A proven system is already in place, Stephanie Smith and Damian Kettlewell write. It's late afternoon and you receive a text message: "Please pick up wine." You pull into the neighbourhood liquor store, pick up a bottle and head home. A familiar scene taking place across the province every day. When you go into your local liquor store, you know you are buying a quality product in a secure environment, with stores conveniently located across the province. B.C.'s public and private liquor stores have a proven track record selling controlled alcohol products to adults in a responsible manner, with more than a 90 per cent compliance rate in restricting sales to minors. [continues 535 words]
A man has been acquitted after evidence that he had checked in a suitcase containing a large quantity of drugs at Vancouver International Airport was thrown out of court. David Edward Herman checked in two pieces of luggage when he arrived at the airport for a flight to Toronto on March 17, 2013. One of the suitcases passed through security without any incident and was loaded onto the plane but screening of the second suitcase indicated the possible existence of explosives. [continues 220 words]
North Shore residents should be able to buy marijuana in either private or government-run outlets, similar to liquor stores, but there should be strict regulations banning youth under 19 from accessing weed and roadside suspensions for drivers impaired by pot. Local municipalities also want a cut of marijuana revenues to help with enforcement of the rules and a say about where pot shops are set up. Those are some of the messages put forward by all three North Shore municipalities in response to a provincial call for submissions as B.C. considers how legal marijuana will be sold and regulated next year. Those responses received are now posted online by the province. [continues 310 words]
The District of North Vancouver is going to fight another pot shop in the courts. The municipality filed court documents Nov. 15 in B.C. Supreme Court, asking for an order that the owners of Medicinal Mary Jane Iprio Inc. operating at 1488 Pemberton Ave. stop selling marijuana and marijuana products, in contravention of local bylaws. The court documents also ask for an order authorizing police to arrest anyone who contravenes a judge's order in the case. Six people - residents of Vancouver, New Westminster and Richmond who are directors of the company, are named in the lawsuit, along with Orient Holdings Ltd, which owns the property where the marijuana retail shop operates. Legal documents also name the Medicinal Mary-Jane Canada Society and three people who are directors of the society, including Aaron Sinnathamby of Burnaby who is also a director of Medicinal Mary Jane Iprio Inc. [continues 450 words]
A man has been acquitted after evidence that he had checked in a suitcase containing a large quantity of drugs at Vancouver International Airport was thrown out of court. David Edward Herman checked in two pieces of luggage when he arrived at the airport for a flight to Toronto on March 17, 2013. One of the suitcases passed through security without incident and was loaded onto the plane, but a screening of the second suggested it might contain explosives. When the suitcase was examined by security officers, they discovered drugs later determined to be marijuana and hashish. [continues 429 words]
Re: "Smoking pot hard on health." The reason that "disparate points of view on the whole issue" exist is simply because those in the prohibitionist camp seem to be highly selective about what they choose to acknowledge as fact. Tobacco use provides the No. 1 source of preventable deaths in Canada and no one in the span of recorded history has ever died just from smoking cannabis. At the same time, studies that indicate that the use of cannabis slows or even stops the growth of tumors are completely ignored. [continues 189 words]
B.C. cannabis company has wait-list of 1,500 orders, but some experts warn such illegal seasonal novelties pose potential health risks A Vancouver cannabis company is scrambling to keep up with a flood of orders for marijuana-filled Advent calendars, but the novel take on a popular Christmas tradition has some health experts ringing alarm bells. Lorilee Fedler of Coast to Coast Medicinals said she's been overwhelmed by the response since launching the holiday calendars earlier this month. [continues 578 words]
A Vancouver cannabis company is scrambling to keep up with a flood of orders for marijuana-filled advent calendars, but the novel take on a popular Christmas tradition has some health experts ringing alarm bells. Lorilee Fedler of Coast to Coast Medicinals said she's been overwhelmed by the response since launching the holiday calendars earlier this month. "We just wanted something fun and different for adults," Fedler said, adding that she came up with the idea after seeing versions containing beer. [continues 289 words]
On a flight home last week, I was having a conversation about the introduction of Bill C-45 or the "Cannabis Act." The person I was talking to is working with local governments to sort out the multitude of bylaws and regulations which will be necessitated by the legislation. Different municipalities are taking varying approaches and have disparate points of view on the whole issue. After all, not everyone is in favour of legalizing marijuana nor sure what exactly that means. [continues 719 words]
