Compassion clubs in Victoria may be one step closer to escaping legal uncertainty 4after a ruling in the British Colombia Supreme Court declared sections of the national marijuana program to be unconstitutional. The decision by Justice Marvyn Koenigsbergn to review the laws surrounding marijuana distribution is good news for Philippe Lucas and Ted Smith, who operate medicinal marijuana dispensaries in B.C. The law currently limits designated suppliers to distribute medicinal marijuana to one patient. Lucas and Smith hope this changes. [continues 407 words]
Police Will Be Looking For More Than Just Alcohol From cough syrup to diet pills to marijuana, drugged drivers can be just as deadly behind the wheel as drunks, say police. Mounties say they see "dozens and dozens" of drivers impaired by illicit or prescription drugs each weekend along Vancouver Island roads. Campbell River RCMP say they regularly dole out prohibitions to drugged drivers every week, noticeably more than in the past. Part of the problem, say police, is a mentality among some drivers that smoking a joint does not mean they are impaired, or people self-medicating with legitimate drugs who do not think about the consequences. [continues 333 words]
Vic Pd Officer Steps Up To The Cannabis Convention Podium To Critique The War On Drugs Responding to a rash of gang-related shootings and under pressure to reassure the public that Lower Mainland streets are safe, British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell announced last week the hiring of 168 additional police officers, 10 new special prosecutors and the imposition of stiffer penalties for gun crimes fuelled by turf wars over the province's lucrative drug trade. This announcement, and the almost daily shoot-outs between young men in Greater Vancouver's suburbs, provided a fitting backdrop for Victoria's 10th annual Cannabis Convention at the University of Victoria last Sunday, an event where keynote speakers from a variety of backgrounds laid bare all that is wrong with current government policy toward psychoactive substances-namely, that prohibition causes more harm than good. [continues 1057 words]
Canada's drug laws are harmful, result in repeat offenders and waste taxpayers' money, a Victoria police officer told a group of students and marijuana activists yesterday. David Bratzer was speaking at the 10th annual Cannabis Convention, held at the University of Victoria by the student society's Hempology 101 Club and the International Hempology 101 Society. "We have an environment where law-enforcement officers are realizing these laws are ineffective," said Bratzer, speaking as a member of the U.S.-based Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. [continues 286 words]
Strict limits on the production and distribution of medical marijuana are unconstitutional, B.C. court determines Another court decision, ruling that restrictions on the sale and production of medicinal marijuana in Canada are unconstitutional, is seen as "one more small step forward" by those who provide marijuana to sick people in Nanaimo. Richard Payne, a member of the Mid-Island Compassion Society that set up in Nanaimo last year to provide medicinal marijuana, applauds the decision of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg. On Monday she gave Ottawa one year to fix the medical-marijuana access regulations so compassion clubs or producers can get together and run a common marijuana-growing operation. [continues 454 words]
The Canadian government's crumbling monopoly on the production and distribution of medical cannabis was dealt another blow Monday with a B.C. Supreme Court decision that effectively exonerated a grower who supplied the Vancouver Island Compassion Society with the good grass. The charges against Mathew Beren stemmed from a 2004 RCMP raid on a VICS facility in Sooke. The compassion society and its lawyer, Kirk Tousaw, argued that since the federal government was failing to provide citizens with a safe and secure supply of medicinal marijuana, compassion societies and their growers fulfilled a critical service. [continues 312 words]
RCMP See Increase In Outdoor Plots After a couple years of dismal outdoor marijuana harvests due to rainy weather, Vancouver Island could see a bumper crop of bud this fall. Some growers have already harvested their pot plants, often hidden away in secret gardens deep in the woods, but the optimal time to harvest marijuana is normally the first week of October, said Ted Smith, who teaches a free course about hemp and Cannabis -- called Hempology 101 -- at the University of Victoria. He thinks that if current weather holds for the next couple weeks, this season will mark the start of the crop's recovery on the Island. [continues 389 words]
