Dear editor, On May 10, 2006 the New Democrat Opposition tabled a bill entitled Crystal Meth Prevention Act 20006. The purpose of the bill is to bring British Columbia in line with 6 other provinces that restrict the sale of products that can be used to make the dangerous drug Crystal Meth. It is time that these products only be carried behind the counter of a pharmacy, and only be dispensed by licensed pharmacists. Crystal Meth is crippling our society. This bill will take a small, but important, step in protecting BC's families and children from the harm this drug creates. [continues 77 words]
An NDP bill to restrict retail sales of cold medicines used in the production of crystal methamphetamine doesn't impress Solicitor General John Les, even after it received the support of the B.C. Federation of Police Officers. Les said he has received extensive advice about drug labs, and police management has made it "very clear that our issue is the bulk importation" of crystal meth components. Police have intercepted shipping containers from Asia containing large amounts of precursor chemicals, and large, sophisticated labs run by organized crime. [continues 62 words]
Nanaimo RCMP, Corrections B.C. and the provincial Coroner's Office are looking at whether a prisoner died of a drug overdose at Nanaimo Correctional Centre Friday. Jason Stodgell, 30, was found unconscious in his prison cell during a routine check at about 1 a.m. Corrections staff was unable to revive him, so he was taken by ambulance to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 1:46 a.m., which led to the provincial Coroners' Office and the RCMP getting involved in the case. [continues 188 words]
VANCOUVER - The federal Justice Minister portrayed Vancouver yesterday as a city with a serious crime problem because of lenient judges. "People like to come here because the weather is fine and the sentences are low," Vic Toews joked during a warmly received luncheon speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade. The former Manitoba attorney-general also suggested that individuals who rob a bank in his home province would likely flee to this region to "get house arrest" in British Columbia. Mr. Toews said the "criminal justice agenda" under Prime Minister Stephen Harper will include additional funds for the RCMP. In responding to a question from the business crowd, Mr. Toews also warned that organized-crime groups are joining forces with terrorists, although he did not provide any specific information. [continues 536 words]
PORT ST. LUCIE - The largest marijuana grow-house operation in the city's history has taken more prisoners than the arrest reports tell. Three demure women who normally keep records have been digging up 6- foot-tall pot plants and lugging them out to dry in a secret location at 2 a.m. Crime-scene investigator's computer screensaver flashes between pictures of his 5-month-old daughter and marijuana leaves. And one day last week anyone visiting the police department was greeted by smiling retiree volunteers at the front desk and the overwhelming smell of raw marijuana wafting through the air. [continues 348 words]
A groundbreaking treatment program targetting crystal meth addiction is on hold as counsellors review its effectiveness. While public, political and media attention raised the profile of the Meth Kickers program, operated through the Phoenix Centre's Raven Program, the results weren't striking. Of the 22 people who went through the six-week program, which ran in four groups over the past year, only seven were able to finish without using crystal meth. A 30-plus per cent success rate is not bad when it comes to treating addictions, said youth and family program supervisor Patrick McDonald, but it highlights the challenges addictions counsellors face in trying to help those using drugs. [continues 287 words]
Since the U.S. Instituted Mandatory Sentences, Crime Has Dropped Over the past 20 years, the incarceration rate in Canada has remained stable while, south of the border, it has exploded. The new Conservative government, using the U.S. as a model, is now vowing to lock up more criminals -- with tools such as mandatory sentences. Sun reporter Chad Skelton tackles the question of whether putting more criminals behind bars really reduces crime. Does prison work? With the introduction of several tough sentencing measures earlier this month, the Conservative government has reopened a fierce debate about whether putting more people in jail, and for longer periods of time, has any meaningful impact on crime. [continues 665 words]
Surrey will be home to a medium-to large-scale treatment centre, if a current proposal goes ahead as planned, Mayor Dianne Watts says. An unnamed Surrey philanthropist is proposing the facility, which will be subject to extensive community consultation in the coming months. The philanthropist, who has another facility in the United States, already owns the land and is keen to get the treatment centre started in Surrey. Details of the facility are being kept tightly under wraps until the plan is formalized, likely closer to the year's end. [continues 410 words]
To the Editor, Re: The Conservatives' proposed new crime bill. If drugs were available legally, at $2 a hit (or less), what incentive would gangs or organized crime groups have to stay in business? I reckon far more deaths have occurred due to the violence associated with getting and retaining the vast amounts of cash that the present status of drugs causes, than from deaths due to drug overdoses alone. Certainly I can see a vast outcry from the police anti-drug squads, corrections officers' union and all the people who staff our courts. They would scream bloody murder to see their livelihood threatened. Still, if Harper is going to be tough on gangs, gun and drug crimes he should at least recognize and remove the causes, first. Alastair James Berry, Nanaimo [end]
To the Editor, It seems that Canada's role in Afghanistan has changed from helping rebuild the devastated country to protecting the U.S. organized gangs of "poppy eradicators" in Kandahar province. What else can I take from the statement by Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the Canadian commander of coalition forces in the south,who says "the opium trade must be destroyed" and that "Canadian Forces do support the anti-poppy work of the national government in Kabul." But Fraser is equally adamant that "we're not here to do poppy eradication. That's not our job." What is this, if not duplicity? [continues 113 words]
Regarding The Times' editorial, "Medical pot will get a hearing" (May 15), if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. By raiding voter-approved medical marijuana providers in California, the very same U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that claims that illicit drug use funds terrorism is forcing cancer and AIDS patients into the hands of street dealers. Apparently marijuana prohibition is more important than protecting the country from terrorism. The writer is a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reforming drug policy and expanding harm reduction. [end]
MLA Doug Routley said a proposed NDP bill that would restrict the sale of cold medicines used in the production of crystal methamphetamine should be supported by the provincial government. The proposed bill doesn't impress Solicitor General John Les, though, even after it received the support of the B.C. Federation of Police Officers. Les said he has received extensive advice about drug labs and police management has made it "very clear that our issue is the bulk importation" of crystal meth components. [continues 176 words]
Burns Lake RCMP welcomes a NDP bill to restrict the sale of common cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient in crystal methamphetamine. But the bill has failed to impress Solicitor General John Les, even after it received the support of the B.C. Federation of Police Officers. Les said he has received extensive advice about drug labs, and police management has made it "very clear that our issue is the bulk importation" of crystal meth components. Police have intercepted shipping containers from Asia containing large amounts of precursor chemicals, and large, sophisticated labs run by organized crime. [continues 159 words]
