Watching Steve Kubby maneuver around on the mountain makes it hard to believe he's been living with terminal cancer for 35 years. Kubby is determined to ski a million vertical feet before the end of the season. It's a challenge he set for himself to raise awareness of his disease and the treatment to which he feels he owes his life. He attributes his survival to regular use of medicinal marijuana. "I'm so inspired because I'm alive," he said. "I should have died or had a heart attack, but instead I'm skiing and what a wonderful gift, and without this herb, that gift wouldn't be a reality." [continues 871 words]
Why is a public inquiry necessary to know why former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer of Edmonton had cocaine and drunk driving charges in Ontario reduced to careless driving and a $500 fine? The reason is obvious: Because he is a former MP with connections. Those demanding an inquiry to ensure everyone is treated the same by our justice system are kidding no one. They want to embarrass the Tory party and Jaffer. Period. More political gamesmanship. Working itself into a lather about Rahim Jaffer, the Opposition knows full well favouritism is probably at work. That can't be proven, of course. It's just the way it is. [continues 432 words]
Rahim Jaffer's mysteriously light punishment after being charged with impaired driving and cocaine possession raises four concerns. Jaffer, a former Conservative MP, was charged after being stopped for speeding last year. Police said he failed a breathalyzer test and they found cocaine. But a plea bargain resulted in those charges being dropped. He pleaded guilty to careless driving and paid $500. The Crown prosecutor said only that she did not believe there was a reasonable possibility of conviction on the serious charges, citing "significant legal reasons." [continues 279 words]
'One Of Largest Drug Busts In B.C. History . . . Hits Organized Crime Hard' Two men have been charged with drug smuggling after police seized a metric tonne of cocaine off the northern tip of Vancouver Island in what they call one of the largest drug busts in B.C.'s history. Police suspect the drugs are linked to organized crime. The 1,001 kilograms of white powder were packaged in one-kg bricks about the size of a hard-cover novel and bound with packing or duct tape. The bricks formed a metre-high wall four bricks deep with enough left over to stuff five large sports bags. [continues 292 words]
After reading an article about Bainbridge Island's lack of a statute for possession of small amounts of marijuana, I was again disgusted at the ignorance and lack of foresight and justice after I read on to find what the alternative is for the system. The fact that if you are arrested or pulled over and marijuana is found, the police will book you then for having drug paraphernalia because of the lack of a possession statute. The problem with this is drug paraphernalia could mean anything when law enforcement is reading your criminal history and be misconstrued as dabbling in narcotic, which is not representative of the law that you broke. [continues 211 words]
Training, Better Procedures Might Have Spared Rachel Hoffman, Report Says TAMPA - Ryan Pender, the only Tallahassee police officer fired after a failed drug sting that led to the death of an undercover informant from Pinellas County, may get his job back - with back pay. Pender shouldn't be blamed because the department lacked specific policies that might have guided him and prevented the death of Rachel Hoffman, 23, according to Christopher Shulman of Tampa, who mediated the January arbitration hearing to determine Pender's fate. Shulman's findings were released Saturday. [continues 631 words]
A controversial program that has drawn outrage for paying drug addicts and alcoholics to get sterilized or be put on long-term birth control brings its activity to Honolulu this week. Critics have called it unethical to bribe women to make an irreversible decision, but it has been worthwhile in preventing the birth of children with drug-created problems to parents unable to deal with them. Project Prevention, originally named Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity, or Crack, will complete its distribution of fliers in Honolulu tomorrow, offering what would be out-of-bounds if offered by government agencies. Barbara Harris, who founded and now is executive director of the project, aims to keep medical disabilities and emotional problems from being passed to the next generation. [continues 313 words]
The Conservatives preach a zero-tolerance policy to drug use and plan to impose mandatory jail time for people who grow even one marijuana plant in a rented dwelling. Yet when Rahim Jaffer, the husband of a Tory MP, is charged with drunk driving and cocaine possession, he gets to plead down to "careless driving". One can only assume Jaffer had some help from his friends in very high places. One law for them, another law for the "little people." Maybe now more Canadians will realize what a bunch of brazen hypocrites these so-called "conservatives" really are. Russell Barth, Ottawa [end]
Before any of the drug war hypocrites begin shouting in Mexico's ears, we should remember that the only reason cartels are so avid to bring drugs into the United States is because of a lunatic drug war that has utterly failed for more than 90 years. Without drug prohibition the Mexican drug cartels will be out of the drug business in a few days. How do I know? That's about how long it took for outlaws to quit the bootlegger business after repeal of Alcohol Prohibition. It's worth remembering that Eliot Ness never put the booze gangs out of business. Repeal and regulation for adult alcohol use did that in short order and we haven't had a bombing or a shoot out over a beer. Ralph Givens Daly City, Calif. [end]
A third of Georgia teens see little to no risk in trying methamphetamine, and a fifth of them say it's easy to get. The alarming statistics come from a new statewide survey released this week by the Georgia Meth Project, a public education campaign aimed at preventing first-time use. The 2010 Georgia Meth Use & Attitudes Survey examined the attitudes and behaviors of teens, young adults, who are just out of high school, and parents. It was conducted over a period of several months among samples of 2,432 teens, 314 young adults and 400 parents of teens. [continues 386 words]
Augusta-area police say they support a hard-hitting ad campaign aimed at keeping teens from using methamphetamine. The Georgia Meth Project -- which debuted Monday on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta -- is designed to flood media with ads featuring graphic and startling images of teenage users. Across a wide array of formats, the campaign will feature Georgia teens talking about their experiences using the highly addictive stimulant. Lt. Robert Partain, of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Division, said any campaign that shows the effects on the users' bodies and lifestyle is a powerfully effective deterrent. [continues 327 words]