Easy or not (editorial: Legalizing Pot Not That Easy, Dec. 26), it's time to do whatever it takes to legalize and regulate the extremely popular, God-given (see the first page of the Bible) plant, cannabis (marijuana). Cannabis prohibition has not done anything productive and has only caused problems at every facet. A sane argument to perpetuate the plant's prohibition doesn't exist. It's simply a government-subsidized jobs programs for prohibitionists. Ending cannabis prohibition is one of the most important issues of our time. Stan White, Dillon, Colo. [end]
Dear Editor: More than $100 million worth of electricity is stolen from B.C. Hydro every year, with much of it stolen to power marijuana grow-ops. As an honest B.C. Hydro customer, it makes me more than just a little unhappy to know that people are stealing electricity. It makes me even more unhappy to know that the cost of all that stolen electricity gets added to the hydro bills of honest B.C. Hydro customers like you and me. [continues 189 words]
An editorial in the Vancouver Province: What is going on in the Lower Mainland? We're supposed to be enjoying a season of peace and goodwill. Instead, we've been hit with a string of five tragic and seemingly pointless homicides. The strong suspicion is that at least some of these killings are related to our region's violent underground drug trade, which continues to thrive, despite repeated police warnings. Why do so many Lower Mainlanders become involved in this deadly business? [continues 175 words]
Logical Objections Valid But The Need To Save Lives Should Take A Higher Priority; The Sites Should Be Opened Soon The Tremblay administration has given conditional support this month to the city getting its first legal druginjection site - a clean, well-lighted place inside of which drug users could shoot up cocaine, heroin or anything else, with a nurse on hand to supervise. Indeed, city hall wants three - count 'em, three - such sites. Plus, for good measure, a large van could travel around the city offering the same service to a less mobile clientele. [continues 668 words]
Sea To Sky Health Officer Supports Legalization Movement It has been one of the most debated issues in the country and this past week the legalize marijuana movement got some added support with the Health Officers' Council (HOC) of B.C. saying now is the time for legalization. As an organization made up of public health physicians, the HOC's endorsement of a new report by the community health and wellness group, Stop the Violence B.C., adds an educated voice to the side of marijuana legalization proponents. One of those voices is Paul Martiquet, medical health officer of the Sea to Sky region for Vancouver Coastal Health. [continues 551 words]
Doctors, mayors, politicians, police and over 50 per cent of the population know marijuana must and will be legalized and regulated. A sane or rational argument to perpetuate one of North America's worst policy failures in history doesn't exist. Cannabis prohibition causes increased hard-drug addiction rates, crime, erosion of human rights, contempt for laws and does nothing productive. Nothing. It's time to remove the obstacles (read politicians) that stand in the way of ending the historically discredited war against the God-given plant. Right now, cannabis is regulated by the black market and until that changes, crime rates will only increase. Ending cannabis prohibition is one of the most important issues of our time. Stan White, Dillon, Colo. [end]
The World Drug Report 2011, published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, shows that the rate of deaths where drugs were the primary cause, per million of population aged between 15 and 64, was 16 times higher in the U.S. and eight times higher in Canada than it was in Holland. The U.S. approach to drug use is highly punitive, the Canadian approach is somewhat less punitive, while the Dutch approach prefers harm reduction. Similarly, the percentage of the population (15 to 64) who use cannabis annually is 13.7 per cent in the U.S., 12.6 per cent in Canada, but only 5.4 per cent in Holland "" in spite of the fact that Dutch citizens can openly enjoy cannabis in coffee shops. [continues 128 words]
Years ago, the famous group The Beatles sang "oeLet it Be" "" code words for running from our problems by smoking marijuana which they termed "oeMother Mary." Now, thanks to some people here, we can be assured of enduring indifference to any pain or anything else through "oeMother Mary" "" medicinal marijuana. A new brave clinic has opened its doors for "oesuffering patients," who can claim a need for this marvelous miracle for self-induced Nirvana "" complete indifference to whatever is, or may be happening, to us or around us. [continues 132 words]
