Court: Case challenging medical marijuana laws set to hear from two experts on whether residential grow-ops are more vulnerable to fire Surrey's fire chief has a "cultural confirmation bias" against licensed marijuana grow-ops, which is why he wrongly concludes they are more dangerous than regular residences, an expert witness will testify in a Vancouver court case. Surrey fire Chief Len Garis, an expert witness for the federal government in a constitutional challenge of Canada's medical marijuana laws, has concluded there was a higher incidence of fires at homes with both illicit and legal marijuana grow-ops. [continues 149 words]
NDP all-candidates debate at Rio Theatre tonight could decide more than who replaces Libby Davies Since Libby Davies first became an MP in 1997, she has been the unofficial queen of East Van. In December, Libby announced she will not run again in the upcoming federal election. She has championed issues that matter in East Van and it will be very hard to fill her shoes. A few contenders are seeking the nomination to be the new NDP candidate, and tonight, they will take to the stage at the Rio Theatre in an all-candidates debate. [continues 391 words]
Maple Ridge. Locals Worried About Size, Possible Smell From Proposed Medical Marijuana Greenhouse Residents of Maple Ridge are fuming over plans for a massive medical-marijuana facility in their neighbourhood. Sylvie Jensen, who lives near the property where the 40,000-square-foot greenhouse will go up, said she and her neighbours are worried about the size and possible smell from the proposed facility. "It just doesn't belong in this community," she told Metro. "It's in the middle of a residential neighbourhood. We have a Montessori school across the street, we have two churches and we have many residential homes." [continues 296 words]
Fentanyl. Detected in 25% of overdose deaths in B.C. last year B.C. police and health officials are warning casual drug users of the dangers of fentanyl following a spike in overdose deaths. Police say fentanyl, a powerful narcotic prescribed by doctors in patch form for severe pain, has been showing up mixed with street drugs like heroin and even marijuana. Last year, fentanyl was detected in 25 per cent of the 336 deaths from illicit drug overdoses in B.C., up from five per cent in 2012, according to the BC Coroners Service. [continues 274 words]
Crime. There are 148 allegations of misconduct against 17 Abbotsford officers The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is investigating 17 members of the Abbotsford Police Department for alleged misconduct. To date, the OPCC says there have been 148 allegations of misconduct under the Police Act against the officers, including corrupt practice, deceit and neglect of duty. "The Police Complaint Commissioner has determined that it is in the public interest to inform the public of an ongoing investigation involving serious allegations against members of the Abbotsford Police Department. The OPCC has withheld notice until now to protect the integrity of the investigation," reads the statement, released Wednesday. [continues 137 words]
Wife of 'Prince of Pot'. Emery was running federally in East Van Marijuana activist Jodie Emery won't be running for the Liberals after all. After a year of speculation and headlines, the federal Liberal party officially ended Emery's hopes of running federally in Vancouver East by rejecting her nomination papers. Emery, the wife of "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery, said she was notified with an email Friday explaining that the party's green light committee, "upon careful review," decided she was not a qualified candidate and would not be able to contest for the Liberal nomination. [continues 197 words]
A judge has given an absolute discharge to a man charged with trafficking marijuana after police raided his Lions Bay home and found 414 marijuana plants, although almost half most were seedlings. Michael Santos, an audio engineer with no criminal record, pleaded guilty to possessing about three kilograms of marijuana for trafficking. The police raid took place on Feb. 28, 2013, when a battering ram was used to break the front door when no one immediately answered at Santos' rental home, where he lived with his wife and two children. The court was told that Santos, 40, grew the pot as medical marijuana for himself and gave the rest away to others in need of medical marijuana. [end]
'Looking for Answers'. Producer Hopes to Begin Next Spring British Columbia researchers and a medical marijuana producer have joined forces to conduct Canada's first-ever clinical trial to back up anecdotal evidence in using cannabis to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with hard facts. Pending regulatory approval, the University of British Columbia Okanagan and Tilray, a Health Canada licensed producer under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, hope to begin the world's first large-scale clinical trial examining cannabis for a mental health disorder as early as spring 2015. [continues 319 words]
