Current Affairs (2007) -
Chronological (432 items)
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| Apr 20, 2007 |
More Than Just Stoners at Pot Events If you happen to bump into Marco Renda today, make sure to not wish him a "Hippy New Year." The former Dundalk-area medical marijuana activist, who still has charges pending in Guelph courts for allegedly exporting pot to the U.S. and Great Britain, is organizing a Cannabis Awareness Forum at a rather hoity-toity downtown Toronto hotel. |
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| Apr 25, 2007 |
Celebration Up In Smoke Local pot activist Ted Smith launched the 4/20 celebration last Friday by urging the crowd to "smoke 'em if you got 'em." And smoke 'em they did. More than 700 people huddled in circles at the 10th annual gathering at Victoria city hall for the 4/20 event, symbolically held on April 20. |
| Apr 25, 2007 |
A Few Trips Decades Ago Put An End To This One Mr. Feldmar took his last hit of acid in 1974. Thirty-two years, however, turned out to be but an instant in the long, unrelenting U.S. war on drugs. Last summer, in an incident that has just come to light, Mr. Feldmar, now 66, was banned from entering the United States because of his long-ago use of LSD. Because Mr. Feldmar had never been charged with possession of the once-popular illegal drug, privacy advocates are even more alarmed by the way U.S. border guards at the busy Peace Arch crossing near Vancouver found out about it. The guards simply looked up Mr. Feldmar on the Internet and discovered his own article about using LSD, written for the scholarly, peer-reviewed journal Janus Head. ... Given the United States' "almost fanatical position on drugs," Mr. Oscapella said, even a teenager who simply writes in a blog about smoking marijuana is now vulnerable to online scrutiny by U.S. border guards. |
| Apr 26, 2007 |
Larsen Named Federal NDP Candidate for Local Ridin Former Marijuana Party candidate Dana Larsen last week was declared the candidate for the federal New Democratic Party ( NDP ) in the riding that includes Whistler. ...The vast majority of people in British Columbia are in support of changing our marijuana laws, and I think that goes for people in all classes and all stratas of society," he said. "I think if you're the kind of person that thinks people who smoke marijuana should go to jail, then you probably weren't going to vote NDP anyway." |
| Apr 26, 2007 |
Rita MacNeil Brings The Old And New To Th'yarc At a point in her career when there was nothing left for her to do as a musician, Rita MacNeil did the only logical thing someone in her position could -- she harvested weed with the Trailer Park Boys. MacNeil laughs when asked about the now legendary episode of the popular TV show where the boys hijack her tour bus and force MacNeil and her band to help them pick their crop. In the show, MacNeil happily picks five-foot tall marijuana plants while singing her trademark, Working Man. |
| Apr 26, 2007 |
LTE: Was It Necessary To Run Marijuana Article? Dear Editor - Re: 'Christmas for stoners' ( Guelph Mercury, April 21 ). I was disappointed with Saturday's stoners article. As a mother I am trying very hard to teach my children not to do drugs. I have a 10-year-old who delivers your paper and she very often reads the front-page article while she is delivering. I am sure a lot more of our youth believe that being a stoner is fun, that such an event is like Christmas, it brings all your friends together, the police won't bother you if there are lots of people doing it. Last time I checked it was still illegal to smoke marijuana. Why were the police not there, and why did campus security not do anything? Was it really necessary for your paper to run this article? If it was necessary could you not have put the article inside the paper to protect your youngest delivery carriers who very often just look at the front page? C.J. Moore Guelph |
| Apr 27, 2007 |
4/20 Day A Real Bust For Students National Smoke Up Day was a bust for almost three dozen Burlington high school students. Halton police officers made 36 arrests April 20 for drug-related offences, after police and the public school board co-ordinated an investigation at two randomly chosen Burlington high schools, Lester B. Pearson and M.M. Robinson. [Is this why we need more cops... because they are so busy busting kids they have no time to solve murders, robberies and other real crimes?] |
| Apr 28, 2007 |
Is This The Answer? Legalizing Street Drugs: Bold Move Could Starve Gangs, Respected Author Argues ...Commissioned by the federal government to write the 2002 Canadian Police Survey on Youth Gangs, Chettleburgh gave a sweeping look at street gangsterism which he'll be updating later this year. |
| Apr 28, 2007 |
Old Marijuana Grow Ops Can Be Great Deals For Home Getting a deal on a property once used to cultivate marijuana in the basement isn't a problem as long as you know the house is safe, say purchasers of former Whitehorse grow-ops. |
| Apr 28, 2007 |
Grow-Op Couple Lose Appeal, Home Seized A couple who appealed the seizure of their Abbotsford home after they used it for a marijuana grow operation have lost their case. The B.C. Court of Appeal decision this week concluded the original sentencing judge didn't err in ordering the forfeiture of the couple's property, and their appeal was dismissed. |
| May 1, 2007 |