The ramifications of legalized marijuana keep popping up, as governments try to prepare for the new reality that is rapidly approaching. Municipalities are at the sharp end of the issue. As so often happens, they will have the bulk of the responsibility, while having the least power and the fewest resources. Victoria city council has offered a list of suggestions to the provincial government, as the province tries to answer its own slice of the many questions about the production, sale and use of marijuana. The city's list gives a taste of the many possibilities that policymakers have to foresee. [continues 507 words]
West Kelowna floods shops with fines, while Kelowna takes them to court The City of West Kelowna has issued $60,000 in fines to the operators of pot shops since Nov. 1, but none of the tickets has been paid. Bylaw officers regularly visit the five stores that sell marijuana, handing out $1,000 tickets each time for not having a business licence, city spokesperson Kirsten Jones says. But the City of Kelowna has opted for a different approach in trying to force the closure of five pot shops operating without a business licence in that municipality. [continues 567 words]
Having worked as a police officer for many years, I have to admit, it requires a shift in thinking to look at marijuana as a legal substance. Countless policing hours were dedicated to keeping it out of our homes, schools and communities, but the future will be different. Since the federal government announcement earlier this year, the law enforcement community began work to determine what public safety issues might arise with the availability of legal marijuana. Much of the public discourse was simple: legalize it, regulate it, tax it and use the revenues for everything, from health care to education spending. Unfortunately, it is not that simple from a public safety perspective, and the Delta police, along with our policing partners have done a great deal of work to identify and address key issues. [continues 302 words]
Best-selling author Johann Hari weighs in on B.C. housing and opioid crises Graeme Wood / Richmond News Adequate, affordable housing - not a misguided, unscientific and subjective approach to drug criminalization - is the cornerstone of preventing and overcoming drug addiction. That's the message British author and drug war critic Johann Hari brought to Richmond Monday at a conference hosted by Housing Central (BC Non-profit Housing Association, Co-op Housing Federation of BC, Aboriginal Housing Management Association and the Pacific Housing Research Network.) [continues 529 words]
Richmond residents petition Tory leader The Richmond-based Marijuana Legalization Concern Group, led by Coun. Chak Au, has taken its fight one step further by presenting an opposition letter and petition to Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservative Party. Two of the group members, Jonathan Ho, who is also a Richmond school trustee, and Zenbia Chan, along with more than 10 supporters, handed their opposition letter and petition - which had more than 9,000 signatures - to Scheer last Wednesday night in White Rock. [continues 322 words]
Dear Editor, Re: "Trustee: Stop sending our youth mixed pot messages," Letters, Nov. 17. When are the reefer madness people going to let it go? For three generations, marijuana prohibition has been tried and is a complete failure. Some members of society should not have the power to impose their own moral code on adults when no harm is being done to others. Some of us are against alcohol and/or gambling, yet people are free to make their own choices. This is true despite the health dangers of booze and the chance that gambling can ruin lives financially. [continues 207 words]
Dear Editor, Re: "School trustee needs history lesson," Letters, Nov. 17. I fully support Mayor Brodie and councillors plus trustees Ho and Hamaguchi and other like-minded persons with their pot legalization concerns. May I suggest pot proponents substitute ingesting tablets identified as DDD as an alternative to all available recreational drugs. The history of failed reliance on education to avoid the use of recreational drugs and abuse of prescription drugs has been demonstrated by the overdose death tragedy. Surely, serious and meaningful consequences must be applied in addition to education. Why do we assess financial consequences for illegal parking, speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, etc., while ignoring this available significant deterrence and financial resource asset? [continues 110 words]
Dear Editor, Re: "School trustee needs history lesson," Letters, Nov. 17. I'd like to thank Brad Kilburn for bringing up that key fact from anti-cannabis history. The USA criminalized marijuana originally to keep the prohibition bureaucracy and police budgets going. Canada, however, did it mainly as an attack on the Chinese in our West Coast port city of Vancouver. Legalization, with basic regulation, including age limits and laws against black market production and sales, is coming. That's a given. [continues 79 words]
