Re: We Can't Afford A War On Weed, Larry Campbell, Philip Owen and Sam Sullivan, Dec. 19. If the war on drugs has been such a costly failure and the negative consequences of prohibition so evident why stop at pot? We should be decriminalizing all drugs. It's time for the former Vancouver mayors and everyone else to recognize that this shouldn't be about giving the government another commodity (marijuana) to tightly control under a "strict public health framework" with sin taxes and regulation. [continues 52 words]
There might be Canadians who, because of chronic pain or some other reason, find that a glass of wine or a shot of whiskey before bed helps them sleep, with less extreme side effects than other drugs. Those Canadians can have that glass before bed, and nobody asks them to fill out any paperwork or ask permission. Because that would be ridiculous. As ridiculous as Canada's medical marijuana system, which attempts to formalize and regulate an illegal substance. As data obtained by the Citizen show, there's been a spike in the number of people applying to use the drug because of arthritis. Many of those people might have other conditions, but the application process for arthritis is relatively streamlined. [continues 200 words]
Toronto police say officers lawfully searched and seized items from a Connaught Avenue South apartment in Hamilton during a countrywide anti-gangs sweep, but the tenant maintains she doesn't know why police broke down her door. "Officers did execute a search warrant (at this address)," Toronto police spokesperson Constable Tony Vella said Monday. "Officers did seize items from the apartment ... There was evidence of drug use from the apartment." But Vella said he could not elaborate on what items police took because the matter was before the courts. [continues 351 words]
With the government's omnibus crime bill set to become law, a critical question we should ask is whether we are becoming a society that fosters hope or one that extinguishes it. While Canada is a country of promise in many ways, the government's course of enacting legislation that favours incarceration and punishment over treatment and rehabilitation stands in conflict to the values that make it such a formidable nation. Coverage of the debate surrounding this bill has erroneously pitted conservatives against seemingly everyone else. But the divisions are not that simple. Although the Conservative Party under Stephen Harper espouses many of the values that conservatives uphold, there remain policies that cause significant moral and philosophical cleavages within the party. I am a Tory, but like many others who cast their ballot the same way I did not vote for the draconian and misguided measures in this regressive legislation. [continues 751 words]
Regarding columnist Jim Nelson's thoughtful Dec. 16 column, marijuana eradication efforts are no doubt well-intended but ultimately counterproductive. The drug war's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand causes big money to grow on little trees. Canadian tax dollars are wasted on anti-drug strategies that only make marijuana growing more profitable. In 2002, the Canadian senate offered a common-sense alternative to prohibition when the Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, marijuana prohibition contributes to organized crime and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use. [continues 113 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]
The federal government is anticipating a constitutional challenge over the mandatory minimum sentences it plans to impose as part of the omnibus crime bill, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail suggest. A piece of the legislation will require judges to issue minimum sentences for some drug-related offences, a change that is expected to dramatically increase the number of people in provincial and federal prisons. The change will also ratchet up pressure on the country's courts, as people who might otherwise plead guilty instead choose a trial to try to avoid the mandated time behind bars. [continues 430 words]
After busting down the door of a Hamilton apartment and frightening the 68-year-old woman inside, Toronto police are admitting they had the wrong address in a botched raid last week. Whether they read the document wrong or had the wrong unit number to begin with, Const. Tony Vella could not say, they quickly realized their mistake; the warrant was meant for the unit next door. "It was the incorrect address. It was supposed to be the neighbour's address," Vella said Sunday. [continues 358 words]
The Harper government will protect marijuana trafficking. Such was the effect of the Prime Minister's response to leading public officials in British Columbia who declared support for decriminalization, regulation and even taxation of the marijuana industry. The Conservative Party government will not only protect marijuana traffickers whose profits derive from the risk of criminal sanctions, it will bolster trade in illegal weapons used to protect or else 'take out' marijuana industry competitors. Continued criminal sanctions are presently being beefed up to the increase of the Criminal Justice Industry with its complement of police, courts, lawyers and, of course, jails. This bourgeoning industry is funded with our taxes. [continues 133 words]
