Rossland's first marijuana dispensary opened its door last week. Rossland Dispensary is the first business of its kind in the Golden City, opening the same week that Nelson city council moved forward with an amendment to prohibit marijuana dispensaries in all zones of Nelson. The Queen City currently has seven dispensaries, all of which operate without a business license, since Nelson won't issue them to illegal businesses. But the City of Rossland has taken a different approach, and Rossland Dispensary is operating with a business license. [continues 649 words]
My recent columns on B.C.'s struggle with the growing westward migration of transients have produced responses that fall mainly into two groups. The largest is people relieved that somebody is questioning the urban media narrative. That's the one where drifters, drug addicts, welfare shoppers and thieves are the victims and working people, whose hard-earned communities are being degraded, are the problem because of their selfish, uncaring attitudes. Then there are readers so marinated in our nanny-state education, media and political system they object to anything other than a big-government response. They tend to ask, what's your solution, Tom? [continues 511 words]
On April 1, medical marijuana growing licences expire across the country, and only licensed commercial growers will be able to legally fill a prescription for pot. Ottawa is moving to clean up the mess it created by issuing medical licences all over the country. Since then, municipalities have complained that small-scale medical licences have been greatly exceeded, with many used as fronts for a criminal drug trade that has made B.C. infamous around the world. How big is the problem? There are about 38,000 Canadians licensed to carry marijuana for medical purposes, and half of them live in B.C. Their permission to grow their own or buy it from designated small-scale growers is withdrawn in a couple of months. [continues 495 words]
The Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment (KBRD) RCMP have announced the seizure of over 14,000 marijuana plants from 88 sites throughout the region this summer amounting to an estimated $14.9 to $36.7 million worth of product off the streets. The General Investigation Section of the KBRD RCMP found a majority of the crops on crown land and several plantations in the Trail and Rossland area. "There were a number of techniques used including tip-offs, helicopter surveillance and good old-fashioned police work," said Inspector Nick Romanchuk, of the KBRD RCMP. [continues 199 words]
The question is: When does just experimentation become a problem? The IHA and FreedomQuest have completed a survey on drug use amongst students. Not surprisingly, students are trying them. From the time there has been recreational drugs, there have been recreational drugs in schools. Tobacco and alcohol use are still among the highest substances students are exploring. But let's not get too carried away, we shouldn't be out to condemn students for a few silly choices. People need to learn on their own and most of the time that is through experience. [continues 185 words]
Alcohol and tobacco are among the highest recreational drugs used by teens in the four school districts in the Kootenay-Boundary. A drug and alcohol survey was prepared by IHA and Freedom Quest Regional Youth Services and was completed by 4,071 students from Grade 7 to 12 - 73 per cent of the total student population completed the survey. The final report states alcohol was the most used at 64.1 per cent of those surveyed, tobacco came second at 62.3 per cent, marijuana was third at 39.1 per cent, mushrooms were 15.5 per cent and ecstasy at 7.4 percent. [continues 591 words]
After a full day's work at Teck, Eric Chobanuk would go home and make all the preparations to start a renovation on his Pass Creek house. Then, he'd set up all the tools he needed to fix his car. Then, he'd go to bed. Lots of preparation, no real progress - that was Chobanuk's life as he stagnated under a marijuana addiction that peaked at 20 joints a day. While he never took his habit to work, Chobanuk's addiction was so bad he'd sometimes wake up three times a night to feed it. [continues 762 words]
RCMP marijuana eradication efforts are no doubt well-intended, but ultimately counterproductive. The drug war's distortion of immutable laws of supply and demand causes big money to grow on little trees. Canadian tax dollars are being wasted on anti-drug strategies that only make marijuana growing more profitable. In 2002, the Canadian Senate offered a common sense alternative to prohibition when the Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, marijuana prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use. [continues 145 words]
Tom Fletcher (B.C. Losing War On Drug Gangs, Jan. 13, 2009), isn't just accurately describing the way things are; he's describing the direction things are moving, too. In the early 1970s the Le Dain Commission's report along with Canada's 2002, Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs' report unanimously recommended to regulate cannabis (marijuana) the same way as alcohol. Since Canada ignored those recommendations, the problems associated with prohibiting the relatively safe, socially acceptable, God-given plant cannabis have escalated. [continues 155 words]
VICTORIA - There's one area of B.C. business investment that's seen a boom in rural areas. Unfortunately, it's organized crime. You may have heard the saga of Likely, a tiny community east of Williams Lake. Last fall RCMP confirmed results of a two-year investigation that found eight properties with buildings fitted for large-scale marijuana growing. At least one of those has been seized under civil forfeiture legislation, a powerful new tool in targeting proceeds of crime. Nine Lower Mainland residents, all with Asian names, were charged. [continues 669 words]
The Interior town of Williams Lake has done a good job of highlighting the problem of "prolific offenders" in recent weeks. Instead of playing down its distinction as B.C.'s crime capital as previous honourees Surrey, New Westminster and North Vancouver have done before, Williams Lake Mayor Scott Nelson has used police statistics to tackle the problem head-on. He's put the message out forcefully that the numbers are driven by a handful of hardcore repeat offenders who, especially in a small town, can generate a crime wave all by themselves. But the same story could be told in communities around the province, and it's usually a story about what people will do to get drugs. In Williams Lake and elsewhere they're demanding that repeat offenders be kept in custody until they are sentenced, so at least they can't rack up new crimes while awaiting trial. While that's an appealing idea, B.C. Solicitor General John Les reminds me of its major flaw. [continues 468 words]
The "honour system" has finally been abandoned on the Greater Vancouver buses. The establishment of "fare paid zones" beyond the driver's seat and at least the theoretical appearance of someone to check tickets is an effort to stem the problem of people refusing to pay and assaulting drivers who remind them the ride isn't quite free. It seems that once a city reaches a certain size, it doesn't have enough honour left for honour systems. Surveys indicated that Ottawa doesn't yet have bus anarchy, but Toronto does. [continues 533 words]
Dear Editor: I am a medical marijuana user and I find it repulsive that the local police are stating a relation between crime and grow operations. This is considering that there are legal grow operations out there. Once and for all this question demands political action. Come the next election it's time for a change in policy. Perhaps it is time for the possible removal of the RCMP and the creation of our own local police force. This is nonsense and I request an apology from the police. Yours Truly, Peter Roglich Trail [end]
