The hare-brained idea from Toronto that the country should consider decriminalizing or legalizing illicit drugs because current policy has failed is not just "crazy," it is insane. It would be laughable if the issue weren't so deadly serious. It is a crazy thought without any merit - and it has no place in the discussion of the serious problem of opioid addiction that is destroying many young lives in the city and around the country. First proposed by a Toronto overdose panel in the wake of the deadly fentanyl crisis, it was taken up by that city's medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen De Villa, who said decriminalization of all illegal drugs could be the answer to the failure of the current approach to drugs. The key argument of the Toronto overdose action plan is that current policy has reduced neither the drugs, nor the supply. [continues 469 words]
Quality checks of illicit drugs is one way, writes Kenneth Tupper. In recent years across B.C., a public-health tragedy has resulted in thousands of preventable deaths from street drugs containing powerful opioids such as fentanyl or its analogs. Toxicity from adulteration has occurred not just in the heroin supply, but also in stimulants, club drugs and counterfeit pills. Border agents and police have tried to reduce or disrupt the supply, but they have had little success in stemming the tide of illicit drug importation and consequent deaths. [continues 751 words]
An eight-year prison sentence doled out at the Ottawa courthouse earlier this week was a refreshing indication that the judiciary can get it right - at least on drug crimes. Routinely, judges seem to give out-of-touch, soft-on-crime rulings that shock common-sense Canadians. But in a recent case, Ontario Court Justice Ann Alder was uncompromising, throwing the book at a local fentanyl dealer. Simply put, those who deal in fentanyl are dealing in death. It's lethal, even in small doses, and can be mistaken for heroin or other drugs. [continues 297 words]
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - The rules are a bit of a buzzkill. Drug users must officially register with the government. Machines will scan buyers' fingerprints at every purchase, and there are strict quotas to prevent overindulgence. But when Uruguay's marijuana legalization law takes full effect on Wednesday, getting high will take a simple visit to the pharmacy. As American states legalize marijuana and governments in the hemisphere rethink the fight against drugs, Uruguay is taking a significant step further: It is the first nation in the world to fully legalize the production and sale of marijuana for recreational use. [continues 1284 words]
Of the $8.65 million in illegal drugs the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) pulled off of Alberta's streets, well over half of it was marijuana. "Marijuana remains highly profitable for organized crime," said Insp. Dave Dubnyk with ALERT. "It's traded for other drugs, used for financing illegal enterprises." According to information in the 2016-17 ALERT annual report, investigators seized $5.4-million worth of marijuana last year. Dubnyk said while ALERT officers may not be specifically targeting marijuana, it is often discovered during other investigations involving illegal drugs and organized crime. [continues 251 words]
The lethal danger of fentanyl is becoming well-known. No one knows precisely how many people die per year in Canada from opioid overdoses. Last year, there were 922 opioid overdose deaths in B.C. alone, and more than 340 overdose deaths in Alberta were specifically from fentanyl. While Saskatchewan numbers are much smaller and their official count is unclear at this point, the drug's lethal toll may well be on the rise in this province as well; it is clearing coming east from the coast and from Alberta. [continues 576 words]
'MOLLY' Scientists, public health experts and volunteers working with them have started to show up at music festivals, concerts, raves and other public gatherings where illicit drugs are frequently used. Equipped with special chemical testing kits, they help attendees test pills and powder for purity in real time so people can make better informed decisions about whether to take them. The practice - more common in Europe than in the United States - is controversial, and the debate has been similar to the early days of needle-exchange programs in the 1980s. Proponents argue harm reduction. They say people are more likely to reject taking drugs to get high if the substances do not contain what they think they do, which reduces the risk of overdose and other harmful effects. Critics say such programs implicitly encourage the use of illegal drugs. [continues 580 words]
This lethal drug makes a discussion urgent, writes Dr. Richard Thatcher. The dangers of fentanyl as a frequently used mood-modifying, recreational drug, on its own or laced into other opiates are gradually becoming well known. The substance has recently gained a reputation as the Grim Reaper of illicit drugs. The number of deaths and near deaths originating with fentanyl use is simply shocking. Surely parents must initiate a serious discussion with their children and teens about this and other drug use. In this case, talk is, arguably, the primary preventive measure. [continues 595 words]
"People doing drugs now are dope-sick and it's so painful, you'd rather die." - Constance Barnes, Overdose Prevention Society The day you read this column, four people in British Columbia will die of a drug overdose, two-thirds due to the powerful opioid fentanyl. That means 1,500 people will die in just one year. It's the equivalent of four jumbo jets loaded with passengers crashing at Vancouver International Airport in 12 months - unthinkable. Yet many people ask: Why would anyone in their right mind play Russian roulette with their life by taking cocaine, ecstasy or heroin that could be laced with deadly fentanyl? [continues 303 words]
Taking party drug ecstasy may help boozers break their addiction to alcohol. Scientists are set to carry out the first ever trial to see whether the controlled substance can help treat heavy drinkers. A group of patients from England will be given two doses of MDMA -- another name for ecstasy -- over the course of two months. The trial has just received approval from regulators in the United Kingdom. It is the first in the world to use ecstasy to treat alcohol addiction. [continues 379 words]
