Police Also Recover Suspected Cocaine From Suspects' Vehicles Police recovered 9.1 pounds of processed marijuana and a little more than $20,000 cash from the room of [name1 redacted], the Fort Lewis College student who was shot and killed early Tuesday during a home invasion. The marijuana was in plastic bags and glass jars, and all the packaging was marked with product information, according to a news release issued Thursday by the Durango Police Department. "It is obvious from the packaging and through interviews that this is black market marijuana, and it was being illegally distributed," the release says. [continues 311 words]
Of course marijuana will be legalized. Only the misplaced morality of our previous Conservative government was impeding the logic that crime will be lessened, tax largesse will be increased and consumer rights will finally be recognized. How could any reasonable person argue that alcohol should be legal but marijuana not? However, legalization does raise a tricky issue with which we have a responsibility to grapple: kids and marijuana. All of us on the front lines of youth mental health and well-being know too well the disastrous results of frequent marijuana usage by kids. [continues 635 words]
WA researchers have warned that cannabis use causes genetic mutations that can be passed on to children and grandchildren. University of WA scientists found cannabis alters a person's DNA structure, potentially exposing future generations to serious illnesses and diseases such as cancer. They said the implications for future generations had not been understood and were alarming. The link between cannabis use and illnesses such as cancer was known but the research was among the first to look at why it occurred and the impact on future generations. [continues 197 words]
Just after noon on May 3, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom stood in front of a well-dressed crowd at the Commonwealth Club - an "unusual coalition" of Republicans, doctors, environmentalists, and former cops, as one member put it - talking at length about marijuana. Specifically, the still-magnetic former San Francisco mayor and likely frontrunner for governor in 2018 railed about how much he hates the stuff. "I can't stand it," Newsom said. "I mean it. I don't want it in parks and playgrounds, I don't want my neighbors smoking it. I just don't like it." He took care to mention his position as a concerned father of four, as television cameras and reporters' microphones picked up every word. [continues 860 words]
Young People Need A Voice As Legislation To Legalize Rolls Out, Writes Rebecca Haines-saah The April 20 announcement by federal Minister of Health Jane Philpott regarding the imminent legalization of cannabis use in Canada has provided us with the opportunity to protect our sensibilities or our children. We won't be able to do both and so we must choose. When Philpott announced that the government plans to have legislation to legalize cannabis ready by spring 2017, the priority of "protecting children" was front and centre. [continues 597 words]
OTTAWA - Bite-sized marijuana goodies such as candies and cookies pose "significant risks" to children who might accidentally swallow them, warns a draft federal discussion paper on pot legalization. It flags the public safety concern as one of the many obstacles Canada must negotiate on the path to regulating the drug, drawing on tragic lessons from Colorado. Justin Trudeau's Liberal government says legalizing marijuana will keep pot out of the hands of children and deny criminals the profits of shady, back-alley dealing. [continues 469 words]
Motivated by love and desperation, an area mother is fighting an uphill battle to treat her daughter's chronic illness with a special cannabis oil. The establishment, predictably, is against her: the doctors aren't keen; the child-welfare authorities aren't amused; her ex-husband, the child's father, called the cops. Still, she soldiers on, with the dedication a mother feels deepest, determined to alleviate her child's chronic respiratory condition. "I'm trying my damnedest to help my daughter and to fight for other parents who just want to help their kids," she told the Citizen. "Nothing else has ever worked." [continues 889 words]
Many Users Are Skipping Over Gateway Drugs An Edmonton addictions specialist says an increasing number of teens are skipping booze and pot and jumping straight to hard drugs such as fentanyl. "We've never been this busy," said Metro City Medical Clinic's medical director, Dr. Hakique Virani. "One of the differences we're seeing today (versus) four to six years ago is the number of young people who come in looking for treatment because they're addicted to opioids - including fentanyl - never having used marijuana, never having drank alcohol." [continues 211 words]
Re "Legal pot would be beneficial" (Letters, April 16): Our society is already a "soft" and undisciplined society with few norms or standards for our children. America is at a critical point in our history and encouraging drugs is a great mistake. I see the destruction of lives from drugs every day as I ride the light rail downtown going to work. It does take a village to bring up a child. We are all responsible to help other children live a safe and good life. Let's not rush to vote "yes" on legalizing pot. Your children's future is at stake. Joe Munizich, Cameron Park [end]
Colorado kids are not smoking more pot since the drug became legal - but their older siblings and parents certainly are, according to a long-awaited report giving the most comprehensive data yet on the effects of the state's 2012 recreational-marijuana law. The state released a report Monday detailing changes in everything from pot arrests to tax collections to calls to Poison Control. Surveys given to middle-schoolers and high-schoolers indicate that youth marijuana use didn't rise significantly in the years after the 2012 vote. [continues 68 words]
