Overdose awareness event equal parts memorial and educational The Ally Centre of Cape Breton is hosting an event for International Overdose Awareness Day to remember those lost to overdose and bring awareness to the opioid crisis on the island. "Each year we try to make an impact, somehow, to draw attention to overdose and the effect it's having on our communities," explained Christine Porter, executive director of the Ally Centre. From 2008-2016, there have been 169 overdose deaths in CapeBreton. [continues 602 words]
Medicinal marijuana dispensary in Stellarton offers variety of products This isn't your grandma's home remedy. Although maybe it is - maybe your grandma is totally on board with medical marijuana taking away the aches and pains that can come with old age. "If you eat that ice cream, you're going to feel very, very relaxed. We've got people in their 80s coming in here," said Hank Merchant, chief executive officer of HBB Medical - a medicinal pot dispensary in Stellarton that opened several weeks ago. [continues 396 words]
Staff suggest HRM consider how to handle legalization Halifax is starting to think about how legal marijuana will roll out in the municipality. In a staff report coming to regional council's meeting on Tuesday, staff recommend starting the process to consider amending land-use bylaws to determine the best places for marijuana-production facilities and dispensaries in the municipality ahead of next summer's promised legalization. The federal government introduced legislation to legalize marijuana this spring. The bill passed first and second reading, and was referred to committee for further debate. The government intends to bring the law into effect no later than July 2018. [continues 377 words]
Legal pot was inevitable the moment society became inexorably bound to runaway technology. Friday, with a digital lifeline severed, pasty-faced, disoriented humans stumbled out of the disrupted dichotomy - separate connection - to join other disoriented, confused survivors wandering, lost and untethered, in the foreign world of a decade back. Sitting stoned alone in your backyard would clearly be a healthier psychological response. When everything depends on one thing, and that one thing is undependable, dupable and destructible, there needs to be a fallback, and "who gives a crap" is a viable option. [continues 641 words]
Some so-called experts say the human brain keeps growing until age 25 and a CTV poll found a majority of people said the legal age for marijuana should be 21 or 25 This does not make sense to me. In Canada, you can join the military at 18, get a driver's licence at 16 and vote at 18. A lot of kids 18 and younger are smoking marijuana. Bought legally, it will be safer than from the black market. Government, instead of organized crime, should be profiting from the sale of cannabis. Drug stores are the best place to sell marijuana and the legal age should be 18. [continues 55 words]
Victoria County's first and only medical marijuana dispensary opened in June. It is listed with the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stocks and has a CRA business number, a bank account and 25 clients. The RCMP are well aware of it. However, dispensaries are illegal in Canada. So how does it still exist? The Standard's Carolyn Barber explores the making og a gray area where some choose to roll the dice. Our story about the medical marijuana (cannabis) dispensary that opened in June in Bay St. Lawrence began as a typical business profile. On July 16, The Standard's Carolyn Barber interviewed sole proprietor and operator Kevin Mackinnon, his wife Amy, and daughter Danielle at their dispensary located on Buchanan Lane in the northern Cape Breton village. Some basic background research on medical marijuana dispensaries generated further questions. That's when it became more than a profile. [continues 1364 words]
Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS) is not in favour of the proposed Federal Government's cannabis legalization legislation. "Nova Scotia's Cannabis Legalization Working Group must take into consideration multi-family unit dwellings' high-density living environment when writing cannabis regulations," says IPOANS president Jeremy Jackson. Adding "The current legislation, as is, fails to protect tenants' right to peaceful enjoyment of their homes, a right guaranteed under the Nova Scotia Residential Tenancy Act." According to Statistics Canada's 2011 National Household Survey, there are 111,000 renter households in Nova Scotia. Taking into account an average 1.5 occupancy factor per renter household, marijuana use and cultivation places 166,000 Nova Scotians' health and safety in jeopardy. [continues 279 words]
If last week's meeting of provincial premiers is any indication, the issue that most unites Canadian provinces in the summer of 2017 is the timing of the introduction of legalized marijuana. Canadians should be forgiven for thinking that the premiers face more daunting and serious problems - starting with the state of provincial health care systems. A study by the New York-based Commonwealth Fund concludes Canada's health care system ranks in the bottom three in a group of 11 wealthy countries. [continues 390 words]
