Sask. rate much higher than national A new plan to tackle Saskatchewan's HIV infection "epidemic" aims to ensure 90 per cent of people living with the virus are diagnosed by 2020. The diagnostic goal is one plank of a 90-90-90 plan adopted by the World Health Organization in July that also aims to ensure 90 per cent of people who are diagnosed receive treatment and that 90 per cent of those being treated have the virus suppressed. Saskatchewan's HIV diagnosis rate of 11.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2013 was nearly double the Canadian average of 5.9 cases, according to Public Health Agency of Canada numbers. A new report urges the province to adopt the 90-90-90 goal with a target date of five years to achieve it. [continues 487 words]
The Fort Qu'Appelle RCMP detachment recently solved an interesting case of mistaken identity. On Aug. 9, a member of the detachment responded to a call from the public that plants resembling marijuana were growing in an area southeast of Abernethy. Cpl. Drew Wagner explained that the officer at the scene wasn't sure if the plants were cannabis marijuana or hemp, so the RCMP Integrated Organized Crime Unit South was called. Between 200-300 plants were found in the field, but tests later revealed the plants were hemp and not marijuana. [continues 429 words]
Site makes it easier to fill prescriptions SASKATOON - After four months of planning and preparation, Saskatoon's first medicinal marijuana dispensary is now open for business. The Saskatchewan Compassion Club opened its doors to the public on Monday. For many, like Mandy Tarala, the new dispensary will offer a way to fill medical pot prescriptions quickly and easily. "It's going to be absolutely huge for me in the aspect that I no longer have to wait for my medicine (and) I don't have to order it online," Tarala said. "Also, I have some support (locally) - that way I'm not waiting for an email back or waiting on hold." [continues 784 words]
Medicinal Pot Dispensary Now Open After four months of planning and preparation, Saskatoon's first medicinal marijuana dispensary is now open for business. The Saskatchewan Compassion Club opened its doors to the public on Monday. For many, like Mandy Tarala, the new dispensary will offer a way to fill medical pot prescriptions quickly and easily. "It's going to be absolutely huge for me in the aspect that I no longer have to wait for my medicine (and) I don't have to order it online," Tarala said. "Also, I have some support (locally) - that way I'm not waiting for an email back or waiting on hold." [continues 785 words]
Non-Profit Shop Expects Mass Influx SASKATOON - Saskatoon's first medical marijuana dispensary is set to open its doors today. "I'm certainly excited. It's been many months in the works to secure a site like this," Mark Hauk, head of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club, said Sunday. The non-profit club that Hauk previously operated out of his home helps patients obtain marijuana prescriptions and, in some cases, sells them their medicine. The new location is downtown on the 200 block of Second Avenue North. The entryway is sparse, with a reception desk and some seating. [continues 718 words]
Saskatoon's first medical marijuana dispensary is set to open its doors today. "I'm certainly excited. It's been many months in the works to secure a site like this," Mark Hauk, head of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club, said Sunday. The non-profit club that Hauk previously operated out of his home helps patients obtain marijuana prescriptions and, in some cases, sells them their medicine. The new location is downtown on the 200 block of Second Avenue North. The entryway is sparse, with a reception desk and some seating. [continues 717 words]
Stephen Harper jumped on his high horse yesterday slamming Liberal leader Justin Trudeau's promise to legalize marijuana. In jurisdictions where marijuana is legal, Harper said, it becomes "more readily available to children, more people become addicted," and there is a decline in health outcomes. "We just think that's the wrong direction for society and I don't think that's the way most Canadians want to deal with this particular problem." This would be a very reasonable position if any of it were remotely true. [continues 474 words]
If there has ever been a time to have that often awkward and difficult conversation with your kids about the dangers of drugs it is right now, this very moment. People across Canada are dying right now, thanks to the availability of "recreational" street drugs that are often far more powerful than users had bargained for. Often these are young people and their search for a fun high with a little bit of experimentation is costing lives. The biggest culprit has been a nasty piece of work called fentanyl. The drug is often labeled as OxyContin (a brand name for the drug oxycodone), but is more powerful and dangerous than the powerful prescription drug that many have turned to for that illicit good time. [continues 572 words]
Glenn Allan Price will get his day in court, but does the prosecution of purveyors of medical marijuana really serve the public interest? Well, if you're the federal Conservative government, pursuing an out-of-touch political agenda, clearly it does. Mr. Price, owner of a recently opened, unlicensed medical marijuana dispensary on Main Street, was charged by Winnipeg police with trafficking and possession following a raid Tuesday. Many speculate an anti-marijuana activist in Vancouver, where dispensaries have proliferated and are licensed by city council, triggered the raid with a complaint to the Winnipeg Police Service earlier this month. [continues 501 words]
Police and pharmacists are warning producers of a marijuana extract called "shatter" after two explosions related to the manufacturing of the drug. Shatter is an increasingly popular form of hardened, glasslike cannabis oil made by extracting psychoactive ingredients from the leaves and buds of marijuana plants. The extraction process often involves soaking the plants in alcohols like isopropyl or butane. "Some of these chemicals are highly volatile. If you don't know what are you doing you could bring your whole house down," said Lori Postnikoff, a field officer for Saskatchewan's College of Pharmacists. [continues 459 words]