Nearly four years after her daughter died of an opioid overdose, Donna May will share her story of loss and learning at the United Nations. Ms. May's daughter Jac, 35, died on Aug. 21, 2012, after overdosing on pain medication prescribed to help her cope with a flesh-eating disease she'd contracted after years of addiction and life on the streets =2E "From the time she passed away until [now], all I've done is advocate for drug policy reform and to have other people receive the education I was given so they don't face the situation the same way I did. And that's my daughter's legacy," Ms. May said in an interview from Mississauga. [continues 299 words]
Every week, one Unionville resident stopped in at the local convenience store to buy milk and lottery tickets. That is until she noticed some of what she considered unsightly items for sale - hash pipes, bongs and rolling papers. "The items were in a glass case. I never noticed them before," said Ayse Tanacan. "This is a nice neighbourhood. There is no need for that to be sold here. Whoever is buying this stuff is coming into our neighbourhood." To make matters worse, Daisy Mart - located at the corner of Carlton Road and Village Parkway - is near a local elementary school and is a popular spot for older students to buy gum and candy. [continues 758 words]
Officer-Led Program Emphasizes Good Decision Making Knowledge is power. and Emily Hind feels powerful after graduating from the North Bay Police Service's dare (drug abuse resistance education) program Tuesday morning. Emily, 10, said she will use the knowledge she gained when facing peer pressure. Emily, a Grade 5 student at J.W. Trusler, is one of about 25 who have spent the past 10 weeks learning about drugs and alcohol, the harmful effects of tobacco, the importance of making good choices and confident speaking. [continues 180 words]
As Drugs, Cash, Guns, Houses, Vehicles Seized, Police Ask Community To Make A Stand Against 'insidious' Drug And Say They Can't Do It Alone. POLICE were appalled during the latest big drug operation here to see children in homes where "P" was being dealt and the officer in charge of the raids says the community "must stand against this insidious drug". In the past 10 days the operation has resulted in 41 arrests around Gisborne and court orders that restrain property worth $3.8 million owned by some of the arrested people. [continues 381 words]
Editor: A friend just told me that their teenage granddaughter is addicted to drugs. Drugs are "rife" in Tsawwassen, apparently. The girl had a crush on her soccer pal's brother, a user, and he turned her onto drugs. I told my son who has a teenage daughter about this and he says drugs are rife everywhere, and went on, "Do these kids wake up in the morning and say, 'Today I'm going to ruin the rest of my life?'" Boys: Any dumbs@#t can take drugs. The prisons are full of them. Drugs don't make you smarter/hip/more popular. [continues 72 words]
Clinical Trial Shows Reduced Seizures in Children, Possibly Increasing Chances of FDA Approval A marijuana extract significantly reduced seizures in severely epileptic children, according to a landmark study conducted in part at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Supporters said the results greatly improve the chances for the drug, called Epidiolex, to win eventual approval by federal regulators for prescription use to treat Dravet syndrome, a debilitating type of epilepsy that strikes in early childhood. The drug would be the first derived from the marijuana plant to win such approval. [continues 1054 words]
As Michigan considers marijuana, ("Michigan voters would OK legal pot, poll says," March 28), it is important to understand the impact on public health, especially the health of teens. The debate over legalization may be confusing and contributes to the perception that marijuana is harmless. Research shows otherwise. For example, one in six teens who start early will become addicted to marijuana, a statistic that rises to 25-50 percent with daily use. Legal-pot states are beginning to see the effect. Colorado, for example, now leads the nation in past-month marijuana use by young people. [continues 66 words]
Margaret Trudeau, mother of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, used a speech at a Mississauga Catholic high school Saturday to advocate for the regulation of marijuana. In a wide-ranging and unvarnished talk about her decades-long battle with mental illness, the bestselling author and former wife of prime minister Pierre Trudeau said evidence shows that marijuana is damaging to children's brains. "This is one of the reasons why we really have to get hold of marijuana and regulate it," she told a gymnasium packed with educators and staff at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Secondary School, where she was the keynote speaker at the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board's annual equity conference. [continues 265 words]
University makes antidote to lethal opioid freely available Dirk Chisholm hopes he never has to give a shot of naloxone to an overdosing student on campus, but he's readily equipped if need be. Chisholm, who's part of an EMT certified group of University of Calgary students that assist in on campus medical calls, said the group has recently been given naloxone to combat on campus overdoses. Naloxone is an antidote that can reverse fentanyl overdoses. "I think it's quite important we have the kits," he said. "It's not an issue unique to campus by any means - it seems to be quite an epidemic, so if something were to occur we're quite equipped to handle that." [continues 271 words]
As a law requiring Massachusetts schools to conduct drug screenings becomes a reality, several of the 10 districts that already perform the assessments say the evaluations have proven to be a key tool in the early detection of a range of potential substance abuse problems among students. Wilmington Superintendent Mary DeLai, whose district began assessing 10th-graders three years ago on its own, began screening seventh-graders this year for substance abuse signs. She said the tests were another way for students to discuss their feelings with an adult who will listen. [continues 724 words]
