A suspicious Calgary landlord whose tenants avoided meeting her discovered they were hiding a huge marijuana operation on her property. Police seized nearly 750 pot plants, with a street value of $750,000, in a house at 127 Douglas Glen Close S.E.-- a quiet neighbourhood with a children's play park right outside its front door. "She had made arrangements to meet and the tenant kept cancelling, and then said they weren't living there any more," said Sgt. Howard Burns. [continues 162 words]
Recalls Nibbling on Brownies With 'Strange Taste' THE PRIME minister was never a pothead but he admits to nibbling on a hash brownie or two in his youth. Paul Martin, in a year-end interview with CTV, was asked whether he ever smoked marijuana. "I never smoked anything," Martin said. But he did say his wife Sheila once baked some tasty brownies. "I will tell you that there was an earlier time many years ago when Sheila made brownies and I must say they did have a strange taste." [continues 410 words]
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Paul Martin has pledged to revive the government's moribund marijuana legislation early in the New Year, but it may only bear a passing resemblance to the bill tabled by the Chretien government this fall. The new bill will still impose fines instead of criminal convictions for simple possession, but it's expected to feature stiffer penalties for pot growers and repeat offenders. Martin said he also favours higher fines for possession and stricter limits on the maximum permitted amounts. [continues 567 words]
Despite all its fulminations about wiping out the global drug trade, the US government is once again turning a blind eye to the trade when some of its key allies are the ones overseeing the drug running. The country in question is Afghanistan, by far the world's largest opium producer, and the allies with dirty hands are some of that violence-torn country's warlords. Despite longstanding allegations linking warlords including Abdul Rashid Dostum and Ustad Attas Mohammed to the opium trade, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld publicly embraced the pair at a meeting in Afghanistan early this month. [continues 1906 words]
The laid-back life of the enclave of Christiania is under threat from a resurgent Danish Right, reports Jason Burke in Copenhagen It's Christmas in Christiania. There are trees outside the meeting house, a Santa near the commune's archives and above the array of Moroccan, Afghan or Lebanese cannabis resin, are strings of fairy lights. But the people of Christiania, a 30-year-old self-governing commune in central Copenhagen, are far from jolly. There is a sense of unease in the chill, damp air that drifts in off the Baltic and the North Sea. For the 1,000 strong 'alternative community' knows this Christmas may be its last. [continues 1113 words]
A hearing officer is deciding whether a London police officer should be found guilty of misconduct after a botched drug raid left a pet dog dead. The Ontario Civilian Commission of Police Services ordered the hearing after concluding Det. Const. Lou Lovsin may have committed a serious misconduct when inaccurate information from a confidential informant was used to obtain a search warrant. Lovsin pleaded not guilty yesterday. The internal tribunal, headed by hearing officer Neil Sweeney, is looking at whether Lovsin took proper measures to confirm the veracity of the informant's tip. [continues 499 words]
Police Chief Brian Collins Says the Operations Present a Genuine Fire Risk. Hot on the heels of a provincial report detailing the huge increase in residential marijuana operations since 2000, London police seized $1 million in pot. The seizure yesterday -- in addition to a $340,000 pot bust Wednesday -- proves the problem of home-grow operations has moved into London neighbourhoods, police Chief Brian Collins says. "This is a crime taking place in our residential areas and posing risks to our citizens," Collins said yesterday. "This is something you can't have in the community." [continues 339 words]
Marijuana-growing equipment that was seized during a police search likely will be returned to a Hayden resident by next Tuesday. But whether the 2 ounces of marijuana and seeds that also were seized from the man who uses the drug for medicinal purposes will be returned remains to be seen, officials from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said. Routt County Judge James Garrecht ruled earlier this month that the drugs and equipment should be returned to 57-year-old Don Nord by Dec. 29. The ruling had to account for conflicting state and federal rules. According to state law, marijuana can be grown and used by people with certain medical conditions. But under federal law, the drug is illegal. [continues 341 words]
'Let My Dying Mom Out of Prison' "I don't want my mommy to die in that place by herself. I want her to come home first so we can hug her and take lots of pictures together. Will you please let her come home before God takes her to His home? Please?" -- Karma Dias, 10 During the holidays, Karma Dias, like most of us, will be spending time with her family and loved ones. But unless a judge shows compassion, Karma's mother will not be there, because she is dying in prison. [continues 603 words]
TORONTO -- Indoor marijuana-growing operations pose an increasing threat to public safety and cost consumers millions of dollars in stolen electricity and insurance costs, concludes a study by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. "This study rips the veil off this often concealed criminal activity," said association president Chief Ean Algar following release of the study yesterday. "Commercial marijuana-grow operations are found in urban and rural communities. They're located in residential areas. They are largely controlled by organized crime, endanger children and their families and cost our economy millions of dollars in stolen electricity." [continues 163 words]
LIMA (AP)--Unidentified assailants brutally beat a U.S. journalist investigating the eradication of cocaine-producing coca shrubs in the Peruvian jungle, the foreign press club said Wednesday. Sharon Stevenson, a freelance correspondent who has worked for Newsweek magazine, Voice of America and CNN, was suffering from amnesia but was in stable condition and was expected to make a slow recovery, said Mary Powers, president of the Foreign Press Association of Peru. Stevenson, 57, was beaten and strangled on Dec. 10 after she went to meet with sources. [continues 184 words]
Principal at East Says Dogs, Officers Help Enforce Rules Kernersville Principal Patricia Gainey of East Forsyth High School says it is unfortunate that a student was arrested on drug charges last week after a pound of marijuana was found in a car on the school's parking lot. But the arrest also sends a message that students and parents need to hear, Gainey said. "I think it is a great sign that we are sending the message that wherever it is, we are going to find it," Gainey said. "It says that we are drug free and that if you want an education, you are going to play by our rules or go somewhere else." [continues 407 words]
A former Londoner who defied marijuana laws from his Richmond Street store will have his challenge decided Tuesday by the Supreme Court of Canada. Chris Clay, who sold marijuana seedlings from his downtown Hemp Nation store, has asked the court to strike down laws that criminalize pot possession, one of three related cases the Supreme Court will rule on next week. Clay has argued laws that criminalize pot violate the Charter of Rights because using pot for recreation is harmless. But his argument was rejected by a trial judge in London and the Ontario Court of Appeals, which ruled the use of pot was not of sufficient importance to trigger protections in the charter. [continues 370 words]
GULFPORT - The company that makes OxyContin is offering a $25,000 grant if Harrison County will pay remaining costs for a prescription drug abuse prevention program. Purdue Pharma is offering the grant in partnership with a science-based program that studies a community's risks among youths, offers training and plans specific actions. OxyContin, a painkiller, is associated with a growing number of overdoses and related abuse problems. A cross-section of leaders from related agencies heard details Thursday. The committee agreed that they need more information before making a decision. They also will need at least $15,000 for related costs. [continues 901 words]