Health. Uncertainty Over Possible Effects on Marijuana Users Pushes Vote Back Vancouver councillors are huffing and puffing over the proposal to ban e-cigarettes from wherever smoking is banned. Council was scheduled to vote Wednesday on the prohibition of e-cigarettes, devices that vaporize a solution that is inhaled and exhaled like typical tobacco cigarettes, but it did not make a decision before press time. The vote was delayed because council needed more information from staff about whether the ban would also apply to cannabis. [continues 253 words]
90-90-90 plan to end epidemic. Montaner disappointed in Harper for not presenting plan Vancouver doctor and world-renowned AIDS researcher Dr. Julio Montaner sat in the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday as the UN endorsed an ambitious plan to end the global AIDS epidemic by 2030. Montaner, director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, was the chief architect of the so-called 90-90-90 strategy, which was presented to the UN. [continues 300 words]
Downtown rally. 'Prince of Pot' says U.S. jail term hasn't deterred him from continuing the fight for marijuana legalization The Prince is officially home. Marc Emery, B.C.'s infamous "Prince of Pot," was welcomed by hundreds at a downtown rally when he returned to Vancouver Sunday afternoon, vowing to pick up where he left off after serving time on drug-related charges in the United States. "It's all kind of dreamlike. Vancouver has changed dramatically.... The legalization landscape itself has changed dramatically," he said upon his arrival at the Vancouver International Airport. [continues 326 words]
Marc Emery. Marijuana activist scheduled to return to Canada Tuesday Marc Emery - Canada's Prince of Pot - is expecting to be a free man come Tuesday. The marijuana activist, who has finished serving a four-year jail term in the U.S. for selling seeds online, has been informed he'll be placed on the next flight to Detroit (from a privately run Louisiana detention centre where he was being processed for deportation) and walked across the border to Windsor, Ont., likely on Tuesday, according to his wife, Jodie Emery. [continues 152 words]
Welcome news. Teleconference set up to discuss claims that some patients are relapsing after switch Government and health officials are meeting Friday to discuss claims that some patients are relapsing after B.C. switched patients to a commercial methadone product in February. The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and the Drug Users' Resource Centre wrote an open letter this week saying that Methadose is proving to be ineffective for longtime methadone users, its effects wearing out after 16 hours and triggering withdrawal symptoms. Many stable, long-term methadone users have relapsed to using heroin, the letter claims. [continues 322 words]
The province's health minister says the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of a new heroin treatment regime must be evaluated before he'll get involved. Terry Lake's comments follow an open letter sent Tuesday by the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) to government and health officials claiming that the switch from methadone to Methadose in February has had "alarming side effects" on up to a quarter of patients in the Methadone Maintenance Program. "We are deeply concerned by the number of us, our friends, colleagues and loved ones who are relapsing - using heroin or other opiates to deal with this withdrawal - in many cases, after years of abstaining," the letter reads. [continues 284 words]
Release From Prison. Activist Marc Emery to See Greater Acceptance for Cannabis Culture For Jodie Emery, this July has been four years in the making. That's because her husband, marijuana activist Marc "Prince of Pot" Emery, will officially be a free man July 9 after serving 1,590 days in U.S. custody for selling seeds online. And although Marc Emery will remain in custody as he is processed for deportation - likely into August - reality is finally sinking in for his wife. [continues 273 words]
'Different than growing mushrooms.' Province announces marijuana producers in B.C. won't get the same benefits as farmers Medical marijuana producers setting up shop in British Columbia won't be able to claim a lucrative property tax break designed for farms and other agricultural operations, the provincial government said Tuesday. Mayors in B.C. have been warning for months that commercial grow-ops could get out of paying nearly 90 per cent of their property taxes if they're lumped together with farms, even if they're operating on expensive industrial land. [continues 319 words]
The Vancouver police drug squad is taking steps to shut down an East Vancouver marijuana dispensary that police feel is operating in an "unsafe" manner. Officers searched Weeds Glass and Gifts at 2580 Kingsway on Monday morning with a search warrant obtained as part of an ongoing drug investigation. Police will be recommending charges and may recommend seizing some of the property under civil forfeiture laws, according to a statement. And based on the statement, other dispensaries should be on their toes. [continues 113 words]
