Heavy with needle users, London could move a step closer in February to a supervised injection site for drug-addicted residents amid renewed debate about the idea. The results of a feasibility study that surveyed 200 current and former needle users, as well as police, politicians, and social service and health agency representatives, is to be released in early February, Christopher Mackie, the Middlesex-London medical officer of health, said Wednesday. That study won't suggest a location or timeline to establish a site, but one area Conservative MP already is raising the alarm about the possibility. [continues 448 words]
RE: 18 years is too young for legal marijuana (Dec.16) In this editorial, John Roe's first sentence is: "When the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal in Canada in the next few years, how old should you have to be to join in the fun?" Since when did the recreational use of marijuana become fun? Just asking. Jim Margueratt, Burlington [end]
Re: "Legalization of marijuana must be done right." I wholeheartedly agree with you that something with the potential for a major negative impact on Canada, which will be joining Uruguay as the only two countries to make marijuana legal, must be done cautiously. That being said, the Trudeau Liberals seem to be rushing ahead, even before a simple roadside test for impairment by inhaling marijuana is available to police. This is frightening with Washington State finding road deaths doubled after it legalized this drug. [continues 257 words]
A Needle Exchange Program operates in several sites across the county in Clinton, Seaforth and Goderich. In Clinton it is offered through the Huron County Health Unit, in Goderich it is offered through Choices For Change and in Seaforth it is through Dr. Datema's Methadone clinic. However, the Health Unit in Clinton is used the most due to its accessibility. The health unit's website states: "Like all health units in Ontario, the Huron County Health Unit offers a needle exchange program at several sites across the county. [continues 322 words]
Arguing that smoking dope is safer than drinking booze is akin to stating that getting shot in the leg is preferable to taking one in the head. Yet that's the argument often used by pro-pot crusaders, as we debate the minutiae about what age should Canadians be allowed to legally buy weed. Well, folks, kids can already get a hold of dope with little effort. Don't get me wrong; let's legalize the stuff. In fact, we should decriminalize every other drug, because the entire campaign to treat addiction as a matter of legality rather than mental health is among the deadliest and costliest exercises society has tried. [continues 576 words]
Legalizing recreational use could unleash $22.6B industry TORONTO* It' s Sunday afternoon and Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation is packed full of marijuana enthusiasts perusing tables of goods. Everything from marijuana-infused barbecue sauce to medicated body rubs is available at Green Market, where artisans peddle their various craft cannabis products. Such events, which sell to patients and casual users alike, operate within a foggy regulatory environment. Selling marijuana is illegal unless you are a large-scale producer licensed under Health Canada's medical marijuana regime. [continues 526 words]
Program warns youths about effects of cannabis use on brain and reflexes A lot of people have the sense that cannabis does not impair your driving or that they're able to compensate for the effects. With Ottawa poised to legalize recreational marijuana next year, researchers are keeping a close eye on use of the drug, which has been steadily trending upward over the last couple of decades. In Ontario, for instance, a survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health found that past-year cannabis use virtually doubled between 1996 and 2015, rising from about eight per cent to almost 15 per cent of respondents. [continues 807 words]
Artisanal producers already selling teas, medical rubs under foggy legislation It's Sunday afternoon and Toronto's Centre for Social Innovation is packed full of marijuana enthusiasts perusing tables of goods. Everything from marijuana-infused barbecue sauce to medicated body rubs is available at Green Market, where artisans peddle their various craft cannabis products. Such events, which sell to patients and casual users alike, operate within a foggy regulatory environment. Selling marijuana is illegal unless you are a large-scale producer licensed under Health Canada's medical marijuana regime. [continues 333 words]
Police are testing new devices to identify drug-impaired drivers. Whether or not the impending legalization of recreational marijuana use will have an impact on drug-impaired driving remains to be seen. However, the timing of a pilot project to detect drug impairment could give police new resources as legislation legalizing recreational cannabis is introduced in Parliament this spring. The pilot project is being tested by OPP, including Perth County, Toronto, Vancouver, Gatineau, Halifax, and Yellowknife police forces, as well as North Battleford RCMP. [continues 499 words]