Canada has reached a critical time in its misguided War on Weed. Despite investing countless billions across North America in areas such as law enforcement, prison expansion and border controls, marijuana prohibition has been a costly failure. Youth today have easier access to pot than alcohol and tobacco, organized crime is getting rich and some neighbourhoods remain deadly combat zones as arrests lead to new rounds of turf warfare among gangs controlling the marijuana trade. [continues 791 words]
In regards to the people who advocate the legalization of marijuana, this makes sense if it is for personal use. Where the whole debate goes sideways is when statements like this "will take the criminal element out of the equation" are made. The four ex-mayors from Vancouver used this argument as do some letter writers. Seeing as the marijuana is smuggled into the U.S. and swapped for cocaine, methamphetamine, guns and whatever else, I would really appreciate someone explaining how this will work. [continues 87 words]
Tim Hortons Partners With Timmins Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police A local Tim Hortons contributed a large sum of money to help combat drug use amongst teens. For 11 years, Tim Hortons has been supporting local DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) programs throughout Northeastern Ontario and to dat has help raise nearly $100,000 for the program. "It's absolutely amazing," said Paul Harrison, who is the Ontario Provincial Police's Northeast Region DARE co-ordinator. "It helps to raise awareness not only about the problems with drug abuse, but how the community can help with it." [continues 306 words]
With the damning story in Maclean's magazine this week highlighting Prince George's high rates in some categories of crime during 2010, the Prince George RCMP researched how the statistics look for 2011 as a preview of next year's possible results in the magazine. Almost all categories of crime have gone down, but drug offenses held steady. In 2006 there were 409 drug cases in Prince George, it hit a peak of 588 last year, and in 2011 it is expected to finish up somewhere around the 538 mark. [continues 420 words]
As the Conservative government uses its majority powers to effectively silence debate on the Safe Streets and Communities Act, the growing call for measures that would actually make our streets safer continues to fall on deaf ears in Ottawa. Last week, five Vancouver mayors past and present joined the chorus-one that includes police chiefs, economists and politicians of all political stripes -to overturn Canada's marijuana prohibition. "Marijuana prohibition is -without question-a failed policy. It is creating violent, gang-related crime in our communities and fear among our citizens, and adding financial costs for all levels of government at a time when we can least afford them," stated a letter from former Vancouver mayors Larry Campbell, Michael Harcourt, Sam Sullivan and Phillip Owen. [continues 184 words]
"To alcohol - the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!" Homer Simpson I wonder if Prime Minister Stephen Harper enjoys the occasional beer or scotch and soda while unwinding from a long day in politics. I wonder if Harper enjoys a glass of wine as he works on the passion that is his book on the history of hockey. I wonder this now because we are weeks away from stronger Conservative-created laws that will create criminals out of ordinary people while making real criminals all the richer. [continues 560 words]
It seems my colleague opposite and I both agree that the current laws and regulations that deal with marijuana are not working. The laws, which prohibit cultivation, distribution and use of the drug, have led to high rates of gang violence and huge expenses associated with growing enforcement costs and expensive legal proceedings. Where my colleague and I differ, however, is on how to move forward. My colleague suggests the solution to these problems is decriminalization. While decriminalization is a good first step, it's only a half-step and will not stop the gang violence. [continues 664 words]
Safety Minister Wrong to Block Transfer From U.S. for Two Drug Dealers, Judge Says Public Safety Minister Vic Toews acted unreasonably when he refused to allow two Canadians imprisoned in the United States to serve out their sentences in Canada, a Federal Court judge has ruled. In two decisions posted to the Federal Court website Thursday, Justice James O'Reilly overturned Toews' rejection of applications under the International Transfer of Offenders Act filed by Montreal native Franco Tangorra and Tomaso Villano, of Richmond Hill, Ont. Both men were arrested by American authorities for trying to traffic in or import large quantities of the drug ecstasy. [continues 472 words]
CLEARVIEW TOWNSHIP - A man who ran a marijuana grow-op out of a rural Clearview Township home he rented has pleaded guilty to charges laid by the Clearview Fire Department. The man pleaded guilty last Tuesday in Wasaga Beach Provincial Court to three charges and was fined $2,000 on each count. Fire Chief Bob McKean said that under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act (FPPA), the man was charged with Plant Growing Without Design or Approval and Use of Temporary Wiring for Plant Production. [continues 334 words]
