It's possible, even likely, that at some point next year, Ontarians will be able to search store shelves for 'purple haze', 'blue dream' and 'kosher kush' marijuana alongside their VQA merlots, sauvignon blancs and moscatos. Work is well underway to lay the foundation for marijuana legalization in this country, with legislation expected in the spring. Pot advocates have long argued legalization could give our economy a lift. A new report suggests that lift could surpass anyone's wildest prophecy. A study produced by the Deloitte firm - titled Recreational Marijuana: Insights and Opportunities - suggests a legal marijuana industry in Canada could be worth an incredible $22.6 billion - more than the sales of wine, spirits and beer combined. [continues 210 words]
The Liberals' election promise to legalize marijuana use will take legislative form in about a year, but few entrepreneurs seem prepared to wait. Apparently, dispensaries are springing up like, well, buds in Toronto, just as they have in Vancouver. The CBC reports that along one stretch of the Danforth alone, three dispensaries have sprouted in recent weeks. Similar facilities have also opened on Barrie's Dunlop Street. It seems there's a greater demand for medical marijuana than most of us imagined. [continues 271 words]
The legalization of marijuana is not near the top of the agenda for Justin Trudeau's Liberal government. But maybe it should be. Governments, police, businesses, users and aspiring entrepreneurs alike are all increasingly anxious to get some clarity on where Canada is headed on this issue. A lot of people are seeing dollar signs. Last week, the Globe and Mail revealed both Shoppers Drug Mart and London Drugs are working toward becoming distributors of medical marijuana. [continues 265 words]
South Simcoe Municipalities Not Sure How to Zone Operations Clearview Mayor Ken Ferguson speaks very positively about his experience with a commercial medical marijuana producer that's been operating in his township for the past two years. Ferguson said the municipality does not regulate the grower The Peace Naturals Project through zoning bylaws and so far things have worked out fine. He said it was clear to him from the get-go that the medical marijuana operation was just another type of farming. [continues 569 words]
Once again the Town of New Tecumseth is left in the unenviable position of having to draft regulations for a business after it has already pretty much set up shop in town. This time it's a methadone clinic currently being renovated for use behind Groundswell Coffee House on Victoria Street. The last time such a problem arose it was in the same neighbourhood. The drug paraphernalia shop, Happy Dayz, drew the ire of neighbouring business with its window displays of bongs and other drug accoutrements. [continues 492 words]
Can't Stop It, but Can Regulate It Through Licensing ALLISTON - New Tecumseth may not be able to stop a methadone treatment clinic from opening in downtown Alliston, but it can regulate it. Monday night, New Tecumseth council approved a business licencing bylaw for methadone maintenance treatment establishments. The town is also amending its zoning bylaw to prevent future methadone treatment clinics from opening in one the downtown core of Alliston, Beeton or Tottenham. Council chambers was packed Monday night, with people standing along the walls and in the hallway outside, to hear the town's take on the methadone treatment clinic. Speakers were also set up outside council chambers and in the lobby on the first floor as town staff anticipated a big turnout for the meeting. [continues 857 words]
ALLISTON - Downtown Alliston business owners have concerns and are even threatening to close if a methadone treatment clinic opens on Victoria Street West. Incoming chair of the Alliston Business Improvement Association Janette Vander Zaag told New Tecumseth council Monday night that renovations are being made to a unit at 96 Victoria St. W. for a methadone clinic. The unit is accessed at the back of the building, where there are also entrances for Curves and the Good Shepherd Food Bank. She said the clinic will be run by Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres (OATC). [continues 275 words]
Parents can look forward to some positive changes to Ontario's elementary school curriculum this fall. While the jury is still out on proposed changes to the sex-education program, the provincial government is moving ahead with curriculum adjustments on a number of fronts, including bullying, gambling and drug abuse. "About 90 per cent of the proposed health and physical-education curriculum is going forward, and that relates to such issues as gym, fitness, healthy eating, drug abuse," Education ministry spokesperson Frank Clarke told The Canadian Press. [continues 289 words]
A lawyer representing former Alberta Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer, who was charged with drunk driving and cocaine possession last September, said the case should come to a resolution on March 9. Jaffer is the husband of Simcoe-Grey Conservative MP and Minister of State (Status of Women), Helena Guergis Howard Rubel, appearing in Orangeville court Feb. 18 on behalf of his client, had met with the judge earlier in the morning in advance of a scheduled judicial pre-trial at 10:30 a.m. [continues 164 words]
