Sensible B.C. Hopes to Force a Referendum on Marijuana Decriminalization Sensible B.C. says it already has about a third of the names required to meet the local threshold in a province wide petition drive to force a referendum on marijuana decriminalization. Carl Anderson, a longtime advocate of medical marijuana use who is organizing the drive in the two Kamloops constituencies, said on Wednesday that they have so far obtained about 3,000 signatures. If the initiative fails, Anderson holds out hope for a charter challenge of new federal policy that takes growing medical pot out of the hands of users and hands it to the private sector. [continues 630 words]
The Ministry of Children and Family Development has a month to respond to a complaint filed by a Kamloops family threatened with the apprehension of their children over a medical marijuana grow-op. Brad Olson and Angela Ferguson believe they were the victims of a bogus tip when police and social workers arrived on their doorstep in November. Police determined that the 34 cannabis plants Olson was growing were compliant with his medical marijuana licence. Olson suffers from a work-related spinal cord injury and uses leaf-extract to manage his pain. [continues 354 words]
A shift in federal policy governing medical marijuana users will have an up side and down side, says a Kamloops lawyer. Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq announced in B.C. on Sunday that Ottawa plans to end a Health Canada program allowing people with health conditions to grow pot in their own homes. Aglukkaq said the current regulations have left the system open to abuse, causing great concern among law enforcement, fire officials and municipalities dealing with illegal grow-ops. By March 2014, only companies with strict security requirements will be licensed to grow and sell marijuana. [continues 269 words]
Activist behind decriminalization campaign to speak in Kamloops An impending province wide initiative campaign to decriminalize marijuana faces legal hurdles but may have merit as well, local lawyers say. Dana Larsen, pot activist and former NDP leadership candidate, has branded his province wide initiative petition drive "Sensible B.C." His campaign is modeled on the successful initiative brought about by ex-premier Bill Vander Zalm to quash the HST. The purpose of this one? To make B.C. safer from criminal gang activity, save taxpayer dollars spent on law enforcement and bring the law into line with the will of the majority, Larsen said, citing a recent poll suggesting 80 per cent public support for decriminalization. [continues 704 words]
Washington's Move to Legalize Pot part of Trend that will Influence B.C., Advocate says Between triumph and tears in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday night, a handful of state ballot measures surprised observers on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. With Initiative 502, Washington state voters ended 70 years of marijuana prohibition. Colorado voters also made it legal for people to consume cannabis recreationally, a stunning turn of events against the backdrop of the continuing U.S. war on drugs. [continues 468 words]
Legalizing marijuana would relieve overcrowding in B.C. prisons, MLA Kevin Krueger said Wednesday. Speaking as an MLA, Krueger said he agrees with the opinions of four former B.C. attorneys-general, who have sided with a coalition of health and justice experts calling for legalization of cannabis. "I think we should make it legal and tax it, and use the taxation to pay for the social consequences," Krueger said. He was asked to respond to accusations by the Opposition NDP and BCGEU that the Liberal government has been hiding the impact of new federal laws on B.C.'s already swollen inmate population. Specifically, imposing mandatory minimum sentences for minor cannabis offences is expected to increase incarceration. [continues 645 words]
Kamloops addictions counsellor reacts to suggestion it is safe in pure form Legalizing ecstasy wouldn't eliminate the danger of its use or its distribution on the black market, says a local addictions counsellor. Dr. Perry Kendall, chief provincial health officer, ignited controversy Wednesday by stating that pure ecstasy can be safe and suggesting that it should be sold through licensed, government-run stores. Kendall said legalizing the drug would prevent lethal doses resulting from impurities introduced by criminals who cook it up. Usage rates would also decline, he said. [continues 322 words]
Pot smokers in Riverside Park presented a picture of sunny bliss Friday in support of 4:20, the global celebration of cannabis culture. The city's first sanctioned 4:20 rally attracted about 60 supporters to the Rotary Bandshell by mid-afternoon. People lounged around listening to the local band The Tyme Travellers, savouring the spring warmth and, yes, lighting up some king-sized doobies while hardly batting an eye. Thirty or 40 years ago they would have been arrested on the spot. No one objected and there were no uniformed police officers in sight. [continues 459 words]
A Kamloops case in which a compassion club activist hopes to challenge the constitutionality of Canada's medical marijuana law took a fresh turn Monday. Carl Anderson will return to court May 17 to face a new charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking after Crown stayed the original charge. Anderson intends to plead not guilty to the lesser charge of possessing under three kilograms of marijuana. He would have done the same with the original charge of possessing more than three kilograms, a charge laid after his Tranquille Road storefront was searched by RCMP last fall. [continues 451 words]
A small group of demonstrators took their protest over the recent deportation of marijuana activist Marc Emery to the riding office of MP Cathy McLeod Monday. The four protesters, aligned with the web-based protest FreeMarc.ca, were also objecting to Bill S10, legislation currently before the Senate that proposes mandatory minimum sentences for dealing marijuana. With the House in session, McLeod was in Ottawa, but her staff told the protesters they could not put up posters at the riding office or prevent constituents from entering. [continues 220 words]
Citing a disturbing increase in student drug use, the Kamloops-Thompson school board gave solid endorsement on Monday to a communitywide anti-drug use strategy that includes parents. "The level of drug use by young adults in the community was certainly a revelation to many and it certainly was to me," said school superintendent Terry Sullivan, who prepared the plan of attack. Sullivan noted in his report to the board that drug-related suspensions have increased. There have been more than 200 in this school year alone. [continues 309 words]
Director Nettie Wild asked for a show of hands at Wednesday's screening of Fix: The Story of An Addicted City. The award-winning documentary filmmaker wanted to know how many audience members in the Paramount Theatre knew of someone using cocaine. Scores of hands shot up. "I think it's safe to say we have a real cross-section of people in the audience," she said. "It's not just people who are street-entrenched (who are drug users)." Only a scattering of hands went up when Wild asked about injection drug users, an indication perhaps of the contrast between Vancouver's drug epidemic and Kamloops' own drug abuse problems. [continues 416 words]
