News - Police (419 items)
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| Jun 14, 2007 |
Raids Terrify Children
Here's a different perspective on yesterday's police raids. It comes from Andrene, who is 10 years old and experienced the first minutes at the end of police guns after officers burst into her bedroom just before dawn. She was there with her mother, Sharon Mitchell, 32, and baby sister, Alexandra, 2. Down the hall in another bedroom were her cousin, Joanna, 9, and Joanna's mother, Charmaine Osbourne, 30. "This morning, the police officers, they came and they were kicking down the doors," said Andrene in a solemn voice. "And they came in with their guns and they were pointing at my sister and me. "My sister got scared and she was crying." |
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| Jun 13, 2007 |
SN: Student Suspended For Opinion On Pot
REGINA ( SNN ) -- Kieran King says he has never smoked pot, but his views on marijuana have led to his suspension from Wawota Parkland School. King said he was threatened with police action by principal Susan Wilson after telling friends at the school that marijuana was less harmful than alcohol. "In my opinion, cannabis is safer than they say, it is not worse than alcohol or tobacco," said King, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student. Wilson accused King of using and selling marijuana at school, according to a media release issued by the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party. King has offered to submit to a voluntary drug test to prove otherwise. "I've never smoked marijuana. I've never even seen it," said King, an honours student. [Incredible courage by a young person who chose not to conform. ] |
| Jun 9, 2007 |
ON:
Students Face Drug Charges
Nine teenagers are facing drug-related charges after a newly formed police team swooped in on a Guelph high school yesterday morning. |
| Jun 8, 2007 |
BC:
Judge Nixes Cops For Hydro Inspections
"We only use police for safety issues," she said. "If they don't like the fact that it's the police that are working with our firefighters, then that's fine; we'll have somebody else. "But at the end of the day we want to make sure our firefighters are protected and are safe and that whole team of B.C. Hydro personnel as well, their safety is first and foremost. That's the reason why we had the police there, and the only reason. The police aren't there to lay charges; the police aren't there to execute warrants. We're there because it's a fire safety issue." [Talk about mixed messages..it is a legal issue when the police alone shut down cannabis cultivation, but it is a fire safety issue when other civil servants are enforcing prohibition] |
| May 30, 2007 |
ON:
Party Ends in Punishment for Police Officers
A Peel Regional Police officer has been demoted for "unwanted sexual touching" involving a woman he was with while he and another officer were partying in Ottawa. ...Ho Sue allowed one of the women "to blow the marijuana smoke into his mouth as they were kissing," according to the disciplinary report. |
| May 30, 2007 |
ON:
Officer Defends Himself
An Ontario Provincial Police constable named in a million-dollar lawsuit believes he used a reasonable amount of force when arresting Rick Reimer March 27, 2002. Constable Tim Broder, a member of the Killaloe OPP detachment, testified in his own defence Tuesday during the second day of the civil trial at Pembroke's Superior Court. Mr. Reimer is suing Const. Broder, Killaloe OPP Sgt. Dwayne Sears and the province's Crown, claiming wrongful arrest and the use of excessive force in two arrests March 27, 2002 in the parking lot of the Killaloe court. |
| May 26, 2007 |
Little Interest In Drug Debate
There was no moderator, one of three panelists left halfway through the debate and only two dozen audience members turned up. But that didn't stop the LEAP debate on drug prohibition Tuesday night at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium. There to discuss the issue was retired Vancouver judge Jerry Paradis, former Vancouver police officer Tony Smith and Chief Constable Ian Mackenzie of the Abbotsford Police Department. |
| May 26, 2007 |
Legalize Pot To Halt Violence, Group Urges
Legalizing drugs as a way to combat the drug trade may go against traditional views, but it's an idea with its share of supporters. A Packet & Times story last week in which a member of the Huronia combined forces drug unit talked about violence in relation to drugs received many responses. One was from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition ( LEAP ), an organization comprised of current and former police officers, attorneys, judges and corrections workers. The organization is in favour of legalizing drugs as a way to take the drug trade off the streets and into a regulated environment. "We're not starry-eyed utopians who think we aren't going to have any problems," said LEAP founding secretary John Gayder, who works in law enforcement in Niagara Falls. |
| May 26, 2007 |
Vaporizing The Threat Of A Weed Bust