Re: Cookstown was birthplace of one of Canada's "Famous Five" (Oct. 6 Alliston Herald): The racist, puritan crackpot Emily Murphy is responsible for Canada's original 1923 prohibition on marijuana, and the mess that has followed. Her diatribe in The Black Candle aimed the prohibition at dark-skinned people, who she wanted to see removed or eradicated from the continent. It was what prompted parliament to add marijuana to the Opium Tax Act. Now, despite the LeDain Commission's report of the early 1970s and the 2002 Senate Committee Report on Drugs, one government after another has treated marijuana like a serious "danger to society," when in fact, it is only a danger to the pharmaceutical industry. If we wanted to put this woman's face on paper, it shouldn't be our money, it should be on our toilet paper. Russell Barth, Federally Licensed Medical Marijuana User Nepean, Ont. [end]
There aren't official numbers showing the affect Drug Abuse Resistance Education has had locally, but there's no doubt in leader Harry Lawrenson's mind that it is making an impact. "What I can say is prior to DARE and those DARE students getting into high school, vandalism and truancy was pretty rampant. Once those kids got into high school there was a tremendous drop," he said. "I suspect it's because they had some education." DARE is in its 12th year in the area. Each year about 1,000 Grade 6 students at the 18 schools in the Nottawasaga OPP detachment area receive the nine, one-hour DARE lessons. [continues 223 words]
Re: Youth Centre And Police Team Up For Drug Awareness The Herald Weekend Edition, May 12. I applaud anyone's effort to keep kids off of drugs, but many of these programs have proven to cause more harm than good. As a federal medical marijuana license holder, I resent some of the non-factual information on marijuana, and the use is abuse attitude. Adults have lost credibility when it comes to drugs, because they lie and exaggerate the so-called "dangers" of marijuana. They tell kids that marijuana is 10 times more potent than before, will cause cancer, schizophrenia, impotence, permanent stupidity, and an addiction to hard drugs. When kids discover the truth on their own, they will realize they have been systematically lied to by people they once trusted. They will likely conclude that if adults lied about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and marijuana, they must be lying about meth, crack, heroin, ecstasy, booze, weapons, extreme sports, safe sex and safe driving, too. [continues 91 words]
Recognize The Signs Of Drug Use Sgt. Tim Melanson said the most important thing parents can do with their kids is talk to them. The Nottawasaga OPP officer held a drug awareness seminar at The Door Youth Centre in Angus Monday night. It was co-hosted by the centre and the Essa Community Policing Committee. As a former member of the OPP's Huronia Combined Drug Forces unit and high-school liaison officer, Melanson has experience with both kids and drugs. [continues 488 words]
Bringing police and drug dogs into high schools, whether for drug sweeps or DARE, seems like a giant waste of resources and a great way to alienate students. If time and money are going to be spent on such extracurricular activities, maybe it should be spent on teachers and equipment for the students rather than for the police. Paul DeFelice Nelson, British Columbia [end]
Students Chose Suspensions Over Charges Voluntarily turning over illegal narcotics during a police drug sweep of a local high school saved seven students from facing criminal charges. Police discovered drugs and drug-sale paraphernalia in a sweep of St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Tottenham last Thursday. No charges are being laid against the students carrying them because they turned them over when given a chance at the start of the raid, before police conducted and intensive search using sniffer dogs. [continues 243 words]
Lost in the debate over marijuana is the ugly truth behind marijuana prohibition. North America's marijuana laws are based on culture and xenophobia, not science. The first marijuana laws were a racist reaction to Mexican migration during the early 1900s. Decriminalization acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from the stigma of criminal records. What's really needed is a regulated market with age controls. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as marijuana distribution remains in the hands of organized crime, consumers will continue to come into contact with addictive drugs like cocaine. This "gateway" is the direct result of a fundamentally flawed policy. Drug policy reform may send the wrong message to children, but I like to think the children are more important than the message. Robert Sharpe, Washington, DC [end]
