'Telling Kids to Not Smoke Pot Is Not a Partisan Attack,' Ambrose Says OTTAWA - Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose blames Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau after doctors groups declined to participate in a government anti-marijuana campaign. Speaking at a meeting of the Canadian Medical Association, Ambrose accused Trudeau of "politicizing" the debate over marijuana and said that shouldn't take away from the importance of the government's message. "Telling kids to not smoke pot is not a partisan attack on Justin Trudeau by Health Canada," Ambrose said. "It is a sound public health policy backed by science - whether it's legal or illegal, the health risks remain the same." [continues 391 words]
Marc Emery may think of himself as a marijuana messiah, leading the long-suffering to deliverance from pot laws they believe unfairly punish them and restrict their freedom to smoke up. No stranger to ego, Emery may even believe he's the chosen cannabis crusader. But Canada's self-styled "Prince of Pot" - just released from a U.S. prison, after doing 4 1/2 years for selling marijuana seeds into the U.S. from Vancouver - makes a poor martyr for the kind of electoral backlash he imagines he will now inspire against the federal Conservative government he vilifies. [continues 290 words]
The following letter is in response to John Robson's July 24 column. There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and blanket legalization. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime among chronic users by providing them with standardized doses in a clinical setting. e successful Swiss program has inspired heroin maintenance pilot projects in Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands. If expanded, prescription heroin maintenance would deprive organized crime of a core client base. is would render illegal heroin trafficking unprofitable and spare future generations addiction. Marijuana should be taxed and regulated like alcohol, only without the advertising. [continues 89 words]
Ottawa has a problem with guns and gangs. Several problems actually. But the biggest one, as usual, is conceptual, because if you don't realize what you're doing wrong you can't change it. On the surface our problem is a spate of people being shot in the legs in public housing. The victims then "refuse to cooperate with the police," sociology-speak for "they won't tell the cops who did it." They know, of course. This is drug trade violence and they are shot by partner-competitors when deals go bad or over turf. But they won't talk partly because they are more afraid of their rivals than of polite society and partly because they are deeply alienated from polite society. [continues 527 words]
Ontario Safety Council Wants Crackdown on Convenience Stores Selling Drug Paraphernalia Toronto - The provincial government should crack down on convenience stores that sell bongs, drug pipes, pill grinders and similar items, the Ontario Safety League (OSL) says. Brian Patterson, president and CEO for the OSL, said an undercover operation this spring in convenience stores in Toronto and Barrie that carried drug paraphernalia found staff were routinely willing to sell to 17-year-old mystery shoppers. The bongs and pipes can be used to smoke pot and crack, while the pill grinders allow people to abuse prescription narcotics. [continues 195 words]
This letter is in response to Steve Lafleur's letter to the editor - The case to legalize soft drugs - published in the July 10 edition of The Daily Press. The article creatively tries to convince readers "issues of morality should not be legislated." In my opinion morality can and should be legislated. Let's take for example the fines police can give you if you don't use your seatbelt. One can say it is wrong for people to be forced to use a seatbelt because it only impacts the individual. It should be my choice to use the seatbelt, or not. [continues 154 words]
Does caffeine lead to cocaine use? Obviously not. But what would happen if caffeine was outlawed? Naturally, a black market would emerge. Drug gangs, which are highly skilled at operating outside of the law and have pre-existing distribution channels would begin trafficking illegal caffeine pills. If people were forced to use black market distribution chains to obtain a mild stimulant such as caffeine, would they be more likely to opt for a stronger stimulant such as cocaine? Almost certainly. Dealing with drug dealers is binary. Either you do it or you don't. And if you do, they will likely try to upsell you. Drug dealers are like any other sales people, minus the legal sanction (meaning they are more likely to rip you off or assault you). They want to obtain the highest profit margin possible. [continues 632 words]
Drug Users, Drug Deals Force Timmins Transit to Shut Bathroom Facilities Members of the public should not expect to use washrooms at the Timmins Transit Terminal anytime soon. For reasons of safety, the washrooms in the building at Spruce Street and Third Avenue are no longer accessible to the public, or transit users. Timmins Transit manager Catherine Verreault said the decision was made just a few weeks ago. And although some complaints have been directed to the media, Verreault said the decision does not violate any local bylaws or provincial legislation. [continues 862 words]