The association representing Nova Scotia's apartment building owners is speaking out against the federal government's proposed cannabis legalization legislation. In a media release issued on Monday, the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia (IPOANS) expressed concerns about secondhand marijuana smoke. The release said the association's members have heard from tenants with respiratory conditions, young families, seniors and non-smoking residents who've expressed concerns about "inhaling drifting (second hand) marijuana smoke and drifting airborne toxins from marijuana plant cultivation." [continues 98 words]
"Go slow, take your time," is the excellent advice Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was given last year on his plan to legalize recreational marijuana in Canada. The speaker was none other than Anne McLellan, leader of the federal government's task force on the issue, and her message was do your homework and get the job right the first time around. The caution from this former Liberal deputy prime minister was wise. It seems even more urgent now after nine Canadian premiers told the prime minister last week they have so many concerns about his promise to legalize recreational pot starting July 1, 2018 that they may ask him to postpone the change. [continues 377 words]
Advocate calls for more details on N.S. opioid plan Nova Scotia's plan to offer hundreds of free naloxone kits will undoubtedly save lives, but one advocate says a lack of hard timelines and specific plans to help people outside an opioid emergency raises "more questions than answers." Amy Graves, founder of the non-profit Get Prescription Drugs Off The Street Society, has been raising awareness around the dangers of prescription drugs and pushing for changes since 2011, after the loss of her younger brother Josh to an accidental hydromorphone overdose. [continues 218 words]
Access to drug will save lives, says front-line worker A Halifax woman working on the front lines of the opioid crisis describes the province's decision to expand access to naloxone as "a great first step.". Naloxone can reverse an opioid overdose. A department of health and wellness media release reports that the life-saving medication has saved at least 40 lives in Nova Scotia since January of 2016. "We had three overdoses in one week. My team has naloxone training," said Rebekah Brounstein, residential co-ordinator with the Salvation Army's Halifax Centre of Hope. [continues 363 words]
Dalhousie duo say recreational, medical need to be separate Dalhousie researchers are lending their voices to the debate on keeping the medical and recreational streams of marijuana separate. The Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation published recommendations in a framework for legalization of cannabis in Canada in 2016. It stated recreational marijuana be accessed separately from medical marijuana. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) came out against that recommendation in favour of a single stream instead. The task force noted patients felt a separate system was necessary to avoid losing their current access rights to cannabis. [continues 374 words]
The distinctive smell of weed was permeating the air around the concert grounds. And I was panicking. Not because I had sparked one up and feared getting caught. No, I was afraid of a question: "Daddy, what's that smell?" You see, I was doing my rock'n'roll duty, trying to pass my burning love of concerts on to my young'uns. It was their first show. It was a Canada Day freebee and it was spectacular, with a lineup that included The Novaks, a St. John's-based rock machine, and The Sheepdogs, the Saskatoon band with big sound and even bigger hair. [continues 457 words]
Custio Clayton alleges racial profiling by Montreal police A cloud still follows Custio Clayton after one spring night in Montreal. The former Olympian turned professional boxer has been in his hometown of Dartmouth for three weeks now, following his biggest pro victory to date. But this period of rest and relaxation has been sullied for the 29-year-old father of four. Clayton says he was racially profiled by Montreal police during a traffic stop April 4 - during which a veteran officer accused him of being a drug dealer hiding marijuana inside a 2017 Yukon Denali. [continues 677 words]
Approximately 200,000 Canadians have a medical marijuana prescription, but it isn't covered by most health insurance plans. (File) Since the implementation of Canada's national medical cannabis system in 2001, attitudes toward cannabis have changed significantly. What was once stigmatized as a street drug has come to be understood as a substance with broad therapeutic uses. Today about 200,000 Canadians have a prescription to use medical cannabis under a doctor's care for management of symptoms caused by chronic pain, bowel diseases, spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, certain mental health disorders and a host of illnesses. Patients use cannabis because it works for them with manageable side effects. [continues 539 words]
