Pro-Marijuana Group Allowed to Distribute Fliers Around Festival Despite New Policy Henry Koch chilled out on a sunny, crisp Saturday afternoon. Koch said it was his "hollow" hemp shirt that kept him from sweating as he mingled with fans at Columbia's 3 Rivers Music Festival. "I thought you weren't supposed to be out of your booth," Alex Dingnam, a 13-year-old Hand Middle School student, said as he walked by. "We get that sometimes," said Koch, president of the Midlands Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. [continues 445 words]
City Plans to Reduce Seven Medical Pot Vendors to Four Sunday, April 18, 2004 - OAKLAND -- United by the risk of a federal bust and a zealous conviction that they are helping ill people, medical marijuana purveyors always have maintained a certain level of community, watching each other's back. Now, new city rules are forcing Oakland's cannabis clubs to compete with each other for survival. Beginning in June, the city will limit the number of marijuana outlets to four. This week, operators of seven existing dispensaries, and one newcomer called Canna Bilistic RX, will make their cases to the City Manager's Office to stay in operation. [continues 741 words]
Matthew Wolmutt knows a thing or two about the war on drugs and he doesn't like the way it's being fought. For nine years, Wolmutt's life revolved around drugs and alcohol. He first tried liquor when he was 11. At 12, he started using marijuana. At 16, came cocaine and methamphetamine. "At most, there were 10 days I was clean," said Wolmutt, 23, a Brainerd area native. "The rest of the time I was high. Every aspect of my life revolved around getting speed, meth, whatever you want to call it." [continues 696 words]
ALBANY (AP) - Andrew Cuomo said he will call off a potentially embarrassing demonstration at the Republican National Convention in August only if Gov. George Pataki and Republican leaders reform the state's drug laws first. "If they don't want us to do the rally, they should change the laws, which they promised to do," said Cuomo, the former federal housing secretary and Democratic candidate for governor. Cuomo spokesman Shane Kavanagh said Wednesday that Cuomo and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons have filed for the permit to hold the demonstration outside Madison Square Garden, where the GOP convention is scheduled. Cuomo said 50,000 people are expected to attend the demonstration on the first day of the convention, Aug. 30. [continues 92 words]
A Fayetteville police officer who shot a man during a drug sting last fall did nothing wrong, District Attorney Ed Grannis says. The officer, George Blanco, shot Renauld Sylvester Curtis on Oct. 29 after Curtis drove into four officers while trying to flee, lawmen have said. The Fayetteville Police Department asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate the shooting. Special Agent Jerry Weaver, who supervises the Fayetteville office, said the SBI gave its findings to Grannis on Wednesday. Grannis wrote a letter the same day exonerating Blanco, Weaver said. [continues 416 words]
Former Abbotsford family doctor James Swanney is under investigation for trafficking methadone, a controlled drug, and for causing the death of Christena Constible due to negligence in May 2000. A search warrant filed by Abbotsford police Det. Don McKenzie requested paper and electronic documentation from the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons regarding their investigation of Swanney's care of his patient, correspondence with the doctor on the matter and the college's final report on the arbitration agreement with Swanney. [continues 416 words]
When I addressed an audience of fifth-graders at Beachland Elementary school in February, I was heartened by the response I received. One child wrote, "I learned that drugs are very, very harmful. I know that I'll never do drugs." Another penned, "I will make a promise that I will not take drugs. I learned a lot from you." But that isn't the only valuable lesson these students will learn in their educational careers. One of the most important lessons they will inevitably learn involves the adage, "consider the source." [continues 700 words]
PARIS, April 14 (AFP) - French teenagers are among the biggest consumers of cannabis in Europe, smoking joints as often as they drink alcohol, an official study of thousands of students from 450 high schools released Wednesday showed. By the age of 18, two boys in three and one of every two girls have tried the narcotic - illegal in France - the survey by the French Observatory of Drugs and Drug Use (OFDT) revealed. "By the age of 16, regular consumption of cannabis reaches the level of regular consumption of alcohol," the authors said. [continues 80 words]
SMOKED OUT: Head shops selling pipes and rolling papers, and garden suppliers who sell hydroponic equipment, may come under close scrutiny as Abbotsford tries to squeeze out marijuana growers. Mayor Mary Reeves is convening a group of 30 to 40 stakeholders to launch an anti-marijuana grow-op task force. Invitees include members from the Fraser Health Authority, insurance companies, real estate agents, banks, fire, police, BC Hydro, other municipalities and neighbourhood groups. Councillor Mark Warawa said new strategies could include examining retailers who supply hydroponic supplies to grow ops and shops selling pipes, rolling papers and associated paraphernalia to pot smokers. [continues 79 words]
A Jack Russel terrier is recovering from what may have been some kind of illicit drugs he ate at Albert Dyck park this week. Six-year-old Terrence was out for a morning walk at the park Wednesday with his owner, Abbotsford resident Chantal Caron. "There were a bunch of dogs [and their owners] and he went into some bushes east of the parking lot. He was in there with another dog and I think they found something interesting because they were in there for quite awhile," said Caron. [continues 316 words]
