The following stories have appeared in the press recently. They represent a cross-section of perspectives on drug-related issues that are of particular relevance to Vancouver's experiences:

Globe and Mail, June 3, 2009
Heroin should be used as treatment, expert says
Even if groundbreaking research into a substitute treatment for heroin is successful, heroin itself should be available as a medical option for addicts, a top addictions researcher told The Globe and Mail Tuesday.

National Post, May 4, 2009
Proposed drug laws come under fire at hearings
Under Canada's proposed new drug laws, an 18-year-old who shares a marijuana joint with a 17-year-old friend could end up in jail.

The Province, May 4, 2009
Crack addict's trail of devastation
In Ellen's words, the single biggest difference between her son's life three years ago and his life now is this: "Housing, housing, housing.

Vancouver Sun, May 4, 2009
New drug laws would fill prisons, critics say
Under Canada's proposed new drug laws, an 18-year-old who shares a joint with a 17-year-old friend could end up in jail.

Parent's Today, May 2009
Talking to your kid's about drugs
The right time to start talking to your kids about drugs...now.

Calgary Herald, April 30, 2009
Keeping pot illegal leads to bad brew
As federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson puts it, coffee is "the currency that is used to bring other more serious drugs into the country."

London Free Press, April 30, 2009
Alcohol-free regulation targets under 22
Ontario drivers 21 and under will soon h ave to be alcohol-free to get behind the wheel.

CBC News, April 29, 2009
P.E.I.'s new drunk-driving rules likely not enough for MADD Canada
Mandatory ignition interlocks and longer suspensions for blowing too high on a breathalyzer will likely not be enough to appease a leading Canadian lobby group for getting tougher on drunk drivers.

Edmonton Journal, April 27, 2009
More police needed if we want to fight crime
Drug addictions breed thievery. Gangs breed thievery. Recessions breed thievery.

National Post, April 24, 2009
Court deems law biased against alcoholics, addicts
An Ontario law that excludes alcoholics and drug addicts from receiving long-term disability payments has been found to violate the provincial Human Rights Code.

Courier, April 24, 2009
Inside Insite: a firsthand look at addiction
It's the confines of Insite's drug injection room that puts Derek James at ease as he prepares to stick a syringe laced with heroin into his forearm.

Star Phoenix, April 23, 2009
Campaign tackles needle mess
Volunteer Tracy Ridalls holds up a translucent yellow container full of discarded needles.

Times Colonist, April 23, 2009
Top court ends government pot monopoly
Canadians who are legally permitted to smoke pot to treat illness won a victory in the Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday when it refused to hear an appeal of a ruling that put an end to the federal government monopoly.

Georgia Straight, April 23, 2009
B.C. teens self-medicate with marijuana: study
A new study conducted by B.C. researchers indicates that teenagers frequently use marijuana for medicinal, rather than recreational, purposes.

CBC News, April 22, 2009
Seeing stimulus in the push to legalize pot
In 1933, in the midst of the last Great Depression, one of the first acts of incoming Democratic president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was to set in motion the procedure to repeal the Volstead Act.

CBC News, April 22, 2009
Abuse of prescribed opiate painkillers on rise, research shows
A growing number of Canadians are becoming addicted to prescription painkillers such as Tylenol 3 and OxyContin, say researchers who fear the problem could lead to more deaths.

The Gazette, April 22, 2009
Marijuana 'currency' used to import harder drugs: Justice minister
Canada's justice minister says people who sell or grow marijuana belong in jail because pot is used as a "currency" to bring harder drugs into the country.

Winnipeg Free Press, April 22, 2009
End this marijuana charade
On Monday, Winnipeg Police Inspector Dave Thorne stood atop the Legislative Building's steps and gazed out at a throng of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people publicly -- flauntingly -- breaking the law by smoking marijuana, and observed: "Our view is this is a worldwide protest for the proponents of decriminalizing marijuana.

Times Colonist, April 22, 2009
Mayor upset with drug-related sales
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins is looking for ways to shut down sales of convenience store items that can be used to make a crack pipe.

Langley Advance, April 21, 2009
Bill to clean up drug dealers' waste is expensive
The chemicals left by meth makers can wipe out fish if spilled into streams.

CTV News, April 21, 2009
Thousands enjoy a puff of pot to celebrate 4/20
Thousands of marijuana enthusiasts came together in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery Monday to celebrate April 20th -- better known by weed smokers as 4/20.

Times Colonist, April 21, 2009
Let's be honest about alcohol
Like a stereotypical drunk searching in vain for a bottle that's around here somewhere, it turns out that many Canadians have a hard time understanding exactly what happened to the liquor that they bought.

CTV News, April 20, 2009
Canadians drinking more, reports StatsCan
Canadians drank more booze in the last fiscal year, but their tastes were getting more sophisticated.

Canwest News, April 19, 2009
Crackdown on weapons smuggling could help B.C. war on drugs
President Barack Obama's push to crack down on weapons smuggling is an encouraging move that could help British Columbia's war on drugs, according to a political science professor.

Financial Post, April 18, 2009
At war on War on Drugs
As the Western Hemisphere's leaders begin their Summit of the Americas today in Trinidad and Tobago, the issue that dare not speak its name should be front and centre, as it was at the World Economic Forum here this week, but won't be.

Georgia Straight, April 17, 2009
U.S. consul general to Vancouver says demand for drugs at core of gang wars
If Vancouver’s gang wars are fuelled by drugs, the solution is to reduce consumption of illicit substances, the U.S consul general to Vancouver has said.

Times Colonist, April 16, 2009
Needle exchange models examined
The idea of locating needle exchanges in suburban medical clinics is being greeted skeptically by local mayors.

The Toronto Star, April 15, 2009
Bar owner fights medical marijuana ruling
A Burlington bar owner is taking steps to clarify the limits of medical marijuana use in public.

CTV News, April 15, 2009
Much of drinking in Canada done in excess: study
A new study suggests much of the drinking done in Canada is being done in excess.

Red Deer Advocate, April 14, 2009
Hard times help kick hard drugs
The recession is turning out to be one way to break a drug addiction.

CBC News, April 14, 2009
More used needles turning up in north, health officials say
The problems of injection drugs and used syringes are well-known in Saskatchewan's larger cities, but smaller northern communities are increasingly seeing them, officials say.

CBC News, April 14, 2009
Better protection needed for narcotic drugs: pharmacy owners
Pharmacy owners on the Avalon peninsula, which includes St. John's, are wondering how to better protect their businesses, their narcotics and the general public after seven-break-and enters in six weeks

CBC News, April 13, 2009
Fight to stay open too costly for addiction clinic
Citing mounting opposition and costs, a Calgary methadone clinic will close for good when its current lease expires in two months.

Times Colonist, April 13, 2009
ID chips could help find needles
Tiny radio-frequency ID chips embedded in syringes could make life safer for city workers and cleanup teams who daily scour Victoria’s streets looking for discarded needles.

Ottawa Citizen, April 10, 2009
You can’t tell us drug legalization is impossible
Writing in The American Interest, esteemed political scientist Francis Fukuyama called on the United States to do more to help Mexico in its battle with the drug trade — namely by boosting security on both sides of the border and assisting reform of the Mexican justice system.

York Region, April 6, 2009
Cops, lawyer call for changes to regulated marijuana program
Drugs and vice officers approached the homes just as they would during any other marijuana raid operation.

The Independent, April 5, 2009
From heaven to hell: 18 die as drugs war rages on streets of Vancouver
Once upon a very recent time, Vancouver had a clean, safe image. Nestled between a spectacular bay and snow-capped mountains, this Canadian city, which is twice the size of Birmingham, was described by The Economist as the most liveable in the world.

Edmonton Journal, April 4, 2009
Illicit drug trade rivals Walmarts, Exxons in dollar value
Bloody gang wars, targeted killings and dial-a-doper crackdowns like the one recently conducted in Edmonton dominate the daily headlines.

CBC News, April 3, 2009
Discarded drug needles the new sign of spring
Saskatoon fire officials say they have been busy picking up discarded syringes as the spring melt exposes needles discarded over the winter.

Vancouver Sun, April 2, 2009
Island MP Martin pushes softer pot law
Keith Martin wants the federal government to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The Gazette, April 2, 2009
Poverty leads to drug, alcohol abuse in aboriginal kids: study
Poverty leads more aboriginal youth to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana than their Caucasian counterparts, a new Saskatoon study says.

SFU News Online, April 2, 2009
Prescription drugs for street addicts?
Could the increasing misuse of prescription opioids among street-drug users actually benefit public health?

CBC News, April 2, 2009
Opposition could drive methadone clinic out of Calgary
The lawyer for one of Calgary's two methadone clinics, ordered to move from its northeast location and facing opposition from potential neighbours in its proposed new home, says the backlash could force the clinic out of the city.

Times Colonist, April 1, 2009
Alcohol searches will continue, but carefully
A finding that Victoria police overstepped their authority with some searches and alcohol seizures on Canada Day will not deter the force from doing searches this year, as long as they are merited.

Star Phoenix, April 1, 2009
TV drug counsellor speaks in Saskatoon
If you're fretting day and night about a drug-addicted family member, take heed -- you could be addicted to your addict.

The Province, April 1, 2009
60 pipeline workers canned for having booze in quarters
Don't drink and drill.

Times Colonist, April 1, 2009
The real downtown problem
Many Victoria residents were likely surprised to read police Chief Jamie Graham's comment that this city's illegal drug trade is not nearly the problem it is perceived to be.

The Province, April 1, 2009
UFV puts research to use on the streets
University of the Fraser Valley criminologist Darryl Plecas is not your traditional, tweedy, Ivy League professor clenching a pipe full of foggy academic theories.

The Province, April 1, 2009
Let me repeat: We all must say no to drugs
Addicts can benefit at the expense of hard-working taxpayers

Vancouver Sun, April 1, 2009
Addiction should be treated as a disease, not as a moral failing
The traditional view of addiction, and one that stills holds considerable sway, is that addiction is a moral failing, a failure of the addict to muster up the willpower to cease destructive behaviour.

PG Citizen, April 1, 2009
Health system cares for junkies over taxpayers
Has the world gone crazy?

CBC News, March 31, 2009
Province ready to take over needle exchange
Starting Wednesday the P.E.I. government takes over the provincial needle exchange from AIDS PEI.

CBC News, March 31, 2009
Activist for medical marijuana gives up crusade
A longtime advocate for the use of medical marijuana has agreed to give up a fight that has seen him battle the justice system as far as the Supreme Court of Canada.

Vancouver Sun, March 30, 2009
Treat addiction as a disease, MDs tell Victoria
Health care system should cover alcoholics, chronic gamblers and other addicts, BCMA says

Edmonton Journal, March 29, 2009
Scheme helps parents rescue kids, advocate says
About half of the 600-odd Alberta teens ordered by the courts into detox each year eventually agree to move into voluntary treatment programs to try to break their addiction.

