IF there is one thing that Canadians do well, it is the growing and selling of marijuana. In hydroponic houses all across the country, people are producing world-class weed that is much in demand, not just in the domestic market, but in the United States as well. Unfortunately, and against all common sense, the business is illegal, but where governments can't cope, criminals can. And it seems clear now that the Canadian government can't cope. Its pilot program for the growth and sale of marijuana for medical purposes is in a shambles. Not only is the pot it produces inferior in quality to the stuff being grown in your neighbour's basement, even the private companies involved in the business can't make it work. Hudbay Minerals has just locked out pot-producing Prairie Plant Systems from the Flin Flon mine shaft where it grew the nation's supply of medicinal marijuana. Somehow, somewhere, the growing demand for medicinal marijuana will be met, we are told -- we're from the government and we're here to help you. This is yet another convincing argument for legalizing -- and privatizing -- the drug. [end]
A 14-year prison sentence given to convicted cop shooter Daniell Anderson underscores the need for sweeping changes to Canada's parole system, the heads of Winnipeg's police service and police union say. Reacting to yesterday's sentence, police Chief Keith McCaskill and Winnipeg Police Association president Mike Sutherland aren't pleased Anderson is eligible to be freed by the National Parole Board years before the sentence expires because such a move wouldn't make the term meaningful. "If the 14 years meant 14 years, we'd be satisfied," Sutherland said at a press conference. [continues 257 words]
Officers Wanted Longer Term For Cop-Shooter Senior Winnipeg police executives are calling for tougher parole requirements after learning police shooter Daniell Anderson could be back on the streets in less than five years. The 24-year-old was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years behind bars after seriously wounding three officers who executed a drug search warrant at his home. However, he will be able to apply for parole after serving just one-third of his sentence. Queen's Bench Justice Doug Abra rejected the Crown's bid for a 20-year sentence and a requirement that at least half of it be served before Anderson can apply for early release, calling that "excessive" and without any legal precedent. Abra also said Anderson's request for a seven-year sentence was too lenient considering the "outrageous facts" of the case. [continues 645 words]
But He Could Be Out After Third Of Sentence Daniell Ian Anderson has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for a drug raid shoot-out that seriously wounded three police officers. The Crown had recommended Anderson be sentenced to 20 years in prison and that he serve half his sentence before being eligible for parole. The defence was seeking a sentence of seven years. Justice Doug Abra ordered there be no change in Anderson's parole eligibility, meaning he could be released on day parole after serving just one-third of his sentence. [continues 416 words]
With Winnipeggers arguing mightily over whether or not Daniell Anderson is getting the prison sentence he deserves, the more pressing issue is not the time he's been given but how much of it will he actually serve. Throwing him in prison is one thing but there's bigger fish to fry when it comes to keeping criminals like him behind bars so that they are legitimately punished. It's a no-brainer that he should stay behind bars for a very long time. But this is Canada's infamous parole system we're talking about. The folks at the National Parole Board act like they've never heard of the term do the crime, serve the time. [continues 349 words]
Company President Blames Uncertainty Over Expansion Plans Flin Flon is gone from pot. Citing failed negotiations with Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, Prairie Plant Systems, the growers of medicinal marijuana in an underground mine for Health Canada have pulled up stakes and moved the operation elsewhere. Brent Zettl, president of the Saskatoon-based biotechnology company, said it was trying to negotiate increasing the capacity of the Flin Flon facility and long-term access to the mine. The mine is scheduled to be closed in 2012 or possibly earlier. [continues 416 words]
Flin Flon Has Lost Its Title As Canada's Medical Marijuana Capital. Prairie Plant Systems, the Saskatoon-based company contracted to produce a supply of medical marijuana for Health Canada, left the city June 30 after producing pot in an underground mine there for the better part of a decade. The company did not return a call seeking comment but a spokesman for Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, which rented out part of its Trout Lake mine for the grow operation, confirmed the deal with PPS has ended. "Our understanding is they moved to another location to accommodate Health Canada's need for them to move to a larger facility," he said. A Health Canada spokesman would not say where the operation has moved "for security reasons." [end]
