'These issues have to be solved very quickly' when cannabis is legalized, expert says A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal case involving a gymnastics coach suspended after co-workers claimed she was "stoned" at work when she used medical marijuana raises a difficult issue for employers, according to experts. How do you balance the needs of an employee who requires medical marijuana with ensuring there is no "intoxication" at work, asks adjunct professor Mark Haden of the University of B.C.'s School of Population and Public Health. [continues 587 words]
A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal case involving a gymnastic coach suspended after co-workers claimed she was "stoned" at work when she used medical marijuana raises a difficult issue for employers, experts say. How do you balance the needs of an employee who requires medical marijuana with ensuring there is no "intoxication" at work, asks adjunct professor Mark Haden of the University of B.C.'s School of Population and Public Health. "The real issue is impairment testing, and that's hard to do right now. Urine analysis testing isn't useful, since marijuana can be detected for 30 days - long after any psychological or physical effect has passed," he said. [continues 521 words]
Provocative poet devoted his life to the marginalized Vancouver poet and social activist Bud Osborn, who helped found the harm reduction program VANDU (Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users), has died at the age of 66. Osborn, who lived in poverty himself and was a former drug addict, was outraged by the living conditions of people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and dedicated most of his life advocating for them, said longtime friend and VANDU co-founder Anne Livingston. "His poetry captures the raw horror of being abandoned, poor, cold and lonely," she said. [continues 380 words]
Doctor Says His Research Finds Many People With Traumas Tend to Have Substance Abuse Issues Before - Not After - an Incident When Dr. Gabor Mate began to investigate the medical literature about brain injury and addictions, he was expecting to find addictions could develop after acquiring a brain injury, but he discovered the opposite was true. The reality is many people who end up with a brain injury have substance abuse issues already, he said. "Brain injuries happen mostly to young men and they tend to have a history of substance abuse. When you look at the literature you'll find drug use tends to predate the injury," he said. [continues 592 words]
By Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun The drug-related slayings of four young people in the spring of 2009 are among the reasons cited by Abbotsford police for a 21-per-cent reduction in youth crime last year -the most dramatic decrease in four years. "We're talking about a demographic hit [in murders] and young people recognized it immediately," said police spokesman Const. Ian MacDonald. "They recognized there was a problem and hopefully those who were making law-abiding choices recognized they were on the right path and those who were thinking of crossing over didn't." [continues 243 words]
Anyone caught with ingredients used to create crystal meth and ecstasy may soon be charged with a criminal offence. Changes to the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act to make that happen received unanimous approval in the House of Commons this week. "Canadians from all four political parties this week rallied behind a bill that will protect our youth and make our people healthier," said a press release from West Vancouver Conservative MP John Weston, who introduced a private member's bill to amend the act. [continues 144 words]
An ambassador with the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association referred to the homeless and drug-addicted as "scum of the earth," an artist who posed as an ambassador claims. Jamie Hilder, who was training with the ambassador, said other ambassadors would routinely pressure the homeless to move along the city streets. Hilder was the first witness in an expected 15-day B.C. Human Rights hearing, brought by Pivot Legal Society, United Native Nations and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users against the association and the City of Vancouver for discriminating against drug addicts, the homeless and aboriginal people. [continues 474 words]
Donald Macpherson, Dr. Martin Schechter Will Receive Awards Friday at Conference in New Mexico Donald MacPherson was behind the scenes for many years, helping steer Vancouver's Four Pillars Drug Strategy, but Friday he takes centre stage when he receives an award for his efforts at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Albuquerque, N.M. MacPherson work for 12 years as the city's drug policy coordinator until stepping down last month. He developed and implemented Vancouver's drug policy strategy starting in 2000, with the pillars of prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement. [continues 450 words]
An estimated 1,200 people gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery Tuesday to celebrate what many pot smokers have come to regard as "Pothead New Year." There were no signs to indicate what the gathering was all about, but the smell of marijuana was an obvious clue. To smokers, 4:20 p.m on April 20 is the official time to light up a joint. Scott Hearty, manager of the marijuana cafe, Blunt Brothers, said no one knows for certain the reason for the time but he believes it was a code used by police in California years ago to signify a drug bust. [continues 97 words]
National guidelines on safe-injection sites for drug addicts will be available at the end of this month to allow communities to submit pilot-project proposals to the federal government, Health Minister Anne McLellan says. Mayor Philip Owen, who has lobbied for the past four years for federal government approval, said he expects many major cities, including Vancouver, will apply for approval. "It's a huge step. We haven't had Health Canada's endorsement until now. I just think we finally got the blessing from the minister of health to move this forward," Owen said Friday. [continues 740 words]
National guidelines on safe-injection sites for drug addicts will be available at the end of this month to allow communities to submit pilot-project proposals to the federal government, Health Minister Anne McLellan says. Mayor Philip Owen, who has lobbied for the past four years for federal government approval, said he expects many major cities, including Vancouver, will apply for approval. "It's a huge step. We haven't had Health Canada's endorsement until now. I just think we finally got the blessing from the minister of health to move this forward," Owen said Friday. [continues 741 words]
Police Have Failed To Reduce Marijuana Operations, Study Says Police have devoted significant resources to battling illegal marijuana-growing operations in B.C., but have yet to produce visible results, says a study by researchers at the University College of the Fraser Valley. "At best, it would seem, they have succeeded in some cases in producing a slight displacement of the problem from one area to another, or from one neighborhood to another," says the report, released Thursday. The project, described as the first comprehensive study of the justice system's response to marijuana-growing operations and marijuana trafficking in B.C., involved a review of all cases of alleged marijuana cultivation coming to police attention between Jan. 1, 1997 and Dec. 31, 2000. [continues 561 words]
Three years after an exhaustive study of drug overdose deaths in B.C., only one recommendation out of 63 has been implemented. But the report's author, former B.C. chief coroner Vince Cain, said he believes the report's recommendations including one that the province consider establishing a heroin maintenance program for addicts are as relevant today as they were when it was submitted. ``We're at mile zero,'' said Cain, who has since retired. ``Frankly, I'm disappointed. I thought it was off to a flying start, but . . . it got shelved.'' [continues 446 words]
