Brighton - People consume marijuana because it relaxes them but the prospect of its recreational use becoming legal is making police anxious. "Anticipated issues" include "easier access for the youth population," impaired operation of vehicles, and the "facilitation of trafficking," OPP Detective-Sergeant Rick Dupuis said in a presentation to Brighton council on the implications of the federal law that is to take effect sometime after July 1. "The provincial and federal governments indicate that this act was introduced to minimize or mitigate accessibility to our young population but in my professional opinion I believe that is ... counterintuitive," he told council Feb. 20. "It's going to make it much easier." [continues 690 words]
TRENT HILLS - Northumberland-Quinte West MP Rick Norlock said he's confident a majority of Canadians support his government's efforts to get tough on drug traffickers by making minimum sentences mandatory. Bill S-10 targets traffickers who sell drugs to youth, are linked to organized crime, employ weapons or violence, and put others at risk. "I think the preponderance of people would say that you just can't give somebody a slap on the wrist for that, and that there should be a mandatory minimum sentence," Mr. Norlock said. [continues 833 words]
Organization Pushes for Public Opinion and Political Policy Changes CAMPBELLFORD - Al Graham founded PACE (People Advocating Cannabis Education) last summer because using marijuana has helped him cope with his own illness and he believes others would benefit from its wider acceptance. "I can tell you it's improved my quality of health," Mr. Graham says. The Campbellford resident was once a production supervisor who oversaw 65 employees but he had to go on disability after he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory disease that attacks the digestive system, in June 2003. He used to take 32 pills a day but he's now down to eight and most of them are vitamins. He still takes a couple of "nasty drugs" administered by doctors but he's replaced the painkillers with cannabis, which he inhales or smokes throughout the day. [continues 828 words]
Stirling - Stonehedge Bio-Resources Inc. is looking for farmers to grow industrial hemp that can be turned into insulation, biomasonry concrete and fuel pellets. It's also in the market for a site to build a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing plant somewhere along the Highway 401 corridor between Belleville and Port Hope that will employ more than two dozen people. "The total project is probably going to be in excess of $15 (million), maybe close to $20 million," John Baker, president of Stonehedge, said in an interview. More than half of that will spent on specialized equipment developed in Europe where industrial hemp is used extensively in a variety of products, including auto parts. [continues 953 words]
Strange Method For Trying To Curb Drug Trafficking I could not believe the June 4 article "Officers halt vehicles, check for drugs on I-94." I even pinched myself to see if it was an April 1 spoof. Welcome, tourists and residents, to the Wisconsin police state, where a bunch of the boys from the sheriff's departments can get together to see how they can snarl traffic worse than all those orange markers for construction. Who authorized this so-called highway safety initiative? An elected official, I hope. A lieutenant from one southeastern Wisconsin sheriff's departments said, "We're looking for cars that obviously fit a profile, and we're looking to see if we can find anyone (with drugs)." [continues 373 words]
