OLIVER -- Proponents of a new border patrol say it's too easy to smuggle illegal substances across the Canada-United States border. Except for the manned border crossings at ports of entry across the country, Canada's 9,000-kilometre border with the U.S. remains virtually unguarded With the support of Canadian border communities such as Osoyoos and Oliver, Canada's Customs and Excise Union wants to see a dedicated border patrol established to watch the line between the two countries [continues 537 words]
Penticton Herald Police liaison and drug awareness programs should be restored in local schools, parents told the Okanagan Skaha school board Nawaz Patrick, of the McNicoll Park middle school parent advisory council, and Fred Kidner, of the Princess Margaret PAC, outlined their concerns to District 67 trustees at a special budget input meeting Wednesday night Patrick said the district's current drug and alcohol awareness programs are not adequate. She said her son and many other students at McNicoll missed out on the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program, which has been presented to different grades in recent years [continues 571 words]
She hasn't gone to school for a year. She runs from her parents, from her grandparents, and hangs out at shady motels, going days without sleep "There's a 14-year-old girl we've been aware of recently in Penticton who's developed a severe addiction to crystal meth," says Const. Brad Myhre, a member of the Penticton RCMP's task force "Crystal meth really seems to get a grip on young people, especially young, teenage girls for some reason." Myhre spent two years in drug enforcement in Prince George before his Penticton posting two years ago [continues 507 words]
Hooked sometimes after using it only once or twice, crystal meth addicts "fry their brains", says Const. Brad Myhre of the Penticton RCMP's task force "We deal with people who are relatively long-term users and their thought processes are a mess. They're irrational and paranoid. There's no such thing as using crystal meth socially. You use it and you're insane." The drug consumes them, said Myhre. "You have no control over it and that's a real concern when it's young people we're talking about." The crystal meth high -- euphoric, aggressive and agitated -- is similar to that of smoking crack cocaine, said Myhre [continues 259 words]
OTTAWA -- Canada is now the largest single supplier of pot, speed and steroids to the United States, says a top customs official American authorities are making more seizures both at and south of the border, says George Webb, head of counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation for the Canadian Border Services Agency At the same time, the flow of illegal drugs to Canada from the U.S. appears to have stabilized, according to the agency. Major drug busts at the Canadian border have been fairly consistent since the mid-1990s [continues 243 words]
KELOWNA -- Indian bands throughout the Okanagan are rearranging their budgets to take what they say will be a serious stab at combating drugs and dealers on First Nations lands. A general assembly of the Okanagan Nation Alliance was held Tuesday at Sensisyusten school in Westbank with the intention of putting a drug strategy referendum to its members. "We're prepared to put a significant amount of money into counselling, enforcement or whatever needs to be done," said Westbank First Nation Chief Robert Louie. "It will be in the hundreds of thousands. We're already revising our budgets." The meeting was held in the wake of a triple homicide on the Penticton Indian reserve in November. It included bands from the Okanagan and Coleville, Wash., as well as school district officials and representatives of the RCMP, Interior Health and Okanagan University College. [continues 251 words]
Publicity over last month's discovery of two helicopters on the Penticton Indian reserve has spooked the potsmuggling community. Smugglers prefer using helicopters to transport loads of B.C. bud across the U.S. border because they don't require a landing strip and can land almost anywhere, said a former smuggler who asked not to be identified There's no evidence the helicopters found in a remote area of the reserve were connected to the drug trade, but media speculation suggesting they may have been used to ferry marijuana to the U.S. has sent a chill through smugglers who use the aircraft to move their product [continues 289 words]
VANCOUVER -- A top American clinical researcher in the field of drug addiction warned Tuesday that decriminalizing marijuana could lead to increased abuse of the drug Studies show wider availability of a drug coupled with a relaxed attitude towards it help predict the level of use and addiction, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Volkow said surveys indicate that if a drug is considered safe and benign, its use spirals. Drug addiction rates can range from 20 to 30 per cent of users. "The notion of legalizing and making drugs accessible, what it will do is ultimately increase the number of people that get exposed to the drug," Volkow said in an interview. "Some of those people will become addicted that may have not become addicted had it not been so easily accessible." The best examples, she said, are alcohol and tobacco, both widely available and relatively acceptable socially and with the most widespread addiction rates [continues 187 words]
