Content Warning: drug use and overdose

Last week, public health officials in Montreal warned of an imminent fentanyl crisis that poses a serious risk to the city's drug users. Fentanyl is an opioid prescribed to relieve chronic pain, but its intensity is 40 times that of heroin, and its toxicity 100 times that of morphine. Fentanyl can be found in opiates, as well as party drugs such as cocaine, PCP, and MDMA. Because it's often present without the consumer's knowledge, it can easily cause a fatal overdose. In British Columbia, 706 overdose deaths from January to July 2017 involved fentanyl. In Montreal, there have been 24 confirmed drug overdose cases since the beginning of August 2017. Faced with this growing public health crisis, the McGill community must waste no time in supplying the tools and information necessary to keep students safe.

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Ontario's overly prudent new policy is short-sighted, Sylvain Charlebois says.

Ontario has become the first province to define how it intends to sell non-medicinal marijuana to the public. Around 150 stores across the province will open and will be operated by a division of the province's liquor board, the LCBO. Marijuana won't be sold alongside wine or liquor, but in separate, independent stores. The legal age for purchasing marijuana in Ontario will be 19, as it is for alcohol.

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Eighteen or 21? The age of legal pot consumption was a topic of debate at hearings on Thursday, with two medical associations at odds.

The Canadian Pediatric Society said 18 should be the minimum age to legally purchase recreational marijuana when the federal government legalizes it by July 1, 2018.

A few minutes later, the Federation des medecins specialistes du Quebec, representing medical specialists, said it should be 21.

The two groups were among dozens of organizations presenting briefs at a provincial public consultation in Montreal on Thursday and Friday.

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Situation not yet an emergency, Coderre says

After meeting with police and public health officials, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said Tuesday the city is actively preparing to handle a coming opioid crisis.

"I was reassured about the status of the situation right now, but clearly it's an anticipated crisis that we have to address and face," Coderre said during a news conference at city hall.

The mayor's remarks came days after Montreal's public health department confirmed 12 overdose deaths in the city during the month of August. Another 24 people were saved by the use of naloxone, a medication that can be used to prevent fatal opioid overdoses.

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Former B.C. health minister signs on as vice-president at Hydropothecary

A medical marijuana company in Gatineau has snagged a high-profile former politician to work for its growing operation.

Terry Lake, who until a few months ago was B.C.'s health minister, will take a job as vice-president at Hydropothecary Corp., the company announced Thursday.

Lake served eight years in the B.C. legislature, and was health minister in the Liberal government between 2013 and the spring of 2017. He didn't run in the provincial election in May.

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In 1805, German apothecary Friedrich Serturner revolutionized the practice of pharmacy by isolating morphine from opium.

Opium, the latex exuded by the bulb of the poppy plant on scoring with a sharp instrument, has a long history of use dating back to about 3400 BC.

The Sumerians, living in the region that is modern day Iraq, are known to have cultivated the poppy and were aware of the effects of consuming its juice, referring to it as the "joy plant."

Judging by artwork depicting Sumerian medicine men carrying poppies, they were also aware of opium's painkilling abilities.

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Provinces agree marijuana cost, quality and access must be competitive with black market: Blair

MONTREAL - There is an overwhelming national consensus that legal marijuana must be priced, taxed and made available competitively with the black market, the man tasked with leading the drug's legalization in Canada said Monday.

All the provinces agree more needs to be done to better protect children and to take away revenues from organized criminals, MP Bill Blair said in an interview Monday.

Canada plans on legalizing marijuana by July 2018 by allowing adults to possess up to 30 grams of legal cannabis in public, and to grow up to four plants per household.

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The Quebec government wants to hear from you about how legal marijuana should be regulated in this province.

Quebec Public Health Minister Lucie Charlebois announced Monday that public hearings will be scheduled throughout the province beginning Tuesday and continuing until Sept. 12.

In a statement made public Monday, the government says the hearings will "allow citizens to have their say, hear their opinions on what decisions should be taken and identify the necessary measures to ensure the protection of their health and safety."

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So-called bath salts, other street drugs are not a safe way to seek pleasure

When someone offers a tiny packet of "bath salts" for sale with a price tag somewhere between $30 and $50, you know that it is not meant to be sprinkled into a bathtub. These "bath salts," commonly available in head shops, online and even in some convenience stores, may sport a label declaring "not for human consumption," but they are clearly designed to cater to the insides of the body rather than the outside.

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For Ottawa residents, getting a naloxone kit to help protect against overdose deaths is as easy as finding a pharmacy and going through a 30-minute information session.

Across the river in Gatineau, however, the situation is much different.

The Ministry of Health and Social Services in Quebec does not provide funding for naloxone kits like its Ontario counterpart. Some municipal public health units, like Sante Montreal, provide kits, but only within that specific city.

For residents of cities like Gatineau, where neither the province nor the municipality provides coverage for naloxone, drug users may be left in the lurch.

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Fears legalization may 'normalize' use of marijuana

Teenagers who go from occasional pot smoking to weekly or daily use are two-and-a-half times more likely to have recurrent psychotic-like experiences, a new Montreal study says.

