Re: "An argument gone to pot" editorial. Hurrah for those folks who have found the "truth" that so long has escaped us all. Legalize (decriminalize) marijuana and presto, gangs and gang violence would disappear ...virtually "overnight!" But that's not all. In their enthusiasm, they missed the collateral benefit of having solved B.C.'s problem of declining tourism from south of the border and elsewhere. Just think of the tourism potential of a mass influx of drug-deprived folks descending on the "True North, Free and Legally Drugged," pouring untold billions of much-needed tourist dollars into our ailing economy, with many of them undoubtedly wishing to stay permanently. Indeed, that's the kind of "stimulus" (pun intended) that would really help us all get through the economic recession with a "buzz." E.W. Bopp, Tsawwassen [end]
Re: "An argument that's gone to pot," The Leader, March 20. "Although one lucrative tap was shut off (with the diverted proceeds running freely into government coffers), organized criminals simply found other sources of wealth." Yeah - drug prohibition. Your argument against legalizing pot is disputed by your own examples! "To assume the gangster wannabes will hang up their Kevlar vests just because marijuana becomes easier to acquire is simplistic at best." This is still no justification for continuing to subsidize gangsters by refusing to regulate their biggest commodity. You are basically saying that gangsters are so adaptive and diligent that we can never stop them, but we should just keep doing the same things that have failed for 90 years, simply to save face. It is utterly absurd. [continues 88 words]
Another day, another targeted shooting. Such is life (and death) in the Lower Mainland these days. In the past few months, there have been 37 shootings, with three occurring just over the weekend. The escalating violence is leaving residents rattled. And rightly so. Finding people to blame is the easiest part of this crisis. The courts, the police, the politicians, even parents share responsibility for the carnage, according to some. To one group however, the solution is simple: decriminalize marijuana. With knee-jerk regularity they claim every gangland slaying and every drive-by attack could be avoided if marijuana were legally obtainable. [continues 242 words]
It never ceases to amaze me how many people in this country are ready to abandon a great deal of their freedom to obtain a little security. The problems we have with gangs are a clear result of prohibition and twisted morals that approve of alcohol and tobacco but think a harmless weed is the devil's work. It is clear that the so-called war on drugs is a total failure. We will always have people who haven't the fortitude to control their desire to get high with alcohol, pot or whatever. These people have a medical or mental problem, and should be treated as such. [continues 79 words]
A new poll shows B.C. residents strongly support a series of proposed justice reforms to curb gang activity and nearly two-thirds also back the legalization of marijuana. Angus Reid Strategies surveyed Canadians across the country and found at least 95 per cent of the B.C. respondents back mandatory minimum sentences for serious drug crime like drive-by shootings and designating gang-related homicide first-degree murder. Those proposed changes are being spearheaded by the federal Conservative government. The B.C. government's call to loosen evidence disclosure laws to allow speedier prosecution of gangsters also got 86 per cent support in the province. [continues 178 words]
An estimated 40 alcohol and drug recovery homes in this city remain completely unregulated, despite a decade-long call for controls to protect clients. Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has made regulating the industry one of her missions since finding a woman's recovery home in Panorama Ridge in the late 1990s where children were packed four and five to a room. At the time there were an estimated 50 recovery homes in Surrey and reports of client abuse were rampant. They continue today, and Watts is fed up over a lack of action on the part of the province. [continues 358 words]
Prime Minister Stephen Harper defended his government's plan to create new gang-related offences in the Criminal Code during a visit to Vancouver Thursday, and promised to keep working on B.C.'s demands for reforms they say are more urgently needed. Federal opposition parties say they will support Conservative government bills that would: - - Create a new offence for drive-by and street shootings, with a mandatory minimum of four years in prison and a maximum of 14; - - Make murders connected to organized crime activity automatically subject to a first-degree murder charge; [continues 428 words]
"You will die," the man with the scarred face says. "You'll go crazy first, but you will die." "It's like a little box that you are trapped inside and you can't get out of," a woman says. "I never thought I would try to kill my mother or suffocate my dog," another girl shares. The statements are made by people in a film shown to Grade 10, 11 and 12 students at Sullivan Heights Secondary. They aren't actors speaking in Death By Jib, but real people sharing their experiences with crystal methamphetamine. [continues 303 words]
