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151 CN BC: PUB LTE: Prohibition A Proven FailureSat, 12 Nov 2016
Source:South Peace News, The (CN AB) Author:Robinson, Tyler Area:British Columbia Lines:73 Added:11/16/2016

RE: "The coming legalization of pot doesn't make it right" by Mac Olsen, Oct. 26, South Peace News

As I read this article, the only thing I could picture was some old man, shaking his finger, uttering, "marijuana is bad!"

This kind of close-minded, knee-jerk reaction is exactly the kind of response I've come to expect from people who don't do their homework. They operate off ancient and expired ideas that harm the progress of society.

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152CN BC: Prof Calls For National Policy On Workplace PotTue, 15 Nov 2016
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Pemberton, Kim Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/16/2016

'These issues have to be solved very quickly' when cannabis is legalized, expert says

A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal case involving a gymnastics coach suspended after co-workers claimed she was "stoned" at work when she used medical marijuana raises a difficult issue for employers, according to experts.

How do you balance the needs of an employee who requires medical marijuana with ensuring there is no "intoxication" at work, asks adjunct professor Mark Haden of the University of B.C.'s School of Population and Public Health.

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153CN BC: Medical Pot Use, Work Safety Is Tricky IssueTue, 15 Nov 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Pemberton, Kim Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/16/2016

A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal case involving a gymnastic coach suspended after co-workers claimed she was "stoned" at work when she used medical marijuana raises a difficult issue for employers, experts say.

How do you balance the needs of an employee who requires medical marijuana with ensuring there is no "intoxication" at work, asks adjunct professor Mark Haden of the University of B.C.'s School of Population and Public Health.

"The real issue is impairment testing, and that's hard to do right now. Urine analysis testing isn't useful, since marijuana can be detected for 30 days - long after any psychological or physical effect has passed," he said.

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154CN BC: Fears Over DTEs Rush On 'Free Money'Sun, 13 Nov 2016
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Eagland, Nick Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/16/2016

Overdose concerns grow as computer upgrade allows credit union members access to overdraft

Service providers in the Downtown Eastside are fearing a spike in overdoses and homelessness in the area after computer upgrades gave members of a local credit union temporary access to overdrafts.

ATMs were being drained Saturday after word spread quickly around Hastings and Main streets that members of Pigeon Park Savings could use their client cards to make multiple withdrawals of $80, despite never having access to an overdraft before.

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155 CN BC: VPD Issue Warning Following String Of Drug OverdosesWed, 16 Nov 2016
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Stueck, Wendy Area:British Columbia Lines:92 Added:11/16/2016

Vancouver police have issued another warning after 11 overdoses were reported in a single day in the city's Downtown Eastside.

The move prompted the province's opposition party to call for more help for addicts and underscored the danger facing drug users ahead of a federal conference on the opioid crisis. Police issued the warning after a series of non-fatal overdoses on Monday, echoing previous notices from police and health officials, who have urged users not to inject when they are alone and to watch for overdose symptoms.

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156CN BC: Drug Consumption Sites ProposedWed, 16 Nov 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Petrescu, Sarah Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/16/2016

As overdose deaths climb, facilities seen as way to save lives

Victoria could see three supervised consumption sites for injection drug users open by 2017. Island Health is proposing public sites for Pandora Avenue and Rock Bay, and a private site in a residential building on Johnson Street in response to an overdose-death crisis that has killed at least 44 Victorians in 2016 so far.

The health authority plans to use $7 million out of its regular operating budget to open the sites, as well as a potential site in Nanaimo and mobile harm reduction services across the Island.

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157 CN BC: Ottawa To Ease Injection-Site LawFri, 11 Nov 2016
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Woo, Andrea Area:British Columbia Lines:110 Added:11/15/2016

Respect for Communities Act currently puts requirements on prospective operators that critics say are an effort to curb the facilities

The federal government will change a contentious piece of Harper-era legislation that critics say imposes undue barriers to opening new supervised injection sites.

Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott discussed the need for legislative changes to the Respect for Communities Act for the first time on Thursday during a visit to a fire hall in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. First responders, particularly in the East Vancouver neighbourhood, have seen call rates surge in recent years, due largely to a fentanyl-driven overdose crisis.