Weather Conditions Good As Harvest Nears NANAIMO -- After a couple years of dismal outdoor marijuana harvests due to rainy weather, Vancouver Island could see a bumper crop this fall. Some growers have already harvested their pot plants, often hidden deep in the woods. But the optimal time to harvest marijuana is normally the first week of October, said Ted Smith, who teaches a free course about hemp and cannabis -- called Hempology 101 -- at the University of Victoria. He thinks if current weather holds for the next few weeks, this season will mark the start of the crop's recovery on the Island. [continues 245 words]
When Victoria's Tim Wilkins realized his Health Canada licence to possess medical cannabis was set to expire last year, he diligently filled out the eight-page renewal form, paid $65 to obtain his physician's signature and submitted the package to Health Canada's Marihuana Medical Access Division in Ottawa on August 22-13 weeks before it was due. "I'd dealt with [MMAD] for a few years, so I knew how long it could take," says Wilkins, who declined to let Monday publish his real last name, fearing the stigma still attached to medical cannabis use. On November 27 Wilkins' new license arrived-five weeks after the promised eight-week processing period had passed-and three days after the old one had already expired. [continues 3327 words]
The smell of burning marijuana wafted briefly through a small crowd gathered in the public library courtyard in downtown Victoria. A dapper Ted Smith, decked out in a suit for the occasion, was largely preaching to the converted when he spoke about the dangers of the Conservative government's plan to impose mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted of trafficking even small amounts of illicit drugs, including marijuana. "It'll scare a lot of them out of doing it and the people who will end up doing it will be organized criminals," Smith said. [continues 504 words]
Protesters waved flags, shook signs and yelled questions outside Saanich Gulf Islands MP Gary Lunn's office in Sidney on Monday. One even lit up a marijuana cigarette and had a few puffs. The gathering was part of a national day of demonstration against the proposed federal Bill C-26, which would raise mandatory minimum sentences for cannabis (marijuana) offences, including cultivation and trafficking. "We think they're spending too much on enforcement and prosecution of drug offences," said Anthony D'Agati of International Hempology 101 Society, a Victoria organization devoted to marijuana legalization through education. "This just targets the low-end street dealers and puts a lot of power in organized crime. It clogs up the court systems." [continues 637 words]
But Conservative MP says mandatory minimum sentences will reduce drug use The smell of burning marijuana wafted briefly through a small crowd gathered in the public library courtyard in downtown Victoria. A dapper Ted Smith, decked out in a suit for the occasion, was largely preaching to the converted when he spoke about the dangers of the Conservative government's plan to impose mandatory minimum sentences for people convicted of trafficking even small amounts of illicit drugs, including marijuana. "It'll scare a lot of them out of doing it and the people who will end up doing it will be organized criminals," Smith said. [continues 504 words]
Protesters are set to gather Monday, December 17, at MP offices in Victoria and across Canada to speak out against proposed drug laws they say are draconian and ineffective. The Conservatives' Bill C-26 would entrench the criminalization of cannabis and require minimum mandatory prison terms for people caught with pot. Protest organizer Ted Smith of Victoria's Cannabis Buyer's Club says the laws would needlessly clog up already over-burdened courts and jails, and that organized crime would only profit from prohibition. The Conservatives are driven by an ideological agenda that is disconnected from most Canadians, he says. [continues 1230 words]
A well-known Victoria pot advocate learned yesterday that someone was hitting up the contacts in his e-mail directory and scamming them for cash. An e-mail that looked like it came from Ted Smith, organizer of weekly marijuana "smoke-ins" around the city, was sent early yesterday to thousands of Smith's contacts, begging for cash to get him out of a sticky situation overseas. "I'm pretty upset," said Smith, a principal of International Hempology 101 Society, yesterday. "This is causing us all sorts of headaches, that's for sure." [continues 509 words]