Point Douglas has had its problems but in the last two years, in response to the appeals from grade 5 and 6 kids at Norquay School, the community has taken back its streets from drug dealers. Point Douglas has over 100 anonymous people who keep an eye around their own homes, watching for crack dealers, gangs, ganglets and other stuff that degrades a community and report it on a phone line we call "Powerline." As a result, we have had our share of drug busts and gang arrests in partnership with the police and Manitoba Justice. [continues 837 words]
Canadians must be proud when they reflect upon our accomplishments as a nation, except when we consider the recent UN report announcing we have achieved pre-eminent status as the world's leading exporter of illegal drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy. Canada is also renowned among the criminal element for having the some of most comfortable prisons, along with one of the most lenient judicial systems in the civilized world. I'm not sure why we as a nation have decided to promote an environment that actively encourages criminal behaviour or does absolutely nothing to discourage it. [continues 429 words]
So Antonio Maria Costa, the United States "Drug Czar," is urging Canada to take proactive measures against the illegal manufacture of amphetamines. Apparently, Canadian gangs have become the leading suppliers of amphetamine-related drugs to the United States. Perhaps Mr. Costa should reconsider his position. Six years ago, when a USAF plane, in error, bombed and killed four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, we learned that amphetamines are routinely issued to American combat pilots. Surely Mr. Costa should be asking why it is that amphetamines are illegal for the general public but legal for soldiers armed with rockets and bombs. For a quarter of a century, the U.S. has been waging a "war on drugs" that has done nothing to reduce drug use but instead has created criminal empires that have destabilized countries in every continent of the world (OK, excluding Antarctica). During the Vietnam War, an American officer was reported to have said: "We had to destroy the village in order to save it." The supporters of the "war on drugs" seem to believe that in order to save civil society, they must first destroy it. One would hope that rational people would consider other alternatives that, while imperfect, would be less disastrous. John K. Collins Winnipeg [end]
Re: The editorial Drug law a bummer (June 10). Having no economic, environmental, foreign policy or social plans, the Conservatives are using crime to pander to their myopic, visceral, misinformed and punishment-happy voter base. Bill C-15, for example, appears designed specifically to increase crime. Mandatory sentences will scare off the mom-and-pop pot growers, who represent direct market competition to the gangsters. With the little guys out of the game, the big guys will get more business and profit. This will lead to more violence, which the police and government will use as justification for even more draconian laws, more cops with bigger budgets and more powers, and further suppression of our civil rights and liberties. The media-addled public is being duped once again. Nepean, Ont. [end]
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is shifting his party to the right. He's killed the centre-left coalition. He's defended the tar sands. Now, he's supporting the Conservatives' law and order legislation. He's taking a big risk. When Liberals "tack right" ideologically, or have a leader whose image is right-of-centre, like John Turner and Paul Martin, they lose elections. A solid 30 to 35 per cent of Canadians always vote for the party of the right, now the Conservatives. The main political game is the 65 to 70 per cent of Canadians on the centre and left. When the Liberals pursue the conservative vote, not only do they fail to make inroads, they lose a big chunk of their base, and their potential base, to the three left-wing parties. [continues 603 words]
The federal Conservative government's law-and-order agenda took another step forward this month with the passage of a bill that will require minimum mandatory sentences for people convicted of trafficking in even relatively small amounts of marijuana. At least that is what the Tories and their allies in the Liberal party appear to believe. Critics such as the federal NDP and Quebec's Bloc Quebecois, as well as a good many other Canadians who believe the time has come to be realistic, rather than hysterical, about illegal drugs think differently. [continues 376 words]
