No stranger to ego, Emery may even believe he's the chosen cannabis crusader. But Canada's self-styled "Prince of Pot" - just released from a U.S. prison, after doing 4 1/2 years for selling marijuana seeds into the U.S. from Vancouver - makes a poor martyr for the kind of electoral backlash he imagines he will now inspire against the federal Conservative government he vilifies. No sooner was the B.C. man back across the border from Detroit, than he was vowing vengeance against the Tories. [continues 268 words]
Neighbours Say They Fear Operation Will Attract Unsavoury 'Segment' Of Population Stealing from Stan Swiatek's marijuana stash is probably a task best left to Tom Cruise. "It's Mission Impossible, pretty much," remarked the founder and president of Sundial Growers on the tail end of a 90-minute tour provided to Metro of his 30,000-square foot covered greenhouse, located just northwest of Airdrie. It's on this land where he hopes to "set the stage" for what some believe will be a lucrative commercial marijuana market. Health Canada has moved away from personal, home-based grow-operations, but believes the need for medicinal marijuana will only bloom like a well-cared for pot plant in the years to come. [continues 516 words]
Marc Emery may think of himself as a marijuana messiah, leading the long-suffering to deliverance from pot laws they believe unfairly punish them and restrict their freedom to smoke up. No stranger to ego, Emery may even believe he's the chosen cannabis crusader. But Canada's self-styled "Prince of Pot" - just released from a U.S. prison, after doing 4 1/2 years for selling marijuana seeds into the U.S. from Vancouver - makes a poor martyr for the kind of electoral backlash he imagines he will now inspire against the federal Conservative government he vilifies. [continues 289 words]
Marc Emery may think of himself as a marijuana messiah, leading the long-suffering to deliverance from pot laws they believe unfairly punish them and restrict their freedom to smoke up. No stranger to ego, Emery may even believe he's the chosen cannabis crusader. But Canada's self-styled "Prince of Pot" - just released from a U.S. prison, after doing 4 1/2 years for selling marijuana seeds into the U.S. from Vancouver - makes a poor martyr for the kind of electoral backlash he imagines he will now inspire against the federal Conservative government he vilifies. [continues 290 words]
Re: "Doctors put in untenable position," Aug. 8. Dr. Chris Simpson, incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association, made some important points regarding medicinal cannabis. By default, doctors have been made the gatekeepers for the legal use of cannabis for medical purposes. Patients look to their doctors for guidance on managing their health conditions, including options such as medicinal cannabis. Simpson is correct that cannabis is different from other treatment options. It is regulated by Health Canada separately from traditional prescription medicines, and while there is a growing body of clinical research on the therapeutic benefits and the risks of cannabis, it is still less than exists for many prescription drugs. [continues 116 words]
Edmonton Folk Music Festival's Relaxed Atmosphere Keeps Troublemakers at Bay While several summer music festivals are taking heat for attendees overdosing on drugs, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival is busy dealing with scrapes, bruises and the occasional lost child. Ben Toane, a doctor who has volunteered at the First Aid tent every year since the Folk Fest started in 1980, said the festival of 25,000 people has always been a calm affair. "I think it has to do with the fact that it's fenced. It keeps the riffraff out. You come in and it feels like a safe place. It's festive, it's creative, it's very enjoyable," he said. [continues 341 words]
'You can't chaperone 14,000 people' Apart from having pat downs at the entrance and roving security, organizers of the Chasing Summer music festival say there is little they can do to stop party-goers taking illegal drugs. "You can't be a chaperone for 14,000 people - the best we can do is make sure we have systems in place that can handle any kind of contingency imaginable," said Dave Johnston, creative director with Union Events, the company behind the show. [continues 271 words]
Pot friendly doctors hard to find. Oasis Clinic believed to be first of its kind in Calgary Graeme Mascuich has been using marijuana to treat symptoms associated with Asperger syndrome for years. But it's just recently that the 29-year-old was able to obtain his supply of the drug through legitimate means, thanks to a Calgary clinic believed be the first in the city to offer patient evaluations for the federal medicinal marijuana program. Oasis Clinic, located in the northeast community of Temple, has seemingly been offering access to the drug since at least late May, according to posts on associated social media accounts. [continues 222 words]
Re: "War on drugs needs a rethink," Ideas, Steve Lafleur, Aug. 7 Those advocating for a "rethink" on the war on drugs, and particularly marijuana, need to rethink themselves. Using specious arguments about caffeine versus marijuana, Steve Lafleur tries to muddy the waters. Nevertheless, would legalizing marijuana reduce the "buy up" of drug gangs? Not, according to findings coming out of Colorado recently. There, illegal marijuana continues to flourish, maybe even more so because of inabilities to detect "legal" from "illegal," as does other illicit drug use. Moreover, study after study shows that marijuana continues to be a gateway drug to "harder" drugs, regardless of ease of availability. The "black market" continues to flourish - Lafleur is patently wrong on this. [continues 144 words]
Drop moralistic approach and consider an end to black market Does caffeine lead to cocaine use? Obviously not. But what would happen if caffeine were outlawed? Naturally, a black market would emerge. Drug gangs, which are highly skilled at operating outside of the law, and have pre-existing distribution channels, would begin trafficking illegal caffeine pills. If people were forced to use black market distribution chains to obtain a mild stimulant such as caffeine, would they be more likely to opt for a stronger stimulant such as cocaine? Almost certainly. [continues 692 words]
