Mertl, Steve 1/1/1997 - 31/12/2024
Found: 11Shown: 1-11 Page: 1/1
Detail: Low  Medium  High    Sort:Latest

1 Canada: Conservatives Get Tough On Drug OffencesSat, 28 Feb 2009
Source:Toronto Star (CN ON) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:Canada Lines:114 Added:03/01/2009

VANCOUVER (CP) - The Conservative government continued its law-and-order blitz Friday by reintroducing tougher penalties for drug offences.

The changes came a day after Ottawa announced Criminal Code amendments aimed at gang violence.

But a veteran defence lawyer gave the government's lock 'em up strategy a failing grade, saying it doesn't get at the roots of gangsterism - alienated young people and widespread demand for illegal drugs.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson have all been in Vancouver in the last two weeks as the region reeled from 18 shootings this month - seven fatal.

[continues 635 words]

2 Canada: Ottawa Gets Tough On Drug OffencesSat, 28 Feb 2009
Source:Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:Canada Lines:60 Added:03/01/2009

VANCOUVER -- The Conservative government continued its law-and-order blitz Friday by reintroducing tougher penalties for drug offences.

The changes came a day after Ottawa announced Criminal Code amendments aimed at gang violence.

But a veteran defence lawyer gave the government's lock-'em-up strategy a failing grade, saying it doesn't get at the roots of gangsterism -- alienated young people and widespread demand for illegal drugs.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson have all been in Vancouver in the last two weeks as the region reeled from 18 shootings this month -- seven fatal.

[continues 211 words]

3 CN BC: 'Prince of Pot' Plea Deal DelayedThu, 06 Mar 2008
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:British Columbia Lines:87 Added:03/06/2008

VANCOUVER -- Marijuana crusader Marc Emery is blaming a clash of judicial cultures for delays in a plea bargain that would send him to prison briefly in the United States before serving several years in Canada. The so-called Prince of Pot's extradition case was put over yesterday until April 9 at the request of his lawyer and a federal prosecutor representing the U.S. Justice Department.

No reason was given but Mr. Emery said outside B.C. Supreme Court that there's a disagreement about the legality of the deal in Canada.

[continues 509 words]

4 CN BC: Addiction Groups Laud Budget BoostFri, 17 Mar 2006
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:British Columbia Lines:72 Added:03/17/2006

But Opposition Decries Liberal Strategy

VANCOUVER (BC) -- People who work with drug addicts welcomed the B.C. government's decision to add another $8-million a year to addiction services for young people, including $2-million aimed at the growing problem of crystal meth.

But the Opposition, while pleased with the extra funds, criticized the Liberals for taking a crisis-management approach and leaving the province behind Alberta when it comes to the number of treatment beds.

Health Minister George Abbott announced yesterday that the money will be divided among the regional health authorities, with the largest chunks going to the Vancouver and Fraser Valley health regions.

[continues 321 words]

5 Canada: Drug Abuse Will Rise If Pot Legalized - MDWed, 08 Dec 2004
Source:Calgary Herald (CN AB) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:Canada Lines:44 Added:12/08/2004

A top American clinical researcher in the field of drug addiction warned Tuesday that decriminalizing marijuana could lead to increased abuse of the drug.

Studies show wider availability of a drug coupled with a relaxed attitude towards it help predict the level of use and addiction, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Volkow said surveys indicate that drug use spirals if a drug is considered safe and benign.

Drug addiction rates can range from 20 to 30 per cent of users.

[continues 89 words]

6 CN BC: Murder Probe To Bring More ArrestsTue, 13 Aug 2002
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:British Columbia Lines:133 Added:08/13/2002

Crown Papers Show Police Are Targeting Several People In Probe Of Drug-Related Killings

ABBOTSFORD -- More arrests are expected in a massive investigation into several drug murders in B.C. in the mid-1990s, says a lawyer for two men already charged.

Paul McMurray said Monday that Crown documents show police are targeting several people -- possibly four or five -- in the case, which police have said has links to the Cali drug cartel in Colombia.