Edmonton Journal, March 29, 2009
Prairie provinces all have procedures to confine youth
In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, addiction experts and doctors make final decision on confinement; in Alberta, for now, a judge can decide

Edmonton Journal, March 28, 2009
Blood and illicit billions put B.C.'s drug trade in a league all its own
With all that cash, it's no wonder Vancouver is Canada's richest city

North Shore News, March 27, 2009
Status quo addicts
IT'S hard to understand why our provincial government, as fiscally conservative as it is, is willing to pay so much for addiction.

CBC News, March 27, 2009
Health Canada puts foot down on electronic cigarettes
Health Canada is warning people not to use so-called "electronic smoking" products, and has instructed businesses not to promote or sell them until the government has evaluated their safety.

National Post, March 27, 2009
The agony and the ecstasy panic
Warning: this column falls under the heading "Am I slowly going insane or is there more than meets the eye here?"

Times Colonist, March 25, 2009
Guitard's life lost to drugs
Here's a legacy for Jonathan Guitard. He could be the man who ends the pointless debate about whether people with addictions are responsible for their own choices.

The Observer, March 25, 2009
New law tested - COURT: Police use drug recognition officer
The first use of new law in Sarnia brought a driver suspected of being impaired by drugs before the courts Tuesday.

Vancouver Sun, March 24, 2009
From Burnaby street thug to social worker
By the age of 15, Anthony Hutchinson was shooting at people with a modified .22-calibre starting pistol, robbing Korean grocery stores, selling drugs, stealing cars, being beaten daily at home and settling into the dubious brotherhood of a Burnaby street gang.

Georgia Straight, March 23, 2009
Scientific evidence mounts contradicting Conservatives' efforts against harm reduction
In the wake of the release of a scathing report from international experts declaring their efforts to create a “drug free world” a failure, diplomats from 53 countries including Canada gathered in Vienna, Austria last weekend to plan the next campaign in the so-called war on drugs.

CBC News, March 23, 2009
'Prince of Pot' says police and city hall conspiring against him
Vancouver's self-styled "Prince of Pot" says city hall and the police department are trying to run him out of town.

Vancouver Sun, March 23, 2009
Gangs are a symptom, drugs are the disease
Attorney-General Wally Oppal spent the weekend focused on gangs -- meeting first with his western provincial counterparts and then with Mexican officials to share intelligence.

Vancouver Sun, March 23, 2009
Tory drug strategy makes problem worse
Before Stephen Harper's Conservatives took power, an exhaustive national consultative process led by Health Canada and the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse informed the development of Canada's National Drug Strategy.

The Star, March 21, 2009
Feds quietly chop money for fetal alcohol program
Federal money earmarked to fight the tragedy of fetal alcohol disorders has been quietly chopped back year after year, says a new report.

CBC News, March 20, 2009
Saskatchewan teens tour Downtown Eastside
Two dozen teenagers from northern Saskatchewan toured Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Thursday night on a visit set up to illustrate how drug use can spiral out of control.

Times Colonist, March 20, 2009
Needle exchange provides a vital link
On March 10, Victoria city council announced seven priorities for immediate action. Homelessness and harm reduction were identified as two of the seven.

Ottawa Citizen, March 20, 2009
Homeless alcoholics can't just quit
Every day, in the shadow of Parliament Hill, 30 homeless alcoholics are fed, housed and served drinks, each hour on the hour, between early morning and evening.

CBC News, March 19, 2009
Advice on alcohol use in pregnancy to come, doctors say
Canadian doctors are trying to reduce the number of birth defects resulting from women who drink alcohol during pregnancy.

Georgia Straight, March 19, 2009
Victoria cop calls to legalize drugs
Cops like David Bratzer are a rare breed.

Times Colonist, March 19, 2009
The social fabric and five routes to poverty
In a small village on the idyllic Isle of Skye in Scotland last August, the owner of a boutique hotel confessed to me he was not optimistic about Britain, either economically or socially.

Vancouver Sun, March 19, 2009
Police propose change to drug strategy
The Vancouver Police Department is shifting its focus in the Downtown Eastside away from arresting and charging people for simple drug possession in a bid to keep cops on the street by avoiding hours of paperwork.

Vancouver Province, March 18, 2009
Kenton's actions key to the drug problem
What an inspiring story in Monday's Province by reporter Kent Spencer.

CBC News, March 17, 2009
Corner stores push to sell booze
Faced with a drop in sales, Nova Scotia's convenience store owners are renewing their call to be allowed to sell wine and beer.

Edmonton Journal, March 17, 2009
Homelessness is mental health issue
Between August 2007 and September 2008, 1795 homeless people were treated in the capital region's emergency departments. Among them, they made a total of 4,358 hospital visits.

CBC News, March 16, 2009
Doctor proposes suing alcohol companies over FAS damage
A pediatrician in northern British Columbia wants liquor and beer makers to help pay for the damage caused when pregnant women drink.

CTV News, March 16, 2009
Heavy drinking-prostate cancer link confirmed
Men who drink 14 or more drinks a week are 20 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer, according to an international review co-authored by a University of Victoria researcher.

CBC News, March 15, 2009
Downtown Eastside residents protest police 'street sweeps'
Residents of Vancouver's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside protested Sunday against what they see as a pre-Olympic police strategy to drive them off the streets through petty ticketing and random identification checks.

CTV News, March 15, 2009
Van Loan blames drugs for gang-related shootings
The growing tide of gang-related shootings in Canada is linked to drug trade problem that has been growing "for many, many years," Canada's public safety minister said Sunday.

Vancouver Courier, March 13, 2009
Homeless shelters reducing 911 calls
Mayor Gregor Robertson spent the better part of this week waiting for yet another announcement from the province about more funding for the city's newest homeless shelters.

Canwest News, March 12, 2009
Ont. wants federal clarity on medical pot
Ottawa needs to clarify the rules surrounding the possession and consumption of medical marijuana, says Ontario's minister of government services in a letter requesting a meeting with the federal health minister to discuss the issue.

Prince George Citizen, March 11, 2009
Barely illegal
As Canadian gang violence escalates, is it time to legalize the narcotics trade?

CBC News, March 11, 2009
Use of Labrador child to smuggle drugs 'disturbing': RCMP
A drug dealer used a small child's carry-on luggage last week in an attempt to smuggle marijuana into the Labrador village of Natuashish, police said.

CBC News, March 10, 2009
Drug treatment courts' future up in air
Police, opposition MPs and others are calling on the federal government to commit to long-term, stable funding for Canada's drug treatment courts — a pilot program that offers an alternative to prison for people accused of non-violent, drug-related crimes.

Canoe News, March 10, 2009
Countries put war on drugs under the magnifying glass
When Canadian cities like Vancouver become the setting for gang warfare, when Mexico's stability teeters because of drug violence and the cartels infiltrate normally quiet American towns, global policymakers start to wonder where they went wrong.

Canwest, March 10, 2009
Battling addictive behaviour
In the throes of recovery from any addiction, set backs are expected and even planned.

CBC News, March 9, 2009
Kids with FASD need more services: Alberta educators
Learning disabilities, memory loss, a short attention span and difficulty understanding the consequences of actions — these are just a few of the problems faced by students whose mothers drank during pregnancy.

CBC News, March 7, 2009
B.C. man faces woes accessing court-ordered treatment after suicide attempt
A Vancouver Island man who was ordered by a court to get treatment for drug and mental health problems says he can't get to the help he needs.

Leader Post, March 6, 2009
Regina couple to set up recovery homes for addicts
A Regina couple is hoping to set up third-stage recovery homes for addicts who have successfully completed their 28-day drug and alcohol treatment program.

Ottawa Citizen, March 6, 2009
How to get me to shut up about drugs
The illicit drug trade is, despite its illicitness, a trade. It is an economic activity.

Georgia Straight, March 6, 2009
64 percent of British Columbians back legalization of marijuana: poll
Amid a raging gang war in Metro Vancouver that is widely believed to be over control of the illegal drug market, a new Angus Reid Strategies poll shows that half of Canadians endorse the legalization of marijuana.

National Post, March 6, 2009
Binge Fest
With "Reading Week" over for most Canadian colleges and universities, the ivy ices over.

Your Nepean, March 5, 2009
Ottawa high schools introduce drug counseling program
Ottawa’s four school boards announced today the start of a drug counseling program at most city schools beginning this year.

Peach Arch News, March 5, 2009
Recovering addicts step up to the plate
Keith Smith has 25 years experience with slo-pitch softball, having coached a women’s team for 10 years, and, at one time, having been a player himself at provincial and national levels.

CBC News, March 5, 2009
Unique project helps keep FASD teens out of jail
A unique program in Lethbridge, about 200 kilometres south of Calgary, is being hailed as a success by police, who told CBC News this week that it has helped hundreds of families keep their children out of jail.

McLeans, March 5, 2009
“A lot of Ontario gangsters are moving to Calgary and Edmonton and Vancouver—a sort of ‘Go West, Young Man’ movement of gangsters.”
Michael Chettleburgh, author of ‘Young Thugs,’ talks about the suburbanization of gangsters, what’s really going on in Metro Vancouver and the Harper government’s proposed gang legislation

CBC News, March 5, 2009
Shrooms, jib, love drugs and your kids
The recent spotlight on U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps for using marijuana got me thinking about what's going on with kids and drugs these days.

Times Colonist, March 5, 2009
Get tougher on drunk driving
There is no argument about drinking and driving. We all know it is bad, because alcohol impairs our judgment and slows our reaction times.

North Shore News, March 4, 2009
Drug legalization lobby lacks business plan
PUBLIC outrage over recent gang murders by feuding traffickers in B.C. Bud and other illicit drugs has forced the federal government to target gangsters in upcoming changes to our criminal law.

The Star, March 4, 2009
Mexican drug war spilling into Canada
The increase in gang violence on the streets of Vancouver and other Canadian cities has direct ties to the grisly drug-cartel wars that have terrorized Mexico and some American border towns, say Canadian and U.S. police.

The Chronicle Herald, March 4, 2009
TV boozing may drive you to drink
For the first time, researchers have shown that watching characters knock back a beer or quaff another alcoholic beverage in films, TV shows or advertisements can have an immediate effect on how much viewers imbibe themselves.

Canwest News, March 2, 2009
1 in 5 sex assault victims drugged: Study
More than one in five sexual assaults are aided by date-rape drugs, prescription or over-the-counter medications and other substances that sedate or incapacitate the victims, according to a multi-year study released Monday.

The Star Phoenix, March 2, 2009
Horses aid path to healing
For a long moment, the horse and the young girl looked eye to eye, and you felt in those seconds a sense that something had changed for the better in both of them.

The Star Phoenix, March 2, 2009
Recovering addicts tell stories in song
Just singing a song may not change the world, but it could help the lives of one group of aboriginal women in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse across Canada.

The Star, March 2, 2009
Alcohol disorder takes toll
The damage caused by expectant mothers who drink during pregnancy is costing Canada more than $5 billion a year, a report says.

