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Marijuana

Lumby company’s hemp-base doggie chews to hit shelves by end of month

VERNON - Dog lovers are lapping up a new hemp-based pet product made by a North Okanagan company. True Leaf Medicine International Ltd. launched its nutritional dog-chews, which contain hemp, at a pet industry trade show in Toronto Sept. 20, and CEO Darcy Bomford said pre-orders are already bounding in. “The last two weeks have...

Salmon Arm RCMP investigating crash and truck full of marijuana

SALMON ARM - One man was taken to hospital after being ejected from his truck and another arrested for possession of drugs following a high-speed chase in two separate cases in the Salmon Arm area yesterday. At 9 a.m. yesterday, Sept. 21, RCMP attended a crash scene where a 40-year-old male rolled his Ford F350...

Multiple residents displaced after Vernon pot lab explodes

VERNON - Several residents of a Vernon apartment complex were forced out of their homes when a neighbouring unit exploded and now, nearly a month later, they still can’t return home, according to one displaced tenant. Resident James Halpert, who gave only his first and middle name, has lived in his Regency Gardens apartment on...

Pot oil extraction cause of explosion in Vernon apartment building

VERNON - An apartment fire that sent two men to hospital with serious burns was caused when a marijuana extraction operation exploded, police say. The occupants, a 21 and a 22-year-old, were badly burned in the fire and remain in hospital. Vernon police are now confirming the Aug. 14 fire was started by a marijuana...

Kelowna council won’t follow Vancouver’s lead on medical marijuana dispensaries

KELOWNA – More than 80 new medical marijuana dispensaries have opened in Vancouver in the last year, prompting city council there to consider implementing business regulations to keep them from getting out of control. But the mayor of the Interior's largest city says Kelowna council is not planning on revisiting the issue any time soon....

Cannabis oil stopped her seizures, now family trying to help others

SUMMERLAND – The family of a young girl from Summerland say her only relief from debilitating seizures has come from an oil derived from marijuana, and they are holding a fundraiser to help other families in the same situation. Kyla Williams, 3, has a rare form of epilepsy that causes her as many as 300...

Man arrested for powering licensed grow-op with stolen electricity

CHERRYVILLE - Police found something wasn’t quite right at a licensed medical marijuana grow-op in Cherryville. RCMP say officers were already aware of the legal, 1,200 plant operation in the North Fork Road area, but had suspicions the operator was stealing electricity. Police executed a search warrant at the property March 17 and arrested one...

Licensed marijuana grower ripped off in Lumby

LUMBY – The owner of a licensed marijuana grow-op in Lumby was robbed last week in what police call a “grow rip.” RCMP say they were called to a home on Grandview Avenue on Friday, March 27, about an insecure premise. The officers arrived to find it was actually a break and enter. The man...

Lumby-based medical marijuana company still awaiting Health Canada approval

LUMBY - It’s been slow going for a company looking to grow medical marijuana in Lumby. Darcy Bomford, the CEO of True Leaf Medicine Inc. (chaired by former B.C. premier Mike Harcourt) says the company is still waiting for full approval from Health Canada. “It’s been almost a year waiting for this one location,” Bomford...

Police took his stuff without a warrant, now he is fighting to get it back

KAMLOOPS – A Kamloops man went before a provincial court judge today with an unusual request—he wants his marijuana plants back. A Kamloops RCMP officer removed ten plants after she found them in Henry Rhode’s apartment while dealing with an unrelated matter involving his daughter, last summer. He was never charged, despite the fact his...

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...

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...

Is Kelowna hostile to medical marijuana?

KELOWNA – The police raid of a marijuana dispensary in downtown Kelowna last week appears to be an extension of a Kelowna bias against medical marijuana facilities, sources say.  Police said they raided Kaya Clinic on Lawrence Ave. Jan. 15 based on complaints from the public, including complaints forwarded by the City of Kelowna. Inside, police...

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,...

UPDATE: Cache of guns, Hell’s Angels paraphernalia found on traffic stop: Crown

KELOWNA – Whether or not Hell’s Angel Joseph Bruce Skreptak knew he was in a vehicle full of guns when he was arrested Nov. 25, 2010 was the focus of the opening day of his Supreme Court trial Wednesday morning. Skreptak, who was arrested shortly after 10 that night along with three other men, is...

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...