Despite Ottawa's Opposition, Strategy Reduces Ods, Infections, Doctors Agree Are they legalized shooting galleries or harm-reduction centres? A report released Friday by the Montreal public health department recommends that three supervised injection sites and a mobile one be established next year in city neighbourhoods where intravenous drug use is rampant. Dr. Richard Lessard, director of public health, suggested that fixed sites be set up in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, downtown and an area near St. Urbain and Prince Arthur Sts. The mobile unit would move around St. Henri and the city's southwest sector. [continues 516 words]
Canada's medical marijuana licensing system is vulnerable to abuse and needs to be tightened up, says the health minister after data emerged this week revealing a surge in possibly fraudulent applications. "We're aware that there are opportunities and risks of the system being abused, which is why we are working to tighten up the system," said Steve Outhouse, a spokesman for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, on Friday. Outhouse was speaking in response to a Postmedia series looking at medical marijuana licensing and use in Canada. The series was based on electronic data the Citizen obtained from Health Canada through the Access to Information Act. The figures showed, for example, that between 2008 and 2010 applications to Health Canada for medical marijuana based on severe arthritis claims jumped 2,400 per cent. [continues 177 words]
Canada's medical marijuana licensing system is vulnerable to abuse and needs to be tightened up, says the health minister after data emerged this week revealing a surge in possibly fraudulent applications. "We're aware that there are opportunities and risks of the system being abused, which is why we are working to tighten up the system," Steve Outhouse, a spokesman for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, said Friday. Outhouse was speaking in response to an Ottawa Citizen series looking at medical marijuana licensing and use in Canada. The series was based on electronic data obtained from Health Canada through the Access to Information Act. [continues 178 words]
Government working to tighten system, including more education for doctors Ottawa - Canada's medical marijuana licensing system is vulnerable to abuse and needs to be tightened, the health ministry says after data emerged this week revealing a surge in possibly fraudulent applications. "We're aware there are opportunities and risks of the system being abused, which is why we are working to tighten the system," Steve Outhouse, a representative of Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, said on Friday. Outhouse was speaking in response to Postmedia's recent series looking at medical marijuana licensing and use in Canada. The series was based on electronic data obtained from Health Canada through the Access to Information Act. [continues 354 words]
Canada's medical marijuana licensing system is vulnerable to abuse and needs to be tightened up, says the health minister after data emerged this week revealing a surge in possibly fraudulent applications. "We're aware that there are opportunities and risks of the system being abused, which is why we are working to tighten up the system," said Steve Outhouse, a spokesperson for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, on Friday. Outhouse was speaking in response to the Ottawa Citizen's recent series looking at medical marijuana licensing and use in Canada. The series was based on electronic data the Citizen obtained from Health Canada through the Access to Information Act. [continues 257 words]
Canada's medical marijuana licensing system is vulnerable to abuse and needs to be tightened up, the health minister said after data emerged this week revealing a surge in possibly fraudulent applications. "We're aware that there are opportunities and risks of the system being abused," said Steve Outhouse, a spokesperson for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, on Friday. Outhouse was speaking in response to a Postmedia News series on medical marijuana licensing and use in Canada. The figures showed, for example, that between 2008 and 2010 applications to Health Canada for medical marijuana based on severe arthritis claims jumped 2,400 per cent. [continues 177 words]
Citizen Report Spurs Aglukkaq to Assess 'Opportunities and Risks' Of Abuse of System Canada's medical marijuana licensing system is vulnerable to abuse and needs to be tightened up, says the health minister after a Citizen report exposed a surge in possibly fraudulent applications. "We're aware that there are opportunities and risks of the system being abused, which is why we are working to tighten up the system," Steve Outhouse, a spokesman for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, said Friday. Outhouse was speaking in response to the Citizen series looking at medical marijuana licensing and use in Canada. The series was based on electronic data the Citizen obtained from Health Canada through the Access to Information Act. [continues 523 words]
