In January I had a letter in this newspaper on how Christy Clark's solution to homelessness by opening a temporary shelter was a half-baked non-solution.

Well I feel the same about her Band-Aid solution to drug overdoses and drug caused deaths: temporary injection sites to use illegal drugs which would get them arrested if they were using the same drugs a mere 20 feet away. Temporary until when? After the next provincial election?

Attacking the root of the issue by making access to clinical counselors covered by MSP to help addicts overcome their drug addictions is the way to go.

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I believe that people who own houses in Vancouver, or anywhere in Canada should not pay extra taxes due to a fentanyl crisis.

Has the government actually gone door-to-door to ask people/homeowners if it's OK to raise taxes for this crisis?

To me it's a way to support the addicts to keep them supplied with this crisis instead of the government actually looking at the real problem. The government is supplying the addicts with clean needles and supplies to keep them going with their addictions and not helping with the problem. They are saying it's OK to do heroin, cocaine and meth by supplying them with the needles and help kits.

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An orange shipping container converted into a supervised consumption site for injection drug users opens today in the courtyard at Our Place on Pandora Avenue.

The hope is that the new temporary and limited service helps to curb the catastrophic number of overdose deaths in Victoria. It is the first supervised consumption service to open at the end of a year of unprecedented deaths, the day after the B.C. Coroners Service announced November overdose deaths were the highest on record for the province.

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The Canadian government needs to fill more than 200 federal RCMP vacancies in B.C. to help the province deal with its drug overdose crisis, B.C.'s director of police services said Monday.

Clayton Pecknold, who co-chairs the province's task force on overdose response, credited the federal government with introducing legislation to ease the way for safe consumption sites and prevent the smuggling of opioids into Canada.

"But there's more they can do," he said. "We are still down in the number of RCMP officers that we have doing federal drug enforcement in this province. We'd like to see the federal government act quickly on filling those positions."

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We need to get at the roots of drug abuse, find out what factors lead people to take illicit drugs, and figure out what support they need to get off drugs and stay clean. We need to get the message out there that drugs are not the solution to problems. We need to step up efforts to apprehend and prosecute manufacturers and distributors of illicit drugs. But first, we need to stop people from dying. And to do that, we must do things that might seem counter-intuitive to many of us, such as providing safe-consumption sites or perhaps free, clean heroin to people who are addicted. We must stop regarding people who are addicted to drugs as criminals or some lower form of life, and see them for who they really are: victims of a terrible illness who need help, not condemnation.

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B.C.'s overdose crisis appears to be worsening, sparking fears that drugs are becoming increasingly toxic and unpredictable, chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said Monday.

More than four people a day died on average in November for a total of 128 deaths, the highest number of illicit drug overdoses for a single month in recent memory.

With up to 13 people dying from overdoses in one day last week, the crisis shows no signs of abating.

"December is looking like a very bad month," Lapointe said Monday in releasing the latest statistics.

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Editor:

The time has come for Canadians to stand up and deal with street drugs in a different way. No matter how much money, time and heartache goes into trying to cope with the current plague of overdoses, there will never be an end to it.

When a drug dealer/manufacturer is caught, the repercussions do not fit the crime. A slap on the wrist, confiscation of property, fines or even short prison terms do not stop these entitled criminals. They are dealing death. They know what they are doing. They plan their actions and they make huge sums of money on the pain and suffering (and possible death) of their customers - not to mention the grief and loss inflicted on the victims families.

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Twice as many drug overdose deaths in Kelowna so far this year as all of last year, with no end to crisis in sight

Drug overdose deaths are increasing rapidly with no end in sight, says Interior Health medical director Dr. Trevor Corneil.

In Kelowna, there were 40 overdose deaths from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, compared to 19 overdose deaths all of last year, according to statistics released by the BC Coroners Service.

Across the Okanagan, there were 65 overdose deaths in the same period this year, at a rate of 19.4 deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 42 overdose deaths all of last year, at a rate of 11.6 deaths per 100,000 people.

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If I may, a thought or two on the column I wrote last week on the fentanyl crisis. My position on this tragic situation, as espoused in that column, can be summarized adequately in these three points:

The cry of sobriety is getting more and more lost in the din of harm reduction and it needs a louder voice; harm reduction does have an important role to play in the management of this crisis; the only way to guarantee you, me or anyone will not suffer a fentanyl overdose is to not use drugs that may contain fentanyl.

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The Municipality of North Cowichan has delivered a lump of coal to two Chemainus dispensaries in the form of a $200 fine.

Leaf Compassion Cannabis Dispensary and Green Aura in Chemainus were slapped with tickets last Tuesday by the area's manager of building and compliance for not having a business license.

North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure said the dispensary is operating contrary to federal law.

"I don't see any grey area, it's very clear. We can't issue a business license for an activity that is illegal," he said.

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Nanaimo Mayor Bill McKay was hoping to introduce a motion to city council Monday that limits proximity of marijuana dispensaries to minors.