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158CN BC: Column: We Need More Study On Link Between Pot, PsychosisThu, 10 Nov 2016
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Clark, Gordon Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/12/2016

Canadians, especially lawmakers, gleefully rushing headlong to legalize marijuana should pause to consider the heartbreaking stabbing death of 13-year-old Letisha Reimer, as innocent a crime victim as one can imagine.

Gabriel Brandon Klein, the 21-year-old homeless man from Alberta charged with second-degree murder in the death of the Abbotsford Senior Secondary School student, and aggravated assault in the non-fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old girl in the Nov. 1 attack, was a heavy pot smoker who recently "became manic, paranoid and frightened," some of his friends told CBC.

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159CN BC: Greener Days Ahead, B.C. Pot Grower SaysThu, 10 Nov 2016
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Lindsay, Bethany Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/12/2016

Market expanding as more states legalize weed

As California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts appear set to join the growing list of states that have legalized recreational pot, one of B.C.'s biggest medical marijuana producers is seeing big opportunities in the American market.

After several successful ballot initiatives south of the border this week, B.C. will soon be the only West Coast jurisdiction between the Bering Sea and Tijuana where toking up is still restricted to medical use. But the people behind Tilray, the federally licensed cannabis production facility on Vancouver Island, aren't concerned about losing their edge to rivals south of the border when Canada eventually legalizes pot.

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160CN BC: Officials Are Keeping Eye On Pot ShopFri, 11 Nov 2016
Source:Tri-City News (Port Coquitlam, CN BC) Author:Cleugh, Janis Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/12/2016

Cannabis Culture store located in a PoCo strip mall

A pot shop franchise with ties to Canada's most famous marijuana activist is open on the edge of downtown Port Coquitlam.

And the spokesperson for Cannabis Culture said the company plans to push further into the suburbs given its success in PoCo.

Yesterday (Thursday), Jodie Emery - wife of the so-called "Prince of Pot" crusader Marc Emery, leader of the BC Marijuana Party - told The Tri-City News the company wants to expand into other Lower Mainland municipalities so people don't have to drive into Vancouver to buy marijuana.

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161CN BC: OPED: How Will Universities Deal With Legalized Pot?Mon, 07 Nov 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Mensah-Aborampah, Nelson Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/12/2016

Institutions need to have policies ready, writes Nelson Mensah-Aborampah.

Marijuana is just one of many controlled substances on campuses, but its upcoming legalization is going to present particular challenges for Canadian universities as they attempt to strike a balance between federal law and school policy.

Canadian universities have zero-tolerance policies toward the use or possession of marijuana. Nevertheless, it is one of the most used and easily accessible recreational substances among students. A 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey estimated past-year marijuana use to be 33 per cent among 18-24-year-olds, the ages of most university students.

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162 CN BC: Column: Pot Bylaw Makes SenseWed, 09 Nov 2016
Source:Nelson Star (CN BC) Author:McGarrigle, Colin Area:British Columbia Lines:70 Added:11/12/2016

Despite the rhetoric, fear and general sky-is-falling condemnation from proponents of marijuana dispensaries in Nelson, there is no need to panic about the bylaw that was approved at city hall this week.

City council voted on a bylaw on Monday night to regulate certain aspects of dispensaries in the city, but have pledged not to shut down any current dispensaries.

The reason behind the bylaw is to ensure that these businesses operate in the same manner as any other business in the community.Nothing more.

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163 CN BC: Mayor Kozak: Pot Shops Won't CloseWed, 09 Nov 2016
Source:Nelson Star (CN BC) Author:Johnson, Will Area:British Columbia Lines:86 Added:11/12/2016

None of the six current pot dispensaries operating in downtown Nelson will be closed according to Nelson Mayor Deb Kozak and city manager Kevin Cormack. And though council passed a bylaw that aims to regulate the burgeoning industry, residents shouldn't expect any large-scale intervention.

"We tried valiantly to explain why we felt it was necessary to put in this bylaw," Kozak told the Star,noting the backlash and panic inspired by the decision made on Monday evening.

