Seized drugs keep rolling into the Banff RCMP detachment. In the past few months Banff's cops have seized a wide variety of drugs in several busts. They've confiscated everything from marijuana and cocaine to hashish, magic mushrooms (psilocybin) and ecstasy. The seizure success relates to a couple of different factors, according to Mounties. The first is the work of the three-member general investigations section unit shared between Banff and Canmore. The unit has two veteran Banff officers and another long serving member from Canmore. [continues 566 words]
Banff Crag & Canyon -- The Bow Valley's two busiest RCMP detachments have already laid more drug trafficking and trafficking related charges in 2006 than they did in all of 2004. The pace of charges is also more frequent than it was in 2005. Many of the 2006 charges have originated from the combined General Investigations Section for the valley that includes officers in both Banff and Canmore. As of Aug. 4, Mounties in the two communities had laid about 24 trafficking charges and another 27 possession for the purpose of trafficking charges in 2006. Over 50 drug possession charges had also been laid, with the vast majority of those in Banff. The tracking charges included 11 in Canmore and 13 in Banff. [continues 219 words]
Banff Crag & Canyon -- Methamphetamine use isn't yet deemed a major problem by Banff Mounties, despite the fact it was raised in the community's highest profile court case last week. "We're just not seeing the abuse here yet," Banff RCMP Staff Sgt. Bill Young said Friday, responding to a question from the Crag about the use of the stimulant in the community. While Young said he certainly couldn't claim the drug isn't being abused in Banff, information compiled by police and other agencies, including Mineral Springs Hospital and the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, doesn't point toward widespread abuse of the drug in Banff. Methamphetamine use has been growing in many Alberta communities. [continues 411 words]
Wallace and Grommet it isn't, but The White Line isn't exactly a hastily slapped together school project either. The video, which runs almost four and a half minutes in black and white, is a relatively high-tech offering from a pair of students who've learned the art of filmmaking can mean getting their hands dirty, or at least marked with a little bit of clay. Students Adam Greenberg and Shaun James are the minds behind The White Line, its technology, story line, music and anti-drug message. [continues 418 words]
