Use of hallucinogenic drug has recently sent at least three people to hospital The first signs of a problem were sounds of retching from her 15-year-old son's bedroom and a thump. Sandra and her boyfriend got up from their seats in the living room and ran to the Brantford teen's bedroom to find him having a seizure. "He was convulsing and twisting in a grotesque way," says Sandra, who asked that her real name not be used. [continues 744 words]
As Voters Ponder Prop. 64, Experts Cite the Effects Pot Can Have on Young Users. SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - Devan Fuentes made it all the way through San Clemente High School without drinking or using drugs. He vividly remembers the first time he smoked pot. He was visiting a friend at Occidental College, and decided the moment had come. "They brought out a giant three-foot bong," Fuentes told me the other day in a rustic coffee shop tucked into this town's historic Los Rios neighborhood. "I heard a lot of people don't get high their first time, so I held it in for a long time, one large hit. Immediately, I couldn't feel my legs." [continues 1001 words]
This Act Drives Users Back Towards Illegal Drugs and Alcohol, the Most Dangerous Substance of Them All With the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, ministers last week banned the sale or procurement of any substance that has psychoactive activity, regardless of whether it is harmless or even useful. The sole exceptions are alcohol, nicotine products and caffeine. The main justification for this draconian piece of legislation is to make it easy for the police and local authorities to close down "head shops", or at least to stop them selling so-called legal highs: drugs such as nitrous oxide; some synthetic cannabinoids, salvia, and some weak stimulants known as bubbles or sparkle. The act is based on the false premise that legal highs are responsible for up to 100 deaths a year, when in fact the true number is fewer than 10. Media hysteria about the use of nitrous oxide by a few footballers and a dislike of young people doing something different from their parents has also played a part. [continues 735 words]
Critics of Law Say Trade Will Simply Shift Underground Whipped Cream Chargers May Come Under Suspicion The blanket ban on the trade in legal highs which comes into force today is expected to end their sale through high street "head shops" and UK-based websites almost overnight, police and trading standards officers have said. But there are fears that the trade in new psychoactive substances (NPS) as they are officially known will move underground to illegal street markets and the darknet, the network of untraceable and hidden websites. [continues 886 words]
THE stalled Medical Innovation Bill, which seeks legality for dagga as a medical therapeutic adjunct and greater freedom for its recreational use, will need significant surgery if it is to become law. The bill, tabled by the late Mario Ambrosini in 2014, went through Parliament unopposed, but has been wheel-spinning ever since. It is hopelessly bogged down - primarily over the liberalisation of dagga for commercial and recreational use. Charles Parry, director of the alcohol, tobacco and other drug research unit at the South African Medical Research Council, says that before medicinal dagga can be made more widely available - for conditions, such as chronic pain, in which the evidence of benefit is strongest - policy makers will need to consider issues such as safe supply and regulation. [continues 773 words]
Can a Higher Perspective Change Your Mind About Art? When a major movie or new album comes out, critical consensus snowballs into cultural consciousness and soon enough we find ourselves saying things like, "I haven't seen that, but I know it's trash." We all know how we're supposed to feel about certain pieces of media, often without even seeing or listening to it. But I wanted to see if I could break free from the zeitgeist-with the help of some OG Kush. [continues 635 words]
Gonzo Nieto and the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy Aim to Change Global Drug Policy "I experienced my own death," said Gonzo Nieto. It was the summer before he was leaving for university. Taking his parents car and picking up a few friends, they went to the local head shop and bought a bong, a torch flame lighter and a bag of Salvia. Salvia Divinorum, is a plant that when smoked leaves a person in a haze of hallucinations. It's often the choice for people experimenting because until recently, it was been legal to buy from head shops. [continues 857 words]
Next February, the Psychedelic Plant Will Find Itself on a List of Controlled Drugs A potent psychedelic herb will soon be outlawed to sell, export or produce, but will remain legal to simply possess, the Sun has learned. Salvia Divinorum is a species of sage smoked or chewed by users to produce short-lasting but powerful visions used ritualistically by native groups in regions of Mexico, where the plant originates. It's also "widely touted as a legal hallucinogen on the Internet, and has also been reported to be used as an alternative to illicit drugs among adolescents and young adults," according to Health Canada. [continues 303 words]
Mother of 17-year-old drug addict discusses problems with system * Names have been changed to protect the identity of the youth and his family. * This story deals with graphic subject matter and may not be suitable for all readers. It's a mother's worst nightmare, getting the call saying her child was severely injured, or worse, dead. That is what Cathy experienced earlier this month when her teenage son called her unexpectedly. "I knew something wasn't right because my phone was vibrating differently, not like a text message," Cathy told The Compass at her home last week. "It was Steven. He said, 'Mom I'm in trouble. I tried to off myself.'" [continues 969 words]
Evidence, textual and physical, about the Bard's indulgence. Wanna know how William Shakespeare was so far ahead of his time in regard to wondrous wordplay and wildly imaginative scenes and sonnets? Well, it could be that the loquacious Bard was hitting the bong! According to a recent report in The Independent, forensic analysis of 400-year-old fragments found cannabis residue on pipes and stems scattered on Shakespeare's property. A team from the Institute of Evolutionary Studies in South Africa conducted a chemical analysis of the 17th-century artifacts, excavated in 2001, from Stratford-on-Avon, and found marijuana on eight of 24 clay samples on the grounds, including four pot-positive pipes from his own garden. [continues 664 words]
