Desperate for relief from unbearable pain following knee surgery, Lorna Bird says she was forced to buy drugs from the Downtown Eastside streets of Vancouver when her doctor stopped prescribing an opioid in response to new standards aimed at preventing fatal overdoses. "I started with heroin because I couldn't stand the pain," Ms. Bird said, recalling her fears about dying from fentanyl-laced street drugs because "everybody was croaking" and she didn't want her grandchildren dealing with that outcome. [continues 427 words]
Re: Gordon Clark's June 23 column, Love your kids? Warn them about drugs. In 1978, 10.7 per cent of U.S. high school students smoked cannabis every day. Survey data shows that marijuana use peaked in 1979 and was followed by a period of dramatic decline until 1992, when the rate of high school students who smoked pot daily dropped below two per cent. Between 1979 and 1991, a huge prevention campaign in North America coincided with the dramatic decrease in drug use. Parents, teachers, police, youth leaders, social workers, churches and the children themselves all got involved. It worked. Users fell from 23 million to 14 million, cannabis and cocaine use halved and daily pot use dropped by 75 per cent. Anyone who doesn't believe that prohibition works either doesn't know, or doesn't remember, the rise and fall of drug use in the 1980s, and what it took to turn kids off the use of drugs. Pamela McColl, Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada, Vancouver [end]
Dianne McIntosh is continually alarmed by the teens who come into her Vancouver office telling the psychiatrist that they use cannabis to treat their mental-health issues because it's a natural - and harmless - - substance. "It's a natural product? So is tobacco, so is alcohol, these are all natural products," Dr. McIntosh said. With the federal Liberal government saying that cutting down on teen cannabis use is a core reason it is pushing to legalize the drug next year, Dr. McIntosh and a panel of three other experts are gathering in Richmond, B.C., on Sunday to clear the air about the dangers young people face when using the substance. [continues 560 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]
Editor: Re: Greenhouse signs deal to grow pot, June 9 Reading reports out of the U.S. regarding increased and decreased pot consumption in states that have legalized, across the board there has been no notable increase or decrease in usage. That being said, before people start losing their minds over this, take a look at a couple positives. No more shady dealings in dark corners. No more time spent by the local police chasing down these hardened criminals. No more local grow-ops that affect our neighbourhoods and home insurance costs. There will also be increased local revenue and taxes. [continues 283 words]
SAN DIEGO -- A former Mexican lawmaker arrested at the California border was charged Thursday with working for the Sinaloa drug cartel, whose once-powerful kingpin, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was extradited to the United States in January. Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez, a former representative in the Sinaloa state legislature, was charged Thursday in federal court in San Diego with conspiracy to distribute 11 pounds (five kilograms) of cocaine in the United States between January 2013 and January 2017. She was arrested Wednesday morning trying to enter San Diego from Tijuana, Mexico, according to court documents. A Customs and Border Patrol agent at the border crossing discovered her visa had been cancelled by the U.S. State Department and she was suspected of drug trafficking. [continues 157 words]
A U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded guilty Thursday to smuggling backpacks he believed contained drugs across the border. Appearing in a federal courtroom in San Diego, Noe Lopez pleaded guilty to attempted distribution of methamphetamine and attempted distribution of cocaine. He faces a possible minimum sentence of 10 years for each of the two counts and a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8 before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw. Lopez, a 10-year Border Patrol veteran who worked out of the Imperial Beach station, was arrested Dec. 14 as a result of a two-month undercover sting. [continues 213 words]
'Sudbury is a lucrative market for the gangs to expand to' The first thing Greater Sudbury Police noticed was more fentanyl showing up on local people in their arrests. "Then we noticed there were more people being arrested with Southern Ontario addresses," Insp. Dan Despatie said Friday. Something wasn't adding up. One phone call to Toronto Police and not only did it become crystal clear what was happening, but Sudbury police were suddenly up to their neck in what we now know to be Project Kronic. [continues 488 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]
Marijuana has long been lauded as a wonder drug for treating nausea and vomiting. Now, health experts say your pot may be making you sick. Emergency medicine physicians at UC Davis Medical Center said they've seen young, often college-age patients come in once or twice a day vomiting multiple times an hour and screaming uncontrollably. "They keep moaning, shouting and yelling after they vomit. It's very dramatic. It sounds like someone is dying," said Dr. John Richards, an emergency medicine physician and professor at UC Davis. [continues 885 words]