It happened like clockwork. Every year, the RCMP would raid a Shelburne man's property as his neighbours looked on. The police were looking for pot and Dave Butler fully admits they were going to find it. "They've come every year since 2001 they never missed a year," said Butler. Butler's property, or the land around it, was always a place to find marijuana growing. Most of the time, he's managed to avoid charges - until recently. Butler was expected to stand trial on production of marijuana charges June 19 at Shelburne Supreme Court after an arrest in 2014 but instead pleaded guilty to the lesser, included offence of possession. He was sentenced to 12 months of probation and will be given a total discharge if he complies with his probation order and pays a $100 victim surcharge. [continues 91 words]
Canada's law enforcement agencies, MADD Canada and other first responders took to the country's roads and highways recently in their annual campaign to promote safety on our highways over the summer holiday season. Adding to the complexity of addressing the issue of impaired driving is the steady increase in the numbers of drivers who have been stopped for drug impairment. Law enforcement is also concerned that the impending legalization of marijuana by the Trudeau Government will compound the problem. [continues 437 words]
Two questions: What drug is the most addictive and can give you a condition that can kill you? What other drug has the worse withdrawal effects and can destroy your brain? Answers! No. 1 is nicotine. It is so addictive because no matter how much you ingest your body still craves more and as it leaves your body the craving gets more intense. Over time it can cause lung disease. Answer No. 2 is alcohol/ Longtime excessive use can lead to brain damage. It even has a name - Korsakoff Syndrome. You can also die from the DTs if you go cold turkey and are not under a doctors care. [continues 291 words]
Municipalities are the ones who are going to be dealing with it on a daily basis The Cape Breton Regional Police Service is attempting to prepare for the impending legalization of cannabis but it's unclear how much it will cost to put the necessary supports in place, Chief Peter McIsaac says. In a report to the board of police commissioners Tuesday, McIsaac outlined some of the measures that the service is taking to prepare for the change. The federal government is set to legalize the recreational use of cannabis next year but it hasn't been explained yet how it will be regulated and distributed. While the law will be federal, it will be left to the provinces and municipalities to regulate it, he said. [continues 419 words]
Many have noted the federal government's vision on recreational marijuana regulations remains notably blurry. With legalization anticipated about a year from now, the questions continue, as do recommendations about where to draw certain lines. The legal age to possess and partake is right up there among concerns. To that end, the New Brunswick Medical Society has weighed in this week, saying the bar should be set at 21. They add that the legal age for tobacco purchase and consumption should also be 21. [continues 388 words]
If all goes according to plan, Canada's new marijuana law will take effect in July 2018. It's what happens between now and then that is critical, especially when it comes to safeguarding young Canadians who are the most vulnerable to the potential harms of marijuana use. Studies have shown adolescents are particularly at risk due to the fact their brains are continuing to develop and at a rapid pace. It's wise to take into consideration that research has shown that chronic marijuana usage is linked to memory and attention difficulties, prominently among individuals who started use while in early adolescence. [continues 346 words]
One of Canada's largest medical cannabis producers says it will fund a Nova Scotia man's ongoing legal fight to have his marijuana prescription paid for by his employee-insurance plan - the latest move in a nationwide push by industry, patients and their advocates for more widespread cannabis coverage. Aurora Cannabis Inc., a publicly traded grower based in Alberta, announced this week that it will bankroll elevator mechanic Gordon Skinner's coming defence this fall in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. [continues 565 words]
A Town That Cares group to host more town hall meetings The fight against the local drug crisis is being expanded. Buddy Penney, a founder of the A Town That Cares group, says town hall meetings will be held in communities across the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. "We want people to see it's a problem for every community, not just New Waterford," he said. "We will be working on gathering support to see a mental health/drug addiction facility built in the CBRM. Strength comes in numbers." [continues 474 words]
