Fifty North Bay and area landlords have revived the Near North Landlords Association in response to the province's new standard lease form, which takes effect in April, and the legalization of marijuana later this year Landlords are concerned that, as of April 1, they won't be able to refuse a tenant who has a dog, explains group member John Wilson of North Bay. "If there is a fourth-floor apartment available for rent and the person who wants the place has a German shepherd and the building isn't pet-friendly we can no longer refuse him," he says. [continues 155 words]
When I walk downtown in a year or two, will I have my choice of one or more cannabis lounges? The idea of creating cannabis, marijuana or pot places where consumers can smoke in pleasant and friendly surroundings is being floated in Ontario. The government reportedly welcomes feedback. It's all very funny. governments at all levels have been making life very difficult for tobacco smokers. governments impose extremely harsh taxes on tobacco. Municipal governments impose so many limitations that smokers struggle to find a place where they can enjoy a cigarette. [continues 281 words]
Organization recognizes officer of the year North Bay police Const. Mitch Thomas is surprised how many people still get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. Thomas arrested six people for impaired in 2017 and was recognized during Tuesday's monthly police services board meeting as the Mothers Against Drunk Driving officer of the year. Thomas, who has been an officer for the past three years, said he still remembers the first motorist he charged with impaired. "It was a gentleman from out of town. We got the call just after the bar rush," Thomas said. [continues 213 words]
The North Bay Police Service's drug-abuse prevention program is no longer being delivered in local classrooms. Chief Shawn Devine said the long-running DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program has been cancelled and that efforts are underway to look for other ways of working with schools to provide education regarding drugs, bullying and similar issues. He said the decision to cancel the program was sparked by a loss of funding from local school boards that was used to help offset some of the costs of delivery. [continues 165 words]
The following is in response to the story Ontario introduces pot legislation with steep fines for illegal dispensaries. To the editor: This is a self-serving move by the Kathleen Wynne government to ensure illegal pot dispensaries don't cut into its pot revenues. Wynne seems to be making up rules on the fly, some of which will handcuff law enforcement. Trying to police the law that anyone can grow four pot plants, a gift to organized crime, be allowed to carry 30 grams of pot and only smoke the drug in their own homes will be difficult to enforce. [continues 92 words]
To the editor: I fail to understand where the federal government is going with its stand on marijuana. First, they said they are going to make it legal and will set up regulations on how to purchase it, as well as locations where you can buy it. Now I hear they are going to spend more than $300,000 to educate people about the negative health effects of using marijuana. I can appreciate their desire to do this, but isn't that like closing the barn door after the horses have got out? Wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to spend the money on education before they legalize it? I really don't believe the government has thought this through. But I believe it is a big smokescreen for a tax grab, as well as another ploy to try to get the votes in the next election. Gary Oswald London [end]
Charges against two men dismissed over unlawful strip searches by North Bay police Drug charges were dismissed against two men after a Superior Court judge criticized North Bay police officers for their "blatant disregard for Charter rights." Ontario Superior Court Justice Norman Karam presided over the pre-trial application last month that was brought forward by the accused - Ryan Fray and Raymond Oppong. Karam said the accused were unlawfully detained and strip searched, breaching their Charter rights, following an invalid arrest. [continues 810 words]
The legalization of marijuana in Canada in July 2018 gives the federal government an opportunity to bring communities - including Indigenous ones - into this lucrative sector in a big way. For example, Manitoba's Opaskwayak Cree Nation recently took a major stake in a medical marijuana company. OCN purchased $3 million in shares in National Access Cannabis, a privately held company that recently traded publicly for the first time. Private investors in medical and recreational marijuana are watching intently as the federal government unveils its plans for how pot will be legally grown and sold in Canada. [continues 465 words]
Many cases unreported due to naloxone distribution, says health official There's likely a large number of unreported opioid overdoses in North Bay. That's because the antidote naloxone is being distributed by pharmacies and front-line organizations to those struggling with addiction, as well as their friends and family members, throughout the community. Kathleen Jodouin, HIV education co-ordinator at the AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area, says her organization has had a take-home naloxone program in place for the past two years. And, she says, the drug, which temporarily reverses the effects of heroin and other opioid drugs, is frequently given out. [continues 602 words]
Which of the tri-towns is likely to get a government-run pot shop? The question may cause some argument in the tri-towns which is sometimes called Temiskaming Shores minus Cobalt. New Liskeard and Haileybury are now part of the City of Temiskaming Shores along with Dymond township. The towns appear to be happy partners while the township did not get much out of amalgamation except an increase in taxes. The province has announced it will set up a chain of government-run stores to sell marijuana. the pot shops will be protected from competition and anyone daring to sell what the customers want will be prosecuted or persecuted out of business. [continues 273 words]