No surge seen in recent years The company that tests thousands of workers in the mining industry has not seen a spike in failed drug tests in recent years, and high failure rates among people applying to work for one Saskatchewan company could be "an anomaly," says a spokeswoman for the testing company. According to Leonard Banga, owner of Xtreme Mining and Demolition, over a 10-day period last month, 22 of 26 people who wanted a job with his company [continues 293 words]
Crash Victim Can't Find Doctor to Authorize Legal Bud Dave Thistlewaite says medical marijuana gave him his life back. For six years it has allowed him to live more comfortably than the traditional painkillers he used to take. This year, for the first time, he was denied renewal of his marijuana prescription and has to buy his cannabis illegally. "I buy it wherever I can get it on the street, whenever I can afford it," he said from his home in Mont Nebo, west of Shellbrook. [continues 652 words]
The owner of a Saskatoon mining company says it's getting tougher to find good workers after nearly all recent applicants failed a routine drug screening. All applicants had the required equipment training and some even had sales experience or university education for the lucrative positions, most of which paid between $30 and $45 per hour. But over a 10-day period last month, 22 of 26 people who wanted a job with Xtreme Mining and Demolition failed the drug test, said owner Leonard Banga. [continues 543 words]
It has become clear in the past few months that we're in the midst of a pot predicament. And Saskatchewan citizens, health authorities and elected representatives have a lot to ponder. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled on June 11 that Canadians with a valid prescription could consume medical marijuana in other ways besides just a dried form. In short, the court enlarged the definition of medical marijuana, meaning that legal restrictions on extracts and derivatives are now gone, and brownies, cookies, teas, chocolate bars and shakes, among various other products, are no longer illegal. [continues 632 words]
Michael Newell didn't know he was being watched. At least, at first he didn't. A neighbour of Newell believed he was doing - maybe even selling - drugs. That neighbour took the accusations to Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN). And that's how, years later, Newell found himself desperately searching for a new place to live. Newell's troubles trace back to May, 2004, when a bill was introduced in Saskatchewan that aimed at making communities safer. It said as much in its name: the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act. [continues 1020 words]
'I COULD PINPOINT THEM WATCHING MY HOUSE' REGINA - Michael Newell didn't know he was being watched. At least, at first he didn't. Newell's neighbour believed he was doing - maybe even selling - drugs. That neighbour took the accusations to Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN). And that's how, years later, Newell found himself desperately searching for a new place to live. Newell's troubles trace back to May 2004, when a bill was introduced in Saskatchewan aimed at making communities safer. [continues 890 words]
Canada's Health Minister Rona Ambrose said on Thursday last week that she is "outraged" by the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling on how users of medical marijuana can use it - they will not be restricted to just smoking it. Ambrose is also vowing to fight the SCOC's "normalization" of pot use in Canada. It is a strange response to the unanimous SCOC ruling. First of all, the ruling has nothing to do with the normalization of pot use; it just removes restrictions for those medical users of the drug - a good thing. There is some irony in the fact that some Canadian users were concerned about the harmful effects of smoking the drug, which can be consumed in numerous other ways, including baking into products such as muffins or cookies, brewing as a tea or even taking as a pill. [continues 519 words]
Canada's Health Minister Rona Ambrose said on Thursday that she is "outraged" by the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling on how users of medical marijuana can use it - they will not be restricted to just smoking it. Ambrose is also vowing to fight the SCOC's "normalization" of pot use in Canada. It is a strange response to the unanimous SCOC ruling. First of all, the ruling has nothing to do with the normalization of pot use; it just removes restrictions for those medical users of the drug - a good thing. There is some irony in the fact that some Canadian users were concerned about the harmful effects of smoking the drug, which can be consumed in numerous other ways, including baking into products such as muffins or cookies, brewing as a tea or even taking as a pill. [continues 519 words]
The Supreme Court of Canada is perhaps one of the most misunderstood bodies in this country's system of laws and how they are made. Misunderstood particularly, it seems, by our very own federal government. The Supremes are ultimate defenders of the Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Their rulings are based primarily on those documents as well as a fundamental understanding of law as it ought to apply in this country. While the federal government has rights to pass legislation, they are still bound by the statutes in the Charter. If they are seen to be overstepping those boundaries, the Supremes are well within their jurisdiction to virtually strike down these laws. [continues 490 words]
SASKATOON - A man who helps people access their medically prescribed marijuana says he is more motivated than ever to open a dispensary in Saskatoon after the federal government's response to a Supreme Court ruling allowing the use of edibles and extracts. "If I didn't have a fire lit under me yesterday, I do today," said Mark Hauk, founder of the Saskatchewan Compassion Club. In a stinging decision Thursday, a unanimous seven-justice bench said the government's medical pot program was constitutionally flawed, breached patients' rights and was not saved under section one of the Charter. [continues 609 words]
Inside Saskatchewan
