Latest news with #AnnapolisRoyal
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
No takers to redevelop Upper Clements Park site
It used to be a bustling tourist attraction boasting one of Canada's only wooden roller coasters, but now the former site of Upper Clements Park is a deserted chunk of land no one is in a hurry to buy. A request for proposals issued this year to redevelop the 26-hectare property has closed without a single official bid. Coun. Jon Welch, who represents the area, said it's back to the drawing board for Annapolis County municipal council. It will likely look to redefine the request for proposals and hopefully drum up new interest six years after the theme park near Annapolis Royal closed its gates for good. "I think we were looking for anything that would help return the land to some form of productive, community-orientated use," Welch told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia. "We were leaning pretty heavily toward some form of housing." Aging infrastructure The theme park opened in 1989 and Welch said he thinks developers could be reluctant to take on the cost of replacing the site's aging infrastructure, including water and septic systems. Demolition of the theme park's attractions and buildings has already taken place, except for a few buildings "that were in decent enough shape," said Welch. He said he met recently with Jill Balser, the PC MLA for Digby-Annapolis, and they talked about how the province may be able to help improve the infrastructure to be more desirable to develop. Welch said there is probably some disappointment and concern within the community over the lack of progress to redevelop the site, but he believes people understand that it takes time to find the right fit. "I think a lot of residents in the area have a very strong emotional connection with the site as it does have a long history as a community landmark," said Welch. Park closed for good in 2019 Upper Clements Park originally cost the Nova Scotia government $23 million to build in 1989. The park was privately operated between 1994 and 1997 before a non-profit society took over. The park received injections of public money over the years amid falling visitor numbers. In 2017, the province agreed to put $300,000 toward maintenance of Upper Clement Park's buildings, rides and attractions. The cash-strapped park shut down two years later. In 2020, Annapolis County council bought the site for $600,000 to be redeveloped as a private boarding school and advanced $1.8 million for the project. The $62-million Gordonstoun school project was described by the warden at the time as a "game changer" that would bring significant spending and employment to the area. But the land transfer and lease decision were ruled illegal in 2021 by the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. The court's decision said the outgoing council disregarded provincial legislation when it voted on the matter after a municipal election and before a new council was to be sworn in. Proposals 'have to benefit the public' Welch said the latest council wants to "do this right, not just do it." "Any projects that we are looking at I think have to be financially viable and they have to benefit the public and they should be sensitive to the site's history and potential," said Welch. "So I think we'll continue to welcome any serious well-developed proposals and we'll explore new pathways forward."
CBC
22-05-2025
- CBC
Should ayahuasca be made legal? A N.S. religious freedom case tests that argument
The first sign that something was off was the sound of truck doors being slammed outside, a puzzling break to the peace inside the yurt located down a long driveway in a wooded rural outstretch not far from the quaint town of Annapolis Royal, N.S. Within moments, a ceremonial leader named Michael Adzich had been arrested, and police were inside the tent-like structure, leaving gobsmacked six women who were in the last hours of a three-day spiritual retreat. "It felt so violating to our space," Jennifer Wilson, who attended the November 2022 ceremony as a helper, told a Halifax court this week. What RCMP officers found at the site, a tar-like substance located inside a freezer, is now at the heart of an unusual case this week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, pitting what the federal government effectively deems to be an illegal drug against Adzich's right to religious freedom. Ayahuasca, a plant-based tea originating in the Amazon, is a psychedelic substance that some adherents credit with life-altering experiences, often calling it a medicine or a sacrament, or even "grandmother," that helps with trauma or connecting with the earth. The religious ceremonies surrounding the substance run deep in parts of Indigenous South America, but in recent decades interest from outside the region in ayahuasca has risen, both as a potential mental health or addiction therapy, and a spiritual practice. Westerners have flocked to retreats in places like Peru, giving rise to the term "ayahuasca tourism." Celebrities such as actor Will Smith have spoken of their experiences, and NFL star Aaron Rodgers's ayahuasca ceremony was featured in a Netflix documentary. But a crucial element of ayahuasca, the component N,N-dimethyltryptamine, commonly called DMT, remains illegal in many countries including Canada, which lists it as prohibited in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the legislation that makes hundreds of drugs, including cocaine and heroin, illegal. Following his arrest on Nov. 14, 2022, Adzich, 52, was charged with possession of DMT for the purpose of trafficking, along with importation and production. Adzich's lawyer is arguing his client's right to freedom of religion was infringed upon, and wants Justice Josh Arnold, who is hearing the case, to order that ayahuasca be explicitly excluded from the act. His lawyer, Asaf Rashid, said in an interview the heart of the argument is the "use of ayahuasca should be considered a part of a protected spiritual practice, not subject to offences under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act." He said multiple studies and surveys have found ayahuasca doesn't cause harm. The ayahuasca experience 7 years ago Duration 12:50 The case has until now fallen under the public radar, and Adzich has tried to avoid attention, although more than 30 supporters were seated in the public gallery in court on Tuesday, the first day of the hearing. Adzich