Hoffman Is Just the Latest Celebrity to Die Because of Addiction Celebrities are public figures who generally work hard to maintain a private life, but death tends to slam all the public doors shut. It's strictly a private affair for the friends and family left behind. Philip Seymour Hoffman was a hugely successful actor, and as such, was public property - for better or worse. Thanks to his work, a large audience of followers developed feelings of attachment and ownership about him. Double that for New York City, where people could see him on stage at the theatre or stand next to him in the grocery store. Now, since death belongs to the private realm, that's left a lot of people on the public side wondering what to do with their emotions. They tweet condolences. They write letters. They bring flowers and gifts to a makeshift shrine outside the building where Hoffman lived. [continues 527 words]
MP Sends Flier to Constituents Slamming Trudeau's Plan to Legalize Pot OTTAWA - The Tories are trying to smoke out some details about Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana if his party forms government. Conservative MP John Williamson has sent constituents in his New Brunswick riding a flyer that slams Trudeau's policy, saying the "Liberals plan to sell marijuana in N.B. stores." "I'm trying to take Trudeau's argument to its logical conclusion," Williamson said Monday. "If the point is not to make marijuana available in stores, what's the point of legalizing it?" [continues 189 words]
Shortly after being elected about 2 1/2 years ago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told his cabinet that "Conservative values are Canadian values" and that the "Conservative party is Canada's party." You'd be hard pressed to see that in recent developments around social issues. Developments over same-sex marriage, safe injection sites, marijuana and most recently prostitution are moving towards progressive positions in the courts and in public opinion. The Conservatives, however, are fighting these developments. Harper's election platform in 2006 promised to revisit the legalization of same-sex marriage that was made legal under Prime Minister Paul Martin. A free vote in Parliament put an end to Harper's agenda, and today civil unions among same-sex partners remain a Canadian right. Canadian attitudes have long favoured this. [continues 437 words]
Uh-oh, does someone have some 'splainin' to do? Federal Justice Minister Peter MacKay is hinting the Conservative government might consider modernizing Canada's marijuana laws when it comes to possession of small amounts of pot. He told QMI Agency so in an exclusive interview this week. "That doesn't mean decriminalizing or legalizing," he said, "but it does mean giving police options, for example, to issue fines in addition to any other sanctions, or as a substitute for other sanctions," the nation's top justice official said. So far, so good- except ... Except, the same Conservative government, in a widely aired radio attack ad, made political hay this fall out of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau for promoting legalizing and taxing pot. Listen, and you can still hear the worried-sounding parent in the ad- a school bell ringing in the background- as she wonders about the Grit leader's judgment. [continues 228 words]
Introducing Fines for Possession of Small Amounts of Marijuana May Be Considered OTTAWA - As the year ends, Justice Minister Peter MacKay is strongly hinting that steps to modernize Canada's marijuana laws might be just around the corner. Fining pot smokers for possession of small amounts is one policy the government will likely consider. "That doesn't mean decriminalizing or legalizing, but it does mean giving police options, for example, to issue fines in addition to any other sanctions, or as a substitute for other sanctions," MacKay told QMI Agency. [continues 447 words]
Lots of Opposition to Grit Pot Position OTTAWA - Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's pot legalization stance may be a hit with the Grit grassroots, but not so with the governing Conservatives, the pontiff and at least one international ally. Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade Kuribrena said his country is open to an alternative to the war on drugs, but legalizing drugs - even pot - isn't on the table for his government. "We personally don't believe drug legalization is a solution, but we welcome (the idea) that a debate should be held around those issues," he said during an official visit to Ottawa on Thursday. [continues 328 words]
If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too. This time he's prepared to do both. In his more than half century of celebrity, Orr rarely speaks out or steps into controversy. However, when it comes to closing down an arena and community centre on his home turf to rent out to a company so they can grow medicinal marijuana, it brings out the anger in the Hockey Hall of Famer. [continues 730 words]
