The Swift Current and District Task Force is gearing up for a series of initiatives to continue tackling head on the problems of youth drugs and alcohol problems in the city.

After forming in the spring in response to a growing youth drug and alcohol problem, the Task Force has moved past their initial mandate of drug awareness and alcohol awareness to students and parents.

Task Force members recently had an opportunity to re-focus their efforts following a recent three-hour meeting with student representatives. The youth were simply approached with what did they want to see in a program.

[continues 298 words]

Their movie was called Up in Smoke, but their careers are anything but.

Everyone's favourite stoners Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong recently announced a new comedy tour, with a stop in Saskatoon on Jan. 30 at TCU Place.

The tour, called Cheech & Chong: Get It Legal, isn't just about comedy. According to a news release, the performers decided to partner with the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) to bring attention to "the harm caused by marijuana prohibition and the urgent need for different, more sensible marijuana laws."

[continues 54 words]

Introducing Moose Javians to a new way of dealing with a bad neighbour was Tom Fulcher of the Saskatchewan government's Safer Communities and Neighbourhood Unit (SCAN).

Fulcher was the guest speaker at a luncheon hosted by the Moose Jaw South-Central Regional Intersectoral Committee Wednesday at the Prairie South School Division's board office.

The 45-minute talk explained the purpose of the unit, the types of situations it is usually faced with and its solutions to cleaning up a community one neighbourhood at a time.

[continues 308 words]

The prevalence of drug risk behavior among youth has been steadily increasing since the 1980s, with sharp inclines in the 1990s.

A report from the World Health Organization indicates that drug use starts at approximately 10 years of age and peaks at around age 15. A Health Canada survey on youth addictions found that 61.4 per cent of Canadian youth aged 15 to 17 had used marijuana at least once, and 37 per cent had used it in the past year.

[continues 720 words]

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to the throne speech announcement concerning the reduction of needle exchange services in Saskatchewan. The consequences of this decision will not only affect injection drug users in this province, but will also place an unnecessary burden on the health-care system and community at large.

As you should be well aware of, the Needle Exchange Program Review conducted by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health in early 2009 identified a clear link between needle exchange services and the reduction of the spread of blood-borne diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C in this province; the review estimated that needle exchange programs are essential in reducing costs to Saskatchewan's already overburdened health-care system.

[continues 248 words]

It would be unwise for the Saskatchewan Party government to blindly set limits on the number of needles needle exchange programs can issue.

There is no disagreeing with the premise of the recent throne speech, which stated the obvious fact that drug use is an immense social challenge for many communities. But the logic behind limiting the number of needles per visit given to IV drug users, as the throne speech suggested, loses traction once a sober look at long-term impact is made.

[continues 521 words]

The CEO of the health region which includes Moose Jaw said consultation will be needed after it was announced this week that the number of needles handed out by the province's exchange programs will be limited.

In Wednesday's throne speech, Premier Brad Wall said capping how many needles can be handed over at one time means addicts will have to visit health workers more often, creating more opportunities to seek treatment.

"At this time, we do not have enough information to comment on the impact (of the announcement on Moose Jaw's needle exchange program). There will be lots of consultation throughout the region," said Cheryl Craig, CEO of the Five Hills Health Region.

[continues 209 words]

The Saskatchewan Party government is limiting the number of needles given out in its needle exchange programs, despite an earlier government-ordered review that found the existing system helps curb disease and reduce health care costs.

Premier Brad Wall said capping how many needles can be handed over at one time means addicts may visit health workers at exchange sites more often, creating more opportunities for them to seek treatment.

"They can be giving out literally handfuls (of needles) at a time in exchange for handfuls," Wall told reporters in advance of a throne speech, which outlined the pledge to change the provincially funded needle exchange programs delivered in some health regions.

[continues 467 words]

Lately, there has been lots of talk about legalizing marijuana. It has become quite a controversial topic. In last year's federal election, the Green Party had legalizing marijuana for adult use as part of its platform.

People are getting their hands on it and doing it, legalized or not. So if people are doing it regardless of the law, why doesn't the government just legalize it and turn a profit from it?

Marijuana is something that the government could tax very heavily. The government could make it so it is the only one that can grow it and impose stiffer penalties for those caught growing it on their own.

[continues 117 words]

A walk through Regina's North Central area may offer some unpleasant sights. Drug users seem to flock to the area, committing crimes, and leaving their syringes to litter the neighbourhood, including the playgrounds where children play. Regina's response can be described as minimal at best.

These drug users often share needles, spreading infections, or they overdose, requiring a quick trip to the emergency room and sometimes ending in death. The only actions the city has taken is increased police surveillance to deter crime and cleaning crews to pick up the syringes. This is not enough.