"People were very nervous and frightened, thinking the City of Nelson was going to take away their medicine or their access, and that's not what this is about. … This isn't a big axe hanging over the heads of the cannabis business community."

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164 CN BC: OPED: Public, Private Liquor Stores Are Best Options ForThu, 10 Nov 2016
Source:Daily Courier, The (CN BC) Author:Smith, Stephanie Area:British Columbia Lines:80 Added:11/12/2016

The best system for non-medical marijuana sales already exists

Non-medical marijuana will be legally for sale soon and, here in British Columbia, we already have the ideal system in place to ensure that it's sold in the most socially responsible manner.

When Justin Trudeau's Liberals took office in October 2015, they did so with a host of mandates from Canadians. Stephen Harper thought that the Liberals' position on legal marijuana would sink them, but in the end it was hardly an issue at all.

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165CN BC: OPED: Best System For Marijuana Sales Already ExistsWed, 09 Nov 2016
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Smith, Stephanie Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/12/2016

Love it or hate it, public retailing of non-medical marijuana is coming. With that in mind, the most socially responsible way to sell it in B.C. is through our existing public and private liquor stores.

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals took office in October 2015, they did so with a host of mandates from Canadians. Former prime minister Stephen Harper thought the Liberals' position on legal marijuana would sink them, but in the end it was hardly an issue at all.

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166CN BC: B.C. Hydro Tech Pulls The Plug On Power-Thieving Grow-OpsFri, 04 Nov 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Eagland, Nick Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/08/2016

Smart meters and high-tech devices on hydro poles have left cannabis-growing power thieves little choice but to pay their electricity bills.

In 2011, field inspections found that 62 per cent of grow-ops identified by B.C. Hydro were stealing power from the grid. But B.C.'s smart-meter system, installed the same year, and other new devices have replaced the Crown corporation's reliance on tips and risky in-person inspections and have helped put an end to tens of millions of dollars in losses each year.

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167 CN BC: PUB LTE: Cannabis In Blood Stream Doesn't Mean You're ImpairedThu, 03 Nov 2016
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Lake, Stephanie Area:British Columbia Lines:46 Added:11/08/2016

Re: Fatal car crashes triple among drivers high on marijuana after legalization in Colorado; double in Washington state, Oct. 30

Before raising the alarm on cannabis-impaired motor vehicle accidents, the stats presented in this article require additional clarification and contextualization.

Unlike alcohol, for which there is a close correlation between blood-alcohol content and impairment, there is no defined standard of impairment for cannabis.

Determining whether or not these drivers were impaired by cannabis is further complicated by the fact tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the primary psychoactive component in cannabis - can be detected in the blood several days or even weeks after consuming cannabis.

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168 CN BC: More Than 50 Pot Shops Flouting City's Licence SchemeThu, 03 Nov 2016
Source:Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Author:Howell, Mike Area:British Columbia Lines:139 Added:11/08/2016

City has issued 854 tickets to pot shop operators

More than 50 illegal marijuana dispensaries continue to operate in Vancouver despite the city issuing 854 tickets to owners who refuse to close their doors, according to new statistics provided to the Courier this week.

The city has also filed 27 injunctions in court in an effort to shut down some of the 54 premises, which are operating without a business licence. The tickets are worth $250 each and, in some cases, were issued multiple times to a dispensary.

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169CN BC: OPED: Strathcona Sees Need For Dialogue On Injection SitesSat, 29 Oct 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Kumagai, Joji Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/02/2016

Consultation process falls short, says Joji Kumagai.

On Sept. 21, Vancouver Coastal Health's chief medical health officer announced the location of two proposed supervised injection sites for the Downtown Eastside, both of which are slated to open in early 2017 in Strathcona.

As the representative body of 450 businesses, the Strathcona Business Improvement Association (SBIA) welcomes the opportunity for meaningful consultation on this important matter. But so far, what our community - - comprising 9,000 residents and 7,000 employees - has been afforded to date borders on shameful.

