Canada is a country, right? Canadian law is supposed to apply equally, everywhere, to all of us, right? So why is marijuana openly for sale by retailers all over Vancouver and Victoria, while elsewhere in the country, people still are getting busted for a lousy joint? That's more like two different countries than one country. In Vancouver and Victoria, the retail business operates under the rubric of medical marijuana. Hardly anyone takes this medical aspect seriously. To buy a sack of weed, you need only present a prescription or facsimile thereof. It doesn't even have to be a prescription for medical marijuana. Show a prescription for anything - - an antibiotic for a sinus infection, an anti-inflammatory for a sprained ankle, ointment for a rash ... anything - and they will sell you a sack of weed. You can show them an old prescription pill bottle or even a picture on your iPhone of an old pill bottle and they will sell you a sack of weed. [continues 535 words]
Saskatoon's drug trade helped boost property crimes in 2015, according to city police. Acting police chief Bernie Pannell said Tuesday that increases in crimes like break-and-enters, thefts over $5,000 and possession of stolen property in 2015 compared to 2014 can be linked to the drug trade. It's part of an ongoing trend of several years, Pannell added in an interview. "There's an awful lot of opportunistic theft that is occurring and we believe it's connected to our drug trade," Pannell said. "We're seeing it increasing." [continues 428 words]
Distribution of kits encouraged to help deal with opioid overdoses The College of Physicians and Surgeons council has given its blessing for doctors to prescribe naloxone to people other than the drug users who need it. "This could be parents; it could be other family members; it could be associates; it could be shelters or police detention," said addictions specialist Peter Butt. He's overseeing a pilot project to distribute naloxone kits and had asked the college for its support. "It's not unregulated in any way, but rather is part of an integrated approach to preventing opioid overdose deaths." [continues 168 words]
An addictions specialist wants Saskatchewan doctors to be able to prescribe naloxone to family and agencies close to the patients who need the life-saving drug. "In order to be in-line with the evidence and actually to be more effective in terms of treating opioid overdoses and preventing overdose deaths, we would like to be able to prescribe it to people associated with users in a more evidence-based and practical approach," Dr. Peter Butt said. He has asked the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan to support the idea, which the college will consider at its Friday meeting. This would allow doctors, and perhaps nurse practitioners, to prescribe with a clear conscience, Butt said. [continues 339 words]
Marijuana has been in the news ever since the Liberal government made promises to make "real changes" towards legalization of the controversial drug. Stated on the Liberal website, the official party position is that "Canada's current system of marijuana prohibition does not work." While recreational use of marijuana is still strictly prohibited, doctors have prescribed medical marijuana for some time. Recently, and contrary to federal law, medical marijuana dispensaries have been popping up across the country. This past summer, Vancouver was the first city in Canada to regulate medical dispensaries in the city, despite being technically illegal and drawing criticism from former health minister and interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose. [continues 917 words]
SPECIAL REPORT: This is Part I of a three-part series that will delve into one local man's usage of medical marijuana after he sustained serious injuries. It hasn't been an easy road for the husband and father of two over the past couple of years. He has battled a stigma, lost his job and had been popping all kinds of pills until he found medical marijuana. A Moose Jaw man is frustrated with what he claims is an outdated stigma against the medicine he uses - marijuana. [continues 725 words]
This is Part II of a three-part series that will delve into one local man's usage of medical marijuana after he sustained serious injuries. Part I, which was printed in the Jan. 18 edition of the Times-Herald, outlined the plethora of prescription drugs Chris Kuntz was taking before he tried medical marijuana. He has battled stigma and lost his job over the past couple of years, but claimed marijuana has him feeling as close to full health as he has in the past several months. [continues 744 words]
Re: Addiction myths debunked, Opinion, Dec. 29 While Michael Pond supports using one substance to get off another to escape alcoholism or drug addiction, it's worth mentioning how cannabis (marijuana) has historically been used to help people. The plant is not physically addictive, hasn't killed anyone in over 5,000 years of documented use and should be available to citizens trying to get off hard drug addiction and alcoholism. Further, re-legalizing the plant in itself will lower hard drug addiction rates to begin with. Dillon, Colorado [end]
Liberals Clamp Down on Cigarettes but Make It Easier to Smoke Pot Where there's smoke - there's a strange disconnect in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's thinking. Trudeau wants Health Minister Jane Philpott to make it one of her priorities to crack down even further on tobacco companies by mandating plain packaging for cigarettes, hoping to make smoking even less of an enticement for Canadians. Trudeau wants to legalize marijuana, which will make smoking it more of an enticement to those Canadians who may have been previously deterred by its illegal status. [continues 585 words]
The sudden death of Shauna Wolf on Dec. 27 while she was being held on remand at the Pine Grove Correctional Centre raises some troubling questions, starting with the fact that provincial policy still doesn't require justice officials to publicly disclose every such death as soon as practicable. Surely, there's nothing a government in a democratic society does on our behalf that's more serious or sensitive than to deprive people of their freedom. Whenever someone who is taken into custody then dies while in lock-up, the death should become public information as soon as the person's family is notified. [continues 351 words]
