It's all about harm reduction and improving community health outcomes No doubt some Hamiltonians are chuckling to hear city council is considering banning sugary drinks from city buildings to protect people's health. With good reason. The proposed ban by the public health department lands at the same time the city is moving ahead with opening its first safe injection site for drug addicts. It's more than a little ironic that the city may be cracking down on sugar while enabling the use of illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine. [continues 581 words]
Medical cannabis take-up hampered by lack of research and red tape I picked up a View magazine while I was waiting for the bus a few weeks back. There was an article on the 15 or so uses of cannabis, so after I caught up with CATCH (Citizens at City Hall), I turned to the article on cannabis looking for some useful information. By this time, I was on the bus, seated on a side seat, next to an elderly woman. I could feel she was reading over my shoulder, so I turned to her slightly. She asked me the name of the paper and we started a conversation about cannabis. [continues 633 words]
City's fatality rate is now nearly double Ontario average, fuelling more concern Opioid-related deaths in Hamilton have soared more than 80 per cent in one year. From January to October, 75 Hamilton residents died from an opioid overdose in 2017 compared to 41 during the same period the year before. "Opioids are continuing to have a devastating impact on individuals, families, and the community," Hamilton's medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said in a statement Friday. "The sustained trend of rising opioid related deaths, which are preventable, in Hamilton is very concerning." [continues 437 words]
Can we please stop with the "more" research on marijuana? The only research that is needed is to determine how much good it can do medically. Everyone knows why it was banned decades ago - so they could sell more pills. There is not one recorded death due to overdose, no one has ever gotten stoned and gone on a killing spree, no one has ever smoked pot and driven 150 km/h on the highway. Just recently we are finding out about CBD's helping people with Parkinsons, arthritis, and seizures. [continues 53 words]
The AIDS Network is putting itself forward to run Hamilton's first supervised injectionsite at its downtown Effort Square location. The AIDS service organization is preparing proposals to the provincial and federal governments for a permanent site where people can inject illegal drugs under the watchful eye of trained staff without fear of arrest. Meanwhile, it is also proposing a smaller temporary overdose prevention site as a stopgap that would allow supervised injection until the permanent location was approved and operating. [continues 417 words]
Twenty years ago this Sunday, when Ross Rebagliati was told he had tested positive for a banned substance, he didn't have to ask which one. It was THC, an active ingredient in marijuana, and it was going to cost him the first Olympic gold medal ever awarded in snowboarding. Three decades later, Rebagliati still has his gold medal, Canada is five months away from fully legalized weed sales, Rebagliati owns his own major medicinal cannabis supply company (the pun-ish Ross' Gold), and snowboarding is a lot more mainstream. [continues 923 words]
Come as city officials prepare to discuss future of storefronts Police are cracking down on illegal storefront pot shops across Hamilton even as dispensary advocates prepare for "roundtable" discussions with city officials about their future. Operators of five MMJ and Pacifico medical marijuana dispensaries - spread across the lower city and on the Mountain - told The Spectator they were raided by police late last week. Britney Guerra, a vocal dispensary advocate and former owner, said she has heard from four other raided shops - one as recently as Monday - but none of those operators were willing to speak to The Spectator. [continues 377 words]
The only thing clear about research into medical cannabis is that more research is needed. That was a conclusion expressed by many experts who gathered at the first cannabis conference hosted by the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medical Cannabis Research at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton West 5th Campus on the weekend. "This conference is really the initial offering we have to the scientific community," said McMaster University associate professor Jason Busse, an expert in chronic pain and a co-director of the cannabis centre that opened in October. [continues 459 words]
Dundas mom says 17-year-old is on 'lockdown' in home after knife-wielding outburst When his father roused his son from a drug-induced slumber, he flew into a rage. The 17-year-old ended up pulling a knife and locking his dad out in the freezing cold. Now, his parents take turns watching him - constantly. "We just kind of keep him down on what we call 'lockdown,'" says his mom, a school teacher who lives in Dundas. Her son is addicted to drugs and alcohol. He has tried to kill himself, been in and out of hospital, in homeless shelters and jail. [continues 875 words]