Driving on the dope could soon lead to a driving suspension and a fine. "In Canada the proposed legislation for roadside screening is going to between two and five nanograms of cannabis for suspensions and a $1,000 fine." That was the message RCMP Const. Travise Dow gave at the MADD Road Rally Saturday at the Amherst Lions Club. Dow said a 2016 study done by the Canadian Safety Council shows that 24 per cent of drivers who have crashed on Canadian highways have high levels of THC in their system. THC is the active chemical in cannabis giving users the high they seek. [continues 262 words]
If your objectives are to protect public health and safety, keep marijuana out of the hands of minors and cut illegal profits flowing to organized crime-then the law as it stands today has been an abject failure. Law enforcement agencies in Canada spend an estimated $2-3 billion a year trying to fight pot, yet Canadian teenagers are among the heaviest users in the western world. And criminals walk away with $7-8 billion every year in illicit proceeds. We have to do better. [continues 679 words]
The Liberals have introduced a new Cannabis Act that attempts to check the box of an election promise kept. I don't think the bill will pass anytime soon and I doubt the Liberals are serious about it anyway. Why unveil the Act on the last day before a two-week break in Ottawa? The act does have its challengers in the medical and legal fields. Eighteen is not an acceptable age for the government to allow for marijuana use. Medical opinion has advised that up to the age of 25 the human brain is still developing and that marijuana use can stunt this development. [continues 362 words]
Property owners plan around issues like ventilation, insurance Landlords' main concerns with marijuana legalization in Nova Scotia are around protecting tenant's health and possible damage to buildings, says one advocacy group. Kevin Russell of Halifax, head of the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia's (IPOANS) Cannabis Legalization Committee, said the proposed federal legislation is causing "a lot of concern" for property owners as well as tenants with respiratory problems or small children who are worried about second-hand smoke. [continues 198 words]
Legislation to be tabled today in the House of Commons will pave the way to the legal selling of marijuana across the country by the summer of next year If he wants to avoid spending the 2019 campaign walking on the shards of yet another broken signature promise, Justin Trudeau has little choice but to make good on his promise to legalize marijuana in time for the next election. Of the many commitments the prime minister made on the way to his majority victory some were more emblematic than others. The Liberal embrace of deficit spending, the vow to change the voting system in time for 2019 and the legalization of marijuana fall into that category. [continues 666 words]
It was a bold statement. "We will legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana." The 2015 federal Liberal election promise caught the attention of Canadians and attracted votes of many who supported the long-overdue legalization of marijuana. Many citizens believe that smoking a joint is no worse than having a beer. Many Canadians - even prime ministers - have tried it. Polls indicate a majority favours legalization. Medical marijuana use has smoothed the drug's acceptance and eased concerns. What's the big deal? The government is finally ready to table legislation to legalize marijuana by July 1, 2018 - much too late for many Canadians. Do we really have to wait another 18 months for proclamation, when 60,000 Canadians are convicted each year for simple possession or personal use? [continues 374 words]
It was a bold statement. "We will legalize, regulate and restrict access to marijuana." The 2015 federal Liberal election promise caught the attention of Canadians and attracted votes of many who supported the long-overdue legalization of marijuana. Many citizens believe that smoking a joint is no worse than having a beer. Many Canadians - even prime ministers - have tried it. Polls indicate a majority favours legalization. Medical marijuana use has smoothed the drug's acceptance and eased concerns. What's the big deal? [continues 419 words]
Legalization But advocate hopes province finds innovative ways to sell weed A recreational pot supporter in Halifax is applauding the expected announcement by the federal government that recreational marijuana could be legal by July 1, 2018. Chris Henderson, general manager of Halifax's High Life Social Club, said he hopes the impending move will encourage more people to be open about their pot usage. "Younger people are more open about their usage, you don't hear about the older generations and cannabis," he said in an interview on Monday. "I hope this encourages older people." [continues 127 words]
Dana Larsen's "quiet revolution" envisions more and more Canadians growing pot until the laws prohibiting it are unenforceable. The Vancouver cannabis activist and author will be in Bedford at the Legion Hall (1772 Bedford Highway) on Monday from 7-9 p.m. to dispense advice, solutions to the crisis of fentanyl and other opioids - and maybe even a few cannabis seeds. Larsen is the founder of the Overgrow Canada campaign and distributed more than 2.3 million cannabis seeds in spring 2016. He's doing a larger seed giveaway now, which started in January. [continues 422 words]
