Editor, the Times: I do not know if this letter will see the light of day in the Abbotsford-Mission Times, because it contains corrections to the misinformation contained in a recent letter to the editor on medical marijuana, the tone of which seems to harken back to the time when the film Reefer Madness came out, in 1936. Firstly, the reference to "mother Mary" in the Beatles song Let It Be, is not, as stated in the editorial, "code words" referring to marijuana, but to Paul McCartney's mother, Mary McCartney, who passed away when he was young. [continues 248 words]
A police sniffer dog who helped to nail a host of cocaine smugglers has died from nose cancer -- amid fears it was caused by his work. Max the springer spaniel spent seven years sniffing out drugs for the Avon and Somerset force. He had to retire when hit with crippling arthritis in his hips, after which he was fitted with chariot-style wheels on his hind quarters. Max, aged nine, was diagnosed with nose cancer two months ago -- and had to be put down earlier this week. [continues 176 words]
Since the mid-1990s, Long Island's gang membership has soared. Activists like Hykiem Coney, a youth counselor gunned down three weeks ago outside a Uniondale nightspot, have worked to reduce those numbers. For those trying to leave gangs, the odds can be stacked against them. Gangs have an often irresistible pull -- ex-members say they become family. What's more, the violence associated with gangs moves from one generation to the next. Children of incarcerated parents are at least four times as likely to commit crimes as those whose parents are not in prison. Kevin Robinson, Victor Galarza and Sirvorn Edwards, all fathers and all ex-gang members, are hoping to beat the odds by participating in an unusual Nassau County program, the Community Service Corps, which offers jobs and counseling. [continues 553 words]
I agree with The Province's editorial that we need to give addicts an incentive to get off drugs and get immediate treatment. That's why, like Britain, Vancouver has an innovative drug treatment court program that recognizes many drug users are caught in a cycle of crime and imprisonment that doesn't address their underlying addiction issues. After reviewing its effectiveness, Ottawa and the B.C. government extended the program in April for another three years. The program helps non-violent offenders overcome their addictions and thereby, reduce criminal behaviour associated with substance abuse. [continues 52 words]
A public forum in Chilliwack this week underlined the importance of a co-ordinated, community-based attack on the growing menace of crystal meth. More than 800 people turned out to hear a number of speakers, including a 30-year-old recovering meth addict, who challenged the audience and organizers to take action. The forum was an important step in the fight against meth, an inspiration to other communities to take up the cause. The plain truth is that crystal meth kills. The statistics tell the story. Over the past four years, meth-related deaths in B.C. have increased tenfold, while the lives of countless other users have been permanently destroyed. [continues 422 words]
A public forum in Chilliwack this week underlined the importance of a co-ordinated, community-based attack on the growing menace of crystal meth. More than 800 people turned out to hear a number of speakers, including a 30-year-old recovering meth addict, who challenged the audience and organizers to take action. The forum was an important step in the fight against meth, an inspiration to other communities to take up the cause. The plain truth is that crystal meth kills. The statistics tell the story. Over the past four years, meth-related deaths in B.C. have increased tenfold, while the lives of countless other users have been permanently destroyed. [continues 426 words]
A public forum in Chilliwack this week underlined the importance of a co-ordinated, community-based attack on the growing menace of crystal meth. More than 800 people turned out to hear a number of speakers, including a 30-year-old recovering meth addict, who challenged the audience and organizers to take action. The forum was an important step in the fight against meth, an inspiration to other communities to take up the cause. The plain truth is that crystal meth kills. The statistics tell the story. Over the past four years, meth-related deaths in B.C. have increased tenfold, while the lives of countless other users have been permanently destroyed. [continues 410 words]
A public forum in Chilliwack this week underlined the importance of a coordinated, community-based attack on the growing menace of crystal meth. More than 800 people turned out to hear a number of speakers, including a 30-year-old recovering meth addict, who challenged the audience and organizers to take action. The forum was an important step in the fight against meth, an inspiration to other communities to take up the cause. The plain truth is that crystal meth kills. The statistics tell the story. [continues 430 words]
Talk-Show Host And Elected State Officials Deliver A Proposal To Allow Patients Access To Medical Marijuana ALBANY - Television talk-show host and multiple-sclerosis patient Montel Williams lobbied yesterday for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, joining state lawmakers who say the intoxicant is a credible pain killer. "New York needs to act now to make marijuana legally available for medical use," said Williams, a Manhattan resident who said he has been buying the drug legally through a state-sanctioned provider in California. "Every day that we delay is another day of needless suffering for patients like me across the state." [continues 371 words]
ALBANY -- Television talk-show host and multiple-sclerosis patient Montel Williams lobbied Tuesday for the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, joining state lawmakers who say the intoxicant is a credible pain killer. "New York needs to act now to make marijuana legally available for medical use," said Williams, a Manhattan resident who said he has been buying the drug legally through a state-sanctioned commune in California. "Every day that we delay is another day of needless suffering for patients like me across the state." [continues 385 words]
WASHINGTON - The Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said on Thursday that the Bush administration violated federal law by producing and distributing television news segments about the effects of drug use among young people. The accountability office said the videos "constitute covert propaganda" because the government was not identified as the source of the materials, which were distributed by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. They were broadcast by nearly 300 television stations and reached 22 million households, the office said. [continues 317 words]
The Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force, directed by the Blount County sheriff's and district attorney general's offices was busy in 2001, but stayed largely out of the limelight, officials said. Last year the task force served 49 search warrants and arrested 185 people in drug-related investigations. The agents seized more than $43,000 in cash. Monies confiscated in drug-related investigations are used to further Task Force investigations and to fund drug awareness campaigns such as the D.A.R.E. program taught to all 5th graders in Blount County Schools. [continues 386 words]
THE first American-style drug court in Scotland was launched in Glasgow yesterday in an attempt to clamp down on addicts and the crimes they commit. The two-year pilot scheme will deal exclusively with repeat offenders. Its aim is to help them lose their dependency and re-integrate them into normal society. The court will target addicts over the age of 21 who have shown a willingness to leave the world of drugs and have proven their ability to change through a series of rigorous screening tests. [continues 164 words]
A GLASGOW drug addict has died of the flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis, bringing to three the number of addicts in the west of Scotland who have suffered from the disease. The news comes a day after health officials issued an alert that the rare illness has been diagnosed among addicts. Greater Glasgow Health Board said it had discovered the drug user had died of the bug following a post mortem carried out on the behalf of the Procurator Fiscal. The health board had joined Argyll and Clyde health board in warning that drug users should not inject after routine checks discovered the disease among two addicts. [continues 298 words]
SAN ANTONIO -- For local law enforcement officers, 2001 has already been quite a year. In the past few months, two city policemen have been slain. Seven Bexar County officers and a suburban policeman have been accused of misconduct that ranged from drug trafficking to mishandling confiscated vehicles. Those woes, piled on top of long-standing community concerns about excessive use of force and discrimination within law enforcement, have rocked the 2,000 police officers and 435 deputies who patrol this metropolis. [continues 959 words]