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170 CN BC: A Case For KitsThu, 27 Oct 2016
Source:Maple Ridge Times (CN BC) Author:Wadhwani, Ashley Area:British Columbia Lines:47 Added:11/01/2016

School board wants to see Narcan kits in high schools.

Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school board is looking to the province to put Narcan kits in every high school in B.C.

The motion to bring anti-overdose kits to local high schools passed unanimously at last night's school board meeting, led by school trustee Susan Carr.

Carr told The TIMES more needs to be done to combat the overdose crisis hitting cities and towns across the province, including in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

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171CN BC: Compassion Clubs Likely To Get OK To Smoke In 'Safe Place'Sun, 30 Oct 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Cleverley, Bill Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/01/2016

Compassion clubs could be exempted from new city pot shop regulations prohibiting the consumption of cannabis on site.

In a motion to be discussed next week, councillors Marianne Alto, Jeremy Loveday and Charlayne Thornton-Joe are proposing that the new Cannabis-related Business Regulation Bylaw be amended to provide an exemption for on-site cannabis consumption for compassion clubs established before 2009 and that have continuously operated since 2009.

In their motion, the three councillors note that the compassion clubs "have operated without incident for decades, providing non-profit service for Victorians requiring medical cannabis, including the option of consuming cannabis onsite."

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172CN BC: Many Youth Say They Often Drive Impaired, Study FindsSun, 30 Oct 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Harnett, Cindy E. Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/01/2016

One in five youth report heavy alcohol and marijuana use - frequently driving while impaired - and are concerned about their growing dependency, according to a new study.

The report Changes and Challenges, which highlights a decade of observations of the health and well-being of young adults in British Columbia, was produced by Island Health and the University of Victoria.

The study spans a decade, from 2003-2013, of repeat interviews with 662 people from Greater Victoria as a random sample of youth from age 12 to 18.

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173CN BC: Bylaw Officers The Latest Group To Hit Pot ShopsSat, 29 Oct 2016
Source:Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) Author:Miller, Jacquie Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/01/2016

Dispensaries deemed 'retail stores,' leading to zoning violation notices

Ottawa bylaw officers are the latest authorities to take a swat at the pot shops popping up around town.

Two dispensaries have received notices of zoning violations for operating "retail stores" in industrial zones. City inspectors are also investigating the takeout window in a boarded-up pot shop to see if the operation violates the building code.

It adds another piece to the puzzle over what can - or should - be done about the illegal dispensaries. There are now 17 pot shops in town.

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174CN BC: High Societies: Peculiar Rules Govern Pot ShopsSat, 29 Oct 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Fumano, Dan Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:11/01/2016

Vancouver's licensing regulations for marijuana dispensaries favour non-profits

Reefer retail is a growth industry in Vancouver, with annual revenues estimated in the hundreds of millions in Canada's first major city to regulate dispensaries.

And, due to what a prominent cannabis lawyer calls a "peculiarity" of Vancouver's dispensary regulations, millions of dollars of commerce flow through non-profit societies every year.

In Vancouver, where companies cannot apply for dispensary licences, most pot shops working their way through the city's licensing process are incorporated as nonprofit societies.

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175CN BC: The Politics Of Battling A 'Poison'Wed, 26 Oct 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC)          Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/28/2016

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake wants the federal government to take action to stop other countries from smuggling deadly fentanyl into Canada. Meanwhile, a Nanaimo physician is pushing the provincial government to step up funding for drug-addiction clinics.

B.C. Health Minister Terry Lake lies awake at night worrying and wondering why the federal government is allowing other countries to smuggle deadly fentanyl into our country.

"There's a headline in the Kamloops paper today," Lake said in an interview last Friday. "A young man at a wedding using cocaine and he died. And this is a story we've heard again and again and again. That is not addiction. This is poisoning."

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176CN BC: Are Harsher Sentences The Answer?Tue, 25 Oct 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:DeRosa, Katie Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/26/2016

As the fentanyl crisis continues to kill people across B.C., the province's judges must decide whether those who sell the powerful opioid deserve a harsher punishment. However, some lawyers and criminologists warn that the criminal courts are an ineffective solution to the war on drugs.