What is going on in the Lower Mainland? We're supposed to be enjoying a season of peace and goodwill to all men. But instead, we've been hit with a string of tragic and seemingly pointless homicides. In four days, four people have died in separate shootings in Surrey and Langley. A fifth was gunned down Dec. 14 in Vancouver. The strong suspicion is that at least some of these killings are related to our region's violent underground drug trade, which continues to thrive, despite repeated police warnings. [continues 207 words]
No one wants to live in a home with a shady history. But how can buyers be confident their new dream home isn't damaged by an illicit past like a drug lab? Citizens have a variety of tools to keep them from being burned by a marijuana grow operation. A host of problems can arise from growing illegal marijuana indoors. High humidity causes toxic mould to grow in the walls. Re-wired electrical systems illegally bypass the hydro meter, and can create fire hazards. A home's structure is often damaged by holes cut for equipment or rotted from the heat. Harsh chemicals can make the home unlivable. [continues 418 words]
Re: 'Pot regulation makes sense' (Daily News, Nov. 30) There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of life-shattering criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will continue to come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. [continues 75 words]
Grow-Ops Targeted, Legal or Otherwise Mission RCMP are warning people who grow medical or illegal marijuana that they and their plants may be targets of organized crime, or "grow rips." "We really do believe it's an organized group of individuals targeting all types of marihuana grow-ops in Mission. We're concerned because we've observed a growing level of violence during grow rips," said RCMP Cpl. Sharon Siluch. Criminals are prepared to use force in order to subdue occupants and steal the pot crops, she said. [continues 273 words]
A complaint of police misconduct by a woman strip-searched for drugs in the washroom of an Abbotsford gas station has been dismissed by a police complaints adjudicator. The woman alleged the three officers were guilty of "abuse of authority" under the Police Act for "oppressive conduct" toward her for "intentionally or recklessly searching" her, according to the adjudicator William Diebolt's report. The complainant was stopped by the officers on Aug. 15, 2009, after a prisoner they were transporting recognized her in another vehicle and suggested police would find drugs in her car because he had bought drugs from her before. [continues 290 words]
The coalition of health and justice experts Stop the Violence is right in saying that the war on drugs has been a dismal failure. In British Columbia especially, marijuana is so easy to get, the fact it's illegal is laughed at by those who indulge. Millions of dollars that could have been spent on things like health care or education have been spent fighting the illegal drug trade. The coalition says the federal government's omnibus crime bill is a step in the wrong direction, and we have to agree - do we really want our prisons filled up with otherwise law-abiding kids who get busted with minor amounts of dope? [continues 116 words]
Lost Their Teen Daughter to Drug on Dec. 22 An Abbotsford family struggling to cope with the tragic loss of their teenage daughter at Christmas is warning other parents and teens of the dangers of ecstasy. Seventeen-year-old Cheryl McCormack died on Dec. 22 after taking ecstasy. She and three other teenage girls were at a sleepover a few nights earlier, where all four friends took an ecstasy pill to lose or man-age their weight, said Abbots-ford police. [continues 393 words]
The Health Officers of B.C. is among groups backing a call for the legalization of marijuana as public policy healthier than the status quo. A new report by the Stop the Violence B.C., a coalition of health, academic and justice experts, was released Thursday to demonstrate the failure of current anti-drug policy. It uses government-funded data to show that cannabis trends are thriving, despite decades of huge cash injections to law enforcement agencies in both Canada and the U.S. [continues 530 words]
Four of Vancouver's former mayors joined voices recently to call for an end to the prohibition of marijuana. Their call was echoed this week by the province's medical health officers in their own statement of support. The Citizen asked northern civic leaders if they also supported this idea. After all, according to their worships Sam Sullivan, Michael Harcourt, Larry Campbell, and Philip Owen, the reason to kill the criminality of cannabis is to take the money out of the massive black marketeering of the stuff by wealthy and ruthless B.C. gangs. [continues 1158 words]
