If a drug prosecution is to proceed against a Fredericton man, Canadian taxpayers will be on the hook for the cost of his defence, a judge ruled Tuesday. [name redacted], 41, had previously applied to provincial court to have the attorney general of Canada appoint state-funded defence counsel. He's awaiting trial on 22 charges, including trafficking in cocaine and marijuana, conspiracy to traffic in those drugs, and possession of restricted and prohibited weapons. The charges allege December 2006 events. [continues 513 words]
Rob Nicholson Braces for Provincial Wrath Over Controversial Crime Bill OTTAWA - Canadian jail cells are not going to be brimming with teenagers and college kids who share pot with their pals, according to Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, who maintains one of the most contentious facets of his omnibus crime bill has been grossly misrepresented. Mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana production are designed to target organized crime, gangs and grow-ops, he said in a year-end interview with Postmedia News. They don't apply to young offenders and even new provisions that aim to penalize adults who are trafficking drugs around schools mean perpetrators would have to be caught with an "eight-pound joint" to be saddled with a mandatory minimum under the Safe Streets and Communities Act, he argued. [continues 802 words]
OTTAWA - The RCMP is preparing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to send police officers to Phoenix for three weeks of training where alcohol and drugs feature prominently and a bar is a hotel requirement. The Mounties are planning six workshops - each three weeks long - in the sun-soaked Arizona city between April 2012 and March 2013 to train a few hundred RCMP, provincial and municipal police officers from across the country on recognizing and testing drug-impaired drivers. [continues 844 words]
B.C. Man Failed to Prove Marijuana Use Served Religious Purpose, Judge Rules VANCOUVER - A federal judge has ruled that a Vancouver man was blowing smoke when he claimed that he should be allowed to smoke up to seven grams of marijuana - about 35 joints - every day for religious purposes. Christopher Bennett is a member of the Church of the Universe, which believes cannabis is the "tree of life." He tried to argue that Canada's drug laws infringed upon his religious rights. [continues 256 words]
Like those generals who used to discover that nuclear weapons were not a good thing about 20 minutes after they took off their uniforms and started collecting their pensions, we have had a parade of former presidents who knew that the war on drugs was a bad thing - but only mentioned it after they were already ex-presidents. Now, at last, we have one who is saying it out loud while he is still in office. President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, the country that has suffered even more than Mexico from the drug wars, is an honest and serious man. He is also very brave, because any political leader who advocates the legalization of narcotic drugs will become a prime target of the prohibition industry. He has chosen to do it anyway. [continues 778 words]
If you were a Prime Minister who inherited a $13.6 billion surplus and then six years later you were trying to eliminate a $40 billion deficit, how would you do it? Well, you would probably start by putting a minister in charge of cost-cutting who was experienced in the misappropriation of funds and you would likely hire a $90,000-a-day consultant to tell you where you could save money. Most certainly, you would introduce regressive "tough on crime" legislation that would take you back to the 1980s and add billions of dollars a year to the costs of your criminal justice system. [continues 742 words]
Justice Minister Says Federal Tough-On-Crime Measures Are 'Positive' New Brunswick Justice Minister Marie-Claude Blais supports the tough-on-crime stance being adopted by her federal counterparts in a new crime bill. "There's been a lot of talk about the changes (and whether or not) they're proper, but the goal is something we support," says Blais. "That goal is to strengthen laws, deter crime and help victims." The federal government introduced the new crime bill last week and hope to have it passed in the House of Commons in the next few months. Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe MP Robert Goguen, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, told the Times & Transcript last week the bill is designed to target the most serious offenders in society, including drug producers, people involved with organized crime and those who sexually abuse children. [continues 764 words]
Late Summer, Early Fall Is Busy Time for Illegal Drug Trade Police officers will soon be patrolling the forests of New Brunswick, looking to dismantle marijuana grow-operations and disrupt the drug trade. This is an annual operation for the RCMP's J Division in New Brunswick, conducted every August and September. "Late summer and early fall is when outdoor grow-ops are maturing and they're ready to be harvested," says Const. Jullie Rogers-Marsh. While the criminals who planted the marijuana hope to harvest their crop and get the product into the drug trade, police want to beat them to it whenever possible. [continues 509 words]
To The Editor: I was watching Canada A.M. last Thursday and saw what looked like an outdoor concert in Vancouver. It was a gathering for a "pot smoking day." Do a little research on that. It's not so much the date, April 20 (4/20), rather it was more the time of day. Google 420 and you'll see it is code for teenagers that means at 4:20 after school, smoke up. That gathering did little to help their cause of legalizing pot. [continues 380 words]
Tickets for George Chuvalo Event Now on Sale Boxing legend George Chuvalo is coming to Moncton as part of his fight against drugs. The former Canadian heavyweight champion will be one of the guest speakers during an event on May 28 at 3 p.m. at the Moncton Wesleyan Celebration Center. This is the first event being staged by Eloquent One Promotion, a new local company. Tickets are $30 and go on sale today at the Moncton Wesleyan Celebration Center, Frank's Music and Steve's Diner. Tickets are also available at www.ticketwindow.ca or by calling 1-877-700-3130. [continues 706 words]