Canada's medical marijuana licensing system is vulnerable to abuse and needs to be tightened up, says the health minister after data emerged this week revealing a surge in possibly fraudulent applications. "We're aware that there are opportunities and risks of the system being abused, which is why we are working to tighten up the system," said Steve Outhouse, a spokesman for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, on Friday. Outhouse was speaking in response to the Ottawa Citizen's recent series looking at medical marijuana licensing and use in Canada. The series was based on electronic data the Citizen obtained from Health Canada through the Access to Information Act. [continues 472 words]
Downtown Residents Want Moratorium in Ville Marie A coalition of downtown residents associations is calling for an immediate moratorium on any attempt to introduce supervised injection sites (SIS) in their neighbourhood, saying the borough of Ville Marie is already overburdened with the problems of homelessness and local crime. "What we're saying is that we are not against (SIS)," said Gaetan Paquet, president of the Coalition des Associations de residents de Ville-Marie, which represents about 45,000 of the 80,000 residents of the downtown borough. [continues 558 words]
Growing in Homes a Big Concern Canada's medical marijuana licensing system is vulnerable to abuse and needs to be tightened up, says the health minister after data emerged this week revealing a surge in possibly fraudulent applications. "We're aware that there are opportunities and risks of the system being abused, which is why we are working to tighten up the system," said Steve Outhouse, a spokesman for Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq. Outhouse was speaking in response to a recent Postmedia series looking at medical marijuana licensing and use in Canada. The series was based on electronic data the Ottawa Citizen obtained from Health Canada through the Access to Information Act. [continues 358 words]
Blasted for Not Allowing Prisoners in U.S. to Return Home MONTREAL -- Public Safety Minister Vic Toews acted unreasonably when he refused to allow two Canadians imprisoned in the United States to serve out their sentences in Canada, a Federal Court judge has ruled. In two decisions posted to the Federal Court website Thursday, Justice James O'Reilly overturned Toews' rejection of applications under the International Transfer of Offenders Act filed by Montreal native Franco Tangorra and Tomaso Villano, of Richmond Hill, Ont. Both men were arrested by American authorities for trying to traffic in or import large quantities of the drug ecstasy. [continues 680 words]
Compassion Clubs Filling Void As Government-Grown Crops Have Little Therapeutic Value for Patients Margaret Marceniuk inhales her medical marijuana through a pharmaceutical puffer and a headshop pipe. Tamara Cartwright vaporizes her pot with a machine called a Volcano, then inhales three to four bags of the vapour while locked away in her bedroom, away from her toddler. Ian Layfield in Victoria swallows cannabis-infused oil capsules he makes himself, frying olive oil with pot leaves, then straining it with cheese cloth and pouring it into gel caps. He also mixes cannabis into a topical cream he rubs into his left foot and ankle, which was crushed in October 2006 after being rolled over by a grader. [continues 1498 words]
In 2003, I started bringing pot home from school for my dad. He had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1985. My family struggled alongside him as MS took its painful toll. His galaxy of pills did little but turn him into a zombie. Eighteen years later, he discovered cannabis. I procured it for him from my high school, where it was - and remains - ubiquitous. What began as a clandestine therapy of last resort soon became his front-line treatment. Today, a regimen of cannabis-infused foods helps him control pain, spasms and nausea. It lifts his spirits, perks up his appetite and helps him sleep. The side effects are negligible, especially compared to those of some of his legal medications, which twice nearly killed him. [continues 558 words]
Neighbouring Business Owners Relieved Blitz 420 Won't Be Opening In Akinsdale A store that sells paraphernalia associated with drug use will not be allowed to open in Appleyard Square. At a hearing last week several businesses and residents sought to have the development permit for Blitz 420 revoked. This week the subdivision and development appeal board ruled in their favour. "Surrounding businesses will suffer due to the nature of the business of the developer if the proposed development is allowed. The developer's business would adversely affect surrounding businesses financially," the board wrote in its decision, which was released publicly Thursday. [continues 522 words]
Toronto police admit they got the wrong address when they raided an east Hamilton apartment this week and encountered a hysterical Sharon McCrudden. Officers entered the 68-year-old woman's 14th floor Melvin Avenue apartment Tuesday morning as part of a nationwide sweep of suspected drug dealers and gang members. "That was an incorrect address," Constable Tony Vella said Friday. "It was actually the next-door neighbour." He said officers visited McCrudden Friday to speak to her and dropped off documents outlining how reimbursements can be sought for damage. [continues 680 words]
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Psychiatric Drugs Prescribed Through the Canadian Forces Led to a Bout With Crack Addiction in the Downtown Eastside, Says Chris Hillier Chris Hillier's life arc bottomed out in a Vancouver back alley, across the country from his Newfoundland home and a world away from the war zone that broke him. Homeless, penniless and addicted to crack cocaine, Hillier slept behind a community centre at the intersection of Hastings and Main, the notorious epicentre of the city's drug trade. [continues 935 words]
