It's a deadly drug that's use is quickly growing across the nation, including our own backyard. Fentanyl, an opioid 100 times more toxic than morphine, is known to cause serious harm to individuals, including death. To prepare for increased trafficking and save more lives, the RCMP is ramping up their training across Canada for police dogs and their handlers. The Coaldale RCMP currently has one police dog team - Cpl. Jesse Gawne and his canine partner Ejay - who will soon be trained to detect the illicit drug. [continues 517 words]
This was not your ordinary cooking class. Barb Mahy was making her basic "canna chocolates," a simple mix of semi-sweet chocolate, coconut butter and a cannabis tincture mix with glycerine and water which she melted and poured into moulds. About a dozen people sat at tables and chairs to watch the demonstration Saturday upstairs in The Barn, a wellness co-operative in a refurbished barn along Highway 26 between Meaford and Thornbury. Along with 20 vendors and five practitioners, the co-op has an education mandate fulfilled with events like this. [continues 965 words]
[photo] Trooper Mike Wilson of the Ohio Highway Patrol leads his canine partner, Pluto, past a truck on I-70 in Madison County. Last year, Ohio registered a record 3,050 overdose deaths, with many attributed to painkillers and heroin abuse. Lt. Robert Sellers said state troopers' first job is to protect the public. Last year, troopers recovered 156 pounds of heroin and record amounts of painkillers and methamphetamines. COLUMBUS - The Ohio Highway Patrol says the agency's new anti-drug emphasis is paying off with record seizures of heroin, opiates, and other illegal substances. [continues 572 words]
Sgt. Kurt Beidelschies of the Ohio State Highway Patrol walks to his cruiser holding a truck driver's log books that will be examined for discrepancies after a drug-sniffing dog "alerted" to the presence of drugs on the truck along I-70 in Madison County. Lt. Robert Sellers of the Ohio State Highway Patrol explains how his agency's new focus on stopping criminal activity along with its traditional role of traffic safety has led to record drug seizures in 2016, including a variety of drugs due for disposal. [continues 624 words]
Dog treats containing Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, a chemical compound extracted from the marijuana plant, are a growing business as owners seek ways to treat hyperactive and nervous canines. Even for a puppy, Kat Donatello's black Labrador, Austin, was hyperactive. After experimenting with natural supplements on her older dog, Donatello slipped a special biscuit to Austin. "It just kind of took the edge off of him," she recalled. The treat contained Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, a chemical compound extracted from the marijuana plant. [continues 992 words]
Big difference between healers and dealers, people at weekend event near Meaford hear This was not your ordinary cooking class. Barb Mahy was making her basic "canna chocolates," a simple mix of semi-sweet chocolate, coconut butter and a cannabis tincture mix with glycerine and water which she melted and poured into moulds. About a dozen people sat at tables and chairs to watch the demonstration Saturday upstairs in The Barn, a wellness co-operative in a refurbished barn along Highway 26 between Meaford and Thornbury. Along with 20 vendors and five practitioners, the co-op has an education mandate fulfilled with events like this. [continues 949 words]
Thanks to easy access at the dispensaries popping up on every street corner, city-dwellers across Canada are turning to marijuana to soothe their creaky old bones. And if it works for you, why not for an elderly or ailing pet? Tamara Hirsh, owner of Pacifico, stocks Apawthecary brand marijuana-infused dog treats and tinctures at her dispensaries in Toronto and Hamilton, Ont. She claims there are no side effects. "You can really take any dose," she said. "We recommend you start low and go slow." [continues 340 words]
Smart meters and high-tech devices on hydro poles have left cannabis-growing power thieves little choice but to pay their electricity bills. In 2011, field inspections found that 62 per cent of grow-ops identified by B.C. Hydro were stealing power from the grid. But B.C.'s smart-meter system, installed the same year, and other new devices have replaced the Crown corporation's reliance on tips and risky in-person inspections and have helped put an end to tens of millions of dollars in losses each year. [continues 850 words]
The legalization of retail marijuana stores two years ago has had profound impacts on the city and county of Pueblo. Some good. Some bad. Now, the time has come for Pueblo voters to decide whether the benefits outweigh the negatives. For months, The Pueblo Chieftain has been intensely studying this issue, both with special and ongoing news reporting, and also with private editorial board discussions with those for and against retail marijuana stores and grow operations. It is an understatement to say the issue is complicated. So bear with us as we try today to discuss the essential concerns. [continues 1593 words]
Resort town top for per-capita cases of marijuana possession in Canada It's Canada's other Rocky Mountain high. The resort hamlet of Lake Louise has consistently led the country in per-capita cannabis possession incidents, as reported by RCMP. Since at least 2008, the mountain village of a mere 800 souls has been in the statistical clouds, with 7,938 possession incidents per 100,000 people in 2014, and 3,675 last year. That compares with 58 and 46 respectively in the waning war on pot in Calgary. [continues 430 words]
Picturesque mountain resort town sits on major cross-country pot pipeline It's Canada's other Rocky Mountain high. The resort hamlet of Lake Louise has consistently ascended to the peak of per-capita cannabis possession incidents in the country as reported by RCMP. Since at least 2008, the mountain village of a mere 800 souls has been in the statistical clouds, with 7,938 possession incidents per 100,000 people in 2014 and 3,675 last year. That compares to 58 and 46 respectively in the waning war on pot in nearby Calgary. [continues 501 words]