A Campbell River provincial court judge recently ruled that the presence of fentanyl in a drug seizure was an aggravating factor that led to a 12-month jail sentence for 23-year-old Tylor Michael James Derycke, who was selling drugs to feed his own addiction.

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177 CN BC: Police Chief Wants To Threaten Drug Dealers With Stiff ChargesWed, 19 Oct 2016
Source:Abbotsford News (CN BC) Author:Olsen, Tyler Area:British Columbia Lines:64 Added:10/24/2016

Crown counsel suggested letter to traffickers was a bad idea

Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich wants to find a way to bring the full weight of the law down on opioid dealers whose customers overdose and die.

Rich told Abbotsford council Monday that he had penned a letter to drug dealers warning them that they could be charged with extremely serious crimes if their customers suffer fatal overdoses.

But Rich said that Crown counsel thought the letter, as written, was not a good idea. Nevertheless, Rich said he's still looking at ways to deter drug dealers with the threat of charges beyond simply trafficking and was considering modifying the letter for distribution.

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178 CN BC: When Youth Turn To DrugsThu, 20 Oct 2016
Source:Maple Ridge Times (CN BC) Author:Wadhwani, Ashley Area:British Columbia Lines:154 Added:10/24/2016

As overdose-related deaths are on the rise, Maple Ridge services and advocates are looking to create strategies of prevention in the community.

Following a recent case of fentanyl-related overdoses that put nine young people in hospital in a matter of 20 minutes in Delta, it was made clear to Strong Kids Team co-chair Susan Carr that fentanyl is reaching far and wide across the region, bearing no mind to age.

According to Fraser Health statistics presented at a recent forum organized by the team, Maple Ridge will see a predicted total of 10 more fatal overdoses by the end of 2016, in addition to the 20 deaths that have already hit close to home for residents.

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179CN BC: Teen Who Died Didn't Get Needed Help, Report SaysFri, 21 Oct 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Kines, Lindsay Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/24/2016

A 15-year-old Metis boy died in a court-ordered program in Campbell River last year after his desperate parents turned to the youth justice system for help with their son's drug addiction, a new report shows.

B.C.'s child watchdog says in the report that Nick Lang ended up in court after falling through cracks in the youth mental health and addictions system.

"He was a teen in serious distress who did not receive the specific supports he needed when he needed them - and neither did his family," writes Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.'s representative for children and youth.

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180 CN BC: Pot Grow Bylaw Ready To PassFri, 21 Oct 2016
Source:Terrace Standard (CN BC) Author:Speirs, Margaret Area:British Columbia Lines:47 Added:10/24/2016

The medical marijuana bylaw regulating the siting and construction of medical marijuana production facilities within the area of the Kitimat-Stikine regional district is set to be adopted by its board at its October meeting after several public hearings found no objections during the course of the year.

Public hearings held in Terrace and Hazelton in July and September were to consider submissions from the public and hear any concerns.

No submissions were received.

Those who attended the hearings - nine people July 19, one person in Hazelton July 20 and three people Sept. 7 - had no concerns with the bylaw, said notes in the regional district's September meeting agenda.

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181 CN BC: Treatment ApprovedThu, 20 Oct 2016
Source:Summerland Review (CN BC) Author:Arendt, John Area:British Columbia Lines:54 Added:10/24/2016

A Summerland family has received an exemption from Health Canada, allowing them to access cannabis oil to calm their child's seizures.

The exemption allows four-year-old Kyla Williams to access the medication, provided they have a letter from Health Canada.

Before using the oil, Williams, who has intractable epilepsy, suffered more than 300 seizures a day. That number has dropped drastically since she started using the oil and she will now go days or weeks without having a seizure.

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182 CN BC: PUB LTE: Safe Injection Sites Better Than Doing NothingFri, 21 Oct 2016
Source:Surrey Leader (CN BC) Author:Griffin, Richard Area:British Columbia Lines:46 Added:10/24/2016

The other day I happened to cut through a wooded area in Surrey and came across a disoriented, confused young lady on drugs and in some distress.

I couldn't help but think that she is someone's daughter, probably with parents out there worrying about her. I phoned the police who came immediately to check on her.

