Homicides, shooting linked to groups bringing drugs, guns into Regina

Police believe at least two Regina homicides and a shooting in a crowded restaurant are among the fallout from an increasingly violent threat posed by outsiders bringing guns and drugs into the city.

The Mounties and Regina Police Service joined forces to roll out the unwelcome mat for the unwanted guests, recently concluding a 90-day project targeting drug trafficking as well as the weapons and shootings that accompany the trade. What it revealed is that many of the 60 people arrested on 443 charges, including trafficking, possession of stolen property, and multiple weapons offences, aren't from here. They dropped in from locales such as Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Fort McMurray and Toronto.

[continues 526 words]

Labelling legalized marijuana products with their levels of two main active ingredients is one of the helpful recommendations released this week by a federal task force on cannabis legalization and regulation, says Saskatoon addictions expert Dr. Peter Butt.

"There's no truth in labelling now because there's no testing," Butt said.

He is concerned that there is no way to ensure cannabis sold for medicinal use contains any of a substance shown to produce the medical benefits marijuana is promoted to address.

[continues 306 words]

Three people involved with a downtown Saskatoon medical marijuana dispensary before it was raided in 2015 have been committed to stand trial on trafficking-related charges.

The preliminary hearing for Mark Phillip Hauk, Lane Anthony Britnell and Jaime Michelle Hagel wrapped up in Saskatoon provincial court on Thursday.

Hauk owned the Saskatchewan Compassion Club, Britnell was an employee, and Hagel was a volunteer. Each faces four charges: one count of possession for the purpose of trafficking marijuana, two counts of trafficking marijuana and one count of possessing proceeds of crime over $5,000.

[continues 230 words]

She should have been on medical watch.

The death of a young woman at a Regina remand unit has led to more supervision and medical staff at the facility.

Breanna Kannick, 21, was being held at the White Birch Remand Centre in August 2015 when she died after going into what the Ministry of Justice at the time called "medical distress."

An investigation into that death, according to government officials, has resulted in about $400,000 in added funding to increase nursing staff and pay for a doctor to be on site.

[continues 498 words]

Illegal medical marijuana dispensaries are not just for big cities anymore. Earlier this month, RCMP made good on a September 2015 Health Canada warning threatening to shut down Martin Medical Services in Whitewood.

In a raid on the business and home of owner Jerry Martin November 8, police seized undisclosed quantities of marijuana, hash oil and cash along with cellphones, computers and three vehicles. He is charged with trafficking marijuana, possession of marijuana, trafficking cannabis resin, possession of cannabis resin, possession of proceeds of crime, trafficking proceeds of crime and laundering proceeds of crime.

[continues 499 words]

Canada is experiencing a serious opioid epidemic. While it has only recently made headlines, there has been a growing trend toward misuse and illegal use of opioid prescriptions in the past few years, one that nurses across Canada have seen firsthand.

Whether or not people obtain these drugs by prescription, the difficulty of withdrawal is having a serious impact on our publicly funded health system. The Canadian Nurses Association is therefore pleased with Health Minister Jane Philpott's call for a national strategy to face this crisis.

[continues 207 words]

Police chief blames drug gangs for near doubling of cases

A dramatic spike in home invasions in Saskatoon is contributing to the city's nation-leading crime rate, according to Saskatoon's Police Chief Clive Weighill.

Home invasions where people are home when burglars break in have nearly doubled since 2009. Police say there were 154 home invasion cases in 2009. In 2014 that number spiked to 301 before dipping down to 276 in 2015.

"Since 2009 it's almost doubled. I know that is a scary term when we are talking about home invasions," Weighill said at a police board meeting last Thursday.

[continues 659 words]

Whether it's LSD or magic mushrooms, psychedelic drugs have long been a point of contention. An upcoming event hopes to educate Saskatoon residents on their medical uses and their potentially research-rich future.

Organized by Erika Dyck, a University of Saskatchewan history professor and the Canada Research Chair in the History of Medicine, the event is called An Evening of Psychedelics and takes place at the Underground Cafe on Nov. 23.

"Over the last few years there's been some real interest in what people are starting to call a psychedelic renaissance, where we're looking at psychedelics for their therapeutic potential today," she said.

[continues 366 words]

The mayor of Whitewood has raised concerns about practices at a marijuana dispensary that had long operated in the town, and called on the federal government to remove the grey areas that exist around the sale of the drug for medical purposes.

Martin Medical Services, owned by Jerry Martin, 45, was raided last Tuesday, with Broadview RCMP seizing a quantity of marijuana as well as cash, cellphones, computers and three vehicles.

Martin's home was raided, as well.

Martin is facing criminal charges for operation of an unlawful marijuana dispensary, including trafficking and possession of marijuana and cannabis resin, possession of the proceeds of crime, trafficking in the proceeds of crime and laundering the proceeds of crime.

[continues 601 words]

Police are seeing more fentanyl and crystal meth cases in the city and some locals have overdosed on fentanyl, they say.

"Prior to, you know, within the last year, 2016, fentanyl really didn't exist here," said Moose Jaw Police Deputy Chief Cliff Froehlich.

Moose Jaw is now facing the national problem of increased opiate addiction.

On Wednesday, Moose Jaw Police Deputy Chief Cliff Froehlich spoke at the Moose Jaw South Central Drug Strategy luncheon.

Two of the most problematic drugs for local police are crystal meth and fentanyl.

[continues 833 words]

There was a strong police presence in Whitewood last Thursday when RCMP raided the Lalonde St. home of 45-year-old Whitewood resident Jerry Martin as well as at his business location on 3rd Ave.

