Current Affairs (2008) -
Chronological (386 items)
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| Feb 11, 2008 |
Full Pay - For No Work More than a year after Const. Kevin Hall was ordered fired from the Ottawa police for stealing drugs to feed his crack cocaine habit, he's still being paid his $71,000 annual salary -- and could continue to do so for the foreseeable future. |
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| Feb 11, 2008 |
Let's Hope These Cops Now Have The Message I can't recall the last reported incident of a shootout or police death during a raid on a B.C. grow-op. And yet coroner statistics show that, since 1992, 267 citizens have lost their lives in B.C. during police-related incidents. One involved the death of a young man with a channel-changer in his hand. Police who burst into his living room fired, thinking he had a gun. |
| Feb 11, 2008 |
Medical Marijuana Advocates Cry Foul Today, discussion about reforming the country's marijuana laws is not on the political landscape. If anything, the country is moving in the opposite direction. The government of Stephen Harper has ruled out any changes to the law, and during a visit to marijuana-friendly Vancouver last week, Liberal leader Stephane Dion said his party is not going to advocate for the end of criminal sanctions for possession... As well, almost 45,000 criminal charges for simple possession continue to be laid each year, up nearly 20% from a decade ago. |
| Feb 11, 2008 |
Men Smuggle Pot From U.P. to Canada Two Iowa men pleaded guilty Wednesday to marijuana charges in Canada after they fell through the ice of a partially frozen river while trying to illegally enter the country from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. |
| Feb 11, 2008 |
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Pot Smoker Fights Bar Ban A man who uses "medical marijuana" [sic] to deal with pain from a neck injury he suffered in Mississauga nearly two decades ago is appealing to the Ontario Human Rights Commission for the right to smoke up in front of a Burlington sports bar he frequents. .."He wants me outside his bar by 100 feet. I just want to be treated like every other ( tobacco ) smoker," whom he says are often within 10 feet of the bar's front doors. |
| Feb 11, 2008 |
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A Little Science With Your Cafe, Madame? Tomorrow night, Montrealers will get a chance to share their thoughts and concerns at a Cafe Scientifique, an informal gathering where members of the public can chat with leading researchers in a setting that is less intimidating than a classroom or a doctor's office. ....The CIHR Cafe Scientifique's "Drugs: the Good, the Bad and the Useful" takes place tomorrow at 6 p.m. at O Patro Vys, 356 Mount Royal Ave. E. ( corner St. Denis St. ). Admission is free. |
| Feb 11, 2008 |
No Evidence To Support Legalization Of Drugs Advocates for legalized drugs make the claim that, since the "war on drugs" in the U.S. has failed, it is pointless for Canada to follow. Rather inconveniently, however, there's little evidence to support their assertions. Most recent figures suggest the opposite. |
| Feb 12, 2008 |
Hemp Foods Turn Healthy Profit Manitoba has become the centre of hemp food production in North America. Fata's company and Ste. Agathe-based Hemp Oil Canada Inc., which supplies food manufacturers with hemp seed and oil, are the two biggest players on the continent, Hemp Oil president Shawn Crew said Monday. "We're shipping to about 15 countries," said Crew, who would not reveal the private company's sales figures, but said they are in the millions of dollars annually. Sales were up 40 per cent last year, he said. |
| Feb 12, 2008 |
Pot Growers Question Validity Of Warrants A lawyer for a marijuana-legalization advocate known as Daweedking is one step closer to what may become a legal first in Canada -- requiring police to provide proof that informants they use to obtain search warrants are reliable. |
| Feb 13, 2008 |
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Smell of Burnt Pot Not Enough for Arrest: Court The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has upheld a decision stating the smell of burnt marijuana isn't enough evidence to arrest someone for possession of the drug, and then search his or her vehicle without a warrant. |
| Feb 13, 2008 |