When I checked back next day, the authorities told me they took the young woman to the hospital. If I hadn't come along, she may have fallen asleep and frozen to death or someone else may have come along and taken advantage of her. This brought tears to my eyes because I know what it is like as a parent to worry that I may lose my daughter or granddaughter to an overdose.

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183CN BC: Going From 'Call To Call To Call'Sun, 23 Oct 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Derosa, Katie Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/24/2016

The reality of the fentanyl epidemic is brutal, says Victoria paramedic Tamara McNay, describing the scene of a drug overdose: The person is unresponsive, covered in vomit, with a needle sticking out of their arm. Sometimes, their breathing has stopped for so long they are in cardiac arrest.

They are on the brink of death - and it is B.C. Ambulance paramedics' job to bring them back to life.

But McNay, regional vice-president for the Ambulance Paramedics of B.C. union, said paramedics in Victoria do not have the resources to deal adequately with the spike in drug overdoses.

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184CN BC: 'Sustainable' Change Needed For AddictsSun, 23 Oct 2016
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Eagland, Nick Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/24/2016

Experts call for treatment overhaul as overdose deaths in first nine months of 2016 rise by 61 per cent

An overhaul of British Columbia's "dysfunctional" addiction-treatment system must become top priority as drug users struggle to stay alive through an overdose crisis, recovery experts say.

In the first nine months of 2016, 555 people died of drug overdoses in the province, up 61 per cent over the same period last year, according to a B.C. Coroners Service report last week. Overdoses killed 56 people in September, up from 49 in August.

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185CN BC: A Trip From 'Euphoria' To HospitalFri, 21 Oct 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Petrescu, Sarah Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/24/2016

Drake Smith knew he was going to overdose.

He was in a bathroom downtown. His friends had told him to only do half a hit, but if you only do half, he said, you can't get the same rush.

So he did the whole thing. The heroin was laced with fentanyl, an opioid up to 100 times stronger than heroin. It doesn't take much to overdose. A dose the weight of a grain of sand can bring on a heroin-like high. A dose the weight of two grains of sand can kill a healthy adult.

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186CN BC: A Growing Army Learns How To Handle Overdose CasesSat, 22 Oct 2016
Source:Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Author:Petrescu, Sarah Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/24/2016

Much of Heather Hobbs's job as a harm reduction co-ordinator involves showing people how to inject the opioid inhibitor naloxone to reverse the effects of drug overdoses.

This year alone she has trained nearly 800 people - illicit-drug users and their parents, shelter staff and support workers - to administer naloxone and has given out 843 kits.

At least 555 people have died from drug overdoses in B.C. so far this year. Many of the deaths involve the powerful, cheap opioid fentanyl. The situation led to a public health crisis being declared in April. While the death toll has gone down slightly thanks to wider distribution of naloxone, overdoses are still happening at alarming rates.

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187 CN BC: Pot-Shop Debate In AberdeenFri, 21 Oct 2016
Source:Kamloops This Week (CN BC) Author:Klassen, Andrea Area:British Columbia Lines:113 Added:10/24/2016

Kelly Eberts misses the vacuum shop that used to occupy one of the storefronts beneath her condo on Hillside Drive in lower Aberdeen.

It's less the vacuums themselves and more what is set to replace it - a branch of Cannaclinics, a medical-marijuana dispensary already operating in a number of locations in Vancouver and Toronto.

Eberts is concerned the dispensary will bring trouble to the area, noting at least one of the businesses in the commercial strip has dealt with a burglary in the past two years.

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188 CN BC: Request For Narcan Kits In SchoolsFri, 21 Oct 2016
Source:Maple Ridge News (CN BC) Author:Corbett, Neil Area:British Columbia Lines:67 Added:10/24/2016

The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school board is petitioning the province to have Narcan kits in B.C. high schools and middle schools.

Trustee Susan Carr, who also leads the City of Maple Ridge's Strong Kids team, brought the issue to the board on Wednesday night, and it was supported by her colleagues.

Narcan, and the drug Naloxone, is used to reverse the effects of opioids, and is being widely distributed by the province during the public health emergency created by the drug fentanyl.

