Disappointment after province won't call state of emergency

Rosalind Davis and her spouse Nathan Huggins-Rosenthal planned to start a family, but she believes his addiction to fentanyl became the cause of his death.

Davis was dismayed to learn last week that the government won't enact a public health state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis, after Alberta Liberal leader Dr. David Swann expressed the need for an emergency.

"I think we're really disappointed because it speaks volumes of ignorance to the lack of education around drugs and addictions issues," said Davis, who has launched the Alberta Foundation of Changing the Face of Addiction, a not-for-profit that aims to educate Albertans on drugs and addictions issues, with Nathan's sister, Jessica Holtsbaum.

[continues 314 words]

Marijuana test to be in force's hands by early 2017: Developer

The Calgary Police Service said they're encouraged by companies working on solutions to impaired driving by drugs - including a marijuana breathalyzer.

Mike Lynn, and emergency room doctor, reserve deputy sheriff and CEO of The Hounds Labs, Inc. based out of Oakland California said they're close to completing their marijuana breathalyzer and are hoping to do pilot projects with law enforcement agencies.

"There is a huge amount of interest in what we're doing and that part has been really quite gratifying," he said. "Now we're working as hard as we can and as fast as possible to get the tools out there."

[continues 304 words]

Officers' 'privacy interests' cited in failure to produce key documents

After an Edmonton judge blamed federal Crown prosecutors and the Edmonton Police Service for an "extreme delay" that led to charges against an alleged drug dealer being set aside, Edmonton police argued Wednesday they need to balance their officers' privacy against their duty to disclose.

"There's a balancing act that has to take place between the disclosure of police disciplinary records and the privacy interests of police officers in those employment records," Edmonton police spokesperson Patrycia Thenu said in a brief written statement, adding she couldn't comment on specific cases.

[continues 217 words]

Workplace Safety Efforts Put in Jeopardy

CALGARY * Oil and gas companies are worried their efforts to curb drug use and improve safety standards on job sites could go up in smoke if Ottawa legalizes marijuana.

Oilpatch safety organization Enform, which is funded by industry groups including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, sent a letter this week to the federal government's Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation outlining concerns that marijuana would make worksites unsafe.

"Safety issues pertaining to alcohol and drug use and abuse are the forefront of the continuing challenges facing the upstream petroleum industry's efforts to control and reduce the risk of workplace injuries," Enform president and CEO Cameron MacGillvray wrote in the letter. "There can be no doubt that marijuana use is incompatible with working in a safety-sensitive workplace," he added.

[continues 558 words]

Why cancer patients will suffer to protect the lives of addicts

How history repeats itself! Today, politicians are once again ignoring the pain of terminal cancer patients. At the same time they are shooting themselves in the foot by making illogical remarks about pain. This human folly takes me back 37 years.

In January 1979, I wrote a New Year's resolution in this column to petition the government to legalize medical heroin to ease the agony of terminal cancer patients. I knew that heroin had been used in English hospitals for 90 years, so why not have this painkiller available in North America? But rather than being applauded for my compassion, all hell broke loose.

[continues 581 words]

Re: "Drug scourge devastating our city and nothing is being done," Chris Nelson, Opinion, Aug. 25.

Thanks for Chris Nelson's excellent column, which raises important issues.

Firstly, it is outrageous that it has taken 17 months for ASIRT to release its findings in the shooting death of Anthony Heffernan. I do understand why prosecutors declined a criminal prosecution of the policeman involved, as success would require proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

On the other hand, no such requirement is necessary for city police to immediately fire the officer. If CPS wants to "protect and serve," this should happen immediately.

[continues 121 words]

High-Dose Opiods Ease Dying Patients' Suffering

How history repeats itself! Today, politicians are once again ignoring the pain of terminal cancer patients. At the same time they are shooting themselves in the foot by making illogical remarks about pain. This human folly takes me back 37 years.

In January 1979, I wrote a New Year's resolution in this column to petition the government to legalize medical heroin to ease the agony of terminal cancer patients. I knew that heroin had been used in English hospitals for 90 years, so why not have this painkiller available in North America? But rather than being applauded for my compassion, all hell broke loose.

[continues 626 words]

It's Time to Conquer Addiction for the Good of Everyone; Victims and Police Included

Try holding your breath for 72 seconds.

It's uncomfortable, but you'll live, unlike Anthony Heffernan at the end of those 72 seconds in that Calgary Super 8 hotel room.

By now, many Calgarians are divided into one of two camps regarding the tragic death of this young man, who was shot four times by police as he held a syringe in one hand and a lighter in another while under the dreadful influence of cocaine.

[continues 593 words]

In Alberta, impaired driving includes driving while under the influence of both legal and illegal drugs such as marijuana and doctor-prescribed painkillers.

"It comes as a surprise to many people that drunk driving and drugged driving carry the same criminal charges," Alberta Minister of Transportation Brian Mason said in a release Aug. 5. "This is because both substances impair a driver's ability and increase the likelihood of being involved in a collision."

According to information posted on the provincial government's website, drugs were found to be a factor in 40 per cent of all fatal collisions in 2012 in Canada, with Alberta slightly above this national average at 41 percent, or 82 drivers.

[continues 445 words]

If you mention laws surrounding the use of marijuana, you are likely to get an earful of differing opinions. But when it comes to medical marijuana, there seems to be at least some lenience on negative views.

