To the editor: Starting with the assumption that drugs are chemical stupidity, marijuana is relatively harmless. Alcohol kills 40,000 Americans every year. Even in Fairbanks, drunk drivers have killed innocent children. Alcohol is involved in the majority of crimes in Alaska if you count fetal-alcohol-syndrome-related crimes. Tobacco kills 300,000 Americans every year. Tobacco is legal and unregulated because multinational corporations derive billions of dollars in profit. Americans are free to choose various kinds of stupidity, even if it kills them. Harry Karmun North Pole [end]
JUNEAU - The debate in the state capital building about Alaska's new marijuana law has caused some conservatives to side with an entity they generally abhor - the federal government. In the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday lawmakers who have spent much of the session pounding their chests over federal overreach pointed to federal laws for proof that marijuana is still illegal, regardless of what voters did last year. "Marijuana is illegal in this state because it's against federal law," said Sen. Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks. "I think the people of Alaska were lied to on that point. I think it needs to be clarified on the record that it's against federal law and nothing we do here is going to change federal law." [continues 617 words]
Six Now Head to Hearing Officer for OK; S.D.'S First Legal Shop to Open Mid-Month San Diego - Six proposed medical marijuana shops cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday as San Diego continues to move forward with allowing the city's first legal pot dispensaries to open. The City Council rejected environmental appeals filed against each of the dispensaries, moving them one step closer to receiving final approval from the San Diego Planning Commission. An Otay Mesa dispensary that got such approval in late January is expected to open in mid-March and become the city's first legal dispensary, a member of the shop's management team said Tuesday. [continues 555 words]
Dealers selling drugs to kids. They should be sent away for life. If one of the kids dies, they should get death themselves. - - James Christenson Willow [end]
More pot hits Manitou If you've heard some Dylan and now refuse to work on Maggie's Farm, there's new acreage in Manitou Springs. Emerald Fields (emeraldfields.com) tentatively plans to open on March 16 in the old Wild Ginger building at 27 Manitou Ave., becoming the town's second and final recreational marijuana store. Though the company currently operates a store in Glendale, the new outlet will become its flagship operation, says director of marketing Caitlin Murphy. "We're gonna have a huge selection of edibles, lots of great flower, different price tiers," she says. "Lots of great merchandise as well, for tourists, since Manitou's a big tourist spot." [continues 340 words]
In Federal Court, There's No Such Thing as Medical Marijuana-So a Rural Family of Medical Marijuana Patients Is Being Treated Like Drug Traffickers Before Rhonda Firestack-Harvey was part of a nationally watched court case that could change the course of the federal drug war, she lived quietly with her husband in their modest double-wide mobile home two hours northwest of Spokane. Rhonda suffers from carpal tunnel and osteoarthritis. In 2011, she got a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana for her achy joints. Her husband, Larry, also got medical authorization to use marijuana to treat pain caused by gout. Washington State was one of the very first states to approve medical marijuana, way back in 1998, and under state law, medical marijuana patients are allowed to grow their own medicine. When Rhonda and Larry started a grow on their property, Larry posted a sign with a green cross on it near the plants, hoping it would communicate to anyone flying over that this was a medical grow, not a criminal operation. [continues 2240 words]
At 76, the pater familias of the legalization movement won't slow down. I'll be honest. My expectations about a press conference with Tommy Chong, of the famous stoner duo Cheech & Chong, were that there would be some cliched humor, some pantomimed puffing, and photo ops galore for hippies of a bygone era. And there was some of that. But there was also something I didn't expect: a fresh perspective on the new pot movement. The reason Tommy Chong matters-and the reason I'm writing about his recent visit to Seattle's CannaCon-is that each and every time there's a mention of legalization or the counterculture or pot smoking, there's inevitably a reference to Cheech & Chong. Even if the name is never spoken, a haze of Cheech & Chong wafts through the mind. (See?!) [continues 726 words]
Sir Richard Branson and Nick Clegg are urging the UK to begin decriminalising the use and possession of almost all drugs, following the example of Portugal. The Virgin founder and deputy prime minister are to address a conference on fighting drug addiction today, and in an article on the Guardian website they write: "As an investment, the war on drugs has failed to deliver any returns. If it were a business, it would have been shut down a long time ago. This is not what success looks like. [continues 402 words]