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189CN BC: Dead Boy's Dad Says He'll Push For Services For KidsSat, 22 Oct 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Bains, Camille Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/24/2016

Father hopes to make care for youth a ballot-box issue in next election

This government has had 10 years to do something and they haven't done it.

The father of a 15-year-old drug-addicted boy whose death has sparked calls for government-funded services says he will push for change in the run-up to a provincial election so other youth can get the help they desperately need.

Peter Lang spoke out Thursday after British Columbia's representative for children and youth released a report on his son's June 2015 death.

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190CN BC: Editorial: Shut Down Drug SiteFri, 21 Oct 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC)          Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/24/2016

Insite, the supervised injection site on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, operates under an exemption upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada that allows drug users to be in possession of illicit drugs. It is staffed by a team of registered nurses, qualified counsellors and professional mental health workers, and peer workers. Not only can nurses intervene in the event of an overdose, they tend to wounds and infections and provide immunizations. Insite is a gateway to other services, including addiction treatment, mental health support and housing.

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191CN BC: East Van Pot Dispensary Robbed At GunpointWed, 19 Oct 2016
Source:Province, The (CN BC) Author:Eagland, Nick Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/22/2016

Employees of a Vancouver cannabis dispensary were left shaken following a weekend armed robbery.

Just before 9 p.m. Sunday, four suspects robbed the Stressed and Depressed Association dispensary at gunpoint, Vancouver police spokesman Const. Jason Doucette said in an emailed statement.

Police attended the scene at 1353 E. 41st Ave. and collected evidence, Doucette said. Stressed and Depressed has provided surveillance recordings and an investigation continues.

Stressed and Depressed owner David Malmo-Levine said one employee had a gun pointed at him and was punched in the head during the incident. Police confirmed the assault and said the victim did not require medical attention.

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192 CN BC: Forum Tackles Fentanyl CrisisWed, 19 Oct 2016
Source:Williams Lake Tribune, The (CN BC) Author:Mindus, Angie Area:British Columbia Lines:103 Added:10/22/2016

No street drug is safe, not even marijuana.

That was the message driven home by a multi-agency panel who gave up their Thursday night to speak at a public forum about the dangers of street drugs laced with fentanyl.

"There's always been this belief that marijuana is safe but that's just not true. Fentanyl is being found in everything," said Kelly Culbert, a representative for the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFSD).

It was an intimate setting at city hall where the 30 or so members of the public got a close look at what Williams Lake's frontline workers are doing to raise awareness about the sharp increase in fentanyl-related overdoses and deaths, which prompted the province to declare a public health crisis in April.

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193 CN BC: LTE: Lacking Willingness To Work Or Give Up DrugsFri, 21 Oct 2016
Source:Abbotsford News (CN BC) Author:Wirrell, Frank Area:British Columbia Lines:52 Added:10/21/2016

I have noted the letters with respect to the so-called homelessness problem, and from my observations the problem is basically the lack of any willingness on the part of the majority of these "homeless" to make any real effort to work or give up their drug and/or alcohol addiction.

Their only expectation is that the rest of us will continue to fund their wishes. This is clearly proven by the condition in which they have left the properties where they were camping. In past generations, there was what was called "relief," which meant that those seeking assistance did some work in exchange for assistance. The positive aspect is clear as they learned self-respect in addition to realizing the rest of society was not responsible for maintaining their lifestyle.

[continues 215 words]

194CN BC: B.C. Residents Favour Pot-Only Shops For Their Legal MarijuanaTue, 18 Oct 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Lindsay, Bethany Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/20/2016

British Columbians are split on how recreational marijuana should be sold once it's legal, but standalone shops like the dispensaries that line Vancouver's streets are the most popular option, according to a new poll.

The latest survey from Insights West suggests 38 per cent of people in this province would prefer to see pot-specific stores, beating out weed sales in pharmacies (23 per cent) or liquor stores (24 per cent).

That's welcome news to Sunny Bhayana, co-director of The Herb Co. on Main Street, one of the few licensed shops in Vancouver. He believes that the dispensary system could have a potent effect on the country's economy.