McKay planned to direct staff to draft a bylaw prohibiting marijuana dispensaries from being situated within 500 metres of any facility where people under 19 years old gather, such as parks, childcare centres, schools and recreation centres.

Melissa Burke, owner of Kidz Kompany Childcare Group, is concerned a dispensary could be opening next to her Terminal Avenue location. While there are legitimate reasons for medicinal marijuana, some are accessing dispensaries illegitimately, Burke said.

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OTTAWA - With apologies to The Who, the kids may not be all right with this.

A series of 24 focus groups on perceptions of marijuana legalization commissioned by the federal Liberal government found that the youngest teenaged participants were the most cautious about the policy shift.

The government has been laying the groundwork for months on a major public education and awareness campaign that will accompany the looming legalization of recreational marijuana.

Health Canada commissioned a series of focus group surveys last June to plumb public perceptions around legalized cannabis, including the health impacts and attitudes to drug-impaired driving.

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With apologies to The Who, the kids may not be alright with this.

A series of 24 focus groups on perceptions of marijuana legalization commissioned by the federal Liberal government found that the youngest teenaged participants were the most cautious about the policy shift.

The government has been laying the groundwork for months on a major public education and awareness campaign that will accompany the looming legalization of recreational marijuana.

Health Canada commissioned a series of focus group surveys last June to plumb public perceptions around legalized cannabis, including the health impacts and attitudes to drug-impaired driving.

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I was unavailable to attend and speak to the evening council session Agenda 14.3, on "Temporary use permits for marijuana dispensaries."

However, I am somewhat astonished. After reviewing this matter on the City of Penticton video I will be addressing this with Blake Laven, if he is available. It is even admitted and stated by city staff and a couple of councillors that a Federal Law currently exists and a court challenge could overturn this council's decision.

The City of Penticton cannot legally overrule a federal law. Municipal law is at the bottom of the ladder, not the top. Penticton residents are advised that we have a large deficit in our city infrastructure, but yet we are wasting monies and staff time on an illegal issue.

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How Canada's legalization of marijuana could change relations with the U.S.

VANCOUVER - Their position on marijuana is hardly the only difference between Canada's prime minister and the president-elect of the United States.

But when Justin Trudeau's government introduces legislation to legalize cannabis this spring, it could spark problems between Canada and the U.S., particularly since Donald Trump has indicated he will keep pot illegal at the federal level.

Here's a look at what could change in Canada-U.S. relations once Canadians start lighting up legally.

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Just when I thought I heard it all now this.

Whoopteedoo - overdose prevention site opening in Kelowna Tuesday to Saturday, from noon to 7.30 p.m.

The site will be open seven and a half hours, five days a week allowing drug addicts near by the choice of where and when help is available to reverse their sickly crawl toward death after a shoot up?

Any user outside of the area please phone 911 and make an appointment.

My question is, where do many of these people that shoot the needle instead of the breeze get the money to obtain the killer drug fentanyl and all that other stuff?

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Cold weather has meant more B.C. illicit drug users overdose alone at home, in public washroom stalls or on deserted streets, pushing B.C.'s highest-ever drug death total to new heights.

The isolation of drug users, and the likely introduction of even more lethal synthetic opioids into the street drug supply, contributed to 128 B.C. overdose deaths in November, provincial health officials said Monday. That brings the total deaths in B.C. to 755 for the year, up 70 per cent from last year, with little relief in sight for December.

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Homicides, shooting linked to groups bringing drugs, guns into Regina

Police believe at least two Regina homicides and a shooting in a crowded restaurant are among the fallout from an increasingly violent threat posed by outsiders bringing guns and drugs into the city.

The Mounties and Regina Police Service joined forces to roll out the unwelcome mat for the unwanted guests, recently concluding a 90-day project targeting drug trafficking as well as the weapons and shootings that accompany the trade. What it revealed is that many of the 60 people arrested on 443 charges, including trafficking, possession of stolen property, and multiple weapons offences, aren't from here. They dropped in from locales such as Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Fort McMurray and Toronto.

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For the past few days I have been listening to, and reading about the 80 recommendations made by the marijuana legalization task force, headed up by Anne McMillan, a former Liberal justice minister.

Some of the recommendations include: an age for purchase restriction of not less than 18 (not 21 as recommended by the Canadian Medical Association); separate storefronts for tobacco, alcohol and pot because, according to the committee, one addiction leads to another; two separate bureaucracies for medical and recreational use; and money is to be earmarked to fight addiction, underage use and for harm-reduction strategies.

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The public is being asked what should be the legal age to buy marijuana? This is a joke right? Is this an unstoppable bus? Just wondering if Premier Rachel Notley has consulted any recovering addicts? They are all screaming at their TVs, "Don't legalize it!" My question is, "Who is going to pay for the aftermath? Is the government prepared to open and run more treatment centres? You must know that weed is not just weed anymore. It is being laced with the deadly drug fentanyl.

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