It is a useful step forward in the country's quest for appropriate health care for addicts. Heroin is a relatively safe opiate as a test case: As long as addicts have their fix, they can live fairly normally. Constantly on the hunt for an illicit supply, addicts are vulnerable to disease, such as HIV or hepatitis, arrest and homelessness. The study follows a similar three-year trial project in Vancouver and Montreal that focussed on addicts who repeatedly failed other treatment programs. That study's results, reported last fall, mirrored those in other countries that have used free provision of heroin to reduce harm to addicts. It had good retention of participants, whose health improved notably and found the use of illicit drugs fell off, as did the frequency of arrests. In short, the lives of participants were healthier and more hopeful. [continues 364 words]
So another Winnipeg winter has come and gone, and spring is finally here. We as Winnipeggers now find ourselves in limbo between the two main complaining seasons. Spring and autumn can be very trying times for all of us in this fair city as it can sometime be unclear exactly what we should be complaining about. Some people are still complaining that it's too cold, while the more forward-thinking among us have already begun complaining that's too hot, or that there are too many bugs. [continues 540 words]
We've all been told we live in a global village, a world brought closer together through technology and its far-reaching effects. But, for all that talk, our so-called global village is, in many ways, a place where each of us struggles in isolation to reinvent the wheel. Governments often seem reluctant to cite the experiences of other countries in promoting policies and we citizens often tend to unfairly dismiss those experiences as irrelevant. What works in one country won't work in ours, we insist, circumstances are different. [continues 916 words]
Shot Cops On Drug Raid; Brutality Claim Rejected Daniell Anderson walked into court Wednesday morning hoping a legal technicality would clear him of any criminal wrongdoing for opening fire on Winnipeg police officers executing a search warrant at his home. Instead, the 23-year-old left in handcuffs and tears, facing the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence after his controversial bid was rejected by a judge. "I am satisfied that, based on the facts and circumstances of this case, it will not offend society's sense of justice by me not granting a stay of proceedings. To the contrary, I expect society's sense of justice would be more concerned if a stay of proceedings was ordered in this case," Queen's Bench Justice Doug Abra said in his decision. [continues 486 words]
Dial-A-Dealer Phones Seized in Sweep Sixteen people were rounded up by the Winnipeg police street crime unit during a three-month drug sweep targeting dial-a-dealer networks, which peddled cocaine all over the city, a spokesman said yesterday. Cancel Numbers Investigators hit the alleged street-level dealers where it hurts using a unique method to disrupt them -- temporarily, at least -- and try to sever their ties with a well-established customer base, said Const. Jeffrey Norman. Police worked with the federal Crown and cellphone providers to cancel the suspects' cell numbers, said Norman, a member of the street crime unit. [continues 262 words]
In the ethical spat that is brewing between health minister Theresa Oswald and the Manitoba Nurses Union, about whether or not the names of nurses who are disciplined for being addicts should be made public, it's somewhat humourous to hear Oswald's reason for rejecting a change to the law. "Protection of the public needs to be paramount," the health minister told the Canadian Press. In other words, openness and transparency is the way to go when dealing with the health care of Manitobans. Patient safety is at risk so these hard-working nurses, beset by addiction problems, need to be named. [continues 335 words]
The Manitoba Nurses Union's concern and compassion for the welfare of their members with addictions is understandable, abundantly so for the thousands of Manitobans who struggle with substance abuse and have seen their jobs threatened by the addiction. Limiting the damage that addictions can wreak upon lives must be the primary concern of employers, unions and community members. No one could argue with the position that it is best for nurses -- doctors, lawyers, teachers or bakers, for that matter -- abusing substances to be encouraged to report themselves to their regulators or employers in order that the appropriate steps be taken to deal with the addiction, safeguard patients and return the worker to health. Where the agreement ends, it appears, is where hard lines should be drawn. The Manitoba Nurses Union, not the College of Registered Nurses, is drawing that line, in insisting that nurses with addictions never be named, publicly, even upon discipline for their behaviour. There may be some room for negotiation in current practice, but prohibiting the naming of nurses, period, is probably not the solution. [continues 374 words]
