A Downtown Eastside activist and a local entrepreneur are hoping to spearhead the first nonprofit organization of its kind with support from Vancouver's cannabis community. The vocal support of Sarah Blyth, the founder of the Overdose Prevention Society for grassroots, peer-led harm reduction led to the establishment of several safe-consumption sites in Vancouver and beyond. Unfortunately, the ongoing overdose crisis hasn't slowed-numbers for 2017 are set to double last year's count of 935 overdose deaths provincewide-so when Blyth, who doesn't use cannabis, came across an American study that found that states with legalized marijuana saw a 33-percent reduction in overdose deaths, she decided to explore the concept further. [continues 817 words]
A "huge spike" in opiate and methamphetamine seizures this past year poses a deadly and multifaceted problem for local law enforcement, says a police inspector. "We are hugely concerned with meth," said Insp. Brent Secondiak, speaking about the 2016 annual police report released last week. In 2016, police seized 52.5 grams of heroin and 1,474 grams of meth, a 563 per cent and 300 per cent increase from 2015 respectively. While fentanyl has made headlines across Canada for its deadliness, Secondiak said it hasn't been a problem in Medicine Hat compared to other drugs. [continues 499 words]
An Ontario music festival has reversed a policy that would have banned attendees from bringing their own injectable naloxone kits, saying patrons will be able to trade syringes of the opioid-overdose antidote for a nasal spray that has the same effect. The WayHome Music and Arts Festival, taking place this weekend near Barrie, Ont., says it changed its policy after hearing concerns from those who planned to attend. Naloxone is an antidote to the powerful opioid fentanyl, a drug responsible for a growing number of overdose-related deaths. Fentanyl is sometimes found mixed with other drugs such as cocaine. [continues 271 words]
OTTAWA - The number of police-reported cannabis offences declined for the fifth straight year, Statistics Canada said Monday, a downward trend that began long before the Liberals brought forward their plan to legalize the drug for recreational use. The annual tally of police-reported crime from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics said there were about 55,000 offences related to marijuana reported to police in 2016, about 6,000 fewer than reported the year before - despite previous data showing consumption of the drug on the rise. [continues 749 words]
About 55,000 cases related to marijuana reported to police last year OTTAWA - The number of police-reported cannabis offences declined for the fifth straight year, Statistics Canada said Monday, a downward trend that began long before the Liberals brought forward their plan to legalize the drug for recreational use. The tally of police-reported crime from the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics said there were about 55,000 offences related to marijuana reported to police in 2016, about 6,000 fewer than reported in '15 - despite previous data showing consumption of the drug on the rise. [continues 314 words]
Calgary's police chief said his officers haven't changed their approach when it comes to marijuana, despite a slight dip in pot-related crimes being reported in 2016. Numbers released yesterday by Statistics Canada show Calgary's police-reported crime declined significantly last year, unlike other major Canadian cities which mostly saw an increase. Alberta also saw a drop in the homicide rate, with 17 fewer homicides in 2016 than 2015. Calgary's crime rate was down 1 per cent from 2015 numbers, which Chief Roger Chaffin called 'encouraging.' [continues 137 words]
OTTAWA* The number of cannabis-related offences reported to police declined for the fifth straight year, Statistics Canada said Monday, despite the percentage of Canadians consuming the drug on the rise. The StatsCan annual report on police-reported crime was released the same day that the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society issued a stark warning that the coming legalization of marijuana in Canada doesn't mean that it is safe and the public needs to know the risks of consuming pot. [continues 373 words]
NEW YORK (AP) - AlphaBay, the now-shuttered online marketplace that authorities say traded in illegal drugs, firearms and counterfeit goods, wasn't all that different from any other e-commerce site, court documents show. Not only did it work hard to match buyers and sellers and to stamp out fraud, it offered dispute-resolution services when things went awry and kept a public-relations manager to promote the site to new users. This screen grab provided by the U.S. Department of Justice shows a hidden website that has been seized as part of a law enforcement operation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration and European law enforcement agencies acting through Europol. On Thursday, July 20, 2017, authorities announced that two of the world's most notorious "darknet" marketplaces, AlphaBay and Hansa, have been knocked out in a one-two punch that officials say yielded a trove of new intelligence about drugs and weapons merchants that operate from hidden corners of the internet. (U.S. Department of Justice via AP) [continues 504 words]
