For people addicted to drugs and alcohol, taking the first step on the road to recovery may seem impossible. Addiction is a dark and lonely place, with seemingly no way out. Even for those who admit they have a problem and want to overcome their addictions, the stigma associated with substance abuse can be a barrier to seeking help. The Department of Children and Families wants to help Floridians with chemical dependency seek treatment. As part of the department's effort to increase public focus on treatment, we observed National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in September. [continues 182 words]
THE Baguio City's Special Drugs Court has sentenced to life imprisonment John Junas alias John Buguias after he was found guilty of selling 95.2 grams of hashish or marijuana resin worth P25,000 to an agent of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in 2003. Junas was also ordered to pay a fine of P500,000. Senior Police Officer 4 Marquez Madlon, team leader of the PDEA agents who conducted the buy-bust, were also commended by the court for his "tenacity in bringing the accused to where he belongs and (to get) what he deserves - jail and for a lifetime." [continues 372 words]
New Drug Testing Procedures Will Be Used To Better Detect Drug Users In Government Agencies. Cecilia Martinez, Department of Administration Human Resources administrator, said the department will increase the frequency of the drug tests and decrease the number of people who know about upcoming random drug tests. She said there have been concerns that employees are finding out about the tests before they are implemented and take measures to pass the drug test. "There are masking agents people use to make their drug tests negative, and a lot of these agents are available at stores," Martinez said. "Sometimes we'll find out that before an annual or random (drug) test there's a big demand for these masking agents." [continues 577 words]
Thirty marijuana grow operations were busted during Abbotsford's Grow Op Public Safety Pilot Project, and the city is calling the experiment a success. Launched in the spring, the program involved a municipal public safety inspection team that received tips, researched and verified information and took action. "Grow ops pose a significant health and safety hazard to the neighbourhoods in which they are operating," said Abbotsford Mayor Mary Reeves. "This pilot project made our neighbourhoods safer and was an innovative and resourceful approach to a problem that is prevalent in many communities." [continues 251 words]
Dear Editor, There has been much concern by the RCMP and the B.C. Association of Social Workers in regard to children growing up in grow-ops. I could not agree more. The Ministry for Children and Family Development must protect children from parents and anyone else affiliated with marijuana growing operations. Early introduction of criminal elements to children at any age is not a responsible parental or family quality, as young children are not able to comprehend the risks to which they are exposed. Living in sub-standard conditions becomes an acceptable and daily routine for the children. Susan G. Pierce-Jensen, Langley [end]
The City of Burnaby is considering a bylaw that would give the city more recourse to deal with grow ops and other drug operations. Coun. Lee Rankin raised the issue at the Oct. 3 meeting, proposing that the city explore the idea of a bylaw to help hold landlords accountable for marijuana grow ops and other drug operations in rental properties. Rankin said he has discussed the issue with Burnaby RCMP Supt. Carl Schmietenknop and that drug operations use up "substantial resources" for the local detachment. [continues 486 words]
Editor: Re: More info needed in drug war, Times, Oct. 4. You are so naive. If marijuana grow-op operators knew that excessive electricity usage is reported to the cops, they would simply bypass the meter and steal the power instead of paying for it. If Hydro reported unusually high usage for a particular street, say, and the courts allowed the police to raid every home in the area, the growers would then resort to the use of generators rather than using power from B.C. Hydro. [continues 72 words]
The city is adding another weapon to its arsenal for its ongoing battle with grow-ops. At their last regular meeting, council directed staff to investigate the possibility of trying to control hydroponic sales to make it life difficult for indoor grow-ops to set up shop. Coun. Sharon Gaetz, who chairs the city's public safety advisory committee, brought up the issue after attending the annual general meeting of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities in late September. At the AGM, the City of Abbotsford made a motion calling for tougher regulation of hydroponic sales, an idea that UBCM delegates endorsed. [continues 441 words]
A pilot program that hits marijuana growers in the pocketbook will become permanent by 2006 in Abbotsford. Based on 120 tips it received in the past six months, the Grow Op Safety Pilot Project found marijuana growing in 30 homes and collected more than $18,000 in fines and fees from property owners. The project's team members found children living in 10 of those grow-ops and hazardous electrical bypasses in 20 of the home. All 30 houses were professionally cleaned and restored to building code standards. [continues 346 words]
Seven per cent of Surrey's secondary students have used crystal meth at school, according to a district survey released this week. "It's alarming. I don't know that I was prepared to see that number," said Theresa Campbell, the school district's Safe Schools manager. The survey asked 14,000 students in Surrey's 18 secondary schools about their drug and alcohol use during the 2004/2005 school year. Nine per cent, or 1,260 students, said they had used crystal meth off school grounds, while seven per cent, about 980 students, admitted to using the highly addictive drug on school property. [continues 417 words]
SEATTLE -- A U.S. Army veteran who fled to Canada to avoid prosecution because he grew marijuana to help control chronic pain was yanked from a hospital by Canadian authorities, driven to the U.S. border with a catheter still attached, and turned over to U.S. officials - who provided him with no medical treatment for five days, his lawyer said. Steven William Tuck, 38, was still fitted with the urinary catheter when he shuffled into U.S. District Court for a detention hearing Wednesday, said his lawyer, Douglas Hiatt. [continues 485 words]
The idea that a "proactive" community can defeat the immutable forces of supply and demand concerning crystal meth is comparable to the idea that a proactive community can defeat heresy or witchcraft, which, along with converting the Jews, is exactly what our ancestors were preoccupied with. That the school division, the police service, Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, the Brandon Regional Health Authority, Child and Family Services, the Brandon Ministerial Association, Manitoba Justice and the City of Brandon are all on board does not mean the idea is meritorious. The Christian Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition's witch hunts and Nazism all enjoyed overwhelming support from the community, too. "No pious platitudes ... can get over the fact that a bought mind is a spoiled mind," said George Orwell. [continues 91 words]
