Marijuana And The Law Reprinted with permission from The Buzz: There has been lots of talk in Canada about decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. It is important to know that this has not happened to date and that possession of marijuana is still illegal. The current legislation governing cannabis use and possession is found under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act. It states that a person charged with simple possession of 30 grams or less of cannabis or 1 gram or less of cannabis resin (hash or hash oil) may be prosecuted summarily and provides for a maximum term of 6 months imprisonment, a fine of $1000.00 or both and a permanent court record. For larger amounts or a second offence, the maximum penalties are $2,000 and/or 12 months in prison, and a permanent criminal record. [continues 541 words]
There was no moderator, one of three panelists left halfway through the debate and only two dozen audience members turned up. But that didn't stop the LEAP debate on drug prohibition Tuesday night at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium. There to discuss the issue was retired Vancouver judge Jerry Paradis, former Vancouver police officer Tony Smith and Chief Constable Ian Mackenzie of the Abbotsford Police Department. There appeared to be some confusion over who would moderate the debate, so local attorney John Conroy stepped in, while also adding his thoughts to the debate throughout the night. [continues 449 words]
Re: Wrong on drugs, May 24. The Free Press has it right on every count. It is wrong and foolish to spend money enforcing Canada's antiquated drug laws. It is hard to understand why the federal government is allocating even more money to an approach that clearly does not work. It is time we began to treat drug abuse in exactly the same way we treat the abuse of alcohol and tobacco -- have government control the supply and educate. This approach has eradicated neither alcohol nor tobacco abuse but it has worked far better than prohibition and placing addicts in jail. Thankfully, no one is suggesting we initiate a war on tobacco or alcohol. The war analogy is useless and should be discarded when it comes to addictions. [continues 65 words]
CANTON - At the conclusion of an otherwise calm meeting of the Canton Board of Aldermen, a law enforcement trio entered the meeting room Tuesday. The trio included Waynesville Police K9 Teddy, Haywood County Sheriff's Office K9 Rex and the Waynesville Police Department's new bomb-sniffing dog, Levi. The dogs, with official badges attached to their collars, strained at their leashes and yelped in anticipation upon entering the Colonial Theater annex, where the meeting was held. During the surprise visit, Teddy and Rex demonstrated their talent at sniffing out drugs. Teddy discovered a container of cocaine in a box marked "lost and found," and Rex found a sandwich bag full of marijuana hidden under a metal stand. [continues 382 words]
It's only a matter of time before the Supreme Court of Canada is forced to decide, once and for all, whether the one who smelt it, dealt it. In meantime, this week the supreme legal authority of this country applied its keen Solomonic wit to defining the sniff or, more specifically, the question of whether a smell can be "private." The likely answer, it seems, will be a boon to bean burrito fans everywhere: Yes, it can, provided it emanated from a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. [continues 673 words]
Sir: Re: Headline, "Search goes to Supreme Court" (The Observer, May 22, 2007) It is appalling and almost unbelievable to read that we are spending any taxpayers' dollars in our court system to determine if our law enforcement officers infringed on the rights of an alleged drug-possessing criminal in one of our local schools. To think that we would allow the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, an alleged criminal and their lawyers to use the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a shield for contravention of the law that protects Canadians from criminals is evidence that we have lost all perspective regarding law and order. Why should we protect someone who allegedly takes drugs into our schools? [continues 212 words]
Editor: Is KTW running out of enough viable content that it feels the need to highlight a head shop as front-page news ('They call it Sally D,' May 18)? Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive plant. Its active chemical, salvinorin A, is the psychotropic diterpene (chemical resin) isolated from the plant that acts primarily upon the central nervous system. The salvinorin extraction measurement of safe dosages is difficult, so a concentrate is usually produced. It is advised to have a "sitter" with you, to watch that you do not harm yourself. It's not advisable to have objects such as knives within your reach. [continues 230 words]
An 18-bed transition house opens on Richter Street today providing a place for homeless men struggling with addiction to re-establish a life. Structured as a fourplex, the $1.43 million facility offers a bed in a safe home for those who have been on the street and been through counselling to achieve abstinence from drugs or alcohol. The home will also be open to those suffering from mental illness who are able to function on medication, according to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Central Okanagan, the visionaries behind the project. [continues 418 words]
America has spent billions battling the drug industry in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. And the result? Production as high as ever, street prices at a low, and the governments of the region in open revolt. The immensely costly "war on drugs" in Latin America is slowly collapsing like a Zeppelin with a puncture. The long-forecast failure for strategies which involve police and military in forcibly suppressing narcotics - first decreed by President Richard Nixon decades ago - is now pitifully evident in Bolivia, one of the poorest countries of the Western hemisphere. [continues 1551 words]
