The number of Niagara residents dying from fentanyl related overdoses is on track to hit a record high this year, according to data provided by Niagara Regional Police. Police say officers have responded to 15 fatal opioid overdoses since Jan. 1, with 10 of them involving fentanyl. Police responded to 12 fentanyl related fatal overdoses in all 2016. This data only reflects overdose incidents that involved the police. It does not capture overdoses, fatal or otherwise, that did not involve a police response such as a person arriving at an emergency room on their own. [continues 663 words]
The parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice says the federal government will be looking to Niagara's agricultural sector for guidance when framing legislation to legalize marijuana. Scarborough West MP Bill Blair, the former Toronto police chief, said Thursday the knowledge of Niagara's farming industry will be invaluable for a government trying to determine how to regulate production of pot. "The interesting thing about coming to Niagara is that the region has a vibrant agricultural sector, including all the wineries," Blair said. "That experience is very useful." [continues 251 words]
Here is the deal, folks. Sooner or later, probably sooner, pot is going to be legal in Canada. All the signs are moving in that direction. Medical marijuana is already a reality and, despite the dire warnings of some, the sky did not fall and Canada did not turn into a cesspool of scum and villainy. In Niagara Falls Tuesday, city councillors scheduled a meeting to discuss regulations governing the growing, processing, packaging of medical marijuana in the city. Some residents are none to pleased with the idea. [continues 637 words]
Here is the deal, folks. Sooner or later, probably sooner, pot is going to be legal in Canada. All the signs are moving in that direction. Medical marijuana is already a reality and, despite the dire warnings of some, the sky did not fall and Canada did not turn into a cesspool of scum and villainy. In Niagara Falls Tuesday, city councillors scheduled a meeting to discuss regulations governing the growing, processing, packaging of medical marijuana in the city. Some residents are none to pleased with the idea. [continues 638 words]
The warnings came regularly. On the mornings of the first Monday of the month to be exact, issued through the crackling wall mounted speakers of my high school's laughably terrible intercom system. That was the day the school's chaplain - a tiny, quiet man who spent as much time helping an actual leper colony in the Philippines as he did working with students - would read his sermon. And as often as not, Father Vincent Lu would warn us of the danger of addictive gateways. [continues 615 words]
The warnings came regularly. On the mornings of the first Monday of the month to be exact, issued through the crackling wall mounted speakers of my high school's laughably terrible intercom system. That was the day the school's chaplain - a tiny, quiet man who spent as much time helping an actual leper colony in the Philippines as he did working with students - would read his sermon. And as often as not, Father Vincent Lu would warn us of the danger of addictive gateways. [continues 414 words]
But Tracking Trends Is Difficult for Officials Those with an eye on the Garden City's drug subculture are hoping potentially lethal doses of heroin on the streets are gone for good. The unusual supply of heroin may be responsible for a rash of overdoses among city users, said Glenn Walker, executive director of AIDS Niagara, which operates the Streetworks harm reduction program and needle exchange. In late July and into early August, users were reporting the drug was oddly powerful, even to those who frequently use heroin, Walker said. [continues 477 words]
SPEECH: George Chuvalo's message has impact on students WEST LINCOLN - If Sam Sadler learned anything Monday afternoon, it was that perspective matters. It's easy, he said, to consider the problems you are having as being so insurmountable that they will never end. But things can be much worse and putting one's problems into their proper context is important. "When I think about what he had to endure, what he went through, it makes me feel much less sorry for myself," said Sadler, a 16-year-old master corporal at the Robert Land Academy. "It's pretty inspiring that he was able to deal with all of that." [continues 404 words]