CBC News, February 27, 2009
Ottawa high schools get $1M drug counselling program
A new $1-million drug counselling program puts counsellors where they are badly needed in Ottawa — in the high schools.

The Leader Post, February 26, 2009
Needling, but necessary: dealing with a drug problem
It's an issue that really irks critics of publicly funded needle exchange programs: why should taxpayers "enable" drug users?

Canwest News, February 26, 2009
National rules urged for alcohol use during pregnancy
The group representing obstetricians and gynaecologists said Thursday it will develop national guidelines on how much alcohol — if any — is safe for women to consume leading up to and during pregnancy.

The Star, February 25, 2009
Painkiller deaths targeted
The provincial coroner's office has launched a plan to reduce the high number of Ontario deaths caused by a highly addictive prescription painkiller often trafficked as a street drug.

The Star Phoenix, February 25, 2009
Needle exchange review positive
Saskatchewan's needle exchange programs help reduce the spread of blood-borne diseases, but there's room for improvement in areas such as needle disposal, says Health Minister Don McMorris.

Vancouver Sun, February 25, 2009
No such thing as 'safe' alcohol
From the massive Million Women Study in the U.K. comes sobering news: when it comes to a woman's risk of cancer, no amount of alcohol is safe.

The Star, February 25, 2009
Bid to lower liquor limit for drivers called 'optics'
The battle over whether to lower the legal limit for impaired driving is again being waged in Parliament, with even the police and some advocacy groups questioning whether it is necessary.

Canwest News, February 23, 2009
New drunk driving laws create confusion in courts
Nearly eight months after tougher impaired driving laws took effect in Canada, the changes continue to be applied differently in each province.

The Vancouver Sun, February 23, 2009
It just makes sense to end the war on drugs
Marijuana and drug trafficking are the central catalysts in the current Lower Mainland gang war, yet we are discussing everything except the obvious solution -- an end to the continental prohibition on illicit drugs.

The Vancouver Province, February 23, 2009
Gunplay sends Oppal to Ottawa
Attorney-General Wally Oppal will fly to Ottawa to ask for changes to the Criminal Code following yet another shooting spree in the Lower Mainland yesterday.

BC Local News, February 21, 2009
If we’re serious about attacking gangs, we would legalize drugs
It remains one of my last memories of Richmond before I embarked on my career in journalism.

Halifax Chronicle Herald, February 19, 2009
Halifax police chief proposes drug court
So many of Halifax’s crimes are committed by drug addicts that a special court is needed to handle their cases, the city’s police chief says.

Times Colonist, February 19, 2009
Students' anti-gang rally gains momentum
Two young Surrey students are “overwhelmed” by the Lower Mainland-wide response to their idea of organizing a rally against gang violence.

The National Post, February 18, 2009
Medical marijuana use on licensed premises never contemplated in Ontario law
The owner of a Burlington, restaurant facing a discrimination complaint for not allowing a medical marijuana smoker to light up outside his restaurant is caught between a "regulatory rock and a hard place," the Ontario government acknowledged yesterday.

The Montreal Gazette, February 18, 2009
Montreal study finds there's no link between medical heroin and crime
Giving heroin to hard-core drug addicts at a clinic does not sully the surrounding neighbourhood with used syringes, graffiti, drug trafficking or petty crime, a report finds.

The Vancouver Sun, February 18, 2009
Violent Valentine's Days -- there and here, then and now
Submachineguns, armoured cars, killings on city streets, in alleyways, on suburban cul-de-sacs (aptly, French for "dead ends"); the citizenry petrified of getting caught in the crossfire.

The Vancouver Province, February 17, 2009
27 agencies furbish financial feedback
Last fall, The Province sent 27 letters to various federal and provincial departments, the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health, the Vancouver Agreement office and fire, police and ambulance services, asking how much they spent providing services in the Downtown Eastside in 2007.

The Chilliwack Times, February 17, 2009
Expect more of the same
No one should have to worry about getting caught in gang crossfire.

The Vancouver Province, February 17, 2009
Downtown Eastside costs $1 million a day
Philip Owen stands at 65 East Hastings Street in front of a soon-to-open, nine-storey social housing complex.

CTV News, February 16, 2009
Can pill replace heroin for addicts?
Researchers behind a controversial approach to Vancouver's drug problem are trying to launch a new study.

The Vancouver Province, February 15, 2009
Poverty groups claim Downtown Eastside crackdown unfair
Downtown Eastside groups say increased police “street sweeps” in the neighbourhood is part of a devious plan to sweep the area’s marginalized residents under the rug during the Olympic Games.

The Vancouver Province, February 15, 2009
Temporary abodes full but peaceful
At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the back door of an abandoned after-hours club on Granville Street swung open and a waiting crowd of young people streamed in.

Times Colonist, February 12, 2009
Get smart, not tough, on crime
We are remarkably sloppy in our thinking about crime.

Georgia Straight, February 12, 2009
Prohibition benefits Vancouver gangs
A retired judge has doubts about whether Premier Gordon Campbell’s response to the recent upsurge in gang-related shootings in the Lower Mainland will quell organized-crime-related violence in the long term

The Vancouver Sun, February 12, 2009
It's time to get myself some body armour
There's been a little too much gunfire and bloodshed in the neighbourhood since I moved in 18 months ago, with gangbangers spraying bullets in a local restaurant, on the streets and, just the other day, outside my grocery store.

The Vancouver Province, February 12, 2009
Man gunned down in East Vancouver
A man was shot to death in East Vancouver on Wednesday night.

CBC News, February 11, 2009
Female drug users face unique, serious health effects: researcher
Girls and women who are heavy substance users face serious long-term health effects unique to women, a B.C.-based researcher told Yukon front-line workers Wednesday.

BC Local News, February 11, 2009
Half of school suspensions related to marijuana
During her report to the Prince Rupert School District Board of Education, assistant superintendent Leah Robinson provided a list of high school suspensions so far in the 2008/2009 school year – A list dominated by students being suspended for the use of marijuana.

Vancouver Province, February 11, 2009
New centre to take addicts off the streets
A cutting-edge "sobering centre" is coming to Surrey.

Vancouver Metro News, February 11, 2009
Police crackdown poses AIDS risks: Advocacy groups
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association and five AIDS service organizations are concerned that more police in the Downtown Eastside could increase the risks of HIV and hepatitis transmission.

The Vancouver Sun, February 11, 2009
Gang violence a 'very serious problem' in Metro Vancouver: poll
Metro Vancouver residents are increasingly concerned about gang violence, with 72 per cent calling it a “very serious problem,” according to a new poll.

The Vancouver Sun, February 11, 2009
We need compassionate P3s for the Downtown Eastside
When we consider public-private partnerships (P3s) in British Columbia, we usually think of rapid transit lines, bridges and economic infrastructure.

Vancouver Province, February 11, 2009
B.C. far too soft on drug merchants
Given the high level of gang violence and other drug-related problems in Metro Vancouver, you'd have thought it'd make sense to crack down hard on drug dealers.

Vancouver Province, February 11, 2009
NIMBYism won't solve desperate situation
Vancouver's police chief wants thousands of drug addicts to go somewhere else.

Vancouver Courier, February 11, 2009
Vancouver Agreement opens books
A much lauded initiative launched in March 2000 by three levels of government to primarily improve lives for people in the Downtown Eastside spent $23.8 million in the last six years.

Vancouver Province, February 10, 2009
Shame if we fail to pursue a treatment system that gives real hope to addicts
What would you say if the government spent approximately 11 million of your tax dollars to prove a new treatment helped heroin addicts out of their death spiral -- and then let the report sit on the shelf?

Vancouver Province, February 10, 2009
Skid row will not improve by 2010 Olympics, says top cop
Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu admitted Monday that Downtown Eastside squalor and drug addiction will be essentially the same a year from now when tens of thousands of journalists and visitors descend upon the city.

Surrey Leader, February 10, 2009
A stark reality
Six shootings in the last seven days. Four dead. Two wounded.

Georgia Straight, February 10, 2009
Downtown Eastside crackdown will increase HIV risk, groups warn
A new police crackdown in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside will increase the risk of transmission of HIV and hepatitis.

National Post, February 10, 2009
Drug board head sorry after claiming Ecstasy less harmful than horse riding
The head of Britain's narcotics advisory board has apologized after saying the drug Ecstasy was less dangerous than horse riding.

The Vancouver Province, February 9, 2009
Dedicated health staff works hard in Downtown Eastside
I would like to commend The Province for engaging the community about the challenges residents face in the Downtown Eastside through the Operation Phoenix series.

Body and Health Canada, February 9, 2009
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder vs. addiction
I have a bit of a problem with the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder or ADHD.

CBC News, February 9, 2009
OxyContin abuse probed in Ont., U.S.
Ontario will lead a national probe into potential abuse of the drug OxyContin, a prescription painkiller that is sometimes crushed and snorted by addicts.

The Vancouver Sun, February 9, 2009
Time for answers on gang violence
Attorney-General Wally Oppal sounded as passionate as a local politician can with the echo of automatic gunfire resounding across the Lower Mainland.

Times Colonist, February 9, 2009
Gun epidemic prescriptions
When a career criminal and self-described "reputed gangster" chooses to violate a weapons ban and arm himself with an automatic assault rifle, the public has every right to feel threatened.

Halifax Columnist, February 9, 2009
Targeting dealers poppycock; let’s buy poppy crop
THE WORD OUT last week was that Canadian troops may soon expand their combat operations in Kandahar to target drug dealers in addition to Taliban insurgents.

National Post, February 9, 2009
Restaurateur urges Ottawa to clarify hazy marijuana law
A restaurant owner facing a discrimination complaint for asking a medical marijuana smoker not to light up outside his business says Ottawa needs to clarify its regulations governing where authorized permit holders can smoke.

The Vancouver Province, February 8, 2009
Legalization needs study
This newspaper has traditionally opposed the legalization of drugs. The arguments for that viewpoint are well known, shared by many people and radiate out from the central premise that drug addiction is a blight on the person, families, neighbourhoods and society as a whole.

The Montreal Gazette, February 8, 2009
'Disturbing' increase in accidents fuelled by alcohol: OPP
Ontario Provincial police saw a "disturbing increase" in motor vehicle accidents in December and January, particularly during winter storms, OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said in a news release.

CBC News, February 6, 2009
Drug testing a booming business in Manitoba
In the face of a recession one sector of Winnipeg's economy is booming: labs that test employees for drug and alcohol use.

CBC News, February 6, 2009
Canadian soldiers to target Afghan drug trade linked to Taliban
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan will be ordered to attack opium traffickers and drug facilities when there is proof of direct links to the Taliban, CBC News has learned.

Vancouver Province, February 5, 2009
Doors of St. Paul's are swinging ever faster
This is where the swollen tide of human misery from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside washes up, casting ashore its thousands from a sea of drugs, violence, sickness and despair.

