After linking nine deaths to ecstasy - seven of which were due to the addition of a toxic chemical - police were blunt in their message to those thinking of using the synthetic drug. Calgary police are now linking nine deaths since June 2011 with the party drug ecstasy. Staff Sgt. Mike Bossley from the drug unit said Monday toxicology testing found the presence of PMMA- a deadly compound sometimes added to synthetic drugs - in seven of the overdose deaths. "We don't know what else to say about this anymore - if you use ecstasy, there's a high likelihood that you might die," he said. [continues 214 words]
Drug seizures in Calgary have dramatically increased this year with net totals jumping from merely a couple of million dollars to about $14.5 million as cops see a spike in anonymous tips. As of September 2008, police seized more than $2.3 million worth of drugs but this year that soared more than six times. Police attribute the increases to larger call volumes to Calgary's Crime Stoppers, which received 136 more anonymoustipsfromJanuary to September this year totalling 2,860, significantly higher than 2008 calls of 2,724. [continues 109 words]
As marijuana grow-ops infiltrate Alberta communities, a U of C professor is changing the way drug houses are cleaned up for future occupants by drafting the first provincial guidelines for air remediation. U of C Environmental Design professor Tang Lee led a project funded by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation investigating six former grow ops in the Calgary area looking for mould, electrical problems and alterations to its structure. While some communities have their own standards, including in Calgary and Edmonton, there are currently no guidelines for the province and if adopted, his recommendations will standardize the rehabilitation of former grow ops, he said. [continues 194 words]
Canadian herb isn't the only product our drug lords are known for around the world. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's 2009 World Drug Report, which was released yesterday morning in Washington, Canada has become a major player on the world market for amphetaminetype stimulants (ATS), such as methamphetamine and Ecstasy. Of the 1.82 metric tons of methamphetamine seized in Canada between 1998 and 2007, 1.54 tons of that was seized in 2007 alone, the report noted. [continues 180 words]
Almost four years ago, Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman gave ranting, cop-hating James Roszko a weapon and a ride to the spot where Mounties were tearing apart Roszko's pot farm. Yesterday they stood to face Justice Terry Macklin in the dead hush of Court of Queen's Bench and paid the price. The brothers-in-law pleaded guilty to four counts of manslaughter in the deaths of the four Mounties Roszko ambushed, shot and killed inside his Quonset hut outside Mayerthorpe on March 3, 2005. [continues 194 words]