The smoke has cleared and it was alcohol that killed the marijuana bash. After 12 years, the world's largest weekly pot rally has been stubbed out because of drinking. Victoria's International Hempology 101 Society meetings drew up to 100 cannabis supporters, but society president Ted Smith said they will have to light up on their own. Smith said the meetings became too dangerous when unruly beer swiggers crashed the rallies. The gatherings moved to outside the Ministry of Health building because security guards patrol the grounds, which Smith hoped would deter drinkers from attending. [continues 242 words]
The smoke has cleared and it was alcohol that killed the marijuana bash. After 12 years, the world's largest weekly pot rally has been stubbed out because of drinking. Victoria's International Hempology 101 Society meetings drew up to 100 cannabis supporters, but society president Ted Smith said they will have to light up on their own. Smith said the meetings became too dangerous when unruly beer swiggers crashed the rallies. The gatherings moved to outside the Ministry of Health building because security guards patrol the grounds, which Smith hoped would deter drinkers from attending. [continues 234 words]
Young, drunken rowdies, disrupting peaceful pot smokers, have killed the Victoria tradition of weekly marijuana rallies. The pungent smell of pot, drifting over Ted Smith's Wednesday smoke-ins, has been part of Victoria culture for 12 years. But yesterday, the last one was held on the steps of the Ministry of Health building on Blanshard Street. "Drunken kids have ruined it," said Smith, a marijuana crusader and founder of the Cannabis Buyers Club. [continues 477 words]
VICTORIA - Young, drunken rowdies disrupting peaceful pot smokers have killed the tradition of weekly marijuana rallies. Ted Smith's Wednesday smoke-ins have been part of Victoria culture for 12 years. The last one was held Wednesday on the steps of the Ministry of Health building. "Drunken kids have ruined it," said Smith, a marijuana crusader and founder of the Cannabis Buyers Club. "If we are going to hold a pot rally it has to be safe." Two weeks ago Smith got his hand smashed against a wall after intervening when one drunk kid took a punch at another. Smith said the aggressive behaviour illustrates the difference between alcohol and marijuana. [end]
Life's not so bad for Howie at the moment, mostly because he's back on methadone, a prescription drug that can make life functional again for people addicted to heroin. Victoria police needed him cleaned up so he could testify as a witness at a murder trial, so they covered the $300-a-month cost of the methadone until Howie could get on income assistance and have his prescription funded. He was glad for the help. But every welfare day reminds him of how quickly it could all change. Time's already up on the two months of assistance he was approved for, and he's not going to get another cheque unless he comes up with a doctor's letter declaring him unfit to work. No welfare cheque, no meth-adone -- simple as that. [continues 1446 words]
Pot Supporters Celebrate 10th Anniversary Local pot activist Ted Smith launched the 4/20 celebration last Friday by urging the crowd to "smoke 'em if you got 'em." And smoke 'em they did. More than 700 people huddled in circles at the 10th annual gathering at Victoria city hall for the 4/20 event, symbolically held on April 20. Glass pipes, bongs, homemade rubber hose devices and just plain old joints rolled in Zig Zags papers were lit at the symbolic moment and passed around freely. [continues 164 words]
Prohibition Simply Not Working, Speaker Tells Conference At UVic A retired career cop speaking in favour of the legalization of drugs? You've got to be kidding. But Hunter McDonald, 63, is dead serious about his stance, so much so that he gave a speech at the eighth annual cannabis convention at UVic yesterday. "It's my first talk so I'm really quite nervous," said McDonald outside the David Lam Auditorium before taking the podium. "I'm not an advocate of drug use, but to promote legalization," McDonald said. [continues 486 words]
Legal marijuana users decry federally sanctioned product as weak and pricey The cannabis menu at the Vancouver Island Compassion Society changes daily. On this particular day, clients have a choice of Pochi, Hog, Shishberry, Imposter or Jack Herer. Beneath each name, a brief description of the effects of the variety is provided: strong and heady, reads one; mellow and body buzz, reads another. In addition to supplying medical cannabis buds to about 600 clients on Vancouver Island, the compassion society offers an arrange of cannabis by-products and alternatives to smoking, such as cookies, oral sprays and tinctures, says society director Philippe Lucas. [continues 1196 words]
