Two people were arrested and 15 pounds of marijuana were seized when Nanaimo RCMP carried out a search warrant at one of two Nature's Source dispensaries in the city. Oils, marijuana edibles and $2,000 were also seized. The 5th Street business was searched March 9 and remains closed. An employee at the other Nature's Source Nanaimo location on Front Street said the site will re-open as a glass shop. The arrests were made for possession for the purpose of trafficking, with both people being released on a promise to appear in court Aug. 8. [continues 241 words]
Marijuana could become more of an an economic engine in the province, says the B.C. Independent Cannabis Alliance. That's part of the message the group - linked to more than 400 independent businesses - will be taking to the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Victoria at the end of the month. "The cannabis industry in British Columbia is estimated to be a multi-billion-dollar industry," spokesman Dieter MacPherson said Thursday. "The Independent Cannabis Alliance wants to preserve the current cannabis economy and believes that the best way to do this is to allow current good actors from the illicit economy to be regulated, taxed and included." [continues 344 words]
Maintaining access to edible marijuana products was a key concern when about 250 people turned up at city hall this week to hear about proposed regulations for about 30 medical marijuana-related businesses in Victoria. Only four are licensed. The proposal to limit food products that can be sold at the businesses to tinctures, capsules or edible oils has drawn considerable reaction, said City of Victoria staff member Shannon Craig. "We know that businesses currently sell oils, baked goods, candies, other food products containing marijuana, and that there certainly are some benefits to customers that ingest products via food," she said. [continues 417 words]
Licensed medical-marijuana users allowed to keep producing plants Advocates of medical marijuana are encouraged by a Federal Court decision to allow licenced individuals to keep producing homegrown pot. Judge Michael Manson issued an injunction Friday exempting patients who are licensed to possess or grow medical marijuana under current rules, either for themselves or someone else, from new regulations that would have made the practice illegal. A trial on the constitutional argument is expected within nine months to a year. A group of patients behind a constitutional challenge asked for an injunction to preserve the status quo until their legal case goes to trial. [continues 468 words]
Port Alberni city council has conditionally approved a commercial facility in town that would produce medicinal marijuana, but another Vancouver Island municipality has been less favourable towards pot for patients. North Saanich council has said no to medical-marijuana production in the municipality, but one application for a licensed growop was filed in time to beat the new rules. "There was quite a discussion," said North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall. "We did have a lot of presentations against it and a couple for it. [continues 449 words]
Council cites safety issues, but one pre-approved licence will go ahead North Saanich council has said no to medical-marijuana production in the municipality, but one application for a licensed grow-op was filed in time to beat the new rules. "There was quite a discussion," said North Saanich Mayor Alice Finall. "We did have a lot of presentations against it and a couple for it. "The vote eventually was to prohibit for the near future any grow-ops in North Saanich." [continues 400 words]
Leader Hopes to Foot Bill Himself The tax man has come knocking at the door of the Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada, and its founder said there will be full compliance from the organization. Ted Smith, who has run the club for more than 16 years, said it now has a tax bill of more than $147,000 from the Canada Revenue Agency for unpaid HST in the first six months of this year. "We started to collect HST here in the store around July 28. So, for over a month now, we've actually been giving out receipts and collecting HST that we are going to remit to the government." [continues 505 words]
Survey Suggests Young People Buck Trend To Heavier Drinking A new report indicates the use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances among B.C. teenagers is down. Based largely on a survey of close to 30,000 Grade 7 to 12 students -- 92 per cent of B.C. students in those grades -- the report was prepared by the University of Victoria-based Centre for Addictions Research of B.C. and the Vancouver-based McCreary Centre Society. The society does a survey on adolescent health every five years, and this time included more focused questions on substance use. [continues 363 words]
The Victoria Hope Society is making a difference for people with addictions. The non-profit group, formed in 2003 as a successor to the former Dallas Society, is calling for applications to its annual community grants program -- designed to fund projects that deal with addictions like substance abuse and gambling. Addiction programs were at the heart of the Dallas Society's mandate before its services were amalgamated with Vancouver Island Health Authority programs. Katherine Cook, the Victoria Hope Society grants administrator, said last year's funding recipients were an impressive bunch. [continues 554 words]
The Vancouver Island Health Authority plans to open 184 units of affordable housing in 2006 and 2007 for people with mental-health and addiction issues. The units, including 30 in Greater Victoria, will be in communities throughout the Island, and will include support systems to help clients in their recovery. "We know that providing intensive supported-living services to people with serious mental illnesses and addictions can improve our clients' quality of life, improve their health status and result in less-frequent use of other health-care services," VIHA board chairman Jac Kreut said in a statement. [continues 223 words]
