Downtown residents speaking at a public forum Wednesday evening about drug trafficking in their neighbourhoods introduced themselves by the streets on which they live. Introductions of "I live on Wheeler Street", "I used to live at Eighth and Alexander", "I'm near Cook and Sixth" or "I have three drug houses nearby" drew murmurs and sympathetic nods. One mother spoke about a house where drugs are sold, complete with heavy bars on the windows and doors, close by her children's bus stop. She lamented that her seven-year-old knows what a drug house is and where they're located. [continues 989 words]
Whitehorse's drug trade hasn't grown over the last decade, though it's gone through highs and lows, according to a study due out this fall. "It didn't appear to have grown," RCMP Cpl. Pete Greenlaw said about Whitehorse's illegal drug market. "It appears to be fairly stable. You have peaks and valleys, but there's no dramatic increase." Greenlaw, the Yukon RCMP's drug awareness officer and a career drug cop, is part of the SASSY committee (Substance Abuse Strategy and Solutions for Yukon) conducting a study of the city's drug scene. It's set for completion by November. [continues 1316 words]
A downtown resident's concern about traffic coming to and from a nearby drug trafficker's home base has prompted the constituency's MLA to call a public meeting to see what the community can do. Todd Hardy, territorial representative for the downtown riding, as well as the Yukon NDP leader, is in the planning stages for a July 28 open discussion at the Whitehorse Public Library. A woman who lives in the downtown area said she approached Hardy a couple of weeks ago because she's fed up with incessant noise 24 hours a day after two houses where drugs are sold cropped up in her area recently. [continues 730 words]
One Yukon candidate in the upcoming federal election wants to bring a higher profile to his lesser-known party. Sean Davey, 22, will enter the federal election as a the candidate in the Yukon riding for the Marijuana Party of Canada. It's the first time the pro-pot party has sparked up a candidate in the Yukon. Davey is running to get the word out in the Yukon about the Marijuana Party, which will be entering its second federal election. [continues 626 words]
Though F.H. Collins Secondary School principal Darren Hayes doesn't believe drugs are a big problem at the facility, the school is looking at having the RCMP bring in a drug dog. "Some of this is to be a deterrent," he said in an interview this morning. School council officials, parents and students turned out to a meeting at the school Thursday evening to discuss a potential policy that would permit the drug dog into the Riverdale high school. "Members of the RCMP M division with the cooperation of the principal or designate may conduct random patrols of Yukon schools," reads the draft policy. Hayes noted there was a wide variety of views represented at the meeting. While some parents support the policy, others had questions about the wording. Still others queried how far the school would go in its searches. [continues 657 words]
Cocaine, ecstasy, pot, heroin, mushrooms - they're all to be found on Whitehorse streets. But just how accessible drugs are, their prevalence and their overall effect on Yukoners isn't known. By next June, a local researcher will have reviewed existing data and spoken with coroners, cops, doctors and people who treat addicts in order to find out just how bad Whitehorse's drug scene is. Whitehorse is one of six Canadian communities doing the drug studies starting in December. A further nine towns and cities will conduct the studies in the two following years. [continues 653 words]
The Yukon's premier admits his past conviction for dealing heroin is an embarrassment. In a press conference Monday afternoon, Dennis Fentie addressed the issue of his 1976 conviction of being part of a heroin trafficking ring in Edmonton. Fentie told the Star during the 2002 election campaign about his conviction for narcotics trafficking. However, the Yukon Party leader refused to say, at the time, what drug he had been pushing. It was revealed recently that Fentie had spent 17 months of a four-year sentence in prison for peddling smack, also known as heroin. [continues 708 words]
Two veteran federal political strategists feel Premier Dennis Fentie made a big mistake by not telling Yukoners what drug he went to prison for selling. "My advice would've been you come clean," Tim Powers said today in an interview from Ottawa. Powers used to work for federal Tories John Crosbie and Joe Clark, and most recently worked for the Canadian Alliance during the 2000 federal election. "If you hide something that is a part of the public record somewhere out there, come clean or you will pay the price," Powers added. [continues 977 words]
While the Department of Education and the RCMP have hammered out an agreement allowing a police dog to search high schools for drugs and weapons, not all principals plan to take up the offer. At a news conference yesterday afternoon, Porter Creek Secondary School principal Kerry Huff said he plans to ask the RCMP to bring one of their drug-sniffing dogs into the building after school hours to conduct "random sweeps" of the building in an effort to root out contraband. [continues 910 words]
