The first thing Tamara Cartwright wants everyone to know about her is she's definitely not a drug dealer. Earlier this month, Cartwright was given a conditional sentence after she pleaded guilty to trafficking in a controlled substance. The charge stemmed from an April 15 incident when Cartwright attempted to mail four grams of marijuana from a Taber postal outlet. Despite the difficulties the case presented to the crown prosecutor, who stated in court the accused possessed a medical-marijuana exemption, the case was still brought to court and eventually led to Cartwright being sentenced. [continues 975 words]
Re: "Good answer to city's fears of murder rate," Opinion, Aug. 11. It is a sad reality that any public statement made is viewed as a satisfactory beginning to what is a multi-decade problem with roots that are societal and reflective in all communities in Alberta. The Stelmach regime's answer was "safer communities," which failed miserably. The federal government continues with the American-style building of more jails while leaving in place legislation that sees criminal gangs being sanctioned by the courts. In Edmonton, social initiatives are quashed by community leaders who say: "Build it anywhere but in my backyard." [continues 246 words]
The UN released a drug report in 2007 stating a startling fact; 16.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 64 smoked marijuana or used another cannabis product in 2006. Canada ranks fifth in the world behind Ghana, Zambia, Papua New Guinea and Micronesia. Remarkably, the world average is 3.8 per cent. When it comes to the legalization of marijuana, the debate can get heated. Those opposed to the legalization state it could lead to more criminal actiivty and it could lead to the use of other drugs -- marijuana is ofen called a gateway drug. Many believe marijuana is just as bad or worse than smoking tobacco, as it can lead to problems with memory, increased heart rate and an increased risk of lung infections and the impairment of the immune system, just to name a few. [continues 259 words]
One can't make the same argument to prove opposing points. But Walter Cavalieri of the Canadian Harm Reduction Network tried. Cavalieri's argument, made on my Toronto radio show, is the war on drugs has not worked, so we need a different approach. He favours facilitating drug users with free needles and crack pipes along with medical assistance and supervision. But it seems that hasn't really worked either. How do we determine that the war on drugs has not worked? By the fact drugs are still readily available and many people are addicted to them? [continues 483 words]
Whether it's needles, condoms or crack pipes, officials doling out tools of the trade is tantamount to giving up on those battling addictions. Unless the effort goes beyond simply enabling, it risks being a short-term, simplistic and flawed solution in lieu of one which works. Retired Calgary police drug expert Pat Tetley says giving crack pipes to addicts is "an admission we have failed in harm reduction and perpetrating the offence." It is, he says, "nonsense." Alberta Health officials disagree and have, thousands of times, demonstrated that position by distributing free pipes quietly in recent years. [continues 617 words]
Alberta's law enforcement watchdog has ordered Edmonton police to again investigate a 2009 complaint, where a man was mistaken for a drug dealer and pulled from a car at gunpoint. The Law Enforcement Review Board said this week that former acting police chief David Korol did not have reasonable grounds to dismiss the complaint based on the circumstances and the quality of initial investigation. The written decision says members of the police department's gang and drug section were following a suspected drug dealer driving a white Lexus in Riverbend in April 2009. Police lost sight of the vehicle at Riverbend Square and later mistook a white Mazda for the suspect's car. [continues 209 words]
Critics Smoking Mad at Notion of Giving Addicts Crack Pipe Kits Critics are deriding an Alberta Health Services outreach program that sees crack pipes distributed to the city's addicts. Run by the AHS Safeworks Van since November 2008, the program sees four-part kits -- made up of a pipe, mouthpiece, screens and cleaning rod -- given to users along with education and health care services. "I'm against it," said Art Sheeler, a longtime community activist in Forest Lawn. "You're not going to help (addicts) by giving them stuff to have their drugs with. [continues 466 words]
Re: "Grow op kids need help," Editorial, July 30. I must take issue with your editorial regarding the removal of children from homes where there is illegal marijuana being grown. You spoke of the authorities and the parents, but you forgot the children themselves. What impact do you think it has on a child when the police storm a home, arrest the parents and then tell the children they are being taken away to a strange place by strangers for an unknown length of time? Where are those children going to be placed? Who will be caring for them? When can they see their parents again? Can you assure them the parents still love them? How do you assure those children they have done nothing wrong and are not being punished, as you hand them over to strangers? [continues 69 words]
You may not like the conclusions of a recent study by Motherisk, which suggests children found in homes containing cannabis growing operations should not automatically be torn from their families, but there is nothing questionable about their reasoning. According to a study on the characteristics of cannabis grow ops in British Columbia, 2.1 per cent contain hazards like booby traps, explosives and dangerous chemicals, 3.5 per cent cause fires and 5.9 per cent contain firearms - well below the national household average. [continues 77 words]
With questionable reasoning, a study by Motherisk, a respected research unit at Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital, suggests that children in marijuana grow ops should not be automatically removed from their homes because they face no adverse health risks. While there may be no medical justification to automatically separate them from their parents, it would be folly for child welfare agencies to not intervene. It is certainly true, as the head of Motherisk notes, that taking a child away from a welladapted family environment causes "fear, anxiety, confusion and sadness." Yet health concerns are hardly the sole risk associated with large-scale grow ops. In grow op raids, police often recover guns and large amounts of cash. Those who run factory grow ops typically move frequently. This is no way to raise a child. [continues 105 words]