453 people were revived 'from the brink of death' in 2017, Hamilton city officials hear More than one-quarter of naloxone kits distributed through Hamilton Public Health last year were used to revive someone from an overdose. Of the 1,700 opioid antidote kits handed out in 2017, 453 were reportedly used to revive a person. "Four-hundred and fifty-three people revived from the brink of death. It's hard to imagine that's anything but a success," said Michael Parkinson, who works with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and the Municipal Drug Strategy Coordinators Network of Ontario. [continues 633 words]
Millions of criminals are Canadians buying pot from Canadians, writes Jeremy Kemeny Everyone smoking recreational marijuana right now is a criminal. That is according to Canadian law and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who - planning to legalize this summer - has encouraged authorities to enforce these rules. There are a lot of criminals. In 2016, an estimated 4.9 million Canadians between the ages of 15 and 64 years old spent money on pot, which translates into $5.7 billion according to a new Statistics Canada report. And 94 per cent of that, the agency said, was consumed illegally. Your child, sibling or parent might be guilty. You probably have a cousin that's guilty. Some of your friends are likely guilty. That's millions Canadians guilty of possession of cannabis. [continues 662 words]
Responses from survey questioned Ohsweken - If you ever thought the legal pot thing would go down nice and mellow anywhere, from Salt Spring Island to St. John's, or Six Nations in between, what were you smoking? Case in point. Sunday's gathering at Yogi's Barn, 2318 Chiefswood Road, Ohsweken, to discuss the results of a recent survey about cannabis use and regulation in the Six Nations community. The survey in question shows massive support (in the 80 to 90 per cent range, based on answers from 731 respondents) for the availability of marijuana in their territory and for the "sovereign right" of the Six Nations people to "determine their own path and choices regarding cannabis." [continues 587 words]
RE: Safe injection sites in Hamilton One needs only to stroll just north on John Street at King Street to see what the methadone clinic has done to our downtown core. Pretty much all the buildings on both sides of the clinic (east side of John) are closed and boarded up. As my time as a police officer walking the beat in the core, I broke up many a fight out front of the clinic, and arrested a number of drug dealers hanging around preying on the meth addicts. We don't want another repeat of this "communal disaster plan" in our core! Michael Csoke, Mount Hope [end]
RE: Legalizing cannabis I have witnessed the detrimental effects of smoking pot on a young teenager diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. The pot interfered with his medication and he would become psychotic, often requiring hospitalization. He continued to smoke pot despite the warnings from his parents and doctors. He now boasts that smoking pot is a good thing because the government has legalized it and there is even medical marijuana. As pot is a "gateway drug," he now uses other drugs as well. This leads to his mental condition being out of control at times, but because he is an adult now who has "rights" and because of the limited beds available, he is sent home vulnerable and untreated. With legalizing pot, I predict a rise in young people experiencing psychotic behaviour and the hospitals unable to deal with this increase. But hey, smoking pot must be a "good thing" because it is legal. Trudy Leclerc, Hamilton [end]
Workers have been assaulted, but fear of raids stop some from calling police AFTER NEWS OF THE LATEST armed marijuana dispensary robbery, local cannabis advocate Britney Guerra appealed through a media release for any store owners who have been robbed to call police. The responses she got back shocked her. She knew there were robberies going unreported, but the problem was bigger than she suspected. Within 48 hours she had calls from four different Hamilton store owners who told her they had been robbed - perhaps by the same people - in the last month alone. [continues 705 words]
Number has tripled over the past year, according to city report A new report shows the number of marijuana dispensaries operating in the city has tripled in the past year despite increased bylaw enforcement efforts. According to the report released Friday, there are 46 marijuana dispensaries operating in Hamilton, compared to 15 in operation last January. While the federal government is expected to legalize marijuana this summer, marijuana dispensaries are illegal, according to the report - prepared by Ken Leendertse, Hamilton's director of licensing and bylaw services. [continues 328 words]