As parents of children and teenagers, we do what we can to keep them safe. We buckle them into their car seats, we teach them how to cross the road safely and we make sure they wear their bike helmets. As they get older, keeping them safe doesn't get any easier, especially once they enter adolescence and begin to make their own decisions about certain issues, including drugs. So, what can we do when it comes to drugs and our children? We can start by being honest and talking to our children about them. The fact is, drugs are an everyday part of our lives. From over the counter medications like headache pills to cough drops, our children have learned from an early age that drugs can make them feel better. They also see tobacco and alcohol used around them, whether that's by family members or by those they see on television or in the movies. [continues 433 words]
Re: Liberal policies provide addicts with drugs Helena Guergis' latest missive to The Alliston Herald was another classic example of her and the Conservative Party's sensationalistic rhetoric. As usual she can only point out the flaws of the Liberal Party while offering the voting public nothing in the way of an alternative. To read her letter one would imagine that Paul Martin himself were riding an ice-cream truck around Vancouver throwing bags of heroine to all and sundry. The pilot project in Vancouver is a very limited and small-scale program with rigorous controls. It's purpose is not "to ensure no heroine addict must go without" but rather an effort to find an alternative to throwing offenders into a prison system that by all accounts is better supplied with drugs than any place outside. [continues 60 words]
In a recent letter to the editor, Vaughan Harris shared the view of many of my Liberal colleagues in Ottawa when it comes to crime. While the Liberal Party is always concerned with the rights of criminals, law-abiding citizens are increasingly being victimized. A young woman from Saskatchewan has taken the unusual step of suing her old drug dealer because he is now back on the streets. The Liberals provide mobile units in Vancouver to ensure no heroin addict must go without their fix. They want to legalize marijuana and recently refused to raise the age of consent to protect children under the age of 16 from adult exploiters. [continues 131 words]
It seems our local MP, Helena Guergis, is blindly following the Alliance, Reform, Conservative Party's line which states there is a law and order issue in Canada. Lately she has been touring with local police detachments to get first-hand look at crime and crime prevention. However, during this ride in police vehicles, she is promoting the old Conservative line that there is, or should be, "heightened cause for concern" because of the lack of action in Ottawa. Of course our local MP blames the federal Liberals, but she may have missed the point that the federal government does not fund the ordinary municipal forces or the provincial ones. She also misses the fact that some of the rates in crime categories are down and the population of Canada is increasing. [continues 240 words]
Simcoe-Grey MP Helena Guergis, in conjunction with the Conservative Party's Safe Streets and Healthy Communities Task Force, met with local police over two days last week. Guergis said she was at the Nottawasaga OPP detachment in Beeton on Tuesday and on Wednesday at the Huronia West OPP in Wasaga Beach and the Collingwood-Blue Mountains OPP. "The goal of the task force, and my tour of Simcoe-Grey, is to gain a better understanding of the emerging crime issues and to listen to proposed solutions for enhanced law enforcement, sentencing and how to get to the root of crime in Canada," Guergis said. She added the Tories want to be "even more prepared to deal with crime when we form the next government". [continues 456 words]
There are some serious problems with MPP Garfield Dunlop's analysis (Herald Weekend Aug. 26) perhaps originating from the fact community safety and correctional services often have conflicting goals; thus, being party critic for both may prove problematic. Mr. Dunlop's complaints are essentially irrelevant, as the most effective way to eliminate illegal drug production facilities is by bringing all drug production under the rubric of legal, regulated procedures. This is not to say that crystal meth should be legally available, but if milder forms of amphetamines, which were legal in the past, were legally available today, there would most likely be far less interest in crystal meth. Perhaps even so little interest as to be financially unrewarding for the black market. [continues 232 words]
South Simcoe News Nottawasaga Opp Release Survey Results According to a recent community survey, the majority of people living in New Tecumseth, Essa and Adjala-Tosorontio feel safe in their community. The Policing for Results Community Survey was recently completed for the Nottawasaga OPP. "It's a report card from the community," said Nottawasaga OPP Sgt. Dirk Cockburn. Out of 1,000 phone calls, 381 people completed the survey, rating the OPP on their service and what their perception of the community is. [continues 295 words]