IT'S nearly three years since I used this literary real estate to provoke conversation on the decriminalisation of drugs. I didn't know then if it was an appropriate response. I still don't. Watching convicted Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran being driven off yesterday in armoured vehicles to be executed was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. The talkback callers on Triple M's Hot Breakfast also made me think many things, none of which I had an answer for. Why should I care about a couple of greedy drug smugglers? [continues 754 words]
The Change Would Affect Large Operations. The city of Denver is proposing changes that would limit unlicensed, nonresidential marijuana cultivations to 36 plants. The officials behind the proposed change, which chiefly would affect oversized collective grows and caregivers with a large number of plants, hope the amendment would make for safer conditions, clearer law enforcement options and fewer opportunities for untracked marijuana to escape into the black or gray markets. The City Council's Safety and Well-being Committee unanimously approved the proposal Tuesday, but members including Robin Kniech and Albus Brooks voiced worry that the rules don't go far enough. The unlicensed, nonresidential grows exist in the cracks of Colorado's marijuana legalization amendments, and they suggested exploring a new kind of licensing for those that are allowed by state regulations. [continues 212 words]
High-Value Crop Would Be for Research and Development, Not for Sale SANTA FE (AP) - The New Mexico Senate has given a thumbs-up to allowing farmers in the state to grow industrial hemp for research only. The Senate voted 33-8 Monday to approve Albuquerque Democrat Sen. Cisco McSorley's legislation. The federal government currently allows growing hemp for research. A bill pending in Congress would approve cultivation for commercial production as well. The state will be poised to capitalize on the drought-resistant plant as a cash crop once federal restrictions are lifted, McSorley said. Farming groups have supported the legislation because of ongoing drought in the state and hemp's potential as a cash crop. [continues 250 words]
After just five days of pot being legal in the nation's capital, the D.C. Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve new limits on marijuana use. The legislation introduced last week by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) prohibits smoking in bars, clubs and virtually anywhere outside a private home where people could gather. Although Bowser stood up to Congress last week and legalized marijuana over threats of jail time from House Republicans, the mayor immediately asked for the new curbs. She said they are needed to close a loophole in a voter-approved ballot measure that could allow clubs with membership fees and access to the drug to form in the city. [continues 673 words]
Adam Eidinger was flying high. As chairman of the DC Cannabis Campaign, he helped spearhead the push to legalize marijuana in the nation's capital. When the law went into effect Thursday, he retreated to his campaign headquarters and took a victory toke, then another and another. Now, just a few days later, Eidinger is feeling low. On Tuesday, the D.C. Council passed emergency legislation - offered by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) - that Eidinger says will undermine some provisions of the original law and hamper further liberalization of marijuana use. [continues 631 words]
Regarding your recent report on heroin overdoses, I applaud Gov. Larry Hogan's efforts to reduce such deaths ("Hogan wades into Maryland's long battle against heroin," Feb. 28). As a treatment professional, we are facing a much more complex problem than drug use. Addiction is a powerful thing, and the governor's new approach is anything but more of the same. Treatment and prevention lie at the heart of the work ahead. The advocacy community and families impacted by the opioid epidemic approached Mr. Hogan several months ago to share their concerns regarding the devastating impact addiction is having on communities. However, the early coverage of Mr. Hogan's plan harked back to his election campaign and politicized the issue. [continues 164 words]
Homes Currently Only Legal Place for Usage The D.C. Council on Tuesday barred private clubs from allowing marijuana usage on their premises, dashing the hopes of some pot entrepreneurs who sought to host events where patrons could partake and share with others. The emergency legislation, which passed unanimously and takes immediate effect, says any business that violates the law could have its business license revoked. It clarifies pot legalization laws that took effect five days ago. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser sought the measure to close a loophole in the voter-approved ballot measure, Initiative 71, that she believed left room for clubs to potentially charge membership fees for access to pot parties. [continues 450 words]