U.S. pot enforcement policy could give companies north of the border an advantage A move by the U.S. Attorney General to quash an Obama-era policy that allowed legalized pot to flourish south of the border dealt a blow to marijuana stocks Thursday, but observers and industry players say the crackdown is a boon for the Canadian cannabis industry. On Thursday, Jeff Sessions rescinded the 2013 Obama administration guidance that suggested the federal government would not intervene in U.S. states where the drug is legal, which has opened the door for several states to legalize pot for medical and recreational purposes. [continues 317 words]
Coun. Sam Merulla wants to head off new local taxpayer costs to cover increased bylaw and policing enforcement - and public health services - - from legalized pot well before legalization happens this summer. "Fifty per cent of what we tax for now has nothing to do with city council," he said, adding that much of it is a result of services once funded by the province being downloaded onto municipalities. Merulla has put councillors on notice that he's introducing a motion at their Jan. 24 meeting to get city staff to find out the city's costs of implementing marijuana legalization - and ask the province for a commitment to fully cover those costs. The province is getting a windfall in marijuana sales taxes after all, he says. [continues 168 words]
Owner of Green Health for Six waiting to hear from Ottawa, council, and initiated survey As far as Jeff Hawk is concerned, his marijuana dispensary is filling a void in Six Nations. Potentially deadly opiates are widely available, but safe, medicinal marijuana is not, says Hawk, owner of Green Health for Six. "There ain't really a large industry in pot anymore. That's what I'm worried about." Hawk says his dispensary on Highway 54 just outside Ohsweken has a solid customer base for weed, edibles and oils. [continues 484 words]
Q: Our 16-year-old son smokes dope daily. We see his grades slipping from last year. He keeps talking about it being legalized and therefore not harmful. How do we get him to understand that he still shouldn't be smoking? A: How one addresses the issue depends on how one understands the problem. Regular marijuana use in teens can occur if they become addicted to the substance or it may be masking an undiagnosed mental health problem such as depression or anxiety. Or your son may be otherwise well but enjoying the substance and simply not conforming to your expectations. [continues 234 words]
NORFOLK COUNTY - Ontario Provincial Police say officers used naloxone to save a man's life while transporting him to Hamilton's Barton Street jail. Norfolk OPP credit "quick-thinking" officers for helping the 29-year-old man who appeared to have overdosed on opioids Friday afternoon. They administered three doses of naloxone, which is used to revive people in medical distress after taking drugs such as fentanyl. The man regained consciousness and began to respond to officers. Paramedics transferred him to hospital. [continues 111 words]
TORONTO - Ontario adolescents are drinking, smoking and using cannabis and other recreational drugs at the lowest rates since the late 1970s, suggests a biennial survey of Grade 7 to 12 students by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. But the 2017 survey released Thursday turned up a disturbing finding: almost one per cent of respondents in Grades 9 to 12 reported having taken illicit fentanyl in the previous year, raising a red flag given the opioid's involvement in hundreds of overdose deaths across the country. [continues 558 words]
Two community agencies on hand to lend support for initiative which is expected to be paid for by province The city has endorsed a supervised injection site for downtown Hamilton but it's up to a community agency to step up to run such a facility. The city's board of health endorsed the findings of a long-awaited study Monday that recommend adding at least one permanent site in the core for people to safely inject illegal drugs under the watchful eye of health professionals. [continues 575 words]
Facing the reality that Hamilton needs at least one supervised injection site is not pleasant. In an ideal world, such a thing might not be needed. People with drug addictions would get counselling and support to break their addiction. Until then, they could ingest drugs in a safe and clean environment. But this isn't an ideal world. We're in a historic and growing street-drug crisis. And those qualities - access to support and a safe environment - are exactly what you get with a supervised injection site (SIS). [continues 410 words]
Handful in B.C., Alberta permit snorting or orally taking drugs A PROPOSED SITE for supervised illicit drug use in Hamilton's core would only allow for substances to be injected and prohibit snorting, smoking or taking narcotics orally. The Board of Health will decide Dec. 4 if it supports a supervised injection site (SIS) to be located between Queen Street North and Ferguson Avenue North and bordered by Main Street East and Barton Street East. "There have been rising deaths, emergency department visits, hospitalizations and paramedic responses related to drug use," states a needs assessment and feasibility study by Hamilton Public Health Services in partnership with McMaster University. "In particular, harms from opioid use are a growing urgent concern among the community." [continues 800 words]