A medical marijuana dispensary owner has been charged following a police raid of the business. Vice and drug officers - armed with a search warrant - arrived at the Royal Farmacy on Main Street East at Kenilworth Avenue around 1 p.m. Tuesday, where they seized $20,000 worth of marijuana and marijuana products, including edibles. Owner Shane Hansen wasn't in at the time, but he got a call from his wife and came down right away. "They left all my other staff alone, which was good. I came down. They didn't handcuff me. Honestly, the cops get a really get bad rap, but they were as respectful and cordial and polite as they could be." [continues 320 words]
Sudbury drug strategy applauds move by feds to make its easier to open safe-injection sites Officials with Sudbury's Community Drug Strategy have applauded a by the federal government to make its easier to open safe injection sites, though they aren't sure if such a facility is needed in Sudbury. Health Minister Jane Philpott has announced the Liberal government will adopt a public-health approach to its drug control strategy, while she unveiled proposed new measures that would open the door to more supervised injection sites in Canada. [continues 929 words]
These life-saving places that promote public health will mostly be in existing centres A woman uses the public bathroom of a Toronto community centre to inject heroin. She figures it's safer than injecting on the street - it's clean and she won't be robbed. And if she overdoses, she hopes someone will find her soon enough to help her. This scenario is a reality for many users, and it's just one of many reasons Toronto is working toward opening the three supervised drug injection services that were approved by Toronto city council in July 2016. [continues 714 words]
Big difference between healers and dealers, people at weekend event near Meaford hear This was not your ordinary cooking class. Barb Mahy was making her basic "canna chocolates," a simple mix of semi-sweet chocolate, coconut butter and a cannabis tincture mix with glycerine and water which she melted and poured into moulds. About a dozen people sat at tables and chairs to watch the demonstration Saturday upstairs in The Barn, a wellness co-operative in a refurbished barn along Highway 26 between Meaford and Thornbury. Along with 20 vendors and five practitioners, the co-op has an education mandate fulfilled with events like this. [continues 949 words]
Re "Task force recommends legalizing mail order, storefront pot sales" (Canadian Press, Dec. 13): The Liberals have consistently stated two guiding principles to justify their rush toward legalization of marijuana. The first was to protect young people and the second was to push organized crime out of the market. Unfortunately, these recommendations will do neither. In fact, as it applies to protecting our youth, these recommendations actually expose them to more risk. They have ignored the Canadian Medical Association recommendation of 25 years of age, they ignored the CMA's watered-down minimum of 21, and have decided on 18. So much for evidence-based decision making by this Liberal government. [continues 161 words]
The release of the federal task force report on the legalization of marijuana has given new meaning to enjoying a green Christmas. With the government indicating that it is moving full steam ahead with this initiative, is it not worth asking one more time: Why are we legalizing marijuana? The usual answer I receive is that alcohol is legal. I think about that analogy every time I visit the liquor store, especially on a Friday afternoon. Surprisingly, I am not filled with national pride as I watch the stressed-out office workers anxiously clutching their bottles; the students bragging how "wrecked" they are going to get that weekend; or the down-and-out person counting out change for a single can of beer. How many of us are imbibing as a form of self-medication in order to deal with stress and anxiety? Have we learned nothing from our growing awareness around mental illness and the temptation to use intoxicants to try to cope with an increasingly overwhelming world? No, I am not arguing for prohibition. I am simply asking the reason why we are adding another drug to the list of socially acceptable ways of getting impaired. As a nation, we seem to have lost sight of what problem we are trying to solve. [continues 611 words]
In an uncertain legal climate, vendors sell THC-infused goodies praised by the ailing There is more to weed than rolling a joint and smoking it. The various potions, potencies and procedures involved in preparing cannabis-infused wares and edibles might please any chemist, while the business aspect of it might make it seem like Christmas every day to many a manufacturer. This was demonstrated on a frosty Sunday evening as over 30 vendors set up stalls for a Green Market, "Nuit Verte," at a "secret location" to sell weed-infused products to more than 400 eager customers. [continues 423 words]
"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" - - Robert Browning One thing the Trudeau government cannot be accused of is lack of reach. Its ambitions have carried it into endeavours the Harper government did not attempt to reach or had no interest in reaching. These range from climate change to a process of reconciliation with First Nations from Senate reform to a shift of some of the tax burden from middle-to high-income earners from the appointment of a gender-equal cabinet to increased consultation with the provinces and from overhaul of the electoral system to the legalization of marijuana. [continues 564 words]