To the editor, Re: Providing drugs would curb crime, Letters, Nov. 9. The question is not when our government will decriminalize personal possession and provide a safe clean drug source, like we do for alcohol and soon to be marijuana, but how many more families will be devastated with the loss of a loved one before a government is brave enough to value lives over votes. In Portugal, possession is not a criminal offence if you have a 10-day personal supply in your possession. By decriminalizing personal possession, we can then start to rid the negative stigma that is associated with addiction. [continues 208 words]
There are many absurdities in Victoria city council's pot-regulation proposals: Second-hand smoke, whether it is from tobacco or pot, affects everyone in the vicinity. When you add pot's psychoactive components into the mix, non-users get all the unhealthy tar and lung contaminant and they also get stoned. Not everyone has a pleasant reaction to cannabis. While I can decline a drink if it is offered, I can't decline the effect of pot smoke in my air, whether it's from a pot lounge or seeping through the ventilation system of a building. [continues 129 words]
It's late afternoon and you receive a text message: 'Friends coming for dinner. Please pick up wine.' You pull into the neighbourhood liquor store, pick up a bottle of your favourite wine and head home. A familiar scene taking place across the province every day. When you go into your local liquor store, you have confidence knowing that you're buying a quality product in a secure environment, with stores conveniently located in every community across the province. B.C.'s public and private liquor stores have a proven track record over many decades, selling controlled alcohol products to adults in a responsible manner, with more than a 90 per cent compliance rate in restricting sales to minors. [continues 533 words]
Drug reliance stems from lack of social bonds, trauma: Expert To Janice Abbott, the link between housing and addiction is a direct line. "One of the things that happens when women don't have housing is that women use (drugs) to stay safe," the CEO of Atira Women's Resource Society told attendees at the Housing Central Conference in Richmond on Monday. "Young women on the streets use speed, any upper, to be able to stay awake so they can keep themselves safe from all the predation that's on the streets." [continues 461 words]
Dear editor: On Oct. 19, I was saddened and outraged while viewing Global Okanagan's interview with West Kelowna city councillor, Rusty Ensign, regarding the pulling of business licences of the city's medical cannabis dispensaries. Last week, I attended one of West Kelowna's cannabis dispensaries to purchase some edible products which help to control my pain and allow me to get some quality sleep, and, contrary to Ensign's claims that such stores service 20-30-year-old males, there were none in the shop, only three other ladies, of which only one was under the age of 65. [continues 210 words]
B.C. lobbying to preserve producers' licences as hectic spring looms While the New Democrats prepare to do their share on marijuana legalization, they are also lobbying Ottawa to preserve the province's position as one of the leading producers of what has been called B.C.'s largest cash crop. "The reality is this," said solicitor general Mike Farnworth, lead minister on the file for B.C. "We have had in this province an industry that's been in place for a very long time. Some of it underpins the economy, for example, no surprise, in the Kootenays, certain parts of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the coast." [continues 837 words]
Doctors of B.C. is asking the provincial government to consider banning individuals from growing recreational pot at home when it becomes legal in July. The group was one of more than 130 stakeholders offering feedback to the B.C. government as part of its consultation on cannabis regulation and distribution. The variety of submissions reflects the complex decisions government faces. Doctors of B.C. provided a list of "considerations" since there isn't enough evidence to make a strong recommendation, said president-elect Dr. Eric Cadesky. [continues 473 words]
Doctors of B.C. is asking the provincial government to consider banning individuals from growing recreational pot at home when it becomes legal in July. The group was one of more than 130 stakeholders offering feedback to the B.C. government as part of its consultation on cannabis regulation and distribution. The variety of submissions points to the complex decisions government faces. Doctors of B.C. provided a list of "considerations" since there isn't enough evidence to make a strong recommendation, said president-elect Dr. Eric Cadesky. "There isn't a consensus amongst doctors. The feedback we got contained many different points of view." [continues 246 words]
