OTTAWA - The key ingredient in a controversial street drug linked to a Florida attacker who chewed off a man's face should be illegal in Canada by this fall, the federal government says. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced Tuesday that she is rushing the process to ban MDPV - a synthetic substance that has around since the 1960s, but is now being mixed to make what is known as bath salts. "Let's be clear. These are not typical household bath salts. They are not the Epsom salts or the scented crystals that you find in many Canadian homes and pharmacies," Aglukkaq told reporters. "These are drugs, serious drugs." The drug, which can resemble the harmless bath additive, has gained notoriety since the vicious May 26 attack in Miami, where police shot and killed a man who tore his victim's face apart with his teeth. [continues 344 words]
OTTAWA -- Federally regulated companies and public services must not randomly test or prescreen employees for drug and alcohol use, the federal human-rights watchdog says. The Canadian Human Rights Commission released a new policy yesterday that says employee drug tests are an abuse of human rights under almost all circumstances. "Positive results of drug tests do not suggest a person is impaired," commission spokeswoman Catherine Barratt said. "If you want to test for a safe environment, testing for drugs is not going to get you there." [continues 590 words]