The Crown has dropped multiple charges against four Saskatoon residents who were arrested after a high-profile medical marijuana dispensary bust. On Wednesday in Saskatoon provincial court, all charges relating to marijuana derivatives, such as oils, were withdrawn against Mark Phillip Hauk, Lane Anthony Britnell, Jaime Michelle Hagel and Carson Jocelyn Ramsay. Hauk, the owner of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club dispensary, and the three employees were arrested Oct. 29 after Saskatoon police raided the small shop in the 200 block of Second Avenue North. They are out on bail and still face four criminal charges relating to trafficking dried marijuana and possession of the proceeds of crime. [continues 353 words]
The sudden death of Shauna Wolf on Dec. 27 while she was being held on remand at the Pine Grove Correctional Centre raises some troubling questions, starting with the fact that provincial policy still doesn't require justice officials to publicly disclose every such death as soon as practicable. Surely, there's nothing a government in a democratic society does on our behalf that's more serious or sensitive than to deprive people of their freedom. Whenever someone who is taken into custody then dies while in lock-up, the death should become public information as soon as the person's family is notified. [continues 352 words]
Stickers bearing Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison's name and the City of Saskatoon logo are being actively removed from surfaces throughout the city's downtown. Richard Brown, Atchison's spokesman, said there is no connection between the mayor's office and the stickers, which read: "Don Atchison for a drug and gay free Saskatoon," and appear with the green City of Saskatoon logo. Brown would not comment further on the stickers. According to a statement issued by the city, the stickers were first noticed in mid-December and have appeared in the downtown area and on parking pay stations on several occasions. [continues 197 words]
Marijuana users seem to be getting restless for the new legal regime promised by the Liberal party during the federal election. A restless urge to strike down the old prohibitions has been noticeable across Canada. There wasn't a whiff of news about when the air might clear, however, until Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Vancouver recently, the most pot friendly city in Canada. Mr. Trudeau confirmed he is still committed to legalization, but it won't come soon, so don't light that joint in public just yet. [continues 515 words]
As 2015 draws to a close, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix sat down with police Chief Clive Weighill to talk about everything from the controversies around carding to the possibility of legalized marijuana. Q What was the overall crime picture like in Saskatoon in 2015? A We had a very tough time in March and April. We had about 16 or 17 shootings and a few homicides. The city was really heating up, but things seem to have calmed down and plateaued now. Our guns and gangs unit really made a big difference, I think, doing a lot interventions with the gangs and stopping a lot of the violence as a result. [continues 796 words]
Despite suggestions from two Canadian premiers that legalized weed be sold in provincial liquor stores, Saskatchewan's premier has more pressing concerns than point-of-sale mechanics. "I think there are still questions to ask before we start worrying about where it's sold," Brad Wall told reporters on Monday. Although reports from jurisdictions such as Colorado where recreational marijuana use is legal are "very preliminary," it appears that usage is increasing and users are becoming younger, Wall said. "Our counsel would be, let' s learn as much as we can," he said. "Let's take some time and learn as much as we can from what's going on in Colorado." [continues 292 words]
Touted As Life-Saving Tool, Naxalone May Soon Be Available in Drugstores In principle, I am in favour of increased access, but the devils are in the details. A Saskatoon addictions expert says he is cautiously optimistic after news that a lifesaving anti-overdose drug could be available in Canadian pharmacies without a prescription by early to mid-2016. "In principle, I am in favour of increased access, but the devils are in the details," Dr. Peter Butt said. Naloxone is an "anti-overdose" drug that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose from drugs like morphine, fentanyl, heroin or methadone. [continues 337 words]
Recreational, medical use raise questions, writes Lucas Richert. The future of medical and recreational marijuana in Canada remains blurry. What is clear is that we're in the midst of a pot predicament, and health authorities, law enforcement officials and politicians, as well as citizens in Saskatchewan and elsewhere, have a lot to contemplate. Public sentiment seems to favour decriminalization or even legalization of marijuana for recreational use. One poll established that two-thirds of Canadians favour altering the law so that people are not given criminal records for minor, non-violent offences, whereas in a recent Leger poll, not only do 86 per cent of Canadians support regulated access to medical cannabis with physician support, but 76 per cent believe that health insurance companies should cover the cost. [continues 560 words]
Potentially life-saving kits that can halt a drug overdose are available in Saskatoon through a new pilot project. Satchels containing two doses of the drug naloxone are available at Mayfair Drugs to people who use opiates such as fentanyl, morphine, heroin, methadone and oxycodone, the Saskatoon Health Region announced Friday. "It's one of those programs you hope you never have to use," said Brenda McAllister, the region's methadone program manager. Close friends and family of people with addictions and people who work in community-based organizations may also qualify for the kits, addictions specialist Dr. Peter Butt said. People suffering an overdose can't inject themselves. [continues 441 words]
Fourth-Year Nursing Students Engage Council on Transit and Needles Discussion Outlining the health concerns related to public transit and the city's needle exchange, fourth-year nursing students engaged city council in debate. Two groups of University of Saskatchewan College of Nursing students spoke at Monday's city council meeting, during which the subject of the city's Straight to the Point Harm Reduction" program sparked the usual council reaction. "I get the brunt of the calls about needles," Mayor Greg Dionne said after the students' presentation. [continues 337 words]
Inside Saskatchewan