Regularly imposed bail condition is an untenable method of punishment and sets up marginalized people for failure Imagine you have a serious medical condition requiring regular care. You are charged with a minor offence, for which you are innocent until proved guilty, and your first step into the justice system is to stand before a judge who will determine whether you will be released on bail. The judge says you are free to go, but as a condition of release you are not to be within the 10 square-block area that constitutes the downtown - even though your doctor, your pharmacy and your social supports such as friends and family are all within that area. You have been "red zoned" from your community. [continues 835 words]
Another day, another Trudeau Liberal lie That fury you hear? The betrayal medical cannabis patients and activists feel after the federal government went back on yet another promise surrounding legal marijuana. Last Friday, the Department of Finance announced a federal tax proposal that could see an excise charge of $1/gram or 10% (whichever is higher) on both recreational and medical cannabis. According to Ottawa, the revenues will be shared equally between the feds, provinces and territories. So what are they smoking? The shady government is apparently 'concerned' users will lie to their doctors, pretend to be sick and navigate the complex workings of the medical cannabis system in order to save the extra 10% tax that would be reserved for recreational pot. [continues 482 words]
Doctors of B.C. is asking the provincial government to consider banning individuals from growing recreational pot at home when it becomes legal in July. The group was one of more than 130 stakeholders offering feedback to the B.C. government as part of its consultation on cannabis regulation and distribution. The variety of submissions points to the complex decisions government faces. Doctors of B.C. provided a list of "considerations" since there isn't enough evidence to make strong a recommendation, said president-elect Dr. Eric Cadesky. "There isn't a consensus amongst doctors. The feedback we got contained many different points of view." [continues 457 words]
Staff at Revelstoke Secondary School now have a new tool to keep students safe. The high school received two Naloxone kits at the end of September. Naloxone is used to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose. With a focus on student safety and well-being, principal Greg Kenyon said that getting the kits was an obvious decision, despite the school being low-risk for drug overdoses. "It's just another thing we do and have," said Kenyon. "It's like we're trained for responding to anaphylaxis and we're trained now to respond to Naloxone and administering that." [continues 635 words]
Pot entrepreneurs should be encouraged, says Paul Clark. Entrepreneurial ism and innovation are key ingredients to Canada's domestic economy and its international competitiveness. For example, France has a vibrant wine industry, Cuba is recognized for its cigars, China has a strong manufacturing role, and Italy and France have their fashion brands. To this end, the Government of Canada invests a considerable amount of money and effort into sparking and supporting entrepreneurial activities. For example, government-funded Entrepreneurial Incubators exist across the country, loans to entrepreneurs and small businesses are widely promoted, and other agencies such as Community Futures support entrepreneurial activity. [continues 568 words]
The fentanyl crisis in B.C. continues to worsen. In the past five years, the province has gone from 12 fentanyl-related deaths to 823 between between January and August this year. There have been no fentanyl-related deaths reported in Revelstoke, but RCMP still believe that the powerful opioid has made its way into the community. With the number of fatalities in the province climbing, it makes sense that community institutions would arm themselves with a resource to combat opioid overdoses. [continues 229 words]
Editor: The question is not when our government will decriminalize personal possession and provide a safe clean drug source, like we do for alcohol and soon to be marijuana, but how many more families will be devastated with the loss of a loved one before a government is brave enough to value lives over votes. In Portugal, possession is not a criminal offence if you have a 10 day personal supply in your possession. If it is more than that then it's treated as trafficking. By decriminalizing personal possession, we can then start to rid the negative stigma that is associated with addiction. [continues 210 words]
Being illegal - for now - makes it hard to pin down just how big the market for marijuana is, but one estimate suggests it's at least as large as hard liquor sales, about $5 billion annually. The report, from financial services firm Deloitte, estimates the market for legalized recreational marijuana could give Canada's economy a $22.6 billion annual boost when you include growers, equipment suppliers and the like. With that much of an economic boost at stake, it's a little hard to understand the fear-mongering coming from many levels of society as the date for the promised legalization approaches. [continues 234 words]