PENTICTON -- A pair of helicopters abandoned on the Penticton Indian Band reserve are attracting a fair amount of attention, but not all of it through official channels. On Sunday, while showing one of the helicopters to a television camera crew, Penticton Indian Band chief Stewart Phillip says someone drove up and was scared off by the sight of band officials, tribal police officers and members of the media on scene. Phillip said Monday while he was giving an interview members of the tribal police force heard a vehicle slowly enter the area [continues 221 words]
VANCOUVER - Ice, jib, glass or speed, whatever street name it may take, experts agree the highly addictive drug crystal meth is a terrifying problem in North America Now, hundreds of those experts are converging on Vancouver this week for a conference to address the escalating crystal meth crisis. More than 250 delegates, healthcare workers, police and social service providers are meeting for the first Western Summit on Methamphetamine "This is quite a milestone and accomplishment," said Kathleen Butler, spokeswoman for Vancouver Coastal Health, one of the sponsors of the event. "It's the first time ever that stakeholders from across Western Canada are meeting to look at this and develop an approach." Butler said it's a serious problem. Dubbed the Dark Crystal by many, the drug can be bought for as cheap as $5 a hit and the effects can last for days, keeping users awake and sleep-deprived [continues 379 words]
KELOWNA -- Okanagan band chiefs have forged a partnership in their war against drug dealers living on reserve First Nations leaders and social workers of the Okanagan Nation gathered in Kelowna Wednesday to work out a valley-wide strategy to combat the rising prevalence of crystal meth, crack cocaine and marijuana in their communities They held the emergency meeting in response to a shooting on the Penticton Indian Band reserve that left three men dead and another three injured on Oct. 30 [continues 558 words]
Penticton's Proposed Anti-Grow-Op Bylaw Is On Hold, Pending Further Review City council's committee of the whole voted unanimously Monday to refer the controversial issue back to city staff to gain input on the impact of similar bylaws in other B.C. municipalities The bylaw, which places more responsibility on property owners to guard against marijuana grow operations in their rental homes, has been criticized by many property owners and the South Okanagan Real Estate Board Jack Kler, the city's director of corporate services, said the municipality is mainly trying to highlight the issue [continues 415 words]
Penticton city council has taken another step in its battle against marijuana grow operations, but not without getting an earful from rental property owners and other residents. A public hearing was held Monday night on a bylaw which would allow the city to levy up to $10,000 in fines and recover costs from the owners of properties where grow-ops are discovered. The proposal didn't sit well with most of those addressing the hearing. Diane McAvoy, a property owner on Van Horne Street, said she knows of at least three out-of-town landlords who vowed to sell their properties immediately and no longer invest in Penticton if the bylaw is enacted. [continues 470 words]
OTTAWA -- Some patients are spurning a new batch of governmentcertified marijuana, dismissing Health Canada claims that it's a stronger, better-quality smoke "It's no good," Marco Renda, 45, said Monday from his home in Dundalk, Ont. "I took two puffs and I put it out "It had a chemical taste to it. It didn't taste right to me, and it didn't burn properly. It had no effect." Prairie Plant Systems, which produces medical marijuana on contract for Health Canada, began shipping a second batch of its product on May 21 after getting bad reviews about the initial harvest [continues 404 words]
TORONTO -- A first-ever look at alcohol and drug use among young Canadians by the country's statistics collectors reveals a few things parents might find unsettling. A significant proportion of kids is getting an early start on experimenting with illicit substances, suggests the survey, the first time Statistics Canada has asked 12- to 15-year-olds about drinking and drugs. Nearly half reported they'd had at least one drink, and nearly a quarter admitted they'd been drunk at least once. One in five confessed to having smoked marijuana. [continues 363 words]
KELOWNA -- An autopsy has confirmed Anthony Joseph Gorkoff, 24, and Dean Raymond Desimone, 31, were killed by gunshots Sunday in Peachland. The bodies of the two men were discovered in a home on Victoria Street after police responded to reports of shots fired at 12:40 a.m Gorkoff was a Peachland resident, while Desimone lived in Vernon RCMP media relations officer Const. Heather Macdonald said Tuesday that police believe the murders were connected to drug activities. Both men were known to police before their deaths, she said [continues 188 words]
