Editor,

It was a no-brainer for the Liberals to waste $2 billion trying to make criminals out of law biding citizens with their long gun registry. Now, Justin Trudeau supporting legalizing marijuana brings another era of Liberal folly.

I support decriminalizing personal possession of marijuana and I support criminal charges for selling marijuana or driving stoned. I don't support the federal government or provinces becoming Canada's drug dealer selling marijuana.

Canada legalized tobacco and alcohol it was extremely depressing to watch my father die of cancer. Every Finance minister in Canada is addicted to alcohol and tobacco taxes and revenues. Twenty-one per cent of Islanders smoke cigarettes, what percentage of the Canadian population is Justin Trudeau willing to allow to smoke marijuana? Provinces are suing the tobacco companies but are denying responsibility for the ill health of Canadians.

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Dr. Don Ling Tells Mlas 60 Per Cent of Those on Program End Up Leading Productive Lives

The medical director of the methadone program says the program should be expanded due to high levels of success among patients struggling with opiate addictions.

Dr. Don Ling told the Standing Committee on Health and Social Development Tuesday 60 per cent of those on the methadone program end up drug-free and back in the workforce, leading productive lives.

"Lives that are in the dumpster all of a sudden are back in a productive way, kids back in mother's care, people back to work or school, it's just powerful stuff," Ling told the MLAs on the committee. "It's very encouraging." Ling appeared before the committee as part of its ongoing consultations regarding the alarming number of Islanders becoming addicted to prescription pills.

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Panellists Say Island Youths Can Be Better Protected by Everyone Working Together

MONTAGUE - Provincial court judges need to get tough on drug dealers and doctors and dentists need to reel in the prescriptions if youth drug use is going to be curtailed, an addiction forum was advised here recently.

Drug use will never go away, but a panel of facilitators insisted Island youth could be better protected against the cornucopia of insidious offerings causing even greater addictions.

"There was a time when marijuana and alcohol were the greatest concern, and then it grew to cocaine and opiates, and now I'm dealing with students using needles," said Tyler Larter, guidance counsellor at Colonel Gray High School in Charlottetown.

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Three Colonel Gray students came forward to tell their own stories of drug addiction and recovery to a crowd of concerned parents during a presentation panel at the high school Thursday night.

The students had experienced addiction issues first-hand, assiting with the goal of the "Making the Connection" panel to provide information to help facilitate parents' discussions with their own children about drug use and the risks associated with it.

Although each of three stories were different, they all shared aspects that are common among high school students using drugs. For all of them, using drugs had started as a fun hobby with peers before turning into an addiction that led to dropping out, or being kicked out, of the high school.

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Federal Liberal Leadership Candidate Speaks About Drugs With Colonel Gray High School Students

The student didn't even have to finish his question for Justin Trudeau to know he was about to be asked about decriminalization of marijuana.

During a session Tuesday morning with Colonel Gray High School students in Charlottetown, the candidate for the federal Liberal Party leadership came out in support of decriminalizing marijuana and even discussed the possibility of legalization.

Trudeau's opinion on the touchy subject was the first thing the Papineau MP was asked during a question-and-answer session with English-speaking students at the school.

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Many Islanders Interested in Using Drug for Relief of Medical Conditions

Calling it the Freedom Tour, a group of more than 20 Islanders gathered in Charlottetown recently to call for the legalization of marijuana.

Many were interested in using the drug for relief of medical conditions, a process that is permitted in Canada provided the user complies with a daunting application and usage protocol, the meeting was told.

Trevor Leclerc, candidate for the leadership of the NDP on P.E.I., is HIV-positive and takes pharmaceutical, prescribed drugs to stave off AIDS.

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Work must be done to help addicts before crimes are committed: Richardson

Editor's note: This is Part IV in a series by the Journal Pioneer examining drug abuse in western Prince Edward Island. Part V will appear in tomorrow's edition.

SUMMERSIDE - There is no easy fix to the underlying problem behind property crime - that of escalating drug use.

It's a message touted by police and reiterated by Rev. Andrew Richardson, chair of Summerside's Community Safety and Crime Prevention Committee.

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Property is being stolen, homes are being broken in to and brazen crimes, including armed robberies, are taking place not only Summerside but across P.E.I.

The crimes, said Summerside Police Service Chief David Poirier, are the direct result of increased drug use and desperation by those addicted to get money for their fix.

This week, Ryan Wendell Cornish, of Summerside, was sentenced to six months behind bars for breaking into two city homes and stealing more than $10,000 worth of items, from rolled coins and a bicycle to a flat screen television.

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Chief Health Officer Believes Fewer Cases Of Hepatitis May Be Result

SUMMERSIDE - An expansion of the Province's needle exchange program has contributed, in part, to fewer cases of hepatitis C, health officials say.

In addition to its Charlottetown location, the Province has expanded the needle exchange program into three more areas since 2009 - Summerside, Alberton and Montague.

Although numbers for 2011 will only be compiled in January, P.E.I.'s chief health officer said early indications are encouraging.

"In 2011 to date, we've seen a bit of a decrease in the number of cases of hepatitis C. That's due to many things, but we hope partly due to the needle exchange program," said Dr. Heather Morrison.

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On the same day Charlottetown police arrested people for dealing drugs at city high schools, Jag Khalsa was at a conference talking about the consequences of drug use.