declined an earlier request for an interview but is expected to testify in the case. He has pleaded not guilty. Far more public in Canada have been battles over another psychedelic, psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, including a number of raids in recent years at unauthorized dispensaries. Lawyer Paul Lewin, who represents one man charged in an Ontario case, launched a Charter challenge in 2023, arguing that psilocybin is a "freedom of thought tool," and that freedom of thought is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He said a judge is due to rule on the case in October. "We don't wrap adults in bubble wrap, we allow adults to make decisions for themselves," he said of ayahuasca. "If we're talking about an important spiritual experience, it doesn't have to be perfectly safe for the government to allow it." He and others have drawn parallels between psychedelics and earlier court cases involving medical marijuana that rolled back some restrictions, followed by the federal government's decision in 2018 to legalize recreational cannabis. But the Adzich case, for all its fascinating nuances, may rest in part on a more mundane question. Under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, people or groups can seek an exemption that allows them to possess and use a prohibited substance, including for scientific or religious reasons. Adzich did not apply for an exemption, according to court records. His lawyer declined in an interview to say why until more evidence is presented in court. But a defence legal brief said Adzich had learned it took one church, in Montreal, 16 years to finally secure an exemption in 2017, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees along the way. That was "not feasible" for Adzich, whose "spiritual calling beckoned to him." However, a Health Canada official said in a court affidavit filed this spring that the average time to process a request and grant an exemption is now 13 months. The agency said 12 exemptions for ayahuasca have been granted for religious purposes. Investigation prompted by Miami seizure The Charter challenge, if it succeeds, would make ayahuasca legal in Canada. The prosecution is opposed to Adzich's application. A report by a psychedelic researcher commissioned by the prosecution concluded "existing regulatory channels" allow for legally sanctioned ayahuasca ceremonies, but suggested underground groups without oversight could be safety risks. "I believe that the legislation is a full answer to anyone that is seeking access legitimately to controlled substances in Canada," prosecutor Glen Scheuer said in an interview. A brief filed by the prosecution alleges the case stems from a seizure of a black tar-like substance by U.S. Customs in Miami. Homeland Security learned the package was destined for a woman living in New York. She allegedly told authorities Adzich had asked her to repackage the item, then send it to him in Canada. He allegedly told her it was tobacco and "flower waters," but to label it as birthday gifts and coffee. In court records and in witness questions, Scheuer has raised questions about the safety of ayahuasca, pointing to concerns about people with heart issues or on antidepressants. There have also been reports of users having accidents, or being the victims of crime, while under the influence of ayahuasca. Those who drink ayahuasca sometimes vomit, a reaction known as purging. In interviews and testimony, adherents say ayahuasca ceremonies can be both profound and deeply difficult, especially if someone has intended to dig into past trauma. Allan Finney, the executive director of Ayahuasca Canada, a loosely organized group that provides safety and legal advice, said he first attended a ceremony in Peru when he was 59 years old. He said he "scared the hell out of myself" as he was confronted with fearful childhood experiences, and vowed never to do ayahuasca again. But a shaman convinced him it was only the beginning, he said, and he attended more. "Ayahuasca just turned my life around," he said. "There's this idea that ayahuasca is a psychedelic, like it's some kind of a recreational substance. I can guarantee that if you think ayahuasca was recreational, I'll sit down with you in a ceremony. You take some ayahuasca and then tell me how recreational it is." Court records filed by the defence say Adzich first took ayahuasca in 2009, later trained with healers from the Amazonian Shipibo tribe and is qualified as an ayahuasca ceremony facilitator. Witnesses who attended the November 2022 retreat have described filling out an intake form that included questions about any health conditions. They said the evening ayahuasca ceremonies included drinking the liquid from a cup and Adzich singing traditional songs known as "icaros." During the days, there were sharing circles and walks in nature. A sharing circle was about to begin when police descended on the yurt. Officers were respectful, witnesses said, with one asking whether he should remove his shoes. Still, it was a wrenching end to a weekend of deep vulnerability, witnesses said, with one calling the police raid a "knife in the heart."
CTV News
18-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Rare and unusual plant sale with deep roots returns to Annapolis Royal, N.S.
Yellow Lady's Slipper, one of the offerings from Bunchberry Nurseries Inc. at the Atlantic Rare and Unusual Plant Sale in Annapolis Royal, N.S., are pictured. (Source: Facebook)
CTV News
14-05-2025
- CTV News
RCMP charge Nova Scotia man with child pornography offences
The provincial Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit of the Nova Scotia RCMP has charged a man from Deep Brook with child pornography offences. The ICE unit and the Annapolis District RCMP seized electronic devices for forensic examination – including laptops, tablets and a smartphone – from a home on Highway 1 during a search on April 24, said an RCMP news release. Police charged Miles Graham, 59, with possession of child pornography, transmitting child pornography and accessing child pornography as a result of the search and following their investigation. He was arrested on May 6. Investigators say they searched the home after a local service provider notified them that child pornography was uploaded to the residential service. Graham was released on conditions. He is scheduled to appear in Annapolis Royal provincial court on July 14. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
