Wow, and Vancouverites think we're weird. In the name of all that's fair, Vancouver city council decided it's discriminatory not to let prostitutes work out of their homes because, after all, it's not nice to discriminate against anything anymore for any reason whatsoever. The most amazing selling point is - get this - the prostitutes would have to sign a so-called "good neighbour agreement" promising they'll be, well, good neighbours. No doubt the taxis coming and going, taking johns to and from their door day and night won't bother their neighbours. And neighborhood children will be able to get a head start in street-level education without having to venture out to the more dangerous parts of town. [continues 200 words]
VANCOUVER -- While some of its potential clients huddled nearby, North America's first authorized drug-injection site had its long-awaited official opening yesterday. The so-called safe-injection site won't be open to addicts for a week or so, but its political backers greeted the move with whoops and cheers. But there were also emotional memories of addicts killed by overdoses and disease caused by drug use. "The first thing that went through my head is the huge number of people that have died and the number that I saw and had to deal with their families," said Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell. [continues 174 words]
Escalating use of methamphetamine - commonly called speed - is fuelling demand for alcohol and drug addiction services at the nation's six Hanmer Clinics. A total of 738 people used its outpatient services in the first six months this year, more than double the 334 outpatients in the same period last year. Hanmer Clinics chairman John Beattie said a significant increase in methamphetamine problems was partly behind the 121 per cent rise. "One in five calls to our Auckland clinic mentioned methamphetamine as a drug of choice. This compares with only 4 per cent of calls in the same period last year," he said. [continues 148 words]
A picture out of Vancouver's East Hastings Street strip tells the terrible tale of drug addiction. An emaciated woman uses a pocket mirror to help her aim a needle of heroin into a vein in her neck. It was one of those photographs that becomes etched in the memory bank. A person looking at the picture might wonder why someone didn't stop her. Why indeed? Why hasn't society stopped drug addiction? Why does it appear that instead of stopping them, people like the mayor of Vancouver seem to be aiding them in their destructive lifestyle. In fact, that is what he is trying to do. Mayor Larry Campbell, a former coroner who knows all about drug deaths, wants to save some lives. His city council has approved a supervised injection site, which opens today, in the Downtown Eastside. The first of its kind in North America, the clinic will allow addicts to use drugs under medical supervision and without fear of arrest. [continues 414 words]
With thousands of vehicles traveling the interstates in Shreveport and Bossier City each day, state troopers like Sgt. Don Campbell never know when the truck they see bumping the yellow line is simply a sleepy driver or the key to bringing down a major drug cartel. During the 15 years Campbell has been involved with the state police's drug interdiction unit, he's helped take millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs off the streets and put hundreds of drug traffickers behind bars. [continues 1027 words]
Human-Rights Abusers Should Pay For Their Crimes Colombia shouldn't let AUC paramilitaries or anyone else involved in large-scale human-rights violations, terrorist acts or narco- trafficking buy their way out of punishment for such vicious crimes. We staunchly support Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's strong military campaign against illegal armies and continued U.S. military aid for his efforts to secure the nation. He shouldn't go soft now, when that campaign is showing results and guerrillas and the AUC are being pressed as never before. Nor should the United States permit a policy that would offer de facto immunity for the leaders of groups on the State Department's terrorist list. [continues 412 words]
Addicts Can Inject Needles VANCOUVER -- While some of its potential clients huddled nearby, North America's first authorized drug-injection site had its long-awaited official opening yesterday. The so-called safe-injection site won't be open to addicts for a week or so, but its political backers greeted the move with whoops and cheers. But there were also emotional memories of addicts killed by overdoses and disease caused by drug use. "The first thing that went through my head is the huge number of people that have died and the number that I saw and had to deal with their families," said Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell. [continues 314 words]
Cannabis Emptor: Medical Marijuana Called Disgusting, Weak And Ineffective OTTAWA (CP) -- Some of the first patients to smoke Health Canada's government-approved marijuana say it's "disgusting" and want their money back. "It's totally unsuitable for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford, 58, an AIDS patient in Gibsons, B.C. "It gave me a slight buzziness for about three to five minutes, and that was it. I got no other effect from it." Barrie Dalley, a 52-year-old Toronto man who uses marijuana to combat the nausea associated with AIDS, said the Health Canada dope actually made him sick to his stomach. [continues 530 words]
First Patients To Use Federally Approved Marijuana Give It Scathing Reviews OTTAWA -- Some of the first patients to smoke Health Canada's government-approved marijuana say it's "disgusting" and want their money back. "It's totally unsuitable for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford, 58, an AIDS patient in B.C. "It gave me a slight buzziness for about three to five minutes, and that was it. I got no other effect from it." Barrie Dalley, a 52-year-old Toronto man who uses marijuana to combat the nausea associated with AIDS, said the Health Canada dope actually made him sick to his stomach. [continues 395 words]
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's government-grown marijuana is unfit for human consumption and makes some patients sick, people who have tried it said on Tuesday. The federal government has permitted more than 600 Canadians to legally buy medical marijuana, the first country in the world to do so. They are patients whose doctors prescribed pot after conventional treatments failed. "It's not marijuana, it's ground-up stems, twigs and beads and it's not fit for human consumption," said Jim Wakeford, who uses marijuana to battle AIDS symptoms. "The marijuana was offensive and obnoxious smelling, it was not helpful and it gave me bad headaches the two times I tried it." [continues 211 words]
