Perhaps Gov. Charlie Crist was thinking of Harry T. Moore when he forced Florida to shake off its Jim Crow past by automatically restoring civil rights to all but the most violent felons who have served their sentences. Moore, a teacher and field secretary for the Florida NAACP, and his wife Harriette were killed in their beds Christmas night in 1951. Their home in Mims near Titusville was bombed - apparently in retaliation for his relentlessness in registering black voters and fighting for an end to the all-white primary, as well as his push to stop lynchings and other horrors and indignities that held a ghastly grip on black people's lives. [continues 620 words]
VANCOUVER (CP) - It's a familiar scene on TV newscasts: wads of cash, rows of guns and bags full of drugs displayed neatly on a table by police officers seemingly posing by their latest set of trophies. One more drug bust, another haul, and big-time traffickers facing the prospect of hefty jail time. But some former law enforcement officials in Canada and the United States who have spent years fighting the ongoing war on drugs say it's a losing battle. [continues 872 words]
HOUSTON -- A shortage of federal prosecutors and an emphasis on immigration violations has pulled resources away from prosecuting drug smugglers, according to memos released by the Justice Department. Federal prosecutors in southern Arizona declined to prosecute some marijuana smugglers carrying less than 500 pounds, according to the memos, which were released as part of the investigation into the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Memos show federal officials warning that the thresholds were "simply going to be a fact of life" because U.S. attorneys' offices along the border were "absolutely stretched to the limit." [continues 279 words]
It seems to me that the RCMP have sold Yellowknife city council a bottle of snake oil in the form of drug free zones (Drug-free Zone Launched, April 11). How will a drug free zone help? Does not drug prohibition already make Canada a drug free zone? By placing a drug free zone around a school, police are indicating that they are going to arrest and punish teenagers harder than the rest of the drug users in Yellowknife. In other words, Yellowknife has decided that teenagers can be the scapegoat for the sins of the parents. With more than 50 per cent of Canadians reporting that they have used marijuana in the previous year, teenagers can't be the principle problem. [continues 132 words]
Last week marked the 30th anniversary of Madison's ordinance that legalized the possession of small amounts of pot or hash in a private residence. This rule conflicts with state and federal laws, but the Madison ordinance was influential in relaxing marijuana laws around the nation. Hopefully, Wisconsin will legalize medical marijuana sometime soon, as roughly 80% of Wisconsin residents would like to see happen. But Rep. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa), head of the Assembly Committee on Health and Health Care Reform, isn't so compassionate. "This is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to legalize marijuana, which is not going to happen on my watch," she told a Madison paper. [end]
Community professionals gathered at the University of Western Ontario Research Park Tuesday to tackle a growing local substance abuse problem. Statistics show drug and alcohol abuse is increasing in southwestern Ontario, which translates into increased spending on health care, policing and court services, said Dave Brown, executive director of the United Way, which organized the event in partnership with the research park. Recovering drug user Jay Fewkes, 27, of the Kitchener area, was among the 50 people who attended and made suggestions for an action plan. The group included police officers, members of the Crown attorneys' office and treatment agency workers. [continues 161 words]
OTTAWA -- The federal government charges patients 15 times more for certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the weed in bulk from its official supplier, newly released documents show. Critics say it's unconscionable to charge that high a markup to some of the country's sickest citizens, who have little income and are often cut off from their medical marijuana supply when they can't pay their government dope bills. Records obtained under the Access to Information Act show that Health Canada pays $328.75 for each kilogram of bulk medical marijuana produced by Prairie Plant Systems Inc. [continues 193 words]
A decade of Labour's war on drugs has done nothing to curb the misery and crime caused by abuse, a research group declared yesterday. Propaganda campaigns, law enforcement and imprisonment for drug dealers have had no effect on levels of drug use, it said. Police activity against drug markets and seizures of smuggled drugs have resulted only in lower street prices. The scathing criticism came in a report by the UK Drug Policy Commission, an independently funded group which intends to press the Government to try harder to tackle huge levels of damage caused by drug users. [continues 587 words]
Digby area firefighters learned a lot about growing marijauna and cooking methamphetamines last week. Three officers from special RCMP drug units spoke at the Digby Fire Hall on Tuesday, March 27 about the dangers of grow ops and meth labs. "If you take anything out of this lecture," said Constable Paul Robinson, "it should be just how dangerous these labs are. These are life threatening. If you open a door and see what you think is a lab, just turn around and walk out." [continues 730 words]
City Businessman Wants To Grow Poppies To Reduce Reliance On Imports Of Medicinal Drugs A Lethbridge businessman hoping to bring poppy farming to Canada has received enthusiastic support from the city. "I have a lot of enthusiasm for this project," Mayor Bob Tarleck said earlier this week when Glen Metzler asked council for its support. Tarleck said the new crop would decrease the amount of medicinal drugs Canada must import and increase jobs locally. And while he is concerned poppies could "get in the hands of bike gangs and organized crime," he said security issues would be addressed by government authorities. [continues 408 words]