Re: Pot requests for arthritis skyrocketing, by Glen McGregor, Postmedia News, Dec. 10. Citizens who think they may be experiencing symptoms of arthritis should be allowed to try cannabis (marijuana) for relief as a first step without government interference or a doctor's approval. God indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they are all good, on literally the very first page of the Bible (see Genesis 1: 11-12 and 29-30). In over 5,000 years of documented medical use, there hasn't been a single case of cannabis (marijuana) directly killing anyone, which translates to safety on a biblical scale. Citizens shouldn't have to pay extortion to government for protection from police to use the plant. Prohibition, police and pharmaceutical drugs are all more dangerous than the relatively safe plant cannabis. Dillon, Colorado [end]
Anti-Drug Strategy Aims to Make Communities Safer And Healthier Editor: Re: Mayors come up with way to increase taxes, reduce crime, Community Comment, Dec. 2 Ian Robertson asks if I support making marijuana as readily accessible in our community as tobacco or alcohol. I don't and our government does not intend to decriminalize or legalize marijuana. The government of Canada continues its efforts under the National Anti-Drug Strategy, which focuses on prevention and access to treatment for those with drug dependencies, while at the same time getting tough on drug dealers and producers who threaten the safety of our youth and communities. It is made up of three action plans: [continues 436 words]
The Conservatives can make it tougher for pot growers all they want but when the violent gang members are willing to risk being shot to death every minute of every day a few more months in prison is not going to stop these people. The repeal of alcohol prohibition put a end to a lot of gang violence that happened during prohibition of alcohol. Repealing cannabis prohibition would seriously reduce the gang violence and end the massive cannabis gardens in private homes. Additionally many legal jobs and taxes could be created. Keith Fagin Calgary [end]
It took 900 officers to seize 2.75 kilograms of cocaine and 27 guns in a Canada-wide raid. Almost 400 charges were laid on Wednesday against the 60 people arrested in four provinces on Tuesday morning, the result of an eight-month long investigation into Toronto street gangs. The raids also netted $110,000 and small quantities of marijuana and the drug ecstasy. Officers also seized 27 guns over the course of the investigation. Dubbed Project Marvel, the probe culminated with 900 officers, including 400 heavily armed members of tactical units, executing 67 search warrants, mostly in the Greater Toronto Area, but as far afield as Surrey, B.C. [continues 153 words]
What began as an investigation into a shooting in Toronto's gritty Jane-Finch neighbourhood last spring turned into a major bust of street gang members in four provinces. The case gained a national scope as investigators tracked local gang associates who had relocated and committed crimes in cities across central and Western Canada, Toronto police Chief Bill Blair said on Tuesday. "It revealed a level of mobility among street gangs not yet witnessed before in this city," he said. In predawn operations, hundreds of police officers arrested 60 people " 10 of them minors " and searched dozens of locations in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. [continues 368 words]
The omnibus crime bill is projected to cost significantly more than the Conservative government has so far revealed, and half the burden for putting more young offenders behind bars could be downloaded onto the provinces, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail suggest. As provincial governments wrestle with deficits in a stalled economy, no one is interested in taking on extra costs. Ontario and Quebec have both said they expect Ottawa to cover all new expenses associated with Bill C-10. British Columbia, which lobbied for some of the tough changes in the legislation, now says it is concerned about the potential downstream costs. [continues 566 words]
After Vancouver Police Constable Steve Addison realized he'd made a rookie error "" arresting a woman who had an uncapped needle within arms-reach that she could have used to stab him "" he didn't try to hide his mistake. He wrote a blog about it. That post, titled "Wake-Up Call," is just one of many that Constable Addison, who works in the Downtown Eastside with the Vancouver Police Department, has written since September in his blog, Eastside Stories: Diary of a Vancouver Beat Cop. [continues 1266 words]
What happens after crooks finally get out of jail? It has taken almost six years and a new format, but the federal Conservative government passed its controversial tough-on-crime legislation Monday, Dec. 5. The Safe Streets and Communities Act, formerly Bill C-10, is a collection of nine bills the previous minority Harper government had failed, since 2006, to pass separately. The bill passed easily by a margin of 157 to 127 in the majority Conservative House of Commons despite mounting controversy over some proposed changes. [continues 1988 words]