Health Canada issued a warning Thursday about drug use during the summer festival season amid the worsening overdose crisis. "While music festivals and other summer parties are a great way to celebrate the season, it is important to consider safety, especially when it comes to drugs and alcohol," said the health agency in a statement. It included tips on safe drug use, how to spot and respond an overdose, and a reminder of the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act, which provides legal protections for those in possession of drugs when they seek help. [continues 430 words]
DRUG bust worth about a quarter of a million dollars has been tossed out of court because city police violated the charter rights of two men they detained and subjected to a warrantless search. Court of Queen's Bench Justice Sheldon Lanchbery dismissed all drug trafficking charges against Benjamin James White and Jaden Joshua Omeasoo earlier this month, after he ruled officers violated their rights every step of the way. "We will never know how this incident may have evolved if those rights had been provided," Lanchbery said in his decision. "The officers are not permitted [continues 471 words]
I t was terrific to see leaders from Surrey RCMP and the Surrey School District offer parents such common-sense advice this week about the drug crisis afflicting our communities. School Superintendent Jordan Tinney and Assistant Commissioner Dwayne McDonald urged parents to talk to their kids about the extremely high level of risk posed by street drugs these days and not to assume that their little darlings aren't experimenting with them. The warning came a few days after Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall made a similar plea, noting that 19 B.C. teenagers have died of overdoses since January 2016 and concerned that teenage drug use may rise soon with year-end parties and summer concerts. [continues 637 words]
VANCOUVER - Drug users are the solution to addressing overdose deaths and providing services to people before they die alone, says a woman who attended a meeting of health professionals in Vancouver trying to develop new strategies to deal with a growing crisis in B.C. Karen Ward, a board member of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, was among about 20 drug users who joined doctors, including the provincial health officer, and the chief coroner at the all-day meeting Friday. [continues 600 words]
Last Friday afternoon the House of Commons adjourned for the day with a rare event - a unanimous vote in favour of a private members bill from an opposition party. Bill C-211 instructs the government to create a federal framework to better deal with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. I've heard a lot about PTSD from people in my riding - it may surprise some how serious a problem this is in our communities, how widespread and how debilitating. And it bears repeating that PTSD not only impacts men and women who have served in our armed forces in actions overseas. [continues 437 words]
Educating teenagers about the safety of recreational drug use is an age-old conundrum for Canada, one at the forefront as the country pushes ahead with legalizing marijuana by next year The ad shows four pretty young women laughing as their convertible rips past the picturesque Rockies on a warm sunny day, the driver - eyes narrowed slightly - joyfully passing a doobie to her friend. In the next one, a hip young guy with high-top dreadlocks pinches a smouldering joint (backwards) in one hand and adjusts the car stereo with his other as his date leaves her house and approaches in a red party dress. [continues 1238 words]
The Sunshine Coast's medical health officer says it would be a mistake to draw any conclusions from a slight drop in the number of overdoses being reported at Sechelt Hospital. "We have more work to do," said Dr. Paul Martiquet. "We don't want to give any false sense of reassurance to the community that we aren't exposed to what the Downtown Eastside is - because we are." Provincial statistics show April was the second-worst month on record for illicit drug overdose deaths in B.C., with 136. [continues 431 words]
In the wake of the death of a 16-year-old New Westminister girl, who died on May 26 of an overdose, Island Health Medical Health Officer Dr. Paul Hasselback advises people wanting to take party drugs of the risks involved with uncontrolled substances. Angel Loyer-Lawrence and a friend thought they were taking the party drug MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, when Lawrence overdosed and died. Her friend was also taken to the hospital but survived. "Any uncontrolled substance is purchased with risk associated with it. Unfortunately we do see tragic events such as what recently occurred (in New Westminister)," Hasselback said. "There was some reporting out of Victoria of a pharmacy that was doing some lab testing that's showing fentanyl being incorporated into MDMA, which is Ecstasy, and I think that really speaks to the drug trade." Hasselback said there are risks of an overdose any time fentanyl is added into other drugs. "On the other handÂ…even if we just had well-controlled, quality drugs here there are risks associated with them as well," he said. [end]
'The new reality': Fentanyl test strips and naloxone kits are part of the mix Vancouver Island music festivals are stepping up harm-reduction measures with fentanyl test strips, more naloxone kits and outreach in light of B.C.'s drug overdose crisis. "If you're a festival organizer, it's imperative to have this on your radar. This is the new reality," said Emmalee Brunt, communications manager for the Tall Tree Music Festival. The festival takes place in Port Renfrew from June 23 to 26 and is expected to draw about 3,000 people. [continues 715 words]
Experts discuss how educators can curb risks Feeling connected is critical to avoiding problem substance use. Cindy Andrew As New Westminster School District students continue to grapple with a tragedy that took the life of one of its 16-year-old students this week, and nearly killed another, experts have said their overdoses are a "call to action" for all schools. Both teens overdosed on an "unknown" substance they wrongly believed was the party drug MDMA, local police said. In Vancouver, several schools and teachers have been issued overdose reversal kits and training, Metro has learned. Several districts' substance use counsellors are raising awareness of fentanyl overdoses, and some teens even trained on overdose symptoms and first aid. [continues 307 words]