A series of events will be held to celebrate International Medical Marijuana Day Nov. 15. The day kicks off at noon with a rally at the Ministry of Health, 1515 Blanshard St. There will also be a free lecture at the University of Victoria, Room 61, Elliot Building at 3:30 p.m. President of the International Hempology 101 Society, Ted Smith, will deliver a lecture on the Medical Uses of Cannabis. Afterwards, medical marijuana advocates are welcome to attend the weekly 4:20 gathering outside the UVic Library. The Silent Art Auction at the Cannabis Buyers' Club of Canada closes at 6:30 p.m. The day closes with a game show event called Reach for the Pot held at the Ministry of Health at 7 p.m. [end]
A Series of Events Will Be Held to Celebrate International Medical Marijuana Day Nov. 15. The day kicks off at noon with a rally at the Ministry of Health, 1515 Blanshard St. There will also be a free lecture at the University of Victoria, Room 61, Elliot Building at 3:30 p.m. President of the International Hempology 101 Society, Ted Smith, will deliver a lecture on the Medical Uses of Cannabis. Afterwards, medical marijuana advocates are welcome to attend the weekly 4:20 gathering outside the UVic Library. The Silent Art Auction at the Cannabis Buyers' Club of Canada closes at 6:30 p.m. The day closes with a game show event called Reach for the Pot held at the Ministry of Health at 7 p.m. [end]
Two teenage girls face drug-trafficking charges for selling ecstasy to other Bracebridge youth at private homes, on the street and at Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School. Bracebridge Ontario Provincial Police officers arrested the two girls, aged 14 and 16, last week following an investigation that started in late March. According to OPP reports, the 16-year-old had been selling the drug to at least six other students aged 14 and 15 and one 19-year-old man between January and March, with some sales as far back as September. The drug deals took place in private homes, at a Bracebridge plaza, on Bracebridge streets and at BMLSS, according to reports. [continues 385 words]
It's not a good time to get busted for marijuana possession now that Stephen Harper is the prime minister. When the Liberals held power in Ottawa, they drafted legislation to decriminalize possesion of small amounts of marijuana. But the Conservative Party and Harper have indicated an intention to scrap that planned legislation. Harper recently expressed that position at the annual Canadian Professional Police Association conference in Ottawa. "Harper adheres to this notion that society should morally sanction people who use illegal drugs," said Keith Martin, the Liberal MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca. [continues 405 words]
It's not a good time to get busted for marijuana possession now that Stephen Harper is the prime minister. When the Liberal Party held power in Ottawa they drafted legislation calling for the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. But the Conservative Party and Harper have indicated an intention to scrap planned legislation. Harper recently expressed that position at the annual Canadian Professional Police Association conference in Ottawa. "Harper adheres to this notion that society should morally sanction people who use illegal drugs," said Keith Martin, the Liberal MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca. [continues 510 words]
It's not a good time to get busted for marijuana possession now that Stephen Harper is the prime minister. When the Liberal Party held power in Ottawa they drafted legislation calling for the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. But the Conservative Party and Harper have indicated an intention to scrap planned legislation. Harper recently expressed that position at the annual Canadian Professional Police Association conference in Ottawa. "Harper adheres to this notion that society should morally sanction people who use illegal drugs," said Keith Martin, the Liberal MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca. [continues 504 words]
According to Statistics Canada, more than 4.5 million Canadians smoked marijuana in 2004. The Conservative Party and Prime Minister Stephen Harper intend to scrap legislation decriminalizing marijuana. Harper recently expressed that position at the annual Canadian Professional Police Association conference in Ottawa. "Harper adheres to this notion that society should morally (penalize) people who use illegal drugs," said Keith Martin, the Liberal MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca. Martin has called for the decriminalization of marijuana since he was an MP for the Reform Party. [continues 468 words]