When the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal in Canada in the next few years, how old should you have to be to join in the fun? This issue - the legal age for buying and consuming cannabis - is the biggest single challenge facing the federal Liberals as they rewrite the law on this popular, but potentially harmful, drug. A federal task force this week provided 80 recommendations for opening up the market for recreational pot. Most of the suggestions, which include permitting storefront and mail-order sales as well as allowing individuals to buy or carry up to 30 grams for personal use, are both reasonable and workable. [continues 411 words]
Revenue will be reinvested into control measures Marijuana will not be the pot of Colombian gold at the end of the rainbow for the cash-strapped provincial treasury. That was the message at Queen's Park on Wednesday in the wake of a federal task force report on implementing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's pledge to legalize recreational marijuana. Finance Minister Charles Sousa, who hopes to eliminate the province's $4.3-billion deficit in the 201718 budget, insisted the government is not expecting weed cash to be rolling in. [continues 336 words]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned to legalize pot in the 2015 election campaign. This federal task force report on the subject released this week offered no quick fix to the complex issues surrounding legalization, and the sensible recommendation that the Liberals proceed slowly. The 106-page report made more than 80 recommendations - including restricting pot sales to those 18 and older, banning sales near schools, banning pot advertising and branding (similar to tobacco products) and a new, proposed Cannabis Control Act to police illegal production and trafficking. [continues 278 words]
New federal task force report nixes idea of selling pot at businesses where tobacco or booze are sold Ontario convenience store owners wonder why it appears they're getting the shaft yet again - this time on cannabis sales - after being excluded this year from selling beer and wine while grocery stores got the green light. "It concerns me that we're left behind. At least let us be part of the discussion," said Dave Bryans, president of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association. [continues 498 words]
The weed world is a buzz after the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization released over 80 recommendations for how the government should regulate pot once it becomes legal here in Canada. The task force created their report based on consultations with current medical marijuana users, Indigenous communities, youth groups, experts and governmental bodies from across the country. The nine members of the Task Force, headed by Anne McLellan, also gained firsthand knowledge from places who have already legalized cannabis - travelling to Colorado and Washington State as well as receiving a detailed outline from the government in Uruguay (the only country to date that has a federal regulatory system for accessing cannabis). And, while yes these are just recommendations, this is virtually the ONLY information we have received from the government about how they may move forward with legalization other than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent announcement urging police to enforce the current marijuana laws - a stance that did not sit well for many. [continues 877 words]
As Canada is about to join Uruguay as one of two countries to legalize marijuana, we are in for major changes in our culture, plus added pressure on our ailing health care. It is most disturbing that the Trudeau Liberals are rushing ahead with legalization before a simple roadside test is available to test for driver pot-smoking impairment. The government is ignoring the Canadian Medical Association's recommendation to raise the age for purchase to at least 21. Police better get ready for the entry of organized crime groups, which will surely take advantage of black market pot sales. Canada as we know it is about to be majorly changed. Larry Comeau, Ottawa (Theoretically, a legal market should squeeze out a black market if prices are kept in check.) [end]
Last week, city council heard some pretty alarming statistics about Orillia's downtown. While most of us can agree we have a unique, quaint downtown with some must-visit retail attractions, most also acknowledge the Mississaga Street strip is experiencing some tough times. That was confirmed by urbanMetrics, the consultant firm that, at the behest of the city, compiled an inventory of existing and available space downtown, analyzing the retail gaps to be filled through future investment-attraction efforts. The analysis found a vacancy rate of 18.4% in an area that includes the downtown and its environs - that's the largest vacancy rate of comparable downtowns they studied. It's important to note those numbers reflect the traditional downtown core in addition to three nearby properties - 70 Front St. N., 10 Western Ave. and 4 King St. E. - which account for a third of that vacant space. So, the numbers may be a bit skewed. But just take a stroll up the main street and you might be surprised by the sheer number of unoccupied stores. It is worrying. [continues 383 words]