(CP) - Manitoba's health minister is defending the practice of publishing the names of nurses who are sanctioned for repeatedly abusing drugs or alcohol. Theresa Oswald has all but ruled out a request from the Manitoba Nurses Union, which is calling for a new law to limit what can be revealed publicly about disciplinary action taken by the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba. That's the agency that regulates nursing across the province. Oswald says the public's right to know outstrips the privacy concerns of nurses who feel they're being unfairly humiliated. [continues 251 words]
Canada has been terrified of liberalizing our drug laws for fear of angering Uncle Sam. Ironically, the United States is now closer to legalizing pot than we are. While the federal Conservatives in the Great White North are poised to bring in mandatory jail time for producing and selling illicit drugs, the sweet smell of drug reform is wafting across America. Wouldn't that be a weird buzz? Canada as the uptight, anti-pot zealot and America as the laid-back, rational progressive. [continues 507 words]
Don't Name Those Caught Abusing Booze, Drugs: Union Nurses caught abusing drugs and alcohol on the job should not be publicly named, union officials argue, calling it a "disturbing" violation that impedes their struggle to recover from addiction. The Manitoba Nurses Union plans to challenge existing legislation that allows the College of Registered Nurses to publish the names of nurses disciplined for abusing mood-altering drugs at work. Currently, any nurses censured for professional misconduct have their name and details of their violations printed in the RN Journal, a publication posted online and distributed to 11,000 Manitoba nurses. [continues 446 words]
A B.C. man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being caught with the richest cocaine stash in Manitoba history. Although James Oddleifson left court in handcuffs Wednesday, he's not done fighting. Defence lawyer Sheldon Pinx filed an appeal of his client's conviction of possession for the purpose of trafficking. Pinx told the Free Press they will return to court today, seeking to have Oddleifson freed on bail pending a hearing before the Manitoba Court of Appeal. [continues 277 words]
Use of crack cocaine, the most sought-after drug on Winnipeg streets, is reaching epidemic proportions in the city, a veteran city police officer said yesterday while revealing details about a substantial bust. Sgt. Rod Hourd of the organized crime unit knows how widespread crack cocaine use is because his team consistently busts mid-to high-level dealers and seizes hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illicit drugs annually. "I would say we have an epidemic. It's everywhere," Hourd said. "Crack cocaine is very available on the streets of Winnipeg right now." [continues 326 words]
The province is looking at expanding voluntary drug-treatment programs in Manitoba jails to address the high number of offenders who have substance-abuse problems. Justice Minister Dave Chomiak said such a program will focus on inmates on remand to help reduce the high number of people in pre-trial detention. He said it will also help address the expected higher number of prisoners going through the courts should the Harper government follow through on its pledge to eliminate two-for-one sentencing credits for time served in pre-trial detention. [continues 378 words]
Winnipeg Police have laid a rare charge that tackles a dangerous form of drug abuse. Police allege a local convenience store sold mouthwash and hairspray to street people its staff knew would use the products to get high. The Liquor Control Act charge followed a six-day investigation, said police. It's alleged the items were sometimes sold in large quantities or at prices inflated from around $3 each to as much as $15 per item to maximize profits. The offence of "selling a non-potable intoxicating substance for consumption" carries no set fine and the charge was only used a handful of times in the past few years, according to the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission. [continues 659 words]
It appears that your editor has fallen for the propaganda of the potheads. Marijuana is not a benign smoke (End this marijuana charade, April 22). It causes loss of motivation, a decrease in thinking ability, paranoia and at times depression. It also damages the lungs like tobacco smoke. The damage caused by smoking pot even in small amounts is cumulative. It damages the brain like binge drinking or alcoholism. Do not portray it as harmless! I certainly agree with decriminalizing possession of small amounts, because we do not want to put in jail teenagers and young adults, especially males, who are essentially immature and going through a growing phase. Winnipeg [end]
