MLAs hear methamphetamine has replaced prescription pills as biggest drug issue in P.E.I. It used to be prescription pills. Now if anyone asks RCMP Cpl. Andy Cook what the biggest problem drug is in P.E.I. he says it's methamphetamine. "We've gone from a downer to an upper as our biggest problem here," he said. Cook joined RCMP Chief Supt. Joanne Crampton for a presentation Friday to MLAs on the health and wellness committee. During the presentation, Cook said he wasn't going to give the credit to the police for the reduction in opiate use. "To me it's the methadone program has made the biggest difference in regards to the prescription opiate problem here," he said. [continues 227 words]
Health experts fear toxic carfentanil may already be in circulation in B.C. The extremely toxic drug carfentanil has been linked to two deaths in Alberta and may already be present in B.C.'s illicit-drug supply. Dr. Karen Grimsrud, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, announced in a statement Friday that carfentanil had been detected in the deaths of two men in their 30s, one in the Edmonton area and the other in Calgary. Carfentanil is an analogue of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which has been increasingly cut into the illicit drug supply. Fentanyl was detected in 60 per cent of 488 illicit drug overdose deaths in B.C. in the first eight months of 2016. [continues 563 words]
The Pill Makers Next Door: How America's Opioid Crisis Is Spreading Ingredients for the deadly synthetic narcotic fentanyl are so easy to obtain that mom-and-pop drug labs are cropping up around the country, Breaking Bad-style SAN FRANCISCO-The married couple living in the third-floor, ocean-view apartment were friendly and ambitious. She explored the city, posting selfies on Facebook. He started a small music label at home. "They were nice people," said Ann McGlenon, their former landlady. "She's very sweet. He's a go-getter." [continues 2156 words]
Shift in drug habits, supply chain blamed The Calgary Police Service has seen a 292 per cent increase in methamphetamine seizures in the second quarter of 2016, compared to the same time last year, according to a report presented to the Calgary Police Commission on Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta said the increase is measured in both small busts, such as a person carrying a baggy of the drug, all the way up to large busts. In conjunction with the ever-increasing fentanyl issue in the province, they're seeing some scary outcomes. [continues 116 words]
The share of U.S. workers testing positive for illicit drug use reached its highest level in a decade, according to data from millions of workplace drug tests administered by Quest Diagnostics Inc., one of the nation's largest medical-screening laboratories. Detection of illicit drugs-from marijuana to heroin to methamphetamine-increased slightly both for the general workforce and the "safety-sensitive" workforce, which includes millions of truck drivers, pilots, ship captains, subway engineers, and other transportation workers. Employers are required to test those individuals at random, as well as in specific situations such as after accidents occur. [continues 530 words]
Cops say drug scourge, trend-busting 2015 spike in thefts from vehicles downtown may be linked As crime drops in London, one offence is stubbornly bucking the trend in some areas of the city and defying its nationwide decline. Police believe they know what's driving that. Relentless reports of thefts from vehicles downtown seem to correlate with crystal meth addiction that's taking a heavy toll on the health of many Londoners, police say. "There appears to be a correlation between the increased use of crystal meth and the increase in these offences," police said in 2015 crime statistics presented to the police services board Thursday. [continues 581 words]
Price, availability, addictiveness appeal to young people, police say THE city's youth are fuelling a surge in methamphetamine use because it's a cheaper way to get a long-lasting high. In fact, "because of its affordability, addictive nature and accessibility, the methamphetamine user base in Winnipeg has increased significantly over a few short years, allowing traffickers to prosper," the Winnipeg Police Service said in a statement. Sadly, both police and health officials don't expect the situation to get better any time soon. [continues 1087 words]
MANILA - Rayzabell Bongol, an 18-year-old mother and methamphetamine user, was afraid to die in President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs in the Philippines. So she turned herself in to the police. They made her sign a pledge that she would never take illegal drugs again, then sent her home. Once a week now, she is expected to attend a police-sponsored Zumba dance workout, where she gets a health check and a meal. Mr. Duterte "promised change," she said at a recent class as three dozen other recovering addicts bopped and swayed to a blaring Latin beat. "As you can see, I am changing." [continues 1290 words]
Democrats Add Plank for 2016 The backers of two competing medical marijuana initiatives found good news in their cause ending up on the platform of the Democratic Party of Arkansas. Members of the party met Saturday to hear speeches and take care of business ahead of the Nov. 8 general election, including approving a platform. One of the planks is on medical marijuana. The plank calls for "the development of a responsible medical marijuana program that will receive patients in need of such relief the freedom to access this remedy." [continues 1172 words]
Pedicab driver Reyjin dives into a neighbor's house for a quick meth fix, fearful of taking a bullet to the head in President Duterte's brutal war on drugs but unable to quit. More than 2,000 people have died violent deaths since Duterte took office two months ago and immediately implemented his scorched-earth plans to eradicate drugs in society, ordering police to shoot dead traffickers and urging ordinary citizens to kill addicts. The bloodbath has seen unknown assailants kill more than half the victims, according to police statistics, raising fears that security forces and hired assassins are roaming through communities and shooting dead anyone suspected of being involved in drugs. [continues 210 words]