City Agrees To Put Leash On Acts Like Snoop Dog Lethbridge Alberta - Snoop Dogg may have to sit up and beg if he ever wants to perform in Lethbridge again. And the city will only throw him a bone if he promises to behave. The same goes for any rock, rap or hip hop group booked to perform at the Enmax Centre. |
| May 2, 2007 |
Tories' Drug Bill Violates Basic Civil Liberties Picture this: Your 19-year-old daughter is pulled over by police on suspicion of impaired driving. She is tested for "physical co-ordination," then taken to a police station where she is required to submit urine and blood samples. The test results indicate the presence of marijuana in her urine, although it cannot be ascertained when the drug was consumed or whether she was only exposed to the smoke - remember Ross Rebagliati? |
| May 2, 2007 |
The Personal Dope on Medical Marijuana The pot smokers came to a downtown hotel on a recent afternoon to hear the speeches, to meet others and to talk. Who, me? I attended the Cannabis Awareness Forum, not because I am unaware, nor because I inhale, but because I tend to favour legalization. |
| May 2, 2007 |
Courts Thwart Drug Policies Employers' war on drugs is being fought on two fronts -- the workplace and the courtroom. U.S. employers are winning in both. Armed with the freedom to test for drugs, employees can be fired and the courts will not interfere. Canadian employers, meanwhile, have little artillery, as courts continue to strip them of ways to manage drug usage. |
| May 2, 2007 |
Pot Champ Among UVIC Honourees Over the years, Philippe Lucas has proven himself an effective advocate for reforming Canada's drug laws. It turns out he's also a pretty good student. Lucas was one of three University of Victoria students who received an award for $2,500 last month for "remarkable volunteer contributions to the university and/or Greater Victoria community while maintaining at least a B average." A master's student in the study for policy and practice, Lucas is vice-chair of the City of Victoria's downtown advisory committee, he sits on the Centre for Addictions Research of British Columbia, and works closely with the Vancouver Island Compassion Society as well as the committee to end homelessness in Victoria. |
| May 4, 2007 |
Ill Canadians Rally for Improvements to Medical Program Halifax - Halifax March on Saturday One of Hundreds Worldwide Medical marijuana patients and advocates, cannabis consumers and freedom supporters, will rally in the Halifax North Commons from 1 to 4 p.m., May 5, to mark the annual Global Marijuana March as we join over 200 cities worldwide to seek changes to current cannabis laws. Last month Canadians learned about Health Canada gouging critically and chronically ill Canadians a whopping 1,500 per cent markup for medicinal marijuana. Maritimers Unite for Medical Marijuana Society ( MUMM ) is a registered non-profit organization that educates others about the safety of medical marijuana while advocating and lobbying for the rights of consumers, distributors and producers of medical marijuana. |
| May 4, 2007 |
Firefighter's Grow-op Charge Goes To Court A Vancouver firefighter charged with running a marijuana grow-op in his North Delta home will appear in Surrey provincial court next month. "If somebody is found guilty there would be meetings between that party, administration and the union to discuss what would be done," Vancouver fire Capt. Rob Jones-Cook said Thursday. "I don't want to get into a 'what if' discussion about this. He's innocent until proven guilty." |
| May 7, 2007 |
Marchers Advocate Legalizing Pot Saskatchewan - The smell of hot dogs and cannabis lingered in the air outside of City Hall on Saturday, as more than 50 marijuana legalization advocates gathered on the building's front lawn to celebrate the Global Marijuana March. The local march began at Vimy Memorial and culminated with a barbecue at City Hall, which was sponsored by the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party. The mood at the late afternoon gathering was mellow, but there was no mistaking the politicized nature of the event. Cannabis flags blew in the breeze and placards read "No U.S. Drug War in Canada" and "Repeal Cannabis Prohibition." Leaders of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party wanted to spread the message that cannabis prohibition is an issue affecting all Canadians. |
| May 9, 2007 |
High- Powered Tool Against Grow-ops Introduced Langley BC - Marijuana growing operators will have to worry about more than police starting this month. The Public Safety Inspection Team are ready to set out, going to homes that have been shown to consume an unusually large amount of electricity. The team will be made up of Township electrical safety inspectors, a bylaw officer and RCMP members who will post notices on the doors of homes that B.C.Hydro has shown to consume abnormal levels of electricity. The home owner then has 48 hours to allow an inspection. If the owner refuses, the power to the home will be shut off, said police spokesperson Cpl. Diane Blain. |
| May 9, 2007 |
Duo Sentenced In Major Marijuana Grow Operations Two men charged in connection to two of the biggest marijuana outdoor grow operations have been convicted and sentenced... "The mere suggestion of profiling has undermined the important work of OPP officers," said Fantino in the release. "In this case effective communication linked the individuals, their vehicles and their criminal associations to other grow operations in Ontario long before the men were observed by OPP investigators taking their shopping lists into the stores." |