Marijuana (cannabis) has been a point of contention for decades. It was not actually made illegal in the United States until 1970, and was added to the Confidential Restricted List in 1923 in Canada. It is still federally illegal in the United States, causing a convoluted and shaky basis for medicinal marijuana in that country. In Canada, it is federally illegal to possess or sell marijuana for recreational use, but it is controlled by the government for medicinal uses. Patients utilizing the drug for medicinal reasons have a considerable amount of legal protection compared to those in the United States. [continues 740 words]
Drugs: Medical Ethicist Says Safe Injection Locations 'Brilliant' At Preventing Overdose Deaths SAINT JOHN - There would be no downside to setting up a safe injection site in Saint John, says a medical ethicist and board member of AIDS Saint John. "People might debate whether Saint John needs one or not, but I would say there's no harm in having one," said Tim Christie, associate professor in bioethics at Dalhousie University and a lecturer at the University of New Brunswick Saint John. [continues 684 words]
Drugs: Ottawa Gives Portage Atlantic Facility $1 Million CASSIDY LAKE - Kyle Hooton has travelled the road to freedom and that road started when he entered Portage Atlantic's drug rehabilitation centre three years ago. "I came to the Portage program a 21-year-old boy. I didn't know who I was, I had no confidence," he said Tuesday afternoon before a crowd of community leaders and fellow youths who have struggled with addictions. "I had the mentality of a 14-year-old." [continues 699 words]
Police To Continue Permissive Approach To Pot During Games In The Home Of B.C. Bud VANCOUVER - That sweet scent in the air during next month's Olympic Games might be the smell of success. Then again, it could just be the weed. It will be far from business as usual for much of Vancouver during the Olympics, but marijuana advocates and police say the city's laissez-faire attitude towards the infamous B.C. bud won't change. "Our officers show an exceptional amount of discretion with respect to people smoking marijuana and that will continue," said Const. Lindsey Houghton, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver Police Department. [continues 450 words]
ST. STEPHEN - An Elmsville man hopes for a break when he returns to St. Stephen provincial court Feb. 16 for sentencing on drug charges. If the Crown or the court does not stay proceedings, Adam Troy Dickerson, 27, will probably lose his medical certificate to use marijuana to control pain, duty counsel Joel Hansen told Judge David Walker. Dickerson pleaded guilty last year to growing and possession of marijuana contrary to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Walker agreed to postpone sentence to adjourn sentencing to allow Dickerson to apply to Health Canada for a medical use certificate. [continues 109 words]
BLACKVILLE - A man who was pulled over in Doaktown showing some signs of impaired driving by drug was eventually let go, because RCMP said at the time there was not much evidence of impairment. District 6 RCMP Cpl. Chuck Plaxton said the 43-year-old man had given a "reasonable explanation" about why he may have had drugs in his system. "However, the biggest problem we have right now is that we don't have the same training in place" to identify an individual under the influence of drugs, he explained. [continues 569 words]
Safeguards are in place to prevent take-home doses of methadone from getting into the wrong hands, according to the New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society. But pharmacy protocols, which include instructing clients to keep methadone in a locked box, appear not to have been followed in the case of a 23-month-old girl from southeastern New Brunswick who was transferred to a Halifax hospital after ingesting the drug. "If clients are receiving take-home doses they are to present at the pharmacy with a lock box," Gary Meek, assistant registrar of the New Brunswick Pharmaceutical Society, said in an interview. "It's to prevent exactly this kind of thing from happening." [continues 198 words]
No Evidence Tougher Drug Laws Will Reduce Crime: STU Professor FREDERICTON - Although some unexpected political twists may have delayed the implementation of tougher drug laws at both the federal and provincial levels, a New Brunswick criminology professor says the changes the governments have proposed are ill-advised and unlikely to be effective. "It looks good, it sounds good, but it's a very political move, not a very smart one," says Michael Boudreau, associate professor and head of the department of criminology and criminal justice at St. Thomas University. [continues 630 words]
To The Editor: New Brunswick Justice Minister Mike Murphy -- of all people -- should know that the courts take a dim constitutional view of the provinces entering into the federal criminal power realm ("Province pushes for stronger drug laws," Dec. 17). Suspending someone's driver's licence for a drug conviction, as California tried in the 1980s, is, despite his assertion, not only outside the province's power, but appears to be a cynical move by the Graham government to deflect attention from the public outrage over the sale of NB Power to Hydro-Quebec. Shame. T.J. Meehan, Kingston, Ont. [end]
To The Editor: Regarding Rob Moore's letter to the editor recently. I believe this is about Bill C-15, although he doesn't mention it. In his letter he states "dangerous marijuana grow-ops and methamphetamine labs . . . are a significant threat . . ." If these are found now, don't those people already go to jail? Maybe not for long enough to suit some, but I think that most would say that up to 14 years for one plant is a little excessive. It appears Bill C-15 is about mandatory drug sentencing. [continues 241 words]
