Frustrated by the high relapse rate of traditional addiction treatments, scientists are working on a strategy that recruits the body's own defenses to help addicts kick drug habits. The new approach uses injected vaccines to block some addictive substances from reaching the brain. If a vaccinated addict on the path to recovery slips and indulges in a drug, such as tobacco or cocaine, no pleasure will result. "You still have to mentally say to yourself, 'I'm not going to do this,' but it's so much easier to say it when you know if you light a cigarette, you're not going to get any pleasure out of it," says Stephen Ballou, a 56-year-old banker who got a nicotine vaccine in a 2007 clinical trial to help kick his pack-a-day habit. He says he hasn't smoked since. [continues 1120 words]
Withdrawal Centre Slated For Rothwell Heights A proposal before the city to change zoning on a Rothwell Heights property to allow for an addictions centre has left some residents worried about safety. The zoning amendment would see a single, detached home at 1777 Montreal Rd. converted into a withdrawal management centre for 26 people with alcohol and/or drug addictions. The facility, which would house a maximum of 20 men and six women, would be staffed by two to three staff members at all times. [continues 424 words]
Paul Christie makes it a point to 'be real'. As a recovering drug addict, he dedicates his life to telling his very real, and very moving, story to high school and elementary school students across Ontario. On Nov. 7, Christie's fall/winter Be Real tour made a stop at Norman Johnston Alternate School in Blackburn Hamlet, where students got a chance to hear the no-holds-barred account of Christie's descent into drug use, and his inspirational recovery. At the age of 17, the Fort Erie native was arrested on charges of arson related to an incident 2 years earlier - he and a group of friends had broken into some houses looking for liquor, and had started a fire with the candles and matched they used. Christie was already using heroin and cocaine by the time he was imprisoned, and the years that followed would prove to be a downward spiral of drug use, jail time, violence and depression lasting over 20 years. After having previously failed at a suicide attempt by hanging, Christie was in the midst of a second attempt in 1999 when instead, something told him to put it off until the next day. When he awoke, he couldn't even recognize himself in the mirror. He was a changed man, and he has been clean ever since. [continues 295 words]
An increase in the number of kids trying drugs and sticking with them at an earlier age has Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School convinced that parents need help fighting back. The school has planned a drug information night for parents on June 7 to help pass along the early warning signs that their children might be trying to cure their troubles with booze or a bottle of pills. "We're definitely seeing more kids getting in trouble with drug use," said Jane Brown, a guidance councillor at Sir Wil. "Kids are starting to get into trouble as early as elementary school. A lot of the problem (cases) we see started in Grade 7. By the time they get to us they can have some pretty major problems." [continues 105 words]
The importance of parental involvement in reducing drug use cannot be overstated ("Parents must also work to keep kids off drugs," Editorial, Weekly Journal, Nov. 26). School-based extracurricular activities also have been shown to reduce use. They keep kids busy during the hours they're most likely to get into trouble. In order for drug prevention efforts to reduce harm, they must be reality-based. The most popular drug and the one most closely associated with violent behavior is often overlooked by parents. That drug is alcohol, and it takes far more lives each year than all illegal drugs combined. Alcohol may be legal, but it's still the No. 1 drug problem. [continues 117 words]
When should parents become concerned about drugs? (Sue Horrocks column, Nov. 19)? As grieving parents of a son who died at age 19 in 1993 after ingesting some street heroin, may we offer our comments? When America prohibited alcohol, thousands were poisoned by adulterated black market booze. When alcohol was legalized again, those incidents were drastically reduced. Today, our children are dying because of adulterated black market drugs. Let's finish the job we started when we ended alcohol prohibition, follow the principles enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and LEGALIZE ALL DRUGS. Alan and Eleanor Randell Victoria, BC [end]
Parents should be more concerned about the garbage that kids eat inside a McDonald's, not the "weed" they might smoke outside. Statistically we know that junk food and lack of exercise pose a much greater threat to Canadian youth and their health than all illicit drugs combined. We tell kids from an early age not to eat the stuff they find in bottles under the sink, then trust them not to. However, with drugs, especially cannabis, we tell kids all kinds of lies and propaganda, that they find out on their own is simply not true. This puts them in grave danger. [continues 240 words]
Police are fooling themselves if they think they have a chance of ever winning the "War On Some Drugs". People grow pot, import cocaine, and make ecstasy because it is lucrative, and it is lucrative specifically because it is illegal. The way to steal money from "organized crime", give police more powers of enforcement, reduce use, abuse, harm, and death, is to regulate all these drugs and tax them. If we want to stop this wave of "Al Capones" that are currently running the multi-billion-dollar annual drug business, we need to issue licenses and tax the people involved. It would not only make the police's job easier, their success rate would be higher. As it is, they are only catching about 10% of the drug activity. No one would go to a doctor that was only successful 10% of the time. [continues 161 words]
The battle to keep kids on the straight-and-narrow often includes a display case that's a smorgasbord of nasty things police have seized from the street. Marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and hashish -- once marketed to youth -- are now safely tucked behind glass like a museum exhibit, a visual aid that Ottawa Police youth worker Louise Logue uses to talk to kids about the dangers of drugs. She brings her showcase to high schools and universities, to show parents what is out there. [continues 1110 words]
Youth workers face a constant battle educating parents about teenage drug use. Child workers like Louise Logue with the Ottawa Police Service routinely sit on panels with addiction counselors, drug enforcement officers, school resource officers and school staff trying to educate every new generation that comes along. But it isn't just the kids they're trying to reach. A typical presentation includes reminding parents that they have an important part in the fight. Parents need to set curfews. There's no need for a 12-year-old to be out at 11 p.m. That's one thing police are always wondering about: why are the kids out so late? And, where are the parents? [continues 458 words]
Two Addicts Share Their Stories Josh's big moment came when he woke up in jail, again, and just assumed he was in the drunk tank for public intoxication. Turned out it was for assault, times two, and the police now had his picture and finger prints. For Chris, the realization that there had to be something better to life than sitting around a basement apartment getting stoned while his wife and infant child were out of the house was what turned his life around. It happened too late, however, to save his marriage. [continues 1001 words]
With the Weekly Journal dedicated to providing its readers with informative and pertinent information regarding drug use among teens and adults in our community, it seems only fitting that we address the issues from the perspective of parents. The purpose of these articles will to explore the issues, discuss when parents might want to seek outside support and discuss available resources. Not being a drug addiction expert, I consulted with the available resources, particularly the Dave Smythe Youth Treatment Centre. Statistically, we know that teens experiment with drugs particularly marijuana (weed) and hashish. By the time they have started high school most youth have been offered a joint and many have tried it. The dilemma is when should parents be concerned, what should they do and when should they seek professional help. [continues 312 words]
Police Have More Variety To Take Off Streets Old standbys like marijuana, cocaine and LSD are still the escape of choice for many, but a new generation has adopted a whole new generation of pills -- including ecstasy and the date rape drug. White pills. Purple pills. Prescription pills. Pills like ecstasy smell like licorice and give the users who take them the urge to hug everything in sight. Then there's a capful of salty-tasting stuff to wash it down. Maybe it's been labeled as "fire water" or "Liquid Ecstasy." These days, there's a very real chance it could be a concoction of degreasing solvent or floor stripper mixed with drain cleaner that's sold as GHB - - the date rape drug. [continues 1183 words]