The lethal amount of cocaine in a Whitehorse man's body likely killed him as he ran from the RCMP officer trying to arrest him in late September. Clark Edward Whitehouse had more than 10 mg of cocaine in his system, Sharon Hanley, the Yukon's chief coroner, said this week. Anything over 10 mg is considered lethal. Exactly how much he'd ingested won't be made public until a yet-unscheduled coroner's inquest. Coroner's inquests are standard practice when someone dies in police custody. [continues 160 words]
A Yukon RCMP officer and police dog are behind an Alberta drug bust worth millions of dollars, the RCMP said this afternoon. This morning, four people were arrested in Lethbridge, Alta. and charged with possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking. Lethbridge Police Service officers seized 235 kilograms (524 pounds) of marijuana, as well as cash, cell phones and other items related to a vehicle Yukon Const. Wayne Smyth and police service dog Luke came across early yesterday morning. [continues 194 words]
Judge Gail Maltby has ruled that the Yukon has no jurisdiction to try a youth accused of possession of drugs for the purposes of trafficking. The case was scheduled to go to trial in Whitehorse this morning, but defence counsel Malcolm Campbell argued the Yukon does not have the jurisdiction for the case. "The offence was not committed here," Campbell told the court. The alleged offence stems from an incident at a Kelowna, B.C. bus station. Kelowna RCMP arrested the youth after being informed by Whitehorse RCMP that he was believed to be bringing cocaine into the territory for the purposes of trafficking. [continues 540 words]
The president of the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) won't soon prescribe medicinal marijuana, even if federal courts have guaranteed that Health Canada will be a willing supplier. Advocates for the ready access to medicinal marijuana aren't pleased either with the last-minute decision made on July 9. Dr. Wayne MacNicol is the president of the YMA and an obstetrician-gynecologist at Whitehorse General Hospital. He has been provided with information from Health Canada on how he should go about prescribing marijuana to his patients. [continues 1769 words]
Three months in custody is needed for a 15-year-old girl convicted of selling one marijuana cigarette to her cousin on the walk to school, a Crown prosecutor argued in court this week. Territorial court Judge John Faulkner rejected that suggestion for the girl, who had no criminal record until Wednesday afternoon. He instead handed her eight months' probation for the trafficking conviction. Fourteen at the time, the girl was convicted after a 20-minute trial in early February for selling the joint on the way to school last September as they neared Selkirk Elementary School on the way to F.H. Collins Secondary. [continues 525 words]
This is the last in a four-part series looking at various aspects of police work to mark national police week. Pete Greenlaw flaps his fingers, pantomiming a pair of lips talking -- "Drugs are bad. Don't do drugs." "This doesn't work," the RCMP corporal said. When the RCMP first hired drug awareness officers as their part in implementing Canada's drug strategy in 1988, those police officers were often labelled the "pin and poster guys." They handed out pins and posters and stood at the front of the classroom telling kids to stay away from drugs, Greenlaw said. There wasn't a lot of interaction, and students didn't take a hands-on role in the learning process. [continues 1246 words]
For a month and a half, Anne Aram has been trying to improve her pool skills and come up with some fun activities for the young people who hang out at the Whitehorse Youth Centre. The centre's new executive director said in a recent interview she wants to offer the city's youth an alternative to drugs and alcohol. One of the latest initiatives was the Beat the Heat pool tournament between the Whitehorse RCMP and youth at the centre. Aram proudly pointed out that the youth beat the police in the tournament. It's something she hopes to do every month in an attempt to alleviate some of the differences between the youth and police. [continues 461 words]
The Yukon government will wait until Ottawa makes an official decision before it gets off the pot on the issue of decriminalizing marijuana. Recently, a committee of federal MPs released a report recommending that anybody caught with up to 30 grams of marijuana receive a fine instead of being charged and left with a criminal record. According to the report, fines would be paid without a court appearance and people would not receive a criminal conviction, much like a speeding ticket. [continues 213 words]
"Hi. My Name Is Dennis And I Smoke Marijuana." The admissions were as thick as the pot smoke in a Cheech and Chong flick at last night's debate on the decriminalization of marijuana, though the agreement on what should happen with the plant's legal status wasn't as strong. Some disagreed about whether marijuana is even a drug as a couple argued it's simply an herb. Others disagreed about it being labelled a "gateway drug" while others said they thought it leads to harder drug use. [continues 1094 words]