CBC News, February 5, 2009
Police chief calls for co-ordinated effort to improve Downtown Eastside
Vancouver's police chief is calling for agencies in the city's Downtown Eastside to work together to help the most vulnerable people in the drug-infested neighbourhood.

The Vancouver Province, February 5, 2009
Better or worse
Some of the greatest challenges facing the Downtown Eastside today include high rates of unstable housing and homelessness, poverty, mental illness and addiction, and a lack of a co-ordinated response to these problems.

Vancouver Metro News, February 4, 2009
A new home for women in recovery
Forty-one women who had been sleeping in alleys or shelters will now have a safe place to call home with the opening of a new women’s housing complex in the Downtown Eastside.

The Vancouver Province, February 4, 2009
Renovate and bring back Riverview
In 2002, during his inaugural address, Mayor Larry Campbell said:
"If we do our work well, we should be able to eliminate the open drug market in the Downtown Eastside by the next election."

CanWest News, February 4, 2009
Medicinal pot laws needed to be changed
Canada is not going to descend into a lawless and reckless state if sick people are given adequate access to medical marijuana.

Nanaimo Daily News, February 4, 2009
Judge allows medicinal pot plots
Another court decision, ruling that restrictions on the sale and production of medicinal marijuana in Canada are unconstitutional, is seen as "one more small step forward" by those who provide marijuana to sick people in Nanaimo.

CBC News, February 3, 2009
Needle exchange still in jeopardy on P.E.I., despite new funding
A recent funding announcement from the provincial government is not enough to save Charlottetown's needle exchange program, says AIDS PEI.

CTV News, February 3, 2009
Dope-smoking among teens down in many countries
Kids on both sides of the Atlantic are smoking less pot and going out less often with friends at night, a study of 15-year-olds in 30 countries found.

The Vancouver Province, February 3, 2009
Opposing ideas battle it out on the streets
Wendy Pedersen lives on a street that straddles the future of the Downtown Eastside.

Vancouver 24 Hours, February 3, 2009
'It's an awesome day'
To the delight of a packed courtroom in Vancouver, Justice Marvyn Koenigberg said federal regulations that limit people's access to medical cannabis are "constitutionally invalid" and gave the government a year to amend the rules.

Vancouver Sun, February 2, 2009
B.C. court rules medical marijuana program unconstitutional
A B.C. Supreme Court justice has endorsed a recent federal court decision saying the national marijuana program is unconstitutional.

CBC News, February 2, 2009
Mandatory ignition interlocks for convicted drunk drivers set in motion
Anyone convicted of drinking and driving in B.C. will now have to provide a breath sample before going for a drive.

Tha Daily Press, February 2, 2009
'Tragic stories' reported from drug use
The Timmins OxyContin Awareness campaign kicked off a week ago and organizers have already received plenty of feedback.

The Vancouver Province, February 2, 2009
Volunteers flock to church that threw open its doors
Lisa Caruk's heart was hurting when she first climbed the steps of First United Church on a frigid December night.

The Vancouver Province, February 1, 2009
Poet urges residents to draw strength from neighbourhood's history
Downtown Eastside author Sandy Cameron has a relationship with his community that goes back 40 years.

The Vancouver Province, February 1, 2009
Well-meaning efforts have produced little change
Former Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen steps out of his car on Carrall Street at Hastings on a gun-metal grey morning. In khaki pants and blue blazer, with matching vest and tie, the 75-year-old looks beyond out of place.

Northern News, January 31, 2009
Addictions can be beaten
Recently there has been a controversy about drug use in Kirkland Lake, more specifically the misuse of OxyContin.

The Telegraph Journal, January 31, 2009
Doctor says methadone program needs funding, improvements to Ridgewood
Dr. James West says the work being done at Ridgewood Addiction Services methadone maintenance program is good, but is hampered by a lack of funding and the facility.

Ottawa Gazette, January 31, 2009
Tories take aim at prison drug trade
Organized crime may be about to lose its grip on one of its most profitable markets as the Harper government moves to put an end to drug smuggling into penitentiaries.

Metro Ottawa, January 29, 2009
Detox program helps those with addictions
Last year, Jim Rouse's life spiraled out of control.

Vancouver Courier, January 28, 2009
Vision Vancouver eyes Project Civil city cash
As city council asks staff for a mental health plan, Vision councillors are finding the money to help pay for it.

CBC News, January 27, 2009
Drug for sale despite Health Canada warning
A drug currently available in some Canadian stores — said to induce the same kind of "high" as the street drug ecstasy — may pose serious health risks, Health Canada says.

Northern News, January 26, 2009
OxyContin is killing Kirkland Lakers
Two youngsters and five more people in Kirkland Lake have died after misusing a deadly prescription drug.

National Post, January 22, 2009
Booze laws fail sobriety test
There's a small, family-owned restaurant just steps from a close friend's house in North York.

Georgia Straight, January 21, 2009
Vancouver police plan Downtown Eastside crackdown ahead of Olympics
With the Olympics just a little over a year away, the Vancouver Police Department unveils today (January 21) its draft business plan for 2009, which would see additional cops, more street spot checks, and more bylaw-violation tickets issued in the Downtown Eastside.

CBC News, Jananuary 21, 2009
Downtown Eastside pharmacy ends controversial methadone program
A pharmacy in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has voluntarily ended its controversial participation in a provincial methadone program.

Telegraph-Journal, January 19, 2009
Chief takes aim at city's drug addiction problem
Just weeks into his new job as police chief and Bill Reid is taking the gloves off. He's had enough of the current catch-and-release system that provides addicts no help after they're arrested for crime that's driven by their need to feed a drug addiction.

The Chronicle-Herald, January 19, 2009
Busting doped-up drivers
In his role as co-ordinator of Nova Scotia’s 33 drug recognition experts, Const. Scott MacDonald of the Halifax Regional Police sometimes takes trainees to rock concerts in Halifax.

Vancouver Sun, January 17, 2009
West Van police say money is wasted on DARE program
The West Vancouver police department says a popular program that it delivered in elementary schools for a dozen years was a waste of money and it's urging others to take a hard look at Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE).

Victoria Times Colonist, January 17, 2009
Addiction's evils can touch us all
He threw hard, and as a relief pitcher with the San Francisco Giants, the Cincinnati Reds and the Detroit Tigers, Frank Williams's best assets were a 93 m.p.h. fastball and what the commentators call a "slurve" -- a cross between a curve and a slider. He had fierce intensity and, on his good days, "nobody could touch him," someone who played with him said this week.

Ottawa Citizen, January 17, 2009
Ottawa police say no to drug-search signs
Ottawa police are not considering adopting a controversial new program run by Cornwall police in which signs are placed on lawns of homes where drug search warrants are executed, the head of the drug section said yesterday.

North Shore News, January 16, 2009
Drugs rampant in WV says police chief
Drug use among youth is far more prevalent in West Vancouver than in other Lower Mainland communities -- including Vancouver's urban core, according to West Vancouver's police chief.

CBC News, January 16, 2009
Expand methadone treatment to curb crime: Saint John police
The Saint John police chief is calling for an expansion in methadone treatment programs to help battle drug-related crime.

Regina Leader-Post, January 16, 2009
As helpful as methadone is, it can also hurt
All the experts agree that methadone, a proven, safe and unparalleled treatment of opioid addiction when administered by a licensed doctor, is dangerous when abused by naive users.

National Post, January 14, 2009
Charges send chill over bar owners
The liquor licence charges stemming from a high-profile fatal crash in Ontario cottage country have raised questions about the obligations imposed on bar owners and employees.

London Free Press, January 14, 2009
Let's draw new line for drunk drivers
As Canadians put the pressure on the federal Conservatives to get tougher with crime and justice, it's time they demanded further action on one of the biggest groups of killers out there -- those behind the wheel.

Canada.com, January 14, 2009
Manitoba nurses disciplined for substance abuse
Four Manitoba nurses were disciplined after they were caught abusing alcohol, cocaine and other narcotics on the job - including instances where mood-altering drugs were stolen from the hospital or health-care facility where they worked.

National Post, January 13, 2009
How booze bans beget superjuice
Once again, life imitates art.

CBC News, January 13, 2009
Crown wants dangerous offender status for Quebec drunk driver
A Quebec man who killed a woman in a wheelchair while driving drunk in fall should be declared a dangerous offender, Crown prosecutors say.

Vancouver Sun, January 12, 2009
Pot smokers won't get an exemption from law
The B.C. Supreme Court has rejected complicated constitutional arguments that deficiencies in the medical marijuana regime and conflicting jurisprudence should invalidate the criminal drug law.

Toronto Star, January 12, 2009
Lawyers defend 'two-beer' defence
New federal legislation that virtually abolishes a "two-beer" defence to an impaired driving charge is being pulled into court for a legal spot check.

CBC News, January 12, 2009
Ontario police charge club, employees in Muskoka traffic deaths
Ontario Provincial Police have taken the highly unusual step of laying charges against a Muskoka resort and 16 of its employees in connection with three traffic fatalities.

CTV News, January 11, 2009
Home-brewed 'superjuice' plagues Manitoba's north
A potent new homebrew that is fuelling violence, suicide and crime is plaguing dry northern reserves in Manitoba.

Vancouver Sun, January 8, 2009
America begins to ease up on marijuana smokers
Barricade the border, America is going to pot.

Georgia Straight, January 8, 2009
Vancouver council may save parts of Project Civil City
City council may retain components of ex-mayor Sam Sullivan’s Project Civil City that are turning out to be helpful in addressing homelessness, according to Vision Vancouver councillor Kerry Jang.

National Post, January 8, 2009
Peel region’s doda problem
Peel police issued a warning today about doda, a “harmful” and “addictive” substance growing in popularity among some Peel residents

CBC News, January 8, 2009
Stimulant pills provide energy, but come with possible side effects and risk
One pretty pill and Char Chin felt like she had downed six or seven Red Bull energy drinks.

Victoria Times Colonist, January 7, 2009
More drivers caught drunk behind wheel
An increasing number of Greater Victoria motorists were caught drunk behind the wheel in 2008, which officials say should raise "warning flags" about the amount of drinking and driving on local roads.

CBC News, January 7, 2009
Tainted ecstasy blamed for deaths of 2 men in Chase
Two people have died in two separate drug-related incidents in the community of Chase, B.C., after taking what police believe to be tainted ecstasy, the local RCMP detachment said Wednesday.

Hamilton Spectator, January 7, 2009
Drug court needed here
Hamilton has a drugs problem that ruins lives, costs taxpayers vast amounts of money, and contributes significantly to issues and perceptions of public safety and security.

CBC News, January 6, 2009
Police 'astounded' at increase in impaired charges in GTA
Police forces in Toronto and across the GTA say they're struggling to find an explanation for a spike in impaired driving charges.

Victoria Times Colonist, January 5, 2009
Abstinence the path to avoid alcoholism
Parents throughout Victoria and Canada are vehemently opposed to their children taking illicit drugs -- but what about the most widely used, and deadliest drug of all?