Editor: Republican Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, demonstrated proof he doesn't understand history regarding government's effort to prohibit cannabis (marijuana) by inferring Colorado's actions an "experiment." In fact, like the original prohibition with alcohol, known as the Grand Experiment, the sequel with cannabis prohibition is indeed the "experiment." More accurately, cannabis prohibition, the act of government caging humans for using a relatively safe God-given plant has been a Luciferous Frankenstein experiment at best. Colorado isn't experimenting in re-legalizing cannabis but rather we ended the experiment, and in doing so ended one America's worst policy failures in history. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
KIRKLAND LAKE - Cannabis crusaders will be demonstrating in Kirkland Lake today in support of a local shop owner whose store was raided by police last month. A rally is planned in front of the Tripping Daisy at 22 Lebel Ave at 5 p.m. in support of owner Darren Delaney, who says police seized about $25,000 in merchandise that can be used for marijuana consumption. British Columbia cannabis activist Dana Larsen and Toronto medical cannabis activist Matt Mernagh will be leading the gathering. They plan to rally in front of Delaney's store before marching on to the Kirkland Lake OPP detachment. They will then gather at Kirkland Lake Inn and Suites for speeches. [continues 252 words]
If Americans and political leaders honestly care to lower heroin addiction rates ("War on heroin starts with teens," Feb. 27 and "Hogan creates two panels for fight against heroin," Feb. 25), they should end cannabis (marijuana) prohibition. An important reason to end cannabis prohibition that doesn't get mentioned is because it increases hard drug addiction rates by putting citizens who choose to use the relatively safe God-given plant into contact with people who often also sell hard drugs. Furthermore, government claims heroin is no worse than cannabis - and that methamphetamine and cocaine are less harmful drugs - by insisting marijuana is a Schedule I substance alongside heroin, while methamphetamine and cocaine are only Schedule II substances. [continues 51 words]
In the United States , where doctors write more than 250 million prescriptions for painkillers a year, the frequency of abuse and overdose represents a public health crisis. More than 15,000 Americans died from an overdose of prescription opioids in 2013. In other parts of the world, however, the crisis is that strong painkillers such as morphine aren't available at all. More than 70% of the world's population live in countries with no access to opioids. That has been the case in India, where I am a palliative care physician. [continues 625 words]
When it comes to marijuana, Washington comes off as the granny state of recreational pot when compared with Colorado. Let's face it, the rollout here has been glacial. As of last week, Seattle had just nine state-licensed stores. Nine. But change is coming to this state's nascent marijuana experiment. A major player is poised to enter the market. Some of this state's most business-savvy Native American tribes are evaluating the risks and opportunity to grow or sell marijuana, as well as the relatively untapped potential in medical-marijuana research. [continues 654 words]
TAMPA - Not so long ago, they ran what authorities described as the most active pill mill in the United States, and now they are getting out from under long prison sentences by helping prosecutors jail other pill pushers. In the process, they're pulling back the curtain, showing jurors what it was like at what has been called ground zero for pill mills, the prescription narcotic equivalent to the "cocaine cowboy" days in South Florida. The Tampa Bay Wellness Centre was so popular, according to court testimony, and was drawing so many patients that parking had become a serious issue. [continues 1909 words]
The District of Columbia has joined an exclusive American club: Residents of the nation's capital can now legally grow and consume recreational marijuana in their homes. Some members of Congress are threatening to intervene. But as of Thursday the District had joined Colorado, Alaska and Washington state in permitting the general public to use marijuana. While Colorado and Washington are reaping the tax benefits of a regulated industry with hundreds of retail stores, D.C. residents must either grow their own or get it for free. [continues 478 words]
"Park Ranger" (not an actual park ranger) wonders about herb and the great outdoors: "What's the regulation or position for state parks and pot? I ask this question because I live right at the door of Chugach State Park. So if public consumption and sales are illegal in Anchorage, whoever smokes or eats brownies can just go for a hike around Flattop and such? Or does Alaska State Parks have some regulations now?" To answer this question, first we'll need a bit of definition. [continues 611 words]
The letter by Ms. Coltellaro (ADN, March 2) is admirable for its belligerent defense of her interpretation of the Ballot Measure 2 law regarding legal marijuana use. However, she must have skipped Section 17.38.110 of that measure, the section entitled "Local Control." This section sets forth the steps that local governments may take to adapt the marijuana laws to their own situations or preferences. I admire Wasilla for immediately taking the initiative and enacting its own controls - and I deplore the fact that so few other local governments have done so. The attempt to do so by one Anchorage Assembly member was instantly shot down by others with dollar signs blinding their foresight. [continues 72 words]