Are we about to see the end of the war on drugs? Following ballot measures last November, producing and selling marijuana are now legal in both Colorado and Washington state. Several other U.S. states have decriminalized simple possession of marijuana, or allowed its medical usage. The latter is also the case in Canada. The financial consequences of a complete and general legalization across the continent would certainly be huge. Over the past couple of decades, billions of dollars have been spent fighting this unwinnable war, which has fuelled corruption, organized crime, and violence. Thousands of people are killed in drug fights every year in Mexico. In Canada and the U.S., it has justified growing government intrusion in commercial and private life, from the money-laundering bureaucracies to civil forfeiture laws. [continues 279 words]
New research shows that retelling your past drug and alcohol experiences to your adolescent children is possibly a bad idea. A study by The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that kids whose parents spilled the beans were less likely to hold anti-substance abuse perceptions. "Why would we tell them our gory or law-breaking behaviours of the past? What good would possibly come from that except maybe a release of guilt for the parent?" says teen expert Mary Jo Rapini. "They may tell themselves that you did it so it's okay for them to. Remember our kids use us as a guide for what is the norm for them," she says. [continues 714 words]
TIMMINS - The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada are deeply concerned about the advancement of a regulatory proposal to reform the Medical Marijuana Access Program. These reforms may place an unacceptable degree of responsibility on physicians, given the relative lack of evidence regarding the health benefits of medical marijuana. If Health Canada no longer screens applications for use of medical marijuana, this essentially makes the physician the sole decision-maker. Physicians should not be expected to prescribe medical marijuana unless it meets the regulatory requirement for prescription medication established under the federal Food and Drugs Act. [continues 146 words]
Tim Hortons Partners With Timmins Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police A local Tim Hortons contributed a large sum of money to help combat drug use amongst teens. For 11 years, Tim Hortons has been supporting local DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) programs throughout Northeastern Ontario and to dat has help raise nearly $100,000 for the program. "It's absolutely amazing," said Paul Harrison, who is the Ontario Provincial Police's Northeast Region DARE co-ordinator. "It helps to raise awareness not only about the problems with drug abuse, but how the community can help with it." [continues 306 words]
Robert Neron Says Government-Provided Marijuana So Weak 'It'S Like Smoking Parsley' TIMMINS - A long-time local advocate for users of medicinal marijuana is on the ballot in Timmins-James Bay. Robert Neron, who hosted Hempfest in his home community of Moonbeam in 2010, is the local candidate for the Freedom Party of Ontario. The promise to provide "safe, convenient access" to "Cannabis Medicine Centres" was a key aspect of the party's platform that Neron is endorsing. Neron, has been a user of medicinal marijuana since he was diagnosed in 1997 with cervical dystonia -- a condition which causes painful, twisting muscle contractions in the neck. [continues 513 words]
Chalk up another victory in the war against drugs. Last week our highest court ruled the use of electricity-consumption data from a Calgary power supplier obtained without a search warrant did not constitute a violation of the Charter privacy right to be free from unreasonable searches. The immediate result of this ruling is the conviction of Daniel James Gomboc of Calgary on charges of producing marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. Police suspected a grow-op in Gomboc's home after receiving an anonymous tip, speaking with neighbours, and conducting surveillance of the house. Thinking they didn't have enough evidence to obtain a search warrant, police sought information from the local electricity supplier, Enmax. They received information showing cyclical patterns of electricity use indicative of a grow-op of some sort. [continues 486 words]
OTTAWA -- Criminals running marijuana grow-ops in their homes should have no expectation of privacy, according to a Supreme Court ruling issued Wednesday morning. The case, involving Calgary resident Daniel Gomboc, split the highest court three ways as justices argued over privacy rights. Police attached a digital recording ammeter, or DRA, to Gomboc's home in 2007. The DRA provided police with a pattern of electricity use consistent with a grow-op. Combined with other observations police made of Gomboc's home, they obtained a search warrant and found hundreds of marijuana plants. [continues 269 words]
OTTAWA -- Canadian schools are getting a new resource to help keep kids off drugs. The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse is releasing guidelines for people who work in preventing teens from using drugs and getting addicted. The guidelines are aimed at schools and community groups, as well as groups who work with fami-lies on parenting skills. "What we're doing is not just airy-fairy," said Michel Perron, head of the centre. "It's about experts telling us how it is you should engage with young people. It's about practitioners who spend their days with young people allow-ing (for) these skills to be used in the schools." [continues 117 words]