The RCMP and China's Ministry of Public Security are being stymied in joint investigations to stem the smuggling of powerful synthetic opioids into Canada because the trade is largely conducted through the so-called Dark Web. RCMP Chief Superintendent Scott Doran says most of the opioids such as fentanyl and its chemical precursors arrive in small packages through the mail from China, predominantly in the Vancouver area. He told The Globe and Mail that bilateral efforts to track down the Chinese dealers behind the illegal opioid trade have proved almost impossible because of clandestine Internet trading sites, where buyers can visit anonymously and buy the drugs with bitcoin, a digital currency often regarded as untraceable. [continues 844 words]
An estimated 500,000 Canadians will be using drug for health reasons by 2024 Apprentice ironworker Johnathan Dickson says his union wouldn't send him out to construction jobs last year while he was using medical marijuana. While an official with Ironworkers local 720 maintains the situation is far more complicated than that, Dickson's case illustrates some of the workplace issues - mainly involving safety - related to the growing Canadian consumption of prescription pot. "In talking with our clients, (medical cannabis) is an issue that's coming up more and more," says Cristina Wendel, an Edmonton employment and labour lawyer at Dentons, who cited estimates that 500,000 Canadians will be using the drug for health reasons by 2024. [continues 736 words]
Increasing popularity of prescription pot highlights a growing issue for employers Apprentice ironworker Johnathan Dickson says his union wouldn't send him out to construction jobs last year while he was using medical marijuana. While an official with Ironworkers local 720 maintains the situation is far more complicated than that, Dickson's case illustrates some of the workplace issues - mainly involving safety - related to the growing Canadian consumption of prescription pot. Growing issue "In talking with our clients, (medical cannabis) is an issue that's coming up more and more," says Cristina Wendel, an Edmonton employment and labour lawyer at Dentons, who cited estimates that 500,000 Canadians will be using the drug for health reasons by 2024. [continues 735 words]
In the early 1930s, the federal government cracked down on California's legal drug programs, leading to numerous arrests. Above, a California jail in 1930, occupying the third floor of Ventura City Hall. In the early 1930s, the federal government cracked down on California's legal drug programs, leading to numerous arrests. Above, a California jail in 1930, occupying the third floor of Ventura City Hall. (Los Angeles Times) For one bright and flickering moment last year, it looked like the global war on drugs was about to die. California -- the sixth largest economy in the world -- voted to fully legalize cannabis, while a smorgasbord of countries including Uruguay, Canada and Jamaica were also moving toward more sensible policies. But like Freddie Krueger after the nubile teenagers believe he is finally slain, the drug war is suddenly back with even sharper claws. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions is reviving the worst of the old policies that led to mass incarceration, while President Trump has said that the Philippines is doing "a great job" on the drug war under a President, Rodriguo Duterte, who publicly boasts: "There's 3 million drug addicts. There are. I'd be happy to slaughter them." [continues 966 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]
Opioid Dealers Embrace the Dark Web to Send Deadly Drugs by Mail Anonymous online sales are surging, and people are dying. Despite dozens of arrests, new merchants - many based in Asia - quickly pop up. As the nation's opioid crisis worsens, the authorities are confronting a resurgent, unruly player in the illicit trade of the deadly drugs, one that threatens to be even more formidable than the cartels. The internet. In a growing number of arrests and overdoses, law enforcement officials say, the drugs are being bought online. Internet sales have allowed powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl - the fastest-growing cause of overdoses nationwide - to reach living rooms in nearly every region of the country, as they arrive in small packages in the mail. [continues 1657 words]
New data compiled from hundreds of health agencies reveals the extent of the drug overdose epidemic last year. AKRON, Ohio - Drug overdose deaths in 2016 most likely exceeded 59,000, the largest annual jump ever recorded in the United States, according to preliminary data compiled by The New York Times. The death count is the latest consequence of an escalating public health crisis: opioid addiction, now made more deadly by an influx of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and similar drugs. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50. [continues 1829 words]
Regional Catholic board has purchased Naxalone to counter possible opioid overdoses The region's Catholic education board is responding to the growing threat of opioids in Eastern Ontario by placing overdose remedy kits in all of its schools. The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario( CDSBEO) announced Tuesday it has purchased Naloxone kits for all of its schools in response to the growing Fentanyl crisis that is making its way through the counties, and in some cases claiming lives. "We hope that these kits will never need to be used, but in the event that they are needed, the Naloxone will help to buy time for someone experiencing an opioid overdose until first responders arrive," said the board's director of education, William Gartland. [continues 355 words]
'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]