Medical marijuana. Long-time legalization advocate now consults to keep industry clean The man responsible for shutting down hundreds of marijuana grow-ops and arresting record numbers of people in Vancouver's drug trade is now a security consultant for the burgeoning medical marijuana production industry. Kash Heed - the former West Vancouver police chief, commanding officer of the Vancouver police drug squad and B.C. MLA and solicitor general - - is working with a few Ontario and Lower Mainland companies as they vie to become licensed medical marijuana producers under the new federal regime, which kicked in April 1. [continues 262 words]
It seems man's best bud is living the high life in British Columbia, but not in a good way. B.C. ranks No. 1 in North America for the most pet insurance claims relating to marijuana toxicity, according to new data from pet insurance provider Trupanion. Over the past two years, Trupanion has paid $22,500 in insurance claims to pet owners in B.C., almost half of the total $54,000 paid across the U.S. and Canada, spokeswoman Britta Gidican told Metro. [continues 177 words]
Mental health. Local psychologist lauds banned drug's efficacy A Vancouver psychologist wants Health Canada to make LSD legally available to psychologists and psychiatrists for their patients. "The use of LSD as a therapeutic adjunct speeds up psychotherapy," Andrew Feldmar said. He claims that the drug allows patients to remember early childhood experiences and reprogram their brain. Feldmar, who is also studying the impact of MDMA, a form of ecstasy, on patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, said LSD has the potential to help patients with the most severe cases of depression to become completely cured of the mood disorder after taking LSD. [continues 323 words]
The machine. It takes bills and sells half an ounce of high-end indica for $50 First, we got a crack pipe vending machine. Now Vancouver can proudly claim to be the home of a marijuana vending machine. The B.C. Pain Society, a marijuana resource centre and dispensary that opened three months ago at 2908 Commercial Dr., is advertising what it says is the first marijuana vending machine in the city. The machine, which has been doling out doses for three weeks, takes bills and sells half an ounce of highend indica for $50. It even gives change. [continues 249 words]
And nation responds. Director says thousands called, faxed, mailed in complaints about new medical marijuana law Sensible BC led the charge for thousands of Canadians across the country to challenge the new Marihuana Medical Access Program laws which came into effect Tuesday, April 1. Dana Larsen, director of Sensible BC, said thousands of people across the nation protested the new regulations - which he said hurts patients who require marijuana for medical reasons - by sending in calls, faxes and letters to both Health Canada and the office of Minister of Health Rona Ambrose. [continues 261 words]
DTES. Spending Concerns Spell the End for the Leaders of the Portland Hotel Society Mark Townsend's day consisted of putting on a brave face and answering the same barrage of questions from every media outlet in the city, one by one. "What a way to go out," an exasperated Townsend remarked following a television interview at the Downtown Eastside's Drug Resource Centre, where some of the clients gathered on the periphery to hear first-hand of his downfall. It wasn't supposed to end this way. [continues 346 words]
Maple Ridge. Metro takes a tour of the elaborate operations at Agrima Botanicals, a producer looking to cash in on new federal medical marijuana rules Nothing looks unusual about the stable surrounded by a wooden fence in this equestrian-friendly area of Maple Ridge. But appearances can be deceiving. Behind the orderly exteriors lies the production facility of Agrima Botanicals, a medical marijuana company waiting for the federal government's approval to sell to patients. Metro took a tour of Agrima's growing operations Thursday in advance of drastic changes to Health Canada's medical marijuana rules that come into effect April 1. Instead of purchasing directly from Health Canada, growing their own plants or designating a grower, patients will be required to buy from commercial, licensed operators. [continues 446 words]
Dr. Peter Centre. New study says the services improved access to care, adherence to treatment A new study has found that the supervised injection services at Vancouver's Dr. Peter Centre have had knock-on benefits for HIV/AIDS patients. The study, published Thursday in the Journal of International AIDS Society, says the on-site injection services at the centre improved access to palliative and supportive care services and increased adherence to HIV/AIDS treatment. "Drug users encounter significant barriers to accessing in-patient health care services," wrote the study's lead author Will Small, a Simon Fraser University health science assistant professor and B.C. Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS researcher. "These findings demonstrate hard reduction approaches can not only reduce drug-related harms, but also improve access and adherence to life-saving treatment and care and encourage drug withdrawal." [continues 143 words]