You can have drug prohibition and gang violence over drug profits or drug regulation controlled by the state - but you cannot have drug prohibition without the consequences that come with it. One hundred years of drug policy based on prohibition ought to be enough to teach that lesson. But since we refuse to learn this lesson of history, we are condemned to repeat it. Craig Jones Executive director The John Howard Society of Canada [end]
A teenager was carrying $2,000 in cash when he was arrested recently by the Surrey RCMP drug section at a local crack house. Police arrested other youngsters at the same site, some as young as 16, many apparently working as runners for a dial-a-dope operation that served Surrey and other Metro Vancouver communities. There have been at least three incidents in the last two weeks where Surrey Mounties have arrested unusually young people for drug dealing. During another raid, a 17- and 19-year-old were arrested on charges of possession for the purposes of trafficking. [continues 255 words]
Surrey's mayor is challenging some of the claims made by the province this week about law and order. The discussion comes after a week of gang-fuelled bloodshed in Surrey and throughout the region and calls from the public for meaningful justice. Last Friday, Premier Gordon Campbell told The Surrey-North Delta Leader that Victoria was doing what it could to combat gang violence. "We've increased the number of police officers we have in this province by more than 900," he said. "We have an organized gang task force and homicide task force. [continues 453 words]
Six shootings in the last seven days. Four dead. Two wounded. In the past two weeks, bullets have been flying on the streets and mall parking lots of Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Coquitlam and Vancouver. The Lower Mainland has become a war zone - a disorganized orgy of violence between gangs and their bit-player members, fighting for control of the drug trade, exacting revenge for earlier hits, and carrying out retribution for crossed loyalties, broken deals, and threats and insults, perceived or real. [continues 252 words]
There are still hundreds of marijuana grow operations in this city, despite the fact B.C. Hydro consumption records indicate there are practically none, according to Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis. And many operators have simply located to other parts of the province - - a problem Garis wants to see stopped. He noted growers are becoming more sophisticated, keeping their plantations under the hydro threshold (three times typical household usage), or simply stealing the power from outside the home. So he's pushing forward on several other fronts. [continues 457 words]
There are many casualties whenever someone dies. The heartache and anguish is far worse when someone dies violently. The common reaction when we hear of someone dying as a result of an outbreak of gang violence - which unfortunately, has been far too common in Surrey in recent weeks - is "good riddance." While this reaction is understandable, given the scourge that gun-toting members of drug gangs are to society at large, it misses out on one important point. There are people who loved that victim of violence - parents, friends and relatives. Many of them do not condone, and in fact abhor, the activity that person has been involved in - but they love them anyway. [continues 436 words]
Re: Tough love for today's hard cases (B.C. Views, Dec. 24). I compliment you for your article. For the past two years I have volunteered at St. Joseph's church in Langley and as a result I have developed a greater sensitivity and understanding for some of the homeless. One of the obvious facts that I have learned from the homeless individuals is that about 90 per cent of the reason for their problems is drug addiction. It is unfortunate that government and others don't address the root cause of this problem and that is drug dealers of all kinds. I believe the criminal justice system should impose longer and harder sentences for these dealers who are profiting from human weakness. It seems that the system is putting the wrong people in prison. Doc Street Langley [end]
Re: BC losing war on drug gangs, B.C. Views, Jan. 14). Tom Fletcher isn't just accurately describing the way things are; he's describing the direction things are moving to. In the early 1970s the Le Dain Commission's report along with Canada's 2002 Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs report unanimously recommended to regulate cannabis (marijuana) the same way as alcohol. Since Canada ignored those recommendations, the problems associated with prohibiting the relatively safe, socially acceptable, God-given plant cannabis have escalated. And it's not limited to Canada; look at what's happening in the U.S. and Mexico. [continues 138 words]