The smoking of marijuana has always been a controversial subject. Some think of it as a gateway drug, while others contend it's healthier than drinking alcohol. That aside, a group of volunteers are coming together this weekend to increase awareness of the use of medical marijuana. For more than a decade a Hempfest festival has been held in Sault Ste. Marie. But after organizers wanted to take a year off, it looked as though the festival wouldn't take place. [continues 430 words]
Canada has been terrified of liberalizing our drug laws for fear of angering Uncle Sam. But ironically, the United States is now closer to legalizing pot than we are. While the federal Conservatives in the Great White North are poised to bring in mandatory jail time for producing and selling illicit drugs, the sweet smell of drug reform is wafting across America. Wouldn't that be a weird buzz? Canada as the uptight, anti-pot zealot and America as the laid-back, rational progressive. [continues 502 words]
A decade ago, world leaders at a special UN session adopted an unrealistic but laudable goal - achieving "real progress" in reducing illicit drug production by 2008. "It is time for every nation to say 'no' to drugs," said then UN secretary general Kofi Anan at the 1998 UN gathering. "It is time for all nations to say 'yes' to the challenge of working towards a drug-free world." The drug cultivators, traffickers and users don't seem to have paid any attention. "I think one would say that the situation's not getting better," says Michel Perron, CEO of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse. [continues 489 words]
MP Angus Spearheads Campaign Two youngsters and five more people in Kirkland Lake have died after misusing a deadly prescription drug. OxyContin, also known as "hillbilly heroin," is found in medicine cabinets and on the streets. The demand for the drug seems to be on the rise. "We believe that the problem of OxyContin is a major problem affecting our communities and one of the biggest problems is the lack of awareness of the dangers and warning signs of an epidemic," said MP Charlie Angus (NDP - Timmins-James Bay. [continues 449 words]
It's not every day someone can use two of their life's passions to benefit not only a community, but an entire region. Ontario Provincial Police Const. Paul Harrison has managed to do just that. Today the entire police service is recognizing his work with the regional DARE program with a Commissioner's Commendation. A police officer for 25 years, Harrison has taken his love of hockey and his career to help thousands of children learn about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. [continues 742 words]
RE: The movie review, Ride the 'Pineapple Express.' What I find absurd is that Canadians will pay money to see a Hollywood film that celebrates marijuana use, starring a Canadian actor. Canadians consume more pot than anyone in the world, and meanwhile, tens of thousands of Canadians (teens and young adults, mostly) are getting criminal records each year for simple possession. Recent science out of Germany shows how cannabinoids stimulate the body's production of TIMP-1, which helps healthy cells resist cancer invasion. It seems like the police, government, and judiciary are the real counterculture in Canada. Patients Against Ignorance and Discrimination on Cannabis [end]
RE: Banning random drug searches at schools doesn't make sense: Kaileigh Russell is a perfect example of how fear-mongering and balderdash are still incredibly effective in blinding people to the facts. Law abiding citizens should not have to live in a police state just because of some quasi-moralistic ideologies held by a minority. Junk food will kill many times more Canadians than all illegal drugs combined. Here is how it works with this new court ruling: If word gets around school that Stoner Joe is also a dealer (and it will get around, it always does), then the principal can call in the sniffer to target Stoner Joe. [continues 325 words]
I think by far that my favourite class right now is law. Some of the debates and the things that you hear about in that class are completely shocking. It's also where I came up with the idea for this week's column. During class we were talking about how it is now illegal for police to just do a random drug search in schools with the drug dogs. Personally, I think that is the stupidest thing that you could ever do. [continues 375 words]
This week, I've decided to get a bit more serious and give some consideration to the issue of marijuana, and the debate over whether or not to decriminalize it. Since 1923, it's been illegal to possess marijuana in Canada. But the law has always been scoffed at by recreational users (who just like to get high) and by medicinal users (who seek relief form illness and/or pain). Pot and politics have always been a hot mix, and despite much discussion, the law has always endured. [continues 834 words]
