Urge Federal Government To Keep It Open VANCOUVER - Supporters of North America's only sanctioned injection site for drug addicts say the facility is saving lives and curbing disease, but they fear that will not be enough to keep Canada's government from closing it. Vancouver's Insite facility gained international publicity when it opened in 2003 as a research experiment and health officials are anxiously waiting to hear if the Canadian government will extend its exemption from drug laws and allow it to remain open after Sept. 12. [continues 209 words]
Fran Koontz's article regarding her son's imprisonment for alcohol-related offenses is a masterpiece of denial. John is serving a sentence for drug and weapons charges. He began his destructive alcoholic behavior at 18, graduating to meth at 40. [He also had] multiple DUIs. Despite her repeated protestations that he is a nonviolent offender, hurting only himself and those who love him, he has shown no concern for others who may be on the receiving end of his drunken driving. [continues 92 words]
Schuylkill May Have 9 Deaths From Mix. Other Counties Gird For Cases A blend of potent painkiller and heroin that has killed hundreds of people in cities across the country -- including at least 70 in Philadelphia -- has hit the tiny towns of the coal region. Authorities say the mix of fentanyl, a fast-acting painkiller commonly used for cancer patients, and heroin, is suspected of causing the deaths of at least nine people in Schuylkill County, five of them in the small town of Tamaqua, in the past few months. [continues 1152 words]
A huge bust in York Region could have a major effect on the local drug trade. Last week, York Regional Police busted a massive drug trafficking operation, arresting 41 people and hauling away a huge amount of drugs, cash and weapons. The three-month investigation, dubbed Project Home, led to 152 charges against suspected dealers and drug buyers on charges including drug production, possession and trafficking. The seizure includes 700 grams of cocaine, 922 grams of marijuana, 1,116 ecstasy tablets, nearly 800 prescription pills, and 180 grams of Psilocybin (magic mushrooms). Officers also confiscated three guns, including a sawed-off shotgun and more than $60,000 cash. [continues 105 words]
Staffing Crunch Means Many Cases Are Not Pursued: Report The RCMP squad that tracks down dirty money and goods obtained through crime can't pursue the majority of cases it knows about due to lack of manpower, internal documents reveal. According to an internal evaluation obtained by CanWest News Service, for each case the Mounties' Integrated Proceeds of Crime (IPOC) unit chooses to tackle, "at least four or five others" are ignored because the manpower isn't there. "Many cases of missed opportunities were raised," reads the document, prepared by the federal government's internal auditing service. "All of the (officers in charge) were able to provide detailed reports of cases that had not been pursued, or for which the number of targets were limited to only a few when many more should have been pursued," it adds. [continues 359 words]
Tackling the Greater Vancouver drug problem requires a regional approach, a GVRD-led forum on drugs and crime heard Monday. Tom Hetherington, addiction services manager for the Pacific Community Resources Society, was among the presenters who says local plans are often unco-ordinated. "Problematic substance use crosses municipal boundaries -- all people are impacted by it," he said in an interview. "If one was to put a lot of pressure on the Downtown Eastside, those people will move somewhere --- they may move to New Westminster or Burnaby or Surrey." [continues 336 words]
The organization that runs Vancouver's safe injection site says it will keep it open --whether the federal government extends the exemption allowing the site to operate legally or not. "It would be like a war crime to not be allowed to continue," said Mark Townsend, a senior manager of the Portland Hotel Society, which runs the site. "If [the federal government] does not grant us the exemption to continue running, we'd be put in a difficult moral position," he said. "The evidence is crystal clear that this saves lives and reduces the appearance of AIDS and hepatitis C." [continues 600 words]
Solving the drug problem is no easy task. Some experts even say it's nearly impossible. But that isn't stopping local law enforcement officers from waging the battle every day on two fronts: enforcement and education. On the education front, District Attorney General Greeley Wells said getting to kids early in their life is important. Wells' office is involved in a statewide education presentation for middle and high school students that addresses one of the worst drugs in America's history - methamphetamine. [continues 564 words]
In 2005, there were 39 million people worldwide living with HIV, 4 million new HIV infections and just fewer than 3 million deaths because of AIDS. Four years earlier, the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS committed to substantial steps to reduce infections and provide treatment to people with HIV. Given the prevalence of HIV, as reflected in the statistics, has this commitment made a difference? Yes, but it is not nearly enough. In the past five years, for example, the number of people receiving HIV treatment worldwide has jumped more than 540 percent. Yet despite this expansion of treatment, only about one out of five people needing anti-retroviral drugs now receives them. [continues 776 words]
Health Officials Worry An HIV/AIDS Epidemic Is About To 'Explode' Among Natives, Writes Andrew Duffy Canadian health researchers are warning that the steady advance of HIV within Canada's native community shares some disturbing hallmarks with the epidemic in Africa. Statistics published by the Public Health Agency of Canada earlier this month show that natives accounted for nine per cent of new HIV cases in the country last year, even though aboriginals comprise just 3.3 per cent of the overall population. [continues 1974 words]