Security director says it's unclear whether move will cause delays DETROIT - Could a pot-smoking Canada trigger congestion along the United States border? As the Trudeau government presses ahead with plans to legalize the sale and purchase of pot, some are wondering whether it could result in longer wait times at the approximate 120 official ports of entry along the northern border. "It's an unknown now, but it could have the effect of really slowing down, not just travellers, but truckers, too," said Stan Korosec, director of security and Canadian government relations for the Detroit International Bridge Co. [continues 599 words]
Workplace Safety Efforts Put in Jeopardy CALGARY * Oil and gas companies are worried their efforts to curb drug use and improve safety standards on job sites could go up in smoke if Ottawa legalizes marijuana. Oilpatch safety organization Enform, which is funded by industry groups including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, sent a letter this week to the federal government's Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation outlining concerns that marijuana would make worksites unsafe. "Safety issues pertaining to alcohol and drug use and abuse are the forefront of the continuing challenges facing the upstream petroleum industry's efforts to control and reduce the risk of workplace injuries," Enform president and CEO Cameron MacGillvray wrote in the letter. "There can be no doubt that marijuana use is incompatible with working in a safety-sensitive workplace," he added. [continues 558 words]
Re "Action needed to deal with drugs in jails: Critics" (Kevin Connor, Aug. 19): The inability of government and correctional agencies to eliminate this problem is baffling. If we can't control the drug trafficking within the walls of our jails, how can we control drugs on the outside? Not to oversimplify the issue, but it would appear that the sources of drugs coming into these facilities are limited. We track "who and what" comes and goes. The likely sources of drugs would be: 1) new prisoners 2) visitors 3) guards and prison management 4) outside vendors - cleaning, maintenance, food etc, 5) lawyers 6) parachuting over walls 7) mail. All of these access points can be closely monitored. [continues 160 words]
Dispensaries say it can help some dogs with anxiety Pot can help man's best friend too, say several Vancouver pot shop operators, but at least one vet is warning pet owners to proceed with caution. A sign outside Cannawide, a medical marijuana dispensary on West 4th, claims cannabis products can help dogs with anxiety and joint pain. Some people come into the store solely to buy cannabis products for their dogs with no intention of using medicinal pot products themselves, said Andrew Gordon, community integration director at the Cannawide. [continues 233 words]
Williams Farm With Elaborate Greenhouse Operation Underscores Huge Growth in Local Marijuana Industry WILLIAMS - Josephine County's growing marijuana industry is experiencing growing pains. The number of medical marijuana grow sites in the county has remained steady from a year ago, at about 2,500. But growers who sell to retailers have been sprouting up - 38 new state-issued licenses have been granted this summer to people who plan to grow for the recreational market. More applications are pending. Pivoting to take advantage of retailer preference for indoor-grown marijuana, these new operations are springing up in former pastures and fields across the county. [continues 564 words]
Families of People WHO 'Disappeared' Amid Mexico's Violent Drug Wars Are Forced to Continue the Search for Truth and Justice on Their Own, As Authorities Often Refuse to Help QUERETARO, MEXICO - Socorro Arias unlocks the door to her son's bedroom. A faintly musty smell wafts out. Other than a layer of dust, everything is just as Raymundo Isaac Rico Arias left it on Feb. 12, 2012, the day the 27-year-old teacher disappeared. A stack of Valentine's Day hearts - cut from red construction paper - lies on Rico's bed, intended as gifts for his students. Clothes are piled in the corner, along with shoes and leather belts. Marilyn Monroe smiles seductively from one wall, while a Virgin Mary statue sits on the bureau, gazing pensively in front of the mirror. [continues 3266 words]
As Secure As San Quentin Seems, Contraband Slips In SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - Condemned murderer Michael Jones was acting strangely and profusely sweating when guards escorted him in chains to the San Quentin medical unit that doubles as the psych ward on death row. "Doggone, I don't think you're ever going to see me again," he told a fellow inmate, Clifton Perry. Hours later, Jones was dead. Toxicology tests later found that he had toxic levels of methamphetamine in his blood. [continues 1388 words]
President Duterte scored the United Nations yesterday for hitting his aggressive anti-drug campaign, which he said has so far claimed the lives of 1,000 drug addicts and pushers. He complained that the UN is zeroing in on his administration's drug campaign when it was quiet on mass killings in other countries. "While I really do not know who's going to come here for that, I am going to whack him in the head," Duterte said at the anniversary of the Philippine National Police at Camp Crame. [continues 431 words]
Businessman Has N. Texas Town in Sights for Facility to Produce Oil to Treat Epilepsy GUNTER - A cotton gin that sat empty for decades in this small North Texas town could be filled next year with the first cannabis plants legally grown in the state. Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer Patrick Moran, president and co-founder of the Texas Cannabis Industry Association, aims to plant Texas' first legal cannabis plants in Gunter. A statute enacted last year paves the way for cultivation of non-psychoactive cannabis to produce CBD oil for treating people with severe epilepsy. [continues 1340 words]