PUB LTE: Grow-Op Not Like Mayerthorpe Contrary to columnist Iain Hunter's recollections, a botched "grow-op" raid in Surrey that resulted in seized cannabis plants being ruled inadmissible was not analogous to the botched stakeout in Mayerthorpe, Alta. ( "Judges must think police work in a fantasy world," Feb 9 ). In Mayerthorpe, the grow-op was incidental to the investigation and entry into buildings had been made many hours before the four police officers were fatally ambushed. The botched raid in Surrey was more like the botched raid of the vessel MV Bakur off the coast of B.C. in 2006, in which 1,630 kilograms of cannabis found onboard was ruled inadmissible due to improper police procedures. Thankfully, the botched raid in Surrey was not like a botched raid in Abbotsford in 1999, when police burst into a child's birthday party with guns drawn and shot the family dog, or a botched raid in North Vancouver in 1994, when police entered the home of Daniel Possee and shot him dead for brandishing a remote control, or the botched raid in Montreal last year, in which the occupant mistook the police for home invaders and fatally shot police Const. Daniel Tessier, a 42-year-old father of two. Matthew M. Elrod |
| Feb 14, 2008 |
Drug Laws Rooted In Class Control We tend to take the law for granted, but sometimes its origins deserve a little thought. For example, it's something of a puzzle why certain narcotics were seen as dangerous and criminalized in the early 20th century when before 1908, there were few restrictions placed on the sale or consumption of narcotics. |
| Feb 14, 2008 |
Using Pot To Ease MS Symptoms May Slow Mental Acuity Some people with multiple sclerosis have turned to street marijuana in a bid to ease pain and other symptoms of the disabling neurological disorder, but new research suggests smoking pot may further harm already vulnerable cognitive abilities. |
| Feb 14, 2008 |
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Jury Returns Verdict In Massive Grow-Op Case Drawing comparisons to Christ, the self-described head chief of Turtle Island says he's being persecuted for making "medicine" at the request of the Creator after a jury convicted him and two disciples of growing marijuana. "I'm a messenger. That's all. If they want to kill the messenger, they can go right ahead. They did it before with Jesus," an unrepentant Lawrence Hubert Agecoutay, who turned 52 on Christmas, said after the jury returned its verdict late Wednesday afternoon. |
| Feb 14, 2008 |
Burn Victim Acquitted Of Drug Allegations "Clearly a serious fire took place in that residence as evidenced by the photographs entered into evidence," said the judge. "However, at the end of the day, I cannot conclude to possession of drugs, nor can I conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the only explanation to explain the burns of Peterson is that he was the one who was directly involved in the production of cannabis resin and that there was no other rational explanation for those burns. |
| Feb 15, 2008 |
Green Team Kept Busy By Massive Crop Of Grow Ops It seems the only things growing during a frigid Winnipeg winter are indoor pot plants and the number of illegal grow op busts conducted by city police. It's been only six weeks since the new year began, but already more than $8 million of illegally grown marijuana has been seized by police at 13 homes at or near the city. |
| Feb 18, 2008 |
War Of Words - Marijuana Pro- In the end, I think the best reason to end prohibition is because prohibition is not just the War on Drugs, it's a war on regular citizens. Prohibition is an attack against our freedom of choice, and our freedom of control over our own bodies. Canada is a progressive nation, and as a progressive nation, I like to think that Canada avoids war whenever possible; even when the war is against drugs. Against -What many don't seem to realize, however, is that legalizing pot, or any drug for that matter, has very little positives. Legalization means that more people would become far more likely to experiment with drugs, and that definitely is not a good thing. |
| Feb 18, 2008 |
Judge's Ruling On Pot Bust A Disgrace Why is it that the rights of criminals and drug dealers are put first? Everyone deserves a fair shake in the court of law, but this is beyond ridiculous. Somehow, the BC Civil Liberties Association thought that Bruce's decision was the right one. |
| Feb 18, 2008 |
100 Years Of Sobriety In Vancouver In 1923, without debate or discussion, it was announced that "there is a new drug in the schedule," and the use, sale, and possession of marijuana was made illegal, largely for fear that Mexican migrants and Negro jazz musicians would use it to seduce white women. It was understood that the laws would not be applied to the white populace. |
| Feb 18, 2008 |
More Illegal Search Evidence Allowed A Canadian phenomenon in the criminal justice system was highlighted again by two recent rulings by provincial courts of appeal. Evidence obtained by police after a breach of an individual's constitutional rights may still be used in court in Canada, unlike the United States where it would automatically be excluded. |