There's one area of B.C. business investment that's seen a boom in rural areas. Unfortunately, it's organized crime. You may have heard the saga of Likely, a tiny community east of Williams Lake. Last fall RCMP confirmed results of a two-year investigation that found eight properties with buildings fitted for large-scale marijuana growing. At least one of those has been seized under civil forfeiture legislation, a powerful new tool in targeting proceeds of crime. Nine Lower Mainland residents, all with Asian names, were charged. [continues 595 words]
It was less than an hour after midnight on Nov. 16 when Annaliese Gwendolyn Postma entered the world. She arrived weighing 7 lbs.15 oz. and was 51 cm. long with a full head of brown hair. Parents Caitlin Herman and Nathaniel Postma were thrilled to meet their daughter. "I was actually the one bawling my eyes out when she came out," recalls burly Nathaniel. But less that 12 hours later, confusion, anger and sadness would overshadow their happiness. Before lunchtime, a nurse came in and took Annaliese from her mom's arms. [continues 1125 words]
A local MLA is calling for the prohibition of a drug readily available at local retail outlets. Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains wants an end to the sale of doda (also known as dode), which is an opium deriviative sold in many local stores. Bains said, while legal, the drug is highly addictive, and should be taken from store shelves. "My constituents are very concerned that this addictive and harmful substance is readily available at retail stores," Bains said. "I have written to the Solicitor General demanding a thorough review of our laws to ensure that retailers don't sell this product openly." [continues 223 words]
It's going to get more expensive for people found with a grow op, or other electrical hazard in their home. Surrey launched the Electrical Fire Safety Initiative (EFSI) three years ago, a program that shuts down residential marijuana grow operations by tracking their high power consumption records. It has been fully "self-funded" through a $2,100 fee charged to the homeowner after inspection. The initiative is becoming more expensive for the city, so it's passing on the extra costs. [continues 157 words]
The SkyTrain stations where passengers feel most anxious and insecure will get full-time uniformed patrols as TransLink unleashes a barrage of new measures to convince people it's safe to ride. The changes - which include plans to use police dogs and new ways to alert security to trouble - follow extensive consultations and the completion of two detailed studies on crime along SkyTrain. Rapid transit officials say the work has led them to conclude Transit Police must attack stations perceived as most dangerous even if actual crime stats don't bear that out. [continues 1251 words]
Re: "Three years, 1,000 grow-ops gone." B.C.'s marijuana grow operations are a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Legitimate farmers do not steal electricity to grow produce in the basements of rented homes. If legal, growing marijuana would be less profitable than farming tomatoes. As it stands, the drug war distorts market forces such that big money grows on little trees. Rather than continue to subsidize organized crime, Canadian policy-makers should ignore the reefer-madness hysteria of the U.S. government and instead to look their own Senate for guidance. In 2002, the Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded that marijuana is relatively benign, marijuana prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use. Robert Sharpe, Common Sense for Drug Strategy Washington, D.C. [end]
Surrey North Delta Leader Surrey Man's New Joint Irks Langley Randy Caine is no stranger to struggles with the authorities. Last Friday, Caine opened Hempyz in downtown Langley. Billed as "your one-stop potleaf shop," the store is a gift and novelty shop with a pot leaf theme, but it doesn't sell marijuana paraphernalia like pipes and bongs. On opening day, the city - which denied Hempyz a business licence because, according to Mayor Peter Fassbender, "any business with hemp-related materials doesn't conform with our zoning bylaws" - fined Caine $100. [continues 259 words]
The B.C. Supreme Court Got It Right. On Friday, Justice William Smart ruled that Surrey's grow-op inspection initiative - the Safety Standards Amendment Act - does not violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and can continue to be used to combat marijuana grow operations in this city, and by extension, all B.C. municipalities. The one caveat? The teams, previously made up of city bylaw inspectors, fire department members and RCMP officers, can no longer use police to inspect the premises. [continues 215 words]
A landmark B.C. Supreme Court decision has upheld Surrey's initiative to clamp down on homes suspected of containing marijuana grow operations. However, police are no longer allowed to attend the home inspections. Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis launched the initiative in March 2005 after a successful pilot project in this city. Homeowners with high power consumption are notified they will be subject to an inspection. If the homeowner refuses, or a grow operation is found, the power to the home is shut off. [continues 618 words]
