VANCOUVER - Police and customs officers on both side of the border are trying to piece together the events that led to the seizure of more than US$5.6-million in marijuana hidden in a shipment of wood shavings. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Mike Milne said yesterday 858 kilograms of pot were found in shrink-wrapped bags on wooden pallets during a routine secondary inspection at the truck crossing in Blaine, Wash., at about 3 a.m. on Saturday. [continues 126 words]
Education Seen As Key To Initiative In an effort to weed out the masterminds of Calgary's illegal narcotics industry, police are distributing thousands of pamphlets to residents on how to spot drug factories in their communities. The literature, including material on methamphetamine and marijuana grow ops, will be distributed before the end of the year in monthly Enmax bills, said Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart. "The key is that these (drugs) are inextricably linked," she said. The initiative was announced early Tuesday at the inaugural meeting of the Stop Marijuana Grow Ops steering committee. [continues 354 words]
LaSalle police and the OPP canine unit conducted two narcotics sweeps at high schools in the town Tuesday. The sweeps took place under the direction and authority of the principals of Sandwich Secondary School and St. Thomas of Villanova under the Safe Schools Act. OPP dogs were used to conduct hallway sweeps of lockers and several classrooms were also searched. At Sandwich Secondary School, a small quantity of suspected marijuana was found in a classroom and another small amount was found in a locker. [continues 94 words]
After watching several friends suffer the side effects of cancer treatment, state Sen. Steve Cohen said he plans to make the legalization of medical marijuana one of his top priorities next year. The proposal probably will face stiff opposition in the state legislature, where the Republican Party is enjoying its first elected majority in the Senate in more than a century. "I don't think I'd be willing to consider it," said Sen. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, who is vying to become Senate speaker. "There's not enough medical evidence to support that, and most law enforcement agencies would be opposed to it." [continues 852 words]
Police breached the constitutional rights of a drug trafficker when they searched him and found cocaine, a folding knife and $520 in $20 bills in his pockets as he made a delivery to a street-level dealer, a judge said Tuesday. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Jacqueline Coutu, however, ruled the breach was not serious enough to exclude what they found from evidence and convicted Timothy Matthew Chan, 24, of possession for the purpose of trafficking. "Police did not deliberately breach Mr. Chan's charter rights," Coutu said, alluding to the April 10, 2002, search. [continues 305 words]
Without his dear savior, our esteemed leader would be resigned to clearing brush 365. Jesus loves Bush so much, that he created a miracle on November 2. The man who cannot pronounce a four-sylable word, who cannot speak a full sentence without looking at his notes has once again been selected to be the leader of planet Earth. Tom Ridge has his color code for threats to America, a veritable rainbow that ranges from peace to Armageddon. So too do we now have a more simple code, to determine patriotism. Those who look in Bush's face and see the eyes of God are patriots, red-blooded defenders of the USA. Anyone who perceives less than perfection in Bush's eyes is a blue-blooded insurgent, intent on destroying the American dream. [continues 651 words]
In September of 2002, after enduring a terrifying police helicopter raid on my home that lasted for an hour, ground troops equipped with large guns and ion-scanning equipment (but, oddly enough, not uniforms or a warrant) were deployed onto my property. The fateful day that delivered this horrific intrusion into my family's personal life prompted me to become involved in the effort to reform United States drug policy. The airborne drug raid team that terrorized my family - comprised of officers from the Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Department, the Alexander City Police Department, the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Site Police Department, the Marijuana Eradication Project, and the National Guard - was on a special quest. But they weren't seeking a bomb-toting terrorist. Or a murderer. Or a kidnapper, rapist, thief, pedophile, or arsonist. Instead, they were looking for...marijuana, an herb as natural and benign as the oaks and pines growing in my back yard. [continues 2205 words]