On Monday, Winnipeg Police Inspector Dave Thorne stood atop the Legislative Building's steps and gazed out at a throng of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people publicly -- flauntingly -- breaking the law by smoking marijuana, and observed: "Our view is this is a worldwide protest for the proponents of decriminalizing marijuana. From a police point of view, it's more about providing a safe environment for people to express their views. It doesn't mean we promote the breaking of acts or statutes, but we're trying to be realistic." [continues 454 words]
Re: Pot proponents come out in full force (April 21) The whole issue of marijuana legalization demonstrates the insanity and hypocrisy inherent in our society. These 4/20 people are asking that a herb with dozens of medical applications be legalized and regulated into the legitimate economy -- not just so they can enjoy it, but also so it will reduce the profits reaped by gangsters due to the prohibition on it, and reduce the public violence and soaring costs associated with it. These "potheads" want something that is unregulated and subsidizing gangsters to be regulated and taxed, but the government and police want it to remain unregulated and controlled by gangsters. Yet the potheads get labelled as the crazy ones. All over a herb that has never killed a single person in the history of mankind. Seriously, this issue is completely, utterly, Alice-In-Wonderland-ly absurd. Russell Barth Patients Against Ignorance and Discrimination on Cannabis Nepean, Ont. [end]
Thousands Light Up For 4/20 Event At first whiff, Bob Marley would have been pleased. The late reggae singer and arguably the world's most famous smoker of marijuana would have felt right at home among the estimated 3,000 who congregated on the lawns of the Legislative Building on Monday afternoon to mark 4/20 -- a worldwide celebration of pot and a protest against anti-marijuana laws. But the legendary Rastafarian, who regularly sang about the benefits of marijuana, would no doubt have been disheartened by the large number in the crowd who saw 4/20 as nothing more than a day to get stoned in public and not get in trouble rather than an opportunity to convince governments to legalize -- or at least decriminalize -- the popular drug. [continues 388 words]
The whole issue of marijuana legalization demonstrates the insanity and hypocrisy inherent in our society. These 4/20 people are asking that a herb with dozens of medical applications be legalized and regulated into the legitimate economy - -- not just so they can enjoy it, but also so it will reduce the profits reaped by gangsters due to the prohibition on it, and reduce the public violence and soaring costs associated with it. These "potheads" want something that is unregulated and subsidizing gangsters to be regulated and taxed. Yet the potheads get labelled as the crazy ones. (Another sin tax, just what we need.) [end]
THE official grand opening of a head shop near a high school was a tempest in a weed pot. "T-shirts and posters are our biggest sellers," said Lara Edwards-VanMuijen behind the counter of LaMota on Portage Avenue, kitty-corner from St. James Collegiate. The shop has been open for two months, selling marijuana pipes and other pot-related paraphernalia. "Business has been good," said Edwards-VanMuijen. The owner of the store, Alejandro Chung, was unavailable for comment. LaMota was packed at 1 p.m. Monday for its official grand opening on 4/20 -- the 20th day of the fourth month and the traditional rallying day for marijuana proponents. [continues 258 words]
The St. James-Assiniboia school board thinks locating a head shop close to a St. James Collegiate will encourage more high school students to smoke pot. Truth be told, the board might be right, but putting any effort into restricting where such shops can set up is a waste of time. High school students are going to smoke pot whether they have to go to the nearby head shop to buy pipes and bongs, or whether they have to go to the head shop across town. [continues 359 words]
As pot smokers celebrated their unofficial annual 4:20 holiday outside the Manitoba Legislature and elsewhere yesterday, a new St. James head shop was holding its grand opening -- much to the chagrin of the area's school board chair. A store called La Mota, which is Spanish slang for marijuana, officially opened its doors yesterday at 1859 Portage Ave., a stoner's throw from St. James Collegiate. Head shops like La Mota typically sell smoking implements like pipes, bongs and rolling papers, as well as counterculture books, posters, clothing and other goods. [continues 330 words]