Pot and booze don't go together. According to a report released Tuesday from the federal task force on marijuana legalization, marijuana, once it's legalized, shouldn't be sold in the same place as alcohol. That, of course, runs contrary to what Premier Kathleen Wynne and her government want in Ontario; they've floated the idea of selling it at government-run LCBOs. But the report from the task force, headed up by Anne McLellan, a former Liberal cabinet minister and four-term MP for Edmonton Centre, says there are big problems with selling alcohol and pot together. For instance, it notes that some 80 per cent of Canadians drink, while only 11 per cent use marijuana. "There is a significant risk of cannabis and cannabis advertising being introduced to a large number of Canadians who might not otherwise use cannabis," the report declares. [continues 264 words]
Queen's Park has not decided how Ontario will structure its marijuana retail model Premier Kathleen Wynne is keeping an open mind about what - if any - role the Liquor Control Board of Ontario will have in the recreational marijuana business. In her first public statement since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's federal task force on legalization released its recommendations Tuesday, Wynne was noncommittal when asked about the LCBO's involvement in cannabis sales. "I really believe that this is all in process and I think it's good that we're starting to hear some directional information from the federal government," she told reporters in Montreal after a meeting with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard. [continues 366 words]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau campaigned to legalize pot in the 2015 election campaign. This federal task force report on the subject, released this week, offered no quick fix to the complex issues surrounding legalization, and the sensible recommendation that the Liberals proceed slowly. The 106-page report made more than 80 recommendations, including restricting pot sales to those 18 and older, banning sales near schools, banning pot advertising and branding (similar to tobacco products) and a new, proposed Cannabis Control Act to police illegal production and trafficking. [continues 279 words]
Hospital should own its role, and help foot bill, in fallout from faulty drug tests, CAS head says Children's aid societies are calling on the Hospital for Sick Children to "step up" and own the role it played in the Motherisk scandal that saw faulty drug and alcohol hair tests used in thousands of child protection cases. Mary Ballantyne, executive director of the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies (OACAS), said Sick Kids, which housed the discredited Motherisk Drug Testing Laboratory, should do more to assist in the significant efforts underway to deliver justice to those affected. [continues 867 words]
When the recreational use of marijuana becomes legal in Canada in the next few years, how old should you have to be to join in the fun? This issue - the legal age for buying and consuming cannabis - is the biggest single challenge facing the federal Liberals as they rewrite the law on this popular, but potentially harmful, drug. A federal task force this week provided 80 recommendations for opening up the market for recreational pot. Most of the suggestions, which include permitting storefront and mail-order sales as well as allowing individuals to buy or carry up to 30 grams for personal use, are both reasonable and workable. [continues 405 words]
There's more to Paul Kelly's observations (Reefer Madness, Dec. 9, 2016). North American's contempt for cannabis (marijuana) prohibition is greater than any time in history. Citizens are no longer waiting on government to end the farce. Prohibitionists have lost their platform and the only thing left is to create regulations, which are acceptable to the increasing majority. People expect to be able to grow cannabis and purchase it in regulated markets. Further, cannabis has never been illegal in the eyes of its creator; powerful people have illegitimately been enabled to punish citizens for using what God indicates He created and says is good on literally the very first page of the Bible. God and cannabis are winners. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
KITCHENER - Grand River Hospital is joining local public health, pharmacies and Sanguen Health Centre in distributing life-saving naloxone kits to those who might be susceptible to an opioid overdose. The hospital in conjunction with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council announced a pilot project this week in which the emergency department will distribute naloxone to those patients at risk of an opioid overdose. Patients can be recreational users or those on prescription opioid medication. "We are another piece in the puzzle. It's another venue where people can receive these kits and we can reach people in need," said Dr. Rupinder Sahsi, emergency room physician at Grand River Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital. [continues 459 words]
