Top Stories (2007) -
(432 items)
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| Mar 29, 2007 |
The Numerology Of A Stoner The sub-culture of the pothead has always had a special language when trying to endear themselves to society in general. The first term I learned in my youth was "Mary Jane" when referring to marijuana. Nowadays that seems pretty "square-man" But the language developed in the sub-culture has not really changed all that much. Lingo or codes are used that many folks just don't get, and parents tend to lay a blind eye towards. Sure, if you look in little Johnny's bedroom and see a Canadian Flag with a three-pointed leaf in the middle, chances are he may be more familiar with the illegal substance than you wish. |
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| Mar 28, 2007 |
A Fine Can Be Fine For The Crime On Jan. 19, the B.C. Court of Appeal overturned a sentence imposed in a marijuana grow-op case. A provincial court judge had found that a $20,000 fine would best address the root of the offence: the prospect of huge profits in a black market. The Court of Appeal thought differently and sentenced the accused to a year in jail. |
| Mar 24, 2007 |
Dude, Where's My War? Canadian Adam Mann sees himself as an envoy for peace in the Middle East. But that may simply be a pipe dream. The 22-year-old University of Calgary political science student has recently been recruited by one of Israel's most unusual political parties to help gather Canadian support and know-how. This includes lobbying expertise in the last word in calming an unstable region -- pot. |
| Mar 24, 2007 |
The BC Border Guard Who Partied With Hells Angels Investigation Concludes Her Conduct Creates An 'Untenable Security Risk' For The Canadian Border Services A female B.C. border guard who partied with Hells Angels and went to one of their clubhouses may still be working in border services, The Vancouver Sun has learned. The Canadian Border Services Agency concluded that the guard's conduct created "an untenable security risk for the agency" but refuses to disclose whether she is still on the payroll. |
| Mar 23, 2007 |
Bylaw Leaves Homeowner In The Cold An Abbotsford homeowner says a city bylaw meant to weed out indoor marijuana gardens has put him out on the street and is forcing him to prove his innocence. |
| Mar 23, 2007 |
OPP Cop Here Faces Trafficking Charges An 18-month probe into the drug and contraband cigarette trade in this community has led to several charges against a Grenville County OPP officer. Maurice Morrissette, 37, a resident of Kemptville, was arrested Thursday on charges of trafficking in an illegal substance, possession of an illegal substance and obstructing justice. |
| Mar 19, 2007 |
RCMP Entrapped Accused, Visiting Judge Concludes Crown prosecutors have dropped drug charges against 15 people who were arrested following a two-month undercover RCMP investigation throughout the territory last fall. Crown prosecutor Ludovic Gouallier said this morning visiting Justice Rene Foisy of Alberta sided with the entrapment argument presented in a Faro resident's case in February. [Hooray] |
| Mar 17, 2007 |
No Business Like Marijuana BRITISH Columbia is fast becoming the only province in Canada in which the biggest industry is illegal. In 2005, forestry ( $10 million ) was B.C.'s top economic driver, and construction ( $7.9 billion ) ranked second. But what was this, coming up fast on the inside to move into third place? The marijuana industry. Puff, puff. With annual sales of $7.5 billion, it was worth more than the combined total of hotels and restaurants ( $3.8 billion ) and mining, oil and gas ( $3.5 billion ). Construction now booms as never before in B.C., but that won't stop the pot trade from steaming into second spot. After that, forestry industry, watch your behind. "The amount of marijuana produced each year in British Columbia," said a 2005 study by the University College of Fraser Valley, "is estimated to have increased from 19,729 kilos in 1997 to 79,817 in 2003." Is this a growth industry, or what? |
| Mar 17, 2007 |
Number Of Criminal Groups Growing The number of organized crime groups in B.C. grew for the third year in a row in 2006 -- to 124, up from 108 identified the previous year, says a 2006 RCMP report obtained by The Vancouver Sun....The graph in the report looks alarming, starting in 2003 with just 52 groups and rising in each of the last three years. But the report also says better record-keeping and analysis of crime groups accounts for some of the increase... [Duh... when the government abdicates responsibility to regulate and tax this plant like everything else from liquor to pet food, or allow individuals to grow it like tomatoes and petunias, then the only group left to grow and distribute it is the criminals, so why is this news not surprising or unpredictable? Until citizens demand the government create an alternative to the current system by using the existing wine, tobacco or liquor model or creating a new model, things will get MUCH worse before they get better.] |
| Mar 16, 2007 |
Sensible Drug Policy Conference McGill's Harm Reduction Centre will host the first annual meeting of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy ( CSSDP ) this weekend. Speakers and student activists from across Canada and the U.S. will discuss domestic and international drug policies, harm reduction and policy reform initiatives, as well as setting up other CSSDP chapters across Canada. Students for Sensible Drug Policy, an international grassroots organization founded in 2003, is presently forming Canadian chapters in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. |
