'Looking for Answers'. Producer Hopes to Begin Next Spring British Columbia researchers and a medical marijuana producer have joined forces to conduct Canada's first-ever clinical trial to back up anecdotal evidence in using cannabis to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with hard facts. Pending regulatory approval, the University of British Columbia Okanagan and Tilray, a Health Canada licensed producer under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations, hope to begin the world's first large-scale clinical trial examining cannabis for a mental health disorder as early as spring 2015. [continues 319 words]
The history of anti-drug public-service ads is so long and illustrious that it's hard to pick a favourite from the lot. I have a particular affection for the New Zealand commercial that features a man in a club bathroom literally removing a piece of his brain, chopping it in a tiny bloody line and hoovering it up his nose. But then there is also the anti-methamphetamine ad from the United States, in which a doleful voice warns would-be tweekers, "This is where she used to be a cheerleader. This is the sink where she started pulling out her eyebrows." [continues 788 words]
North American first comes after more than a year of battles between doctors and federal Health Minister In a North American first, heroin addicts in Vancouver will soon receive prescription heroin outside of a clinical trial. Doctors at the Providence Crosstown Clinic received shipment of the drug this week for 26 former trial participants and will begin administering the drugs next week. In all, 120 severely addicted people have received authorization from Health Canada to receive the drugs; the rest are expected to get them soon. [continues 597 words]
Re: "Razing houses," Letter, Nov. 21. I agree with Christopher Bennett that the Canadian government should be outraged regarding Israel's bulldozing of the family homes of Palestinian criminals who murdered their citizens, leaving the innocent occupants without shelter. I see no difference in Canada where the homes of convicted marijuana grow operators are seized by provincial governments under the pretext of financing law enforcement, leaving the innocent occupants and children without shelter. Here, also, we endorse a policy where the sins of one family member are carried by all of the family. In Israel, murder carries this punishment; in Canada, the growing of marijuana has the same result. Where is the outrage here? Norma Higgs, Calgary [end]
OTTAWA: Liberal MP tells health committee the Tories are 'scaring people to death' OTTAWA - The Conservative government is "going around scaring people to death" with "panicky" and politically motivated anti-marijuana commercials, Liberal MP Hedy Fry told the Commons health committee Thursday. Health Minister Rona Ambrose replied the TV ads are based on science and aren't partisan. The multimillion-dollar campaign includes a TV spot that shows a human brain made out of glass tubes with thick smoke flowing through them. "(Marijuana) can damage a teen for life," the narrator says. [continues 176 words]
Aside from being a common recreational drug, marijuana may be able to help with the side affects of anxiety and fear that are common with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Zach Walsh, who is an associate professor of psychology at UBC Okanagan, studies the roles of substance use and the impact of drugs on behavior. Walsh started researching the impact of cannabis six years ago, as he was interested in finding out more about the world's most widely-used illegal substance. [continues 289 words]
Just before 9 p.m. on November 15, Nelsonites received the news that Deb Kozak would serve for the next four years as the community's first female mayor. Having served on council since 2005, Kozak defeated both incumbent John Dooley and challenger Pat Severyn with a final tally of 1,756 votes. The Star sat down with Kozak on Tuesday afternoon to debrief on her historic achievement, and to hear about her plans for the next four years. [continues 1510 words]
OTTAWA-The Conservative government is "going around scaring people to death" with "panicky" and politically motivated anti-marijuana commercials, Liberal MP Hedy Fry told the Commons health committee Thursday. Health Minister Rona Ambrose replied that the TV ads are based on science and aren't partisan. The multimillion-dollar campaign includes a TV spot that shows a human brain made out of glass tubes with thick smoke flowing through them."(Marijuana) can damage a teen for life,"the narrator says. Fry, a health committee member, said the Conservatives aren't interested in telling Canadians about the benefits of marijuana. [continues 102 words]
Stunning. Impressive. Historic. Those are just a few adjectives to describe Deb Kozak's upset win Saturday in knocking off three-time incumbent Nelson mayor John Dooley. I was among those guessing Dooley would be unstoppable, given a lack of polarizing issues in the campaign. The mayoral race was instead about "leadership style." While some on council were clearly dissatisfied with Dooley at the helm, I never got the same sense from the community at large. Early on, I speculated Pat Severyn's candidacy would benefit Kozak by drawing away votes that would otherwise go to Dooley, but as the campaign progressed I began to think the opposite would be true, as Severyn and Kozak seemed to be singing from the same song sheet. [continues 1399 words]
Marijuana producer and UBC are pitching a clinical trial on the impact of the drug on people with post-traumatic stress disorder After developing post-traumatic stress disorder during his second deployment in Afghanistan in 2007, Canadian army veteran Fabian Henry tried numerous anti-depressants to quell his suicidal thoughts and violent rages. For three years, he was on as many as nine pills a day. But only one drug worked for him: marijuana. "It literally gave me relief and changed my life," says Henry, who now vaporizes 10 grams of medical marijuana a day. "I went from suicidal and homicidal ideation, to DUIs, to threatening to kill people, to beating people up, to doing yoga seven days a week, using cannabis and spending more time in nature with my kids." [continues 968 words]
OTTAWA - The Conservative government is "going around scaring people to death" with "panicky" and politically motivated anti-marijuana commercials, Liberal MP Hedy Fry told the Commons health committee Thursday. Health Minister Rona Ambrose replied that the TV ads are based on science and aren't partisan. The multimillion-dollar campaign includes a TV spot that shows a human brain made out of glass tubes with thick smoke flowing through them."(Marijuana) can damage a teen for life,"the narrator says. Fry, a health committee member, said the Conservatives aren't interested in telling Canadians about the benefits of marijuana. [continues 101 words]
The number of clean needles handed out to drug users by Alouette Addictions has more than doubled this year, from 18,000 to 50,000. That doesn't mean, though, that the number of drug users has jumped by that amount. "What we're seeing is that people are becoming more aware of the service. People are becoming more aware of their health," and are exchanging the needles to keep themselves and the streets cleaner, said Annika Polegato, executive-director of Alouette Addictions Services. [continues 980 words]
This is National Addictions Awareness Week. That itself marks progress in admitting there is a problem. It is up to all of us to help fight the battle. For the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, preventing and reducing harms associated with substance use and abuse by youth is a priority. "Youth 15 to 24 years of age have the highest self-reported past-year use of illicit substances compared to older Canadians, and are approximately five times more likely than adults aged 25 years and older to report harm because of drug use," says the Centre. [continues 239 words]
This is National Addictions Awareness Week. That itself marks progress in admitting there is a problem. It is up to all of us to help fight the battle. For the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, preventing and reducing harms associated with substance use and abuse by youth is a priority. "Youth 15 to 24 years of age have the highest self-reported past-year use of illicit substances compared to older Canadians, and are approximately five times more likely than adults aged 25 years and older to report harm because of drug use," says the Centre. [continues 238 words]
Inside Canada