The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) has arrested 10 Canadian Forces Base Borden members for allegedly trafficking and using marijuana and cocaine. According to a release from the CFNIS Thursday, Canadian Forces personnel were arrested and charged after a three-week investigation which ended Tuesday. The investigation was launched after the NIS drug enforcement team received information about possible illegal drug activity on the base. The news comes just weeks after reports of an HIV-positive woman having unprotected sex with a soldier at the base and just days after news broke the Canadian military is investigating alleged mismanagement of public funds. [continues 211 words]
The argument four members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police would be alive today if marijuana was legal in Canada is absolutely ludicrous. It's true that if it was completely legal to grow your own pot then there just wouldn't be the same demand for grow labs. The customer base they depend upon would simply dry up. But these "commercial" growers are not pot-smoking anarchists who want the narcotic legalized so they can smoke it themselves. This isn't about politics or freedom for them, it's about one thing -- money. When the customer base dries up and the profitability of their operations falls, they will quickly get out of pot. [continues 226 words]
Seized drugs continued to be the number one item recovered through calls to Crime Stoppers of Simcoe-Dufferin-Muskoka during the month of October. The agency received 201 tips which resulted in 15 arrests and the recovery of $6,925 of stolen property. However, drugs with an estimated value of $495,910, were uncovered by police. With the public's assistance, 14 cases, including arson, mischief, narcotic and other Criminal Code offences, resulting in 50 charges being laid, were handled. Callers to Crime Stoppers never have to identify themselves. If tips lead to convictions, a cash reward may be awarded. Anyone with information concerning a crime is encouraged to call 1-800-222-8477. [end]
Contrary to a story in the June 11 Weekend Edition of The Herald on the all candidates meeting at Banting Memorial High School, federal Liberal candidate and incumbent MP Paul Bonwick is in favour of decriminalizing marijuana not legalizing it Bonwick supports his party's plan to adopt fines for possession of small amounts of marijuana (under 30 grams) so young people don't carry a criminal record through their lives for a mistake made in their youth. The Herald regrets the error and apologizes for any confusion or embarassment it may have caused. [end]
I'm writing about Bruce Guy's not-so-thoughtful letter, 'Police On Track' (Jan. 23 Herald). Almost all the problems our society has with illegal drugs are because the drugs are illegal. Almost all of the "harms" from illegal drugs are because the drugs are illegal. Drugs are of unknown quality, unknown purity and unknown potency. They are unregulated, untaxed and controlled by criminal gangs. My advice to Canada and the rest of the world is to carefully observe U.S. drug policies -- then do the opposite. Don't follow us, we're lost. Kirk Muse Mesa, AZ [end]
I would like to know what Chris Buors is smoking these days. In his letter of Jan. 7 he equates our Canadian Police forces with the Gestapo. He also declares that humans have a natural right to drugs. However, in his letter, there was no mention of the harm done by these "seed bearing plants." Illicit drugs destroy lives. Many crimes, some violent, involve the sellers and users of drugs. According to Buors, the authorities are brain washing our kids. The authorities, including schools and police departments, should be making every effort to stop the illegal spread and use of drugs and alcohol. Bruce Guy Alliston [end]
Regarding the recent drug bust at the former Molson plant: I suppose the cops are on the verge of getting this whole drug problem under control, eh? Please, spare me this spin-meister idiocy. The cops are lucky if they touch five per cent of the illicit drug activity occurring, and that has not changed in over a century. Hey, look at my country spending $100 billion dollars per year at all levels of government targeting street drugs. We sure are experiencing success too, with a nice methamphetamine epidemic sweeping our nation. [continues 103 words]
James J. Maher's letter comparing marijuana in schools with alcohol (Jan. 7 Herald) is historically accurate, although not in the manner the author seems to believe. Considering that prohibition of both substances has resulted in increased youth access, substance abuse and homicides, the drug war is immoral and arguably illegal. With the exception of Ritalin and caffeine, no one pushed drugs in schools until they were prohibited. Jose Melendez DeLand, Fla. [end]
Letter writer Anna Plesums' moral compass needs a reset if she thinks the school board and the police have better intentions for children than parents do. The police and school boards are agents of the state and are not the proper authorities to instill morals in children. In fact, passing immoral drug laws has turned the people's measure of what is right and wrong on its head. Temperance, prudence, justice and fortitude are the four cardinal virtues of St. Thomas Aquinas by which I measure morality. [continues 226 words]