Anyone hoping for major hints about the government's plans to legalize, regulate and tax cannabis in Wednesday's federal budget likely came away disappointed. Cannabis is mentioned just twice in Budget 2017 - the first time to direct existing Health Canada funding of $9.6 million over five years, with $1 million per year ongoing, to support "marijuana public education programming and surveillance activities" ahead of legalizing the drug for recreational use. The second time, in a section that deals with raising duty rates on alcohol, the budget says as the government moves forward with a new taxation regime on cannabis, "it will take steps to ensure that taxation levels remain effective over time." [continues 786 words]
This letter concerns Addiction Services' and the Nova Scotia Health Authority's new approach towards the treatment of opioid addicts in this province. According to a CBC News report (Dec 8, 2016), this new strategy involves a move to "eliminate hospital-based Detox for opioid addicts." Essentially, the Nova Scotia Health Authority intends to withhold inpatient treatment to opioid addicts at their eight Detox Units across the province saying that (for opioid addicts) "detox alone is not working." The preferred approach now is to kick the problem out to family physicians who may or may not have methadone licenses or to other community programs and services already overwhelmed by the problem. [continues 423 words]
For years, cannabis has been a counter-cultural symbol-a plant that can be grown almost anywhere, giving it little marketing potential. That's about to change. At a show last summer, a musician friend said to me, "This is Pineapple Express-I bought it legally in Kensington Market." Legal. Weed. Kensington. Toronto. That stuck in the memory banks, and I followed up next time I was in Toronto, visiting several locations of one well-reputed dispensary, sampling as many marijuana strains and concentrates as my budget would afford. [continues 512 words]
Two federally regulated medical marijuana companies caught up in a tainted-cannabis scare are facing proposed class-action lawsuits from patients who unknowingly ingested banned pesticides. Mettrum Ltd. and OrganiGram Inc. were both found selling medical marijuana that contained unauthorized chemicals, including the controversial pesticide myclobutanil, which produces hydrogen cyanide when combusted and can lead to serious health problems. The suit against OrganiGram was filed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on Monday by Halifax=based Wagners Law Firm, while a separate action against Mettrum was filed in Ontario Supreme Court by the firm Roy O'Connor LLP. [continues 926 words]
Bad record keeping to blame for some 3,000 missing items according to police Halifax police are adamant that bad record keeping rather than any criminal activity by its officers was behind the "misplacement'' of 3,000 of nearly 10,000 drug-related exhibits uncovered in a recent inventory. Among the unaccounted for items were cocaine and other drugs, and more than 200 cash items totalling $100,000. Police Chief Jean-Michel Blais told reporters Monday the force was confident there had been no wrongdoing. [continues 482 words]
Thousands of dollars, drugs still missing from audit Tens of thousands of dollars and several kilograms of illicit drugs are still missing from Halifax Regional Police evidence, but the chief says there's no indication anything "untoward" has happened within his force. Chief Jean-Michel Blais presented an update on the Drug Exhibit Audit to Monday's meeting of the municipality's Board of Police Commissioners, and outlined the preliminary results of a full inventory, conducted between September 2016 and February 2017, of all 12,792 drug-related exhibits in the police database. [continues 589 words]
Force believes missing money placed in police bank account Halifax Regional Police have located 34 of 72 exhibits that were missing from their evidence storage, but the remaining 38 - including nearly $5,000 in cash - are still unaccounted for. Chief Jean-Michel Blais will present a report to the municipality's Board of Police Commissioners on Monday updating the force's progress on finding the missing items from the Drug Exhibit Audit released last year. That audit was conducted between June and November 2015 after an officer was accused of stealing from an evidence vault. Police originally found 90 per cent of the drug exhibits in one vault were unaccounted for, and 55 per cent of the evidence in the money vault wasn't where it was supposed to be. [continues 278 words]
It's a tough call, whether companies soon to be marketing recreational marijuana should be allowed to brand their product. A precedent is in the works with tobacco, to deny manufacturers the right to have distinctive packaging. Some would extend that same caution to pot. It's an issue that government will ultimately have to grapple with - while hearing from proponents on both sides of the argument. Garfield Mahood of Vancouver, president of the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud, campaigned for decades to get the federal government to force tobacco companies to use plain packaging. [continues 345 words]