[continues 445 words]

A Saskatchewan psychiatrist says when convicted murderer Kim Joseph Walker fired 10 shots at his daughter's drug dealer boyfriend, hitting him five times, the Yorkton father likely didn't intend to kill his victim.

In a report filed with the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal as part of Walker's bid to overturn his second-degree murder conviction, Dr. Robin Menzies said Walker was in a "dissociative state" -- an abnormal state of consciousness -- when he killed Jason Hayward on March 17, 2003. Released from a psychiatric ward that day, Walker's then 16-year-old, morphine-addicted daughter Jadah returned to Hayward, her live-in boyfriend and fellow addict who supplied her drugs.

[continues 490 words]

I write regarding the story "Decision upheld on appeal (Oct. 5 Leader-Post) The accused was acquitted of drug charges on the technicality that the police who searched his vehicle had no reasonable grounds on which to believe that he was under the influence of drugs, thereby justifying the search of his vehicle that turned up about 5,000 ecstasy pills, 8.5 kilograms of marijuana and $10,000 in cash.

It is cases like this that put a glaring spotlight on the flaws in our judicial system.

[continues 225 words]

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has ruled against the Crown in a case involving use of a drug-sniffer dog -- an issue that has been a bone of contention in Canadian courts in recent years.

The court handed down last week its decision in the case of an Ottawa man, Kang-Po Tom Yeh, who had been arrested and charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and possession of crime proceeds following a traffic stop by RCMP near Caronport in April 2007.

[continues 420 words]

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has ruled against the Crown in a case involving use of a drug-sniffer dog -- an issue that has been a bone of contention in Canadian courts in recent years.

Late last week, the court handed down its decision in relation to an Ottawa man, Kang-Po Tom Yeh, who had been arrested and charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking and possession of crime proceeds following a traffic stop by RCMP near Caronport in April 2007.

[continues 424 words]

In spite of the economic downturn putting the pinch on some Saskatoon retailers, recent renovations have given the Vinyl Exchange a "vote of confidence in the future," says owner Mike Spindloe.

The store, which opened in 1993 selling new and used CDs, vinyl records and smoking devices, was in major need of a revamp.

"It was starting to feel a little grotty," Spindloe said, laughing. "We had a carpet that used to be purple. When we took it out it was definitely grey."

[continues 458 words]

The video shows an angry, teenage girl with a know-it-all attitude, continually dropping the f-bomb as she justifies her drug use.

"I say, 'It's O f---in' K'," 18-year-old Kristie Swenson scoffs.

"I'm a stoner," she proclaims.

The clip, from an interview captured on film, appeared in the first season of the SCN, Regina-based television series Drug Class. On Wednesday as she stood before an auditorium of students at Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School, Swenson, now 20, admitted she is embarrassed by that particular scene, but has no regrets about participating in the series.

[continues 493 words]

The video shows an angry, teenage girl with a know-it-all attitude, continually dropping the f-bomb as she justifies her drug use.

"I say, 'It's O f----n' K,' " 18-year-old Kristie Swenson scoffs. "I'm a stoner," she proclaims.

The clip, from an interview captured on film, appeared in the first season of the SCN, Regina-based television series Drug Class. On Wednesday, as she stood before an auditorium of students at Dr. Martin LeBoldus High School, Swenson, now 20, admitted she is embarrassed by that particular scene but has no regrets about participating in the series.

[continues 497 words]

Editor,

The Herald:

(Re: Gwynne Dyer's Sep. 14 column:)

There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program, which provides addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users, eliminates many of the problems associated with illicit heroin use. The success has inspired heroin maintenance pilot projects in Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands.

If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable.

[continues 87 words]

A new northern drug and gang enforcement unit will start work on Oct. 1, police and the provincial government announced Monday.

The unit, proposed about a year ago, will be seven officers strong and focus on drug and gang activity, especially at the street level, from Prince Albert to the Northwest Territories border.

City Police say the new unit should make it easier to follow criminal activity wherever it goes, recognizing that Prince Albert is a hub of drug and gang activity throughout the North and that gangs operate across the entire region.

[continues 375 words]

It's too early to say that there is a general revolt against the "war on drugs" the United States has been waging for the past 39 years, but something significant is happening. European countries have been quietly defecting from the war for years, decriminalizing personal consumption of some or all of the banned drugs in order to minimize harm to their own people, but it's different when countries like Argentina and Mexico do it.

Latin American countries are much more in the firing line. The U.S. can hurt them a lot if it is angered by their actions, and it has a long history of doing just that. But from Argentina to Mexico, nations are growing tired with the violent and dogmatic U.S. policy on drugs, and they are starting to do something about it.

[continues 641 words]