Thousands of dollars, drugs still missing from audit Tens of thousands of dollars and several kilograms of illicit drugs are still missing from Halifax Regional Police evidence, but the chief says there's no indication anything "untoward" has happened within his force. Chief Jean-Michel Blais presented an update on the Drug Exhibit Audit to Monday's meeting of the municipality's Board of Police Commissioners, and outlined the preliminary results of a full inventory, conducted between September 2016 and February 2017, of all 12,792 drug-related exhibits in the police database. [continues 589 words]
Force believes missing money placed in police bank account Halifax Regional Police have located 34 of 72 exhibits that were missing from their evidence storage, but the remaining 38 - including nearly $5,000 in cash - are still unaccounted for. Chief Jean-Michel Blais will present a report to the municipality's Board of Police Commissioners on Monday updating the force's progress on finding the missing items from the Drug Exhibit Audit released last year. That audit was conducted between June and November 2015 after an officer was accused of stealing from an evidence vault. Police originally found 90 per cent of the drug exhibits in one vault were unaccounted for, and 55 per cent of the evidence in the money vault wasn't where it was supposed to be. [continues 278 words]
It's a tough call, whether companies soon to be marketing recreational marijuana should be allowed to brand their product. A precedent is in the works with tobacco, to deny manufacturers the right to have distinctive packaging. Some would extend that same caution to pot. It's an issue that government will ultimately have to grapple with - while hearing from proponents on both sides of the argument. Garfield Mahood of Vancouver, president of the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud, campaigned for decades to get the federal government to force tobacco companies to use plain packaging. [continues 345 words]
A month after it opened, a downtown business specializing in marijuana paraphernalia was searched by police on Thursday. Dr. Greenthumb was searched by members of the Cumberland Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit on Thursday with assistance from the Amherst Police Department. This whole pending legislation has created a challenge for police across the country. Some people are trying to get ahead of it because the government is saying legislation is coming, but it's not here and they have to be patient and wait for the legislation. Ian Naylor, Amherst Police Chief [continues 298 words]
Vince Rigby remembered for work with veterans Friends of Vince Rigby are remembering him as a strong advocate for veterans across Cape Breton. Rigby's body was found by firefighters in an abandoned Robert Street building during a fire in Whitney Pier on Monday. Cape Breton Regional Police investigated the fire and ruled out any suspicion and foul play in the death of the Sydney man. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. Ron Clarke, a Korean War veteran, said he will remember Rigby as a "strong advocate for veterans." [continues 323 words]
A Nova Scotia human rights board has ruled that a patient's medical marijuana should be covered by his employee insurance plan in a potentially precedent-setting case. The decision, issued Jan. 30, ruled in favour of Gordon Skinner's claim that he faced discrimination when trying to access insurance coverage for his disability. Independent human rights board of inquiry chair Benjamin Perryman said that medical marijuana should be an eligible expense since it requires a doctor's authorization and thus didn't fall within the plan's exclusions. [continues 341 words]
Man injured in workplace accident A Nova Scotia human rights board has ruled that a patient's medical marijuana should be covered by his employee insurance plan in a potentially precedent-setting case. The decision, issued Jan. 30, ruled in favour of Gordon Skinner's claim that he faced discrimination when trying to access insurance coverage for his disability. Independent human rights board of inquiry chair Benjamin Perryman said that medical marijuana should be an eligible expense since it requires a doctor's authorization and thus didn't fall within the plan's exclusions. [continues 332 words]
Nova Scotia's human-rights board has ruled that a man suffering from chronic pain must have his marijuana prescription paid for by his employee-insurance plan, with advocates saying the decision opens the door for patients across Canada to push for similar cannabis coverage. Gordon Skinner, from a community just outside Halifax, had argued that he faced discrimination when he was denied coverage by the Canadian Elevator Industry Welfare Trust Plan. He has been using medical cannabis to treat pain from an on-the-job car accident that forced him from work as an elevator mechanic more than six years ago. [continues 535 words]
HALIFAX - A human-rights board has determined a Nova Scotia man's prescribed medical marijuana must be covered by his employee insurance plan, a ruling that advocates said will likely have impact nationwide. Gordon Wayne Skinner, of Head of Chezzetcook, suffers from chronic pain following an on-the-job motor vehicle accident, and argued that he faced discrimination when he was denied coverage. In a decision Thursday, inquiry board chair Benjamin Perryman concluded that since medical marijuana requires a prescription by law, it doesn't fall within the exclusions of Skinner's insurance plan. [continues 478 words]
Former corrections employee sentenced on drug trafficking A Sydney Mines woman was given a two-year federal jail sentence Monday after pleading guilty to drug trafficking at the Cape Breton Correctional Centre. Special federal prosecutor David Iannetti told the court that Nicole Marie Smith, 46, came to the attention of jail officials when a letter was found in which an inmate thanked Smith for bringing marijuana into the facility. Smith worked part time in the kitchen at the provincial jail and had struck up a friendship with a male inmate who also worked in the kitchen. [continues 316 words]