The Vernon School District is taking a proactive approach to battling the opioid crisis. Rather than waiting for drug problems to develop, school counsellors, backed by the district, are tackling potential problems before they materialize through a new program. Preventure, a school-based preventative drug and alcohol program, aims to reduce drug and alcohol use in high-risk teenagers. "The starting point is prevention, then intervention," said Doug Rogers, district substance abuse prevention counsellor. The Canadian-developed program screens Grade 8 students for four personality traits that are considered at risk: sensation-seeking, impulsiveness, anxiety sensitivity and hopelessness, as research indicates that up to 90 per cent of at risk youth can be identified from these traits. [continues 595 words]
A quarter-century ago, Abbotsford had its moment of clarity with respect to drugs and gangs. After repeated denials by the city's municipal police department that gangs were active in the Fraser Valley city, the truth was laid bare when 18-year-old Kirby Martin was shot and killed in a parking lot of a mall along the city's main strip, South Fraser Way. His death was followed by acknowledgment from police that gangs were indeed part of life in the city and many community forums followed. [continues 598 words]
The event will feature stories from the front lines Nelson's Fentanyl Task Force is set to host Growing Hope: A Community Conversation on the Current Fentanyl Crisis at Nelson's Hume Hotel on Nov. 22. The discussion will feature health care professionals, emergency responders, educators and community leaders across the West Kootenay. "What will have the biggest effect on death is reducing stigma for people who are using drugs," says Chloe Sage, an educator at Nelson's ANKORS who will be part of a seven-person panel of speakers at the event. "One of the goals of these panels is to be able to talk about all the issues that involve people who use drugs and people who are at risk of dying from fentanyl overdose. When we start lowering the stigma and people can talk about what they are going through, then we will have less deaths because people will be able to seek the help they need." [continues 1291 words]
The province should develop a licensing regime to allow for designated cannabis-consumption lounges when marijuana becomes legal next year, say Victoria councillors. "We're seeing a need for it in our community right now, as there are lounges that are operating illegally based on our regulations and current laws," said Coun. Jeremy Loveday. The recommendation will be part of a suite of suggestions the city will forward to the province for consideration as it crafts regulations governing the production, sale and use of marijuana, which the federal government plans to make legal by next summer. [continues 497 words]
The guidelines are strict but it won't matter According to new marijuana marketing guidelines released Wednesday by The Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Branding after working with Advertising Standards Canada, companies marketing marijuana will not be able to use animals to sell pot nor will be they be able to promote the use of cannabis itself ( just brand preference) and they will be required to advertise in places where over 70 per cent of the audience is adult (or above the age of majority in the particular province). [continues 380 words]
Five of the six marijuana dispensaries located in West Kelowna are defying the city's order to shut down. And, as a result, they are each facing hefty fines that, if left unpaid, could result in court action. A week after the deadline the city gave the dispensaries to wrap up their operations in West Kelowna, only one has complied. So the city has started fining the dispensaries $1,000 a day each for contravening city bylaws. According to the city, West Kelowna bylaw officers visited the six dispensaries Nov. 1 and only one said it has stopped dispensing marijuana. [continues 269 words]
5 West Kelowna stores rack up daily fines as they continue to sell marijuana despite loss of their business licences No business licence, no problem. That seems to be the defiant attitude of five West Kelowna pot shops, which continue to sell marijuana despite orders from the city to shut down. "We are open for business as we speak," Selina Lau of Black Crow Herbal Solutions said Monday. The operators of each store are being fined $1,000 a day for not having a business licence. The fines began Nov. 1 and will continue indefinitely, the City of West Kelowna says. [continues 370 words]
Dear editor: Congratulations Mr. Miller, on your promotion. Re: Your Editorial of Nov. 1, 2017. The move on the part of our national government to "legalize" the recreational use of marijuana without putting in place a nation-wide format of what their "legalization" really means is utterly disgraceful. Their offloading this responsibility to each provincial jurisdiction to rush together a set of laws and regulations by next summer is truly unacceptable behaviour. Once again we will have a situation of utter confusion with what is legal or permissible from one local town or city to the next. Such poor performance, to fulfill one campaign promise, at the cost of creating so many new problems across our country. Tom Crawford, Penticton [end]