Country Towns Join Inner-City Sink Estates Scarred by the Effects Of Fatal Substance Abuse QUIET rural towns such as Spalding in Lincolnshire and Alnwick in Northumberland see more drug-related deaths per capita than many inner-city areas, according to a new report. Boston and Spalding had 13 drug-related deaths last year, compared with 15 in East London. This represents 12.1 deaths per 100,000 adults compared with 1.83 in East London. The figures put the Lincolnshire towns fourth on the league table of drug deaths in England and Wales. A spokeswoman for the county council said: "I'm very surprised. Boston is a little deprived but Spalding is a nice town. It's difficult to imagine why there are so many deaths." [continues 516 words]
OPPORTUNITY knocks. This is how the federal government should view the sensational discovery of a 60,000-square-foot marijuana factory near a major highway in Barrie, Ont., last week. The plant was so big, and the plants it contained so plentiful, that Ontario Provincial Police Superintendent Bill Crate called the grow-op in a former Molson brewery "a little Saskatchewan." Whether Ottawa will know how to capitalize on this opportunity is another matter. As we all have come to realize, one branch of the government rarely works in lockstep with another, so chances are taxpayers will end up footing all the costs and reaping none of the benefits of this law-enforcement coup. [continues 506 words]
Courts Are Freely Handing Out 'Withholds Of Adjudication,' A Judicial Break That Allows Offenders To Avoid Felony Convictions In 1941, Florida legislators passed a law that allows judges to quash the convictions of felony offenders, sparing them a life of potential economic hardship and the scorn associated with being a convicted felon. The perk is called a withhold of adjudication. Intended to be a one- time break to help first-time offenders, it allows people to say they have never been convicted of a crime. [continues 2400 words]
Kudos to Alan Randell for his outstanding letter, "Elementary logic" (The Sunday Herald, Jan. 11). I'd like to add that if there is no "free-standing right" to smoke marijuana, even in the privacy of one's own home, there is likewise no "free-standing right" to eat what you want. For every justification for the criminalization of marijuana, there is the same justification for the criminalization of a long list of potentially unhealthy foods. Soon you can expect the police to start arresting and jailing people for eating the wrong (politically selected) foods. For your own good, of course. Kirk Muse, Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Dear Editor: MADD has been taken over by the political police. Legal pot will reduce drunk driving deaths. The truth is that all these illicit drugs are less intoxicating than the legal drug alcohol. It seems obvious that the drug with the highest intoxication rate (alcohol) is the drug most dangerous to those around the user or abuser of that drug. This is best described in a recent RCMP report on the Impact of Crime and Substance Abuse in Canadian Society, released April 30, 2002, as summarized by the following statement: "Violent crimes such as murder and assault were more often associated with the use of alcohol, while crimes such as theft and robbery tended to have a stronger link to illegal drugs." [continues 222 words]
NO MATTER how strong the "super skunk" of today is, I doubt it will ever be as strong as the bathtub acid and magic mushrooms my friends and I consumed in large quantities at university, all of which produced much paranoia, panic attacks and loss of bladder control through excessive giggling. These days you cannot easily buy acid, nor speed -- largely because Ecstasy has become so inexpensive. If this is the "love drug", why are youngsters becoming ever more violent and repellent? The answer does not lie in drugs, which will always be a scapegoat, but in the love, respect and sense of responsibility we are failing to impart to our children, leaving them incapable of dealing with and properly absorbing new experiences. Paul Marcus, Stirling [end]
UNLESS we reach an understanding about the true nature of cannabis we will continue to produce youths who, unable to deal with their paranoia, fail to access the drug's benefits, turning instead to other less holistic substances, which may cause them to develop antisocial tendencies. In nearly 40 years I have never encountered anyone with serious antisocial tendencies who was a cannabis smoker, except where such tendencies preceded the use of cannabis. It is the lies told about cannabis that are responsible for the rise in disturbed mental behaviour, not the drug itself. John Lawrence [end]
