Amsterdam, Vancouver ... Ottawa? Dr. Lynne Leonard at the University of Ottawa is finding herself in the spotlight as she prepares to head a study looking at the possibility of a safe-injection site for the city. Seems Ottawa has a drug problem, a big one. One-fifth of the city's addicts are HIV-positive, and three-quarters have hepatitis C-the highest provincial rates, according to Leonard, a research scientist and assistant professor of community medicine at the university. There's anywhere from 3,500 to 5,500 intravenous drug users in Ottawa, she said. And every case of HIV costs the taxpayer $150,000 in medical costs alone. [continues 91 words]
A Roundup Of Local News Who's on crack? Saying that he questions the legality of handing out free crack pipe kits at several clinics and organizations in Ottawa (which already hand out free needles to drug users), police chief Vince Bevan said he was taking his concerns all the way to the top. He is now waiting for a legal opinion from the federal Crown prosecutor about whether charges can be laid against anyone connected with the city's distribution of crack kits. [continues 199 words]
So, it's official. Canada has gone to pot. In a speech last week, George W. Bush outlined the nations on his list of illicit drug producing countries. Although Canada's not as bad as Pakistan, Colombia and Jamaica, Bush was "concerned" about our lax marijuana laws and the fact that more Canadian pot was getting into the States. All this even though the White House admits that most of the hard drugs that make it into Canada come from the United States. That same week, a whole spate of stories with "Canada" and "marijuana" as keywords just happened to make headlines. Frontline offers some examples. [continues 252 words]