RE: Safe injection sites in Hamilton Drug addiction is a major problem. Just look at the statistics. Safe injection sites are all about health care and saving lives. Why not make it part of our health-care system and set them up in the hospitals? Bruce Scott, Burlington [end]
Mayor backs scheme, says time to get it out of alleyways and off railway lands A decision on whether to authorize a supervised injection site in Hamilton's core is expected to be made Dec. 4 by the Board of Health. The proposed site would be located somewhere between Main Street East and Barton Street East and bordered by Queen Street North and Wellington Street North. "It's high time we tried to get these injection issues out of the alleyways and the railway lines and make sure people who are doing drugs, do it safely," said Mayor Fred Eisenberger. "People are drug addicted and that's just the reality. Turning our mind away from that or sticking our head in the sand is delusional." [continues 785 words]
There are still some big questions and concerns to figure out before July 1 The end of Prohibition gave birth to the LCBO nearly a century ago. Now the legalization of marijuana is giving rise to the OCRC: Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation. That's about as awkward an acronym - if not anachronism - as the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. While today's LCBO has become a brand in its own right, it's fair to say the OCRC will never become a household word. [continues 762 words]
ONTARIO HAS NAMED Hamilton as one of the first 14 cities where the province will set up government-run marijuana stores by July 2018. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which will run the shops through a subsidiary, said Friday the stores will also be located in Barrie, Brampton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vaughan and Windsor. The LCBO said its representatives, along with staff from Ontario's Ministry of Finance, will meet with the municipalities in the coming weeks to determine the exact locations. The LCBO is posting updates on the process at lcbocannabisupdates.com. [continues 419 words]
The first legal sales of recreational marijuana in Canada are still months away, but some provincial premiers are already demanding a bigger piece of the action. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's opening offer this week to evenly split a 10-per-cent excise tax on cannabis sales between Ottawa and the provinces was quickly scorned by premiers such as Alberta's Rachel Notley and Quebec's Philippe Couillard. With heady visions of new revenue streams cascading into their provincial coffers, these and other premiers told Trudeau the provinces will bear most of the costs of legalizing cannabis. Hence, they deserve most of the tax dollars that will come with it - not just half. [continues 405 words]
A burgeoning pot-growing industry stands to steamroll prime farmland in Hamilton if the city isn't prepared to fend it off, Coun. Lloyd Ferguson warns. "This scares the living daylights out of me," the Ancaster councillor said during Tuesday's planning committee meeting. Ferguson, who's not on the committee, attended to ask planning staff whether the official plan and zoning regulations barred such entrepreneurs from setting up operations larger than 2,000 square metres. He said one applicant wants to set up a 200-acre facility in concrete bunkers on Greenbelt land, undercutting the purpose of the agricultural and wooded buffer zone. Ferguson said "there's a clear difference" between growing cucumbers and cultivating marijuana for sale. [continues 152 words]
RE: Legalizing pot On July 1, 2018, I predict a storm, the likes of which we have never seen. It will go right across this beautiful country of ours leaving destruction. His name? Marijuana. Cost to us, significant. With the government it's always about the money. Enough said. Lucy Gris, Binbrook [end]
It's difficult to analyze the impact of Ottawa's coming marijuana legislation with studies and numbers and examinations of other jurisdictions. This is the type of social legislation that sparks emotions that can't be allayed with pie charts. There are many thousands, if not millions, of Canadian parents worried this will make it easier for their children to find pot. On the other hand, an untold number of parents are likely to spark one up tonight to relax after the kids head to bed. [continues 680 words]
Provincial plan on selling pot is silent on the issue of cannabis-infused food products Ontario deserves some credit for forging ahead with guidelines for its legal marijuana distribution system, but the province's plan is filled with ambiguities and unknowns. Ontario is the first province to define how it intends to sell nonmedicinal marijuana to the public. About 150 stores across the province will be operated by a division of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO). Marijuana won't be sold alongside wine or liquor, but in separate stores, as was recommended by a parliamentary committee earlier this year. [continues 671 words]
