In the wake of a deadly opioid drug crisis that's killed hundreds in Ontario, London health officials are fast-tracking a pop-up, - -overdose-prevention site they want to have up and running by January. The stripped-down version of a supervised consumption site will give drug users a safer environment to inject. The location of the site, or the total number if there is more than one, hasn't been pinned down. But the plan is to have at least one as early as possible in 2018. [continues 747 words]
Albertans high on province's marijuana plans: Poll Most Albertans support the provincial government's proposed regulations for legalized marijuana, according to a new Insights West poll. Almost two-thirds of respondents to the online poll agree with the decision to prevent pot stores from selling alcohol, tobacco or pharmaceuticals, while 77 per cent favour setting 18 as the legal age for buying marijuana. While 60 per cent of Albertans support legalization, up five percentage points since a national poll done in October 2016, the poll found a split along party lines. [continues 171 words]
Narcotics back in the day were more a nuisance than anything else. Local police would regularly arrest people for possession of marijuana. Sometimes something more exotic like psychedelic mushrooms would materialize. The situation became more of a concern when cocaine and its derivatives appeared on the scene. Then came methamphetamine and opioids such as Oxycontin and hydromorphone. Heroin was never an issue locally like it has been in urban areas. Instead, rural areas like Norfolk and Haldimand skipped straight to more problematic substances such as fentanyl and carfentanil. These powerful synthetic opioids have caused the number of drug overdose deaths in Canada to skyrocket in recent months. [continues 408 words]
No one forced Junior Hernandez to swallow the fentanyl, his grieving partner says, but did he understand it could kill him? Part Four in a series of profiles about the escalating opioid crisis in Quebec. Before his partner Junior Hernandez died of a fentanyl-related overdose, Christophe Cote says he didn't know much about the drug. Just before dawn, Junior Hernandez and his sky-is-the-limit friends spilled out of a downtown bar. They were heading to a friend's place to continue the revelry - drinking, doing coke and ecstasy. Once the drugs ran out, they called a dealer, hopping a taxi to his place. There, they found a stash of tiny, unfamiliar pills called fentanyl. The party ended hours later with Hernandez, 35, lying on a cold slab in a Montreal morgue. Hernandez didn't see the end coming. Neither did his friends. [continues 1346 words]
A runaway teen to mother: 'I'll be fine mommy. I love you.' Hours later she and two others were dead NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. deaths from drug overdoses skyrocketed 21 percent last year, and for the second straight year dragged down how long Americans are expected to live. The government figures released Thursday put drug deaths at 63,600, up from about 52,000 in 2015. For the first time, the powerful painkiller fentanyl and its close opioid cousins played a bigger role in the deaths than any other legal or illegal drug, surpassing prescription pain pills and heroin. [continues 725 words]
An argument against the legalization of marijuana We should not let underground drug lords pressure us into legalizing something that could be quite harmful for our health. During his election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to legalize marijuana if we chose him as our leader. That day is near, and marijuana might be legalized on Canada Day 2018. Such a decision should not be taken lightly. Our country is not ready for this change. To clarify, I don't want to come across as cynical. I know that medical marijuana has its place in treating patients with chronic or terminal illness. I also don't agree with throwing people in jail for carrying small amounts for personal use. I see this as a waste of time, money and resources. At the same time, however, I don't think that the legalization of marijuana is what our country needs. And I certainly don't think it will make our country healthier, happier or safer. The decision to legalize marijuana has implications for health, society and our youth [continues 545 words]
While details deserve review, it's crucial not to wait for the legalization of cannabis, Marc Gold writes. Bill C-46 would allow police to demand that a driver suspected of having a drug in their body provide a saliva sample. Every holiday season, volunteers for Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada (MADD) distribute red ribbons to remind us of the lives lost due to impaired driving. Look around over the next few weeks, and you'll find them on key chains, car antennas and pinned to jackets. [continues 607 words]
More than 1,208 people have died from illicit drug overdoses in B.C. this year, the coroners service reported Monday. Victoria and Vancouver Island continue to be in the top townships and health areas for overdose deaths. The latest death toll in the overdose crisis includes statistics to the end of October 2017. November and December numbers will not be released until the new year. "These numbers show that this is still something on the rise," said Andy Watson of the B.C. Coroners Service. "We're cautiously optimistic [now] that we've seen two months with under 100 deaths, but November and December were the peaks of last year." [continues 431 words]
Ahead of recreational cannabis use becoming lawful, some observers see parallels with the end of prohibition The third in a series on the impending legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada. A notorious 1922 police shooting in southwestern Alberta, and the sensational trial that followed, caused many people to wonder whether enforcing alcohol prohibition was worth the trouble. Alberta's move to outlaw drinking in 1916 was wildly unpopular in the Crowsnest Pass, a cluster of coal mining towns nestled in the Rocky Mountains, near the B.C. boundary. [continues 699 words]