The way the government handles marijuana usage is not only ineffective but has become a public health issue and leads to organized crime having control over a vastly profitable enterprise, the effects of which are being felt in many cities, including Prince George. Stop The Violence BC, a group made up of criminologists, law enforcement officials and public health officials, released a report showing the link between organized crime and the sale of marijuana this fall and followed up with another report this week about how the drug is having a detrimental effect on public health and safety because of the laws surrounding it. [continues 368 words]
Health: Province Plans to Limit Travel Subsidies to 18 Months for Patients Attending Daily Clinics SAINT JOHN - Craig McInnis spends about $210 every month to make the daily journey from his home near the Saint John airport to Prince Edward Guardian Pharmacy to take his dose of methadone. He arrives at the clinic, tucked away at the back of the pharmacy, sits on a chair and waits. There isn't much to look at on the walls, except for shapes cut from bristol board, posted to remind patients how to behave: be respectful, leave pets outside and if you come without a way to pay for your dose, you don't get your drink. [continues 645 words]
Dear Editor: Re Stoners need a better argument, In My Opinion, The Record, Dec. 9 What a breathtakingly appalling column. 1. It is not only "stoners" who oppose the prohibition of marijuana. I do. The Senate does. Three former mayors of Vancouver do. And many, many more except that Matthew Claxton is too damn lazy to do any research on the issue. In any event, resorting to demeaning name calling such as this has no place in a supposedly respectable publication. [continues 150 words]
They were designed to empower citizens to take action against neighbourhood drug dens and bawdy houses. But laws passed in several provinces that allow officials to shutter homes and businesses suspected of regularly being used for illegal activity could come under fresh scrutiny. A Nova Scotia couple who were ordered out of their home after a judge found they were likely selling and using drugs on the property have appealed their eviction to that province's highest court, arguing the standard used to evict them was too low. [continues 301 words]
Re: "'Allen makes mockery of system by refusing seat' ( Daily News, Dec. 13) Donna Allen is "taking political action that is so desperately needed to invigorate our democracy" in the words of an NDN columnist by resigning her seat on the school board. Her action has had the effect of opening up the dialogue of how our culture will designate the use of marijuana for either recreational, and/or medicinal use and also for what age group marijuana use should be particularly discouraged, for health reasons, and also because of the danger of addiction. [continues 169 words]
Vycki Fleming is careful with her words when she talks about marijuana. She uses the term "medicating" when she refers to eating or smoking marijuana. She doesn't have a grow op at her house, she has a medicinal garden. It's deliberate and Fleming not only acknowledges it, but brings the subject up. It's one of the first steps she's taken to separate herself from potheads, criminals and owners of illegal marijuana growing operations. Taking steps away from all that starts with the language that you use, she explained. [continues 1068 words]
Provincial health officials are throwing their support behind a group of academics and justice experts advocating the legalization of marijuana. The Health Officers' Council of BC endorsed a report Thursday from the Stop the Violence BC coalition - an organization that includes doctors and four former Vancouver mayors. The report recommends dumping pot prohibition following the failure of anti-drug laws to curb the supply and use of marijuana while wasting millions in taxpayers' dollars. "Most people would agree the present regime hasn't been very successful at controlling use," said Dr. John Carsley, HOCBC spokesman. "What we're recommending is to look at cannabis and see what sort of regulations will reduce the negative health effects to the minimum." [continues 187 words]
Experts Say Enforcement Isn't Working, Violence Is Rising A group of B.C. health officials are throwing its weight behind the cause of marijuana legalization, arguing that the government's costly enforcement activities are making little difference. The Health Officers Council of B.C., which represents B.C.'s medical officers and other physicians, researchers and consultants, is endorsing a report being released today that suggests a direct link between the province's $7-billion illegal cannabis industry and the increase in gang-related homicides in B.C. from 1997 to 2009. [continues 608 words]