Kevin Coe's point is well taken ("Sorry, high rollers," ADN, Feb. 27). However, with hundreds of regulated stores selling cannabis in Colorado, we're talking mere technicalities. Although Uncle Sam couldn't care less what Colorado's (Washington, Oregon and Alaska included) constitution reads, in reality Colorado, and the entire nation more strongly, could care less what Uncle Sam believes. Further and more important, God indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants saying they're all good on literally the very first page of the Bible and God's law trumps U.S. Constitution law. Technically, then, cannabis has never been illegal. American's level of contempt for the discredited prohibition of cannabis renders the federal government insignificant. Cannabis prohibition is over. - - Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A House committee is trying to determine how much pot can be grown at one house. The House Community and Regional Affairs Committee will consider a 12-plant limit for each house as part of its bill addressing municipalities' role in regulating marijuana. The voter initiative allows an individual to possess up to six plants, three of which can be mature. An aide to Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, chair of that committee, said municipalities have raised concerns about how many plants can be grown at a household with multiple people, and the limit was meant to provide clarity. [continues 199 words]
The fate of three people accused of growing and dealing marijuana out of their rural Stevens County home will soon be in the hands of a federal jury. Those 12 people may also decide the future of federal prosecutions targeting marijuana growers. A Washington, D.C., civil rights attorney representing Rhonda Firestack-Harvey, Rolland Gregg and Michelle Gregg made an impassioned plea to jurors Monday afternoon to throw out what he called an "overzealous, overreaching" case built by federal prosecutors. "They roped in this innocent family," said Phil Tefleyan, who has taken the lead in the trial of the so-called "Kettle Falls Five," which is now down to three. They face drug and firearms charges that carry mandatory prison sentences of more than a decade. [continues 552 words]
If marijuana is a gateway drug what is baby aspirin? If marijuana was truly being treated like a medicine, where are the privacy protections that come with all drugs? Do you need a state sponsored card to eat your anti depressants? Your sleeping pills? Daniel Hackett, Marysville [end]
Steve Siebold's point is well taken ("Time To Legalize Marijuana," Feb. 28), however, the problem isn't the war on drugs but rather the war on a relatively safe God-given plant... More specifically a war against the "spirit of truth." Stan White, Dillon, Colorado [end]
Marijuana Convention in D.C. Helps Put Growers in Business Legally Part patchouli, part power suit, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts gathered over the weekend for the District's first cannabis convention since the city legalized recreational marijuana - offering a glimpse of the emerging markets that could take hold in the nation's capital. Although the faint smell of marijuana hung over the Southwest D.C. hotel's exhibition hall - where attendees could get tips on how to grow it, buy products to smoke it and speak with consultants on how to market it - nowhere could it be found. [continues 820 words]
R.I. Growers Can Attest to Perils of New Market PORTSMOUTH, R.I. - A tiny spider mite is all it could take to cripple Seth Bock's business. Bock grows marijuana, legally, for a living, and the peril presented by just one small insect illustrates how difficult it can be to establish a thriving dispensary. His is one of three medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island, and his experience provides vital lessons for companies in Massachusetts that have won licenses to grow and sell marijuana. The first is expected to open in April. [continues 1124 words]
Marijuana legalization took effect Tuesday in Alaska, and a last week the Unalaska City Council voted to amend city ordinances to reflect the new reality, though with tight restrictions on public use. The council voted 6-0 in a special meeting Friday morning, Feb. 20, to have the new rules in effect when legalization arrived a few days later. The new rules set $100 fines for smoking pot in public and for consumption by persons under 21 years of age. Former City Councilor Dennis Robinson said the council should respect local voters' 57 percent approval of Ballot Measure 2 allowing the possession of 1 ounce of marijuana in November. That's when they disregarded the city council's dire warnings. In a Oct. 28 resolution, the city council opposed legalization as an "extreme measure" and "a step backward." [continues 420 words]
In regard to Wasilla enacting strict new marijuana rules: Will that town be micromanaging gun laws as well? America. Home of the opinionated. If you really want to do something impressive, Wasilla dear, why don't you close your bars? By the way, what's your take on the gay marriage thing? Would my sister and her wife be allowed to walk on your streets? When the majority passes a law, you are just as bound to it as anyone. It seems incredibly illegal of you to think you can simply circumvent the majority rule. I, for one, am most assuredly speaking out. - -- Susan Coltellaro Fairbanks [end]