Selling pot is illegal. Selling pot paraphernalia is legal. To kids especially, that is a mixed and dangerous message. Every year, we raise over $50,000 to help kids teach each other about drug awareness. When these kids leave their school, they invariably pass by one of these stores. They now have a mixed message. "After all, a store can sell me a bong!" It may be legal, but is it right? When does "right" finally win? Floyd Wiebe TJ's Gift Foundation Winnipeg [end]
It sure doesn't take long for the potheads to complain when anyone criticizes their beloved weed. Well, let me inject some reality into the debate. After working in high schools for over 20 years, I can state without hesitation that students who are daily, chronic smokers of pot almost always begin a pattern of non-attendance as their use progresses, show a steady decline in their marks over a full range of subjects and usually end up dropping out of school altogether. [continues 83 words]
Re: Flin Flon trustees consider drug tests (April 14). Why not do strip searches and drug test every kid every morning before school? "Pee in the cup, junior, or you don't get to learn anything today." It will create jobs, but better yet, it will stifle any ideas the kids might have about privacy and fairness. These in-school drugs tests will do little to curb drug use, but then, that isn't the point. The point of this kind of testing is to scare kids into obedience and compliance, and accustom the next generations to an ongoing and ever-present police presence in daily life. By the year 2030, people will accept the government's ownership of their bodies and minds, and the very notion of privacy will be a thing of the past. Orwellian police states don't pop up overnight, they creep in slowly. Russell Barth Nepean, Ont. [end]
Flin Flon school trustees could decide tonight whether to launch Manitoba's first in-school alcohol and drug testing for students. Whether the testing is legal, how accurate the tests are, how great a need there is for testing, and who'll conduct and analyse the tests - -- are issues that are still uncertain, Flin Flon school board chair Trish Sattelberger acknowledged Monday. "We haven't implemented any program -- it's in the draft stage," Sattelberger said. "It's hard to say when it could be implemented. It would be a division-wide thing, it wouldn't just necessarily be the high school." [continues 186 words]
Want City Council To Take Action A drug paraphernalia shop about to open a block away from St. James Collegiate and George Waters Middle School has school trustees imploring city council to keep drug-related businesses away from schools. St. James-Assiniboia School Division has asked city council to review its bylaws and regulations "to prevent drug paraphernalia businesses from establishing in proximity to schools." The business will open next week on Portage Avenue just east of Ferry Road. "We were voicing a concern about it being so close to a school," said superintendent Ron Weston. [continues 465 words]
RE: Canada's forgotten war on drugs (April 6). The U.S. and its psychotic laws against marijuana are what is causing all of this misery around the world. The rest of the world needs to tell these pushy bullies to grow up and legalize pot so that people can grow their own. Then the demand for Canadian and Mexican pot would disappear, along with the crime and violence associated with it. But the U.S. doesn't want to end the war on plants because it keeps their privately owned jails full to the brim. It is all a scam. Russell Barth Nepean, Ont. [end]
Manitoba justice officials are not seeking a jail sentence against a medical marijuana crusader found guilty of trafficking pot to several clients across Canada. Grant Krieger feared he would die behind bars after jurors found him guilty during his high-profile Queen's Bench trial last fall. But the Calgary resident returned to Winnipeg for sentencing Wednesday and learned the Crown agrees he can remain free in the community under a conditional sentence. The judge has reserved her decision until next month. [continues 365 words]
Manitoba justice officials are not seeking a jail sentence against a medical-marijuana crusader found guilty of trafficking pot to clients across Canada. Grant Krieger said he feared he would die behind bars after jurors found him guilty during his high-profile Queen's Bench trial last fall. But the Calgary resident returned to Winnipeg for sentencing Wednesday, and learned the Crown agrees he can remain free in the community under a conditional sentence. The judge has reserved her decision until next month. [continues 109 words]
YUCATAN, Mexico -- The Canadian guy at the swim-up bar seemed ready to fall off his stool and float away. In an effort to help him focus, I asked him about Canada's involvement in Mexico's brutal drug war. "What involvement?" he said. And that's the problem. A lot of Canadians don't know about our stake in Mexico's war against drug lords, which now has a higher death rate than the war in Iraq. The war's statistics are staggering: More than 7,000 people killed this year and last; 50,000 Mexican troops and federal police battling five big drug cartels armed with rocket-launchers, machine guns, grenades and armour-piercing sniper rifles over a drug trade valued at $50 billion a year. [continues 608 words]