On a weekend afternoon at the Hot Box Cafe in Kensington Market, three young women are sipping greenish blender drinks. Up on a chalkboard are the house rules, which include "no smoking" and, in big, capital letters, "BYOP." |
| May 23, 2007 |
ON:
Strip Search Deemed Illegal
A woman arrested for drug possession had her drinking and driving charge dismissed in Sarnia court Tuesday because she was the subject of an unlawful police strip search. But she... was fined $600 for possession of cocaine and marijuana that was discovered during her arrest for impaired driving at an April 13, 2006 RIDE check in Sarnia. |
| May 22, 2007 |
Random Searches Tested In Court
Did Police Breach Student's Rights By Visiting School With Drug Sniffer Dog A case that began when officers showed up at a Sarnia high school with "Chief" the drug-sniffing dog is about to test the limits of police powers in Canada. The Crown appeal, to be heard today by the Supreme Court of Canada, will help determine whether police can use sniffer dogs to conduct random searches of schools and other public places, such as parks, sports stadiums, beaches and malls. At issue is whether an unannounced police visit to St. Patrick's high school in November 2002 amounted to an unreasonable search and seizure under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. |
| May 11, 2007 |
RCMP Alleges Pot Politician A Reefer Recidivist
Police charged Ed deVries in Iqaluit with trafficking in a controlled substance, conspiracy to traffic and breach of undertaking, May 2. He was released from custody and will appear in court July 3. Police seized several pounds of marijuana, said Cpl. Randy Slawson. DeVries, 48, recently served a six-month sentence for trafficking marijuana and laundering the proceeds of crime, after police intercepted a filing cabinet in 2003 full of marijuana sent from Ontario to Iqaluit, addressed to a company owned by deVries. |
| May 10, 2007 |
Pot Prince Blesses Herbal Affair
Thousands upon thousands of tokers are demonstrating the normalization of cannabis at the Saturday, May 5, Global Marijuana March and fest with some hardcore puffing.... But the presence of Prince of Pot Marc Emery, facing extradition for selling pot seeds stateside, as lead parade marshall helps ensure the smokefest's hard edge. Emery's canna-celeb cachet has enthusiasts asking for photos and autographs. Here are 20,000 people proving they aren't criminals but a marijuana marketplace requiring regulation and taxation. Pre-march, vendors in the park get lots of excited attention. |
| 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 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 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? |
| 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 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 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 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. |
| Apr 19, 2007 |
Pro Pot Activists Bring Cause To Home Of Justice
Marijuana activists have one more reason to like Niagara Falls, now that it's the home of Canada's justice minister, says Matt Mernagh, the organizer of Saturday's annual pro-pot protest. Saturday will be the fourth annual protest Niagara Falls has seen where scores of protesters take to the streets, demanding the legalization of marijuana. |
| Apr 14, 2007 |
Canadian, American Cops Say It's Time To End Drug Prohibition, Save Live
But some former law enforcement officials in Canada and the United States who have spent years fighting the ongoing war on drugs say it's a losing battle....They include Senator Larry Campbell, a former RCMP drug squad officer and Vancouver mayor who ran on a platform of reducing harm from drug use. ...Const. John Gayder of the Niagara Parks Police in Niagara Falls, Ont., is a founding member of LEAP. He says in the film that he gives drug calls a low priority because arresting such people isn't helping them. ... Jerry Paradis, who retired as a B.C. provincial court judge four years ago, is also a LEAP member and after 35 years on the bench, he echoes Gayder's sentiments . |
| Apr 12, 2007 |
How Much Is Too Much?
The cost of policing in North Bay is continually rising. We learned recently 13 members of the North Bay Police Service earned more than $100,000 in 2006. A new contract and overtime costs are driving the budget higher and municipal taxpayers are reeling with tax hikes almost triple the rate of inflation. At the same time, the police board tells the public crime is declining in the city. |
| Apr 5, 2007 |
Thinking Outside The Hot Box
Given the inconsistencies in Canada's drug laws, it's difficult to discern when and where we should take an active stance for or against illegal drug use. Existing laws cloud our perceptions of drugs and how some may be different from others. Ritalin and alcohol, while legal, have potentially deadly side-effects on the heart and liver, respectively. On the other hand, marijuana has fewer detrimental effects, especially if it isn't smoked. The seemingly baseless standards on which these laws are created complicate the ethics of punishment. While some cases are clear-cut -- certainly those supplying cocaine should be policed -- others aren't so easy. |