In B.C., several prominent political figures have called for the legalization of marijuana, arguing that criminalization has not reduced crime, violence or substance abuse. Last month, four former Vancouver mayors, Larry Campbell, Michael Harcourt, Sam Sullivan and Philip Owen, endorsed the Stop the Violence B.C. coalition and voiced their strong support for legalization and regulation. In an open letter to the provincial and municipal government, they stated that prohibition has only led to more gang-related violence and has increased costs for governments. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson tweeted his support soon after, saying, "Good to see 4 Vancouver ex-mayors calling for end of cannabis prohibition. I agree, we need to be smart and tax/regulate." [continues 130 words]
Re: 'More study needed on effects of marijuana' (Daily News, Dec. 14) Madeline Bruce may be interested in one statistic regarding the God-given plant cannabis (marijuana). In over 5,000 years of documented medical use there hasn't been one single death directly related to cannabis use. That's safety on a Biblical scale. Truthfully, Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
Mission RCMP is warning both legal and criminal pot growers of an increasing number of violent robberies they believe are linked to an organized crime group. Cpl. Sharon Siluch said the number of "grow rips" is on the rise in Mission, with the robberies becoming increasingly violent. So far in 2011, 32 properties have been targeted, with violence being used in almost one third of the attacks. "We believe there is an organized criminal group targeting all types of marijuana grow ops in Mission. We're concerned because we've observed a growing level of violence during grow rips," Siluch said. [continues 292 words]
A call by a group of B.C. health officials to support the cause of marijuana legalization drew generally favourable reviews from Province readers, who say the so-called war on drugs has failed. With legalization, revenues to the government would increase, as opposed to the enforcement to eliminate it, which costs more money. The U.S. would probably be able to reduce their debt by billions, and Canada would also have new revenue coming in. Pot users would be happier, the government would be richer, with less debt. Legalize pot now. [continues 320 words]
A crowd of about 100 people turned out in Kelowna Wednesday night to voice their opposition to the federal government's omnibus crime bill. But it was not just the Conservative's plan to get tough on crime that came in for criticism. Kelowna-Lake Country Tory MP Ron Cannan -- a conspicuous no-show -- was also targeted by the clearly anti-crime bill crowd. Several audience members expressed anger that Cannan refused to show up to defend the government's plan, a bill that combines nine previously unsuccessful separate crime-related bills into one. The Tories could not get them passed through the House of Commons because it did not have a majority. [continues 507 words]
To the Editor, Re: Trustee's past not something to laugh off, Letters, Dec. 15. Madeline Bruce continues her recent pattern of using shoddy science and misunderstood claims to justify her beliefs. She cites Carol Falkowski, who claims 100,000 people a year seek treatment for cannabis addiction in the U.S. Leaving aside the fact that this assertion is not backed up by hard data and that Falkowski is a heavily biased source, what Bruce fails to recognize is that in the U.S., the vast majority of all those seeking rehabilitation for "'marijuana addiction' are doing so for the sole reason that they have been brought to trial for possession of a small amount of the drug, wherein they are given the choice to go to jail and have a criminal record, or to declare they are "'addicted' and seek treatment. [continues 147 words]
A Supreme Court judge has said that Abbotsford Police exceeded their powers when they gathered evidence at the scene of a medical marijuana grow-op without a search warrant in February 2009. Justice Brian Joyce ruled at the end of a voir dire (trial within a trial) in Chilliwack Supreme Court on Monday that the evidence should be thrown out against Pencho Batanov of Abbotsford. He was due to go on trial Nov. 21 on charges of unlawful production of marijuana and possession for the purpose of trafficking, but the case was delayed by the voir dire. [continues 343 words]