Khalsa is a pharmacologist with the U.S.-based National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NISA) and was at the Delta Prince Edward last week as a speaker for the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine's (CSAM) annual meeting.

There are more than 200 million drug addicts worldwide and addictions cost the U.S. billions of dollars every year, he said.

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Video surveillance operations carried out by city police in and around Col. Gray and Charlottetown Rural High Schools between the end of September and early October have identified over 30 people who were using and/or supplying drugs.

Deputy Police Chief Gary McGuigan said earlier today that as a result of that operation eight persons are facing charges under the Controlled Drug and Substance Act. Two of those eight are not students.

The remaining persons will be charged under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

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A Charlottetown store is hoping to cash in on what police are calling the pothead's version of St. Patrick's Day.

Wild Impulse is advertising what it calls a "4:20 special," which promises a rolling competition, discounts and, of course, cake.

Popular among tokers as a time to 'burn one down,' 4:20 has become a cultural symbol among marijuana users. One quick search on the Internet and you will find thousands of pages about its origin and the different ways people celebrate.

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Addict wants help but can't get into methadone program

When Jennica Warren went into a local store a few months ago, her only purpose was to steal a pair of sneakers.

The 21-year-old Summerside resident will soon appear in court to answer to a theft charge, but says she needs help.

Warren has been addicted to the prescription medication hydromorphone, better known as dilaudid, for the past four years.

"Everybody's ashamed of their addiction but the shame is over now for me, I don't care," she said. "If everyone in Summerside has to hate me for me to get better, so be it. It can't get any worse."

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If you follow the Summerside court stories in the news at all, you know many people are charged and convicted under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act each week.

Most in the justice system would agree that many other offences - ranging from theft to assault - occur as a result of drug use or the need to feed an addiction.

Some likely read the stories with a certain detachment or even derision of the person accused.

Many may even have a notion that the drug problem in Summerside, and Prince County in general, will eventually be solved through the court system.

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Did Mr. Jaffer receive special treatment or did he get a break that others before the court sometimes get?

Ontario justice officials should explain to Canadians why Rahim Jaffer got what many Canadians are calling a 'slap on the wrist' after cocaine possession and drunk driving charges against him were withdrawn and he was convicted of a lesser offence of careless driving. Such an explanation would benefit not only Canadians, but Mr. Jaffer himself.

Until Canadians are told why Mr. Jaffer got what even the judge himself called "a break", many will conclude the former MP and husband of a current cabinet minister simply got special treatment. That impression, in the court of public opinion, would dog Mr. Jaffer indefinitely, and left unchallenged, would only confirm suspicions that he and others with connections get a better deal when they find themselves before a judge.

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BEDEQUE - It's not common to want to be elected Opposition leader in the P.E.I. legislature.

But even though Bedeque's Caitlin Kimmet isn't a political figure, that's exactly what she asked for last weekend.

The 17-year-old Kinkora Regional High School student participated in the 22nd Rotary Youth Parliament last Friday and Saturday at Province House.

"I like to keep up on the news and politics but I'm by no means an expert," Kimmet said. "I wanted to be with the Opposition because they get to hold government accountable for everything they do."

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Attorney General Doug Currie says many of the issues that were foremost in his mind as minister of Health continue to be primary issues for him in his new post.

Speaking to the annual general meeting of P.E.I. Crime Stoppers Wednesday, Currie noted, for example, that in his former portfolio he was closely involved with the development of the P.E.I. Youth Substance Use and Addiction Strategy.

"In developing that strategy we were acutely aware that for approximately 60 to 70 per cent of youth who come into conflict with the law, substance abuse is either a direct or indirect factor in their offending behaviours," Currie said. "By that I mean that these offenders are either under the influence of alcohol or drugs when they commit their offence or they commit the offence to gain access to money for alcohol or drugs."

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Losing Community Policing Officer Contrary to Message of Police Chiefs Conference

Some delegates attending the 104th annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in Charlottetown this week must be scratching their heads as they grapple with the essential role of community policing in fighting crime. The theme of the conference is 'Creating Safe and Healthy Communities through Social Development,' meaning that today's policing executives need to focus on finding new ways of integrating police services with the communities they serve. Key sessions of the conference are focusing on proven community safety strategies.

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Law Enforcement Report Cites Illicit Drugs A Primary Criminal Market Spreading Across P.E.I., Canada

The 'Gentle Island' may be its theme, but Prince Edward Island is not immune to organized crime, says the commanding officer of the RCMP in the province.

Randy Robar made the comments on Friday as law enforcement agencies from the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada released the 2009 Report on Organized Crime in Canada during a news conference in Charlottetown.

The illegal drug trade continues to be the primary concern for law enforcement agencies across P.E.I.

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I will remember a terrifying sound forever. It was a wretched scream. The scream of a girl just before her boyfriend's car collided with an oncoming tractor-trailer.

This girl was soon to be the victim of impaired driving. Her boyfriend had gotten in his car with her while under the influence and lost control of the vehicle.

His life was spared. Unfortunately, the girl died immediately upon impact.

This was only a sound clip I heard during a presentation a few months ago at school. Norbert Georget a former paramedic from Saskatchewan gave the presentation on impaired driving and drug and alcohol abuse.

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