| Mar 15, 2007 |
Holy Smoke Owners Enter Plea Holy Smoke Culture Shop co-owners Paul De Felice and Alan Middlemiss as well as associates Kelsey Stratas and Akka Annis entered not-guilty pleas in Nelson court last week and are now waiting for a trial date to be set. |
| Mar 15, 2007 |
Alberta Grow-Ops Growing In Size "The number of grow-ops we're busting in rural areas is way down, but the size of each bust is way up,"... Gillan said the surge finds police busting fewer and fewer grow-ops with less than 100 plants. Most seizures these days net about 50 kg of marijuana, harvested from as many as 5,000 plants. [More proof that home cannabis gardeners are being squeezed out by criminals thanks to "get tough" government policies... and the public goes along with discarding common sense to support US global drug policy] |
| Mar 14, 2007 |
Pushing Out Pot Farmers Marijuana grow ops are no joke in the Tri-Cities, where hardly a week goes by without a bust or a raid. And area residents are increasingly at risk of being in the line of fire when criminals try to steal from criminals. ...1) Even so, most Coquitlam residents would probably put public safety over individual rights if it would make their neighbourhoods safer. ...2) But until someone comes up with a better idea, this get-tough, search-and-seizure program is the best tool cities have to push pot farmers out. [1) Warning lights should go off when someone tries to convince us to give up more privacy rights for public safety... 2) Many good solutions and better ideas have been suggested, but they fall on deaf ears] |
| Mar 13, 2007 |
Teens Choosing Rehab Over Suspension A Program Aimed At Providing Day Treatment For School Aged Youth Faced With Drug Related Suspensions Is Doing Better Than Anticipated. With this group, Lawrance said, those students who choose to participate can reduce their overall suspension time. [Most treatment programs are usually coerced treatment, but that isn't mentioned when we hear about all the youth seeking treatment for their pot use...] |
| Mar 13, 2007 |
PUB LTE: Taxes Wasted On A Non-winable Drug War Re: One man charged after Lake Louise drug bust ( March 6 Crag & Canyon ) Why are they wasting funds keeping this person in jail? He is not charged with a violent crime that would require he stays locked up. When will we stop wasting huge tax dollar resources on the failed and non-winable drug war? Use the wasted funds on organized crime issues instead of a low level street dealer that will be replaced by another before he even was taken away to jail. I guess we want to model the USA. 1980 50,000 citizens in jail, today over 500,000 in US jails. Private big business in the USA locking up people for non violent crimes. Easier for big business to manage the non violent people equals more easy profits for big business on the tax payers backs of course. KEITH FAGIN |
| Mar 13, 2007 |
Alleged Trafficker Reels As $2.9 Million Vanishes During its three-year investigation of the Italian Mafia in Montreal, the RCMP secretly broke into cars, homes and safes of alleged drug dealers and bookmakers, seizing millions of dollars in cash and sowing dissent and confusion among gangsters that almost led to a homicide. On the night of Sept. 14, 2006, the RCMP, acting on a search warrant, broke into a Laval home belonging to the parents of a suspected drug trafficker and seized $2.9 million. |
| Mar 11, 2007 |
It's Long Past Time We Legalized It BRITISH COLUMBIA is fast becoming the only province in Canada in which the biggest industry is illegal. In 2005, forestry ( $ 10 million ) was B. C.'s top economic driver, and construction ( $ 7.9 billion ) ranked second. But what was this, coming up fast on the inside to move into third place? The marijuana industry. Puff, puff. With annual sales of $ 7.5 billion, it was worth more than the combined total of hotels and restaurants ( $ 3.8 billion ) and mining, oil and gas ( $ 3.5 billion ). Construction now booms as never before in B. C., but that won't stop the pot trade from steaming into second spot. After that, forestry industry, watch your behind. " The amount of marijuana produced each year in British Columbia," said a 2005 study by the University College of Fraser Valley, " is estimated to have increased from 19,729 kilos in 1997 to 79,817 in 2003." |
| Mar 9, 2007 |
Toking Up To Feel Better Not Accepted As The offender's toking finally caught up with him yesterday when members of the National Parole Board rejected his pitch that marijuana helped him chill out and actually cut the chances he might commit more violent assaults. [A classic case of stupidity and ignorance winning out over common sense. Cannabis reduces rage, and society in general would be more peaceful if we were rid of pot prohibition.] |
| Mar 9, 2007 |
A Futile War On Marijuana Grow-ops are dangerous because they're clandestine, not because there's something intrinsically hazardous about the plants in them. The only reason for chasing them down, at root, is a prohibitionary approach toward marijuana that we don't apply to alcohol or nicotine. The war on pot is futile. It's long since time to declare a ceasefire. |
| Mar 9, 2007 |
Toking Up To Feel Better Not Accepted As Medical Need A group of 1,492 Canadians -- 21 per cent of them in B.C. -- are allowed to get high every day for medical reasons. But as much as Brian Riches might like to be, the inmate isn't among them. The offender's toking finally caught up with him yesterday when members of the National Parole Board rejected his pitch that marijuana helped him chill out and actually cut the chances he might commit more violent assaults. [Ignorance about cannabis and societal stupidity ruin lives] |