According to a statement in Gov't gives OK to marijuana use for ill _ doctors fume (July 28), The Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine, representing doctors specializing in addiction treatment, argues "there is more risk than benefit" and is calling for more clinical research. Now, think about this. How many people receive chemotherapy for cancer, when the fact is they don't have cancer at all? How many people are prescribed dangerous pharmaceuticals for heart disease when they do not have heart disease? [continues 111 words]
While community service agencies study establishing methadone treatment locally, another sudden death in Sault Ste. Marie has been added to a mysterious cluster the Ontario chief coroner's office is investigating as morphine-related. A sudden death in June is now being looked at in relation to 12 local deaths since October 1999, confirmed deputy chief coroner Dr. Jim Cairns. "It's being investigated, as they all are, in its own right, as a single death, but it's also being investigated to see if there's anything regarding the circumstances of that death that may tie in to the other deaths," Cairns said Thursday. [continues 683 words]
There were days when Ed Neveau wouldn't leave the front porch of the Ken Brown Recovery Home. That's because he knew his temptation to obtain drugs would be too great for him to resist. During Neveau's three-and-a-half month stay at the Herrick Street residence, the former carpenter was determined to overcome his dependency on marijuana, hashish, cocaine and whiskey. Surrounding himself with fellow residents who were also dedicated to conquering their addictions was a key strategy to ensure he would succeed. [continues 1133 words]
Thirty people have been charged with drug trafficking offences following early morning raids conducted over a two-day period in Sault Ste. Marie, Spanish, Massey, Elliot Lake, and Espanola areas. Det. Insp. and Deputy Director of the OPP drug prevention n division, Moe Elbers, said that undercover officers from the Joint Forces Drug Unit were able to infiltrate street-level to mid-level drug dealers operating in Sault Ste. Marie and the districts of Algoma and Sudbury. He said three undercover officers, working independently of one another, were able to make numerous purchases of controlled substances. [continues 326 words]
Ontario's chief coroner's office has taken over the investigation into a mysterious cluster of 16 morphine-related sudden deaths in Sault Ste. Marie during the last year-and-a-half. Deputy chief coroner Dr. Jim Cairns confirmed his office is taking a second look at the data gathered since last year by two regional coroners and the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service. The unusual move was decided on in mid-April during a monthly meeting between Ontario's regional, deputy and deputy chief coroners, Cairns said. [continues 410 words]
Algoma's medical officer of health says a committee has been formed to increase knowledge about morphine and other drug uses. Dr. Allan Northan said a representative from the Algoma Health Unit, along with members of several drug rehabilitation/addiction centres and the city police, met Thursday to look at ways to address the morphine issue and provide further education to children and drug users. Northan admits that the meeting was spurred by an extensive series that ran Thursday in The Sault Star. [continues 310 words]
The sudden death of a 38-year-old Sault Ste. Marie man last week is one of "several'' over the last two years that is being investigated as pointing to the same cause, says a local coroner. Dr. Douglas Brooks says a post-mortem Thursday into the latest sudden death has not revealed "any obvious cause of death,'' leading him to conduct more extensive tests. Brooks did say, however, that ``There are continuous investigations going on in several cases that may be of a similar nature'' to the most recent Sault death. [continues 294 words]
An addict whose partner died recently of a drug overdose pleaded with a judge Friday for help in kicking her habit. "I know I need help,'' Terry-Lynn Syrette said after she was convicted of 22 offences that included a string of thefts from Sault Ste. Marie stores. The 30-year-old woman told Ontario Court Justice Wayne Cohen she lost her spouse to narcotics two weeks ago. "He died of a drug overdose and I don't want that to happen me,'' the weeping woman said. [continues 341 words]
A public alert about dangerous and even fatal street drugs available in Sault Ste. Marie has been tentatively linked to what appear to be heroin and intravenous morphine overdoses dating back up to four months. The local coroner's office took the unusual step Wednesday of issuing a warning of the potential risk involved with the use of current street drugs that ``may be more dangerous than their users believe.'' Sault coroner Dr. Douglas Brooks said the warning, which was later narrowed down to heroin and IV morphine, is a result of preliminary laboratory reports from a number of recent deaths. [continues 396 words]