Mark McLaughlin's commitment to a cause has already earned him well- deserved recognition on Vancouver Island, and now the accolades are coming from across the Strait of Georgia. McLaughlin is one of the founders of Crystal Meth Victoria, a grassroots initiative launched last June to fight the growing problem of crystal methamphetamine use, especially among young people. The highly addictive drug, commonly called crystal meth, has swept through many areas of North America, and has had a significant impact in the capital region in recent years. [continues 319 words]
The Vancouver Island Health Authority's share of $8 million in provincial funding for crystal meth treatment and youth drug issues will lead to 16 new treatment beds for young addicts. VIHA, one of six health authorities in the province, is getting $1,539,324 for Island needs, including $363,324 specifically for dealing with the problem of crystal methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that has been sweeping through many communities. The bulk of the funding, $1.18 million, is an increase in VIHA's annual budget for youth addiction issues. [continues 332 words]
Grassroots Group Determined To Come To Grips With A Growing Drug Menace Kerra could hardly get the words out. "For the past two years, my daughter has had an addiction to crystal meth," said the tearful mom, speaking Wednesday at the launch of the Crystal Meth Victoria Society. "She's almost 16." Kerra, who asked that her full name not be used, was among the parents of addicts who spoke to a crowd of close to 200 at the unveiling of the grassroots community group. [continues 564 words]
Skyrocketing use of drug prompts creation of Crystal Meth Victoria Society Kerra could hardly get the words out. "For the past two years, my daughter has had an addiction to crystal meth," said the tearful mom, speaking Wednesday at the launch of the Crystal Meth Victoria Society. "She's almost 16." Kerra, who asked that her full name not be used, was among the parents of addicts who spoke to a crowd of close to 200 at the unveiling of the grassroots community group. Schools, municipal and provincial governments, social agencies and police departments were represented in the audience at the Marriott Hotel, showing a desire to deal with a highly addictive, potentially deadly drug that has hit the region like a wave -- especially over the past year. [continues 509 words]
A community group is being formed to fight the spread of crystal methamphetamines among young people in the capital region. The Crystal Meth Victoria Society, to be officially unveiled June 8, has been spearheaded by a local man with a family member who was caught in the web of crystal meth addiction. "That is the genesis of his interest in this," Victoria Coun. Helen Hughes said Thursday. "He has worked very, very hard to get this society going." Hughes said the number of crystal meth users treated at Victoria's Youth Detox Centre has seen an alarming increase in recent years, jumping from 11 per cent of the centre's clients in 2000 to 61 per cent in 2003-04. [continues 224 words]
The scourge of crystal methamphetamines, or crystal meth, is the focus of a public forum Wednesday at the Esquimalt Recreation Centre. Joining a panel of experts will be a former crack cocaine user, who will speak about her experiences, and the father of a 14-year-old methamphetamine addict, who will relate his struggles to save his daughter from the grips of the drug. The forum is the latest in a series of such events being held around the region, and follows one held in early December at S.J. Willis school. [continues 289 words]
Saanich already has a culprit to deal with through its fledgling anti-grow-op bylaw -- itself. Mayor Frank Leonard said Saanich will do a full round of repairs and inspections at a municipally-owned property where a basement marijuana operation was discovered last weekend. Leonard said having the grow-op uncovered while a bylaw is in the works is "delicious irony." The bust, just a few hundred metres from the Saanich police station and municipal hall, was made Sunday in the 3800-block of Lancaster Road, near Swan Lake. [continues 288 words]
Saanich council's proposal criticized for putting onus on landlords to pay for drug damages Saanich has moved a step closer to being the first Vancouver Island municipality with a bylaw to ensure homes used for marijuana-growing operations are properly repaired. Concillors gave a unanimous nod to a draft of the bylaw presented Monday. It will be back before council to go through the official approval process over the next few weeks. Paying for cleaning of carpets and heating ducts, along with thorough safety inspections, are among the steps that would have to be followed by a homeowner affected by the bylaw. [continues 367 words]
A rural Cowichan Valley road bordered by just five properties has been the common ground for three major marijuana grow-op busts in recent weeks. Three of the four operations, described as large-scale, sophisticated, indoor growing setups by North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP, were found on Mina Road, which runs off the Duncan/Lake Cowichan highway. The fourth, uncovered as the result of a structure fire, was on King Street in Crofton. The latest Mina Road seizure revealed a grow-op in a multi-level bunker hidden beneath a building. The operation was powered by a generator, and included 23 600- and 1,000-watt light bulbs. A 34-year-old Duncan man was arrested and released, and will be appearing in court in January. [continues 162 words]
VICTORIA -- A drug-awareness kit filled with samples of cocaine, heroin and other drugs has been missing since early May from a storage cabinet at the Victoria Police Department. The kit is one of a pair the department put together two years ago to use at prevention seminars. They contain samples of an array of drugs seized from street-level users and traffickers, Insp. Grant Smith said yesterday. The street value of the drugs in each kit is $1,500 to $2,000. [continues 180 words]