I would like to express my opposition to the bill requiring mandatory minimum sentences, especially in regards to the cultivation of marijuana. In light of the fact that a Senate committee report on marijuana found that marijuana is relatively harmless to society especially when compared to alcohol and other drugs. I ask that Canada decriminalize its use and production, in small amounts for personal use. Let me make it clear that I do not want to see my fellow citizens serving six months in prison for growing a plant. It is clear to me and many other citizens that the marijuana issue is, and always has been, a victim of politics, and not reason or scientific principle. While I do not claim that using marijuana is particularly beneficial to all people, it is certainly less harmful than most other drugs including tobacco and alcohol, and less addictive as well. [continues 67 words]
To many people, United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was simply stating the obvious when she acknowledged last week that American demand for illegal drugs has fortified Mexican narco-mafias and fuelled that country's drug violence. But Mexico had not heard such a high-level U.S. official accept shared responsibility for generating and solving the drug wars, and the positive reviews Clinton has been getting remind us that a little mea culpa goes a long way. The day before she arrived in Mexico City, on her first visit as secretary of state, the Obama administration promised to address the problem of southbound weapons trafficking and money laundering. Clinton also sought to quell fury over recent U.S. intelligence assessments that Mexico risks becoming a "failed state" along with other countries riven by violence, such as Pakistan. President Felipe Calderon had grown accustomed to unqualified praise from the former administration of George W. Bush, which sought to bolster the remaining right-of-centre governments in Latin America, and was blindsided by the sudden talk of no-go areas in Mexico coming from U.S. military and law enforcement quarters. In a joint meeting with Clinton, Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa pointedly noted that there are many places in both countries where the two women wouldn't venture. [continues 207 words]
Case Stayed After Two Accused Of Fabricating Evidence In Drug Case At first glance, it must have looked like an open-and-shut case -- a Winnipeg man apparently caught red-handed with a stash of cocaine and cash. But now it is the arresting officers, not the suspected drug dealer, who are before the courts facing serious criminal allegations. The Crown attorney stayed charges of trafficking and proceeds of crime against the 20-year-old accused based on information that surfaced at his preliminary hearing last fall, according to court documents. That surprise development triggered an internal Winnipeg police investigation that ended this week with the arrests of the two officers who arrested the young man in May 2008 following a search of an inner-city home. [continues 531 words]
The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is meeting in Vienna this week, seeking a new course for the international war on drugs. A strategy session was held last week and will continue at lower levels until the end of this week as envoys try to work out a document that would replace a 10-year program adopted in 1988 aiming at eradicating all illegal drugs, from marijuana to heroin, under the slogan "A Drug-Free World -- We Can Do It." [continues 391 words]
President Barack Obama's youthful drug use, including cocaine, seems to have had little effect on the support he enjoys while leading the free world through the most troubling times in recent history. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has not been as fortunate. The now-famous photo of Phelps smoking from a bong ended with a contract termination and his picture being yanked off the Kellogg's Corn Flakes box. With such confusing messages is it any wonder that there is little consensus among stakeholders in the war on drugs? [continues 675 words]
Violent crime is going up and more people severely beaten So we're No. 2. Frankly I'm a little surprised we aren't No. 1, and I'm not talking Slurpee capital either. In a recent article Maclean's magazine, it listed Winnipeg as the second most dangerous municipality in the country. Of course some say the stats are misleading, or out of date, but if Maclean's had said we were the second safest place in the nation, I'm sure those critical of the article wouldn't be so hung up on slamming the stats. [continues 452 words]
Inside Manitoba
