About 75 per cent of homeless people have some sort of addiction problem. The addictions -- whether to alcohol, illicit drugs, or even gambling -- make it enormously difficult for the afflicted to find employment or housing. While it's now a worker's market, few employers are so desperate that they'll risk hiring people too drunk or stoned to do the job. Addicts need to clean up their acts. The problem is they need help -- lots of it. Now that we've established that getting addicts to kick their addictions is a key first step to getting them off the street, then we should support efforts to do that. [continues 450 words]
Search Uncovers Stash Of Coke, Meth And Cash The Victoria police busted a "high level" middle man after making the largest single seizure of crystal meth in department history. After a joint, month-long investigation by the Victoria police, officers from Central Saanich Police Department and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement unit, 39-year-old Alexander Djafar-Zade of Saanich was arrested Tuesday on charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking. He was out on bail for two other drug offences that occurred in December 2006 and February 2007. [continues 319 words]
I have been seeing a lot on the news and in the papers over the rights of "pot smokers" these days. Where are the rights of non-pot-smokers? I know folks personally and people I have just chatted with in the general public who've stated to me that pot smoke gave them head-aches, body pain and blocked sinuses when they did experiment with it or were just simply exposed to it. I happen to be one of those people. I tried it in 2004 with a couple of friends as I heard all this new evidence that it takes body pain away. Well, it didn't. As a matter of fact, it gave us severe head-aches. [continues 326 words]
Re: Front page headline and story, "Needled Neighbours: North Park residents say junkies are ruining their neighbourhood". The media are among the most powerful forces in our world. There have been countless times it has been of major influence in helping to create significant and positive social change via factual and positive coverage of humanity's passion, struggle, and triumph. Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, this is not one of those times. The headline on last week's issue is, at best, discouraging. [continues 331 words]
Project is one man's dream, but does it hold water? There's a small envelope attached to the door at Ray Howard's home. It's a message for 15-year-old Ashley, the little girl from down the street whom Howard and his wife used to treat like a granddaughter. She doesn't come around any more. Howard says she was both pushed and pulled to the street - pushed by a troubled home life and pulled by the seductions of crystal meth. But Howard holds out hope that she'll come around again and if she does, she might read the note. [continues 760 words]
To the prosecution, it's a simple case of production for the purposes of trafficking, involving two local men caught red-handed growing a crop of 900 marijuana plants on an acreage in East Sooke. To Vancouver Island Compassion Society founder Philippe Lucas, it's a constitutional challenge of Canada's medical marijuana laws. Lawyers were in court in Victoria this week arguing that the two men arrested in the May 2004 raid, Mat Beren and Michael Swallow, were operating a marijuana research and cultivation facility on behalf of the society. [continues 221 words]
Medical marijuana advocate Philippe Lucas is one of three students who received $2,500 awards last week for "remarkable volunteer contributions" to the University of Victoria and the community while maintaining at least a B average. A master's student in the studying policy and practice, Lucas is vice-chair of the City of Victoria downtown advisory committee, sits on the Centre for Addictions Research of B.C., and works closely with the Vancouver Island Compassion Society and the committee to end homelessness in Victoria. The other winners were chemistry student Matthew Cooper for his work with adult learners and Amanda Laliberte, a third-year visual arts student who played a key role in organizing a Metis youth group in Greater Victoria. [end]
Pot Supporters Celebrate 10th Anniversary Local pot activist Ted Smith launched the 4/20 celebration last Friday by urging the crowd to "smoke 'em if you got 'em." And smoke 'em they did. More than 700 people huddled in circles at the 10th annual gathering at Victoria city hall for the 4/20 event, symbolically held on April 20. Glass pipes, bongs, homemade rubber hose devices and just plain old joints rolled in Zig Zags papers were lit at the symbolic moment and passed around freely. [continues 164 words]
It's easy to see why drugs like heroin, crystal meth and crack cocaine garner more fear and attention from parents than other substances. After all, they come with easy-to-vilify accessories. Needles. Makeshift pipes. Rolled-up dollar bills and razor blades. That's the stuff of gripping, sometimes gory movies. But several recent reports remind us that it's the drugs that sit benignly in the average Canadian's kitchen cupboard or bathroom cabinet that lead to the most grief-alcohol and prescription drugs. [continues 614 words]
The tragic overdose death of a University of Victoria student underscores the importance of a recent study that attempts to answer: how can we stop drugs from killing kids? Dr. Tim Stockwell's report, "Interventions to Reduce Harm Associated with Adolescent Substance Use," coincides with the news of 22-year-old UVic student Zoe Read's mistaken overdose on GHB. As the UVic community grieves for her passing, many want to know how substance abuse deaths can be prevented from happening in the future. [continues 548 words]
Re: "Illegal drugs - why not remove the cause? (March 30). Stephen Lamb's letter praising Singapore's enforcement of drug laws and asking us to face the facts doesn't take into consideration that the population of Singapore has not enjoyed our level of human rights and freedoms for as long as we have. Many Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and even Thailand have enforced laws in horrendous ways that would not be acceptable in a free and just society. Drug dealers and users were often shot on the spot with no hope for trial or questions asked. Is this how we should enforce our drug laws in this country? Would you risk having your son or daughter at risk of being shot for their youthful experimentation? Let's not hold up the law enforcement examples of a country that still regards homosexuality as punishable by canings and life in prison. Their law and order is enforced by standards that fortunately would never be acceptable here. Barry Carvish, Victoria [end]