"There are other arrests that are likely to happen as a result of this investigation," said McMurray, who represents Robert Moyes and Mark Therrien.

[continues 763 words]

7 CN BC: Second Man Charged In 1990s Drug-Related B.C. DeathsSat, 10 Aug 2002
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:British Columbia Lines:75 Added:08/10/2002

VANCOUVER -- Police have arrested and charged a second man in a massive investigation of drug-related killings in the British Columbia's Lower Mainland in the mid-1990s.

Mark Therrien, 38, was arrested yesterday morning. He appeared before a justice of the peace later in the day and was formally charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of five people at a farm in Abbotsford, B.C., in September of 1996.

Mr. Therrien was remanded in custody until an appearance in provincial court in Abbotsford on Monday.

[continues 358 words]

8 CN BC: Vancouver Indo-Canadian Gang Violence SpursFri, 24 May 2002
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:British Columbia Lines:111 Added:05/24/2002

VANCOUVER (CP) - Police are joining forces with the Vancouver area's large Indo-Canadian community to find ways to stop the rising body count from a decade of gang violence.

Police have documented more than 50 murders in the community since 1994 and say alarmed community members now are reaching out for help. While perhaps not as bad as the biker war in Quebec, the violence has been very public - assassinations in night clubs, drive-by shootings and even attacks at family gatherings.

[continues 601 words]

9 CN BC: Province To Revamp Services To AddictsSat, 17 Mar 2001
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:British Columbia Lines:82 Added:03/20/2001

Local Communities To Play Bigger Role

British Columbia which spends more per person to deal with addiction than any other province, is revamping the way it delivers services to addicts.

Local communities will play a bigger role in tackling addiction to everything from cigarettes to drugs and gambling, the government said Friday in Vancouver.

The province spends about $100 million a year on addiction prevention and treatment, about $24 per capita.

"What we need to do is spend those dollars in a way which is much more effective," said Deputy Premier Joy MacPhail, who headed a year-long review that produced a half-dozen recommendations aimed at keeping addicts from getting lost in the bureaucracies of nine B.C. ministries that deal with them.

[continues 368 words]

10 CN ON: Marijuana Tug-Of-WarTue, 02 Nov 1999
Source:Toronto Star (CN ON) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:Ontario Lines:87 Added:11/02/1999

U.s., Canadian And California Laws Collide

VANCOUVER - An American woman's fight against extradition to the United States to face drug-conspiracy charges is highlighting the two countries' differing attitudes toward medical marijuana use.

Renee Boje has requested refugee status in Canada, claiming she's a political pawn in the U.S. government's war on drugs.

The U.S. justice department is seeking Boje's extradition to Los Angeles to face charges of conspiracy to manufacture and possession of marijuana for the purposes of distribution.

[continues 420 words]

11 Canada: U.S. Woman Fights Extradition on Medical Pot BustMon, 01 Nov 1999
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Mertl, Steve Area:Canada Lines:117 Added:11/01/1999

An American woman's fight against extradition to the United States to face drug-conspiracy charges is highlighting the two countries' differing attitudes towards medical marijuana use.

Renee Boje has claimed refugee status in Canada, claiming she's a political pawn in the U.S. government's war on drugs. The U.S. Justice Department is seeking Boje's extradition to Los Angeles to face charges of conspiracy to manufacture and possession of marijuana for the purposes of distribution.

Boje, 30, was arrested in 1997 outside the Bel Air mansion of Todd McCormick, where police said she and another woman were seen watering and moving some of the 4,000 pot plants being cultivated there. Boje, a New York artist who says she was hired by McCormick to do illustrations for a book, has not admitted handling the plants.

[continues 647 words]


Detail: Low  Medium  High   Pages: 1  

Email Address
Check All Check all     Uncheck All Uncheck all

Drugnews Advanced Search
Body Substring
Body
Title
Source
Author
Area     Hide Snipped
Date Range  and 
      
Page Hits/Page
Detail Sort

Quick Links
SectionsHot TopicsAreasIndices

HomeBulletin BoardChat RoomsDrug LinksDrug News
Mailing ListsMedia EmailMedia LinksLettersSearch