This story is Part 1 of 2 surrounding the issue of synthetic cannabinoids and their local availability A local store connected to the sale of a synthetic cannabinoid has fallen into a grey area of Canadian law. River City Cigars, located on Westpark Boulevard in Fort Saskatchewan, has been selling "Spirit 420," a "herbal incense" - the brand of which was connected with synthetic cannabinoids in a March 2013 investigation in Medicine Hat. "Cannabinoids originate from marijuana. These are synthetic cannabinoids that are basically made in a lab," said Bradley Mitchelmore, a clinical assistant professor with the University of Alberta's Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. [continues 1081 words]
Re: "Medical pot tests marketed," Dec. 24. Hurrah for such a good piece of journalism reporting on the important work of Victoria-based Compassionate Analytics, pointing out that marijuana contains two active ingredients, THC, which attracts recreational use, and CBD, the medicinal part of the plant, used as an effective painkiller. Only good can come from such knowledge. We should support the production and sale of marijuana high in CBD and low in THC. Such sales should be legalized and not provide the user with a criminal record of any kind, and thereby allow persons in pain much needed relief without problems with the law. [continues 117 words]
TODAY, June 26, is the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The day was designated as such by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly through Resolution 42/112 dated December 7, 1987. In declaring such, "(T)he General Assembly recognized that despite continued and increased efforts by the international community, the world drug problem continues to constitute a serious threat to public health, the safety and well-being of humanity, in particular young people, and the national security and sovereignty of States, and that it undermines socio-economic and political stability and sustainable development." [continues 564 words]
It's a new chapter in the War on Drugs. Police, courts and the state forensic laboratory say they are dealing with more cases involving synthetic cannabinoids and other designer drugs since the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection passed regulations banning fake marijuana, bath salts and salvia last year. The case of Souhail S. Elkhoury, owner of Corey's Petroleum convenience stores in Groton and East Lyme, is one of the first synthetic marijuana cases on the New London Superior Court's major crime docket. [continues 1300 words]
RCMP speculates the difficulty in detecting them in workplace tests could be behind their popularity The rise in popularity of synthetic drugs in the province is the top concern for an RCMP officer tasked with drug and organized crime awareness. The rise in popularity of synthetic drugs in the province is the top concern for an RCMP officer tasked with drug and organized crime awareness. And those drugs include a variety of the highly addictive substance known as bath salts. "Absolutely, because there is not enough known about some of them," said Sgt. Stephen Conohan, the RCMP provincial co-ordinator for drugs and organized crime awareness, and the lead instructor on clandestine drug labs. "Minute quantities can cause very adverse reactions." [continues 1127 words]
NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY - It's on the street, it's dangerous and it's legal. It's called salvia divinorum, and comes in different strengths. There is "standardized" salvia and there is "extreme" salvia that says "horse killer" on the package. But there are many other forms. "It is called 'horse killer' because of its extra ordinary power and deep trip," it says on the back of the package. Though packages say the product is for incense only, on the street people are smoking it like marijuana. [continues 665 words]
An apparent reluctance to outlaw the hallucinogenic herb salvia could mean we are learning something from expensive, wasteful and ineffective attempts at controlling soft drugs. Prohibition and the mockery the Roaring Twenties made of it are still the prime example, with marijuana laws a close second. Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive variety of salvia, a type of sage that is part of the mint family. It causes a short but intense hallucinogenic experience. There have been sporadic campaigns to add salvia to the federal Controlled Substances Act. Health Canada two years ago suggested the herb could be declared a Stage III drug under the act along with LSD and mescaline. That would be one stage lower than marijuana and one higher than steroids and most barbiturates. Stage III status would make it illegal to have, sell, cultivate or produce salvia divinorum. [continues 278 words]
It's on the street, it's dangerous and it's legal. It's called salvia divinorum, and comes in different strengths. There is "standardized" salvia and there is "extreme" salvia that says "horse killer" on the package. But there are many other forms. "It is called 'horse killer' because of its extraordinary power and deep trip," it says on the back of the package. Though packages say the product is for incense only, on the street people are smoking it like marijuana. [continues 647 words]
The Regulations Review Committee postponed action Tuesday on changing marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug as it prepares to legalize the drug for medical purposes. Approving the regulation is one step toward legalization, but some members of the committee felt they didn't have enough information to take a vote so it was postponed until next month. Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said he's concerned about approving a regulation that would put Connecticut at odds with federal laws and regulations regarding marijuana. [continues 374 words]
Great reporting on the dangerous synthetic marijuana called The Izms. Good news not seeing advertisements for this chemical concoction in stores anymore. I am concerned that now that they have been kicked out of stores, they will go underground, making policing very difficult. Salvia Divinorum, an ancient natural legal plant, is also out there in stores and is even more dangerous. Combating these drugs will require a lot of expensive police resources to be paid for by tax dollars. The government should legalize and tax marijuana the same as alcohol and tobacco to pay the cost of fighting drug criminals. Joe Potter St. Catharines [end]
