Company's goal is to promote pot as alternative to pharmaceuticals

The company behind the roadside billboards popping up in Saskatoon and Regina featuring a stylized marijuana leaf logo wants to normalize cannabis use.

One such billboard, located at Idylwyld Drive North and 44th Street in Saskatoon, is meant to drive people to Erbachay's website, where owner of the Vancouver-based Erbachay Health Centre Darcy Delainey said they'll learn more about cannabis.

"This is something we wanted to have a conversation with people (about) so they can start learning what cannabis is and not just what they've been told all these years," he said.

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A poll released today by Mainstream and Postmedia makes it clear that Saskatchewan residents need to be educated on the dangers of drug use to our population. Residents of cities across the country were asked, "how closely have you been following the story of fentanyl, an opioid drug?" In Saskatoon, 35 per cent of those surveyed answered "very or somewhat." The number in Regina was slightly higher at 36 per cent.

This is an alarmingly low rate of awareness. The number of overdose deaths from fentanyl and other similar drugs has risen dramatically in Saskatchewan and across Canada in recent years. The number of people who indicated they are following the story in other western cities is much higher; 78 per cent in Vancouver, 55 per cent in Calgary and 58 per cent in Edmonton.

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City takes action to prepare for crisis that has claimed hundreds in B.C.

We haven't seen the crisis that we've seen in Vancouver or in Winnipeg, but we're going to start to see it, I would suspect.

Saskatoon firefighters started carrying the anti-overdose drug naloxone this week and other agencies are exploring the idea in response to what the fire department's assistant chief described as a fentanyl and opioid crisis sweeping across the country.

The Saskatoon Fire Department is preparing for an expected increase in overdoses by equipping each of its 14 trucks with a $30 kit containing the opioid inhibitor, Rob Hogan told reporters Thursday.

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Arguing a Saskatchewan judge fumbled when he used potential pot legalization to justify giving a break to a former university football player caught with 21 pounds of marijuana, the Crown wants jail.

"The new (pending) legislation does not mean all things marijuana are now legal," federal prosecutor Wade McBride said Thursday before the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.

The lawyer representing Seamus John Neary not only defended his client's sentence of probation, but took a second kick at a charter of rights argument. He contends a law prohibiting a conditional sentence for such a crime is cruel and unusual punishment - especially given the current government's stance regarding pot.

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It is laughable that the federal government is focusing so dutifully on issues around the legalization of marijuana.

Any adult in Canada can walk into virtually any store and buy one of the most deadly products on earth - tobacco. This product is clearly connected with the suffering and death of millions of people each year and yet cigarettes are there for anyone to buy.

Invoking the precautionary principle on pot smoking is laudable, but why don't we use the same approach to the sale of tobacco products, particularly when many people are recipients of second-hand smoke not of their choosing?

Deb Hopkins, Saskatoon

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We need to wage war against dope like we did against smoking

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, that bus long ago left the station - kids can already get a hold of dope with little effort.

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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, that bus long ago left the station - 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.

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Police chief says intervention, education key to tackling problem

For the first time under Chief Clive Weighill's tenure, crime in Saskatoon is going up. This city has the highest murder rate in the country and thefts and break-ins are spiking. The StarPhoenix sat down with the city's police chief to talk crime and what's next for 2017.

Q The rise of methamphetamine is well documented in Saskatoon. You've said it's a main contributor to the city's crime rate. How are you going to combat it?

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Our federal government will soon legalize marijuana. I'm not saying it's a good thing or bad thing. It is so prevalent in society something had to be done.

My thoughts on the matter is that if the federal Liberals think that they are going to put these illegal pot-growing operations out of business, they must stay monetarily competitive or better with the underground prices for cannabis. Otherwise, people will not buy in the legal outlets.

If by chance the government does manage to shut down a lot of the illegal growing operations, these people who are making thousands of dollars a day are not going to start flipping hamburgers at your local fast food place. For a lot of them, all they know are drugs and big money. You will see now on our streets in large numbers the drugs that have a more detrimental effect on the people using and, in turn, on society in general.

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Homicides, shooting linked to groups bringing drugs, guns into Regina

Police believe at least two Regina homicides and a shooting in a crowded restaurant are among the fallout from an increasingly violent threat posed by outsiders bringing guns and drugs into the city.

The Mounties and Regina Police Service joined forces to roll out the unwelcome mat for the unwanted guests, recently concluding a 90-day project targeting drug trafficking as well as the weapons and shootings that accompany the trade. What it revealed is that many of the 60 people arrested on 443 charges, including trafficking, possession of stolen property, and multiple weapons offences, aren't from here. They dropped in from locales such as Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Fort McMurray and Toronto.

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Labelling legalized marijuana products with their levels of two main active ingredients is one of the helpful recommendations released this week by a federal task force on cannabis legalization and regulation, says Saskatoon addictions expert Dr. Peter Butt.

"There's no truth in labelling now because there's no testing," Butt said.