The list of community service groups that will have a home in the new Timmins Police Service building, due to open July 23, continues to grow with the addition of DARE. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has been running in the Timmins area since 1985, teaching Grade 6 students how to deal with peer pressure when asked to try drugs and other illegal activities. Const. Jeff Del Guidice said the advantages to having the program under the same roof as other police services are clear. [continues 213 words]
Last week, even before the Senlis Council released their latest survey on the situation in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian defence establishment was already circling the wagons. A flurry of e-mails was dispatched to the mailing list of the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA), alerting its members to the fact that previous Senlis Council findings "have been less than positive about this mission." Presumably, in the eyes of the CDA, the publishing of negative assessments automatically damages the credibility of the independent Senlis Council. [continues 662 words]
TORONTO - Ontario municipalities would have the power to track absentee landlords and quickly clean up derelict properties used as crack houses if the New Democrats get their way. Toronto New Democrat Peter Tabuns has introduced a private member's bill that would allow the province's cities to create a registry of absentee landlords and require them to post a bond to pay for the upkeep of their properties. The Liberal government must start addressing the rash of unsupervised properties that often become run down and turn into neighbourhood magnets for crime, he said. [continues 457 words]
Barry Cooper's new DVD, "Never Get Busted Again," which went on sale over the Internet late last month, will probably not sell very well outside the United States, because in most other countries the possession of marijuana for personal use is treated as a misdemeanour or simply ignored by the police. But it will sell very well in the U.S., where many thousands of casual marijuana users are hit with savage jail terms every year in a nationwide game of Russian roulette in which most people indulge their habit unharmed while a few unfortunates have their lives ruined. [continues 825 words]
A pair of motivational speakers praised the virtues of staying drug-free, following dreams and safely laying the smackdown. Tyson Dux, 28, and Tiana Ringer, 21, wrestlers from the Blood Sweat and Ears (BSE) professional wrestling league, exchanged the elbow pads for a microphone Wednesday, and spoke to students at Ecole secondaire catholique Theriault about a range of topics. The pair of wrestlers had a topic list typical of motivational speakers, but incorporated their ring experiences to better connect with the teens. [continues 305 words]
NORTH BAY - A pot advocate campaigning for a third time to become mayor of West Nipissing defended his democratic right this week to run for political office. Michel Ethier said Wednesday he has no plans to withdraw from the mayor's race even if he is the only candidate challenging incumbent Joanne Savage. "I have no intention of throwing in the towel," said Ethier. "If she wants to pull out ... that's fine with me." With acclamations expected in each of the community's seven wards, there's talk on the street Ethier should withdraw his candidacy because the municipality will be required to finance as much as $50,000 for an election for a mayoral campaign that most residents won't take seriously. [continues 106 words]
Comedian Insists Feds Targeted Him In New Book Toronto - Tommy Chong, one half of the legendary comedy duo Cheech and Chong, exudes as much serenity sipping on a cup of coffee in a downtown hotel as one might expect from a lifelong pothead. But three years ago, the Canadian-born Chong had good reason to freak out - agents for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency burst into his California home and busted him for selling bongs online, the first time an obscure law dealing with such offences had ever been enforced. [continues 610 words]
Paul Christie's life sounds like something right out of a movie, but he'll be the first to assure you he has lived through every painful moment of it. A now recovering alcoholic and drug addict, that's the exact message Christie put out to students of O'Gorman High School and O'Gorman Intermediate Catholic School before they headed off for their May Run activities. Organized by the head of O'Gorman's Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving, Christie was brought into the school Friday to give a last-minute warning of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse but more importantly. how the addiction can sneak up on you. [continues 570 words]
Local Officers Say Problem Now Begins In Timmins Below The Grade 6 Level Const. Ron Riley of the Timmins Police Service shakes his head with bewilderment as he discusses a problem that is far too prevalent for his liking. While substance abuse is a universal issue across the board, the users are now getting younger and younger - almost to an age when they should be more concerned about homework and getting grounded. "The drug scene now starts below the Grade 6 level," he said with a sigh. [continues 500 words]
