Editor: Re: Greed turns governments into bookie, bootlegger and dealer, Community Comment, Jan. 19 Just a small clarification on Greg Hoover's column. He stated, "The entire reason for this (marijuana) legalization is money and nothing else." That's a very non-researched and inaccurate assumption. There are many good reasons to take this useful and comparatively harmless herb out of courts, off the streets, out of the hands of organized crime and, hopefully, away from children. Of course, teens will still manage to access it just as they're able to get alcohol and cigarettes, but it won't be quite as easy with proper laws in place. If we follow Amsterdam's lead, which seems to help society there, prostitution may be another "vice" worth looking at controlling. Gary Gibbons [end]
A recent illegal cannabis grow operation in North Delta, busted by Delta police, is highlighting the challenges law enforcement will soon face when new marijuana legislation comes into effect later this year. Chief Neil Dubord updated Delta police board members last week on the illegal operation police raided in late November. Dubord said a complaint was received by the mayor's office on Oct. 17 regarding concerns over a potential cannabis grow operation in a home. "Upon investigation, it was learned that Health Canada issued a licence dated Nov. 28 allowing 93 plants to be grown at that location," Dubord said. "Although licensed, drug investigators continued with the investigation due to evidence that suggested the operation was not consistent with 93 plants." [continues 339 words]
Two vices are poised to potentially descend on Delta in the coming months, but it's curious that the reception they're getting from city leaders is markedly different. The federal government is expected to legalize marijuana sometime later this year, which has prompted those over at city hall to compile a laundry list of concerns. Delta doesn't want to see pot grown on local farmland due to its impact on food security and public safety, worried that large-scale pot farms could be a draw for organized crime. The city is also raising questions over public consumption, where marijuana will be sold, how tax revenues will be split and more. [continues 285 words]
A few days before Christmas my son and I were in the site office with a friend of ours solving the problems of the world as we sometimes do. The topic of government taxation came up and how every aspect of life is taxed. As the conversation continued, our friend Mike expressed a point of view we had never considered so I asked and received his permission to use it here, with some background and explanation. When I was a teenager I worked part-time at my dad's General Motors dealership and every now and then this old fellow walked through the shop saying hello to all the mechanics and would wind up going out the back door where he would just stand around. Over the next few minutes the mechanics would lay down their tools one at a time and go out to talk to him, as well as the car salesmen and fellows from the parts department. After a few minutes of this, the old fellow left just the same way he came in, which was all a mystery to a teenager in the early 1960s. [continues 402 words]
Having worked as a police officer for many years, I have to admit, it requires a shift in thinking to look at marijuana as a legal substance. Countless policing hours were dedicated to keeping it out of our homes, schools and communities, but the future will be different. Since the federal government announcement earlier this year, the law enforcement community began work to determine what public safety issues might arise with the availability of legal marijuana. Much of the public discourse was simple: legalize it, regulate it, tax it and use the revenues for everything, from health care to education spending. Unfortunately, it is not that simple from a public safety perspective, and the Delta police, along with our policing partners have done a great deal of work to identify and address key issues. [continues 302 words]
Lois Jackson says municipal hall is receiving five to 10 inquiries a day as legalization date less than a year off There are a lot of questions that need answering before recreational marijuana is legalized, says Mayor Lois Jackson. There are a lot of questions that need answering before recreational marijuana is legalized, says Mayor Lois Jackson, who's troubled Delta could become the pot growing capital of Canada. Jackson is attending the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Vancouver this week where members on Wednesday endorsed a resolution asking for cities to have meaningful consultation on legalizing pot. [continues 572 words]
Editor: Re: Police want date pushed back on legalizing pot, Sept. 20 The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police insists it needs more time to adapt to cannabis legislation. Well, too bad for the chiefs. The Liberals have been in power for close to two years, medicinal cannabis has been around for even longer and models from other jurisdictions (Holland, Portugal, etc.) have long matured. More delays mean more otherwise unnecessary criminalization, imprisonment and benefits for violent gangs. Legalization is long overdue and prohibition's time is up. Victor Yao [end]
Editor: There is no doubt in my mind that the proposal by the prime minister to legalize marijuana has not been well thought out, especially with the devastating drug problems we are now facing. The effect of narcotics on the development of the brain has been well researched. Scientific studies have proven that mental disorders, schizophrenia, suicides, etc. are much higher among those who take these drugs than those who do not. Postnatal brain development occurs over a long period that lasts into adolescence and some say into the 20s. Our youth are at risk. We certainly do not need more soft drugs on the street that are available to an impressionable age group trying to cope with their own stresses at school, at home, on the street, etc. [continues 288 words]
Over the past few weeks, the talk has really started to ramp up on one topic in Canada. It's not hurricanes, earthquakes and a war of (hopefully just) words between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un - all very serious, global problems. Not in Canada, dude, we're talking about pot. As if we need any help with our reputation as the growers of ganja. B.C. has long been seen as a premier supplier of the best pot in the world, even when it was illegal to grow. [continues 504 words]
Editor: Re: Greenhouse signs deal to grow pot, June 9 Reading reports out of the U.S. regarding increased and decreased pot consumption in states that have legalized, across the board there has been no notable increase or decrease in usage. That being said, before people start losing their minds over this, take a look at a couple positives. No more shady dealings in dark corners. No more time spent by the local police chasing down these hardened criminals. No more local grow-ops that affect our neighbourhoods and home insurance costs. There will also be increased local revenue and taxes. [continues 283 words]