Gerald Ward told the police everything. He told them about his drug deals worth tens of thousands of dollars. About the mind-numbing purity of his cocaine supply. About cracking down on losers trying to take a bite out of his business. He even told police how terrified cops were to come near his mighty fortress clubhouse in Welland. The leader of the local Hells Angels spilled his guts without knowing it. Steven Gault of the Oshawa chapter was wearing a wire. And what Gault heard, police heard. [continues 954 words]
Despite the arrests of Project Tandem, the Hells Angels still remain active in Niagara Gerald Ward told the police everything. He told them about his drug deals worth tens of thousands of dollars. About the mind-numbing purity of his cocaine supply. About cracking down on losers trying to take a bite out of his business. He even told police how terrified cops were to come near his mighty fortress clubhouse in Welland. The leader of the local Hells Angels spilled his guts without knowing it. [continues 970 words]
Ontario fell to the Hells Angels in a single night. There were no shots fired. No murders. No explosions. But there was a party. In December 1999, years of diplomatic efforts and arm-twisting by the Angels in Ontario paid off. In a ceremony in Sorel, Que., nearly all of Ontario's 13 outlaw motorcycle gangs buried their own colours for the winged death's head of the Angels. The mass patch-over was an aberration in a culture that lives and breathes tradition. It normally takes years for would-be Hells Angels to get in with the gang. [continues 1300 words]
The Day Trouble Came To Town Guilty. A word to seal fates. For Hells Angel Gerald Ward, the president of Niagara's chapter, the word likely means a decade or more behind bars. A judge in Toronto found Ward guilty Friday of directing others to commit crimes as part of a criminal organization. A mobster with a motorcycle. At one time, he had it all. For a decade, Ward ruled an empire on wheels from his fortified bunker in Welland. Cocaine and cash flowed like wine. A loyal band of brothers did his bidding. [continues 1221 words]
The coke was pure enough to freeze a man's brain. At least, that was the joke. Niagara Hells Angels president Gerald Ward's product was top-notch. Eighty-five to 91 per cent pure. "I never even tried it, I'm like, I'm trying not to touch it," Steven Gault said, laughing about the potency at Ward's Quaker Road house in August 2005. Gault, a member of the Oshawa chapter, paid $42,000 in cold, hard cash for 1.1 kilograms. [continues 1378 words]
Ontario fell to the Hells Angels in a single night. There were no shots fired. No murders. No explosions. But there was a party. In December 1999, years of diplomatic efforts and arm-twisting by the Angels in Ontario paid off. In a ceremony in Sorel, Que., nearly all of Ontario's 13 outlaw motorcycle gangs buried their own colours for the winged death's head of the Angels. The mass patch-over was an aberration in a culture that lives and breathes tradition. It normally takes years for would-be Hells Angels to get in with the gang. After that, at least a year spent as a prospect member - a peon forbidden from wearing the Angels patch. Only then can a man claim status as a Hells Angel. [continues 1381 words]
Part one of a four-part series on the Hells Angels Guilty. A word to seal fates. For Hells Angel Gerald Ward, the president of Niagara's chapter, the word likely means a decade or more behind bars. A judge in Toronto found Ward guilty yesterday of directing others to commit crimes as part of a criminal organization. A mobster with a motorcycle. At one time, he had it all. For a decade, Ward ruled an empire on wheels from his fortified bunker in Welland. Cocaine and cash flowed liked wine. A loyal band of brothers did his bidding. [continues 1221 words]
Marijuana is slowly bleeding Crime Stoppers of Niagara. The community-based tip line's raison d'etre is to generate tips for police and pay cash rewards for those that result in an arrest or conviction. But Crime Stoppers has a limited budget. Most of the around $23,000 it needs to run its operations and pay for tips comes through fundraising. "We're not funded by the government. We are not an arm of the police," said Crime Stoppers of Niagara chairman Stu Black. "We get our money through donations." [continues 709 words]
Marijuana Is Slowly Bleeding Crime Stoppers Of Niagara. The community-based tip line's raison d'etre is to generate tips for police and pay cash rewards for those that result in an arrest or conviction. But Crime Stoppers has a limited budget. Most of the around $23,000 it needs to run its operations and pay for tips comes through fundraising. "We're not funded by the government, we are not an arm of the police," said Crime Stoppers of Niagara chairman Stu Black. "We get our money through donations." [continues 709 words]