To the Editor, Re: Marijuana prohibition a bizarre, expensive approach, Guest Comment, Dec. 17. Christopher Foulds is right, the crime bill treats casual marijuana users with more force than it treats perverts. Meanwhile, Health Canada's proposed changes in conjunction with Bill C-10 clause, its amended clause 41 and its mandatory minimum penalties (the Safe Streets and Communities Act) will result in sick and dying Canadians who refuse to relinquish their Personal Production Licence and Designated Growers being targeted and jailed. [continues 60 words]
The majority of British Columbians believe alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, a new Angus Reid poll suggests. In an online survey among 800 British Columbian adults, 59 per cent of respondents disagreed that regular marijuana use is more harmful than regular alcohol use. The poll also found that 54 per cent of B.C. residents do not agree that marijuana is a dangerous and addictive drug, and 51 per cent say they don't believe that marijuana is a "gateway" drug that can lead to the use of other dangerous drugs such as heroin. [continues 214 words]
Increased funding for anti-marijuana law enforcement in both Canada and the United States has failed to decrease marijuana supply, potency and use, a new report suggests. The report entitled How Not to Protect Community Health and Safety: What the Government's Own Data Say About the Effects of Cannabis Prohibition, released by Stop the Violence BC, uses 20 years of data collected by the Canadian and U.S. governments. "It's an audit of the governments' own data and what it shows ... is that cannabis prohibition has been a spectacular failure, despite pretty astronomical increases in funding for anti-marijuana law enforcement," said Dr. Evan Wood, a physician and founder of Stop the Violence BC, a coalition of prominent police officers, health professionals, legal experts and academics. [continues 299 words]
Five local harm reduction centres have begun distributing crack pipes as part of a Vancouver Coastal Health pilot program announced in August. About 3,000 kits, consisting of a pipe, filter screens, alcohol swabs, mouth pieces and push sticks, are being assembled each month by the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users. The packages are then distributed to partner agencies. The kits are part of a harm-reduction strategy sponsored by VCH aimed at reducing the spread of disease among inhalation drug users. [continues 253 words]
Some B.C. medical health officials are advocating for the legalization of marijuana, arguing that the government's costly enforcement activities are making little difference. The Health Officers' Council of B.C., which represents B.C.'s medical health officers and other physicians, researchers and consultants, is endorsing a report being released today that suggests a direct link between the province's $7-billion illegal cannabis industry and the increase in gang-related homicides in B.C. from 1997 to 2009. [continues 323 words]
B.C. police engaged in a "serious misuse of their powers" when they extended an investigation of a suspected medical marijuana theft to search the home for signs of criminal activity, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled. Justice Brian Joyce said the Abbotsford police were justified in searching the home after suspecting a violent home invasion had occurred on Feb. 10, 2009. But they exceeded their limits, Joyce ruled, in obtaining a search warrant after a "rough count" of the medical marijuana plants inside indicated the grower was in violation of his licence. [continues 182 words]
Nanaimo's new medical health officer is supportive of a push to regulate marijuana distribution like tobacco, to reduce gang violence and to make the drug less accessible to young people. Stop the Violence Coalition B.C, says taxing pot would be better than the billions of dollars spent on enforcement. SVCBC created headlines in the fall when four former Vancouver mayors signed a letter favouring its position. The organization released a report today showing pot is cheaper, stronger and more widely available since prohibition, based on government's own statistics and an Angus-Reid public opinion poll showing wide support for decriminalization. [continues 192 words]
B.C. police engaged in a "serious misuse of their powers" when they extended an investigation of a suspected medical marijuana theft to search the home for signs of criminal activity, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled. Justice Brian Joyce said the Abbotsford police were justified in searching the home after suspecting a violent grow rip had occurred on Feb. 10, 2009, but they exceeded their limits in obtaining a search warrant after a "rough count" of the medical marijuana plants inside indicated the grower was in violation of his licence. [continues 254 words]