SPOKANE - Federal prosecutors in Spokane are trying to convince a jury that a cancerstricken man and his family were illegally growing and distributing marijuana on their northeastern Washington property despite claims by the "Kettle Falls Five" that they were instead raising legal medical cannabis for their personal use. The case against Larry Harvey's family has become a cause celebre among the marijuana community, which sees it as a disconnect between state and federal marijuana laws. Washington state last summer allowed legal recreational sales, although the raid on the Harvey home happened in August 2012. And Congress late last year effectively barred the Justice Department from interfering with states that have medical marijuana systems. [continues 203 words]
I am fully supportive of the proposed House Bill 5892. I think it is important that Connecticut legislators be aware of the positive changes that could potentially take place for many families, should this bill be passed. Unfortunately, I know of many ill children who could benefit from the use of medical marijuana if it were legal. It is extremely disheartening that many families have to be displaced and act as "refugees" in order to properly care for their ill loved ones. The use of medical marijuana has been extremely effective for many children just like Cyndimae Meehan, in ways that traditional anti-epileptic drugs have not. [continues 94 words]
Amid all the uncertainties surrounding the legalization of marijuana in the District of Columbia, a few things are clear. Among them is that Congress has better things to do than meddle in the purely local affairs of the District. That District officials and employees have been threatened with jail, by no less than the chairman of a powerful congressional committee, for their good-faith efforts to follow a voter mandate, is utterly inexcusable. Such a spectacle - and the fact that the District is under congressional attack for undertaking virtually the same steps as its counterparts in Colorado, Washington and, most recently, Alaska - should bring home to the rest of the country the need to redress the historic injustice of the city's limited political powers. [continues 261 words]
Bill to Allow Nonsmoking Use Wins Bipartisan Support A Delaware County Democratic senator continues the push to legalize medical marijuana, but dual-party support might not be enough to push along the legislation. The bill, Senate Bill 3, was presented by Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17, of Upper Merion, and Republican Sen. Mike Folmer, R-48, of Lebanon, at the Senate Government Committee hearing Wednesday. It garnered bipartisan support in the Senate for the second time. "Today's hearing made it clear that we can create a medical cannabis protocol in the commonwealth that is among the best in the country," Leach said in a prepared statement after the hearing. [continues 636 words]
A FORMER UK Government adviser has said Scots should go Dutch and open cannabis cafes. Professor David Nutt, who has advised the Department of Health, said it could be "very good" for the economy. Prof Nutt sacked by the UK Government in 2009 for saying horse riding was more dangerous than ecstasy also blasted plans to ban legal highs. Speaking ahead of a talk in Edinburgh, Prof Nutt said: "If Scotland had a sensible medical cannabis policy you'd get a lot of health tourists and that would be very good for your economy. People could have a cuppa in cafes in Edinburgh and Glasgow and have a spliff as they do in Amsterdam." [end]
10-Year-Old Suffers Rare Kind of Epilepsy Family Says Extract Could Ease Her Seizures BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Ten-year-old Alexis Carey has a rare but intractable form of epilepsy, Dravet Syndrome. The genetic disease causes severe and multiple seizures, which often leave parents guessing if the terror of watching their child seize up will pass or turn fatal. Her Boise, Idaho, family learned that oil extracted from marijuana had helped other children and wanted to see if it would help Alexis, too. [continues 564 words]
Trying to find help for a child who doesn't want it tough for parents Tough love can hurt. Susan (not her real name) says she did everything she could to get help for her young son who was suffering from mental health problems and drug addiction. None of it worked and the last time she saw her 17-year-old son was on Dec. 7, when he left home to live in Youth Haven, a shelter in Barrie for teens in crisis. [continues 885 words]
A psychedelic response to post-traumatic stress In an extraordinary project, local research scientists and therapists, specializing in newly resurgent psychedelic medicine, are seeking to confirm what others elsewhere have recently discovered. It appears that highly illegal ecstasy-MDMA- helps people overcome the living hell of treatment-resistant PTSD. In two studies done in Switzerland and the U.S., it has been shown that pure MDMA, plus intensive psychotherapy, can cure people whose lives have been shattered by horrific traumas, ones that-even after years-keep returning in flashbacks and nightmares. [continues 482 words]