For as long as the "War on Drugs" has been raging in North America and elsewhere around the world, opinion has been split on how best to approach the socially controversial and politically volatile subject. In one camp, staunch opponents of recreational drug use have called for total bans on all such substances and harsh penalties for offenders. Their view tends to be fairly black and white: if the activity is illegal, then throw the book at 'em. At the other end of the spectrum, advocates of marijuana decriminalization and those who favour reduced penalties for other substances suggest that the battle against drugs simply isn't working and will never stop people from using drugs if they're determined to do so. [continues 425 words]
Recent press has carried another spate of articles bemoaning illegal drug activity and the ineffectiveness of combative measures. One writer asked, "Does anyone else have a better idea at a reasonable cost?" At the risk of offending the gentile and naive, I quote from an article presented in Readers Digest of June 2006. This article was written by two educated, observant, realistic Canadians, who have lived and worked in Singapore for several years. "It's probably the world's safest country. It's certainly the cleanest big city I've ever seen." According to the same article, "Most citizens enjoy subsidized housing, an advanced medical system that rivals Canada's and a level of public safety that seems incredible to a North American." [continues 64 words]
Rising policing costs are prompting Esquimalt councillors to call for a meeting with their counterparts in Victoria. "It's giving us a real budget problem. In order to reduce the 9.9 per cent to something more manageable we're going to have to do something about it: either cutting services or delaying projects that we want to do," Esquimalt Coun. Hy Freedman said. Esquimalt's budget for 2007 could result in a 9.9 per cent property tax increase, largely driven by an increase of just under $425,000 for its share of police costs. [continues 316 words]
Residents Want Action On Drug Problem One of the last things North Park residents want to see when taking a walk in their community is all of the residue left behind by drug users who also frequent the neighbourhood. Whether it's dirty needles tossed into a front garden or blood-stained alcohol swabs discarded in playgrounds, drug abuse is more visible in Kristin Atwood's neck of the woods than almost anywhere else in the Capital Region. The chair of the North Park Neighbourhood Association (NPRA) wants to get her neighbours more involved in efforts to clean up the ongoing problem and encourage city hall to do more to address the social ramifications of the illicit drug trade. The NPRA is hosting an informal public forum March 14 to listen to the views of people who live and work in the area. [continues 463 words]
Part of me is still hoping that you misquoted Victoria police Deputy Chief Bill Naughton in your March 2 article, "AIDS group plans move," which details the problems around Victoria's needle exchange. According to the article, Naughton said: "Despite allocating a significant amount of our resources to the issues that have been occurring on the 800 block of Cormorant (Street), it's been clear to us that we haven't been able to achieve a satisfactory outcome. We recognize the increasing gentrification of downtown is placing a tremendous amount of pressure on police and social agencies as new residents and businesses come into conflict with our client base." [continues 206 words]
Booze, GHB A Dangerous Mix Two self-induced overdoses on GHB, more commonly known as the date rape drug, triggered a warning from Victoria police. Twice within an hour late Friday evening, men in their early 20s were found collapsed in front of Logan's Pub on Cook Street suffering from severe respiratory problems. Hospital staff later determined that the men, who police say appeared to have been drinking together, had ingested a combination of the drug GHB and alcohol. The men have since been released from hospital. [continues 314 words]
Three brightly-coloured stress balls sat in a basket on top of the TV at the Beacon of Hope House, the Salvation Army's new six-bed residential addiction treatment facility. Organizers worked 18-hour days to finish all the details for the grand opening Friday, but the stress is far from over. Rhiannon Porcellato, taking over as manager of the house, said there's "definitely" pressure to make the facility a success. The Beacon of Hope House, the Salvation Army's first foray into youth addiction treatment, will treat males 13-18 for three to six months, with a focus on those recovering from an addiction to crystal methamphetamine. [continues 295 words]
A police report on people living on the street revealed 45 of Victoria's homeless are intensive intravenous drug users -- some spending as much as $2,000 a day on cocaine and heroin. The report included anecdotes of life on the street. An entry on 34-year-old "William" found Sept. 5 on the 800 block of Mason St. noted: "In jail for last 10 years off and on. Last conviction nine months for robbery. Currently doing 10-15 grams of heroin per day. Laid off from a logging job. On no social assistance or other support." [continues 585 words]
And Other Tales From the Victoria Police Department's Exhibit Control and Supply Section This no ordinary warehouse. From outside the metal cage, this windowless, artificially lit room may resemble the back of an auto parts retailer with its myriad cardboard boxes lining metal shelves, labelled and stacked neatly for quick reference. A closer inspection reveals a rack filled with police uniforms, a collection of bongs, an assortment of thousands of new and used needles - many spattered with the blood of their users - and a stash of seized weapons, real and fake. [continues 902 words]