Ottawa Citizen, January 5, 2009
Taking the fun out of pot
It's official: the Dutch have managed to make pot smoking uncool.

CBC News, January 5, 2009
U.S. army testing Calgary video game that replicates drunk driving
A video game developed at the University of Calgary that simulates driving while drunk has attracted the attention of the U.S. army.

Victoria Times Colonist, January 4, 2009
Editorial: Regulating our drinking habits with a heavy hand
Just before Christmas the provincial health officer, Dr. Perry Kendall, released a strongly worded report on alcohol consumption.

Vancouver Sun, January 3, 2009
Crossing at Keremeos is help close to home
British Columbia opens its first long-term residential treatment program for youth this month, which means young people addicted to drugs can finally get help here instead of being flown to Central or Eastern Canada.

Ottawa Citizen, January 3, 2009
On the front line of the crack epidemic
A man in his 40s hands over a small piece of red paper. It's his ticket to the needle exchange, which offers much more than needles.

Toronto Star, January 2, 2009
Troops lured by drug trade, report warns
There's a "high probability" some Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan – one of the world's biggest sources of illegal drugs – will get involved in the drug trade, a military police report warns.

Toronto Star, January 1, 2009
Law or no, these joints are smokin' in the city
When police raided the Kindred Café Nov. 20 for allegedly trafficking marijuana, it shone a spotlight on one of the city's biggest open secrets.

Montreal Gazette, January 1, 2009
Sleepless Canadians boozing themselves to sleep: Study
Sleepless Canadians are self-medicating with alcohol on a big scale to get to sleep, a new study on the economic burden of insomnia suggests.

Toronto Star, January 2, 2009
Online help for addicts toiling with resolutions
Now that New Year's Day is upon us, everyone is flush with determination to make and keep new year's resolutions: eat less, drink less, smoke less.

Ottawa Citizen, December 24, 2008
'Pay more, drink less' reasoning behind decision to raise beer prices
Bargain beer hunters will have to scratch together a few more coins for a case of their favourite suds, after provincial authorities quietly hiked minimum beer prices last month.

CBC News, December 23, 2008
Ont. shop owner charged with selling addictive poppy derivative
A popular but addictive preparation made from parts of the poppy flower has been found to contain enough illegal ingredients to sustain criminal charges against some of those accused of selling it.

Victoria Times Colonist, December 22, 2008
In-car breathalyzers a welcome step
One of the drawbacks about wassailing all over the town at this time of year is that some person who has wassailed too much might send you wassailing into the ditch.

National Post, December 22, 2008
The inherent absurdity of government booze
In Nova Scotia, it's now illegal for taverns to sell a drink for less than $2.50. In Ontario, the minimum price of a case of beer is now $26.50, up from an even $24. This, I maintain, is unnecessarily cruel.

Victoria Times Colonist, December 22, 2008
Mid-Islanders drink B.C. under the table
Central Vancouver Island residents are hitting the bottle harder than most British Columbia drinkers, even as alcohol consumption rises all over B.C.

BC Local News, December 22, 2008
Tough love for today’s hard cases
Why, a reader of last week’s column asks, are there so many more people on the streets who are hard, or even impossible to house in any conventional sense?

Owen Sound Sun Times, December 20, 2008
Crystal meth moving north
With Southern Bruce and Grey counties considered Ontario’s worst area for crystal meth use, county and health officials have launched a task force.

CBC News, December 19, 2008
Province backs away from residential youth addiction treatment
There will soon be a day treatment program for addicted youth in Charlottetown, but the P.E.I. government has no current plans for a residential treatment program.

Toronto Star, December 19, 2008
Keeping drug users healthier
The Toronto Harm Reduction Coalition had its annual general meeting recently; uppermost on the agenda was the election of four new directors.

Toronto Star, December 18, 2008
Parents clipping teens' hair to submit for drug testing
Parents who've spent years telling their kids, "Don't run with scissors!" may soon be doing just that, thanks to the new HairConfirm kit.

CBC News, December 18, 2008
Charlottetown needle exchange to continue
The P.E.I. government and City of Charlottetown are contributing funding to save the capital's needle exchange program.

Victoria Times Colonist, December 17, 2008
Private liquor stores cause youth binge drinking: report
Cheaper alcohol, longer bar hours and a rash of private liquor stores have led to higher alcohol consumption and binge drinking among youth across B.C. in the past six years, a provincial health report says.

Ottawa Citizen, December 17, 2008
Lights, camera, beer
It is possible -- and we know this is a radical thought -- that Ontarians could enjoy a beer while watching a movie without all hell breaking loose.

Toronto Star, December 17, 2008
Pre-drinking binges new culture of intoxication
Young people are engaging in a "new culture of intoxication" that even has its own buzzwords – "pre-drinking" or "pre-gaming."

National Post, December 15, 2008
Drug use behind the wheel is on the rise
While the message that drinking and driving kills has registered after 25 years of awareness campaigns, drug use behind the wheel is on the rise, according to a new B. C. study released last week.

CBC News, December 15, 2008
Beer with your popcorn? Ontario allows drinking at the movies
The Cineplex cinema chain is giving some movie-goers in Toronto and Oakville, Ont., the chance to drink alcohol in the theatre for the first time.

Vancouver Province, December 12, 2008
Driving stoned recipe for death
Pot advocates like to point out that death cannot be directly liked to smoking marijuana, whereas alcohol, cigarettes and drugs much harder than pot have filled millions of graves.

Georgia Straight, December 11, 2008
Free heroin for addicts? The idea may not be as mad as it sounds
It’s crazy to give free heroin to addicts, isn’t it? Many people respond initially with a resounding yes. But the idea may not be as mad as it first sounds.

CBC News, December 11, 2008
Drinks cheap but social costs high: doctors
A group of doctors in Halifax is calling on the province to set minimum drink prices this holiday season.

Canada.com, December 11, 2008
Tainted cocaine sickens people in B.C., Alta.
At least 10 B.C. residents have required serious medical attention, possibly after snorting cocaine contaminated with an antibiotic used to treat worm infestations in animals.

Metro Vancouver, December 11, 2008
More B.C. drivers high than drunk
B.C. drivers are more likely to be under the influence of drugs than of alcohol, a new survey suggested yesterday.

Times Colonist, December 10, 2008
Take the handcuffs off police when they find drugs
We've lived for some time in a state that has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.

Toronto Star, December 10, 2008
Staggering costs of mental illness
Well, now we know. Now we know why the McGuinty government made the unusually accommodating move last week of accepting an opposition member's resolution to strike a select committee to develop a provincial mental health strategy.

CBC News, December 10, 2008
St. John's addicts caught shoplifting to lose methadone access
A St. John's drug-replacement program has warned addicts they will lose access to methadone if they are charged with shoplifting at the pharmacies that serve them.

The Tyee, December 9, 2008
A practical guide to what the experts say can, and must, be done. Second of two.
Gregor Robertson, who was elected on a pledge to end street homelessness by 2015, spent the night before he became mayor of Vancouver touring local homeless shelters.

The Tyee, December 8, 2008
How to End Homelessness
Gregor Robertson will become mayor of Vancouver this Monday afternoon. He won the job in large part because he promised to end street homelessness by 2015.

Prince George Citizen, December 8, 2008
HIV study results an eye opener
Preliminary results of a Canada-wide study investigating HIV and Hepatitis C shows the infection rate in Prince George as the second-highest among the communities studied.

Kingston Whig Standard, December 8, 2008
Drinking drivers catch a break
Ontario has a tough new law that gets drinking drivers off the road, but police aren't using it.

Time Magazine, December 8, 2008
Can Amphetamines Help Cure Cocaine Addiction?
When methadone was first proposed for the treatment of heroin addiction, it sounded like a pointless gambit — sort of like substituting vodka for gin.

LondonTopic.ca, December 7, 2008
City officially launches London CAReS
The City of London, along with its community partners, officially launched the London Community Addiction Response Strategy (London CAReS) Friday (Dec. 5) at Covent Garden Market Square.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Record, December 6, 2008
Teen drug treatment programs get $2.5-million funding boost
Ray of Hope has received $1.4 million to continue operating its eight-bed treatment centre for addicted youth and expand its outreach program.

Vancouver Sun, December 4, 2008
Asian drug abusers go under the radar
In a city with the most visible East Asian population in Canada, there is one type of Asian who remains almost invisible in Vancouver: the drug addict.

Georgia Straight, December 4, 2008
Insite parties for its right to fight Stephen Harper
A free concert scheduled for Saturday (December 6) in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside could turn into a celebration of the looming demise of the Conservative government.

CBC News, December 3, 2008
End of P.E.I. needle exchange worries health officer
The planned shutdown of P.E.I.'s needle exchange has the province's deputy chief health officer worried about the spread of hepatitis C and AIDS.

Vancouver Province, December 3, 2008
Drugs in luggage ruled 'private'Drugs in luggage ruled 'private'
Socks, undies and a toothbrush aren't the only things considered private when checking luggage at the airport. So are illegal drugs and wads of cash, according to a ruling by the Supreme Court of Newfoundland.

King's County Record, December 2, 2008
Government more than doubles support for needle distribution programs in N.B.
Funding will be more than doubled for needle distribution programs throughout New Brunswick, Health Minister Michael Murphy announced Nov. 28.

Victoria Times Colonist, November 30, 2008
Six months later, needle exchange still overdue
Six months have passed since the closing of Victoria's only fixed-site needle exchange.

BBC News, November 30, 2008
Swiss approve prescription heroin
Swiss voters have approved a radical health policy that offers prescription heroin to addicts on a permanent basis.

Victoria Times Colonist, November 28, 2008
Illicit drugs should be legal, officer says
David Bratzer and I share at least one opinion in common: That it costs us a pointless fortune to maintain the charade of having effective drug laws in Canada.

CBC News, November 28, 2008
Researchers find oldest-ever stash of marijuana
Researchers say they have located the world's oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China.

CBC News, November 27, 2008
'We're in denial' on alcohol abuse, Inuit politician says
The Inuit government in Labrador is sending the wrong message about alcohol abuse, a member of the Nunatsiavut legislature said

Toronto Star, November 26, 2008
Salvia . . . a strange, legal high
In one of more than 6,000 YouTube videos tagged "salvia" for the plant salvia divinorum, a young man introduces himself as "Eric, your host" and prepares to smoke the hallucinogenic drug before giving a driving lesson.

CBC News, November 25, 2008
Rankin Inlet narrowly passes 10-day holiday liquor ban
Nunavut's second-largest community will once again have a liquor ban this holiday season, but the decision to have a ban came after hamlet council debated for nearly an hour about it on Monday.

Canadian Medical Association Journal, November 18, 2008
The cost-effectiveness of Vancouver's supervised injection facility
Focusing on the base assumption of decreased needle sharing as the only effect of the supervised injection facility, we found that the facility was associated with an incremental net savings of almost $14 million and 920 life-years gained over 10 years. When we also considered the health effect of increased use of safe injection practices, the incremental net savings increased to more than $20 million and the number of life-years gained to 1070.