"To alcohol -- the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!" - - Homer Simpson I wonder if Prime Minister Stephen Harper enjoys the occasional beer or scotch and soda while unwinding from a long day in politics. I wonder if Harper enjoys a glass of wine as he works on the passion that his book on the history of hockey. I wonder this now because we are weeks away from stronger Conservative-created laws that will create criminals out of ordinary people while making real criminals all the richer. [continues 566 words]
It was a chance meeting aboard a quiet passenger ferry that would eventually send heavily armed police crashing through the doors of a Metro Vancouver home and forever change Canadian drug-enforcement policy. The July 2011 raid was significant not only because it netted five arrests for suspected drug production but because it was the culmination of three years of lobbying the federal government to make illegal the possession of chemicals used to produce methamphetamine and ecstasy. That chance 2007 meeting on the Bowen Island ferry between John Weston, now MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, and Cpl. Richard De Jong of the North Vancouver RCMP had all the makings of a Hollywood screenplay: [continues 725 words]
Re: "'No amount of penalties will end black market' ( Daily News, Dec. 5) Whether or not marijuana use will be legalized, the truth about the possible long-term side effects are still not easy to get at, and there is a groundswell of popularity for the drug now, particularly in light of some positive medical uses of it. From many sectors I am reading there needs to be more longterm studies about the effects of long term marijuana use. Even with drugs that have been researched by pharmaceutical companies and been prescribed by doctors for years, untoward side effects have occurred later, such as in the case of Thalidomide and Valium, which was found to be seriously addictive. Also there is Chlorpromazine in the "'60s, which turned the faces of many patients purple, permanently, if they went outside in bright sunlight for hours, and caused tardive dyskenesias, which is, in part, involuntary facial grimacing and twitching, and shuffling gait. [continues 97 words]
Dear Editor: There have been several letters to the editor in the past few weeks against the government's new crime bill and pointing out the ineffectiveness of throwing people in jail. The jailhouse becomes a revolving door for many criminals. Studies have shown that the majority of those in jail are mentally ill or emotionally wounded. It has also been pointed out that the crime rate is falling across the country. I believe the crime rate will continue to fall, and it has nothing to do with being tough on crime. It has everything to do with education and enlightenment. [continues 397 words]
You can hear the frustration in his voice as he describes the coming and goings of his neighbours. He keeps tabs on the steady stream of cars that frequent the farm and seethes when he thinks about the waft of marijuana that floats across the fields into his home on Richardson Road in Pitt Meadows. "I've got a stack of police cards," he says, lamenting the complaints about the marijuana grow operation that he's made to police and city officials for the past five years. [continues 898 words]
Editor: The Harper government will protect marijuana trafficking. Such was the effect of the Prime Minister's response to leading public officials in British Columbia who declared support for decriminalization, regulation and even taxation of the marijuana industry. The Conservative party government will not only protect marijuana traffickers whose profits derive from the risk of criminal sanctions, it will bolster trade in illegal weapons used to protect or else take out marijuana industry competitors. Continued criminal sanctions are presently being beefed up to increase of the criminal justice industry, with its complement of police, courts, lawyers and of course, jails. This burgeoning industry is funded with our taxes. [continues 128 words]
Some of the alleged gang members rounded up across the country Tuesday in a series of early-morning raids were youths not much beyond the comic-book-reading age. Of the 60 arrests, 10 of the accused are 17 and under, and some may even be as young as 14, police said. In fact, they are so young that police nicknamed their investigation Project Marvel as many gang members took on the names of Marvel Comics superheroes. The gang with the youngest members is named Young Buck Killaz and the older group is known as the G-Siders because they operated on the Gosford Blvd. side of Jane St. [continues 253 words]
Few of us would take medical marijuana away from the sufferers we read about in a special report on the treatment in The Journal and Ottawa Citizen - like the woman with multiple sclerosis and the former soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder. Still, medical marijuana remains a problem for physicians and governments. It is both an illegal street drug and a home remedy for a variety of health problems, and the line between those two uses is not always clear. As long as marijuana is an illegal high, there is a possibility people will try to scam the system to get their weed. [continues 562 words]
Inside Canada