Most Ontario residents don't want to see a free-for-all in dope sales My nanny never dealt me dope. That's why I'm flummoxed by the flurry of protests against Premier Kathleen Wynne, accused of being Ontario's nanny-in-chief in the matter of marijuana sales. Pushing dope isn't in the job description for normal nannies. And yet our premier is prepared to serve it up. Seems nanny is now a dirty word in our ideological wars, hurled at any hint of government regulation or red tape: Seatbelt laws, motorcycle helmets, gun registries, booze controls, drug restrictions - all evidence of the nanny state repressing and dressing us down, conspiring to inhibit our presumed right to imbibe and inhale in a haze. [continues 642 words]
OTTAWA - Youth health experts are warning the federal government that its push to legalize recreational cannabis should be accompanied by extensive public-education and prevention campaigns that spell out the serious risks of pot consumption on adolescent brains. Parliamentarians heard this message numerous times Wednesday during a House of Commons committee hearing to study the Trudeau government's legislation to legalize marijuana. Ottawa plans to legalize cannabis for adults 18 and older within 10 months, but some provinces and police services have warned the federal timeline is far too tight for them to properly prepare for such a major change. [continues 316 words]
On July 1 next year, a brand new MCBO store - that's Marijuana Control Board of Ontario - may open its doors for the first time in a neighbourhood near you. What the retail outlet is ultimately named, however, isn't as important as the fact that, as of last Friday, the Ontario government had given the public a sensible, workable plan for selling recreational marijuana in this province. That's a significant achievement. Canada is headed for a momentous change in less than 10 months when the federal government ends 94 years of prohibition and legalizes the recreational use of cannabis. [continues 410 words]
The Ontario government's move to distribute and sell marijuana in LCBO-type stores when it becomes legal - and to shut down illegal pot shops - has stunned Hamilton's pot shop owners, says Conrad Floyd, of the Hamilton Village Dispensary collective. "Hamilton has 30 shops ... We have created this entire industry and now the government is going to take it over," he said. "Everybody is just kind of shell-shocked." Floyd argues that not only is the private businessman and entrepreneur losing out, but so is the city when it comes to taxes collected at the governmentrun stores. [continues 425 words]
Advocates say one way or another, private dispensaries are here to stay The number of illegal storefront pot shops in Hamilton is growing even as police raids continue, municipal zoning charges pile up in court and the province moves to take over retail marijuana sales next year. The trend is prompting some councillors to call for a renewed police crackdown - but dispensary advocates and patients argue politicians should recognize the private marijuana outlets are here to stay - with or without a legal blessing. [continues 638 words]
29 incidents involving gunfire in Hamilton this year already surpasses total for 2016 There have been 29 shootings in Hamilton so far this year, surpassing last year's high of 22 and signalling a troubling trend of targeted, drug-related violence for police. "We recognize the increase in the number of incidents and are actively investigating them," said Hamilton police spokesperson Const. Jerome Stewart. "We believe the shootings have been targeted and we are concerned because one shooting is too many." [continues 448 words]
Ontario consumer advocate says overregulation will only encourage a black market The marijuana boom is going to hit Canada in 2018, but our country's regulators are going to stifle potential growth. Canada already has medical marijuana and it's been beneficial to the economy and more importantly, to patients. As a nation, we can't let regulators stifle the prosperity that could be generated with a legal recreational market. With legal marijuana on the horizon, it is important that regulators embrace the lessons we have learned from tobacco regulations. By lessons, I mean not repeating the same mistakes, and by mistakes, I mean branding bans and exorbitant excise/sin taxes. That's what regulators have mistakenly done with tobacco and it's what they want to do with marijuana. [continues 705 words]