With the recent headlines involving marijuana grow operations being discovered in the region, the Timmins police chief has numerous plans to take advantage of increased funding for more officers. The provincial government recently announced it will invest $37 million to fund the hiring of 1,000 new police officers. Sixty officers will be allocated to Northern Ontario and First Nations communities, which will receive $70,000 for each officer. The rest of the province can get $35,000 for each new officer. [continues 719 words]
For the third time in a month, the Ontario Provincial Police has confiscated thousands of marijuana plants from an outdoor grow operation. Members of the Cochrane Detachment of the OPP and members of Project Northern Gateway -- an OPP drug enforcement section initiative -- seized 3,300 plants bearing an estimated street value of about $3.3 million Wednesday. The plants were seized from an outdoor grow operation in Lamarche Township, about eight kilometres south of the Town of Cochrane. No one has been charged in connection with this discovery although the investigation is continuing. [continues 190 words]
A large drug bust in Matheson is the second to hit the area in the last few weeks. Police seized 18,000 marijuana plants on Aug. 5 in an outdoor grow operation, worth an estimated $20 million, and two Toronto men are facing drug-related charges. Members of the Ontario Provincial Police as well as a K-9 unit executed a search at 1020 Hislop Rd. in Hislop Township. They found more than 18,000 plants in various stages of growth, ranging from two feet to four feet high. [continues 103 words]
Marijuana -- cannabis, grass, weed, pot, or whatever you want to call it -- is quickly becoming the largest cash crop in Northeastern Ontario. In the past couple of months alone police officers have busted four grow operations in the region that netted them 58,500 marijuana plants in various stages of growth. It is estimated, when mature, the drugs derived from the harvest of the plants would have had a street value of $60.5 million. The most recent of these busts took place on Friday in the Matheson area, with police seizing 18,000 plants with an estimated value of $20 million, as well as $45,000 worth of equipment. [continues 422 words]
With the number of meth labs in southern Ontario growing, local drug enforcement officials are worried the problem could trickle north. Det. Const. Andre Chenier with the OPP drug enforcement section, said the problem isn't widespread in Timmins, but it does exist. "To say it's not here would be false," Chenier said. "More and more meth (amphetamin) labs are coming into the province in the North and the south." Ingredients for crystal meth can be purchased at hardware stores and pharmacies, and instructions on how to manufacture crystal meth are readily available on the Internet, Chenier said. [continues 210 words]
It is not easy being young these days. Peer pressure and the easy access to drugs put an added strain on young people, some of the guest speakers at the DARE graduation said. During the first graduation ceremony, at Ecole secondaire Theriault Monday morning, 117 students from St. Charles, St. Jude and Don Bosco received diplomas and heard several speakers talk about the dangers of drugs. As the program celebrated its 10th anniversary, the first DARE teacher, Const. Gilles Carbonneau, talked about the start-up. [continues 290 words]
Teen Substance Abuse Will Be The Topic Of Discussion During The Pamela Fralick Forum In March. The forum, coming to Timmins March 23, is geared toward parents and service providers and hopes to share knowledge of how to prevent or intervene when it comes to substance use amongst adolescents. The event, sponsored by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), is being held in partnership with the Porcupine Health Unit and South Cochrane Addictions Services. "We're expecting about 100 people," Timmins' CAMH project consultant Sylvie Guenther said. [continues 322 words]
As many as 12 chapters of the Hells Angels biker gang could be linked to the city's drug trade, which sucks millions of dollars a year out of the local economy, said one homegrown biker expert. Residents spend about $2.5 million a month -- or $30 million a year -- on drugs in Timmins, said Yves Lavigne, the author of various books on the Hells Angels. "That's $30 million that does not stay in the local economy, that does not get taxed, that leaves Timmins and goes into the bank accounts of Hells Angels and everyone involved in the network," he said. [continues 481 words]
Pop-a-foxtrot, Red Rockets, MS Contin, Oxycontin -- no matter the name, the drug can still have the same effect. Death. After two Timmins teens died from taking the powerful painkiller yesterday, many are questioning the drug's availability and popularity. The pill actually comes in several different colours depending on the doses -- 15 milligrams are normally blue, 30 milligrams are violet, 60 milligrams are orange, 100 milligrams are grey and 200 milligrams can be green or red. While local police say they are still trying to piece together information, other units in the North are well aware of the drug. [continues 299 words]