OTTAWA (CP) -- The federal plan to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana could increase policing costs, not reduce them as many predict, according to internal RCMP notes. The revelation is among several uncertainties and reservations regarding the proposed pot bill spelled out in newly disclosed briefing materials prepared by the national police force The Mounties take issue with the oft-repeated assertion that the existing pot law is enforced unevenly across Canada, and express concern about some elements of the new legislative package. Several pages of RCMP notes, compiled from May through December of last year, were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act [continues 440 words]
OTTAWA -- The federal government's plan to decriminalize pot possession would free up millions of dollars and thousands of police hours, the latest statistics suggest Police laid a record number of drug-related charges in 2002, and most offences involved marijuana, Statistics Canada reported Monday Seventy-five per cent of 93,000 drug-related incidents in 2002 involved pot. Almost three-quarters of those were possession offences, and more than half of those convicted were fined. "The police-reported drugcrime rate has risen an estimated 42 per cent since the early 1990s and now stands at a 20-year high," the agency said [continues 399 words]
OTTAWA -- Potheads, anti-drug activists and occasional tokers will be watching as Canada's high court rules today on whether simple possession of marijuana should be a crime. The much-anticipated judgment from the Supreme Court of Canada comes as the federal government plans to reintroduce a hotly debated bill to decriminalize possession of pot in small amounts. "I have a lot of concerns," says Ontario Liberal MP Dan McTeague, who has vocally opposed his own government's plans. "And I'm hoping the Supreme Court will be looking before it leaps." McTeague says he and several other Liberal MPs fear decriminalizing simple possession would send the wrong message about drug use, especially to young people. [continues 542 words]
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Paul Martin says he'll press ahead with legislation, first proposed under Jean Chretien, to eliminate criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana But he hinted Thursday he'd like to see a new definition of what constitutes a "small amount" and invited a parliamentary committee to consider lowering the limit from the original proposal of 15 grams Martin told reporters he sees a health risk in pot use and observed that "any doctor will tell you it's far from the best thing for you." On the central point of the law, however, he insisted that it achieves "absolutely nothing to give a criminal record to young people caught with minimal amounts." The bill brought in under Chretien, which died on the House of Commons order paper last month, will be reintroduced when MPs return to work in the new year, Martin said. He then offered suggestions for finetuning it before it becomes law [continues 118 words]
Health outreach plans that include a downtown needle exchange may change after officials met Monday with concerned parents and the mayor. "I can't say whether that (the needle-exchange) will be part of the project," said Colleen Maloney, public health nurse. "It is not an essential component of the project. "We have slowed the process down. We have stepped back and we are looking at it in a different way." About 12 people - most of them parents of children at the Penticton Early Childhood Centre at 521 Martin St. - attended a meeting with health officials, held to address concerns over a proposal that called for a public health nurse to work out of the nearby Penticton Outreach Centre two hours a week, on a three-month trial basis. [continues 364 words]
A local motel owner is spiffing up his property after drug dealers were forced out by the work of a city-wide anti-drug task force. The unnamed motel was the first target of the Community Partnership on Drug Initiatives, set up two or three months ago to help clean up the city. "I'm very pleased," Mayor David Perry said Tuesday. "In a relatively short period of time, we're seeing significant results. In this particular case, it was with the co-operation of the motel owner. It was not a heavy-handed approach, but a true partnership." [continues 306 words]
Sex, drugs and no curfews -- some teens are dying to break away from their parents' rules. "The life expectancy of a kid on the streets is seven years," says RCMP Cpl. Janis Gray, who will speak in Penticton today. "It's not just street kids being lured into prostitution and the drug trade. It's everybody's children." Gray, who spent seven years in drug enforcement before her transfer to the prostitution unit in the Lower Mainland, will speak about the police perspective on drugs and sexual exploitation during a youth conference at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre. [continues 411 words]
At first, Dennis Patterson thought it was a Popsicle stick he saw in the grass Tuesday. But as the Trophic Canada employee cycled to work at 6:30 a.m. on Power Street in Penticton, he noticed another one, and then a third, at relatively regular intervals. When he saw a fourth one, he got off his bike to investigate and found something which horrified him. The items were not Popsicle sticks, but hypodermic needles with droplets of what looked like blood in the barrels. [continues 157 words]