With new federal regulations cracking down on exactly who can grow medical marijuana taking place April 1, the Vancouver Police Department says it won't change how they enforce the law. "The new laws that are coming into play April 1 have nothing to do with the sale of medical marijuana," said Cst. Brian Montague. "It has to do with the growing of medical marijuana. So many of the current growers will no longer be allowed to do that. That's where the law is changing." [continues 85 words]
Drug Trafficking: Judge Sentences Low-Level Dealer to 191 Days Behind Bars Instead of One Year A representative for drug users in Vancouver is applauding a court ruling that the mandatory one-year minimum sentence for drug trafficking is unconstitutional. B.C. Provincial Court Judge Joseph Galati made the ruling last month. And he put his decision into action on Wednesday, when he sentenced 25-year-old Joseph Ryan Lloyde to 191 days behind bars. The low-level dealer from Alberta was convicted in September of possessing crack cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. It was his second conviction, which means the judge was required to hand him a minimum one-year sentence according to federal law. [continues 271 words]
The supervised injection site at Vancouver's Dr. Peter Centre has been open for 12 years without approval from Health Canada. Vancouver Coastal Health and the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation announced Thursday that they have submitted a formal application to Health Canada for an exemption from federal drug laws to, once and for all, clear the legal air about its status. The Centre has been providing a nurse-supervised injection space since it and Insite jointly applied for federal exemption in 2003. [continues 200 words]
Hempology 101. Club Riles UBC Student Admin With Alleged On-Campus Cannabis Use Ain't no party like a UBC vapour party - because that's the kind of party that can get you expelled. Student administrators at the University of British Columbia are investigating the campus' Hempology 101 club for holding an indoor 4:20 meeting last week enticing people to "stay dry and get high" in the Student Union Building (SUB). Club treasurer Corbin Manson did not respond to repeated interview requests from Metro, but after he spoke to the UBC student newspaper the club posted a statement on its website calling the party "wildly successful." [continues 331 words]
Health. City Votes To Permit Harm Reduction With Bylaw Overhaul Needle exchanges, methadone clinics and supervised injection sites are now legal in Abbotsford after city council voted Monday night to amend a 2005 bylaw that prohibited harm reduction measures. The Fraser Health Authority (FHA) wrote to the city in 2010 and asked it to change the zoning bylaw to allow needle exchanges because of concerns about rising rates of hepatitis C. But don't expect to see a supervised injection site like Vancouver's Insite pop up anytime soon. [continues 333 words]
Failure: Effort to force weed decriminalization vote reached two-thirds of goal, organizer says Sensible B.C. organizer Dana Larsen confirmed Sunday that the Citizen's Initiative for a referendum on decriminalizing marijuana possession has failed ahead of Election B.C.'s Monday deadline. "We're not going to make it," said Larsen. "We've very proud of our team of canvassers and what we accomplished. 200,000 signatures is still a remarkable feat." Larsen and his team needed to collect the signatures of 10 per cent of registered voters in every single one of B.C.'s 85 electoral districts in a 90-day period for the initiative to be a success. [continues 182 words]
Dana Larsen wants YOU - and 5,000 other citizens - to help him canvass signatures for his Sensible B.C. campaign to force a provincial referendum on the decriminalization of simple marijuana possession. The longtime pot activist will have 90 days beginning Sept. 9 to collect signatures from 10 per cent of registered voters in all of B.C.'s 85 ridings, which would trigger a referendum in September 2014. Larsen said he has already signed up more than 1,000 canvassers but wants thousands more so that his campaign starts out on the same footing as the successful Fight HST campaign. [continues 138 words]
Challenge: Dana Larsen has gotten approval for a petition to decriminalize marijuana in B.C. A B.C. marijuana activist has been given the green light to petition for the decriminalization of the illegal drug. Elections B.C. said Thursday it will issue Dana Larsen a petition for an amendment to the B.C. Police Act, which would prohibit police officers from making arrests for pot possession. The amendment would not affect laws around trafficking. If Larsen's petition receives enough signatures, the amendment, called the Sensible Policing Act, could go to a province-wide referendum in September 2014. [continues 282 words]
4/20. New numbers released ahead of yearly smoke-out in city show majority warming to marijuana legalization in B.C. There will be more than just a pungent aroma wafting over the Vancouver Art Gallery at Saturday's annual 4/20 protest. Activists say a new wave of optimism has been lit under them by more polls showing overwhelming public support for marijuana legalization in B.C. "I feel like we're at the beginning of the end of cannabis prohibition now," said longtime pot campaigner Dana Larsen, referring to the November referendums in Washington and Colorado that saw adult recreational use legalized. [continues 235 words]
