Marijuana
Kelowna RCMP marijuana raid a ‘form of discouragement’
VERNON - A police raid might seem like an extreme way to send a message, but a Vernon businessman thinks that was the case with a marijuana dispensary that was shut down in Kelowna. Imre Kovacs is a partial owner of The Herbal Health Centre in Vernon, which opened in the summer of 2013, and...
Kamloops clinic offers help for chronic pain
KAMLOOPS – If you’ve wanted to use marijuana as a pain remedy but had difficulty finding a doctor to prescribe it to you, a new service in Kamloops might be the answer to your needs. Scott Bailey with the Realeaf Wellness Centre says the downtown clinic will start taking patients next week. Not to be...
City to react quickly should court decision allow resumption of home grown medicinal marijuana production
KELOWNA - The City of Kelowna will likely react quickly if Health Canada loses a Supreme Court challenge in late February and home-growing medical marijuana producers are allowed to resume production. “We have to wait and see but if it means we have to jump in with extra regulations and inspections, we would do that,”...
Search for firearms leads mounties to Lumby grow-op
LUMBY - Police went looking for illegal firearms at a Lumby residence earlier this month and turned up what they call a dangerous, albeit legally licensed marijuana grow-op instead. Lumby Cpl. Henry Proce said police executed a search warrant Dec. 12 at a residence in the 1700 block of Grandview Avenue looking for firearms. The...
Judge throws cold water on this short cut police use to get warrants
LAKE COUNTRY - Police in B.C. may find it a little tougher to obtain a search warrant after a B.C. Supreme Court justice in the Okanagan put a roadblock on a common short cut used by police for years. Justice Gary Weatherill tossed out a search warrant in a Lake Country pot case Oct. 23,...
Osoyoos RCMP deal with vehicle-related crime
OSOYOOS - Osoyoos RCMP had a weekend full of vehicle-related crimes, varying from car accidents to drug possession. On Saturday, July 26 a vehicle pulling a boat hit a deer while driving on Highway 3. The car was pushed from the right lane to the left, and another car heading in the fast lane was...
Grow-op at notorious Lumby home shut down by RCMP
LUMBY – A child is in the care of social services after being found during a raid on a marijuana grow operation in Lumby. RCMP raided two homes in the 2000-block of Mountainview Avenue on June 23. Police also executed a search warrant at the first home in 2011 and found a grow-op at that...
The smell of pot is enough evidence for arrest
KAMLOOPS – A provincial court judge decided police did not need to request a marijuana permit before arresting a man hiding 73 marijuana plants in the back of his van. Corey Joseph Eld, born 1977, and his lawyer John Conroy argued Eld’s arrest was illegal because police arrested him without asking him if he held...
Traffic stop results in dial-a-dope arrest
KELOWNA – A traffic stop of a high-end SUV in Kelowna last Friday resulted in the arrest of a man police believe was operating a dial-a-dope service. RCMP Const. Kris Clark says Street Enforcement Teams have been investigating a group of individuals selling drugs out of a rental apartment downtown. Last Friday plainclothes officers conducted...
Bond to serve jail sentence in community for grow op
PENTICTON — A Princeton man will serve a conditional jail sentence for a 'highly-sophisticated' marijuana grow operation he ran on his property for three years. James Bond, 48, pleaded guilty to charges of producing marijuana for the purpose of trafficking.In Penticton Provincial court today, Judge Meg Shaw ordered Bond to serve an 18-month conditional jail...
Judge believes ‘very little’ but drops robbery and threat charges
KAMLOOPS - Fabricated stories from both sides resulted in dropped robbery and threat charges for a man familiar to courts. Trevor Wilvers, 36, originally faced several charges alleging he held a knife to the neck of a friend to get cash for a lost motorhome, but the charges were dropped because he suspected no one told...
Marijuana balcony cookery draws drug squad
KELOWNA - An outdoor marijuana cook off on a Sunset Drive balcony drew police from around the province Monday night. Police got a complaint about a possible lab in an 18th floor apartment in the 1000 block of Sunset Drive. They told police the occupants of the unit were cooking something on the balcony that...