said they have made hundreds of calls to the police - and almost as many to the city - - about what's going on in the ravine and beach beside and below their homes. [continues 596 words]
It seems a harmless, wink-wink, nudge-nudge situation where the law really doesn't mean much because it's going to change soon. Or is it harmless? To say the regulation of marijuana, including how it is dispensed to the public, is in limbo is a gross understatement. The federal government announced last week - on 4/20 no less - that it will have legislation ready in a year to legalize marijuana. "We will introduce legislation in spring 2017 that ensures we keep marijuana out of the hands of children and profits out of the hands of criminals," federal Health Minister Jane Philpott said at the United Nations. "We will work with law enforcement partners to encourage appropriate and proportionate criminal justice measures. We know it is impossible to arrest our way out of this problem." [continues 285 words]
Mitch Waller of Coombs is among 28,000 Canadians allowed to grow their own medical marijuana again after a federal judge overturned a ban imposed by the previous government. "It's a huge weight off," said Waller. "I was so worried I was going to have to go back to painkillers again, or go underground and get thrown in jail." "I've got really severe scoliosis and neurofibromatosis, which leaves me in pain every day, but I stopped taking pain killers a couple years ago," he said. [continues 346 words]
Re: marijuana legalization. It is actually cannabis. I have come across 17 U.S. medical patents for cannabis and there are hundreds more patents awaiting approval. Do an Internet search - 700 medicinal uses of cannabis. You will find links to medical studies. Cannabis has over 10,000 uses, from paper to fuel oil. So before anyone goes reefer madness about the legalization of cannabis, I suggest you sit down at your computer and do some reading. Ron Geen Parksville [end]
Recent letter writer Kevin Sheeler is to be applauded for writing the truth about marijuana, but unfortunately the people that are in a position to stop this madness are only concerned about how much money they can make. Kevin O'Leary from the program Shark Tank said he could make billions of dollars in the U.S. by going into the marijuana business but was afraid of a federal law that could send him to jail. Justin Trudeau can't wait to legalize pot and he has seen the devastation and misery it causes up close and personal. [continues 78 words]
City Behind Others in Region in Its Bylaws Related to Public Smoking Coun. Al Greir says residents complained to him all summer about people smoking - both cigarettes and marijuana - in Parksville's public parks. Grier said this week the election of the federal Liberals and their promises to loosen the laws around marijuana should have the city looking more closely at fines for those caught smoking in city parks, "especially those smoking marijuana." "Maybe marijuana will be legalized and we will have more and more smokers of marijuana in the park," Greir said near the end of a council meeting on Monday night. [continues 326 words]
I would like to respond to Kelvin Sheeler's recent letter to the editor regarding cannabis legalization (The NEWS, Oct. 29). I hope that I can help him understand some of his mis-perceptions. The most basic point in his argument seems to be that the illegal status of drugs keeps people safer. The more dangerous drugs are, the more important it is to remove their distribution from the hands of criminals. As in the case of pharmaceuticals, which pose many dangers, all drug use should be treated as a health issue and dealt with in a legal and regulated framework. So, yes, Kelvin, we should legalize all drugs. [continues 161 words]
Re: legalization of recreational marijuana. I have heard this too many times: if people are going to smoke it we may as well legalize it. Well, people are going to use hard drugs, continue to enslave young children into drug use and prostitution and continue stealing to support their habits. Do we legalize it all now? These problems are going to get worse once it is legalized because we will lose control under this Liberal-minded thinking. We have not kept drinking or smoking problems from our children by legalizing it for adults. [continues 229 words]
Perspectives on Marijuana Legalization in This New Courtenay-Alberni Riding With a recent Supreme Court decision and a dispensary that came and went from downtown Parksville, marijuana is a hot local topic in this federal election. Candidates in the new Courtenay-Alberni riding that includes Parksville Qualicum Beach, lean to the decriminalize or even legalize side of the spectrum. "I don't think you want to stigmatize or criminalize people for youthful indiscretions," said current Conservative MP and Government Whip John Duncan. [continues 573 words]
Thank you to some of your recent letter writers who have shown the courage to condemn marijuana. I have seen the devastating effects of this drug up close and personal. Two of the large companies I worked for (as a health and safety person) were under my jurisdiction and out of six fatal accidents I investigated, five were caused by these individuals using marijuana - toxicology tests showed heavy concentrations of THC in their systems. I would like to point out to our young people that if it does get legalized that doesn't make it any less harmful. Legalizing alcohol, nicotine and marijuana is a huge money grab for a few and a heavy tax burden for the rest of us, not to mention all the sickness and suffering it causes. [continues 79 words]