Regarding police raiding the schools in Alliston and Tottenham and finding the drugs: Do we want our kids encouraged into living in this type of culture just when they try to adapt to life independently, just when they're coming out from their parents' supervision? If we allow drugs in the classroom, why not let them bring alcohol to school too -- the effects are similar. Those encouraging others to adapt to drugs should be behind bars, that includes the government for their shoddy double standards on drugs. Are they really taking the matter seriously for the sake of a few votes? [continues 354 words]
At first I read your coverage on the local high school drug raids and just shook my head. But then I became outright enraged as I read further. The editorial talks about "Five others who clearly thought either their stashes wouldn't be found or were simply worth too much, decided to take their chances in the raid and are now facing criminal charges." How about five others who believe in innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and the right to an attorney? [continues 401 words]
Steven J. Days' letter last week made me think what is our goal in sending children to school? Our ancestors learned reading and what to expect of life from the first book -- the Bible. There was a story about one lost sheep, the shepherd went looking for it. What do we do today when one of our children get on the wrong road? We want to make lawsuits against the people -- namely the school boards and police - -- who try to get them back on the good road. [continues 212 words]
I suppose that the next commentary from Steven J. Day should be entitled "Safe Highways Act is a way to forego driver's rights" as he takes aim at those roadside RIDE programs that the police set up. So many of us are "subjected to random interruption" in our traveling environment for a crack down of less than one per cent of drivers. I think that Day has the same mental attitude as those five others that thought they would take their chances. It seems that those five are a few grams short of a full load. [continues 291 words]
It's shocking really. Two local high schools were simultaneously raided by police Thursday morning in a sweep for drugs. It's not the fact the police carried out the raids on the high schools that's so shocking, it's the results that should be leaving jaws dropping throughout our community. Given the opportunity to turn their drugs in without criminal charges before a search was conducted to uncover them, 49 students from both schools decided to take them up on the offer. Five others, who clearly thought either their stashes wouldn't be found or were simply worth too much, decided to take their chances in the raid and are now facing criminal charges. The other 49 will be dealt with under the Safe Schools Act and face suspensions and possible expulsion. [continues 189 words]
Forty-nine students turned over illegal drugs at two local local high schools Thursday morning to avoid being arrested. The seizure of the drugs were part of an operation co-ordinated between police and administration at Banting Memorial High School in Alliston and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School in Tottenham. John Fallis, principal at Banting Memorial High School, said the police had prearranged to enter the school. Nottawasaga OPP, six dogs from the OPP's K-9 unit and one dog from Barrie Police Service descended on the school. [continues 422 words]
In the last while during our provincial and municipal elections there has been lots of talking about more funding will mean better schools for us kids. But there are cheaper and more long lasting ways to boost kid's marks and attendance records. I am a Grade 11 student at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Tottenham. The main problems at high schools today, at least in my opinion are skipping and drugs. Kids are more interested in skipping class and smoking pot than coming to classes and getting a good education. Kids, like myself, who attend classes every day possible, are shunned for being "un-cool" and are not allowed to be part of any kind of group. If schools would enforce more strict penalties on students who do this, like actual jail time, I would bet that skipping and drug related incident would be less frequent and there would be improved attendance and grades at our schools. Daniel Galea, Cookstown [end]
The best way to solve a problem is to make sure it doesn't happen at all. This was the acknowledgement made by Stevenson Memorial Hospital when it ran a drug abuse program from 1985 to the late 1990s for school kids. While SMH, like most hospitals, is generally looked upon as a place to care for the sick, students were shown "the flip side of taking drugs," as the hospital's former director of volunteer services, Grace Dunn, described in a news release at the time. [continues 373 words]
