Editor: The question is not when our government will decriminalize personal possession and provide a safe clean drug source, like we do for alcohol and soon to be marijuana, but how many more families will be devastated with the loss of a loved one before a government is brave enough to value lives over votes. In Portugal, possession is not a criminal offence if you have a 10 day personal supply in your possession. If it is more than that then it's treated as trafficking. By decriminalizing personal possession, we can then start to rid the negative stigma that is associated with addiction. [continues 210 words]
Six months after seizing a quantity of marijuana, Williams Lake RCMP announced Tuesday charges have been approved against the manager and a former employee of Mary Jane's Glass and Gifts. Mary Jane's, which is located on Oliver Street in downtown Williams Lake, was stripped of its inventory in April following a search and seizure by police. Mark Cowan faces one charge of trafficking a controlled substance contrary to section 5(1) of the Canadian Drug and Substance Act (CDSA) and one of possession for the purpose of trafficking contrary to section 5(2) of the CDSA. [continues 453 words]
No street drug is safe, not even marijuana. That was the message driven home by a multi-agency panel who gave up their Thursday night to speak at a public forum about the dangers of street drugs laced with fentanyl. "There's always been this belief that marijuana is safe but that's just not true. Fentanyl is being found in everything," said Kelly Culbert, a representative for the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFSD). It was an intimate setting at city hall where the 30 or so members of the public got a close look at what Williams Lake's frontline workers are doing to raise awareness about the sharp increase in fentanyl-related overdoses and deaths, which prompted the province to declare a public health crisis in April. [continues 576 words]
One of the enduring legacies of Pierre Trudeau's time as prime minister is the legal supremacy of the individual, as articulated in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We are seeing this played out with greater force than ever today, by an activist high court that swatted aside Stephen Harper's attempts to restrain it, and now orders a meek, politically correct Justin Trudeau government to do its bidding. The Federal Court decreed last week that people have the right to grow their own "medical" marijuana. This ruling is unlikely to be appealed, given that Trudeau the Younger is committed to legalizing marijuana for everyone. [continues 501 words]
The attitude towards marijuana in this province is in sharp contrast with the approach in other parts of Canada. Proof of that comes in details from a court document, filed as part of an application to seize a property near the Aldergrove border crossing which was the subject of a massive search last week. Although the large property just drew public attention last week, the documents suggest it has been used for marijuana production since 1993. That's a 22-year period. [continues 248 words]
On April 1, medical marijuana growing licences expire across the country, and only licensed commercial growers will be able to legally fill a prescription for pot. Ottawa is moving to clean up the mess it created by issuing medical licences all over the country. Since then, municipalities have complained that small-scale medical licences have been greatly exceeded, with many used as fronts for a criminal drug trade that has made B.C. infamous around the world. How big is the problem? There are about 38,000 Canadians licensed to carry marijuana for medical purposes, and half of them live in B.C. Their permission to grow their own or buy it from designated small-scale growers is withdrawn in a couple of months. [continues 496 words]
The Cariboo Regional District is investigating zoning regulations to accommodate the growing of medical marijuana. During their regular meeting Friday, Aug. 23, CRD directors asked staff to bring forward a text amendment to the zoning regulations to allow the accessory medical marijuana uses in industrial zones, reports the CRD. On June 10, the federal government announced a new regulation called the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR). This legislation changes the way marijuana can be legally grown in Canada for medical purposes. [continues 56 words]
We certainly are living in interesting times. (Isn't there a Chinese curse along those lines?) In the last few weeks, Auditor General John Doyle found serious flaws in the management of our forests; B.C. Ombudsperson Kim Carter issued a damning report on senior's care; and provincial court judge Daniel Steinberg said the state of our justice system is "abysmal." This is on top of the ongoing battle between the province and teachers. And that's just on the provincial scene. [continues 251 words]
Editor: Re: CRIME program to continue for now, Tuesday, Aug. 9 Tribune. "CRIME-subsidizing program to continue for now" would be a more accurate headline. The people most pleased about this "eradication" policy are the 90-95 per cent of growers who will never be caught. This colossal waste of time and money is not only failing to fix things, it is, in fact, outrageously counterproductive. If the police busted twice as many grow ops this year as last year, they would still only get about 20 per cent of them. One fifth. Probably less. And every time they bust one grow op -- indoor, outdoor, small or big -- all they do is make the ones they don't catch that much more valuable. [continues 221 words]
The Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement team (CRIME) is nearing the end of its year-long pilot project run and will not end on its one-year anniversary, Sept. 4. Cpl. Annie Linteau with the federal RCMP media relations, says the team will carry on beyond that date to help advance a second "community phase" initiative. That is currently underway and consists of a long-term community phase in which the marijuana grow operation provincial working group, the province and stakeholders "explore other solutions to the marijuana grow operation problem in the Cariboo region besides enforcement." [continues 310 words]