A month after it opened, a downtown business specializing in marijuana paraphernalia was searched by police on Thursday. Dr. Greenthumb was searched by members of the Cumberland Integrated Street Crime Enforcement Unit on Thursday with assistance from the Amherst Police Department. This whole pending legislation has created a challenge for police across the country. Some people are trying to get ahead of it because the government is saying legislation is coming, but it's not here and they have to be patient and wait for the legislation. Ian Naylor, Amherst Police Chief [continues 298 words]
Vince Rigby remembered for work with veterans Friends of Vince Rigby are remembering him as a strong advocate for veterans across Cape Breton. Rigby's body was found by firefighters in an abandoned Robert Street building during a fire in Whitney Pier on Monday. Cape Breton Regional Police investigated the fire and ruled out any suspicion and foul play in the death of the Sydney man. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. Ron Clarke, a Korean War veteran, said he will remember Rigby as a "strong advocate for veterans." [continues 323 words]
A Nova Scotia human rights board has ruled that a patient's medical marijuana should be covered by his employee insurance plan in a potentially precedent-setting case. The decision, issued Jan. 30, ruled in favour of Gordon Skinner's claim that he faced discrimination when trying to access insurance coverage for his disability. Independent human rights board of inquiry chair Benjamin Perryman said that medical marijuana should be an eligible expense since it requires a doctor's authorization and thus didn't fall within the plan's exclusions. [continues 341 words]
Man injured in workplace accident A Nova Scotia human rights board has ruled that a patient's medical marijuana should be covered by his employee insurance plan in a potentially precedent-setting case. The decision, issued Jan. 30, ruled in favour of Gordon Skinner's claim that he faced discrimination when trying to access insurance coverage for his disability. Independent human rights board of inquiry chair Benjamin Perryman said that medical marijuana should be an eligible expense since it requires a doctor's authorization and thus didn't fall within the plan's exclusions. [continues 332 words]
Nova Scotia's human-rights board has ruled that a man suffering from chronic pain must have his marijuana prescription paid for by his employee-insurance plan, with advocates saying the decision opens the door for patients across Canada to push for similar cannabis coverage. Gordon Skinner, from a community just outside Halifax, had argued that he faced discrimination when he was denied coverage by the Canadian Elevator Industry Welfare Trust Plan. He has been using medical cannabis to treat pain from an on-the-job car accident that forced him from work as an elevator mechanic more than six years ago. [continues 535 words]
HALIFAX - A human-rights board has determined a Nova Scotia man's prescribed medical marijuana must be covered by his employee insurance plan, a ruling that advocates said will likely have impact nationwide. Gordon Wayne Skinner, of Head of Chezzetcook, suffers from chronic pain following an on-the-job motor vehicle accident, and argued that he faced discrimination when he was denied coverage. In a decision Thursday, inquiry board chair Benjamin Perryman concluded that since medical marijuana requires a prescription by law, it doesn't fall within the exclusions of Skinner's insurance plan. [continues 478 words]
Former corrections employee sentenced on drug trafficking A Sydney Mines woman was given a two-year federal jail sentence Monday after pleading guilty to drug trafficking at the Cape Breton Correctional Centre. Special federal prosecutor David Iannetti told the court that Nicole Marie Smith, 46, came to the attention of jail officials when a letter was found in which an inmate thanked Smith for bringing marijuana into the facility. Smith worked part time in the kitchen at the provincial jail and had struck up a friendship with a male inmate who also worked in the kitchen. [continues 316 words]
Police forces in Canada testing out devices over February Next time you come across a police checkpoint in Halifax, you might be asked to help test a roadside drug-screening device. Halifax Regional Police (HRP) began a new Public Safety Canada pilot project a week and half ago, and have until the end of February to collect 100 saliva samples from anyone who'd like to anonymously volunteer for the testing in a regular traffic stop. "This is for us. It's not about any of the public, it's about how user-friendly are these devices for the police at roadside," Const. Kristine Fraser of the HRP traffic unit said Thursday. "If you say 'um, no,' (it's) 'okay, thank you for your time,' and you drive away.'" [continues 283 words]
Inside Nova Scotia