There are a lot of very smart people in North Bay. It would be interesting to see if the bright lights here can find an opportunity hiding in the weeds to solve the opioid crisis. And I'm not referring to emergency funding injections or quick-fix policy. More than 700 health-care professionals urged the province this week to declare an emergency so more funding can flow to Ontario's front-line programs. Overdose prevention sites, they say, need a boost to stem the tide as deaths are mounting beyond even the HIV pandemic decades ago. [continues 651 words]
The following is in response to the letter Marijuana worse than tobacco, which appeared Aug. 15. To the editor, Letter writer Don Edwards asserts that cannabis smoking causes more lung damage than tobacco because "marijuana [contains] several more carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) than tobacco." With the exception of the active ingredients, cannabinoids and nicotine respectively, cannabis and tobacco smoke are almost identical. However, long-term studies of cannabis smokers have found that they are no more likely to suffer from lung cancer or COPD than non-smokers. In fact, some studies have found that cannabis smokers are less likely to experience lung damage than abstainers. [continues 150 words]
I was a volunteer for the Lung association for 30 years. We advocated to help smokers quit and pointed out the dangers of smoking tobacco products. I was president of the Ontario Lung association for two years and appointed to the Canadian Lung association for two years. During those years, I met many doctors who pointed out the dangers of tobacco to human health. Those same doctors told me that smoking marijuana was even more unhealthy because marijuana contained several more carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) than tobacco. [continues 117 words]
To the editor: In reply to Robert Sinclair's letter ("Gateway drug theory is flawed") defending the legalization of marijuana, and his refuting that weed may be a gateway to harder drugs, the National Institute of Drug Abuse, as late as April of this year, has stated that "an alternative to the gateway-drug hypothesis is that people who are more vulnerable to drug-taking are simply more likely to start with readily available substances such as marijuana, tobacco, or alcohol, and their subsequent social interactions with others who use drugs increases their chances of trying other drugs." [continues 240 words]
The following is in response to the letter Pot legalization questionable as drug deaths spike which appeared July 31. To the editor: Letter writer Simon Guillet rails against marijuana and conflates it with opioids and heroin. He obviously is not aware that marijuana has not caused an overdose death in recorded history. It's the "safest therapeutic substance known to man safer than most foods," wrote DEA judge Francis Young after hearing hundreds of hours of testimony. U.S. states that have legalized weed have had significant drops in opioid use and overdoses. So don't fear the weed, Canada, embrace it. You'll be much better off. Jeff Meyers Westlake Village, Calif. [end]
The following is in response to the letter Pot legalization questionable as drug deaths spike which appeared July 21. Dear Editor: I am writing in response to Simon Guilett's letter in which he proposes the gateway theory to drug addiction. His idea is that marijuana leads to cocaine and cocaine leads to opiates. This position has been disproven a number of times. Whereas, it is true that likely 98 per cent of opiate addicts began by using marijuana, it is also true that only two per cent or so of marijuana users go on to use opiates. [continues 126 words]
Efforts underway to establish a new needle exchange site in the city The North Parry Sound District Health Unit indicated in a release Friday that harm reduction services, including the needle exchange program, continue to operate in the community and that work is underway to find ways to further increase access. The release comes ahead of the closure at the end of the month of a key needle exchange site located at the Nipissing Detoxification and Substance Abuse Program on King Street. It's one of three exchange sites in the city. [continues 391 words]
Life for the police in North Bay is going to become at least a little more difficult. The city is going to lose its primary needle exchange program. Police Chief Shawn Devine has warned that this will put the public and others at risk. The Nipissing Detoxification and Substance Abuse Program is slated to close in September. The North Bay Regional Health Centre is cutting the program. The report carried some alarming or amazing statistics about needle exchanges. The ordinary citizen may wonder where or who are the people using all these needles. [continues 280 words]
Losing needle exchange program will be 'devastating' Losing the city's largest needle exchange program will put the public and police at risk, North Bay Police Chief Shawn Devine said Tuesday at the monthly police board meeting. Devine said the closure of the Nipissing Detoxification and Substance Abuse Program on King Street July 31, as it prepares to shut down in September, will impact community safety and well-being on many levels. "Losing the services is going to be devastating and will only lead to unsafe situations for the general public and our front-line officers," he said in his report to the board. [continues 240 words]
Activity driving up overtime costs, says police chief North Bay is seeing an increased amount of violence among people involved in the drug trade, forcing front-line officers into overtime, says Police Chief Shawn Devine. "We see a trend of a lot more violence between people within the drug culture that wasn't there before, whether it's because of the nature of drugs being used or whether the dollars involved are more substantial." Devine said violence related to the drug trade has escalated from physical harm to the use of weapons. The number of stabbings, for example, has increased over the past six months. [continues 244 words]
