While opioids hold center stage in the nation's drug war, methamphetamine is making a destructive comeback. Though meth has largely fallen off the public's radar, seizures and arrests are up, and more people are dying from the drug. Its evolution is a reminder of the durability of the illegal drug supply, the impermanence of any single enforcement tactic and the need for a comprehensive approach to fighting and treating addiction. Potent, addictive and deadly, meth bears many of the pernicious traits of opioids. It became popular in the early 2000s, easily produced in small batches using the decongestant in over-the-counter cold medicine. In rural parts of Tampa Bay, especially eastern Hillsborough and Pasco counties and throughout Polk County, exploding "meth labs" routinely drew law enforcement's attention. Congress responded in 2005 with a law putting pseudoephedrine behind the counter, limiting the amount individuals could purchase and creating a tracking system pharmacies were required to use. Meth became much harder to make and faded from notice, overtaken by a new drug of choice: opioids. [continues 417 words]
WASHINGTON - President Trump's plan to use the death penalty on drug dealers has all the hallmarks of his favorite policies: It could fit on the front of a baseball cap. It is a proven applause line. It appeals to a conservative base. But, like so many of Trump's slogans-turned-policy, it's dredged from a bygone era and lacks clear evidence showing it would be effective. Using an obscure federal provision to bring capital cases against dealers, the concept that Trump enthusiastically backed during a visit to New Hampshire this week, fits within the framework of some of his other cornerstone ideas: Build the wall, Launch trade wars, Arm teachers. To some critics in the mainstream, though, the ideas are impractical, imprecise, or just dangerous. [continues 1074 words]
LIHUE - Kauai police have seen an increase in the use of black tar heroin over the last two years. The Kauai Police Department seized less than a gram of black tar heroin in 2015. But in 2017, the department seized a total of 526 grams, the Garden Island reported Sunday. The department has already amassed 80.8 grams this year, said Bryson Ponce, Kauai Police Department's Investigative Services Bureau assistant chief. Ponce said the increase is a serious concern because heroin use is linked to violent crime. [continues 232 words]
Plenty of hard work goes into training police service dogs to sniff out illicit substances For the vast majority of the dog population, sitting, shaking their paw and possibly rolling over is more than enough to get a treat, or some time with their favourite toy. For police service dogs Astor and Flint, some of the highest praise comes after sniffing out drugs hidden in a home or a vehicle. The Medicine Hat Police Service is two weeks into training PSD Astor to detect drugs and to notify his handler of any illegal substances he may sniff out. [continues 383 words]
The sheer volume of human suffering has been increasing exponentially in recent months as a new and deadly wave of opioids scythes through local drug users and addicts, says Const. Ryan Darroch, a 15-year veteran of the Lethbridge Police Service, and a beat cop with the downtown policing unit. "We have not yet confirmed carfentanil (behind the recent overdoses) through our lab analysis," he emphasizes, "but we have seized carfentanil in the city. A lot of the street people we talk to in the downtown, and all over this city, refer to it as 'Car.' It almost looks like that candy Nerds. They tell us they take that carfentanil and mix it with a water solution in those little blue vials people may see on the streets on the ground. They mix that solution in little green mixing bowls, and it breaks down the opioid inside that and they may then draw that solution into a needle and inject it into themselves. Fentanyl or [continues 622 words]
Alberta's supervised consumption sites should be permitted to offer drug testing to help users learn what dangers might be lurking in their illicit narcotics, the province's opioid commission recommended Friday. While questions persist about the effectiveness of fentanyl-sensing strips and other testing devices, providing insight to users on what they plan to inject or ingest will undoubtedly save lives, commission leaders said. "Anytime you can give people a bit more understanding than absolutely none about what's in their drugs, I think that's a positive," Elaine Hyshka, co-chair of the Minister's Opioid Emergency Response Commission, told a news conference downtown. [continues 390 words]
The significant spike in illicit drug overdoses in Lethbridge has not reached Medicine Hat - yet. There is no way to predict that it will or when, said Insp. Tim McGough, Medicine Hat Police Service. Lethbridge recently experienced its largest spike in overdoses - 16 cases - ever recorded in a 24-hour period. There were 42 overdose calls to first responders in the week after Feb. 19. "We've had no specific overdose spike (in Medicine Hat) but we are always concerned with illicit usage." said McGough. [continues 349 words]
Policing issues played a minor role in Tuesday's Ward 4 budget town hall, with only one exception: Cannabis enforcement costs. The Regina Police Service has estimated the cost of policing a legalized marijuana system between $1.2 million and $1.8 million. That number evoked shock from one resident who came to the meeting. "It stretches the bounds of believability," she said. "Give me a break." Coun. Andrew Stevens tried to steer clear of the RPS during the town hall, only once repeating his earlier warnings about the force's "uncontrolled" costs. [continues 251 words]
Police seize 5.8 kg in January - half of what was seized in 2017 MAKE no mistake: Winnipeg has a meth problem. That's the message city police drove home Thursday at a lengthy news conference, painting a dark picture of a city in the grips of a methamphetamine epidemic and the strain placed on front-line services that are trying to contain the street drug. "The emergence of methamphetamine that we're experiencing in our community is getting to the level where it's starting to keep me awake at night," Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth said. [continues 944 words]