Overdose-prevention sites are making a difference in Vancouver's opioid crisis, say health officials, even in the face of grim figures that suggest the city is on pace to hit 400 deaths in 2017. More than 200 people have died of a suspected drug overdose in Vancouver this year to July 2 - that's almost as many as the 228 deaths recorded in 2016. But officials say the death toll could have been higher. "Based on the analysis of experts, the deaths would have been much worse if those sites hadn't been opened," said Dr. Patricia Daly, Vancouver Coastal Health's chief medical officer. [continues 430 words]
Festival patrons can trade the syringes in naloxone kits with nasal-spray alternative An Ontario music festival has reversed a policy that would have banned attendees from bringing their own injectable naloxone kits, saying patrons will be able to trade syringes of the opioid overdose antidote for a nasal spray with the same effect. The WayHome Music and Arts Festival, taking place near Barrie, Ont., this weekend, says it changed its policy after hearing concerns from those who planned to attend. [continues 414 words]
Hell, why not allow the shops to supply heroin, cocaine etc. And here we go down the "slippery slope", now that pot is "legal", with none other than the Cowichan Valley Citizen leading the charge. (Reefer madness?) Those bad old "ignorant" school district people trying to protect our youth, not wanting pot shops to be located near schools. How dare they! Hell, why not allow the shops to supply heroin, cocaine etc. Oh yes, and why not prostitution in the slippery slope mix? Please stop the planet from spinning. I want off. John Walker Cobble Hill [end]
U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is pressing Congress to allow federal law enforcement to target medical marijuana operations in states where they are legal. (July 21, 2017) U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is pressing Congress to allow federal law enforcement to target medical marijuana operations in states where they are legal. (July 21, 2017) The Trump administration's attack on legal marijuana, already stymied by large states determined not to roll back the clock, is increasingly confronting an even more politically potent adversary: military veterans. [continues 1222 words]
So-called bath salts, other street drugs are not a safe way to seek pleasure When someone offers a tiny packet of "bath salts" for sale with a price tag somewhere between $30 and $50, you know that it is not meant to be sprinkled into a bathtub. These "bath salts," commonly available in head shops, online and even in some convenience stores, may sport a label declaring "not for human consumption," but they are clearly designed to cater to the insides of the body rather than the outside. [continues 908 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]
People need skills for coping, not more cannabis boutiques I see the provincial premiers are demanding "clarity" - possibly a delay - in the federal plan to legalize marijuana by next July. A communique from their Edmonton conference said they still have concerns about, among other things, traffic safety and public education campaigns. I'm with them. I still don't have "clarity" about legal pot or in fact the use and abuse of recreational drugs in general. Here is what we all bring to any debate about recreational drugs: our own history, our generational lens, our hypocrisy too. [continues 832 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]
LOS RIOS, Colombia - Every three months or so, Javier Tupaz, a father of six, heads downhill from his clapboard home to work in his cocaine laboratory. Under a black tent in the jungle, he shovels coca leaves into a giant vat with gasoline, then adds cement powder - the first steps in his cocaine recipe. Like everyone in his village, Mr. Tupaz depends on coca for cash and has survived decades of war here in Colombia. He churned out his product during the seemingly endless conflict between the rebels and the government, which tried many times to destroy his coca plants. He simply replanted. [continues 1457 words]
In my boyhood days it was not uncommon to see, in an American Western movie, a US Cavalry officer look concerned at the sight of smoke signals on the trail ahead. Smoke signals often meant a battle was about to happen with the usual loser being - the Indians, of course! However, in July 2018, smoke signals of a totally different kind will be rising all across Canada with the legalization of marijuana. All Canadians, including status and non-status Indians, will be able to sit on their back bridges and light up a joint and blow their own smoke signals to their hearts' delight. For some, legalization means nirvana; for others, it's an uneasiness. Who will be the losers on this new trail we are about to take? [continues 865 words]
Proposition 64, also known as the Marijuana Legalization Initiative, not surprisingly passed statewide in November 2016 but wisely failed in Fresno County with 54 percent of the people voting against legalization. The district I represent strongly opposed Prop. 64. It now allows individuals 21 years or older to legally smoke marijuana and to grow up to six plants in their home, even if they are next to elementary schools. What many people don't know is that Prop. 64 also allows recreational marijuana dispensaries or businesses to be opened throughout the state unless a municipality officially prohibits or bans them, which a majority of the Fresno City Council and mayor wisely did last month. [continues 751 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]
