A mobile supervised drug-use service is being considered for Kamloops. Locations and stops would be determined based on overdose and substance-use data, as well as feedback from those who would use it. The Interior Health Authority wants feedback from the public. Input can be submitted online at interiorhealth.ca. Search for "Supervised Consumption Services," which is located under Medical Health Officers under the "About Us" tab. Feedback must be submitted by Dec. 15. Health Minister Terry Lake said the service is needed because it saves lives. In all of 2015, Kamloops had seven overdose deaths. By the end of October this year, there had been 31 such deaths. [continues 340 words]
Opioid crisis draws attention to supervised drug-use sites, but Manitoba's not interested - so far A DECADE ago, fentanyl, the killer synthetic opioid that can be 100 times more potent than morphine, was a relatively unknown drug. Today, it's everywhere - and it's at the heart of a national crisis claiming the lives of hundreds of Canadians. In Manitoba, at least two dozen people have died from opioid overdoses in 2016, nine confirmed to be caused by or related to fentanyl. It's a dangerous drug that many people don't even know they're taking: it's often showing up in other illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin. [continues 1262 words]
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A group pushing to legalize medical marijuana in North Dakota is making a last-minute advertising push thanks to a surprise donation from a national organization, North Dakota Compassionate Care, which is sponsoring an initiated measure on the state's ballot, quickly organized the ad campaign after receiving $15,000 last week from Drug Policy Action, said group spokeswoman Anita Morgan. DPA is the political arm of a group that advocates for the overhaul of drug laws. [continues 282 words]
Drake Smith knew he was going to overdose. He was in a bathroom downtown. His friends had told him to only do half a hit, but if you only do half, he said, you can't get the same rush. So he did the whole thing. The heroin was laced with fentanyl, an opioid up to 100 times stronger than heroin. It doesn't take much to overdose. A dose the weight of a grain of sand can bring on a heroin-like high. A dose the weight of two grains of sand can kill a healthy adult. [continues 1191 words]
There's an addiction crisis: Morality has no place here. This is a health issue. Period. As Hamiltonians begin to debate the possibility of introducing safe injection sites in our city, it is important to understand that Canada and the United States are in the grips of an addiction crisis like we have never seen in our history. This problem is complex; it is not going to go away easily, and it is not going to be defeated by punishing addicts. [continues 758 words]
BOSTON - The surge in deaths from drug overdoses has become an unexpected lifeline for people waiting for organ transplants, turning tragedy for some into salvation for others. As more people die from overdoses than ever before, their organs - donated in advance by them or after the fact by their families - are saving lives of people who might otherwise die waiting for a transplant. When Dave and Roxanne Maleham got the call in June that they had long dreaded - that their son, Matt, 38, was on life support after overdosing on heroin and fentanyl - they talked about donating his organs. [continues 1432 words]
Columnists Brent Stafford and Garth Mullins battle over the issues of the day. The Duel Prescription heroin for addiction treatment in B.C.? It's about time As hundreds die from fentanyl overdoses, Health Canada has ended Harper's ban on prescription heroin. And it's about time. There's a fatal overdose every 12 hours in B.C. Over the years, I've had to resuscitate four people and known dozens who've died. For people deep in addiction, medical treatment with heroin is much safer than adulterated, often-lethal street drugs. It reduces harm to the community too. [continues 342 words]
People who buy pot from medical marijuana dispensaries can still be charged criminally, even though the City of Victoria has implemented regulations for the storefronts, warns a local defence lawyer. Last month, Chantelle Sutton represented a Victoria man who bought marijuana at a local dispensary in August 2015. After a brief trial, Leslie Ian Hall was convicted of possessing marijuana. But Hall was handed an absolute discharge when the judge found Hall honestly believed he could legally buy marijuana with a doctor's prescription and his membership with the Vancouver Island Compassion Society. [continues 460 words]
A bright yellow bin, about the size of a mailbox but taller, is now positioned on the edge of the Junction Creek trail near Hnatyshyn Park. The sunny hue, however, belies the gravity of its contents and the issue it's mean to address. The receptacle also boasts a biohazard symbol, and is there to contain used drug needles that might otherwise be left on the ground and cause a prick wound and possible infection. It appeared within the last week, and in the wake of concerns raised in late July about the dangers of discarded syringes. [continues 466 words]
Hamilton will join the vanguard of Ontario cities studying whether to give drug users a legal, supervised site to inject opioids such as heroin. The board of health voted Monday to study supervised injection sites - so long as the cost fits within the 2017 budget. But the panel asked for emphasis on public consultation in areas that could host such a centre. The vote was one of several Monday that will move the city from laggard to provincial pioneer in public health "harm reduction" strategies, including a decision to offer free, clean crack pipes and potentially expanding distribution of anti-overdose kits. [continues 607 words]