Abbotsford police engaged in a "serious misuse of their powers" when they extended an investigation of a suspected medical marijuana grow rip to search the home for signs of criminal activity, a Supreme Court judge has ruled. Justice Brian Joyce said the police were justified in searching the home after suspecting a violent grow rip had occurred on Feb. 10, 2009, but they exceeded their limits in obtaining a search warrant after a "rough count" of the medical marijuana plants inside indicated the grower was in violation of his licence. [continues 538 words]
Re: Changes in works for marijuana laws (SP, Dec. 10). I find the proposed changes to regulations extremely annoying. Eliminating the designated grower program in favour of commercial marijuana is cruel and unnecessary. Consider MS sufferer Michael Greenblatt, as discussed in the article. He was desperate for relief after 20 years of taking toxic pharmaceuticals that were becoming less effective at controlling his spasms and nausea. What a miracle that marijuana helps him, and how wonderful that his son can grow it for him. [continues 187 words]
Re: Medical marijuana series, The Journal, Dec. 10 to 12, and "Marijuana as medicine a complex issue," Opinion, Dec. 14. Congratulations to Sharon Kirkey and Jodie Sinnema for excellent coverage on medical marijuana. Congratulations to The Journal for the editorial, which did not criminalize patients using medical marijuana, and welcome to the tragic politics of chronic pain in Canada. On one side we have people with bodies crushed by car accidents or destroyed by illness or military devices; they use medical marijuana as a last resource because synthetic marijuana (THC) helps them. [continues 160 words]
Dear Editor: Regarding Dan Albas MP REPORT: Lack of info quickly turns to misinformation of Dec. 8, 2011. What seems to be misunderstood by the Member of Parliament is that Clause 39 - 41 of Bill C-10, in effect, amounts to the providing of insulation for organized crime and drug kingpins. This consequence would, for the most part, be triggered by the enactment of the proposed changes to the medical marihuana program by Health Canada. The amendment to clause 41, the last of the Part 2 amendments in reference to Schedule II inclusions of Bill C-10, the Safe Streets and Communities Act, alone ensures that. (Mandatory minimum penalty would only apply to instances where more than five plants but fewer than 201 plants are produced for the purpose of trafficking and where any of the specified aggravating factors would apply.) [continues 164 words]
Re: We Can't Afford A War On Weed, Larry Campbell, Philip Owen and Sam Sullivan, Dec. 19. If these three ex-mayors of Vancouver told me that at midnight it was dark outside, I would still look out the window to check. But in this case, when talking about the futility of the war on weed, they are bang on. This war, run simultaneously in the United States and Canada, has been a failure of colossal proportions. Let's stop the madness and fill the government's empty piggy bank instead of the criminals' pockets. Stanley Levy Surrey, B.C. [end]
Re: We Can't Afford A War On Weed, Larry Campbell, Philip Owen and Sam Sullivan, Dec. 19. Hurrah for the clarion call by three former Vancouver mayors for an end to marijuana prohibition. Legalize pot and - presto - gang-related violent crime and fear among our citizens would disappear. But wait, that's not all. In their enthusiasm, they missed the collateral benefit of having solved Canada's problem of declining tourism from south of the border and elsewhere. Just think of the tourism potential of a mass influx of drug-deprived folks descending on the "True North, Strong and Free and Legally Drugged," pouring untold millions of much-needed dollars into our struggling economy ... with many undoubtedly wishing to stay permanently. [continues 110 words]
Re: We Can't Afford A War On Weed, Larry Campbell, Philip Owen and Sam Sullivan, Dec. 19. The former mayors of Vancouver advocating for decriminalizing the gateway drug cannabis is ludicrous. It was largely because of their permissiveness and leniency that Vancouver's Downtown Eastside turned into the nightmare that it is today. Continuing down this path would be asinine. Seattle, a city comparable in weather and socio-economic climate, does not have the same problem with open drug use simply because it is not tolerated. New York cleaned up its decaying core in the 1980s by cracking down on drug use, not by some hare-brained scheme of decriminalization. The constant reference to "the war on drugs" is also getting tiresome. The struggle to keep drugs off the streets is more like a constant battle, similar to those society wages with any other illegal, undesirable activity. Jeffrey Hay Ladner B.C. [end]
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