While the RCMP's Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement task force (CRIME) may be adept at taking down marijuana grow operations, it has uncovered an ugly environmental side to the operations that, for now, seems to be without a solution. According to Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson, after a grow operation is taken down the RCMP are left to deal with the collection, transportation and storage of the operation's equipment as well as the "toxic remains" for which they neither have a budget nor the skills to handle. [continues 373 words]
The first leadership candidate off the block for the NDP is Dana Larsen. Mr. Larsen is founding editor of Cannabis Culture, founder of both the Vancouver Dispensary Society and EndProhibition. The media will have a field day with the marijuana connection and I'm willing to bet the rest of his platform (and he does have one) will be ignored. Marijuana has been big news here lately with the Cariboo being one of the hottest areas for "outside interests" to be growing the stuff. [continues 258 words]
Belying the Cariboo's remote beauty is an increasingly seedy underbelly. According to the RCMP, there is a growth in the number of marijuana grow operations in the area and this, in part, could be attributed to the Cariboo's geography. "The reason they are popular in rural B.C. is the growers have an easier time hiding the grows. It's just the natural lay of the land," says Williams Lake Staff Sgt. Warren Brown. "We are aware that there's an increasing number. I would say . earlier this year we estimated there to be in excess of 100 grows in our detachment area." [continues 278 words]
The youth survey indicates that 57 per cent of students feel Williams Lake has laws and norms favorable toward drug use (risk); 59 per cent of youth reported parental attitudes favorable toward antisocial behavior and drugs (risk); 53 per cent of students reported a low level of commitment to school (risk); 37 per cent of youth became involved in antisocial behavior and drug use at an early age (risk); and 48 per cent of students feel that there are rewards for pro-social involvement in the community (protective). [continues 261 words]
B.C. residents are boozing more and toking up less, according to new research. The average resident drank almost 9.2 litres of pure alcohol last year, up more than 10 per cent from 8.26 litres in 2002. That's among the findings of multiple B.C. academics compiled and released by the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research. The province's per capita liquor intake has been almost twice as fast as the rest of Canada. B.C. has also seen a 17 per cent jump in the number of people hospitalized because of their drinking over the past 10 years. [continues 259 words]
The proposed supportive housing at the Jamboree Motel site is a good idea, if it is successful. People in Williams Lake are hurting, whether they are unemployed, underemployed, or nervously employed. Thirty-three units of housing for those trying to get their lives back on track is a good start in helping residents. It's obviously not a cure-all, and it's obviously a small step in addressing Williams Lake's homelessness problem. If, that is, the project is what it is intended to be. [continues 154 words]
The Williams Lake RCMP has a new sergeant at the detachment who hopes to make the community feel safe and the prolific offenders feel watched with a close eye. Sgt. Warren Brown, who started at the detachment in early April, says he wants the community to feel that they can also trust the RCMP. He says drug traffickers, property offenders, and other criminals who want to exploit that trust and go against making the community feel safe are going to be identified. [continues 885 words]
Editor: Re: "New RCMP Operations NCO: Criminals Are Not Safe" This mountie-PR piece is sickening in that it is touting the police as the solution to the country's drug problems, when in reality, drug prohibition is the problem. The RCMP even admit that most of the property and violent crimes in this country can be connected back to drugs, but they refuse to admit that prohibition is the cause of, not the solution to, the whole problem. All science, history and common sense show this beyond a shadow of a doubt, but the Horsemen will flatly refuse to admit that the earth is anything but flat. [continues 76 words]
B.C. politicians agree on one thing - the federal government needs to get tough on gangsters. Attorney General Wally Oppal and Solicitor General John van Dongen were in Ottawa Thursday to seek all-party support for reforms they say are urgently needed to cope with violence on B.C. city streets. Their list includes 21st-century wiretap legislation, tougher bail conditions and an end to "two-for-one" credit for time served awaiting trial. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is winging his way to Vancouver to announce his own solutions for what his public safety minister has termed the gang capital of Canada. Reports out of Ottawa say it will include a mandatory first-degree murder charge for gang-related killings and new mandatory minimum sentences for serious drug crimes. [continues 268 words]
There's one area of B.C. business investment that's seen a boom in rural areas. Unfortunately, it's organized crime. You may have heard the saga of Likely, a tiny community east of Williams Lake. Last fall RCMP confirmed results of a two-year investigation that found eight properties with buildings fitted for large-scale marijuana growing. At least one of those has been seized under civil forfeiture legislation, a powerful new tool in targeting proceeds of crime. Nine Lower Mainland residents, all with Asian names, were charged. [continues 771 words]