Police officers and vehicles were very visible at both locations throughout the day.

According to RCMP, "At approximately 10:20 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2016, Broadview RCMP executed a warrant at both a business and a residence at Whitewood, SK."

As officers stood guard at the Martin Medical Services building downtown, several officers entered Martin's residence and began a search of the main street home, and later at the business location. RCMP seized marijuana, hash oil, cell phones and computers, an undisclosed amount of cash, and three vehicles.

[continues 439 words]

A marijuana dispensary owner has been charged with a range of offences after Broadview RCMP conducted two raids in Whitewood on Tuesday morning.

An RCMP brief said that marijuana and property, including cellphones, computers, cash and three vehicles, were all seized during raids on a business - not named by RCMP but known to be Martin Medical Services on the 600 block of 3rd Ave. in Whitewood - and a private residence.

Jerry Matthew Martin, 45, is charged with offences relating to the "operation of an unlawful marijuana dispensary," RCMP said.

[continues 249 words]

A new program has started up to help tackle the city's discarded needle problem.

In the realm of tongue-twisting health acronyms, CHANGE is one of the worst offenders.

It stands for Community, Harm Reduction, Needle Pickup, Guidance and Education, and it's the Prince Albert Parkland Health Region's newest strategy to reduce discarded needles in the community.

Formed late this September, the CHANGE team goes to "hotspots" for IV drug use, places where large numbers of discarded syringes tend to litter public places.

[continues 548 words]

In part four of our look at the major issues of the campaign, we asked the mayoral candidates about a new Victoria Hospital and the city's role in the battle against HIV

Healthcare is not a municipal responsibility. But, as Mayor Dionne puts it, the mayor can be a "voice for the residents of Prince Albert," calling on the province to provide the healthcare our city deserves.

Whoever becomes mayor will need to raise that voice.

Prince Albert has just lost its only publicly funded audiologist, and the lack of other specialists is forcing residents to travel to Saskatoon.

[continues 1298 words]

A popular area of Northern Saskatchewan's lake country has the dubious distinction of leading Canada in one marijuana statistic.

A Postmedia study of Statistics Canada numbers from more than 1,000 cities, towns and RCMP jurisdictions revealed that the Waskesiu Lake region - which includes the resort town of Waskesiu, Prince Albert National Park, Montreal Lake Cree Nation and other small communities - had the highest per capita rate of marijuana possession charges in the country in 2015.

Randy Kershaw, a member of the Waskesiu town council, said the town itself did not see any visible increase in marijuana use during 2015, stressing that the statistics cover a wide area.

[continues 494 words]

Vintage Vinyl and Hemp Emporium is known for a lot of things, notably its history with marijuana.

Dylan and Janelle Baumet's father Pat opened Vintage Vinyl and Hemp Emporium 25 years ago in downtown Regina. The store has remained a family business over the years and sells everything from records to marijuana smoking accessories.

The store has continued to sell accessories for smoking marijuana and has seen society's thoughts toward marijuana change.

"Every year there's just more and more smokers and people are starting to realize that marijuana's good and not bad," Dylan said.

[continues 437 words]

A Saskatchewan First Nation seeking to keep its territory free of drug dealers and pedophiles is moving to pass a law allowing it to banish "undesirable people."

Chief Austin Bear of Muskoday First Nation said in an interview this week that the band council will conduct a referendum before the end of October asking members to approve a banishment law that he said will be the first of its kind in Canada.

Muskoday and other Canadian First Nations have in the past used band council resolutions to evict people from their communities, but Bear said such resolutions would not withstand a court challenge. Muskoday's law will fall under a partial self-government regime called the First Nations Land Management Act, which gives signatory bands the power to manage their own lands.

[continues 459 words]

How history repeats itself! Today, politicians are once again ignoring the pain of terminal cancer patients. At the same time they are shooting themselves in the foot by making illogical remarks about pain. This human folly takes me back 37 years.

In January 1979, I wrote a New Year's resolution in this column to petition the government to legalize medical heroin to ease the agony of terminal cancer patients. I knew that heroin had been used in English hospitals for 90 years, so why not have this painkiller available in North America? But rather than being applauded for my compassion, all hell broke loose.

[continues 462 words]

Kelly Csada opened a medical marijuana dispensary in Regina on Monday to help people like herself.

Since 1990, Csada has suffered from Crohn's disease. Over the years, she has had 18 feet of her small intestine removed, five bowel resections and been prescribed numerous potent medications, including fentanyl, OxyContin and morphine.

In researching alternatives to narcotics, she learned about Phoenix tears oil - a concentrated form of the cannabis plant.

"I couldn't find it and I had people offer to make it for me, but I said, 'No. I put so much medication into my body.' I wanted to make sure that what I was getting was clean and pure.' "

[continues 587 words]

Re: Four findings (SP Aug. 8):

Instead of printing American pot propaganda, how about the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix provide Canadians with the scientific truths about the use of pot and the consequences on reproductive health.

Risks demonstrated in the scientific literature pertaining to marijuana product use include generational genetic and chromosomal damage.

Marijuana use can disrupt fetal growth and the development of organs and limbs and may result in mutagenic alterations in DNA. Cannabis has also been associated with fetal abnormalities in many studies including low birth weight, fetal growth restriction, preterm birth spontaneous miscarriage, spina bifida and others.

Men who use marijuana are at risk for testicular cancer, sterility and erectile dysfunction if they smoke marijuana products.

Pamela McColl, Vancouver McColl writes on behalf of the Marijuana Victims' Association

[end]