Our two-day special report on crime in Brantford, written by Expositor justice reporter Heather Ibbotson and presented last week, said one thing that most Brantford residents already take for granted: Brantford is a fairly safe place to live. However, the report also tipped us off to another trend most of us know little about -- a growing problem with drug use, especially cocaine and its highly-addictive version, crack. Ibbotson rounded up numbers showing how the overall crime rate in Brantford has fallen to about half of what it was in the early 1980s. [continues 492 words]
BRANTFORD According to one estimate, about 1.5 million Canadians -- five per cent of the country's population -- use marijuana. They do it knowing full well that it's against the law and could lead to arrest, trial and a criminal record. Indeed, during the last 30 years that Is exactly what has happened to more than 500,000 Canadians who carry criminal records for simple possession of marijuana. In 1995 alone, almost 32,000 Canadians were convicted of the crime. [continues 476 words]
BRANTFORD -- Can a child say anything more horrific than the words: "I want to die." They came out of the mouth of a 16-year-old Innu girl in the remote Labrador community of Sheshatshiu, who was reflecting on her addiction to gas sniffing, the same addiction that led to the death of her 11-year-old brother. Recently, at the request of community leaders, the Newfoundland government started rounding up 12 gas-sniffing Innu children in order to take them away from the community to a secure centre where they could be treated for their addiction. [continues 491 words]
Canada may not be cleaning up in the medals, but it is reassuring to know that at least Canada's athletes are clean. The Canadian Olympic Association has done the right thing by banning equestrian rider Eric Lamaze from participating in the Sydney Olympics. The COA could have gone either way but, fortunately, made the wiser decision. Lamaze had a good story to tell. A drug test in August turned up evidence of two banned substances and an immediate and automatic ban was placed on him, which knocked him off the Sydney team. [continues 393 words]
BURFORD - As Doug Albin stands in Larry Davis's hemp field on Bishopgate Road for a photo for this story, the two men use the opportunity to decide who does what for a display the Ontario Hemp Alliance is mounting at this week's Outdoor Farm Show. Each man tells the other how busy his schedule is for the next few days, but they finally come up with a plan before each heads off to something else. In fact, the display is the latest assignment in what has been a busy two weeks for Albin, the manager of Brant Agri-Business, a non-profit organization that promotes value-added business opportunities for the county's farmers. [continues 953 words]