We need to take swift action on the opioid crisis to save lives. The Sandy Hill Community Health Centre has asked the province for $1.4 million a year to operate a supervised injection site seven days a week, 12 hours a day in downtown Ottawa. The estimated cost has more than quadrupled since a plan for the service was unveiled earlier this year. Rob Boyd, director of the health centre's harm reduction program, said costs have gone up as the service model changed in response to the public's feedback - and to the quickening pace of the opioid epidemic. Community members, he said, made it clear they want drug users to be able to access the centre's medical, social and counselling services whenever they visit the injection site. [continues 1096 words]
I must respond to the uninformed idea that supervised injection sites are a no-go for police. Police are directed not to make any simple drug possession arrests near the facilities, but should any other crimes such as assault or trafficking occur, you can be assured police will be there immediately. The call is often made by staff themselves. As for criminal activity near these places, the addicts tend to self-police the area as they better than anyone understand the importance of such facilities and will not allow activities that would jeopardize their existence. Harm reduction has been a medically proven asset in addressing addiction for decades now - time to change these 1950s attitudes. Ken Glofcheskie Ottawa (Fair points.) [end]
Marijuana should be treated as a public health and safety issue, and governments should shy away from using it to raise revenue. That's the biggest takeaway from the report released Tuesday by the federal task force on pot legalization. Its 80 recommendations provide a roadmap Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should follow. The report from the task force, headed by Anne McLellan, a former Liberal cabinet minister, says there are big problems with selling alcohol and pot together, which had been Premier Kathleen Wynne's plan in Ontario. For instance, it notes that some 80 per cent of Canadians drink, while only 11 per cent use marijuana. [continues 313 words]
Pot industry players react to marijuana legalization report Pot smokers, dispensary owners and cannabis industry executives reacted Tuesday to the federal government task force recommendations on how Canada should go about legalizing recreational marijuana. The dispensary manager: Stores should be here to stay Kristina Simpson's hands fly up to her face in shock when she's informed the task force has come out in favour of marijuana storefronts. "Oh my gosh!" says the manager of Weeds Glass & Gifts dispensary on Bank Street. "I'm so happy!" She had braced herself for a more restrictive approach. The task force said storefronts with "well-trained, knowledgeable staff" should have a place, although the provinces would be left to decide how and where marijuana is sold. [continues 805 words]
Web of regulations proposed by task force shows Liberals' approach anything but mellow Reading the 106-page report of the Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, with its determinedly bland cover design and its epically drab title, "A Framework For the Legalization and Regulation of Cannabis in Canada," it's hard to shake the urge to blow off a little steam by sparking up a great big bowl of Whoa! Wrong attitude! Sorry about that. Lord forbid anyone suggest that the point of legalizing marijuana in Canada is to increase the amount of fun anybody might be having. [continues 700 words]
Despite federal report, deputy chief insists police have duty to take action until laws change Until Canada's pot law goes up in smoke, there's nothing hazy about whether cannabis lounges and unregulated marijuana dispensaries are legal. And while the recommendations of a federal government task force, released Tuesday, would loosen up the law, one top London police official said they'll continue to keep a close tab on marijuana hot spots. "Right now, they're illegal," said deputy police chief Daryl Longworth. "If the government changes that around, obviously we'll respond accordingly. [continues 898 words]
Deciding to legalize marijuana was the easy part for the Trudeau government. Seventy per cent of Canadians say they like the idea - in principle. It's all those tricky details of exactly how to do it that can trip you up. Now a panel of experts appointed by the government has recommended a way forward. It proposes a regime that would combine some decidedly liberal elements - such as allowing 18-year-olds to buy pot - with more restrictive measures - including a ban on most advertising. Taken together, it's a smart package. [continues 602 words]
Re: A smart way forward, Editorial Dec. 14 So the government's panel of "experts" has recommended both the legalization of recreational marijuana and to allow 18-year-old young people, whose brains and general physiology are still developing, to buy and use it. One might wonder why a government, supposedly concerned with the well-being of its citizens, would encourage them to engage in taking a mind-altering drug (and legalization will certainly be seen as a stamp of approval) against the advice of many in the medical establishment. [continues 182 words]