Good for the North Dakota House defeating legalizing medicinal use of marijuana (aka 'pot'). The legislator who introduced the bill made the uneducated argument that "this is not a drug issue but a quality of life issue for the people of North Dakota." Oh, really. In a western state where now pot is legally obtainable, my grandson, at age 11, was introduced to pot on his school campus. Last year, at 171/2 years of age, he entered a youth rehabilitation facility for 45 days at the parent's expense. [continues 111 words]
Your Feb. 15 editorial "No cartel" is spot on, and Ohio voters should pay close attention. Legalization of marijuana in Ohio for whatever use is inevitable. But if ResponsibleOhio's ballot initiative succeeds, Ohio's constitution would be amended to establish a monopoly of growers, testers, and distributors. My first objection when I heard of the proposed 11 investors was: Who picked these people, and why them? Why was this opportunity not open to any potential investor willing to abide by state regulations? [continues 112 words]
A proposal to collect DNA from people convicted of some misdemeanors is a bad idea. Less than three months ago, California voters adopted Proposition 47, an initiative that reduced six felonies to misdemeanors. By far, most of the affected crimes are for drug possession. It's not always easy to glean a clear statement from such a vote beyond the basic fact of it: Voters wanted those crimes to be treated as misdemeanors instead of felonies. Still, it's a fairly safe assumption that voters wanted their criminal justice resources to be focused less on crimes they considered less serious, especially drug possession. [continues 636 words]
Drug Crop Eradication Devastates the Environment and Forces Producers Underground, Often to Areas With Fragile Ecosystems. UNITED NATIONS, (IPS) - As the call for the decriminalisation of drugs steadily picks up steam worldwide, a new study by a British charity concludes there has been no significant reduction in the global use of illicit drugs since the creation of three key UN anti-drug conventions, the first of which came into force over half a century ago. "Illicit drugs are now purer, cheaper, and more widely used than ever," says the report, titled Casualties of War: How the War on Drugs is Harming the World's Poorest, released Thursday by the London-based Health Poverty Action. [continues 688 words]
How many more prisons will we build before we wake up? Intoxication is intoxication. Alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, cocaine-there is no difference. People choose to alter their consciousness. Get over it. Forty years of a war on drugs hasn't reduced the use or abuse of anything. It's time to look past the moralizing and accept reality. Getting high is not a criminal act. What we fear, the force behind prohibition, is the fear that an intoxicated person will harm others. [continues 175 words]
When it comes to marijuana, the majority of young Republicans are far closer to the Democratic view than they are to older members of their own party. Pew poll data shows 63 percent of Millennial Republicans - those born between 1981 and 1996 - support legalized marijuana. That's a higher percentage than Generation X and Silent Generation Democrats. Boomer Democrats still have young Republicans beat, and the gap of support between Boomer Democrats and Republicans is the largest of any age group at 28 points. Overall, Republicans are not supportive of legalization. As of October, only 31 percent of all Republicans supported it. [continues 212 words]
(An editorial from the Toronto Star distributed by The Canadian Press.) Quebec's education minister has stepped back from defending the strip-searching of a 15-year-old girl at school. Provincial officials now say they'll review rules that were used to justify taking such an extreme measure. But what's there to review? Young people should not be strip-searched by school officials. Period. Rather than acknowledging the obvious, however, and admitting that staff at a high school in the Quebec City area had gone too far, Education Minister Yves Bolduc initially cited security concerns in an attempt to justify the search. [continues 233 words]
How would you feel if your daughter was ordered to strip naked by her teachers and wrongfully accused of selling drugs? When news broke that a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Quebec City was forced to remove her clothing to prove she was not carrying drugs I couldn't help but think of my daughter when she was that age. The girl was accused of dealing pot after a teacher confiscated her phone and went through her text messages, in one of which she had joked about selling marijuana. [continues 460 words]
Conditional sentence for pot grow-op A so-called Freeman on the Land will not have to plant his roots in jail following a conviction for running a marijuana grow operation. Scott Peters was given a 13-month conditional sentence Thursday that allows him to remain free in the community. He was placed on daily house arrest and must perform 100 hours of community-service work. The Crown was seeking up to six months behind bars for Peters, who was convicted by a jury last month following a bizarre, three-day trial. [continues 287 words]
