Residents have serious concerns about people driving after using pot

Half of Manitoba adults believe driving while high is the same as or worse than driving drunk, according to a new Probe Research poll.

The poll, commissioned for CTV News, shows 34% of Manitobans over 18 years of age agree driving under the influence of alcohol is worse than driving while under the influence of marijuana. Another 16% said they were unsure, leaving a full 50% of Manitobans who believe driving after smoking is worse than driving after drinking.

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Manitobans OK with toking neighbours: survey

MOST Manitobans are unfazed by the thought of a pot-smoking neighbour, but are less comfortable with the prospect of drivers under the influence of cannabis - or the idea of selling edible marijuana products in bars, according to a Probe Research poll commissioned by CTV Winnipeg.

Sixty-seven per cent of respondents said they wouldn't be bothered to learn their neighbour "was a regular marijuana user as opposed to a regular alcohol drinker," an attitude that was consistent across all age groups.

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Province announces Overdose Awareness Day at rally at Legislature

Moms Stop The Harm hosted their second annual gathering to honour loved ones lost to addiction and overdose on Thursday at the Manitoba Legislature.

The Manitoba government announced at the event that August 31 would be International Overdose Awareness Day.

The news for grieving parents like Carol Ward, who lost her daughter Lisa Erickson to overdose in April, is seen as a step in the right direction. But Ward believes more needs to be done.

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Re: Winnipeg in grips of meth problem, say police (Aug. 27)

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jay Murray is wrong when he says "the majority of property crime in the city is related to the methamphetamine subculture." Drug prohibition is responsible, just as it was when cocaine was the drug de jour in the past.

The drug problem boils down to some people want to use those drugs and other people don't want them to.

The short of it is that it is none of your business what drugs the next door neighbours are using since none of that use harms you.

Repeal drug prohibition and the majority of property crime would end since these drugs that people want could be obtained for cheap and of a known purity at the local pharmacy.

Chris Buors

Selkirk

[end]

A town hall in St. James Tuesday night will try to clear the air for any Winnipeggers with questions about cannabis legalization in advance of a legislation review this fall.

Hosted by Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley MP Doug Eyolfson, the event will feature an in-depth review of Bill C-45-which would amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Criminal Code and other acts-expert testimony from witnesses at the federal health committee.

Eyolfson said he's hosting the town hall to discuss the legislation and its objectives, but also to hear his constituent's thoughts.

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THERE are no plans to open a supervised injection site in Winnipeg, a spokeswoman for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said in the wake of Toronto opening its first city-run space for people to inject illegal drugs.

Supervised injection sites are legal facilities where drug users are able to use intravenous substances under medical supervision. They have been a controversial harm-reduction strategy since the first North American site opened in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in 2003. Toronto opened its first official site Monday.

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Spike in Winnipeg drug overdoses - including opioids

The number of annual drug overdoses in Winnipeg is on the rise.

Data from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) show that emergency crews are responding to more overdoses, with 1,648 patients arriving with a drug overdose complaint at emergency rooms and urgent care facilities during the first seven months of this year. There were 2,565 such calls throughout 2016, up from 1,981 in 2014.

And Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) responded to 1,185 poisoning and overdose calls in 2017 (as of July 31), 1,803 in 2016 and 1,328 in 2014. Both agencies note alcohol is responsible for many cases.

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IN his struggles to come up with a regime to control the sale of recreational marijuana, Premier Brian Pallister may have found a powerful ally.

Shoppers Drug Mart.

Despite a looming July 1, 2018 deadline to have a system in place, the province has been very reluctant to talk about how it would like to handle the production, distribution and sales of recreational pot. Last month, Justice Minister Heather Stefanson issued an expression of interest to find potential partners and solutions to handle all aspects of legalized marijuana.

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Add this to the reasons why marijuana should be legalized: more than 100 years ago, the cigarette companies had Congress legalize their products. The only reasons were the farmers who were growing their own tobacco; the government wanted the taxes and still does.

Their products are still there today; all of them are the No. 1 cause of lung cancer.

It says this on each package, and they are sold everywhere.

Marijuana is a green plant not loaded with chemicals to keep it burning, as cigarettes are, and does not cause any kind of cancer. It also has some medical qualities that are useful and some qualities that have to be controlled, (but) not as much as alcohol.

Months to "get it right" is not difficult. They should call this "The Marijuana Waltz."

Jack Vorauer

Winnipeg

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Family finds drug paraphernalia tucked away in hotel room

A Winnipeg hotel is changing protocols for housekeeping staff after a family found a syringe and "rocks" of drugs inside their room last weekend.

Nicole Hamm said her husband Neil located drugs and paraphernalia hidden on a ledge underneath the bathroom sink of their Victoria Inn Winnipeg hotel room last Saturday. In photos and video posted to Facebook by Nicole Hamm, a syringe is visible, as are three white "rocks" of an undetermined substance placed in spoons.