Young teen leaves victim with concussion An attack that left a girl with a concussion resulted in a year's probation for another Lambton County girl. The impact of marijuana use on developing brains was one of the issues to be examined during probation. Science has identified substantial negative mental impacts on teens' developing brains and the focus on marijuana use within the girl's report was concerning, said Justice Deborah Austin during the girl's sentencing. The young teenage girl had pleaded guilty in Sarnia youth court to an assault causing bodily harm during the spring. [continues 181 words]
Union vows to fight in court, says members 'furious' about new tests run by outside firm The TTC has provoked the ire of its largest union by announcing that it will begin randomly testing its employees for drug and alcohol use starting on March 1. In a news release on Thursday, the transit agency said that it had given formal notice to its workers that it was moving ahead with the plan, which has been in the works for five years. Under the plan, 20 per cent of employees occupied in "safety sensitive" positions - including some management and executives - would be subject to the tests for drugs and alcohol. Those who would be tested include vehicle operators, maintenance workers and supervisors. [continues 357 words]
City councillors have given public health the green light to study the possibility of bringing safe injection sites to Hamilton. The pitch for such a study was first made to the Board of Health earlier this year, in light of a deadly opioid crisis that has led to a spike in overdoses across the country. In Ontario, where overdose deaths are the third-leading cause of accidental death, someone dies of an overdose every 13 hours. "These are entirely preventable deaths," says Dr. Jessica Hopkins, associate medical officer of health. [continues 361 words]
Philippines' police have shot more than 3,000 to death Thousands of kilometres away from her hometown of Samar in the south of Philippines, Sonia Pormarca Carreon has been finding it hard to sleep. "I have four sons in that country. And the police is shooting people every day," said the Scarborough resident ,who came to Toronto more than two years ago as a live-in caregiver. "Honestly, I am very worried about their lives. I know they have not done anything wrong but the situation is so scary." [continues 215 words]
When you look at the rainbow of sins that governments tax, you would have to place marijuana in a pretty unique place. Think of the vast array of ills government live off of and their alternatives: Gas taxes: are you not going to drive a car or heat your home? Or if there was an alternative, could you use it. Governments control it all. Don't want to pay taxes? Tough luck. Gambling: Nothing beats a government run casino and lottery. Try setting up your own lottery and tell me how it goes. But first, look up Ponzi Scheme...it's in the criminal code. [continues 715 words]
I'm laughing really hard right now at all of the crying little liberal potheads who feel cheated by their knight in shining armour who rode into Ottawa on his Liberal Red Bong last year! This proves that pot indeed makes people stupid. Consider two other widely used drugs: Alcohol and tobacco. When do you think it was more free for enterprising individuals to produce, distribute, and consume these two drugs: Before or after the government began taxing them? The reason why the black market marijuana industry was relatively un-policed under the Harper administration was that it had no plans to derive revenue from it. And since recreational production and use of marijuana was a non-violent, non-destructive crime that made the perpetrators and customers fairly apathetic, they turned a blind eye to it. [continues 65 words]
"Pot smokers feel 'cheated' by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau" (Antonella Artuso, Dec. 5) It should read 60% of Canadians feel cheated by single issue voters. What did they think, the child king would wave his magic wand and bang, sunny ways and doobies everywhere? Perhaps Abi Roach should take a look at reality: Canada-wide carbon tax, green energy modelled after the Ontario Liberals, Trudeau's hail to Castro, cabinet minister Monsef, a $30-billion deficit. Abi and his followers may find their next choice hydro or pot. Tim Hockridge Apsley, Ont. (You mean the budget doesn't balance itself?) [end]
Driving under influence of marijuana increasing, Ontario survey says TORONTO - With Ottawa poised to legalize recreational marijuana next year, researchers are keeping a close eye on use of the drug, which has been steadily trending upward over the last couple of decades. In Ontario, for instance, a survey released Wednesday by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) found that past-year cannabis use virtually doubled between 1996 and 2015, rising from about eight per cent to almost 15 per cent of respondents. [continues 808 words]
Thanks to easy access at the dispensaries popping up on every street corner, city-dwellers across Canada are turning to marijuana to soothe their creaky old bones. And if it works for you, why not for an elderly or ailing pet? Tamara Hirsh, owner of Pacifico, stocks Apawthecary brand marijuana-infused dog treats and tinctures at her dispensaries in Toronto and Hamilton, Ont. She claims there are no side effects. "You can really take any dose," she said. "We recommend you start low and go slow." [continues 340 words]
Inside Ontario