It's not a good time to get busted for marijuana possession now that Stephen Harper is the prime minister. When the Liberal Party held power in Ottawa, it drafted legislation calling for the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. But the Conservative Party and Harper have indicated an intention to scrap planned legislation. Harper recently expressed that position at the annual Canadian Professional Police Association conference in Ottawa. "Harper adheres to this notion that society should morally (penalize) people who use illegal drugs," said Keith Martin, the Liberal MP for Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca. [continues 508 words]
Victoria's mayor has thrown his support behind local medicinal pot users and called upon Health Canada to conduct an immediate review of how it provides medical marijuana to Canadians. A presentation to council by local compassion clubs last month prompted Alan Lowe to draft a letter to federal Health Minister Tony Clement criticizing public access to the Federal Marijuana Medical Access Regulation program. "Many of these citizens rely on marijuana for the purpose of pain management and have expressed an inability to access the... program," he wrote in the March 20 letter. [continues 392 words]
Victoria's two compassion clubs are operating illegally, that much appears clear. Apparently, the chances of either the Vancouver Island Compassion Society or the Cannabis Buyers Club receiving a legal exemption to provide medical marijuana for their members is slim at this point. "Ultimately Health Canada's position on this is compassion clubs are illegal," organization spokesperson Chris Williams said this week. As for the clubs' continued operation, he added "it's a matter for law enforcement agencies." Essentially, the Victoria police have bigger fish to fry right now, according to Insp. Les Sylven. [continues 613 words]
Since he began supplying chronically ill people in Victoria with marijuana out of a van 10 years ago, Leon "Ted" Smith has seen some major changes in his role. Not the least of those has been his legal banishment from having anything to do with the operation of the Cannabis Buyers' Club he founded in 1996. Despite being forced by the courts to watch the fruits of his labours from arm's length, Smith said this week he is extremely pleased with how far the club has come in achieving its mandate. [continues 568 words]
Police are warning residents to be on the lookout for ecstasy, a drug marketed to youth. Police arrested two teens suspected of using the drug on December 28. The pair were found in downtown Bracebridge just before 3 a.m. One, a 19-year-old Gravenhurst man, had the drug in his possession and was charged, according to Bracebridge OPP. The other, a 15-year-old from Bracebridge, was warned and taken home to his parents. The drug, also known as E, Adam and 'the love drug' is usually peddled to youth, according to Bracebridge OPP Constable Ted Smith. [continues 522 words]
While the number of actual arrests may be small, the percentages are staggering. Reports from the Bracebridge and Huntsville detachments of the OPP indicate that cocaine trafficking and possession charges have risen by 500 per cent in Muskoka over the last four years. "There's been a definite upswing in the amount of activity that we're seeing," said Detective Constable John MacDonald, a member of the Muskoka Crime Unit working out of Bracebridge. "When I first arrived here eight years ago, it was unheard of." [continues 530 words]
Ted Smith's trial on charges of distributing marijuana-laced cookies at a pro-pot rally five years ago took three times as long as the sentence he received. The 36-year-old marijuana activist was sentenced to one day in jail Friday at the end of a three-day trial stemming from charges that were laid in November, 2000, when he arrived at a rally outside the Greater Victoria Public Library's main branch with more than 18 kilograms of chocolate chip cookies containing cannabis. [continues 578 words]
Marijuana activist Ted Smith was sentenced to one day in jail Friday, the lowest allowable sentence on his particular drug conviction for cannabis cookies. Justice R. Dean Wilson handed Smith the one-day sentence, rejecting Crown's call for nine months to be served in the community. Defence lawyer Robert Moore-Stewart told Wilson he would have asked for an absolute discharge but the Canadian Criminal Code doesn't allow that when the offence, like Smith's conviction, carries a maximum penalty of life. Moore-Stewart asked for the one day. [continues 441 words]