In the discussion about Canadian drug policy, the unspoken question is: Why should we take care of drug addicts? I have had to ask myself this because my job is taking care of people with drug dependence and mental illness in the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver's notoriously drug and disease-ridden inner city. What does society gain from assisting people who engage in illegal activity, who bring their diseases and, with increasing prevalence, their death, upon themselves? I am a McGill and UBC-trained family and emergency physician, and have practised in Canada, the United States and West Africa. I have delivered babies, treated trauma victims, managed chronic disease, and comforted dying people. [continues 1815 words]
Re: "Drug scourge devastating our city and nothing is being done," Chris Nelson, Opinion, Aug. 25. Thanks for Chris Nelson's excellent column, which raises important issues. Firstly, it is outrageous that it has taken 17 months for ASIRT to release its findings in the shooting death of Anthony Heffernan. I do understand why prosecutors declined a criminal prosecution of the policeman involved, as success would require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. On the other hand, no such requirement is necessary for city police to immediately fire the officer. If CPS wants to "protect and serve," this should happen immediately. [continues 121 words]
RECENTLY I MET a man in Phoenix who told me that being diagnosed with cancer had made him happy. "How could this be?" I asked him. He told me having cancer meant he would likely need surgery, which in turn meant more prescriptions for the pain pills to which he had become addicted. He had started using prescription painkillers when he was young. Over the years, addiction hijacked his brain, compromising his health, altering his reasoning, and leaving broken relationships and deferred dreams in its wake. [continues 836 words]
Advocates Say Clean Paraphernalia for Inmates Will Curb Blood-Borne Illness Rates in Prison, but Correctional Staff Say They're Unsafe The availability of illicit drugs in B.C. prisons underscores the need for needle exchanges to curb the transmission of blood-borne illnesses behind bars, civil liberties advocates say, but correctional staff are strongly opposed to the idea, arguing that the increased availability of clean needles could do more harm than good. Marijuana is the most commonly seized intoxicant from federal prisons in British Columbia, with 225 seizures from eight sites between January, 2010, and June of this year, according to records obtained by The Globe and Mail under freedom of information legislation. [continues 582 words]
Medical marijuana dispensaries and users getting mired in new regulations Growing your own dope just got a little easier. Sure, there's all kinds of legal mumbo-jumbo, fire and zoning codes and doctor's notes to obtain, but technically, the federal government just gave medical-marijuana users the green light to grow their own pot. After federal court Judge Michael Phelan struck down the previous Marijuana for Medical Purposes (MMPR) legislation in February, which barred medical marijuana patients from growing their own cannabis (which they could under the previous Marijuana Medical Access Regulations), he gave the newly-elected Liberal government six months to create new medical marijuana laws. [continues 967 words]
ALDERVILLE - A marijuana dispensary appears to be the first of its kind in Northumberland County. The store is called South Shore Wellness - Full Service Cannabis Dispensary and is located at 8987 on Hwy. 45 in Roseneath. The store has been open for approximately two months at the location and after a recent visit by Northumberland Today, it seems business is flourishing. It is located in an area where there is another store which would be for this type of product including a hydroponic store. [continues 482 words]
Drug-user support groups set up temporary, illegal SIS to aid with OD crisis A small tent pitched in Surrey on Wednesday symbolized the desperate measures being taken to end the ongoing overdose crisis killing drug users across B.C. In an act of rebellion, drug-user support groups established an illegal, temporary supervised-injection site (SIS) in the city ahead of income-assistance payments Wednesday. Two weeks ago, Fraser Health responded to 36 non-fatal overdoses in Surrey within 48 hours. Research has shown overdose deaths in B.C. increase by 40 per cent during income-assistance weeks. [continues 800 words]
The Toledo-Lucas County Health Department will soon begin a local needle exchange program aimed at preventing intravenous drug users from contracting HIV or Hepatitis C. The health board voted unanimously Thursday in support of starting a program which will be administered at two local sites. Both the Talbot Center, a drug addiction recovery center in East Toledo, and St. Paul United Methodist Church downtown have agreed to be access points for the exchanges, said Kelly Burkholder-Allen, acting director of health services. [continues 553 words]
Maryland has recently enacted or proposed two work-arounds for the problem of Suboxone being smuggled into prisons. The first action, taking Suboxone off the Medicaid preferred drug list ("State action limits opioid addiction treatments," June 23), destabilized patients in recovery without reducing demand in prisons. Last week, Maryland correctional officials proposed a ban on prisoners receiving personal letters by mail. This proposal was later withdrawn, presumably as a response to criticism by the ACLU ("Maryland corrections officials withdraw proposal to limit inmate mail to postcards," July 21). [continues 275 words]
It is without doubt ironic that you use the word 'crack' in your editorial when hundreds of millions of Canadian dollars are thrown down the drain with regards to the so-called "harm reduction" in the form of freebies to the drug dealers and drug addicts. Like all things, it started with a simple idea of giving syringes to prevent the spread of hepatitis. Then they were advised by the drug companies to give them crack pipes, push sticks, mouth pieces, swabs, heroin fryers and rubber bands etc. Please note the rubber bands are medical rubber bands and the crack pipes are medical crack pipes. That way the drug companies make more profit. [continues 94 words]