Theresa Campbell, Surrey School District's manager of safe schools, has received a provincial Crime Prevention and Community Safety Award. Over the past six years, Campbell has worked on safety projects for 70,000 young people and was instrumental in bringing safe school liaisons, as well as substance abuse liaison counsellors, to all high schools. She also helped to develop a system of alternative suspensions in which students aged 10 to 15 who have been suspended for behavioural problems attend a two-day program to build their self-confidence and self-esteem. [continues 141 words]
Re: Harper vows to get tough on criminals. "Especially those that would sell drugs to our kids," Harper said. I wonder if that includes convenience stores that sell energy drinks to kids? It should be noted that junk food will kill many times more Canadians than all illegal drugs combined, and the survivors will cost the rest of us billions every year with their cancer, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and heart disease. Maybe we should crack down on those death merchants instead of th"drug" dealers. [continues 94 words]
Keep your dogs away from pot. That's the message to all pet owners from an emergency veterinarian. At the Animal Emergency Clinic of the Fraser Valley in Langley, vet Dr. Nadine Koreman said they see clients from Surrey, South Surrey, White Rock, Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, Mission, Coquitlam and sometimes, clients from Washington state, when it comes to owners bringing in dogs affected by marijuana. "Because we are an emergency clinic, we see animals from everywhere," Koreman said last week. "We do see a fair number of cases (of dogs affected by marijuana)... it really varies. Probably on average, we see a couple of cases a week." [continues 283 words]
It's been a tough stretch for a few former federal election hopefuls. Last week, Dana Larsen, the NDP candidate in West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, resigned following questions about the sale of coca seedlings at the Vancouver Seed Bank he launched in 2006. The store also sells marijuana, poppy and tobacco seeds. The 37-year-old author of Hairy Pothead and the Marijuana Stone and founding editor of Cannabis Culture Magazine admits to enjoying pot occasionally. In fact a number of YouTube videos show Larsen toking up. [continues 123 words]
A judge, a cop and a criminologist outlined the economic impact of crime on this city to a small crowd at Surrey's economic summit, held Thursday at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel. The three professionals, all impassioned, weren't entirely in agreement. Criminologist Darryl Plecas told the audience statistics in Canada look promising. "Crime rate in this country is about as low as it's been in 30 years," Plecas said, pointing specifically at Surrey's marijuana grow-op program, run by the fire department, as part of the solution. People with pot operations have moved to the United Kingdom and the United States, Plecas said. [continues 505 words]
A Surrey RCMP campaign that goes after drunk drivers by stationing plainclothes officers in fast-food drive-thrus could be adopted by some U.S. law enforcement agencies. Interest in project WULF (Would U Like Fries) was high at the national U.S. conference of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Dallas, Texas earlier this month (Sept. 4-7), when two Surrey Mounties gave a workshop for an audience of police officers, state attorneys and judges. Staff Sgt. Dave Peat and Const. Brian Nanton were invited to give a presentation by the conference organizers after the Americans heard how police in a Canadian city have begun donning civilian duds and stationing themselves at drive-thru windows to catch impaired drivers. [continues 194 words]
I have recently been reading the local headlines regarding the crime statistics in the Lower Mainland. According to these statistics crime has dropped over the last year. Here in Surrey, although crime is reported to be decreasing, we still are dealing with more crime than most. With regards to the decrease, I feel I must comment that I don't see that to be the case in my own neighbourhood and surrounding Whalley. The majority of people who live around this area feel there has been no improvement at all, and many feel the area has seen an increase in street and drug crime. [continues 239 words]
They used to go hit a bucket of golf balls together. Neither of them actually played golf. It was a mother-son thing, something they would do to spend time together. When Eileen Mohan would out-drive her broad-shouldered son Chris, he would grin and tell her it was a fluke. "Don't get comfortable," he'd say. They must have gone seven times before he died. Lately, Eileen has been taking lessons so she can participate in the first-annual "Ed Schellenberg / Chris Mohan Memorial Golf Tournament on Sept. 26 at Hazelmere Golf Course in South Surrey. [continues 303 words]
