The medical marijuana bylaw regulating the siting and construction of medical marijuana production facilities within the area of the Kitimat-Stikine regional district is set to be adopted by its board at its October meeting after several public hearings found no objections during the course of the year. Public hearings held in Terrace and Hazelton in July and September were to consider submissions from the public and hear any concerns. No submissions were received. Those who attended the hearings - nine people July 19, one person in Hazelton July 20 and three people Sept. 7 - had no concerns with the bylaw, said notes in the regional district's September meeting agenda. [continues 124 words]
ONE thing is clear: there won't be any winners in the ongoing marijuana dispute until the federal government comes up with some concrete answers on what the public is or is not allowed to access and who they're allowed to get it from. We sympathize with the people who are using marijuana as medicine for chronic issues. Some say it's the only relief they've found in years of trying different prescriptions or strategies to manage their pain or symptoms. [continues 163 words]
The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine wants more citizens to share their thoughts on its proposed medical marijuana bylaw, and will offer another public hearing on the matter this fall after a recent one was sparsely attended. A public hearing in Terrace July 19 had less than 10 residents show up and a hearing the following night in New Hazelton was attended by only one person. "We've recessed it and we will reconvene at a future date and time appointed by the regional district board, potentially looking at some time in the fall," said Nicholas Redpath, a planner with the regional district. [continues 880 words]
Medical professionals worry about marijuana's effect on young people Even as the federal Liberal government moves toward legalizing marijuana, medical professionals hope that tight regulations will decrease its use and protect young people from what studies have proven can be significant damage to their brains. "Regular use of marijuana before the age of 25 has been shown to negatively affect brain development leading to lower IQ in adulthood," says Dr. Raina Fumerton, the Northern Health Authority's Terrace-based medical health officer for the northwest. [continues 714 words]
LOCAL organizers pushing for a provincial pot referendum are aiming high, with a goal of collecting the signatures of 15 per cent of registered voters instead of the mandated 10 per cent in order to put pot decriminalization on the ballot. Sensible BC launched its campaign with the end goal of decriminalizing marijuana on Sept. 9. Under Elections BC's Recall and Initiative Act petitioners need to collect signatures from 10 per cent of the registered voters in every provincial district over a three month period. [continues 594 words]
CANNABIS ADVOCATES are gathering at the courthouse Saturday afternoon to smoke a little (or maybe a lot of) pot and take in events financed by local lottery millionaire and weed legalization activist Bob Erb. The origin of the name 4/20 varies depending on who you talk to, but the date of April 20 has taken hold around the world in recent years as the day for marijuana legalization rallies. Usually held in larger urban centres, this is the first time a 4/20 rally has been held in Terrace and it is one of many across the country being financially supported by Erb. [continues 741 words]
Millionaire lottery winner Bob Erb is backing a campaign to legalize marijuana with hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money. He spent more than $56,000 two weekends ago hosting a pot legalization conference at the Skeena Landing complex and is now focusing efforts on a national public relations campaign. As well, Erb is backing a move by provincial pot activist Dana Larsen to have enough people sign a petition to then hold a referendum. If passed, the referendum would have the provincial government of the day amend the provincial Police Act to stop the police from taking any action, including searches, seizures, citations or arrests, in cases of simple cannabis possession by adults. [continues 403 words]
Dear Sir: I read the brief comments from Rudi Peters in the Dec. 19 issue of The Terrace Standard and realized there's still pockets of ignorance within the community. An Angus Reid poll published Nov. 2, 2012 in the Vancouver Province shows 75 per cent of British Columbians and 66 per cent of Canadians support legalization, taxation and regulation of marijuana. To support prohibition is to support crime in our neighbourhoods and terrorism abroad. The huge benefits of legalization are mind-boggling. Industrial fibre for pulp mills and strand board mills. An annual renewable resource; not every 60-plus years as is the case with wood fibre. [continues 305 words]
LOCALLY elected officials are divided as to whether possessing, distributing, growing and selling marijuana should be decriminalized. The division showed in a resolution passed yesterday by elected officials from across BC at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in Victoria. The government organization will now ask the federal government to decriminalize marijuana and explore how it could be regulated and taxed instead. Terrace city councillor James Cordeiro, who voted against the resolution, said police forces already practise decriminalization when it comes to possessing small amounts of marijuana. [continues 767 words]
Dear Sir: This is about "MP says pot laws should reflect society," The Terrace Standard, Feb. 15, 2012. Comment: Legalization, regulation and taxation is about the best course of action in order to prevent the harms to youths and communities that currently exist because of marijuana prohibition. Legalization's about disrupting organized crime's cash cow, reducing the violence associated with prohibition, and bringing a substantial tax resource to government coffers. It's about education, harm reduction, removing barriers to medical marijuana and about freeing up resources to better target trans-border trafficking, gangs, meth labs, crime, etc., while insuring rights, freedoms and a regulated enterprise are all guaranteed. [continues 66 words]