The sheer magnitude of Ontario's opioid crisis became tragically clear with last week's revelation that 865 people in this province had died after overdosing on one of these powerful drugs in 2016. To put this heartbreaking figure in perspective, consider that in the same year Ontario recorded 206 homicides while motor vehicle collisions claimed 482 lives, which included 96 alcohol-related deaths. People and politicians are rightly committed to protecting human lives by preventing homicides, making roads safer and cracking down on drunk driving. [continues 392 words]
Student leaders running the University of Ottawa's orientation week events won't be allowed to administer the opioid antidote naloxone in the event of an overdose because of liability concerns if the injection were to go wrong. Hadi Wess, president of the undergraduate student union that runs the events, said the group initially planned to have about 100 student leaders carry naloxone kits to combat any overdoses that could occur during the parties and events that get underway over the long weekend. [continues 241 words]
A court injunction has shut down a vapour lounge not because it violated pot laws, but because it contravened a zoning bylaw. The City of Hamilton was successful in winning an interim injunction against Cloud Nine vape lounge because the space it occupies on the second floor of 275 King St. E. is zoned residential, not commercial. Meanwhile, a judge has ruled that the pot dispensary on the first floor of the same building can stay open. The order by Justice Thomas Lofchik was handed down Aug. 24, essentially giving the city half of what it wanted. [continues 454 words]
City's death rate among the highest An Ontario report warns Hamilton shows signs of having among the highest illicit opioid use in the province. It also flags a potential lack of addiction treatment services here compared to the high death rates found by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network. Its alert comes at the same time that city data shows July had the highest number of opioid-related 911 calls so far this year. "Hamilton has stood out as having one of the higher death rates in the province," said Tara Gomes, a scientist at St. Michael's Hospital and the lead author of the report. [continues 581 words]
Charges include fraud, bribery, trafficking A suspended Hamilton police gangs and weapons enforcement unit officer already awaiting trial for his alleged role in helping a drug trafficking organization is facing 16 new criminal charges. On Tuesday, Craig Ruthowsky was charged with bribery, two counts of breach of trust, two counts of obstructing justice, public mischief, two counts of weapons trafficking, fraud under $5,000, trafficking marijuana, perjury, two counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, robbery and two counts of trafficking cocaine. [continues 613 words]
The news that the federal government might lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers might seem to have come out of nowhere. After all, thanks to concerted efforts by lawmakers and police, the rate of impaired driving incidents in Canada dropped to a 30-year low in 2015. Yet despite this progress, there is no better time than now to consider tougher drunk driving laws in this country. In less than a year, a new kind of impaired driver could be menacing Canada's roads - one who just legally smoked marijuana. [continues 376 words]
Harm reduction workers follow correct belief relationships more important than rules Eight days of silence gives one sufficient time to engage in some of the contemplation and reading necessary for moving about more wisely in this world with our ever-increasing set of wicked problems. It also provides the space for taking in a book or three, a practice I neglect during my routinized day to day. So I have returned home from my retreat richer than ever, gleaning wisdom from both the silent and the written word. [continues 626 words]
RE: City seeks pot shop court injunction, Aug 10 When the ACMPR regulated medical cannabis program is considered in conjunction with the fact that more than 60 per cent of the Canadians who wish to access cannabis medicinally can't because of regulations which bear no connection to the objective sought by law, except to establish barriers, it stands as unequivocal proof of the commitment, logic, necessity, and viability of these cannabis shops. With legalization pending within the next year, the only thing flagrant about the idea of a court injunction "seeking compliance with municipal bylaws" and having the Hamilton police be required to enforce the order is the huge waste of court time and taxpayer funds that will be squandered pursuing this injunction. Wayne Phillips, Hamilton [end]
Horizon gave police evidence of high electricity usage A HAMILTON COUPLE caught with a commercial marijuana grow-operation in their basement had their charter rights violated when a hydro company shared evidence of their high power usage with police, but that privacy breach wasn't serious enough to overturn their drug trafficking convictions, the Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled. The case highlights questions about when and how police can access private data. One legal expert says it could have implications on how police access such data. [continues 492 words]