IF, AS stated in your article ("Cannabis made me psychotic", T2, January 7), "for years psychiatrists have noticed a high level of cannabis use among people with psychosis, a generic term for schizophrenia, delusional episodes, manic depression and so on", I hope they have also noticed a similar level of cannabis use among almost everybody else, including psychiatrists. Certainly, cannabis use is unsuited to many people, but it is less dangerous than tobacco, alcohol or crossing the road. Cannabis use is not a crime: prohibition of cannabis is the crime against civil liberty and adult choice. Balanced health warnings of relative risk are one thing, but the fining, jailing, sacking and eviction of millions of people over 75 years of failed policy is another. So, David Blunkett, free the weed on January 29 and stop the reefer madness. Tim Summers, London SE1 [end]
I WAS very sad to read the article about Steve Hammond ("If cannabis is safe, why am I psychotic?", T2, January 7). I was also, however, delighted. Thank goodness someone is taking seriously the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis. I have been working for the past ten years or so as a non-executive manager of two mental health trusts in Co Durham. Over those years I have seen countless young people whose lives have been destroyed. In all those years I can barely remember a case where drug-taking, and usually soft drugs only, have not been part of the history. About six years ago, I asked one of our senior consultants whether it was his opinion that taking drugs of this kind can actually cause mental illness. I remember his answer exactly: "While I might not go that far, I am in no doubt that, where there is already any tendency towards mental fragility, drug-taking will be the straw that breaks the camel's back." The sad thing is that, once people have fallen over the mental health precipice, the way back is very hard, and rarely successful. So please don't let your article be a one off, forgotten by next week. We need a concerted campaign to make young people wake up to the dangers of cannabis, and the fact that it often causes health problems that become, effectively, a life sentence. We need to get this message through to central government. Caroline Peacock, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham [end]
RECREATIONAL use of cannabis can and does cause addiction, withdrawal symptoms, poor school performance because of cognitive impairment, traffic and other accidents, psychosis, depression and anxiety states, as well as bronchitis, emphysema and precancerous lung changes. All these effects are dose-related and the potency of cannabis preparations have increased tenfold over the past decade. I and others presented the evidence for these effects both orally and in writing to the House of Lords Select Committee in 1998, and to the Home Affairs Drugs Inquiry Committee in 2001. We also wrote a comprehensive report on cannabis as requested by the Department of Health, and one for the Ministry of Defence. All this information seems to have been ignored by politicians. I have spoken about cannabis to MPs and been amazed by their ignorance, despite the information available to them; they do not seem to read it or heed it. Heather Ashton, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Newcastle University [end]
RE: "COURT gives green light to ban harm," by Mike Jenkinson, Jan. 12. What a strange column. Jenkinson starts out by saying he agrees that Parliament, not the courts, should have the right to ban marijuana and then spends the rest of the piece explaining why this is a bad idea. You bet it's a bad idea. That's why I support the right of the courts to strike down unjust laws. Alan Randell (Judicial activism has gone too far.) [end]
SEVERAL letters in last week's debate (January 13) reactivate some of the terrible memories of the past 30 years. As a young and academically gifted teenager, our daughter, in the company of her inner-city peer group, was seduced and transformed by the hideous flirtation with various drugs. At the centre of it all, cannabis destroyed her compliant nature and her intellect, and she became a travesty of her former self. The demands of voices she heard in her head led her into alcoholism, unprotected promiscuity, acute poverty, and socially destructive paranoia. Distorted perceptions of world tragedies become personal hellish threats to what is left of her sanity and sense of wellbeing. [continues 55 words]
Give state Rep. Gregg Underheim credit for courage and compassion. The Oshkosh Republican has broken with party leaders to endorse marijuana for cancer pain relief - a position that makes more sense every day. Underheim changed his mind the hard way: through a battle with prostate cancer. It was while he was waiting for test results that would show whether the cancer had spread (it had not) that he started thinking about chemotherapy patients, and how many claim the use of marijuana combats chemo's attendant nausea and loss of appetite. [continues 251 words]