TWO HOMES police said were the locations here for marijuana grow-ops have been seized and sold by the provincial government. It's the first time a law has been used here permitting the province to seize through civil court action and then sell property or items believed to be used for illegal activity or acquired through illegal activity. But while the proceeds of seizures elsewhere have been put back into law enforcement or related operations, the Terrace seizures didn't return a profit to the province. [continues 367 words]
Dear Sir: I have read Bob Erb's and Bob Adami's letters on the legalization of marijuana and feel I need to comment. I am friendly, caring, and generally well-liked person who is active in my community. I own my own home and vehicle and have been steady in the same job I enjoy for almost 5 years. I am a hard worker, honest, family oriented and always willing to give a hand to someone in need. I am also a criminal. Not because I hurt, steal or affect anyone negatively. I am a criminal because I enjoy smoking pot in the privacy of my own home. [continues 216 words]
SKEENA BULKLEY VALLEY NDP MP Nathan Cullen continues his campaign to be leader of his party by saying marijuana should be decriminalized. "Prohibition clearly has not achieved its goals and it's time our laws stopped criminalizing people whom society does not see as criminals," said Cullen in response to a questionnaire from NDP members who want marijuana to be legalized. He also favoured increasing access to marijuana for medicinal use. Cullen also backed InSite, a supervised drug injection site in Vancouver, saying it reduces crime, saves lives and reduces drug dependence. [continues 264 words]
Dear Sir: Once again the RCMP exaggerate the numbers ("Huge pot seizure results in charges against local couple," The Terrace Standard, Sept. 21, 2011) in which they claim a seizure of 28 pounds of marijuana is the equivalent of more than 35,000 joints. In reality, 28 pounds times 600 joints per pound equals 16,800 joints. Having used marijuana for 43 years, 38 of those years using 10 joints daily, I've probably rolled well in excess of 150,000 joints. [continues 217 words]
ARRESTS OF alleged dope growers or drug sellers certainly make for good headlines if you are on the side of law and order. But once that initial rush is over, the file too often falls into the huge black hole of the criminal justice system. It can take months, sometimes years, for a case to wind its way through the maze. Sometimes it never does see the light of day. That's what seems to have happened following the arrest two years ago of a pair of men in the Horseshoe for growing marijuana and stealing electricity from BC Hydro. [continues 151 words]
Charges against a couple facing drug charges in court for the past two years have been stayed. Diana and Jeffrey Kennedy had their charges stayed after their defence lawyer, Don Skogstad of Nelson, made a charter of rights argument which questioned the police execution of the search warrant. Skogstad said concerns arose over the execution of the search warrant, and whether it was done in the proper lawful manner. His concerns came from Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which says that "everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure." [continues 317 words]
Dear Sir: Terrace should start producing/growing hemp and open a manufacturing plant. Hemp can produce over 30,000 different products. Forget about bio-coal and other harmful ideas. What about a greener future for our children? Hemp can save our world! Hemp is the same plant as marijuana, its scientific name is "cannabis sativa." For thousands of years hemp was used to make dozens of commercial products like paper, rope, canvas, and textiles. In fact, the very name "canvas" comes from the Dutch word meaning cannabis, which is marijuana. That's correct, real canvas is made from marijuana! [continues 441 words]
SKEENA JUNIOR students listened attentively to Joe Roberts, the Skidrow CEO, at his talk about drug use and abuse and its consequences earlier this afternoon. A gasp could be heard from many students when he said he started taking drugs at age nine by using inhalants, then progressed to smoking marijuana, to injecting heroin and cocaine and ending up in jail at age 17. Roberts, who spent 15 years living on the Vancouver streets as an intravenous heroin and cocaine addict before getting his life back together, wore a Team Canada jersey and jeans and told the students right away he did not work for the police. [continues 214 words]
THE CITY is banking on the federal government sending more people to jail for longer periods of time if its hope of an economy-boosting jail here is to be realized. A city co-sponsored feasibility study lists three pieces of legislation the federal government wants passed, each one of which would result in more people headed for federal jail cells. One piece of legislation calls for minimum sentences for serious drug cases, another would end the practice of lopping off two days for every day a person is sentenced if that person has been in jail since first arrested and another would impose mandatory jail time for fraud. [continues 2770 words]
LANDLORDS AND those interested in learning how to keep grow-ops and drug labs out of the city are invited to an informational workshop later this month. The city and RCMP will host the workshop that provides education on identifying the warning signs of grow-ops and meth labs. Last November, the city adopted Controlled Substance Property Remediation Bylaw No. 1953-2009. Its purpose is to help ensure that grow-ops and clandestine drug labs are not in the community. The Feb. 17 informational workshop takes place downstairs at city hall. [continues 62 words]
