Ontario is in the middle of an opioid crisis, Grey Bruce Health Unit program director Lynda Bumstead and Hope Grey Bruce member Dave Roy told Brockton council. Bumstead said one person dies every 10 hours in Ontario from an opioid overdose. In 2016, there were eight deaths in Grey Bruce linked to opioid overdose. "There are many, many more individuals suffering from overdoses and addictions every day in Grey and Bruce," Bumstead told council last week. Overdoses due to opioids killed more people in 2014 than car accidents, and the number of deaths due to opioid overdose continues to rise. [continues 550 words]
Despite a decline in area crystal meth operations the substance continues to arrive from large urban centres in other forms that are part of a larger drug problem. "It's coming in a pill form and it's also coming in and being mixed with other chemicals . . . for example in marijuana," said Barb Fedy, co-chair of the Grey Bruce Task Force on Crystal Meth and Other Drugs during a recent presentation to Bruce County council. "We recognize that we have more than just (crystal) meth to deal with; it's a bigger more complex issue. We're looking at a broader scope, multiple forms of drugs and recognizing that different communities have different forms of problems. But the strategies that we are building we want to use in all communities in Grey and Bruce counties." [continues 417 words]
Grey Highlands council has no objections for a proposed organic medical marijuana production facility near Feversham. White Wolf Organics will form part of the agricultural operation of Osprey Organics owned by Jamie and Sandy Gott. It will be a completely independent operation from the Ice River Springs business. The plan calls for the construction of a 20,000-square facility on property at Lot 16 Concession 12 in the former Osprey Township. Sandy Gott said the intent of White Wolf Organics is to grow and manufacture organic medical marijuana under license by Health Canada for use in alleviating pain and suffering. She and her husband Jamie do not support recreational marijuana use. [continues 370 words]
Information Sessions Held To Reassure Employees A needle exchange clinic will soon open at the Walkerton offices of the Grey Bruce Health Unit, which is located in the Bruce County administration building. Two information sessions were held last month to reassure county employees at the Park Street building that the clinic was safe. Similar needle exchange clinics began at the health unit and the Victorious Living Centre in Owen Sound last August, as well as at Grant's Pharmacy in Hanover. [continues 440 words]
West Grey council has asked municipal staff to come up with suggestions on how to deal with houses that have been used for indoor marijuana grow operations. Amendments to Bill 128 give municipalities the option to enter an agreement with police, who would notify the municipality of a house that's been used for a marijuana grow operation. The municipality would be bound to inspect the building and take what action is authorized by law to make it safe for further use. [continues 486 words]
Aim Is To Keep Injection Drug Users Healthy A needle exchange program will start in Walkerton this fall as part of a year-long pilot project that includes sites in Owen Sound and Hanover. The medical officer of health told Bruce County councillors on Friday that the project will offer counselling, testing and clean needles in an effort to keep injection drug users as healthy as possible. "There are certainly people who use injection drugs daily and still keep a job . . . the goal is to keep drug users healthy and show some interest in their health," said Dr. Hazel Lynn. [continues 597 words]
Three People Arrested, Police Looking For A Fourth West Grey Police uncovered a marijuana grow operation worth $21.2 million on a farm in the former Bentinck Township Sunday morning. About 9,000 plants ranging from four to six feet high were seized. A truck filled with approximately 1,250 pounds of marijuana bud in black plastic garbage bags ready for transportation was also seized. The grow area on a farm east of the Mulock Road on Concession 8 included three fields that covered about 25 acres, said one of the lead officers in the investigation. [continues 307 words]
A raid by police at two Grey County high schools was initiated by the principals as a way of promoting a safe learning environment, said a Bluewater District School Board spokeswoman. Four OPP canine units and several uniformed officers drawn from as far as Orillia conducted search and seizure operations at high schools in Meaford and Flesherton on Friday. Police raided the Georgian Bay Secondary School in Meaford at about 9 a.m. followed by a search at Flesherton's Grey Highlands Secondary School shortly before 11 a.m. [continues 335 words]