Analysis performed on cookies seized from marijuana activist Ted Smith indicates they contained too little active ingredients to have any effect, court heard Wednesday. "Basically my opinion is you probably couldn't get an effect, based on the deductions I have made," testified David Pate, a pharmaceutical chemist with a background in plant biology specializing in cannabis and its contained substances. The pony-tailed and long-bearded Pate was testifying as a witness for the defence in the B.C. Supreme Court trial of Leon (Ted) Smith, 36. [continues 292 words]
Chocolate chip cookies -- five years old and covered with mould -- were entered as evidence in the trial of Ted Smith, a marijuana activist. The cookies, 383 of them, were seized as evidence on Nov. 15, 2000, when police arrested Smith, a B.C. Supreme Court jury heard Tuesday. Smith, 36, is on trial facing a charge of possession of tetrahydrocannabinol (the substance commonly known as THC) for the purpose of trafficking. Victoria Police Const. Colin Ash brought the cookies, which he estimated weighed 40 to 50 pounds, into court inside several cardboard boxes. [continues 265 words]
Ted Smith, Victoria's most-arrested champion of medical marijuana, lost a constitutional challenge Friday to the pot charge he is facing next in court. B.C. Supreme Court Justice R.D. Wilson dismissed an application in which Smith's lawyer, Robert Moore-Stewart, attempted to contend Smith's rights, guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, were violated. Smith will go to court on Oct. 11, before a Supreme Court judge and jury, on a charge of possession of THC for the purpose of trafficking. He was arrested at a pro-marijuana rally, on Nov. 15, 2000. Police contended he was passing out marijuana cookies. [end]
VICTORIA -- Ted Smith, Victoria's high-profile champion of medical marijuana, has beaten a trafficking charge on appeal. Smith said on Friday the result is a relief for him and the other members of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers' Club, a compassion club that supplies marijuana to people who can prove they have an incurable medical condition. On Thursday, Smith received a letter from the federal Department of Justice saying it had reviewed his appeal and decided he should be granted a new trial. The Crown, however, has determined it will not proceed and will ask the Court of Appeal to enter an acquittal. [continues 87 words]
Ted Smith Says He Was Relieved By Decision Ted Smith, Victoria's high-profile champion for medical marijuana, has beaten a trafficking charge on appeal. Smith said Friday the result is a huge relief for him and the other members of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers' Club, a compassion club that supplies marijuana to people who can prove they have an incurable medical condition. "We're all very relieved," said the 35-year-old Smith. On Thursday, Smith received a letter from the federal Department of Justice saying it had reviewed his appeal and decided he should be granted a new trial. [continues 314 words]
I can understand Ted Smith's desire to find a provincial party that supports marijuana law changes. I support the federal NDP as they endorse an enlightened position. However, the provincial NDP and Liberals are unrepentant prohibitionists. Recently my attempt to create a provincial NDP position was thwarted. Under provincial rules, to create a resolution for a provincial convention it needs to be accepted by NDP members within your electoral district. Shortly before the last B.C. NDP convention I had a resolution approved by a majority in the district of Victoria-Beacon Hill (Leader Carole James's district). The resolution called for the provincial NDP to endorse the Canadian senate committee report in regards to provincial regulation. [continues 68 words]
Pot aroma wafts over City Hall in sixth annual joint jubilee Victoria's best-known pot advocate was one of the few who didn't light up Thursday afternoon outside City Hall. It's not that Ted Smith didn't want to join revelers in the annual marijuana 4/20 celebrations -- it's just that a few police officers were keeping an eye on Centennial Square, and Smith is already facing drug charges. Still, it didn't stop the former Victoria mayoralty candidate from being on hand to advocate freedom of cannabis use for recreation or medicinal purposes and a change in marijuana laws. [continues 440 words]
If the meeting held at the Bracebridge Rotary Centre for Youth last Wednesday was any indication, area parents, politicians, youth counsellors and business leaders are serious about doing some hard work on behalf of young people who take drugs. Bracebridge parent Mary Robertson, who is trying to curb what she sees as a rise in drug use by local youth, organized the meeting. "Our main goal is to raise children to be really responsible and productive adults," she told the audience of about 85 people. "We're seeing kids that are not heading toward that goal." [continues 322 words]