The News-Leader says that student drug testing is misguided and disturbing. So are the reasons it gave for opposing it. It cites the so-called failure of the DARE program as a reason not to test. That doesn't mean this also will fail. If that educational program failed, then why insist on more? Why not attempt to curb drug use in a different way? Why not try a way that puts students in a position where taking a drug test will affect their extracurricular activities? [continues 342 words]
VICOSA, BRAZIL - Here's a thought for today: BANG! You've been shot. Shot through the heart. Can you imagine it? Your body is warm as blood pours from it, but you feel so cold. There are screams. Someone tries to lift you, but all you feel is your last breath leaving like air from a punctured tire. Your eyes roll back. All goes black. And that's it. You're dead. Such a waste. The bullet wasn't even meant for you. Or maybe it was. It doesn't really matter. Such are the streets of Brazil, a place that gives perspective to gun problems in the Toronto and Hamilton regions. [continues 644 words]
Editor, Sometimes we in the Social Work field, whether that be addictions, child protection, employment services or any other of a wide variety of social challenges, may appear a bit cynical about society in general. This is due to the fact that every day we put on our shoes we enter the world with one single solitary objective: to assist others in solving their life's problems. As a result of my chosen field, which I love dearly, I sometimes fail to see the positive things that are going on with-in the community including what our kids are up to. [continues 509 words]
Dana Arthurs may not get the results she wants from the criminal justice system in dealing with a drug house in her Youbou neighbourhood, but she might get results through local bylaws. A meeting of about 65 people Sunday afternoon in the Youbou Hall was told by the RCMP that a bylaw in effect in some Lower Mainland cities might help in Youbou and other Cowichan Lake communities. Cpl. Brian Brown said he hasn't seen the details of the bylaw yet, but if endorsed by the Cowichan Valley Regional District or the Town of Lake Cowichan it could provide authority for agencies such as the fire department, a health inspector or even BC Hydro to get involved. [continues 616 words]
THE Australian Greens have dropped a controversial policy to study options to supply drug users with ecstasy and marijuana. Party leader Bob Brown said yesterday the party had backed away from the proposal after talking to drug experts. The plan to investigate the regulated supply of illicit drugs was ridiculed by critics in the lead-up to the 2004 federal election. It called for "the controlled availability of cannabis at appropriate venues" and "investigations of options for the regulated supply of social drugs such as ecstasy in controlled environments". [continues 209 words]
NAGPUR: After a series of suicides by debt-ridden farmers in Maharashtra, those in Vidarbha region are making unique demands to the authorities to draw the government's attention to their plight, sources said. While some farmers have mortgaged the entire village, others are trying to sell off their kidneys or seeking permission to cultivate marijuana to repay debts and run their families in view of heavy losses due to crop failure. Farmers from Naigaon in Dhamangaon taluka of Amravati district were seeking licences for cultivating Marijuna and running illicit liquor dens to cover their agricultural production cost, according to sources. [continues 159 words]
New President Pledges to Legalize Coca Production LA PAZ, Bolivia - As former coca grower Evo Morales prepares to take the oath of office as Bolivia's new president on Sunday, a battle over the U.S.-funded anti-drug efforts in this impoverished, cocaine-producing country is taking shape. Morales has promised to fight production of the drug, but protect the cultivation of its main ingredient, coca leaf, which traditionally is chewed to increase stamina and suppress hunger in the high-altitude Andean country. [continues 379 words]
"Scott, if you can hear me, open your eyes," said the San Jose fireman to the man handcuffed to the gurney. "It's the fire department. Open your eyes. Scott, can you open your eyes for me?" It was a poignant moment, a last appeal for consciousness, before an ambulance took Scott James Marino from the Santa Clara County Jail to Valley Medical Center. The time was about 9:10 p.m. on Aug. 21, 2004. The hulking 33-year-old Marino never opened his eyes for the fireman. He never regained consciousness. Six weeks later, he died at VMC. [continues 1127 words]
A methamphetamine registry that alerts the public about the presence of a previous offender sounds like a good measure of protection but will require the state to do more than just require registration. House Speaker Todd Hiett and Rep. John Nance have announced plans to seek legislation building the online database. They'll offer up a bill when the legislature opens next month. To some extent, the database already exists in another form. Some of the state's court filings are online but it requires the offender's name before one could call up previous charges and dispositions. Cleveland County's filings are online and well-maintained. [continues 262 words]
SAN DIEGO - Despite pleas from the ACLU and several individuals suffering chronic pain, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday declined to withdraw a lawsuit seeking to overturn a state law requiring the county to issue medical marijuana cards. Meanwhile, San Bernardino County officials announced they supported the San Diego board's decision to challenge the state law on grounds that federal prohibition of marijuana use takes precedence. By day's end, the county counsel of San Bernardino had contacted his counterpart in San Diego to discuss legal strategy. [continues 421 words]