He is concerned that there is no way to ensure cannabis sold for medicinal use contains any of a substance shown to produce the medical benefits marijuana is promoted to address.

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Three people involved with a downtown Saskatoon medical marijuana dispensary before it was raided in 2015 have been committed to stand trial on trafficking-related charges.

The preliminary hearing for Mark Phillip Hauk, Lane Anthony Britnell and Jaime Michelle Hagel wrapped up in Saskatoon provincial court on Thursday.

Hauk owned the Saskatchewan Compassion Club, Britnell was an employee, and Hagel was a volunteer. Each faces four charges: one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana, two counts of trafficking marijuana and one count of possessing proceeds of crime over $5,000.

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She should have been on medical watch.

The death of a young woman at a Regina remand unit has led to more supervision and medical staff at the facility.

Breanna Kannick, 21, was being held at the White Birch Remand Centre in August 2015 when she died after going into what the Ministry of Justice at the time called "medical distress."

An investigation into that death, according to government officials, has resulted in about $400,000 in added funding to increase nursing staff and pay for a doctor to be on site.

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Illegal medical marijuana dispensaries are not just for big cities anymore. Earlier this month, RCMP made good on a September 2015 Health Canada warning threatening to shut down Martin Medical Services in Whitewood.

In a raid on the business and home of owner Jerry Martin November 8, police seized undisclosed quantities of marijuana, hash oil and cash along with cellphones, computers and three vehicles. He is charged with trafficking marijuana, possession of marijuana, trafficking cannabis resin, possession of cannabis resin, possession of proceeds of crime, trafficking proceeds of crime and laundering proceeds of crime.

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Canada is experiencing a serious opioid epidemic. While it has only recently made headlines, there has been a growing trend toward misuse and illegal use of opioid prescriptions in the past few years, one that nurses across Canada have seen firsthand.

Whether or not people obtain these drugs by prescription, the difficulty of withdrawal is having a serious impact on our publicly funded health system. The Canadian Nurses Association is therefore pleased with Health Minister Jane Philpott's call for a national strategy to face this crisis.

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Police chief blames drug gangs for near doubling of cases

A dramatic spike in home invasions in Saskatoon is contributing to the city's nation-leading crime rate, according to Saskatoon's Police Chief Clive Weighill.

Home invasions where people are home when burglars break in have nearly doubled since 2009. Police say there were 154 home invasion cases in 2009. In 2014 that number spiked to 301 before dipping down to 276 in 2015.

"Since 2009 it's almost doubled. I know that is a scary term when we are talking about home invasions," Weighill said at a police board meeting last Thursday.

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Whether it's LSD or magic mushrooms, psychedelic drugs have long been a point of contention. An upcoming event hopes to educate Saskatoon residents on their medical uses and their potentially research-rich future.

Organized by Erika Dyck, a University of Saskatchewan history professor and the Canada Research Chair in the History of Medicine, the event is called An Evening of Psychedelics and takes place at the Underground Cafe on Nov. 23.

"Over the last few years there's been some real interest in what people are starting to call a psychedelic renaissance, where we're looking at psychedelics for their therapeutic potential today," she said.

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The mayor of Whitewood has raised concerns about practices at a marijuana dispensary that had long operated in the town, and called on the federal government to remove the grey areas that exist around the sale of the drug for medical purposes.

Martin Medical Services, owned by Jerry Martin, 45, was raided last Tuesday, with Broadview RCMP seizing a quantity of marijuana as well as cash, cellphones, computers and three vehicles.

Martin's home was raided, as well.

Martin is facing criminal charges for operation of an unlawful marijuana dispensary, including trafficking and possession of marijuana and cannabis resin, possession of the proceeds of crime, trafficking in the proceeds of crime and laundering the proceeds of crime.

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Police are seeing more fentanyl and crystal meth cases in the city and some locals have overdosed on fentanyl, they say.

"Prior to, you know, within the last year, 2016, fentanyl really didn't exist here," said Moose Jaw Police Deputy Chief Cliff Froehlich.

Moose Jaw is now facing the national problem of increased opiate addiction.

On Wednesday, Moose Jaw Police Deputy Chief Cliff Froehlich spoke at the Moose Jaw South Central Drug Strategy luncheon.

Two of the most problematic drugs for local police are crystal meth and fentanyl.

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There was a strong police presence in Whitewood last Thursday when RCMP raided the Lalonde St. home of 45-year-old Whitewood resident Jerry Martin as well as at his business location on 3rd Ave.

Police officers and vehicles were very visible at both locations throughout the day.

According to RCMP, "At approximately 10:20 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2016, Broadview RCMP executed a warrant at both a business and a residence at Whitewood, SK."

As officers stood guard at the Martin Medical Services building downtown, several officers entered Martin's residence and began a search of the main street home, and later at the business location. RCMP seized marijuana, hash oil, cell phones and computers, an undisclosed amount of cash, and three vehicles.

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