A local resident is taking his fight against drugs on the road. In its third year, the Ride On Against Drugs, will see participants mount their bicycles and travel down Highway 16 from Edmonton to Lloydminster on Aug. 13 and 14. All funds raised will go to the Thorpe Recovery Centre in the Border City. "Basically, we have turned it into an annual event," said organizer Dave Rechlo. "It started out as a stand alone individual thing, but we had to have somewhere to donate our money to that we raised and we have been donating it to the Thorpe (Recovery) Centre. [continues 307 words]
Somali drug gangs appear to be highly mobile and loosely organized without the hierarchy of traditional criminal gangs, says city police Staff Sgt. Jim Peebles. These gang members work a circuit -- including Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray -- moving cocaine and guns around the country, Peebles said in a recent interview. "The group is in Edmonton one day, then they turn up in Fort McMurray and next week we see them in Toronto or Ottawa," he said. Police forces across the country, especially in Ontario and Alberta, worked closely together in the last couple of years to identity core gang members, uncover their movements and follow the shifting leadership, said Peebles, who works with the Alberta Law Enforcement Team, a special unit of RCMP and municipal police forces set up in 2006 to combat drug gangs and organized crime. [continues 703 words]
Editor, I am profoundly saddened and disappointed in our political representation calling for the criminalization of another drug, this time Salvia. We are not winning the war on drugs nor will we ever win that war. The drug merchants make astounding profits, have no rules and a ready and willing market. It would appear that our government has learned nothing from previous grievous errors, namely prohibition. This was a long term unmitigated disaster that turned the ordinary person on the street, who wanted to go home after work and have a drink and relax, into a common criminal and people with grade two educations and a gun into millionaires at the helm of booze smuggling empires. [continues 369 words]
Editor, There has never been a more misunderstood culture as the one we are faced with in this never-ending war against harmful drugs. We are all concerned about our youth purchasing and consuming hallucinogenic substances. Rather than continue to seek a legal recourse every time some new substance makes the headlines, it would be so much better to focus on public education! One thing you can count on is the availability of information on which to make educated decisions. A recent article outlines concerns raised by the Leduc Community Drug Action Committee regarding the sale of salvia and Happy Shaman Herbs in our community. As members of this community, we felt it prudent to share information with you regarding these products. Be assured, our intent is to educate, not to create further controversy. [continues 339 words]
Re: "Federal government to review medical marijuana program, eliminate abuse by criminals," July 22 Dear editor, Blake Richards avoids the real issues and muddies the waters in a deliberate attempt to discredit medical marijuana users. This is how bullies work. He says the government is proposing to "Create a new supply and distribution system for dried marijuana that uses only licensed commercial producers, to reduce the risk of abuse by criminal elements and lessen the jeopardy of fires and other public safety threats associated with home cultivation of medical marijuana." This is unconstitutional and unworkable. The government is flatly ignoring court rulings in this regard. It is also exaggerating the so-called dangers of pot-cultivation. Imagine if the cops came and took away your driver's license, and when you asked why, they said "Well, we have some unsubstantiated reports that some people may have been driving faster than the posted speed limit. So, to ensure public safety, we are taking away everyone's permits, and forcing everyone to use public transit." It is called "mass punishment," and is part of this government's ongoing commitment to cause suffering to the poor and the sick - and especially pot users. [continues 332 words]
It's the definition of insanity -- repeating the exact same behaviour time and time again, expecting different results. This would be the war on drugs. The current approach to illegal drugs - -- essentially prohibition -- has consumed billions of dollars, yet access to illicit, ever-cheaper street drugs and the impact of drug addiction on this community and thousands of others continues to consume more and more resources, and people. This failure has begun to be noticed by many people here and around the world. [continues 643 words]
Travellers Use Pot Vaporizer to Ingest Drug Aboard Flight Calgary travellers likely made their way into the Canadian record books earlier this month. As first reported yesterday on metronews.ca/calgary, the group of four boarded a WestJet flight June 2 with a marijuana vaporizer and proceeded to use it throughout the flight without any hassle from flight attendants or fellow passengers. Coincidentally, they were heading to a conference regarding medical marijuana use in Toronto. "I just used it in my seat," said Lisa Kirkman. [continues 175 words]
As a Strathmore group rallies to reopen a youth centre following the fatal drug overdose of a local teen, RCMP have laid charges against a 17-year-old male in connection with the death. The accused, also from Strathmore, was arrested Wednesday and charged with trafficking a controlled substance after allegedly selling a quantity of pills, believed to be ecstasy, to 15-year-old Jonathan Herrmann. Herrmann went into "medical distress" and died in hospital last Friday after taking the yellow pills, each bearing a Mickey Mouse design. [continues 750 words]
Police have charged a Strathmore teen for dealing the dope believed to have killed 15-year-old Jonathan Herrmann. Herrmann, a football and basketball player popular among his peers at Strathmore high school, died on June 3, the day he and his friend Richard Mulvihill, 19, popped ecstasy pills at the Strathmore Skateboard Park. An ensuing RCMP investigation on Wednesday yielded the arrest of a 17-year-old Strathmore teen. Sgt. Kevin Reilly said the youth, who cannot be named under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was picked up at his Strathmore home and charged with a single count of trafficking a controlled substance. [continues 301 words]
Inside Alberta