The number of illicit drug deaths in B.C. continues to be a major cause of concern, with April showing the second-highest recorded numbers in a single month in the province, according to the latest statistics from the BC Coroners Service. Provisional data show that 136 people died as a result of illicit drug use during April, an average of 4.5 each day, and almost double the April 2016 total of 69. The April deaths bring the provisional numbers for the year-to-date to 488, and they show that more than half of all illicit drug deaths involved persons between the ages of 30 and 49 years. Four out of five who died were male. [continues 310 words]
Ruling Shuts Dispensary on Scott Road, but It Re-Opens Days Later Under a Different Name The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered a medical marijuana dispensary in North Delta shut down. In a ruling earlier this month, and posted on the court's website last Thursday, Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick ruled WeeMedical Dispensary Society didn't have a business licence and contravened Delta's zoning bylaw. Since a permanent statutory injunction preventing the dispensary from operating was put in effect earlier this month, the store obeyed the order, shut down, but then re-opened a few days later under a different name. [continues 535 words]
Editor: A friend just told me that their teenage granddaughter is addicted to drugs. Drugs are "rife" in Tsawwassen, apparently. The girl had a crush on her soccer pal's brother, a user, and he turned her onto drugs. I told my son who has a teenage daughter about this and he says drugs are rife everywhere, and went on, "Do these kids wake up in the morning and say, 'Today I'm going to ruin the rest of my life?'" Boys: Any dumbs@#t can take drugs. The prisons are full of them. Drugs don't make you smarter/hip/more popular. [continues 72 words]
Ladner man getting closer to developing roadside screening device for police use A local man's efforts to create a breathalyzer to test for marijuana are getting closer to having the device in the hands of police. Ladner's Kal Malhi, a retired RCMP officer, has been working on developing a roadside breathalyzer since last year. In August, his company, Cannabix Technologies, signed an agreement with the Yost Research Group at the University of Florida. The partners have developed a prototype and begun testing. Malhi said right now they're getting accurate readings about 80 per cent of the time and the team is working to refine the system to reach 100 per cent accuracy. [continues 313 words]
Delta's Bid to Prevent Medical Marijuana From Being Grown on Farmland Foiled by Province Delta's attempt to regulate where medical marijuana is grown has been quashed by the provincial government. Civic politicians approved legislation in February that would prohibit the production, storage, research or sale of medical marijuana in Delta, although applications would be considered on a case-by-case basis. Delta council has subsequently approved two such applications. The move was made to steer medical marijuana operations to industrial sites and away from farmland. Delta even joined with three other municipalities - Langley Township, Abbotsford and Kelowna - to seek the province's support in banning medical marijuana operations in agricultural areas. [continues 401 words]
Ladner man joins forces with pair of doctors to develop device police can use roadside A local man is hoping to give police a new tool to help in the fight again driving under the influence of drugs. Ladner's Kal Malhi, a retired RCMP officer, has developed a roadside breathalyzer that can test for marijuana. "It's a very new concept that breath testing can work for drugs," he said. Malhi got the idea for the Cannabix Breathalyzer while doing some reading on a family trip to India late last year. While waiting at the airport, he came across a study out of Sweden about breath testing technology developed at Karolinska University in Solna. [continues 448 words]
Tilbury Proposal Sent to Public Hearing Later This Month Delta council this week reluctantly gave preliminary approval for another medical marijuana facility, this one in Tilbury. On Monday, civic politicians agreed to see what the public had to say about a rezoning application by David Rose to open an industrial medical marijuana growing operation in the 7300-block of Vantage Way. Canapacific Engineering Inc. would remain on the main floor of the building and the grow operation would occupy the second storey. [continues 419 words]
Civic Legislation Prohibits Growing or Selling of Medical Marijuana Delta council has approved a bylaw amendment prohibiting the production, storage, research or sale of medical marijuana anywhere in the municipality. Civic politicians unanimously agreed to grant third reading to the bylaw Tuesday following a public hearing at municipal hall. "The new methods of producing medical marijuana are coming, there is no question about that," said Coun. Bruce McDonald. "What Delta's intention here is to create a situation where the community has some control of the things that are happening within our community." Tougher new federal rules that take effect April 1 will dramatically change how medical marijuana is grown and distributed. The regulations are aimed at permitting larger-scale operations over smaller, home-based ones. [continues 441 words]
Editor: Re: Medical marijuana isn't welcome in these parts, Feb. 12 This decision is very counter-productive by limiting the amount of medicine available to patients who happen to use medical cannabis for treating their symptoms. And prohibiting people from growing their own as well is somewhat Orwellian. I travel by public transit, and if I were a patient who happened to use medical cannabis, I would be annoyed at the fact I have to travel all the way into Vancouver to buy my medicine from a dispensary, then travel all the way back, and risk getting it stolen from me, not to mention possible harassment from the police. [continues 78 words]
CBSA Urging Caution As Washington State Closes in on the Legal Sale of Marijuana With the deadline for a marijuana business licence in Washington state having closed just before Christmas, more than 400 business owners have applied to open retail pot shops around the state, including one in Point Roberts. It still remains to be seen, however, how many applications will be approved. Business owner Ingrid Johnson, who applied to open a location in Point Roberts, said she has heard the decision on retail outlets will take a number of months. [continues 288 words]
