Craig Gaudet plans to open health centre and dispense medicinal marijuana from Water Street location Craig Gaudet hopes to soon sell medicinal marijuana in Summerside's downtown. Gaudet has an ambitious plan for a vacant Water Street building, known to many as either the old Royal Bank or Purple Parrot building. His plans are for an unconventional health centre, which would include the province's first medical marijuana dispensary. "What we are opening is a whole health and wellness centre," said Gaudet. [continues 356 words]
Craig Gaudet hopes to soon sell medicinal marijuana in Summerside's downtown. Gaudet has an ambitious plan for a vacant Water Street building, known to many as either the old Royal Bank or Purple Parrot building. His plans are for an unconventional health centre, which would include the province's first medical marijuana dispensary. "What we are opening is a whole health and wellness centre," said Gaudet. "It is based on medical marijuana, but it is also going to have yoga, tai chi, massage, holistic healing, Chakara, herbalist healing - not just the dispensary." [continues 331 words]
Methamphetamine the main focus of Prince District JFO Drug Unit At first glance, they look like candy. In a small plastic bag, there are almost 500 tablets, similar in size and shape to PEZ candy. But what's inside that bag, marked as evidence, is highly addictive, a drug that, said Cpl. Andy Cooke, the head of the Prince District Joint Forces Operation Drug Unit, has become its primary focus. "Almost 75 per cent of the targets we are working on right now are related to speed," said Cooke. "Almost every single person we are investigating is linked into these in some fashion." [continues 465 words]
Speed leaves its users emaciated, strung out and paranoid. And its growing presence often leads to an increase in violent crimes, said Cpl. Andy Cooke, head of the Prince District Joint Forces Operation Drug Unit. "Everyone (involved with speed) starts carrying weapons. They take it up a notch and become that much more violent," said the veteran drug enforcement officer. "We had reports of drug collections over $200, people getting beat up and beat up bad. That is part of the drug world to begin with, but I think this just magnifies it." [continues 124 words]
Illegal Drug Overtakes Prescription Narcotics As Drug of Choice in Prince County Dr. Don Ling calls it worrisome, a drug that quickly takes users into its grip. Speed. Crank. Ice. Methamphetamine. It's become the drug of choice of Prince County addicts. "As a stimulant, it accelerates everything. It will speed up your heart and give you a rush," said Ling. "It is a tough drug. It is so prevalent, so available. It is fairly cheap and it is a grabber, there is no doubt about that." [continues 366 words]
SUMMERSIDE - A student arrested for drug trafficking at a Summerside school is a not an issue for the English Language School Board to comment on, says board superintendent Cynthia Fleet. In November, a 17- year old city teen was arrested inside Three Oaks Senior High School, found with 2.5 ounces of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. He now faces drug-trafficking charges and a potential two-year prison sentence. During the arrest, police seized pre-packaged marijuana and the drug in bulk, along with a digital scale used to weigh the drug, cash, cellphone and packaging supplies. [continues 257 words]
SUMMERSIDE - A student arrested for drug trafficking at a Summerside school is not an issue for the English Language School Board to comment on, said superintendent Cynthia Fleet. In November, a 17-year old city teen was arrested inside Three Oaks Senior High School, found with 2.5 ounces of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He now faces drug-trafficking charges and a potential two-year prison sentence. During the arrest, police seized prepackaged marijuana and the drug in bulk, along with a digital scale used to weigh the drug, cash, cellphone and packaging supplies. [continues 330 words]
Work must be done to help addicts before crimes are committed: Richardson Editor's note: This is Part IV in a series by the Journal Pioneer examining drug abuse in western Prince Edward Island. Part V will appear in tomorrow's edition. SUMMERSIDE - There is no easy fix to the underlying problem behind property crime - that of escalating drug use. It's a message touted by police and reiterated by Rev. Andrew Richardson, chair of Summerside's Community Safety and Crime Prevention Committee. [continues 1212 words]
Property is being stolen, homes are being broken in to and brazen crimes, including armed robberies, are taking place not only Summerside but across P.E.I. The crimes, said Summerside Police Service Chief David Poirier, are the direct result of increased drug use and desperation by those addicted to get money for their fix. This week, Ryan Wendell Cornish, of Summerside, was sentenced to six months behind bars for breaking into two city homes and stealing more than $10,000 worth of items, from rolled coins and a bicycle to a flat screen television. [continues 773 words]
The Province's decision to start its own needle exchange program, rather than fund one operated by AIDS P.E.I., deeply concerns Mark Hanlon. The AIDS P.E.I. executive director fears injection drug users that rely now on the "harm reduction" program for sterile syringes will be intimidated, even fearful of using a government-run service. "They trust us but they may not trust the government," said Hanlon. "Now what happens with those people? Is the government honestly prepared to handle an influx of people with HIV or hepatitis C? [continues 386 words]
Funding Also Going To Methadone Treatment, RCMP Street-Level Crime Unit The province is putting almost $1.4 million into getting illegal drugs off the streets and helping those battling drug addictions. In his budget Tuesday, Provincial Treasurer Mitch Murphy allocated $1 million to establish a youth addiction treatment facility and develop a youth addictions strategy. An additional $150,000 is going to the methadone maintenance treatment program and $212,000 to aid the RCMP's street-level crime unit. "It is a total program," said Health Minister Chester Gillan of the concerted effort by his and the Attorney General's departments to address addictions from the ground up. [continues 315 words]
Addiction Treatment Facility, Beefed-Up Policing And Methadone Program CHARLOTTETOWN - The Province is pumping almost $1.4 million to get illegal drugs off the streets and help those battling drug addictions. In the budget Tuesday, Provincial Treasurer Mitch Murphy allocated $1 million to establish a youth addiction treatment facility and develop a youth addictions strategy. An additional $150,000 is going to the methadone maintenance treatment program and $212,000 will aid the RCMP's street-level crime unit. "It is a total program," said Health Minister Chester Gillan of the concerted effort by his and the Attorney General's department to address addictions from the ground up. [continues 320 words]
CHARLOTTETOWN - Only weeks on the job, the capital police's new street crime unit has already stopped thousands of dollars in drugs from reaching Island streets. In two busts, the most recent Thursday morning, the unit seized crack cocaine, marijuana, Ecstasy, prescription narcotics and other drugs. Two adult males, two female youth and a male youth were arrested in Thursday's bust and jailed overnight. Each faces charges of possession of drugs for purpose of trafficking and possession of stolen property. [continues 194 words]
CHARLOTTETOWN - The shooting last month of Donagh resident Rae MacFarlane is believed to have been drug related, RCMP media relations officer Sgt. Richard Thibault said this morning. MacFarlane, 51, was shot more than once in his Donagh home in the early morning hours of Jan. 17. The man was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance with life-threatening injuries and later moved to an undisclosed location, believed to be off-Island. RCMP has indicated the shooting was not a random act and believe it may be connected to the execution-style shooting death of MacFarlane's brother Robert in 1997 in Halifax, N.S. The 34-year-old man was murdered by a Quebec hit man who was a police informant on the Hells Angels in Quebec. His murder was a contract killing. [continues 321 words]
CHARLOTTETOWN - Two major drug busts in the province in the past week may slow down the influx of illegal drugs to the Island but they won't completely stop people from trafficking, said Cpl. Ken Murray of the RCMP's drug awareness section. RCMP, along with the Summerside police, arrested 33-year-old Karl Robert Kenny of Augustine Cove Friday after searching his home and uncovering a marijuana home grow operation worth more than $75,000. Police seized 250 plants along with a large sum of cash and grow equipment. [continues 731 words]