Just because Delta Police smelled marijuana coming from a man's van, doesn't mean they were justified in searching it and, upon finding four garbage bags filled with pot plants, arresting him for possession for the purpose of trafficking. In a written decision released last week (July 22), Surrey Provincial Court Judge Peder Gulbransen ruled that the June 2007 search and arrest were unlawful and that the evidence obtained is therefore inadmissible in court. "Considering all of the relevant factors, I find that the defence has established, on a balance of probabilities, that the admission of the evidence obtained in the unlawful search of (the man's) motor vehicle would bring the administration of justice into disrepute," Gulbransen wrote in the ruling. [continues 519 words]
Electrical records show a dramatic drop in marijuana grow operations among cities participating in a safety initiative designed to shut down indoor pot plantations. But the initiatives are also having an effect on municipalities that aren't participating, the figures show. Through a Freedom of Information request, The Leader has obtained electrical usage summaries from B.C. Hydro of unusually high electrical consumers. The document shows nearly a 20 per cent drop in high consumption rates among the six cities involved in the Electrical Fire Safety Initiative, a program started by Surrey's fire chief in 2005 to shut down marijuana grow operations. [continues 301 words]
A house and a hectare of land near Williams Lake where two Surrey men ran a marijuana grow operation have been seized in what the B.C. government calls the largest grow-op to be subject to its civil forfeiture legislation. "This was really a marijuana factory," said Solicitor General John van Dongen of the property in Likely. When it was raided by RCMP in November 2006, nearly every room - plus an outbuilding - were set up with 137 growing lamps and 5,500 plants. Police estimated that with four crops that size per year, the operation could supply one joint for every person in B.C. [continues 184 words]
Firefighters and police who inspect Surrey homes believed to contain marijuana grow-ops are not violating a person's rights against unreasonable search and seizure, says Surrey's lawyer J.J. McIntyre. That's because residents don't face criminal prosecution, regardless of what's discovered inside the home by members of Surrey's Electrical and Fire Safety Inspection Team. "There is no evidence collection that takes place, and no criminal charges that can ever result from this kind of administrative inspection," McIntyre said. [continues 474 words]
A law that allows Surrey firefighters and police to enter homes believed to contain marijuana grow-ops is unconstitutional, B.C. Supreme Court was told Monday. Lawyer Joseph Arvay argued the provincial government did not have the authority to amend B.C.'s Safety Standards Act to allow officials to demand entry to perform a electrical safety inspection. Arvay said the amendment is a veiled attempt by the province to enact criminal legislation, something only the federal government has authority to do. [continues 533 words]
Re: "Brits like Surrey's grow op bylaw." Of course the Brits would love this policy! It usurps and suppresses civil rights and liberties in the name of "public security." The Brits can reference all the wildly exaggerated balderdash of the dastardly RCMP who shamelessly lie and cajole the media and public about marijuana and the teeny tiny "threat" it poses to the public in an effort to keep their jobs relevant. The Brits live for this Orwellian New-World-Order stuff! [continues 58 words]
Surrey's successful marijuana grow operation initiative has caught the attention of Britain, which is facing similar problems with home-based plantations. Dr. Darryl Plecas, a criminology professor at University College of the Fraser Valley, is co-author of Surrey's Electrical Fire Safety Initiative (EFSI), which allows fire crews to issue warnings of inspection to suspected grow operators. Failure to allow the inspection results in power being cut off to the home. With the EFSI, Surrey shut down 830 grow ops in this city last year, and there are an estimated 30 left. [continues 316 words]
B.C. Court of Appeal judges last week threw out a drug conviction that stemmed from a 2005 incident in White Rock, describing the original decision as one that supports a "serious error of law." "What the judge has permitted is an expansion of a search authorized for a limited purpose to a general search for contraband on a hunch," Justices Donald, Rowle and Saunders ruled. "He has allowed the police to rummage for whatever might look suspicious, regardless of the authorized limits of the search." [continues 446 words]
Spokesmen for the police and provincial government have condemned a court ruling that Surrey RCMP acted unreasonably when they broke down the door to a marijuana grow op and entered with their guns drawn. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce threw out the results of a March 10, 2004 raid on a house in the 11100 block of 157A Street because she said the officers didn't wait long enough between knocking on the door and using a battering ram to enter the two-storey house. [continues 405 words]