Vancouver Sun, November 17, 2008
Vancouver's supervised injection site can save health-care system $20 million: study
Vancouver's supervised drug injection site can save the Canadian health-care system as much as $20 million and substantially increase a population's life span over a 10-year period, according to a study to be published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Canada.com, November 17, 2008
Ont. to seize cars on spot when drivers found over alcohol limit
Drivers in Ontario who blow over the legal blood-alcohol limit or those caught behind the wheel with a suspended licence will have their cars impounded on the spot under new legislation to be introduced Tuesday.

Calgary Herald, November 17, 2008
Teens drawn into 'drug trap'
By the age of 12, she was regularly sneaking out of her southeast Calgary home, dabbling in drugs and hanging out with a much older crowd.

CBC News, November 17, 2008
Brampton councillor wants ban on addictive poppy derivative
A city councillor in Brampton, Ont., is pushing to have a legal substance closely related to opium banned from sale.

Vancouver Sun, November 14, 2008
Medical marijuana could ease economic pains
Eric Nash can barely contain his excitement waiting to hear from Health Canada whether he can start growing marijuana for 250 patients.

Ottawa Citizen, November 14, 2008
Mental health court proves a huge success
Though it has had only five sittings since its creation in May, Ottawa's new youth mental health court is already making a difference, those involved in the court said yesterday.

Calgary Herald, November 14, 2008
Death sparks focus on oilpatch drug use
The death of a pipeline worker and the hospitalization of two of his co-workers from apparent drug overdoses is raising questions about the use -- and abuse -- of drugs and alcohol at oil and gas work sites.

Vancouver Province, November 13, 2008
Addiction treatment more effective without needles
A scientific study of doctors prescribing injectable heroin to heroin addicts in Vancouver and Montreal was recently completed and researchers have claimed it to be a resounding success (the NAOMI study).

Montreal Gazette, November 12, 2008
House gone to pot: woman takes forfeiture ruling to top court
Judy Ann Craig, a former realtor with a golden touch for gardening, will try to convince the Supreme Court of Canada tomorrow that being forced to forfeit her North Vancouver home for running a marijuana grow-op is extreme punishment for her crime.

Edmonton Journal, November 12, 2008
Homeless and pregnant, women afraid to seek care
The office of Edmonton's needle-exchange program on some days looks like a prenatal clinic, with mothers taking naps, putting up swollen feet or waiting for rides to medical appointments.

Vancouver Sun, November 11, 2008
An exclusive interview with Vancouver's outgoing mayor
As some bloggers tell it, about-to-be-former-mayor Sam Sullivan is so enraged at being dumped from the NPA ticket that he probably leaked the secret Olympic Village report that's causing his party's incumbents such grief.

CBC News, November 10, 2008
Police to demand urine, blood from suspected drug-impaired drivers
Six Calgary police officers have been certified as drug-recognition experts, so drivers going through roadside checkstops may now be asked for more than a breath sample.

Victoria Times Colonist, November 7, 2008
Expanded detox a small step
Certainly an expanded outpatient detox program in the capital region is welcome. And progress on addictions should be celebrated as a step toward helping individuals and reducing the problems plaguing Victoria's downtown.

Victoria Times Colonist, November 6, 2008
Outpatient detox program to cut waits for care beds
Addicts in the early stages of trying to kick alcohol or drug habits can now attend an outpatient detox program instead of waiting for one of Victoria's scarce residential detox beds.

Regina Leader-Post, November 5, 2008
Inmate denied pot in jail
An inmate at Regina's jail says the federal government has given him permission to use medicinal marijuana to combat chronic pain, but the provincial government won't allow him to smoke pot behind bars.

Canwest News, November 4, 2008
Alcohol, drugs kill thousands in B.C.: Study
Thousands of British Columbians are literally drinking, drugging and smoking themselves to death, says a five-year snapshot of substance abuse by the University of Victoria.

Calgary Herald, October 31, 2008
Program to treat social disorders
It's just after 1 a.m. when Const. Scott Todd is flagged down by a street person as he drives his police van along 7th Avenue S.W. in downtown Calgary.

Metro, October 31, 2008
Alberta to keep tabs on repeat offenders
Premier Ed Stelmach has a message for 60 of Alberta’s worst criminals identified in a new strategy to tackle crime: “We will be watching you.”

Vancouver Province, October 30, 2008
Society should eradicate certain behaviour rather than condone it
Over the course of several years we tend to witness what was once considered anti-social or deviant behaviour become routine and accepted.

Prince George Citizen, October 30, 2008
Methadone helps addicts, says program founder
Methadone drastically improves the lives of many opiate addicts, in spite of some abuses that do take place, says the founder of the city's methadone program.

Victoria Times Colonist, October 30, 2008
Synthetic drug production booming in Canada: RCMP
Canada is one of the world's largest producers of synthetic drugs such as ecstasy and crystal meth, the RCMP said yesterday, warning that large-scale clandestine laboratories are thriving in the country.

Montreal Gazette, October 30, 2008
Marijuana crusader convicted
A medical marijuana crusader with multiple sclerosis says he will likely die in prison now that a Winnipeg jury has found him guilty of selling pot to clients across Canada who suffer from chronic pain or terminal illnesses.

Vancouver Sun, October 29, 2008
Registry to track ex-drug houses essential for buyers
Buying a new home is scary enough without worry that it might have a criminal past, especially when prospective homeowners are operating at the outer limits of affordability.

Victoria Times Colonist, October 29, 2008
Undercover police to nab drunk drivers, belt scofflaws
Undercover police officers may be coming to a busy street corner near you. The B.C. Solicitor General's Ministry and the RCMP announced a new program yesterday to curb drunk drivers and unbuckled vehicle occupants.

Victoria Times Colonist, October 29, 2008
Law targeting grow-ops legal
B.C.'s controversial Safety Standards Act -- aimed at smoking out dangerous grow-ops -- has survived a constitutional challenge.

National Post, October 29, 2008
Stop harassing medical pot users
On Monday, the Federal Court of Appeal refused to entertain a government challenge to January's Sfetkopoulos decision, in which Justice Barry Strayer of the federal court's trial division struck down the rule that a licenced grower of medical marijuana can only have one customer.

Burlington Post, October 29, 2008
Mother champions methadone program for Halton drug addicts document
Betty-Lou Kristy wishes there had been help available to her son before he died of a drug overdose at the age of 25.

National Post, October 29, 2008
Barbara Kay: Combatting addiction requires weeding out the ideology
When I determined to become a nicotine addict at age 14, it was more work than pleasure, involving months of nausea, dizziness and disgust.

Calgary Herald, October 28, 2008
Court OKs medical marijuana market
Canadians prescribed marijuana to treat illness will have more choice in where to buy their drugs after a court ruling Monday that ends the federal government's monopoly on supplying medical marijuana to patients.

Miller-McCune Newsletter, October 27, 2008
Faced with a horrific drug problem, Vancouver is trying a radical experiment: Let junkies be junkies
On a chilly, overcast morning in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, a steady trickle of sallow-faced drug addicts shambles up to a storefront painted with flowers and the words “Welcome to Insite.”

CTV News, October 27, 2008
Mother of suspected overdose victim speaks out
It's a stark warning for parents of teens or young adults, who may be into the rave or party scene.

Victoria Times Colonist, October 25, 2008
Prescribed drugs a step forward
It's worth working toward an ideal world in which people would not be dependent on drugs. In the meantime, we should be looking at measures -- like prescription heroin -- that would make our society safer and more secure.

CBC News, October 24, 2008
New beds for young adults with addictions in Calgary, Edmonton
The province is opening 20 new beds in Calgary and Edmonton to help young adults with addictions.

Vue Weekly, October 23, 2008
Well, Well, Well: No InSite? No insight
On my mind this week, in the wake of Stephen Harper’s re-election, are the realities facing some of those most marginalized among us—the drug addicted, to be specific.

Vancouver Sun, October 22, 2008
Opiate trial results are encouraging
Although heroin maintenance might appear to be a daring new treatment for heroin addicts, it's neither daring nor new.

Victoria Times Colonist, October 22, 2008
Bars' plan to scan IDs might violate privacy laws
B.C.'s privacy commissioner is investigating whether the practice of having bar patrons run their drivers licences through scanners at the door violates privacy laws.

Montreal Gazette, October 22, 2008
Cops to keep eye on pot-dealing café
Quebec City police warn they will closely monitor the activities of a café that plans to sell marijuana.

Vancouver Sun, October 22, 2008
RCMP's 'E' Division should stand up for itself
The RCMP has its problems but nothing justifies cowering before special interest groups.

Abbotsford Times, October 21, 2008
Cops, PM shady on Insite
It is right that Auditor General Sheila Fraser should investigate how and why the RCMP in B.C. commissioned studies into Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection facility.

Calgary Herald, October 20, 2008
Addicts, mentally ill get housing assistance
A program helping homeless people who struggle with mental illness and addictions has helped 36 people -- including one man who was homeless for 20 years -- find permanent housing since it started nearly a year ago.

CBC News, October 19, 2008
Heroin-assisted treatment safe and effective: study
A University of B.C. epidemiologist says there is now evidence to support a heroin-assisted addictions therapy clinic in Vancouver.

Vancouver Province, October 19, 2008
New treatment works
A legal painkiller called Dilaudid is more effective in treating serious heroin addiction than methadone therapy, according to a groundbreaking Canadian study.

CBC News, October 18, 2008
No Charter right to safe injection site, Ottawa says in court documents
A B.C. court ruling that prevents Ottawa from shutting down Vancouver's controversial supervised-injection site is akin to exempting kleptomaniacs from theft laws or alcoholics from drunk-driving laws, federal government lawyers say.

Canoe.ca, October 17, 2008
No Charter right to safe-injection site: Ottawa
A B.C. court ruling that prevents Ottawa from shutting down Vancouver's controversial supervised-injection site is akin to exempting kleptomaniacs from theft laws or alcoholics from drunk-driving laws, say federal government lawyers.

CBC News, October 17, 2008
Alcohol and health — a dangerous mix?
Does Canada have a drinking problem? Some of the country's medical specialists think so.

Georgia Straight, October 16, 2008
Stephen Harper lacks necessary Insite
The last time drug user Dean Wilson got upset with politicians over their treatment of addicts, he dragged a coffin before then–Vancouver mayor Philip Owen at City Hall.

Vancouver Courier, October 15, 2008
NAOMI keeps mum before election
Four days before Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper dropped the writ to kick off the federal election campaign, Dr. Martin Schechter was delivering a paper at a drug addiction conference in Switzerland.

Vancouver Sun, October 15, 2008
War on crime and drugs more hopeful than realistic
During the election campaign, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that on the matter of criminal justice the Conservatives are not listening to "people who work in ivory towers" because "we believe they are wrong."

Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 2008
Denying the data
Reports that RCMP in Vancouver tried to discredit Insite, the city's supervised-injection site, by commissioning a study that undermines it, is the latest evidence of a trend that is alarming scientists and should worry the rest of us, too.

Ottawa Citizen, October 15, 2008
Denying the data
Reports that RCMP in Vancouver tried to discredit Insite, the city's supervised-injection site, by commissioning a study that undermines it, is the latest evidence of a trend that is alarming scientists and should worry the rest of us, too.

Toronto Star, October 15, 2008
RCMP to review funding research against Insite
The RCMP are conducting an internal review into a decision to fund research that criticized Vancouver's supervised injection site.

Vancouver Province, October 14, 2008
A plague on your houses
Word has it that North America's first heroin trial project has been a resounding success.

Metro Vancouver, October 9, 2008
RCMP use of public funds wrong: Pivot
Canada’s auditor general needs to examine whether the RCMP overstepped their mandate when it funded academic critiques of Vancouver’s supervised injection site, the Pivot Legal Society said yesterday.

Toronto Star, October 9, 2008
Drugged driving charge a first
Toronto police have made their first-ever arrest under Canada's new drugged driving law, charging a woman yesterday after she crashed her car into an accident scene.

The Tyee, October 8, 2008
RCMP Quietly Funded Study Critical of Insite Effort
The RCMP funded studies critical of Vancouver's supervised injection site (Insite), encouraged officers opposed to Insite to phone a popular radio talk show, and may have attempted to conceal these advocacy efforts from public view, according to allegations by the Pivot Legal Society.

Victoria Times Colonist, October 8, 2008
Needle exchange sparks hot words at Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca town hall
It didn't take long for the debate to heat up between Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca federal election candidates in a town hall forum last night in which more than 300 people packed into Isabelle Reader Theatre and spilled out into the hallway.

CBC News, October 8, 2008
Daughter's addiction too powerful: Sonya Harvey's mother
The mother of a young woman once described as the poster child for St. John's OxyContin crisis said Wednesday her daughter's addiction is so powerful that even her love for her seven-month-old son hasn't kept her off drugs.

Ottawa Citizen, October 8, 2008
The War on Drugs is a bust
Afghanistan is going badly. "We're not going to win this war," said a top British general last week.

Calgary Herald, October 6, 2008
Drug dealer's garbage case goes to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Canada is about to tackle trash -- specifically, a Calgary drug dealer's garbage used as evidence to convict the former swimming star.

Ottawa Citizen, October 6, 2008
How to win the drug war
There has been little mention in this election campaign of the most pernicious evil of our time.

Times and Transcript, October 4, 2008
National meeting of provincial social responsible drinking leaders wrapped up in Fredericton yesterday
Responsible drinking messages cannot be limited to simply "don't drink and drive" as a new culture of alcohol consumption is presenting diverse problems according to one of Canada's foremost social responsibility advocates.

CBC News, October 2, 2008
Medical professionals should get say in public health policy: Ottawa committee
A compromise to take some of the politics out of public health decisions has been recommended by a City of Ottawa committee.

Kitchener-Waterloo Record
Childhood determines addiction, says doctor
Whether or not you'll become an addict later on in life is more or less determined in the first three years after your birth.

North Shore News, October 1, 2008
Insite support stronger on the left
When it comes to Vancouver's supervised injection site, the North Shore's left-leaning candidates are all for it -- although those closest to the centre have reservations.

Toronto Star, October 1, 2008
Off drugs, off the streets and going good again
Brian carries a set of headshots, a portfolio of sorts, in his briefcase; but he is not an actor, nor is he vain or full of self-regard.

Edmonton Journal, October 1, 2008
New sheriff squad assigned to obstruct drug-house activity
A new unit of Alberta sheriffs will target drug houses across the province starting today.

Victoria Times Colonist, September 30, 2008
Saving the city from addiction
At first blush, a court challenge that argues for a heroin addict's right to shoot up in public looks like another demand to surrender our city's downtown to the addicts.

Victoria Times Colonist, September 29, 2008
Addict's arrest violated charter, lawyer argues
A Victoria defence lawyer is arguing that the charter rights of a homeless heroin addict were violated when he was arrested with a needle in his hand in a secluded parking lot off Herald Street in June 2006.

Toronto Star, September 29, 2008
Drug treatment court gives users second chance
A tall man in an orange jumpsuit enters the prisoner's dock. He rocks back and forth between guilt and remorse and his chains make silver noises.

London Free Press, September 29, 2008
Wizard stick parties newest rage
A drinking game that's making the rounds confers "wizard status" on anyone who consumes enough cans of beer to exceed their height, but a health expert suggests this kind of binge drinking is anything but wise.

Vancouver Province, September 28, 2008
Nelson head-shop workers face hard time
This may be the most pot-happy town in Canada, but three local marijuana vendors are bracing for prison in a case their lawyer compares to the controversy over Vancouver's infamous safe-injection site.

Vancouver Province, September 28, 2008
The facts show Insite saves lives and directs addicts to treatment
It is disappointing to read another editorial in which the facts about Vancouver Coastal Health's supervised injection site (SIS) are again ignored.

CBC News, September 26, 2008
Hard to find outdoor marijuana crops in vast forests, Kelowna RCMP say
The harvest of outdoor marijuana crops in the Okanagan Valley is well under way but police have difficulty making busts because of the vastness of B.C.'s wilderness, RCMP said Thursday.

The Tyee, September 25, 2008
BC 'paying the price' for not tackling addiction: Oppal
B.C.'s Attorney General said the province is "paying the price" for its historic failure to deal with drug addiction.

CBC News, September 25, 2008
Complaint line set up to report grow-ops, drug houses
Starting Oct. 1, Alberta sheriffs will be allowed to evict people from homes being used for illegal activities, including drugs and prostitution.

CBC News, September 25, 2008
Cocaine-snorting executives driving drug trade: Alberta solicitor general
Fast-living executives and middle-class people who get high at parties are partly to blame for driving the drug trade and increasing gang activity, Alberta's solicitor general said Thursday.

CTV News, September 24, 2008
Meth users fuel addiction with identity theft
Vancouver's Identity Theft Task Force has been tracking a group of more than 300 criminals for several years.

CBC News, September 24, 2008
Ontario challenging B.C.'s pot-growing supremacy: OPP
B.C. has a reputation for abundant bud, but Ontario Provincial Police say marijuana growers in their province are starting to rival their western counterparts.

Metro Vancouver, September 23, 2008
AIDS expert blasts Tories
The federal government’s opposition to North America’s only supervised injection site is tantamount to genocide, the president of the International AIDS society said yesterday in Vancouver.

Vancouver Province, September 17, 2008
'Stunning' increase in number of Greater Vancouver homeless
Greater Vancouver's homeless crisis continues to grow at a "stunning" and "shocking" rate, with a 373-per-cent increase in street homelessness since 2002.

Nanaimo Daily News, September 15, 2008
Prescription drug abuse grows
A longtime Nanaimo pharmacist says prescription drug abuse is so bad, some clients are only allowed a daily dose that they must consume before they leave.

CBC News, September 15, 2008
MADD gives good review to ignition interlock plan
Plans on P.E.I. to force ignition interlocks on repeat drunk driving offenders are a good move, says MADD Canada, but forcing them on all offenders could make the Island's rules the toughest in the country.

National Post, September 13, 2008
Fastest court in the West
Andrew Cochrane is a hard-at-it Crown prosecutor assigned to this city's new community court. It is a unique experiment in fast justice, aimed at downtown street criminals.

The Record, September 13, 2008
Prescribed drug could prevent overdose deaths of addicts
Fewer drug addicts would die if they carried a prescribed drug that reverses an opiate overdose, says a report by the Waterloo Region Community Safety and Crime Prevention Council.

Toronto Star, September 13, 2008
TTC union slams drug test idea
The head of the Toronto transit workers' union, Bob Kinnear, says he won't rule out the possibility of a labour disruption or legal action if the TTC goes ahead with a controversial drug and alcohol testing policy.

Vancouver Sun, September 11, 2008
New community court convenes
At 9:13 a.m. Wednesday morning -- things were running late -- a sheriff announced, "Order in court. All rise," and Provincial Court Judge Thomas Gove emerged from an antechamber, strode to his bench and sat down. The first day of Vancouver's new community court had convened.

Vancouver Province, September 11, 2008
Shoplifter first to get help from new community court
A homeless shoplifter with no job and a drinking problem became the poster child yesterday for Canada's first community court.

CBC News, September 11, 2008
Methadone kickbacks could lead to criminal investigation
A CBC investigation that uncovered kickbacks paid to addicts could lead to a criminal investigation and changes in the way methadone is dispensed on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, according to B.C.'s health minister.

Vancouver Province, September 10, 2008
Judge hopes community court will change system for better
When the Downtown Community Court hears its first case this morning, presiding Judge Thomas Gove hopes it will mark the dawn of a new age in criminal justice in Canada.

Vancouver Province, September 10, 2008
Methadone lessons
The kickback schemes in community-based methadone distribution schemes are highly disconcerting, yet point to important lessons learned elsewhere.

Metro Vancouver, September 10, 2008
Creative crime solutions
A new provincial court opens its doors in the Downtown Eastside today, offering an innovative approach to curbing the cycle of poverty and drug addiction that fuels crime in Vancouver.

CBC News, September 10, 2008
Community court opens on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
Canada's first community court opens Wednesday morning in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, bringing a different approach to justice to one of the county's most troubled neighbourhoods.

Vancouver Province, September 10, 2008
Doctors call methadone kickbacks a 'big problem'
Addictions doctors in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside have complained for months about pharmacists luring heroin addicts for their lucrative methadone prescriptions, and say rules around dispensing fees have to change.

National Post, September 10, 2008
Critics call for action on drug kickbacks
Health workers on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside say they have complained for years about drug addicts being offered kickbacks from pharmacists to fill their methadone prescriptions, a problem they say is getting worse.

The Record, September 10, 2008
Prescribed medicines the main cause of drug overdoses
About 28 people in the region die every year from drug overdoses, a first-ever report says.

Victoria Times Colonist, September 10, 2008
Breweries to fund fetal alcohol research
The Brewers Association of Canada yesterday handed out $120,000 for new research into fetal alcohol syndrome.

Vancouver Province, September 7, 2008
New court offers 'one-stop sentencing'
Canada's first community court has found its home in Vancouver and opened its doors in the Downtown Eastside yesterday, ready to take on the job of reforming the civil and criminal justice system.

Vancouver Province, September 7, 2008
Methadone kickbacks investigated
A pharmacy in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is being investigated for offering heroin addicts cash in exchange for filling their methadone prescriptions.

Calgary Herald, September 4, 2008
Drug court seeks new funding
City council will decide during budget talks in November whether to spend another $250,000 on a drug treatment court to keep taking addicts off the streets and into a community-based facility.