Latest stops in northwestern Minnesota show surge of drug traffic into the state. It seemed like an innocuous driving violation: A woman was motoring through Otter Tail County in northwestern Minnesota with an obstructed license plate. Then the observant state trooper discovered she was sitting on packages of marijuana. Troopers seized more than 300 pounds of the weed during the stop last Friday, the latest of several large pot busts the State Patrol has made in the past few weeks and a sign that the surge of large quantities of pot and illegal drugs into Minnesota is continuing. [continues 329 words]
There aren't a lot of concrete answers as to why marijuana transactions are deadlier, but there are theories. The morning Kim Ambers turned 50, her oldest son, Richard Ambers, called to wish her a happy birthday. I love you, he told her. It was a tradition for the Ambers family members to see one another on birthdays, but Kim Ambers' celebration would have to wait. Richard was working and had a Halloween party afterward. The whole family would go out for breakfast the next day, on Oct. 29, 2016. [continues 1106 words]
Dundas mom says 17-year-old is on 'lockdown' in home after knife-wielding outburst When his father roused his son from a drug-induced slumber, he flew into a rage. The 17-year-old ended up pulling a knife and locking his dad out in the freezing cold. Now, his parents take turns watching him - constantly. "We just kind of keep him down on what we call 'lockdown,'" says his mom, a school teacher who lives in Dundas. Her son is addicted to drugs and alcohol. He has tried to kill himself, been in and out of hospital, in homeless shelters and jail. [continues 875 words]
A day after what would have been her son Ashley's 38th birthday, Betty Niemi told the story of her only child's losing battle with addiction to a rapt audience Thursday night. Niemi, who has started a local chapter of Grief Recovery After Substance Passing (GRASP), took to the podium at the fourth Not My Kid: Adolescents and Addictions seminar before a crowd of about 300 at the Caboto Club. "Losing a child is like having an arm or leg amputated, but no one can see it," Niemi told the crowd. [continues 496 words]
Committee to look at report next week Sudbury could become home to a safe injection site. The community services committee will hear next week about the prospect of undertaking a feasibility study for a site, which will cost $150,000 to $200,000. Council is being asked to endorse the report. "Through community consultations, under the mental health and compassionate city community priorities, the suggested action includes the study of and possible establishment of a supervised injection site," a staff report indicates. "In addition, the establishment of (a safe injection site) has been prioritized by the community drug strategy as part of the harm reduction pillar area of responsibility." [continues 439 words]
WATERLOO REGION - Regional councillors thanked the public health department for its harm reduction efforts, but said more needs to be done to ensure used needles aren't ending up in public spaces. "I do appreciate the efforts of public health," Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig said at a council meeting on Tuesday. "But we still have a problem." The number of needles distributed through Waterloo Region's needle syringe program has been rising steadily in recent years, reaching a peak in 2017, according to a report presented this week. [continues 471 words]
'Crystal meth in this city is a much worse problem than opioids' The opioid epidemic that has overtaken Ontario has left its mark on Lambton County, but a more insidious problem - the widespread use of crystal methamphetamine -will have an equal, if not greater effect on crime in the future, according to the head of Sarnia Police Service's Vice Unit. Det. Sgt. John Pearce spoke about the prevalence of opioids and methamphetamine in Sarnia, the inherent dangers of these drugs, and the legalization of marijuana during a recent presentation at the Central Forum Speaker Series. [continues 1034 words]
To help the local youth identify and avoid the decisions that can lead to severe drug addiction, members of the Okanagan Correctional Centre were at Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary School last week to have a frank discussion with the Grade 5, 6 and 7 students. The conversation was led by assistant deputy warden Keith Pearce and security officer Mitch Fritz, who spoke about their volunteer experiences doing outreach in Vancouver's downtown Eastside. Joining them on their missions are players from the Penticton Vees. [continues 782 words]
A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has been charged with operating a large-scale drug trafficking operation in which he boasted that he hired other law enforcement officers to provide security to drug dealers and could assault people for his clients, according to court records. Kenneth Collins, a deputy assigned to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and two other men were arrested by FBI agents Tuesday morning in a sting operation when they arrived to what they thought was a drug deal, according to records unsealed following the arrest. [continues 925 words]
DP Leader Wab Kinew demanded Friday that provincial Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen create safe consumption sites for injection drug users in Winnipeg and other communities in Manitoba. "There are people in our city who are dying," Kinew told reporters. But Goertzen said in an emailed statement late Friday that he's not considering establishing sites. Kinew said deaths and overdoses from opioids and methamphetamine have reached crisis proportions in Winnipeg. "It's time for there to be a safe consumption site in Winnipeg," he said. "We know safe consumption sites save lives." [continues 384 words]
The methods Penticton police used to search phones connected to a drug investigation were again called into question on Thursday in B.C. Supreme Court. Jennifer Montgomery, 31, is facing one charge of possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking and two counts of simple possession of heroin and methamphetamine. Her trial began Wednesday. Montgomery's phone was seized by police after a search warrant was executed June 22, 2016, at her Penticton home, where RCMP Const. Chad Jackson testified drugs and paraphernalia associated with drug dealing were found. [continues 310 words]