Group against drunk driving says injuries, deaths due to driving high likely to increase after pot use is legalized in Canada next summer Crashes caused by drivers high on pot are likely to spike after the drug is legalized next summer, MADD Canada says. American states that have already approved the use of marijuana have seen sharp increases in fatal accidents in which a driver was impaired by the drug, MADD's western region manager for chapter services said Sunday. "That's certainly been the experience in Washington state and Colorado, and we will probably see an increase in deaths and injuries related to cannabis use here after it's legalized next July," Tracy Crawford said after a MADD-hosted candlelight vigil for victims of impaired driving. [continues 349 words]
Province widens availability of device for detecting the presence of fentanyl; medical health officer says lives will be saved British Columbia has expanded a program allowing people to check their street drugs for fentanyl before using, becoming the first jurisdiction in Canada to facilitate the experimental testing on a wide scale. Health officials have also purchased a device that detects both the presence and quantities of deadly adulterants and can provide a more detailed analysis of not just fentanyl, but other chemically similar drugs being cut into the local supply. [continues 684 words]
Conditions can push people to commit crimes: Study Releasing people on bail on the condition they do not go to the Downtown Eastside sets them up for failure, according to research from three Canadian universities. Judges often order people on bail to avoid certain "no-go zones" or "red zones" in an effort to prevent them from committing crimes. But it, in fact, does the exact opposite, says SFU geography professor Nicholas Blomley. "These are people who have yet to be found guilty of an offence," he said. [continues 391 words]
When Lisa was released on bail, following an arrest for possession for the purpose of trafficking, British Columbia's Provincial Court ordered the Downtown Eastside resident to stay away from the busy hub of Hastings Street. But she says that condition, that she stay away from the street where she was arrested, made little sense. "My bank was there, my home was there, my probation was there, my doctor was there, like come on guys! All of Hastings Street? Hello! My whole life is there! They're going to arrest you every time you want to go home?" [continues 535 words]
Legalizing marijuana will dramatically increase the workload for police forces across the country, says Victoria Police Chief Del Manak. "The Cannabis Act will legalize cannabis, and I can assure you that the work for the police department and every police agency across this country is going to exponentially increase," Manak told city councillors during a budget workshop on Tuesday. Efforts to keep drugs out of the hands of organized crime and youth and to deal with drivers who are impaired by cannabis "will not happen overnight," Manak said. [continues 474 words]
Here in Vancouver, it's tempting to praise ourselves for our forward-thinking approaches to illicit drug use. We're home to Insite, the first supervised-injection facility in North America, the success of which paved the way for Health Canada to start approving prospective supervised-injection sites in other cities across the country this year. We're also home to the first and only prescription heroin program on the continent, which has proven how life-changing it can be for a person entrenched in opiate addiction to have access to a clean, regulated supply of drugs. [continues 970 words]
Most Canadians are in favour of legalizing marijuana and for many different reasons. Little Kyla Williams in Summerland became a poster child across North America for the benefits of medical cannabis. Recreational users affirm that pot is less harmful than alcohol. (Most cops agree that drunks are far harder to deal with than stoners.) A suggestion by the Green Party is to take distribution out of the control of organized crime and tax it like they do for alcohol and tobacco. A portion of tax collected can then be directed for education and treatment programs for those who become addicted. [continues 225 words]
The majority of Canadians are in favour of legalizing marijuana and for many different reasons. Little Kyla Williams in Summerland became a poster child across North America for the wonderful benefits of medical cannabis. Recreational users affirm that pot is less harmful than alcohol. (Most cops agree that drunks are far harder to deal with than stoners.) A suggestion that the Green party has been saying for years is take distribution out of the hands of organized crime, tax it like they do alcohol and cigarettes, and spend the money on education and treatment programs. [continues 210 words]
Tory Leader open to new ideas for tackling crisis in B.C., but remains leery of supervised drug-use sites and further decriminalization Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says he is trying to keep an open mind on options for dealing with the opioid overdose crisis in British Columbia, but is not backing off key tenets on harm reduction his party pushed in government. That includes reservations about supervised drug-use sites. In an interview on Wednesday ahead of a visit later this month to the Lower Mainland, Mr. Scheer also said prosecuting drug users may steer them into rehabilitation programs that would reduce the risk of overdoses. [continues 591 words]
Inside British Columbia