[continues 664 words]

195 CN BC: Editorial: Testing For SafetyWed, 19 Oct 2016
Source:Powell River Peak (CN BC) Author:Schreurs, Jason Area:British Columbia Lines:64 Added:10/20/2016

As long as marijuana remains illegal in Canada, we are trapped in a grey area that takes away our power as consumers.

All Canadians should have the right to know what is in the products they buy, yet because of Health Canada's insistence that it is illegal for dispensaries or consumers to test marijuana products it also deems illegal, we are unable to find out if what we are buying is safe. Without requirements for unlicensed marijuana producers to test their products, Health Canada is also not ensuring product safety at the source.

[continues 296 words]

196 CN BC: Making Marijuana Dispensaries SafeWed, 19 Oct 2016
Source:Powell River Peak (CN BC) Author:Bolster, Chris Area:British Columbia Lines:117 Added:10/20/2016

Experts agree testing needed on marijuana products sold in storefronts

As Canada inches closer to legalized marijuana, safety standards for dispensary-sold medical cannabis are being brought under greater scrutiny.

In an investigation done by The Globe and Mail in August, one third of medical marijuana samples collected from Toronto area dispensaries showed the presence of chemicals and mould that could cause a variety of illnesses in users, such as lung infections, particularly in patients with compromised immune systems.

One of the Toronto dispensaries whose product failed that test was WeeMedical, a chain that also operates in Powell River on Marine Avenue.

[continues 673 words]

197 CN BC: Back-Alley Tent Aims To Curb OverdosesSat, 15 Oct 2016
Source:Globe and Mail (Canada) Author:Omand, Geordon Area:British Columbia Lines:69 Added:10/20/2016

Pop-up facility in Downtown Eastside may be illegal, but it has been welcomed by addicts who don't feel comfortable at nearby Insite

Sarah Blyth was weary of rushing to counteract an overdose every time someone screamed "Narcan!" from a nearby alley in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, so she joined other activists to set up a supervised drug-consumption tent for addicts.

Ms. Blyth acknowledges the so called pop-up site is illegal, but said she couldn't stand by and watch as people overdosed.

[continues 380 words]

198 CN BC: Column: Drug Talk Still ImportantFri, 14 Oct 2016
Source:Morning Star, The (CN BC) Author:Rogers, Doug Area:British Columbia Lines:83 Added:10/18/2016

Welcome back to a new school year. A very important discussion that needs to take place in your home is the old drug talk. Parents play a key role in reducing teen substance abuse.

More than half of all Canadian kids will try drugs at least once between Grades 1 and 12, but many will choose not to experiment. Please talk openly with your child about substance abuse and set a no-use rule for all drugs and alcohol. Remember, with the advent of newer drugs like fentanyl talking to our kids about illicit drugs is more important than ever.

[continues 489 words]

199CN BC: Pot Possession Treated Differently In Rural B.C. Than In UrbanSat, 15 Oct 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC) Author:Culbert, Lori Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/18/2016

Database breaks down marijuana investigations in each community

B.C. police more frequently investigate people for possessing pot than officers in any other province, a trend fuelled by the RCMP in rural detachments, according to an exclusive Postmedia database of marijuana crime in Canada.

The mountainside communities of Salmo, Clinton, McBride, Hope, Valemount, Merritt and Whistler had the highest number of police probes into pot possession per capita in 2015 in B.C., and are ranked third through ninth in Canada (trailing behind Lake Louise and Jasper, nationally).

[continues 664 words]

200CN BC: Editorial: Everything You Wanted To Know About PotSat, 15 Oct 2016
Source:Vancouver Sun (CN BC)          Area:British Columbia Lines:Excerpt Added:10/18/2016

Over the last decade, about half a million Canadians have been prosecuted for simple possession of marijuana, many of them young people. More than 100,000 others have been charged for growing pot, possessing it for the purposes of selling or actually selling it to other Canadians. Some of these have indeed been gangsters, but many others have not. In fact, Statistics Canada data shows that since 2006 - - excluding impaired driving - more Canadians have been busted annually for marijuana than for traffic offences.

[continues 310 words]


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