Parents worried their kids are trying drugs, families that want healthy activities to participate in and those curious to hear more about the issue of decriminalizing marijuana have a week all their own. Officially starting early this afternoon with the opening ceremonies at the Elijah Smith Building, National Addictions Awareness Week runs until Saturday evening with a wide variety of events throughout the city. This afternoon was to involve a March for Sobriety at the Kwanlin Dun potlatch house from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Kwanlin Dun Wellness Centre is hosting a three-hour open house starting at noon Tuesday. [continues 316 words]
There were 200 sexual assaults reported in the territory last year, and it looks like the rising violence against women over the past summer will make this a "banner year," says a territorial victim services worker. Some of the victims report they believe they were drugged, Bonnie Ross told the audience during Monday's annual crime prevention conference in Whitehorse. One victim, Ross said, said she was conscious for the entire assault, but was unable to do anything. "She could not move, but knew what was happening," said Ross. "She could not move because she was paralyzed, and she was raped." [continues 939 words]
Empty-handed except for the clothes he was wearing, Matthew Cardinal received a priceless gift two days before Christmas 2001 - the desire to kick the cocaine habit that had him in its grip for the last eight years. Sitting alone in a barren, dingy apartment, he looked around at nothing. All he had was clothing and his own body. He'd spent four of the last eight years in jail for property crimes - smoking crack cost money he didn't have. But other people had things he could take and sell. [continues 1137 words]
When a user smokes a rock of crack cocaine, it's the large number of blood vessels in the lungs that absorb the drug so quickly, transporting it to the brain and nerves. The body's response is to produce high amounts of dopamine, the naturally occuring "feel-good" neurotransmitter that creates the euphoric rush drug users crave. Beyond the many health risks associated with cocaine, chronic use can lead to paranoia and even hallucinations. Toxicologists say long-term use can eventually alter the brain's chemistry. [continues 1329 words]
Sixteen new full-time positions will be created from the $700,000 the territorial government's Drug and Alcohol Secretariat has received. The announcement from Health and Social Services Minister Sue Edelman came early Wednesday afternoon in the main foyer of the government's main administration building. That's also where people were registering for the huge Prairie Northern Pacific Conference on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome/Effects. The event, involving several hundred people, is taking place in Whitehorse but is closed to the media so people can freely give personal testimonials, a department official said. [continues 343 words]
Whitehorse RCMP seized alcohol and drugs from young people heading out to a bush party outside Whitehorse on Saturday afternoon. Const. Shawn Lemay said today about 800 people attended the event, known as the annual "hen party", off the Mayo Road near the Alaska Highway. They started three bonfires that grew to at least 3.6 metres high. By midnight, more than 300 youth remained, he said. One officer checked 45 party-bound vehicles and seized alcohol from 12 of them. [continues 233 words]
The territory's addictions treatment centre has written up a wish-list of alcohol and drug services needed in the Yukon - now it's up to government to find the money. Earlier this week, the Alcohol and Drug Secretariat's executive director unveiled the results of nearly two years' planning and consultation. The plan entails a huge increase in addictions programs equaling $2.1 million per year and 16 new jobs added to the secretariat's current 26.4 positions. While some newly-planned residential treatment will come out of ADS' current budget, the secretariat is looking to the federal and territorial governments to help out with the added costs. [continues 1114 words]
The Association of Yukon Communities (AYC) could be asking its big brother to look into the impacts of the illegal drug trade across the country. Last Monday evening, city council voted to bring forward a motion for the AYC to petition the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to commission a study on the trend and scope of illegal drug industries across the country. The study would also examine the cost and long-term impacts of the industry on health care and the educational, social and legal systems in Canada. [continues 332 words]
The slightly more than $51,000 in drug money seized last November from a teenaged girl before her flight to Vancouver was able to leave the territory has been forfeited to the Crown. Acting on a tip, the local RCMP's drug section seized the $51,070 in cash from the female youth at the Whitehorse airport Nov. 7. Crown prosecutor David McWhinnie was in court last month to make an application to detain a number of items seized from the young woman, who isn't being charged with anything. Nor does he expect her to be charged, he said. [continues 228 words]