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RCMP add fentanyl protective gear

Manitoba's 1,080 front-line RCMP officers are getting an added layer of protection in the fight against fentanyl and other opioid exposure in the province.

The Manitoba government is investing nearly $54,000 on new personal protective equipment, which the RCMP say will be available to each of their front-line officers by the end of the year.

The new equipment kit, paid for by the criminal property forfeiture fund, includes respiratory and eye protection.

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MANITOBA RCMP officers are being equipped with special masks and goggles to protect them in the event they're exposed to fentanyl, a potentially deadly synthetic opiate.

They will also switch to black latex gloves instead of the standard-issue blue ones to better detect the white powder.

Criminals are footing the bill.

Justice Minister Heather Stefanson announced on Friday that the provincial government will spend nearly $54,000 from its criminal property forfeiture fund to equip more than 1,000 front-line Mounties with the new gear. Also included will be specialized drums to store evidence.

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Initially slated to address the national opioid crisis, the majority of questions addressed during Friday's roundtable discussion centred on the legalization of recreational marijuana.

Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire and Conservative Party of Canada health critic Rachael Harder headed the roundtable discussion at the Trails West Inn, whose question period quickly pushed aside the opioid crisis, which hasn't impacted Brandon as heavily as it has some other areas of the nation.

There were 2,458 opioid-related deaths in Canada last year, of which 24 were in Manitoba.

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Re: Pot legalization on agenda. Let's first get alcohol and its deadly effects under control, prior to the legalization of marijuana. I really question Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sanity in this area. Why mix gasoline with dynamite?

Donald Munroe



(Most Canadians are OK with legalized pot.)

[end]

Educational materials put together for Canadians

When Canada legalizes cannabis, Canadian athletes of all levels-including those vying for or competing in the Canada Games-will still have to be careful not to contravene anti-doping rules.

Glen Bergeron, who teaches kinesiology and applied health at the University of Winnipeg, is part of an ad hoc committee with the Canadian Centre of Ethics and Sport "discussing this issue at the national level."

"The issue is that cannabis is a banned substance on the international banned substance list," Bergeron said. "We need to be able to educate these athletes that it may be legal to use, but it's still regarded as a banned substance."

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NDP says government-run Liquor Marts best initial option

THE Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba will likely be the province's regulator for cannabis, although Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said "nothing is off the table," 11 months before Canadians will be able to legally buy it over the counter.

Stefanson spoke with reporters Thursday, shortly after the Conservative government announced it had issued an expression of interest to determine how best to deal with the issues stemming from Ottawa's plan to enact the new law July 1.

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Judge 'troubled' but forced to lock up single mother of four children

PLANS to appeal a mandatory minimum sentence as unconstitutional are on the horizon for a Winnipeg mother who is now behind bars despite the judge's declaration that justice would not be served by locking her up.

Sandra Dignard, 37, was taken into custody Wednesday to start serving her two-year federal prison sentence for smuggling drugs into Stony Mountain prison five years ago. She tearfully said goodbye to her young son and pleaded with other relatives to take good care of all four of her children before sheriff's officers led her away, out of view of her family.

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Winnipeg shows highest rate in country

Violent crimes are on the rise in Winnipeg and police are pointing their fingers at drug trafficking and new technology.

The violent crime rate and - property crime rate - both rose by eight per cent from 2015, according to the Winnipeg Police Service's 2016 annual statistical report released Monday.

Statistics Canada also released data on the national crime rate, which shows that Winnipeg's violent crime rate is the highest in Canada.

Organized drug networks have "contributed to some of the increases of violence," said police chief Danny Smyth. Also, some drug users are turning to crime to feed their habits.

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WILL you partake? That's a reasonable question given the upcoming legalization of marijuana, but it's only one of many questions that will arise.

The legalization of a recreational drug is extremely rare and it will challenge both the Pallister government and individual Manitobans with unaccustomed issues. The government is dealing only with legalities, leaving individuals on their own to resolve the personal, family and social issues that will come with legal marijuana.

At their meeting in Edmonton last week, the premiers mulled questions such as: where and how will it be sold? What will be the legal age to partake? How will courts prosecute drugged driving, given that breathalyzers don't work with marijuana intoxication? How many plants will gardeners be allowed to grow on their own?

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The Manitoba government is seeking out private input on who should sell legal pot and how they should do so.

But Justice Minister Heather Stefanson said public sales haven't been ruled out and the Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba is "pretty likely" to wind up regulating the industry.

The province issued an expression of interest Thursday to determine options for the distribution and sale of cannabis.

"No options are off the table right now. We are opening this up to get more ideas on how to do this," Stefanson said.

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