Current Affairs (2007) -
Chronological (432 items)
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| Nov 21, 2007 |
ON:
Cops Publicize Grow-Op Sites Moving into a new place in Windsor and want the peace of mind of knowing it wasn't previously used as a marijuana growing operation? Windsor police can help. |
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| Nov 21, 2007 |
Federal Drug Plan Denounced The Conservative government's plan to slap drug dealers and marijuana grow operators with stiff sentences is a U.S.-style "war on drugs" that won't solve Canada's problems, critics warn. |
| Nov 21, 2007 |
Hemp Helps With Green Movement As environmental consciousness increases, a plant with great potential to accommodate our generation's awareness has re-emerged, but its negative associations leave some obstacles to overcome. |
| Nov 21, 2007 |
Just Your Average Ganja-Growing Soccer Mom Showcase Television Helps Break More Taboos With Cult Favourite Weeds NEXT TIME YOU light a spliff and sit in front of the tube, why not flip to a show that portrays the industry of the reefer you're enjoying? A new phase in the presence of marijuana in the entertainment media seems to be signaled by the rising popularity of Weeds, the blazed comedy/drama carried by the cable network Showcase |
| Nov 21, 2007 |
Ottawa Proposes Mandatory Jail For Growers, Dealers The Conservative government unveiled historic legislation Tuesday to create the first mandatory prison terms in Canada for people convicted of trafficking illicit drugs. |
| Nov 22, 2007 |
The Marijuana Trade Scores of Vietnamese "family units" using fear, trust and relatives have taken a stranglehold on the multi-billion dollar illegal B.C. bud trade in Canada. The operations, which revolve around how debts are repaid and secrets kept, are primarily organized through family ties and are dotted across the country. |
| Nov 23, 2007 |
Harper's Misguided War on Pot Justice Minister Rob Nicholson's new package of mandatory sentences for marijuana dealers, announced on Tuesday, seems to involve some perverse incentives. Under the bill, a grower who is caught with between one and 200 plants and is found to have the intention of trafficking will receive a non-negotiable minimum of six months in prison, unless he can show that he is eligible for judicially ordered treatment under the auspices of a drug court. The maximum penalty for having a few pot plants on the premises will be increased to 14 years. |
| Nov 24, 2007 |
We Need An Open, Comprehensive Grow-Op List Two weeks ago in this column, I asked whether listing agents should be required to disclose that a home was, or might have been, a marijuana grow operation, or whether they should disclose only if the seller tells them it was a grow-op? |
| Nov 24, 2007 |
Crime Rate: A 25 Year Low According to Statistics Canada, the national crime rate fell to its lowest level in 25 years last year. Since 1991, the crime rate is down by 30 per cent after steadily increasing through the '60s, '70s and '80s. |
| Nov 24, 2007 |
BC Civil Forfeiture Act -- Facts Figures There are now about 60 cases involving about $5 million in cash and assets, including real estate, vehicles and jewelry believed to be the profit from crime and other unlawful activity. |
| Nov 29, 2007 |
Judge's Death Puts Pot Trial In Jeopardy The death of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Edwards has jeopardized a lengthy and costly criminal trial involving an important constitutional challenge of the marijuana law. In most criminal cases, when a judge is unable to follow through to judgment, a mistrial is declared. In this case, a rare hearing has been scheduled in Vancouver tomorrow to see if there is a way to save the huge expense incurred and the evidence already presented. |
| Nov 30, 2007 |
Ministers Guilty Of Trafficking 'Sacrament' Hamilton's high priest of pot, who turns 75 next month, faces a possible jail sentence after being convicted of selling the holy sacrament to an undercover police officer. A Superior Court jury deliberated eight hours Wednesday night before finding Walter Tucker and fellow minister of pot, Michael Baldasaro, 58, guilty of all five charges. They will be sentenced Jan. 24. |
| Dec 1, 2007 |
O Cannabis! War On Drugs Seen As Flawed Echo Of U.S. As far as ideas go, the verdict on new Tory anti-crime measures unrolled over the past couple of weeks - from people who make a living studying such things - has been unanimous. Bad idea. "If a person is found guilty of producing between one to 200 marijuana plants, they would face a mandatory minimum of six months in prison if the offence is committed for the purpose of trafficking, which can be: 'Hi, want to share a joint with me?'" |
| Dec 3, 2007 |
NS:
Simpson Facing Charges of Trafficking, Sentencing AMHERST - Within minutes of his Supreme Court sentencing for counts of possession, trafficking and producing marijuana being adjourned, Rickey Logan Simpson was taken into custody and faces additional charges of trafficking the same substance. Crown attorney Paul Drysdale told Justice Felix Cacchione that two officers from Amherst Police Department, including Sgt. Tim Hunter, were at the back of the courtroom to take Simpson into custody where he would be charged with trafficking marijuana. |
| Dec 4, 2007 |
Bill C-2 Second Reading Debate Adjourned (1520) The second key area is impaired driving. Bill C-2 proposes long-overdue reforms to address impaired driving, which unfortunately remains a serious problem in Canada. The bill does so in three ways: First, it addresses drug impaired driving by proposing the necessary legislative framework for the drug recognition expert, or DRE program. These reforms would permit police to demand roadside physical sobriety tests. Where those tests reveal impairment, but the person is not impaired by alcohol, police could then demand that the person perform other tests administered by a drug recognition expert and to provide a sample of body fluids to be analyzed for the presence of a drug. |
| Dec 5, 2007 |
Tough New Drug Laws Promise Jail Time Canadians caught trafficking drugs will spend mandatory time in jail if new federal Conservative legislation passes. But critics of the plan say it will just add to prison overcrowding, while doing little do deter drug dealing. |
| Dec 6, 2007 |
ON:
Medicinal Pot Case Wraps Up Lawyers for Canadian users of medical marijuana who want Ottawa to ease restrictions on where they get their pot wrapped up their case Wednesday by telling a Federal Court judge that government-approved marijuana, grown by a Flin Flon contractor, doesn't compare to higher-quality strains available on the street. |
| Dec 6, 2007 |
Police Officer Loses Appeal, Must Resign Over Cocaine An Ottawa police officer ordered to resign after stealing crack cocaine for his own use has lost an appeal to keep his job. |
| Dec 10, 2007 |
When Menard Speaks, Colleagues Listen Menard says handing down mandatory minimums forces a judge who has gone over a case and weighed all the factors - individual and general deterrents, seriousness of the crime, circumstances surrounding the crime, background, recidivism, home life, outside influences, and dozens of other factors - to end up sentencing someone to three years who should be getting 18 months. That's no way to do law. |
| Dec 11, 2007 |
Grow-Op Above Daycare About 18 months ago some mysterious people took over the commercial space atop the Yeshiva Gedola daycare in Outremont, without introducing themselves to their neighbours. |