A territorial judge lamented the lack of services for addicts and alcoholics Tuesday while he sentenced a troubled young man for assaulting a visiting musician last September. Judge Heino Lilles said getting programs in place always seems to be too expensive or they're just not a political priority. Both he and defence lawyer Gord Coffin noted the problem of lack of services after reading probation officer Andrew Hyde's pre-sentence report for Byron Shane Charlie, 20. Lilles found Charlie guilty of assault causing bodily harm after a trial last November. [continues 928 words]
The biggest drug and alcohol education program in North America aimed at youngsters may be coming to the Yukon. Both the Education department and the RCMP are looking at whether the DARE program - Drug Abuse Resistance Education - would be appropriate for the territory's elementary schools. The project is very much still in the beginning stages. Currently, Education curriculum staff are researching whether the substance abuse program would fill any gaps in what's currently being taught. Watson Lake's Johnson Elementary principal, whose previous school had the program, asked the department to look into DARE. [continues 1534 words]
A residential treatment program for Yukoners with drug and alcohol addictions will be available early in the new year - but it won't be permanent. The territorial government's new alcohol and drug secretariat is creating a residential program where addicts would spend a month to get help for their problems. Larry Whitfield, the secretariat's coordinator, said last Wednesday this would be the first treatment offered in months where patients would check into a government facility and stay there to be treated. [continues 361 words]
Growing marijuana doesn't solve economic difficulties, a justice of the peace has told a man convicted of cultivating the plants in his home. Justice of the Peace Dean Cameron handed 40-year-old Grover Taggart 45 days in jail, to be served on weekends, in court Wednesday afternoon. Last June 22, the RCMP drug squad searched Taggart's home and found 14 marijuana plants along with grow equipment, scales and bags in a rear bedroom. They found 92.5 grams of cannabis in another room, 88 grams of cannabis in a camper on the property and more marijuana plants in the garage. [continues 233 words]
Walking into the annual Crime Prevention Conference at Mt. McIntyre Recreation Centre this morning, delegates were treated to a sampling of techno music often heard at raves. Generally, raves are all night dance parties booming techno or industrial music. Although not all are "saturated" with drugs, as the stereotype ensues, drugs (such as ecstasy) that were born as part of the rave culture have found their way into the mainstream. Cpl. Scott Rintoul of the Vancouver RCMP has an extensive background in drug enforcement. This morning, he gave a presentation on numerous street drugs. "More and more people are using and abusing drugs," he said. [continues 453 words]
A young man from Old Crow asked his lawyer to get him sentenced to a federal prison Monday because the help he wants to kick his crack cocaine habit isn't as good in Yukon jails. In court yesterday afternoon, territorial Judge John Faulkner handed 19-year-old Richard Linklater 30 months in a federal prison, along with a 10-year firearms prohibition and an order to provide a DNA sample for the national registry. Linklater pleaded guilty to robbery, break and enter and escaping lawful custody. He jumped the Whitehorse Correctional Centre's fence Sept. 7 and was loose for a little more than a day. [continues 668 words]
An over-the-counter, home-based drug test marketed to parents who want to find out if their offspring are using street drugs is sounding alarm bells among those who work to combat substance abuse here and nationally. "This is an incredibly offensive and extreme measure that I personally find very disturbing," said Richard Garlick, spokesperson for the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse (CCSA) in Ottawa. The national non-profit organization offers education, information and support for community-based drug treatment organizations. [continues 567 words]
A made-in-the-Yukon program is being held up across the nation as a model for other communities to follow. The Substance Abuse Strategy and Solutions for the Yukon (SASSY) is a unique partnership among the RCMP, the Alcohol and Drug Secretariat and the Department of Education. The goal is to combat substance abuse both in the schools and throughout the territory. Health Canada has chosen to house the program in its resource library in Ottawa. =46rom there, it'll be available to communities across the nation that are looking for guidance in developing their own substance abuse plan. [continues 1083 words]
A made-in-the-Yukon program is being held up across the nation as a model for other communities to follow. The Substance Abuse Strategy and Solutions for the Yukon (SASSY) is a unique partnership among the RCMP, the Alcohol and Drug Secretariat and the Department of Education. The goal is to combat substance abuse both in the schools and throughout the territory. Health Canada has chosen to house the program in its resource library in Ottawa. From there, it'll be available to communities across the nation that are looking for guidance in developing their own substance abuse plan. [continues 1083 words]