To The Editor: I read with interest the letter in the Times & Transcript of Dec.18 from my Conservative colleague Rob Moore on the proposed amendment to Bill C 15, regulating certain drugs and substances. In it he accused the Liberal Senators of wanting to water down the bill's impact. The Senate had promised to carry out a critical examination of the bill. The members of the committee heard from an assortment of experts and representatives of various organizations who argued that the new legislation would encourage drug lords to recruit more street-level dealers, and that it would be these dealers who suffered the consequences of minimum sentencing, not the drug lords. [continues 131 words]
Canadians Want Tougher Punishments For Traffickers: Attorney General FREDERICTON - Attorney General Mike Murphy has outlined a plan to strengthen punishments for producers and traffickers of illegal drugs through tougher laws at the provincial and federal levels. "We're going to use any and every ability and tactic and law we have in the province to put these people out of business," the Moncton North MLA said yesterday. The provincial element of the anti-drug strategy is legislation that would allow police to confiscate vehicles used in criminal activity and revoke driving privileges from those found guilty. [continues 490 words]
To The Editor: Regarding the Times & Transcript story "Province pushes for stronger drug laws" in yesterday's edition, I thank New Brunswick Justice Minister Mike Murphy for his support of our government's efforts to combat serious drug crime. The illicit drug trade is the primary source of income for street gangs and other violent criminal organizations. These groups often establish dangerous marijuana grow-ops and methamphetamine labs in residential neighbourhoods. This represents a significant threat to communities throughout Canada. We need stronger sentences to send the message that we will not tolerate this kind of activity. [continues 195 words]
BATHURST - Eric Buckley was a Mirimachi teenager addicted to drugs. "It was mostly prescription drugs, narcotics, it wasn't so much drinking," said the 22-year-old graduate from Portage Atlantic's residential treatment centre at Cassidy Lake in Kings County. Portage is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the social rehabilitation of substance abusers. Buckley told a community breakfast in Bathurst how addiction to drugs affected his life to the point when he didn't even recognize his own father on a park bench sitting beside him. The Portage Atlantic program helped him overcome his addictions. [continues 389 words]
Justice Minister To Introduce Forfeiture Legislation Justice Minister Mike Murphy plans to introduce new legislation to help battle criminal activity in New Brunswick's neighbourhoods. Murphy says the Civil Forfeiture Act will target property used by people to commit crimes. The province will launch lawsuits against those individuals in an effort to have the court order them to forfeit property used to commit an offence. Murphy singles out people who deal drugs out of their homes or produce and distribute child pornography from their homes. [continues 726 words]
Critique: Criminologist Argues That Stings Such As Operation Portland Will Have Little Lasting Effect On The Supply Of Street Drugs SAINT JOHN - Called Operation Portland, the six-month drug sting has had an impact on the city's hard-core drug trade in crack cocaine, Dilaudid and OxyContin. But how long the streets remain quiet after such an operation is always the big question. Irvin Waller is an Ottawa University professor and author of Less Law, More Order: Truth about Reducing Crime. The book takes a look at where America has gone wrong in its battle against drugs. He believes Canadian lawmakers and enforcers could also learn from the experiences south of the border. [continues 435 words]
The signs are there. You notice a house in your neighbourhood where no one seems to go to work, but they sure have a nice truck to drive around in. The people in this house have a lot of visitors dropping in, but these visitors never seem to stay for more than a few minutes. And when you walk by, you notice the window in the front door is completely black. It's all a little weird and suspicious - and yes, your instincts are correct. [continues 455 words]
Help Needed | City Residents Asked To Provide Information The Fredericton Police Force is looking to stamp out neighbourhood drug houses. But it says it can't do it without help from residents of the streets and neighbourhoods affected by drug dens. Staff Sgt. Brian Ford told the city's public safety and environment committee Tuesday that unlike some cities, there are no typical drug neighbourhoods in Fredericton. But that doesn't mean drug operations aren't flying beneath police radar and it often takes residents near drug houses to alert police, he said. [continues 530 words]
Enforcement: Highway Stings Are Making Construction Zones Safer For Workers, Says The Head Of Traffic Division SAINT JOHN - The city's police department has devoted more officers to its traffic division and more tickets are being handed out, the Saint John Board of Police Commissioners heard Tuesday night. The number of tickets for violations rose from 2,534 in 2007 to 3,854 in 2008 and will likely top that again in 2009, said Sgt. Jeff LaFrance, who heads the traffic unit. [continues 380 words]
Police Promise Not To Rest On Their Laurels Following The Biggest Drug Bust In City History SAINT JOHN - The world of drug dealers is a murky place governed by paranoia and populated by cagey and shadowy figures. If police want to infiltrate that world, they have to become part of it. Operation Portland, which netted 48 people and resulted in 120 charges, used three undercover officers who infiltrated street-level and mid-level drug dealers. For six months they lived in a world that most only see on TV or read about in the news. [continues 667 words]
Inside New Brunswick
