It's been almost 18 months since police descended on the provincial legislature to collect evidence that resulted in criminal charges against ministerial assistants Dave Basi and Bob Virk. It's been almost twice that long since the start of an RCMP investigation into money-laundering, drug-trafficking and organized crime that resulted in charges against Basi and seven other men from Ontario and B.C. And judging by the snail's pace of legal proceedings so far, it will be many more months before the public gets an accurate picture of the events that led to these charges. (Basi's arraignment hearing on the drug charges has been delayed until the end of June, as has his arraignment on fraud and breach of trust charges stemming from the legislature raid.) [continues 799 words]
Federal Law Will Only Help Slow The Scourge. The methamphetamine epidemic wreaking havoc on our Ozarks and our country has two main components: production and demand. Congress is working to create federal regulations limiting access to cold medicines such as Sudafed and NyQuil that contain pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth. Sen. Jim Talent and Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri are at the lead in creating this legislation. These efforts are based on an Oklahoma law that went into effect in April 2004. That law requires a photo ID for purchases of cold pills, creates a computerized registry and limits the amount of cold pills a person can buy in a 30-day period. [continues 393 words]
U.S. Supreme Court Delivers Setback for Medical Marijuana In a decision that will probably shed more confusion than light on the increasing popularity of marijuana for medical purposes, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that state laws permitting the drug's limited use do not protect individuals from federal prosecution. The decision was widely interpreted as a defeat for marijuana proponents who waged efforts in 10 states over the past decade to allow the drug's use for relief in a variety of illnesses, from glaucoma to severe reactions to chemotherapy. But many of those same proponents say that marijuana use is now so widespread, especially in California, that federal enforcement efforts will be token at best. [continues 976 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A steady stream of customers filed into the Love Shack, where anybody with a city-issued cannabis card could buy $5 pot brownies or spend up to 20 minutes inhaling premium marijuana that sells for $320 an ounce. It was business as usual at the medical marijuana club - one of dozens in San Francisco - even after the Supreme Court ruled Monday that people who smoke pot for medicinal purposes can be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws. Crime fighters in California and other states with medical marijuana laws insisted they were not about to start looking for reasons to shut down the dispensaries. But Dwion Gates, who was sitting next to a pair of bongs, said he's "a little bit shaken." [continues 502 words]
Court Says Users Face Federal Charges Despite State Laws WASHINGTON - A medical prescription is not a ticket to legal marijuana in California, the U.S. Supreme Court said Monday in a 6-3 ruling in which the justices nonetheless expressed sympathy for those whose illnesses have been uniquely alleviated by the popular street drug. In an opinion written by Justice John Paul Stevens, the court held that laws in California and 10 other states permitting marijuana cultivation, possession and use by persons with a doctor's prescription do not trump the federal government's authority under the Constitution to prosecute sick users on federal drug charges. [continues 605 words]
Lobbying Congress, More Legal Wrangling to Follow Court Ruling Two Northern California mothers who insist they could die without medicinal marijuana were undeterred by Monday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing federal authorities to continue arresting people like themselves. "We are not criminals, we are sick people who need medicine," said 39- year-old cancer patient Angel Raich of Oakland, who said she smokes marijuana every two hours -- about 9 pounds a year -- to fuel her appetite. She and 48-year-old Diane Monson of Oroville (Butte County) became the nation's most famous marijuana freedom fighters in 2002, after a federal raid of six pot plants at Monson's home. Raich's former pot supplier, the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, was served with a federal injunction in 1998 barring it from dispensing marijuana. [continues 533 words]
MONTGOMERY (AP) -- An Alabama legislator pushing for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes said a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday against medical marijuana statutes won't dissuade her. Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, said she will be back with her bill because she believes it gets around problems that the Supreme Court found with medical marijuana laws in other states. In a 6-3 ruling Monday, the Supreme Court said state laws can't defy the federal Controlled Substances Act that makes marijuana illegal, and people who smoke marijuana because their doctors recommend it to ease pain can be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws. [continues 152 words]
The sparkling clean room is painted a cheerful mango and is furnished with several bright blue chairs, each facing a cubicle backed by a mirror. All that's missing are the heroin addicts. Soon, 80 hard-core users for whom the traditional methadone treatment hasn't worked, will head to the former hospital at the corner of Prince Arthur and St. Urbain Sts., sit in a cubicle and shoot up for free, up to three times a day, seven days a week. [continues 569 words]
Brad Rule said his partner Olaf, a German shepherd trained to sniff narcotics, is more than just a tool he uses to do his job. "They are my dogs, and they are spoiled," the Del City police officer said. "I treat them like my kids." While many officers across the metro look at police dogs as part of their family, the dogs are proving valuable for their contribution to the work force. Noble Police Chief Ben Daves said K-9 units are being used by more departments because the dogs save them time and manpower. [continues 359 words]
