I want to comment about the piece where Ed deVries said that in Igloolik everyone is a pothead.

That is not true, there are lots of young people who I know who do not smoke pot. I am concerned that Igloolik residents will be labeled now as potheads.

I am myself a heavy user.

So please get that man out of Igloolik before he really screws us up.

Also, there is also another man who will need to be sent out of Igloolik too, since he sells joints that are .3 grams for $30. That man [not Ed deVries] is the worst offender, since he also buys girls for drugs and money.

[continues 86 words]

On the surface, the kerfuffle emanating out of Iglulik this past week over the comments made by Nunavut's Marijuana Party candidate in the last federal election are laughable.

Ed DeVries proudly announced to Northern media that he acquired a number of carvings and artifacts in his personal collection in exchange for marijuana.

DeVries also indicated a number of people in Iglulik are "potheads."

This has, of course, Iglulik Mayor Paul Quassa and hamlet council outraged.

So, we watch as a war of words erupts between Quassa and DeVries, letting ourselves believe, for entertainment purposes, there's no credibility issue on either side of the ledger.

[continues 400 words]

I read the article about our "busted politician." (Nunatsiaq News, July 28)

I get the impression that Rev. Eddy is more interested in paying the tax man $10,000 a month than he is in healing the community of its troubles. On top of that, Reverend Eddy, you certainly are not living a life of poverty.

You do not appear to be struggling too much, whereas your "patients" send their kids to school with empty stomachs. How can you say you want to heal communities, knowing fully that you are taking a family's income, child tax, and art work in return for a high. People sell everything they own, even their welfare purchases to be "healed" by you.

[continues 149 words]

Statements made by Ed deVries in your article "Busted pot politician plans carving giveaway" has outraged Igloolikmiut (Nunatsiaq News, July 28, 2006). The person interviewed by John Thompson is not originally from Igloolik, and certainly does not speak on behalf of Igloolikmiut.

Unfortunately, even though comments by Ed deVries as appearing in the article are not true and misleading, they have tarnished our community. They are also demeaning to the community and its people, while insulting Inuit who are strong and strive in pursuit of traditional culture, values and knowledge.

[continues 497 words]

This letter is in reference to the article that was featured on July 28, regarding the leader of the Nunavut Marijuana Party, who lives in my hometown of Igloolik.

He openly taunted community members and authorities about his very successful business as a drug dealer in the community and how he is serving the good of the community, in the sense that pot is therapeutic. He then goes on to say how he is contributing to our welfare town by buying carvings in exchange for cash or pot.

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Nunavut's leader of the Marijuana Party pleaded guilty to longstanding drug-related charges in an Iqaluit court this Tuesday.

Ed deVries pleaded guilty to trafficking marijuana and laundering the proceeds of crime, two charges he's faced since August 2004.

The charges stem from an RCMP investigation that began in December 2003, when police intercepted a filing cabinet containing $100,000 worth of marijuana in Montreal during a Canada Post inspection. The cabinet was bound for a company owned by deVries in Iqaluit.

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Property Offences Drop By Whopping 21 Per Cent

Even though Nunavut's overall crime rate declined by 11 per cent in 2005, you're still wise to lock your doors and watch your back.

That's because Nunavut still has the highest rate of violent crime in Canada, according to national crime numbers for 2005 released last month by Statistics Canada.

The numbers show that violent crime rates in Nunavut last year were about seven times higher than Canada's national rate.

[continues 363 words]

I read the article on Mr. Devries. ("Busted pot politician plans carving giveaway," July 28.)

What a joke. This is one guy who's been using his product way too many times.

I live in Igloolik and am not a pothead. I've used pot in the past of course but I grew up.

Igloolik has such strong traditional ways and values, but you wouldn't know it on a day-to-day basis because of the "potheads" overrunning the place.

[continues 376 words]

"They trade pot and money, and I get their carvings."

The leader of Nunavut's Marijuana Party said last week he wants to donate a big collection of Inuit carvings to the territory.

Ed deVries said he's acquired more than 600 works of art from Igloolik carvers, in exchange for cash, and pot.

"A lot of them are potheads. So they come to me, they trade pot and money, and I get their carvings," he said in an interview last Thursday.

[continues 826 words]

Whoever you are that is selling crack cocaine please read this letter. You are ruining my family members and countless others who were too naive to know that this drug has a powerful hold once it has a grip on you.

My sibling, who is young and very pretty, is going on a downward spiral thanks to your greed and ignorance. How dare you sell drugs to kids and ruin the future leaders of Nunavut.

Whoever you are, and you know who you are, either up here or in the South, you better think twice about what the drug is doing to our young people. Stop it! I hope that I will not face you, but instead that the RCMP will do the right thing and bust you now.