Contest Winner: Victoria Man Wasn't Able to Cross the U.S. Border Thursday Due to a 32-Year-Old Charge for Less Than Two Grams of Cannabis Myles Wilkinson beat nearly four million fantasy football contestants to win a grand prize trip to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, but a decades-old pot possession charge cost him the experience of a lifetime. Toronto airport customs officials blocked the Victoria resident from crossing the border on Thursday due to a 32-year-old charge for less than two grams of cannabis. [continues 303 words]
Imagine you have cancer. Your doctor prescribes marijuana to relieve your pain. For those who don't want to smoke the dried government bud or grow the plant, medical cannabis dispensaries make marijuana accessible in other forms such as baked goods, said Rielle Capler, a co-ordinator of a UBC Peter Wall Solutions Initiative project to certify dispensaries. But dispensaries aren't exactly legal or well understood. In an effort to legitimize what they do in the eyes of patients, physicians, lawmakers and the public, the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries teamed up with the UBC researchers to create a certification program. [continues 682 words]
C-10. Federal bill's mandatory sentencing for serious drug crimes came into effect on Tuesday If you grow six marijuana plants, prepare to spend six months in the slammer. Canada's drug prohibition laws got tougher as a component of Bill C-10 came into effect Tuesday, legislation B.C. MLA and former police chief Kash Heed dubbed "ridiculous" when it comes to marijuana. The bill imposes harsher penalties and mandatory jail time for drug offenders who participate in organized crime, sell drugs to or near youth, and produce drugs where they could be a safety hazard to youth or residents. While the law doesn't put mandatory penalties on simple possession, it includes jail time for production of six to 200 marijuana plants and increases maximum sentences to 14 years. [continues 203 words]
The Union of B.C. Municipalities' support for decriminalizing marijuana is a "turning point" according to activist Jodie Emery. The UBCM voted in favour of decriminalizing the drug during their annual general meeting in Victoria Wednesday. Despite being mostly a symbolic gesture - since all municipalities can do is lobby the federal government for change - Emery said having the support of the province's mayors and council represent a change in the debate on pot. "It's definitely a strong statement that the UBCM have given the federal government," said Emery, a Green Party candidate in several elections and the wife of jailed "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery. "It represents a change, where it's not just pot activists demanding the end of prohibition. We're now seeing high-profile people in mainstream and political arenas stepping up and adding their voice." [continues 156 words]
While health authorities celebrate a decline in overall drug use among adults, researchers warn one demographic is being ignored. According to the latest study from the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, there is an "alarming progression" from drug experimentation to addiction among street-involved youth. Researchers followed 338 street-involved youth - between the ages of 15 and 25 - over five years and found 74 per cent of them became regular injection drug users after shooting up for the first time. [continues 118 words]
One of the world's most respected authorities on humanitarian crises has commended local policy makers, health and law experts for challenging the war on drugs. Louise Arbour, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and chief prosecutor for two international criminal tribunals, made the comments Monday at a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. "I'm delighted to see that this important debate is increasingly taking place, and I'm even happier to see that some of the very progressive work in this field is taking place here in Vancouver," Arbour said. [continues 182 words]
The majority of British Columbians believe alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, a new Angus Reid poll suggests. In an online survey among 800 British Columbian adults, 59 per cent of respondents disagreed that regular marijuana use is more harmful than regular alcohol use. The poll also found that 54 per cent of B.C. residents do not agree that marijuana is a dangerous and addictive drug, and 51 per cent say they don't believe that marijuana is a "gateway" drug that can lead to the use of other dangerous drugs such as heroin. [continues 214 words]
Increased funding for anti-marijuana law enforcement in both Canada and the United States has failed to decrease marijuana supply, potency and use, a new report suggests. The report entitled How Not to Protect Community Health and Safety: What the Government's Own Data Say About the Effects of Cannabis Prohibition, released by Stop the Violence BC, uses 20 years of data collected by the Canadian and U.S. governments. "It's an audit of the governments' own data and what it shows ... is that cannabis prohibition has been a spectacular failure, despite pretty astronomical increases in funding for anti-marijuana law enforcement," said Dr. Evan Wood, a physician and founder of Stop the Violence BC, a coalition of prominent police officers, health professionals, legal experts and academics. [continues 299 words]
Prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement. It's been 10 years since the Four Pillars drug strategy has been official policy in Vancouver -- and although the comprehensive model of dealing with the city's drug epidemic has worked, it hasn't been on the scale the policy's author envisioned in 2001. "We're getting there slowly, but scale is the one thing that's been really difficult for me and still bogs (the strategy) down," Donald MacPherson admits. "When I wrote the policy, I really thought this could elicit a bigger response." [continues 248 words]
Don't you dare tell Larry Campbell the Four Pillars approach is broken. Like NPA mayor Philip Owen before him, Campbell was one of the strategy's biggest proponents during his time as Vancouver mayor, from 2002 to 2005. Despite federal opposition to harm reduction and critics claiming the policy is somehow broken, the senator is fiercely adamant the model works. "How is it broken? More people are in shelter, overdose deaths are dropping, HIV rates are dropping, people are getting into treatment. Isn't that what we want?" asked Campbell. "[The opposition] is purely political. It's not broken, we're not getting as much buzz anymore because people know it works." [continues 253 words]
There's an epidemic of drug addiction in Vancouver. Thousands of addicts have gravitated to the Downtown Eastside where the weather is mild and the drugs are plentiful. According to police stats, about 70 per cent of the city's crime is drug-related. Addicts steal to fuel their habits. Drug dealers wage war on each other and their customers because drug dealers don't belong to the Better Business Bureau. People strung out on crystal meth, crack cocaine and heroin wander the streets looking for handouts to score a fix, scaring the tourists. [continues 338 words]
Operators of Vancouver's other -- and lesser known -- supervised injection program will share their harm-reduction model with Canada's highest court as a high-profile federal appeal to shutdown Insite gets underway in Ottawa tomorrow. "It would be unconscionable for health-care providers such as us and Insite to send people back out on the street," said Maxine Davis, executive director of the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, an intervener in the case. "While the outcome is specifically about Insite, we also provide a supervised injection service. [continues 194 words]
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former communications director made a "cruel and disgusting" comment about her husband and should apologize, said the wife of B.C.'s "Prince of Pot" yesterday. Kory Teneycke, now a vice-president with Quebecor Media, tweeted on May 14 that he hopes "Marc Emery enjoys group showers as much as he enjoys pot. Three cheers for the DEA." "It's a common perception that prison rape happens in 'group showers,'" said Jodie Emery. "I'm shocked and disgusted by it. I'd like Mr. Teneycke to say he's sorry for wishing that." [continues 75 words]
Protest Staged Hours After Pot Activist Deported More than 100 people shut down traffic at Cambie and Hastings streets on Thursday for an ad hoc rally protesting the extradition of Marc Emery, hours after the outspoken pot activist was sent to the United States. Jodie Emery, Marc's wife, planted herself in the middle of the intersection, waving a Canadian flag with a marijuana leaf on it and shouting her outrage at her husband's extradition. "My husband committed a crime punishable by only a $200 fine in Canada, yet this Conservative government is sending him to ... (a) U.S. jail," she said. [continues 129 words]
VPD 'Single Rogue Officer' Arrested, Charged on Four Counts A "rogue" Vancouver police officer was arrested at VPD headquarters yesterday and charged for allegedly peddling marijuana while on-duty. Peter Hodson, 31, a Vancouver constable with less than five years experience, faces four charges, including trafficking marijuana. He was arrested at 11:30 a.m. at the department's headquarters on Cambie Street. "There will be no discussion here of discipline or suspension," said Chief Const. Jim Chu. "I have taken the step of firing Hodson as of today. He is no longer a member of the Vancouver Police Department." [continues 159 words]
Some Ready for Cannabis Party As Smoking Banned in Parks As many as 10,000 people are expected to smoke up en masse outside the Vancouver Art Gallery today - but they won't get in trouble, it's not tobacco. Last night, Vancouver's park board commissioners voted unanimously to ban smoking cigarettes at local parks, beaches and playgrounds. Smoking marijuana, on the other hand, while illegal, is still widely tolerated - at least on this day. April 20, also known as 420, marks the annual day celebrating cannabis culture and is observed around the world at rallies where pot laws are generally not enforced. [continues 304 words]