It's easy for the audience to label the emotions seen on screen on FIX: The Story of an Addicted City. What may be difficult is for audience members to define the emotions felt while watching the documentary about drug use in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. It's not a pretty film, but then urban documentaries rarely are. Fix, an urban documentaries which follows the stories of a development-minded businessman, a heroin addict, a police officer and a city mayor as they deal with drug abuse in the poorest neighbourhood in Canada, is not going to break that mold. [continues 605 words]
Fix: The Story of an Addicted City, is a love story of sorts. It's the story of how an addict loved his drug, how a mayor loved a city, and how a woman loved to help. It's also a seedy, gritty story of drug abuse in a neighbourhood that has been described as the poorest in Canada. Ever drive through Vancouver's downtown Eastside? It's an experience unto itself. People deal drugs openly and only take a pace or two into alleyways to inject chemicals into their bloodstream. [continues 250 words]
Penticton's top cop believes his detachment hasn't done the job it could have been doing when it comes to drug enforcement. But that's already started to change. Insp. Dan Fudge, Penticton RCMP detachment commander, commented on the city's drug enforcement strategy for members of the Penticton Hospitality Association and others at a Breakfast with the Mayor meeting Wednesday. "We've been doing a fairly good job of providing education to grades 5 and 6 with the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) about the dangers of drug abuse," said Fudge. "We view it as another tool in the toolbox of enforcement. [continues 536 words]
It's harvest time, and South Okanagan RCMP have cashed in on the season's crops several times in recent days. Several hundred thousand dollars in marijuana was seized during four separate busts this week and last. On Tuesday afternoon, Penticton RCMP received a report of a break-in in the 1100 block of Redlands Road in the city. A man was seen leaving the residence. When officers arrived, they found the home was not secure and that it had likely been broken into. [continues 300 words]
Fighting criminals on their own turf shouldn't be one of the solutions for folks who want to take a bite out of crime. However, becoming aware and forming block watches is a tool people can use to help eradicate society's more nefarious elements. That was the message delivered to about 50 people who turned out Tuesday to the latest in a series of meetings dealing with justice for victims and punishment for criminals. Much of the discussion focused on Penticton's downtown core -- particularly Orchard Avenue, where suspected drug dealers ply their trade. [continues 222 words]
A lengthy court battle over the medicinal use of marijuana has ended in victory for a 59-year-old Osoyoos man. Errol Dammert was granted an absolute discharge by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Mary Humphries at a sentence hearing in Penticton Wednesday. Dammert had earlier been found guilty of two counts of production of marijuana, following a Supreme Court trial that began in January 2000. The charges stemmed from a June 1997 police raid on his former home in the hills of Anarchist Mountain east of Osoyoos and a June 1998 incident when police at a roadblock in Naramata found a tray of 100 baby pot plants in a truck Dammert was driving. [continues 406 words]
PENTICTON, B.C. (CP) - A 59-year-old man was given an absolute discharge Wednesday at the end of a lengthy court battle over the medicinal use of marijuana. The ruling means Errol Dammert of Osoyoos, B.C., will not have a criminal record. He had earlier been found guilty in B.C. Supreme Court on two counts of production of marijuana. The trial began in January 2000. The charges followed a June 1997 police raid on Dammert's former home in the hills east of Osoyoos and a June 1998 incident when police at a roadblock found a tray of 100 baby pot plants in a truck Dammert was driving. [continues 337 words]
Drugs and all they bring are the next challenge for Penticton Short of putting a policeman on every street corner, public participation is the surest way of making a dent in crime. When neighbours take an interest in what's happening next door, burglars no longer have the opportunity of breaking a window and making off with belongings in the middle of the day. Criminals are notorious cowards and they won't take a risk if they suspect their nefarious actions are likely to be detected by a well-meaning snoop next door. [continues 221 words]
Police are cautioning landlords to take some precautions to prevent tenants from growing marijuana after a relatively small grow operation was uncovered Wednesday. The Penticton RCMP property crimes/drug task force seized 45 mature marijuana plants and arrested four individuals when they executed a search warrant at a rental property in the 200-block Scott Avenue. The three men and one woman were released with an order to appear in court Aug. 14. Police also seized hydroponic growing equipment, drug paraphernalia and about $2,000 in stolen property in the afternoon raid, said Const. Terry Jacklin. Five dogs on the property were turned over to the city animal control officer. [continues 203 words]