Re: Nottawasaga OPP seize $31,000 in drug bust, June 13 Herald. Another day, another piece of propaganda served up by the media to persuade us to prostrate ourselves before Big Brother government and support one of the most oppressive and brutal programs ever conjured by the mind of man -- drug prohibition. It's propaganda because, as usual, those of us who oppose these ridiculous laws are not permitted to be heard. If drugs are banned because they're harmful, why don't we ban alcohol and tobacco? No, let's face facts here. The government decided to ban some harmful recreational drugs but not other harmful recreational drugs for one reason and one reason only: to distract and entertain the majority by persecuting an innocent minority. [continues 456 words]
Nottawasaga OPP officers are now using their discretion when it comes to charging people with simple possession of marijuana. Acting on a directive from OPP Commissioner Gwen Boniface, the local detachment will seize the marijuana and document the case but not press charges for possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana, said Nottawasaga OPP detachment commander, Insp. Mark Allen. "The laws concerning possession are still on the books," he quoted Boniface as saying. That means the circumstances of the incident will be recorded, with a view to possibly laying a charge later on. [continues 230 words]
Instead of pasting in police department news releases as news, a job that a reasonably intelligent chimpanzee could surely be trained to do, why not inform your readers rather than just making them angry at drug users and their suppliers? If drugs are banned because they're harmful, why do we not ban alcohol or tobacco? That's easy. Despite what the politicians tell us, drug prohibition has nothing to do with helping anyone. Drug prohibition is nothing but a cynical, manipulative campaign to entertain and distract the majority by persecuting an innocent minority. It certainly started out that way almost a century ago when its purpose was to "control" the blacks, Chinese and Mexicans by banning the drugs used by those minorities. [continues 159 words]
Congratulations on your support for Prime Minister Jean Chretien and his thoughtful analysis of the world problem of the concentration of wealth and power in western civilization. However, I disagree with your thumbs down attitude toward the recent Senate Committee's recommendation to legalize marijuana. For too long we have been criminalizing the users of pot while selling the more harmful drugs such as alcohol and tobacco. Aileen Life Alliston [end]
Police are getting high in South Simcoe to bring a few drug growers down to earth. As part of an ongoing program to catch illegal crops of marijuana in rural areas, the OPP take to the skies in a helicopter. Tuesday's operation was staged at the G.A. Wright Athletic Fields in Alliston. The helicopter -- which had landed on a soccer pitch -- had a few people slowing to take a closer look. Along with the helicopter, there were several support vehicles, including a large police cube van, used to haul away evidence after being spotted by the flying dope snoops. [continues 203 words]
Re: "Pot luck" Sept. 6 Weekend Herald. You clearly hold to the position that the users of some recreational drugs be subject to criminal sanctions while users of other recreational drugs are left alone. Please tell us why. Alan Randell Victoria, B.C. [end]
Canadians are being asked to pass judgement on the Canadian Senate committee's recommendations to legalize marijuana without full consideration being given to the fact there are no known "roadside" tests law enforcement officers can use at present to determine whether a driver is handicapped by this substance as is the case with alcohol. Until those tools are provided this proposal is premature. Proponents of legalization will not raise it. Those opposing it may well have other bases of disagreement. The challenge being made here is that the media take a practical look of the effect of those sixteen and older having unlimited access to a mood modifier that may create as much carnage on the highways as would unregulated use of alcohol. Guilty until proven innocent must be the norm applied to full acceptance of a new intoxicant into our society. As yet, this aspect of its effect has not been considered. Jack Davies, Tillsonburg, Ont. [end]
The federal government's senate committee on the legalization of marijuana must have been smoking a little pot themselves over the past two years while studying the issue. At a press conference Wednesday, Senator Colin Kenny told the press the committee felt legalizing marijuana would reduce its allure to young people as an illicit and exciting activity. To Kenny and his committee co-horts, we send a big "get real." When has this philosophy ever proven to be true? Would young people actually drink more if we made alcohol illegal? Or maybe we could reduce the number of drunk drivers on our roads by loosening up the impaired driving laws a little. It's an utterly ridiculous position. [continues 191 words]