Mayor leads charge against unsafe homes An appeal to Canada's health minister to hand over addresses of federally approved residential medical marijuana grow ops has reached "critical" status, says Calgary's mayor. "Since 2012, (the city) has inspected 28 federally licensed residential grow operations," Naheed Nenshi said in a recent letter to Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq obtained by the Herald. "In all cases the owners' operation was closed due to identified safety risks and violations." Nenshi was reiterating the city's previous request in March for federal health officials to provide the information to local authorities ahead of Ottawa's plan to end its controversial Medical Marijuana Access Regulations program - a move now stalled by a court injunction. [continues 540 words]
"Revenge!" Now there's an anguished utterance you normally expect only to hear in bad Shakespeare parodies. Not last week, however, when Marc Emery, Canada's so-called Prince of Pot, dropped the R-bomb on no less than the government itself. Speaking to CBC Radio from a private deportation facility (whatever the heck that is) in anticipation of finally being released from the U.S. prison system, Emery said, "My own government betrayed me and I'm going to wreak an appropriate amount of political revenge when I get home and campaign against the Conservative government." [continues 585 words]
Is Marc Emery a secret agent for the Conservative Party of Canada? It sure looks that way. It's impossible that you have not heard of the World's Most Famous Pothead. But, in the event that you have been in a coma for the past while, consider this a primer, gratis. Marc Emery is from B.C. Presently, he is a guest of the U.S. prison system, but is returning to Canada this month. He got himself in prison by selling drug stuff in the U.S. His business was called Marc Emery Direct Marijuana Seeds, which pretty accurately describes what he does for a living. [continues 564 words]
Selling items like pipes, bongs and grinders is going to be more difficult in Leduc, if a new bylaw has its desired affect. On June 23, city council passed Bylaw 861-2014, which amended Leduc's business licensing regulations to restrict selling drug-related merchandise and paraphernalia. "Council has always had the viewpoint that this type of product and business is not welcome in the city," said City of Leduc director of planning and development Ken Woitt. "While it's very difficult to regulate, certainly they wish to do everything in their power to encourage these businesses to do business elsewhere." [continues 489 words]
Police Have to 'Kick Their Butts,' Expert Says They're savvy, greedy and extremely violent, and now that members of the Red Scorpion gang are calling Alberta home, it'll be tough to get them to leave, according to gang experts. A law enforcement team recently busted four people linked to the B.C.-based gang on a number of weapons and drugs charges tied to a trafficking ring that's been operating out of Calgary, Red Deer and Airdrie for two years. [continues 444 words]
Physicians don't want to prescribe pot; surveys indicate this overwhelmingly. The Canadian Medical Association unequivocally doesn't want them to do it either, and for years, they've issued policy statements, briefs and resolutions to their members, to the public, to the courts, and to government saying so. The insurer of physicians, the Canadian Medical Protective Association, advises doctors not to do it, citing liability concerns. Last week, the president of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti, raised alarms when he said that between pot manufacturers lobbying physicians, and patients pushing for prescriptions, doctors have been put in an untenable position. One 2012 CMA survey of doctors showed that 70 per cent had been asked for a pot prescription, with doctors estimating that 64 per cent of these requests were for non-medical use. Intimidating indeed. [continues 630 words]
Licensed medical marijuana growers in Calgary busted over alleged trafficking Police have arrested a pair of Calgarians for allegedly trafficking marijuana while licensed to grow medicinal pot. And city police officer Staff Sgt. Keith Hurley said the case highlights the difficulty of determining who's legally growing the drug and who's abusing that privilege. "There's a lot of grey in this area...the lines are definitely blurred and it's difficult to police," said Hurley, adding Health Canada, which issues growing permits doesn't supply law enforcement with information on the medicinal gardens. [continues 241 words]
Officers busted a medicinal marijuana grow op in southwest Calgary that police believe was used to fuel a drug trafficking operation, following a six-week investigation that stemmed from an unrelated traffic stop. A man and a woman are now facing a total of 20 drug and weapons related charges in connection with the case. Staff Sgt. Keith Hurley, with Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team's Green Team South, said the pair had not been on police radar until a traffic stop a few months ago. [continues 314 words]
DRE: In 2014, Just Three Evaluations Have Been Done on Drivers Suspected of Being High Behind the Wheel Fewer suspected high drivers are being tested as Calgary's team of drug-recognition experts continues to be plagued by attrition. In 2014, only three evaluations have been done on motorists suspected of sitting high behind the wheel. That's down from a total of 11 completed tests last year and 23 in 2012. The dip in the drug-impairment tests comes as the number of DRE agents has fallen to five from 20 over the same span - one more than the Red Deer Mounties, who patrol a much smaller population. [continues 267 words]
Regarding Warren Kinsella's June 20 column, is the Conservative Party on the payroll of Mexican drug cartels? Conservatives would have Canadians believe that the job of keeping drugs out of the hands of children is best left to criminals. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age. Right now it's easier for kids to buy marijuana than beer. Taxing and regulating marijuana will restrict youth access to drugs, the really dangerous ones in particular. Marijuana legalization will close the gateway to hard drugs by taking marijuana distribution out of the hands of criminals that sell meth, cocaine and heroin. Marijuana may be relatively harmless, but marijuana prohibition is deadly. Robert Sharpe, policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy (Many Canadians would side with the Tories on this.) [end]
Inside Alberta