Police forces in Canada testing out devices over February Next time you come across a police checkpoint in Halifax, you might be asked to help test a roadside drug-screening device. Halifax Regional Police (HRP) began a new Public Safety Canada pilot project a week and half ago, and have until the end of February to collect 100 saliva samples from anyone who'd like to anonymously volunteer for the testing in a regular traffic stop. "This is for us. It's not about any of the public, it's about how user-friendly are these devices for the police at roadside," Const. Kristine Fraser of the HRP traffic unit said Thursday. "If you say 'um, no,' (it's) 'okay, thank you for your time,' and you drive away.'" [continues 283 words]
The law is still against business owners like Shirley Martineau, even as Canada remains high on legalization. Even though it may seem like the illegality associated with weed today is akin to the criminal severity of something like jaywalking, the fact is that here in Nova Scotia, under many circumstances, having, selling or smoking the stuff could still get you thrown in jail. That's exactly what may happen to Shirley Martineau, owner of Auntie's Health and Wellness Centre, which was closed down earlier this month after Martineau decided on her own accord to begin providing access to medicinal marijuana to anyone over the age of 19-regardless of a prescription. [continues 565 words]
Why are patients who legally acquire medical marijuana being illegally charged sales tax on this medicine? Correspondence to get clarification on why this is so included federal Health Minister Jane Philpott, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and our two MPs - Mark Eyking and Rodger Cuzner. Health Minister Philpott replied that "tax policies fall within the purview of Hon. Bill Morneau" and forwarded my inquiry to him. MP Eyking replied with what are the existing regulations on marijuana that represent outdated information considering the ongoing changes with medical marijuana. [continues 318 words]
Auntie's Halifax marijuana dispensary is among a nation full of shops that have begun selling recreationally, despite federal laws that promise prosecution. Raids have been conducted by police in Hamilton, Montreal and Toronto over the past year, including those of recreational marijuana shops owned by company Cannabis Culture. "The federal government has been clear that until new legislation is introduced, the current laws remain and must be followed," wrote Sarah Gillis, a spokeswoman for the provincial Department of Health & Wellness. [continues 554 words]
Police stay silent on their plan if store reoffends A leading Canadian marijuana activist is standing behind a bid by Auntie's Dispensary to reopen after a police raid shut them down. Last week, Halifax owner Shirley Martineau and three others were charged - and had their inventory seized - after complaints led the Halifax Regional Police to take action. Martineau, who hasn't returned phone calls, vowed to reopen and has volunteers working at the shop right now. Toronto marijuana legalization activist Jodie Emery, who is married to fellow activist Marc Emery, knows what Martineau is going through. [continues 682 words]
Nova Scotia not ready to talk strategy on legalization The Nova Scotia government has formed two working groups to get into the weeds of marijuana legalization, but the province's plans remain a little hazy. A federal task force on marijuana legalization released a report this week recommending mail-order and storefront sales to people over the age of 18, with a 30-gram limit on personal possession of recreational pot. The report contained more than 80 recommendations about how legalized marijuana should be produced, regulated and sold. [continues 267 words]
When the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal in Canada in the next few years, how old should you have to be to join in the fun? This issue - the legal age for buying and consuming cannabis - is the biggest single challenge facing the federal Liberals as they rewrite the law on this popular, but potentially harmful, drug. A federal task force this week provided 80 recommendations for opening up the market for recreational pot. Most of the suggestions, which include permitting storefront and mail-order sales as well as allowing individuals to buy or carry up to 30 grams for personal use, are both reasonable and workable. But the recommendation to allow sales to people as soon as they turn 18 is troubling because of the harm that medical experts say would result. The age should be higher. [continues 358 words]
With the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana expected to become a reality in Canada in the next couple of years, there are a number of important issues to be considered as we proceed in a sensible way - in other words, with caution. This past week a federal task force released a report with a lengthy list of recommendations on how Canada should move forward with legalizing marijuana. One that causes immediate concern is the task force's troubling recommendation that would allow sales of the drug to anyone aged 18 or over. [continues 354 words]
This must be some sort of lapse of the synapse. One of the key warnings regarding coming legalization of marijuana didn't make the impression warranted. Health professionals have tried to stress the importance of keeping recreational marijuana away from young people. Last month, the Canadian Paediatric Society urged that the federal government ban sales to those younger than 18 or 19, depending on the province, to correspond with age limits for alcohol and tobacco sales. The federal task force in charge of recommendations, in releasing its report Tuesday, chose the low end of that age spectrum, saying sales should be limited to people 18 and over. [continues 333 words]
Auntie's founder convinced of weed's medicinal abilities A medical marijuana dispensary operating in Bible Hill is making access easier for people who require it, clients say. The dispensary, called Auntie's Health and Wellness Center, is also beneficial because it offers medicinal cannabis in more forms and wider variety than conventional methods. "I believe people should have direct access to their medication. And they don't," said Auntie's founder Shirley Martineau. She said people who genuinely need marijuana are often forced to acquire it illegally, "and they don't know what they are getting." [continues 381 words]
Inside Nova Scotia