Crack open the outrage-o-meters: Another free ride for drug addicts is on the way. At least, that's how many people will feel about the latest move to stop the spread of disease among the region's illicit drug users. Starting this spring, the Ministry of Health will be funding the distribution of sterile surgical tubing that can be attached to the end of crack pipes. The aim is to stop the spread of hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and syphilis, which can be contracted through the sharing of drug pipes. [continues 482 words]
As of this week, there are an estimated 30 to 50 suspected marijuana grow operations in this city, down from nearly 1,000 at the beginning of the year. The Leader has learned the fire department is expected to announce the dramatic drop in the number of grow operations as soon as Friday. The huge decrease in the number of home plantations is being attributed in part to the city's Electrical Fire Safety Initiative (EFSI). The program involves fire officials, bylaws and police attending homes with high power usage, often a signature of a marijuana grow operation. Unless the owner agrees to an inspection, the power to the home is cut. [continues 394 words]
Re: "This is B.C.'s crime problem on drugs," (B.C. Views, Oct. 10). Tom Fletcher described Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site, as "unsafe" and a "defeatist pest-hole." Given the proliferation of research that has been published in peer-reviewed, prestigious medical and psychological journals over the past five years, his comments are insulting. As Insite provides a non-threatening environment, clients have become willing to ask for referrals to other health and social services. Vancouver Coastal Health reports that over a one-year period, 2,000 referrals to other services were made, with 40 per cent of the referrals being to addiction counselling services. Insite has also proven itself as an entry point for detox services, with one in five regular visitors starting this type of treatment. [continues 169 words]
Re: "Kids should learn the truth about marijuana," Letters, Nov. 7. Yes, "licence holder Russell," kids should learn the truth - how pot makes people lethargic, impairs motor skills, impairs memory, etc. For most people the medical aspect is just a convenient excuse for them to get high. Marijuana is linked to many other heath concerns, but most pro pot people downplay it of course, it is called denial. As someone who has been there, done that and grew up, I speak from experience. What so many people do not realize (deny) is that THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) stays in your system for approximately two weeks so continuous use means it is always in your system. While it is there it does affect you even when you are not "stoned." [continues 169 words]
Re: "Public schools are plagued by pot," The Leader, Oct. 31. As a federal medical marijuana licence holder who is also married to one, I would like to complain about the misinformed letter by M. Brian. Apparently, if teens don't hear the truth about how drugs will screw up their chances of having successful futures, they will commit crimes to feed their habits or sit on the couch for the rest of their lives. Not everyone who uses illegal drugs has their lives ruined. In fact, the legality of any given drug makes no difference; only about five to seven per cent of people who use any given drug will develop a problem with it. Legal drugs are proven to be far more dangerous and deadly than illegal ones. [continues 187 words]
As a parent, I have to disagree with the stigma on marijuana. If I were to let my child choose between drinking and marijuana I would choose the substance that does not kill or lead to violence. Yes, that's right, marijuana. It is a natural benign product that does not promote violence and even though you might say it causes harm, it is far less harmful than alcohol. I dare parents that have children going out to parties ask this question "what are you going to choose? Alcohol or marijuana?" For the sake of our childrens' survival and the harm that comes of this corporate bottled product why are we not asking the questions that our children realize before we do? K. Hotchkiss, Surrey [end]
Drugs are a problem that affect society, especially in every public school in this province. It's time for teachers, principals and school board officials to further educate kids on the dangers of doing drugs and why they can ruin a person's life. If teens don't hear the truth about how drugs will screw up their chances of having successful futures, they will commit crimes to feed their habits or sit on the couch for the rest of their lives. [continues 183 words]
The Interior town of Williams Lake has done a good job of highlighting the problem of "prolific offenders" in recent weeks. Instead of playing down its distinction as B.C.'s crime capital as previous honourees Surrey, New Westminster and North Vancouver have done before, Williams Lake Mayor Scott Nelson has used police statistics to tackle the problem head-on. He's put the message out forcefully that the numbers are driven by a handful of hardcore repeat offenders who, especially in a small town, can generate a crime wave all by themselves. But the same story could be told in communities around the province, and it's usually a story about what people will do to get drugs. [continues 518 words]