The US State Department's 2016 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report says that addiction to shabu ( street name for methamphetamine or meth) is the most significant drug problem of the Philippines, with the narcotic continually growing as the most widely trafficked in the country. A UN World Drug Report also tagged the Philippines as the country having the highest rate of shabu use in the whole of East Asia with even the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) releasing a pastoral letter last year expressing concern about the proliferation of the drug problem in the country and the alleged involvement of government officials. [continues 847 words]
Define Human Being, Duterte Tells Rights Groups DAVAO CITY - Junkies are not humans. That is how President Duterte sees drug users whose bodies are piling up as he presses his brutal war on drugs. International human rights groups and the United Nations have raised concern about the killings, but Mr. Duterte, addressing soldiers at a military camp in his hometown Davao City on Friday night, said those groups should review their concept of human rights. "These human rights (advocates) did not count those who were killed before I became President. The children who were raped and mutilated [by drug users]," he said. [continues 810 words]
No Rescheduling Cannabis, But Plenty of Other Activity WHAT'S WITH all the federal weed law action? My head is spinning! MINE, TOO. Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced it would not change its dismal tune on cannabis, and that weed would remain a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Then, the Obama administration announced it would ease barriers on marijuana research, despite the Schedule I restriction. Then, a bunch of federal attorneys general got pwned in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding their prosecution of medical marijuana businesses, which is a pretty big deal. [continues 399 words]
As Secure As San Quentin Seems, Contraband Slips In SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - Condemned murderer Michael Jones was acting strangely and profusely sweating when guards escorted him in chains to the San Quentin medical unit that doubles as the psych ward on death row. "Doggone, I don't think you're ever going to see me again," he told a fellow inmate, Clifton Perry. Hours later, Jones was dead. Toxicology tests later found that he had toxic levels of methamphetamine in his blood. [continues 1388 words]
But "meth," or methamphetamine hydrochloride, short for shabu, is something else, the President pointed out. Shabu addicts were initially described as the "living dead" by President Rodrigo Duterte when he made an impassioned speech last week in defense of his administration's deadly literally campaign against illegal drugs. A few days later, President Duterte called these shabu dependents as the "walking dead" in our midst. Perhaps, the President was able to watch last week the first episode of the popular "Walking Dead" TV series now being locally carried at TV5 every Thursday night. "Walking Dead" is a fictional apocalyptic weekly series in US setting where zombies, or the undead, prey and feed upon human beings. [continues 962 words]
MANILA - The soaring number of killings by the police in the Philippines is being caused by drug suspects who choose to battle officers instead of surrendering, the nation's top police official told lawmakers on Tuesday. "If they did not fight it out with police, they would be alive," said the national police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, who is heading the country's deadly antidrug war. He said the number of deaths since the campaign began on July 1 had jumped to 1,916 - 137 more than the figure he gave senators on Monday, the first of two days of hearings devoted to the killings. He said on Tuesday that reports of killings came in daily from police units around the country. "As I was presenting yesterday," he said, "there were people killed." [continues 725 words]
The witnesses' narratives had a common thread: the victims were low-level drug pushers silenced by corrupt law enforcers who were either their protectors or suppliers in the illegal drug trade. This emerged at the first Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings led by the committee on justice and human rights, chaired by Sen. Leila de Lima, and the committee on public order and illegal drugs chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson. Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa told the joint hearing that as of yesterday, the PNP had tallied 712 suspects killed in legitimate operations, of whom 269 were reported in Metro Manila, since the Duterte administration launched its war on drugs on July 1. [continues 1018 words]
The DEA announces it will keep marijuana on the list of most dangerous drugs. In the eyes of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, marijuana is still considered dangerous enough to remain among the likes of heroin, LSD, and ecstasy as a Schedule I drug. Ever since The Controlled Substances Act became law in 1970, marijuana has been deemed to have no medicinal benefits and a high likelihood of abuse. And despite over half the states in the U.S. legalizing medical or recreational marijuana in some form, the DEA announced this month that marijuana wouldn't be declassified. [continues 693 words]
MANILA - Killings by the police and vigilantes in the Philippines' war on drugs have soared to nearly 1,800 in the seven weeks since President Rodrigo Duterte was sworn into office, the nation's top police official told a Senate hearing on Monday. Under Duterte, who campaigned on a pledge to rid the country of drug dealers, 712 suspects have been killed in police operations, National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa said. Vigilante killings have totaled 1,067 during the same period, he said, although it was unclear how many were directly related to the illegal drug trade. [continues 548 words]
MANILA - Killings by the police and vigilantes in the Philippines' war on drugs have soared to nearly 1,800 in the seven weeks since President Rodrigo Duterte was sworn into office, the nation's top police official told a Senate hearing on Monday. Under Mr. Duterte, who campaigned on a pledge to rid the country of drug dealers, 712 suspects have been killed in police operations, National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa said. Vigilante killings have totaled 1,067 during the same period, he said, although it was unclear how many were directly related to the illegal drug trade. [continues 964 words]