Tickets for George Chuvalo's Anti-Drug Seminar Go on Sale Today George Chuvalo ended his illustrious boxing career in 1979, but he continues to pack a big punch when talking about life. The former Canadian heavyweight champion is coming to Moncton as part of his wide-spread travels in his fight against drugs. He will be one of the guest speakers during an event on May 28 at 3 p.m. at the Moncton Wesleyan Celebration Center. This is the first event being staged by Eloquent One Promotion, a new Moncton organization that's looking to "design and promote creative and accessible events that celebrate and enrich the diversity within our culture." [continues 608 words]
Ever heard of the drug Salvia? Salvia is an old natural herb that the Mazatecs from Mexico used to use for shamanic visions. Nowadays it is considered to be a hallucinogenic drug much like LSD. There's one difference, though: salvia is legal in many countries across the world. Last week the Celebrity gossip website TMZ released a video of teen pop sensation Miley Cyrus smoking from a bong. Soon after the video surfaced, Miley's manager assured everyone that she was not smoking marijuana, another popular drug amongst young adults, but rather, she was smoking salvia, which, they clarified, is legal in the state of California. [continues 491 words]
WASHINGTON - We are coming up to the 40th anniversary of one of the most bizarre and delicious moments in American history. In fact, according to George Washington University, "Of all the requests made each year to the National Archives for reproductions of photographs and documents, one item has been requested more than any other . . . more requested than the Bill of Rights or even the Constitution of the United States." It is the photograph of Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley, shaking hands in the Oval Office as the addled and patriotic King is deputized as a Special Agent in the War on Drugs. [continues 872 words]
MP Criticizes Federal Liberal Leader for Alleged Stance on Decriminalizing Marijuana OTTAWA - The launch of a new anti-drug campaign by the federal government took a decidedly partisan turn yesterday when Conservative MP Shelly Glover suggested that Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff finds it acceptable for youth to smoke marijuana. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq and Glover were announcing a new television and social media advertising campaign aimed at teenagers and Glover took the opportunity to make a jab at Ignatieff. "It's very disturbing as a parent, and as a police officer for almost 19 years, to hear the opposition, in fact the Liberal leader, say to our children that it is OK to take marijuana in small doses," the Manitoba MP said during her prepared remarks. She repeated her comment in French. When she was asked by the media to explain what she meant, and if Ignatieff has ever actually said to children that he has no problem with them doing drugs, Glover read a quote from Ignatieff where he said he supports the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana and that he doesn't comment on the "personal lifestyle choices" of his friends or colleagues. [continues 291 words]
To The Editor: Regarding the story "Mounties notch record pot hauls," stop and think of all the taxpayer money that goes into fighting a plant that God put on this Earth. I would assume this might not be a good time for God to return to his planet, as he would probably be arrested for cultivating a controlled substance with intent to distribute. This prohibition is on a non-toxic plant that has been medicine to humans for over 5,000 years and is now being recognized around the world by scientist and doctors who are standing up and supporting this medicine. [continues 329 words]
To The Editor: Regarding the recent news surrounding marijuana, I would like to make a few comments and even a debate. First, marijuana has become part of our culture and whether we like it or not, it's here to stay. I would argue Constable Cameron's recent remarks in which he stated that marijuana tears families apart and has a devastating effect on society, are ridiculous. The only devastating effect is the fact that the law "criminalizes" everyday, hard-working citizens who are good people who freely chose to use marijuana recreationally. [continues 214 words]
To The Editor: Regarding the story where the RCMP says the public has helped them take 23,000 plants out of circulation, 'J' Division RCMP Staff Sgt. Gary Cameron is an ill-informed ideologist cop! 'If' marijuana is harmful, then why is this non-toxic medicinal herb improving and extending the lives of thousands of chronically ill Canadians who are legally licensed by Health Canada to use it for medicinal reasons? I am one of them since March 2000, and let me tell you that if it wouldn't have been of marijuana, I would have died some time ago. There are millions of marijuana users in Canada, so why aren't our hospitals filled with marijuana users if it's harmful? How many died because of marijuana? And the social problems caused by marijuana are to be blamed on its prohibition! Sgt. Gary Cameron should educate himself about the dozens of medicinal benefits of marijuana instead of propagating such garbage. Marc Paquette, Hawkesbury, Ont. [end]
RCMP says public has helped them take 23,000 plants out of circulation The public is increasingly tipping off the RCMP about marijuana grow-operations and one Mountie thinks part of the reason for that can be traced to Moncton. In summer of 2004 police simultaneously raided 14 houses in Moncton and arrested 18 people. All the homes were found to house large marijuana grow-ops and were linked to organized crime. Police confiscated 5,000 plants worth more than $10 million and more arrests were made in Hamilton, Ont., at an operation connected to the one in Moncton. [continues 708 words]
To The Editor: Regarding "Police target drug trafficking in schools" published June 15, if cannabis (marijuana) is the most frequent illegal drug used by high school students and it promotes organized crime, as Const. Chantal Farrah claims, it can only be because of the way it is made illicit. Teens smoking up in the middle of the day may very well be of the opinion that marijuana is harmless. Harm is not reflected in the way marijuana, and other substances, are legislated. [continues 139 words]
Friday's Arrests Part of Ongoing Operation Codiac Regional RCMP's Drug Section is targeting drug trafficking at local high schools in an attempt to keep students safe. "If we can get young people on the right track early, society benefits from that," says Const. Chantal Farrah. "We want to put them on the right path to be responsible adults in the future." Two officers from the drug squad arrested three Moncton High School students Friday at lunchtime as part of this ongoing operation. [continues 455 words]