Part One in a series of profiles about the escalating opioid crisis in Quebec. Martin Pare's fascination with syringes started as a child at a racetrack. He saw a veterinarian stick a needle in a horse's neck. What's he doing? the boy asked his father. It's to make the horse run faster, his father replied. After the horse won his race, the boy furtively took the needle and empty vial from the garbage. At home, he filled his syringe with water and began injecting his toy stuffed animals. [continues 1658 words]
Community Drug Strategy steps up efforts to combat opioid crisis Some 52 people were admitted to hospitals in the Sudbury area in the past six months due to drug overdose, official say. Members of Sudbury's Community Drug Strategy also said Friday they have had preliminary discussions about the need for an overdose prevention site in the city. They made the comments in response to the Ontario government's decision Thursday to expand the provincial opioid response, which they called good news. [continues 756 words]
A union that represents 3,000 oilsands workers at Suncor Energy sites i n northeastern Alberta has won a court injunction against random drug testing. Unifor Local 707- A had argued that random testing would be a violation of workers' rights and privacy. Calgary-based Suncor has said random tests are needed to bolster safety and wanted to start the program this month. In his ruling, Queen's Bench Justice Paul Belzil said the privacy rights of employees are just as important as safety. "In my view the balance of convenience favours granting the injunction," Belzil said in a written judgment released Thursday. [continues 388 words]
While regional councillors have heard bits and pieces about the opioid response in the region, they heard it from the horse's mouth on Tuesday. Members from various regional and community groups spoke before council in a public meeting to encourage a broad understanding of the complex issue. The public meeting was broken down into core areas, such as policing, mental health services and public health services. Bruce Lauckner, CEO of the Waterloo-Wellington Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), said opioids have become similar to cancer, where the general population is impacted by one or two degrees of separation at most. [continues 1113 words]
The B.C. government stepped up its fight against the growing number of drug overdose deaths Friday with the launch of a new emergency response centre that will link to regional and community action teams on Vancouver Island and elsewhere. The emergency centre will have about 10 full- and part-time staff based at Vancouver General Hospital and backed by a team of experts. The centre will analyze data, spot trends and work with new regional teams at Island Health and the other four health authorities to improve front-line services. [continues 632 words]
First co-ordinator of drugs strategy says community role key to success As the first co-ordinator of a plan to address local drug use, Lacey DaSilva knows she has been handed a weighty task. The Brantford-Brant Community Drugs Strategy, officially launched earlier this month, sets out goals to delay or prevent substance abuse and keep those already using safe and healthy. It also aims to ensure residents have timely access to services and to reframe addiction from an issue of criminal justice to one of public health. [continues 701 words]
Vancouver comic Mark Hughes interviews fentanyl dealer as part of recently launched podcast Death has been a constant in Kyle's life for 25 years. It's a narrative that goes hand in hand with his lifestyle, and shows no signs of abating. Kyle - not his real name - is a fentanyl dealer. He says he's killed people with his own hands, and by extension, through his line of work. Kyle spoke to Vancouver comedian Mark Hughes as part of Hughes' recently-launched podcast called Pulling the Trigger. The Courier attempted to speak with Kyle, but he declined on more than one occasion. [continues 806 words]
Packed event featured seven speakers, plenty of questions The fentanyl death toll is rising in B.C., but so is local interest in finding solutions to the crisis. A packed room at the Hume Hotel heard stories and statistics Wednesday evening from a seven-person panel at an event called Growing Hope: A Community Conversation on the Current Fentanyl Crisis, which was put on by Nelson's Fentanyl Task Force. Cheryl Dowden, executive director of ANKORS, co-hosted the evening with Nelson Police Department chief Paul Burkart. The event had been planned to run two hours, but ended up stretching to three as the audience peppered speakers with questions. [continues 600 words]
The anti-narcotics police arrived here in the heart of Colombia's cocaine industry last month to destroy the coca crop. The community was determined to save it. Roughly 1,000 farmers, some armed with clubs, surrounded the hilltop camp that police had set up in a jungle clearing and began closing in on the officers. The police started shooting. When they were done, seven farmers were dead and 21 were wounded. "Several friends and neighbors died on the ground waiting for medical assistance," said Luis Gaitan, 32, who protected himself by hiding behind a tree stump. [continues 1571 words]
An Indiana high school teacher was arrested on drug charges Wednesday after her students said they saw her using cocaine in her classroom. Lake Central High School junior Will Rogers told WGN9 he shot video of the incident through a classroom window. "She's in the corner, hiding with a chair and a book and what appears to be cocaine, putting it into lines," Rogers told the TV station. "When I actually watched the footage again and again and I just realized that my english teacher just did cocaine." [continues 117 words]
An audit released Monday by the Windsor Police Services Board shows the recent handling of evidence in cases involving street drugs has been in compliance and largely free of errors. But the audit performed over two months this summer by Ontario's Ministry of Community, Safety and Correctional Services made 11 recommendations for improvements, and all but one have already been implemented, said Chief Al Frederick. The audit was triggered at the request of Frederick and the police board following questions that were raised over the 2013 disappearance of $25,000 in cocaine from a drug vault under officers' control. [continues 244 words]