[continues 90 words]

But It Beats Driving While Burned Out

With snow melting off the roads in most communities in Nunavut and Nunavik, the season for all-terrain vehicles -- and horrific ATV accidents -- is moving into high gear.

Statistics show inexperience, speed, and intoxication lead to most ATV accidents. About 90 per cent involve young people as either passengers or drivers.

Alcohol and drug use also increases risks.

Drinking and driving are generally considered a lot riskier than driving under the influence of pot, in terms of having an accident or being caught by the police.

[continues 568 words]

Marijuana Harder To Find For Patients At Nunavik House

Complaints from Nunavimmiut staying at Nunavik House in Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace district have led to a dope bust at a corner store not far from the patient residence.

Police learned the dingy corner store was carrying on a booming trade in snacks, beer and $10 bags of grass -- to a mainly Inuit clientele.

"When you go to Paris, you go to see the Eiffel Tower; when you go to Nunavik House, you would stop by there and buy two grams [of pot] for 20 bucks," said Russell St-Germain of the Montreal Urban Police.

[continues 273 words]

Overall, The Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada estimates that booze, drugs and tobacco cost Canadians about $39.8 billion in 2002. That's 40 times the amount of money the Government of Nunavut spends each year.

That adds up to $1,267 per person:

* tobacco cost the most, at $541 per person; * alcohol cost $463 per person; * and illegal drugs cost $262 per person.

Out of the total costs to Canada:

* productivity losses made up 61 per cent of costs; * direct health care costs made up 22 per cent of costs; * policing costs made up 14 per cent of costs; * and other costs made up the remaining 3 per cent.

Source: The Costs of Substance Abuse in Canada 2002, Highlights.

[end]

Nunavut Pays Highest Price For Policing, Health Care Related To Substance Abuse

A national study of the cost of unchecked tobacco, booze and drug abuse has found that Nunavut pays the highest price per capita when substance abuse is left unchecked.

The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse found that the total cost per person of substance abuse in Nunavut is $2,184 per year.

That's not just the cost of buying booze, drugs and cigarettes. In fact, that's not included in the study at all.

[continues 518 words]

Upon hearing the disturbing news that the worst drug possible has made it to Nunavut, and even worse, to my home town of Pangnirtung, I felt obliged to write a letter to all those who live there, because, whether you're involved or not, you will feel the ripple effect strongly.

Nunavut is too young and too strong a territory to be destroyed by the epidemic that this drug will cause. Our youth have too much going for them to be drawn into a downward spiral because they are naive about this drug.

[continues 127 words]

"We shouldn't be extending ourselves. We should be focusing on the villages"

The Kativik Regional Government wants the Kativik Regional Police Force to scale back its southern drug-fighting operations to cut costs.

"That's the bottom line for us," said Michael Gordon, the former mayor of Kuujjuaq who is now the KRG's vice-chairman and member of the executive council. "There isn't enough money. We shouldn't be extending ourselves. We should be focusing in on the villages."

[continues 767 words]

Highly Addictive, And Hard To Recover From

The first time you smoke crack you will probably feel a rush to the head, a burst of energy, and a tinny vacancy in your brain, which may be refreshing. But the high in this case is barely worth it, because the next time you smoke the drug, you will already be well on your way to experiencing its negative effects.

Crack is a form of cocaine, "freebased" into a crystallized rock so it can be smoked. Crack users smoke the drug by heating it on a thin piece of tin foil, in a dented pop can, or off a broken light bulb, until it "crackles" and smokes.

[continues 330 words]

"The Demand Is Out There, That's For Sure"

Crack, a highly addictive drug made from cocaine, is now sold at $50 for a rock about one-fifth the size of a Smartie, on the streets of Pangnirtung.

A long-term resident of the community, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that cocaine is not new to the community, and neither is crack, which people have made before by freebasing coke.

What is new, she said, is that crack is being brought in for sale, not just for personal use.

[continues 536 words]

It's More About Survival Than Gangstas, Break Dance Veteran Tells Iqaluit Teens

Stephen Leafloor is known as an elder where he comes from, but he's revered for being able to spin on his back, rather than hunt caribou and seal.

Leafloor, better known as Buddha, has been a breakdancer for 29 years. At 46, he's a member of the Canadian Floor Masters from Ottawa, who spent the last week teaching kids in Iqaluit a thing or two about hip hop.

[continues 746 words]

CBC Debate Limits Speaking Time For Ed De Vries

The news came to Ed de Vries like a bad trip.

With no travel budget, Nunavut's candidate for the Marijuana Party planned to reach the ears of voters through the airwaves during the on-air candidates forum, hosted by CBC radio.

But last week he was told he could only speak for three minutes during the introduction, and three minutes at closing, if time permits. Unlike candidates for the other parties, he won't be allowed to field questions.

[continues 385 words]