The Supreme Court of Canada was set to hear an appeal yesterday on whether a drug-sniffing dog inside an Ontario school went beyond the "reasonable limits of police powers". During an unexpected police visit to St. Patrick's High School in Sarnia, a trained police dog sniffed out a backpack containing marijuana and magic mushrooms, leading to trafficking charges against a youth known only as A.M. At issue is whether the actions that led to those charges breached Sec. 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms covering what constitutes reasonable search and seizure. [continues 216 words]
MP, Senator Offer to Help Islander's Medical Marijuana Court Case Philippe Lucas, founder of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, is flying high. As a supplier of medical marijuana and political activist bent on reforming Canada's pot laws, Lucas has a supportive MP in Vancouver East New Democrat Libby Davies. He has what he called "an interested and engaged judge" in Justice Robert Edwards, now hearing the society's Charter of Rights challenge arising from a raid on the compassion society's grow-operation near Sooke. And he has a Tory Senator, Pierre Claude Nolin, to testify for the society when the trial resumes on June 11. [continues 340 words]
PROVIDENCE -- Pamela Bailey sat quietly on the wooden bench inside State House Room 212 as the politicians approved the bill named for her son. She would say later that she was grateful, but that she didn't need a state law to remember her firstborn. "We didn't have to have it in the limelight. He'll always be with me," she said of Edward O. Hawkins, whose name will forever appear on the title of the state's medical marijuana law. It was Bailey's sister, Sen. Rhoda E. Perry, D-Providence, who suggested the name. [continues 366 words]
Federal Drug Strategy Should See Value of Calgary's Model Program Calgary's needle-disposal program proves harm-reduction measures, while controversial, can be done safely and in a way that stops the spread of infectious diseases by substance abuse. The Calgary program, marking its 10th anniversary, has caught the attention of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta. The group thinks Calgary's program is so strong, it has recommended U.S. cities adopt it as a model for establishing their own safe needle initiatives. [continues 435 words]
The Harper government's new anti-drug policy has yet to be officially announced, but already it is being savaged by those adamantly opposed to Conservative thinking on the subject. As with plenty of other topics -- climate change springs to mind -- the debate tends to be dominated by over-ardent advocates on either side of a great divide. The opinions of the many in the middle -- the voices of thousands of "ordinary" families -- are rarely sought and given precious little attention. [continues 401 words]
Agents: Suspects Were Not Part Of Unifiied Organization A 10-month undercover investigation has led to arrest warrants for more than 120 street-level drug dealers in Columbus and the seizure of thousands of dollars worth of drugs and weapons. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday that approximately 60 individuals have been arrested and more than 60 others are being sought for various drug-related offenses in connection with this extensive operation that was worked jointly with the Metro Narcotics Task Force. Plain-clothed officers saturated neighborhoods throughout Columbus in order to identify suspects. Most of the narcotics purchases took place, however, in and around public housing developments in the city. [continues 541 words]
As Heroin Trade Grows, A Nixon-Era Plan In Turkey Provides A Model. Afghanistan provides more than 90% of the world's heroin, which is made from poppies. The amount has skyrocketed since the Taliban regime that sheltered Osama bin Laden was toppled in 2001. The poppy boom feeds heroin addicts in Europe and in the USA. It also provides income for the resurgent Taliban, which is battling American and NATO forces and which has decided that its religious strictures against drugs don't preclude it from cashing in on the heroin trade. [continues 394 words]
An initiative that would allow seriously ill Michigan residents to use marijuana as a pain reliever without repercussions will be launched this week, The Coalition for Compassionate Care announced Wednesday. The Ferndale-based, grassroots group plans to collect 550,000 signatures within six months for a citizen's initiative known as the Michigan Medicinal Marijuana Act. It would allow patients to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for relief from pain associated with cancer, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. If 304,101 signatures are validated, the initiative would go to the Michigan Legislature, according to Coalition for Compassionate Care Spokeswoman Dianne Byrum. The act would appear on the November 2008 ballot if lawmakers reject or chose not to vote on it. [continues 211 words]
A judge was impressed Wednesday with the support fellow workers demonstrated for a man facing a serious drug charge. "Your colleagues think very highly of you," Ontario Court Justice Wayne Cohen told Robert Zagorc after perusing a letter signed by 30 co-workers at Algoma Tubes. Defence counsel Murdoch Carter provided the court with the "letter of reference" after his client was convicted of two drug-related offences. "It shows Mr. Zagorc is otherwise a productive member of society," he said, adding his client, who has shown a lot of remorse, "has learned a lesson here." [continues 325 words]
There is enough evidence linking a Kamloops man to a marijuana drug-smuggling ring to order his detention pending extradition to the U.S., a judge ruled Tuesday. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Daphne Smith granted an application from the federal Crown for a warrant for Cody Douglas Loewen, 23, pending extradition to Oregon to face drug charges there. U.S. authorities filed a warrant of extradition naming Loewen in July 2006. Information provided by U.S. authorities indicate prosecutors believe they have a strong case against Loewen and want him transported to Oregon to face trial. [continues 637 words]
