Current Affairs (2008) -
Chronological (386 items)
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| May 2, 2008 |
BC:
Drug Case Dropped Due To Court Delay Charges have been dropped against two men accused of trafficking pot because of an excessive delay in bringing the case to trial. |
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| May 2, 2008 |
Expert Testifies Cannabis Helps Slow Aging .C. Provincial Court heard Thursday that cannabis is safer than aspirin and can restore the balance in people's bodies to help fight illness. That was the testimony of Dr. Robert Melamede, an associate professor at the University of Colorado, who was brought in by the defense team for the four men accused in the Holy Smoke Culture Shop drug trafficking case taking place in Nelson this week. |
| May 4, 2008 |
ON:
Pot Fans Rally In Big Smoke Thousands Pushing For Legal Weed Peacefully Mark Freedom Festival, 10th Global Marijuana March Queen's Park may have been soggy from yesterday's rain, but sparks were flying as thousands spent the day smoking pot just north of the Legislature. |
| May 4, 2008 |
AB:
Marchers Push Marijuana's Medical Merits Calgary - Close to 500 protesters took to the streets Saturday in favour of marijuana's medicinal use and making it more accessible to those suffering debilitating pain. |
| May 5, 2008 |
BC:
Holy Smoke Trial Wraps Testimony wrapped up in the Holy Smoke drug trafficking trial Friday after four Nelson-area witnesses took to the stand to testify that cannabis has helped them deal with disease, alcoholism, and drug addiction. |
| May 6, 2008 |
Torontians Roll Some Joints In The Name Of Freedom Organizers were handing out festival maps at Queen's Park yesterday, but the kids ahead of me just laughed them off. "Who the hell needs a map?" chuckled one freedom toker to the other. "Just follow the smell." |
| May 7, 2008 |
A Pothead's Pursuit of Justice Marc Emery is standing behind the counter at his former business, the City Lights bookstore on Richmond Street, talking about his quixotic quest to end society's prohibition on marijuana. [Why is it okay to be derogatory when you are referring to cannabis consumers?] |
| May 7, 2008 |
City Going Too Far Witch hunt. Police state. Overzealous. Heavy handed. All of these terms -- and probably a lot more we couldn't print -- are being used to describe the City of Coquitlam's approach to rooting out marijuana grow operations. ...And before the legalize-marijuana lobby starts writing letters about how the problem could be avoided if pot were legal, we agree. Pot, however, is not legal. And illegal grow-ops pose a huge fire hazard. That means the inspection approach to shutting down grow-ops is a good thing -- when one key ingredient is factored in: common sense. [Indoor gardens do not pose significant fire risk] |
| May 8, 2008 |
Grow-Op Team Suspended Over Claim Of Theft Langley Township's marijuana grow-op busting team has been suspended in the wake of an allegation of theft against one of its members...A member of the team allegedly took a flashlight with two batteries, valued at between $25 and $30, from one of the raided homes. Wade said the member could not immediately be replaced on the team so its operations have been suspended. [Cops have been known to take things during busts - so it seems very strange this case even came to light] |
| May 8, 2008 |
Court Rulings Allow for Protection of Students And Their Charter Rights A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision concerning police use of trained dogs to ferret out drugs in schools has some school administrators up in arms. But the decision is a reasonable one, as it protects students' constitutional rights while still allowing police searches in certain circumstances. |
| May 10, 2008 |
Pot Of Gold Not What Local Grower Wants Local cannabis company Island Harvest wants to grow weed for the government and potentially become the only legal supplier in the country. But they said if they were given a monopoly on selling cannabis, it would be a step in the wrong direction for medicinal users. |
| May 12, 2008 |
Laws Go To Pot Over Religion Things have really gone to pot for the Church of the Universe in Hamilton, Ont. Church founders Walter Tucker and Michael Baldasaro are facing hefty jail terms and have had their east-Hamilton "church" seized. ....Canadians should ask two questions of prospective members of Parliament during the next federal election. When religious beliefs come into conflict with the laws of the land, does Canadian criminal and civil law trump religious freedom? And why should the tokers at the Church of the Universe in Hamilton do hard time while the married satyrs of Bountiful, B.C., can keep saying; "I do?" |
| May 13, 2008 |
BC:
Conditional Discharge For Denman Pot Grower A 48-year-old man received a conditional discharge in Courtenay Provincial Court last week after Comox Valley RCMP discovered 43 marijuana plants growing on his Denman Island property. ...Conditions of Relkoff's probation include that he abstain from the possession of illicit drugs and that he make a $500 donation to the D.A.R.E. program, in care of the Comox Valley RCMP. [Being forced to donate to DARE should be challenged!] |
| May 13, 2008 |
ON:
OPP Made 2246 Drug Busts In 2007 The Ontario Provincial Police drug section says it arrested 2,246 people across the province in 2007 for drug offences. The provincial force also dismantled 551 indoor and outdoor marijuana grow operations in which 6,000 kilograms of dried marijuana was seized. [Imagine all that taxpayer moeny being spent to fight real crime] |
| May 13, 2008 |
Grow-Op Hunt Sparks Class-Action Suit A Coquitlam homeowner has filed a class-action lawsuit after his power was cut off and his tenant forced to move out following a search for a marijuana grow-op. ...Monaco's case is the fifth lawsuit against Coquitlam since last year. One is in small-claims court, two are petitions, and one is a writ. |
| May 13, 2008 |
AB:
Marijuana Advocates Mount Campaign Advocates of medicinal and recreational use of marijuana are promoting a Toronto university professor's legal self-defence kit to help people avoid criminal convictions for a law they believe is unconstitutional. |
| May 15, 2008 |
Men Cleared Of Drug Charges Due To Use Of Sniffer Dog An RCMP officer who stopped two men near Kananaskis did not have sufficient grounds to use a dog to sniff out the 58 kilograms of marijuana stashed in a tank in the back of their truck, a judge has ruled. |
| May 16, 2008 |
Marijuana Popular Among Educated, Middle-Class: Study A variety of educated, middle-class Canadians are "making a conscious but careful choice to use marijuana" to relax or focus on leisure activities, say researchers behind a new study spotlighting pot smoking behind the nation's picket fences. .."They're a little reluctant to come forward and talk about it, using the phrase that they're still 'in the closet.'" |
| May 17, 2008 |
Shotgun, Dope Seized From Cop's Wrecked BMW EDMONTON - A shotgun and marijuana were seized from the car belonging to an off-duty Edmonton constable accused of causing a fiery crash while intoxicated. ...Brown, 29, faces five counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm, five counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and one count of driving with a blood alcohol level over .08. ...Brown, a three-year veteran of the force, has been suspended with pay from his job. [Is there any other profession where you can screw up so badly, yet get time off work with pay that is provided by taxpayers?] |
| May 17, 2008 |
Quit Talking About The 'War On Drugs' While there's no denying Canada's longstanding prohibition of the same substances banned in the U.S., comparing the American 'war on drugs' to drug enforcement in Canada is laughable. [Correct - it is "War on some people who use some drugs" but that is too long and truthful for a soundbite] |