And with legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada less than a year away, the study's senior author says governments are ill-prepared for the fact that adolescents will interpret the policy change as proof it's OK to smoke pot.

"Our data show that transitioning to daily or weekly use of cannabis very significantly increases adolescents' risk of having more exaggerated and more frequent psychotic-like experiences," Patricia Conrod, a professor at the Universite de Montreal's psychiatry department, said in an interview.

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On school corridor and feared too close to Marguerite-Bourgeoys elementary

Parents at a downtown Montreal elementary school say a safe-injection site in their neighbourhood should be moved.

In September, Spectre de rue, an intervention centre for drug users, will begin operating a supervised injection site. The centre is on the corner of Ontario St. and Visitation Ave., about 200 metres from the Marguerite-Bourgeoys elementary school.

The parents are circulating a petition calling for the site to be moved to a location outside of the school corridor, a route designated by the city for children to walk safely to school.

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After years of lobbying for safe injection sites, outreach workers at Cactus Montreal have opened a facility that will allow people to use intravenous drugs under medical supervision.

Drugs users began entering the site on Berger St. in downtown Montreal on Monday afternoon, injecting drugs in the presence of a nurse and staff member.

"This is an important tool to reduce deaths and avoid infections," said Sandhia Vadlamudy, the executive director of Cactus. "We have been waiting for this for a long time."

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Montrealers have a well-earned reputation as a society of bon vivants with our abundant terrasses, fun festivals and depanneurs stocked with beer.

But with the countdown on to the legalization of marijuana in Canada, which is scheduled to happen just over a year from now, on July 1, 2018, Quebecers are raining on the parade.

It started with the Quebec government, expressing skepticism about the social costs versus the anticipated windfalls. Quebec's public health institute has raised red flags about potential harm from stoned driving or the effects of cannabis on developing brains. And now the concern apparently extends to ordinary citizens, who have expressed serious reservations about the implications of permitting recreational pot use compared to other Canadians.

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Drug use in jail is a reality and reducing harm is vital, say Richard Elliott and Rick Lines.

Almost one-third of federal prisoners reported using drugs during the past six months.

In December 2016, federal Health Minister Jane Philpott committed her government to a new national drug strategy that reinstates harm reduction as a non-negotiable pillar. It was a welcome announcement, signalling a modest shift away from the last decade's emphasis on prohibition and punishment - policies that continue to kill people who use drugs in Canada.

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If all goes according to the Liberal government's recently announced plan, marijuana will be legal for adults in Canada as of July 1, 2018. This is a welcome reversal of Canada's 80-year prohibition on pot, which has never managed to control the demand for the recreational drug and left a black market in the hands of organized crime. But while the necessary legislative and practical preparations are undertaken, it remains a crime for Canadians to possess even small amounts for personal consumption. This creates unnecessary problems. It is senseless to go ahead with criminal charges for an offence that will no longer be a crime in a matter of months, wasting precious court resources in a justice system already struggling to handle more serious cases in a timely manner. It is also grossly unfair. Saddling people with criminal records for something legislators are the process of legitimizing has devastating consequences. Yet that's exactly what's been happening for years. Prime! Minister Justin Trudeau has cited this injustice as one of the reasons for finally legalizing pot.

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Far from putting Canadians at risk, the move will be beneficial, Jerry Golick says.

I would prefer to have a child experimenting with cannabis rather than with booze or tobacco.

Far from putting Canadians at higher risk, as Benjamin Anson suggested in his opinion article earlier this week ("Legalization of marijuana is courting disaster" April 18), the national legalization of cannabis will provide a much safer society, as well as innumerable other benefits.

The experience of jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis suggests there is little change in consumption rates post-legalization. Generally speaking, anyone wishing access to cannabis in a pre-legalization landscape can easily obtain it today. All we are changing is from whom it is purchased.

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Re: "City will ensure it gets share of taxes" (Montreal Gazette, April 20)

The ink is not even dry on the legislation to legalize marijuana and already Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre has plans to demand his share. It is time to send a clear message to all levels of government that we are all adults and do not need advice from self-serving politicians.

Let the government pass the legislation and then see how it is received. I suggest using the restaurant model. A permit is issued to sell the legal product and allowing the government to do spot inspections, to ensure the vendor is in full compliance with the law. Why Quebec has to complicate a simple situation is unbelievable.

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When young Justin Trudeau announced during has election campaign that a Liberal government would legalize the personal possession of marijuana for recreational purposes, the overall political impact could best be described as a collective response somewhere between indifference to "it's about time." For most, the issue of marijuana legalization was pretty low on totem pole of concerns, given more pressing issues. At most, the proposal helped solidify young Justin's reputation as a hip, modern alternative to the depressing crankiness of his predecessor.

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So, you've decided you're going to start smoking pot again. Congratulations! First, though, stop calling it "pot." These days, the cool kids call it "weed," and that's 30 percent the point of this entire exercise, right? To be cool again, just like you were in your twenties when you wore a bandana and regularly smoking doobies.

Don't say "doobies." Or wear a bandana.

Getting the lingo down is just one of the many things you'll have to relearn after these many, many years since you last smoked the ganja. (Do not say "the ganja.")

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