According to Health Canada, under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, Canadians who have been authorized by their health care practitioner to access cannabis for medical purposes will continue to have the option of purchasing safe, quality-controlled cannabis from one of the 34 producers licensed by Health Canada. Canadians will also be able to produce a limited amount of cannabis for their own medical purposes, or designate someone to produce it for them.

[continues 196 words]

Lives with potential continue to be ruined over charges of mere possession of a substance the federal government is working to regulate and legalize

The Liberal government does not seem to be taking too seriously its promise to regulate and legalize marijuana.

Sure, the federal party is looking at ways to reform obsolete and arguably draconian drug laws. After all, a permanent criminal record and jail time is rather heavy handed for a non-violent act and use of a substance that indigenous cultures around the world have used for millennia.

[continues 427 words]

Like many school-aged children, Sarah Wilkinson's 10-year-old daughter, Mia, will head off to school in September. Though today Mia is laughing, happy and enjoying life, many didn't expect her to still be here.

With two boys already at home, Wilkinson and her husband James were "over the moon" to hear another baby was on the way - a girl. But 29 minutes after being born, Mia had her first seizure. The diagnosis - a rare form of epilepsy called Ohtahara syndrome - meant Mia's life would be marked by many more seizures to come.

[continues 695 words]

Calgary force and colleagues push feds to develop screening device

Driving impaired is driving impaired.

It doesn't matter what substance a person's on, but Calgary police and their overseeing commission want to be ready when one in particular is legalized.

This weekend in Ottawa, at a Canadian Association of Police Governance Conference, the Calgary Police Commission put forward a resolution to continue pressure on the federal government to identify and approve a roadside drug screening device, in light of the feds' commitment to legalize and regulate marijuana by 2017.

[continues 468 words]

CREMONA, Alta. - Driving past the gravel driveway that leads to an unremarkable rural bungalow just outside the Village of Cremona, most would never know the property is also home to the fastest growing manufacturer of medical marijuana in Canada.

Just beyond the rustic homestead, encircled by a stout chain link fence topped with barbed wire, sits a massive one-storey factory that this year is expected to produce 7,000 kg (about the weight of a full-grown African bull elephant) of cannabis for patients who've found relief for a wide range of symptoms thanks to a new frontier of medicine.

[continues 1349 words]

Cannabis oil was young girl's last, best resort

AIRDRIE - Three years ago, during the darkest time of her life, Airdrie mom Sarah Wilkinson told her two sons to say their goodbyes to their ailing sister Mia.

Then seven years old, Mia had just been revived from the longest seizure of her young life, thanks to a dose of ketamine (a potent drug used as horse tranquillizer, and known as Special K on the street) beyond the maximum allowed for children.

[continues 659 words]

Marijuana use big issue for employers, expert says

Darrin Rogowski said he is launching a human rights complaint after his employer let him go in late July because he uses medical marijuana after hours.

Rogowski, 30, was working for Inertia Environmental - an Okotoks-based hydrovacing company. He worked on the company's trucks, which use high-pressure water to move earth when excavation by other means isn't allowed.

"When I got my medical marijuana licence back in May, I told one of my supervisors I had it, and nothing else was really said about it," he said.

[continues 262 words]

Alberta's Aurora Cannabis Boasts Thousands of Loyal Customers

Driving past the gravel driveway that leads to an unremarkable rural bungalow just outside the Village of Cremona, most would never know the property is also home to the fastest-growing manufacturer of medical marijuana in Canada.

Just beyond the rustic homestead, encircled by a stout, chain-link fence topped with barbed wire, sits a massive one-storey factory that this year is expected to produce 7,000 kg (about the weight of a full-grown African bull elephant) of cannabis for patients who've found relief for a wide range of symptoms thanks to a new frontier of medicine.

[continues 1716 words]

As of August 24 Health Canada will now allow patients to grow a limited amount of medical marijuana.

Health Canada is also allowing patients to designate someone to grow for them because they themselves may not be able to.

This new parameter will be called Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulation (ACMPR) and will replace the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR).

"The program is designed to help individuals who need access to cannabis for medical purposes, in not all instances will people be able to produce for themselves," said Jacqueline Bogden, assistant deputy minister for the department's cannabis legalization and regulation branch.

[continues 361 words]

The parents of an Edmonton Institution inmate who died of a fentanyl overdose have launched a $295,000 lawsuit against the Correctional Service of Canada.

In a statement of claim filed July 14, John and Debilyn Witvoet allege the federal agency responsible for Canadian prisons was negligent in the Aug. 20, 2015, death of Ryan William Witvoet, 31.

The Witvoets allege the correctional service failed to protect their son, who had drug-addiction issues, from access to illegal drugs within the maximum-security prison in north Edmonton.

[continues 308 words]

The parents of an Edmonton Institution inmate who died of a fentanyl overdose have launched a $295,000 lawsuit against the Correctional Service of Canada.

In a statement of claim filed July 14, John and Debilyn Witvoet allege the federal agency responsible for Canadian prisons was negligent in the Aug. 20, 2015, death of Ryan William Witvoet, 31.

The Witvoets allege the correctional service failed to protect their son, who had drug-addiction issues, from access to illegal drugs within the maximum-security prison in north Edmonton.

[continues 327 words]