CBC News, September 4, 2008
Women who binge drink more likely to engage in unsafe sex: study
A U.S. study says women who have more than five alcoholic drinks at one sitting are at increased risk of having unsafe sex and contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

The McGill Daily, September 4, 2008
The great safe-inject debate
Early this summer, plans for a safe inject site (SIS) pilot program seemed to be getting serious in Quebec.

Vancouver Province, September 3, 2008
Synergy is missing from community court
There isn't a B.C. lawyer more faithful to the charitable values that are the mainstay of a community court than Judge Tom Gove, a child advocate who has earned nation-wide praise for his efforts to protect our kids in care.

Edmonton Journal, September 3, 2008
Booze warning for students
Cameron Pasula has a simple plan for his first week as a university student. "I'm going to party for the first few days, then I'll hit the books," the 18-year-old said.

CBC News, September 3, 2008
Limo parties abet underage drinking, B.C. school official says
Limousines and party buses rented for private engagements are becoming new places for teenagers to drink to excess, the chair of a Lower Mainland school district says.

Vancouver Province, August 31, 2008
Canada's first community court to offer compassion to criminals
Each day, Judge Thomas Gove drives along East Hastings Street, where the battered lives of strung-out drug addicts, desperate prostitutes and drunken men exist in plain view.

Vancouver Province, August 31, 2008
Class trip to Red Hook had lasting impact on instructor, students
Red Hook was once to Brooklyn what the Downtown Eastside is to Vancouver. The waterfront neighbourhood was known for poverty and drug-fuelled violence throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Vancouver Province, August 31, 2008
Key differences exist between community court and 'regular court'
The Downtown Community Court differs from traditional court in three main ways...

Vancouver Province, August 31, 2008
We must tackle binge drinking
As students of 14th-century poet Geoffrey Chaucer will know, young people and binge drinking have gone together like birds of a feather for hundreds of years.

Vancouver Sun, August 29, 2008
How to deal with an impaired driver
A recent ad campaign sponsored by ICBC and the province's police forces has reminded British Columbians that there's no excuse for drinking and driving.

Vancouver Sun, August 29, 2008
Ottawa to take aim at flow of drugs into federal prisons
The Conservative government is expected to announce today in B.C. that it will increase prison security in an effort to restrict the flow of illicit drugs.

24 Hours, August 29, 2008
The hypocrisy of Insite's support
Let me tell you how I spent most of the last week.

CTV News, August 27, 2008
Killer drinking bet prompts warning
The death of a 20-year-old man who died after drinking a whole bottle of whiskey on a bet has prompted RCMP to issue a warning.

The Halifax Chronicle Herald, August 27, 2008
'The time is coming'
Halifax would benefit from having a safe-injection site for drug users like the one operating in Vancouver, the director of a local needle exchange program says.

Victoria Times Colonist, August 26, 2008
Police attack pot patches from the air
The Mounties are air bound again this year, spotting and chopping some of the marijuana grow ops that dot the wooded areas in and around the Comox Valley.

Winnipeg Free Press, August 25, 2008
Graphic meth video will be shown to kids
A 12-year-old boy strapped to a chair chokes as battery acid is forced down his throat, winces in pain as his teeth are drilled until they pour blood and worms are dumped all over him.

The Tyee, August 25, 2008
Harm Reduction, '50s Style
In the recent hullabaloo over Insite, Vancouver's safe injection site for drug users, critics of the facility are doing their best to create the impression that harm reduction is the recent product of radicals.

Vancouver Province, August 24, 2008
Organized and high-tech
Metro Vancouver is one of three Canadian hubs for organized crime, crime that is becoming more sophisticated and high-tech, according to a report by the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada.

Vancouver Province, August 24, 2008
Drug testing a wise trade-off
It's a highly controversial issue. But we have to say that, on balance, we welcome the new construction industry policy that all unionized B.C. construction workers who have had workplace accidents will face mandatory testing for drugs and alcohol.

Montreal Gazette, August 23, 2008
We want safe injection sites here: coalition
Local community groups and a public-health doctor are urging Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc to reconsider his decision against opening a supervised injection site in Montreal for intravenous drug users.

Vancouver Sun, August 22, 2008
Conservatives' tough talk on drugs is a cheap political ploy
The Harper government's escalating rhetoric on drug policy will turn off as many voters as it turns on.

Vancouver Courier, August 22, 2008
Meggs slams mayor's strategy
Mayor Sam Sullivan's pitch to Ottawa in 2006 to endorse his drug treatment plan included the belief that "Conservative leadership can ameliorate the greatest threat to livability in Vancouver."

Vancouver Sun, August 22, 2008
Drug tests planned for building trades
Workers on unionized construction sites in B.C. will be subject to mandatory drug testing under an agreement negotiated by construction companies and unions.

Vancouver Courier, August 22, 2008
Feds say drug injection centre offers 'no hope'
If re-elected in November, NPA Coun. Kim Capri says, she will spend any money available for drug addiction on treatment and prevention--not on another supervised injection site.

Vancouver Province, August 22, 2008
The Harper government is headed the right way in the battle against drugs
Federal Health Minister Tony Clement is on a dangerous mission.

Ottawa Citizen, August 22, 2008
Quebec parents worry less about drugs: study Quebecers 'more tolerant of marijuana use' by teens
According to a new federal government survey, Quebec's distinct society extends to parental attitudes toward illicit drug use by youth.

CBC News, August 22, 2008
Police 'not on top of organized crime': RCMP
The B.C. Lower Mainland, southern Ontario and greater Montreal are three major hubs of organized crime and illicit drug activity in the country, a report released Friday says.

National Post, August 21, 2008
Quebec rejects opening safe-injection facilities for those addicted to drugs
Quebec has decided not to open safe-injection sites for drug addicts, citing too little scientific evidence about their effectiveness.

Montreal Gazette, August 21, 2008
The logical next step against drunk drivers
Around the world, governments are zeroing in on repeat drunk drivers to reduce the carnage on roads from Rimouski to Rome.

Vancouver Sun, August 20, 2008
Simplistic solutions to complex problems won't win votes
Party officials have denied that the Conservative campaign flyer that landed with such a thud in east Vancouver was written specifically for that riding.

CTV News, August 20, 2008
Clement's drug remarks 'repugnant': doctor
A doctor who works with addicts at North America's only supervised injection site says Health Minister Tony Clement's slam against physicians who support the facility is "repugnant" and "introduces an element of ugliness into the discussion."

Regina Leader-Post, August 20, 2008
More Canadians for safe-injection site than against: Survey
Vancouver's safe-injection facility, under attack by the federal health minister, has the support of 38 per cent of Canadians, a new poll suggests.

Ottawa Citizen, August 19, 2008
Stance on safe-injection site earns Clement rebuke in B.C.
The director of a Vancouver non-profit group that helps people with mental illness and addictions dismissed federal Health Minister Tony Clement's comments about Vancouver's safe-injection site as "embarrassing" yesterday.

CBC News, August 19, 2008
New law lets Ontario seize cars of repeat drunk drivers
The Ontario government is now seizing cars owned or driven by repeat drunk drivers under the province's amended civil forfeiture law, the first program of its kind in Canada.

Toronto Star, August 19, 2008
Insite uproar a blessing and curse
Those of us who care about lively and informed public debate of Canada's drug policies see Vancouver's supervised injection site as both a profound blessing and a wretched curse. This month's International AIDS conference continued to highlight the polarizing impact of Insite.

Regian Leader Post, August 18, 2008
Illegal drugs flyer violated government rules, opposition says
Flyers sent out by the federal Conservative party last week violate rules that forbid members of Parliament from using their free postage privileges to send out campaign material, opposition MPs say.

Vancouver Sun, August 18, 2008
CMA's support for injection sites slammed
Federal Health Minister Tony Clement used his podium at the Canadian Medical Association conference Monday to once again slam Vancouver's supervised injection site, saying the association's recent endorsements of Insite are "dangerously misleading."

Vancouver Province, August 15, 2008
Tory mailing targeting 'junkies' strikes a sour note in east Vancouver
East Vancouver residents have been blitzed this week with a Conservative government flyer turning up in their mailboxes that says "junkies" don't belong "near children and families."

Vancouver Sun, August 15, 2008
Marijuana grower forfeits mortgage-free $600,000 home
A B.C. judge has ordered a marijuana grower on the Sunshine Coast to turn over his mortgage-free $600,000 home to the government in what appears to be the largest such forfeiture in B.C. history.

Victoria Times Colonist, August 13, 2008
Program helps homeless to acquire ID documents
Life on the street is tough enough without being a non-person, say Larry Basaraba and Wolf Silver.

The Tyee, August 13, 2008
'The Dope Craze that's Terrorizing Vancouver'
I recently heard a senior city planner say that economic decline in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside preceded the drug problem now associated with the area. The point he was making was valid -- that the drug trade didn't cause the decline -- but his history was nevertheless skewed.

Windsor Star, August 12, 2008
Attacks on Insite becoming tiresome
Health Minister Tony Clement's diatribes against Vancouver's safe injection site are becoming tiresome and embarrassing.

CBC News, August 11, 2008
Drug crackdown could lead to violent prison uprisings: union
The union representing Canadian prison guards is worried that a crackdown on drug smuggling in prisons could lead to more violent incidents like a day-long standoff at a maximum security prison near Kingston last week.

Victoria Times Colonist, August 8, 2008
Toughest hurdle to overcome is denial
Telling your drug-addicted child he or she isn't welcome at home unless they get treatment or abides by the house rules is painful for any parent.

Victoria Times Colonist, August 8, 2008
Getting clean just the first step to recovery
Withdrawing from substance abuse is just one part of the journey to wellness, says Michelle Dartnall, manager of youth and family addiction services for the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

Canoe.ca, August 8, 2008
Lawsuit attacks OxyContin use
The addictive powers of OxyContin have left a central Alberta man in a "state of despair," a $31-million class action lawsuit filed in Calgary claims.

Vancouver Province, August 7, 2008
Teen drug use probed
B.C. health researchers hope a new study will help them find out what leads some kids to just experiment with drugs, tobacco and alcohol while others become addicted.

National Post, August 7, 2008
Beyond crime and punishment
William M. lives in Vancouver, but his world is so different from that of ordinary Canadians that he might as well live on another planet. Born in 1961, he began compiling an adult criminal record in Ontario as soon as he became of age, committing dozens of property crimes, violent crimes and minor offences such as breaching bail.

Victoria Times Colonist, August 7, 2008
'Alive and sane today' because of tough love
Cora Goodyer was a straight-A student who took part in all kinds of sports and had a perfect attendance record at school until age 13, when she was molested by her sister's best friend.

Victoria Times Colonist, August 6, 2008
An addict in the family: 'Don't come into this house again'
It is one of the hardest decisions a parent could ever make.

Canada.com, August 1, 2008
Young women binge drinking in bid for equality put themselves at risk
Girl power comes in a shot glass for young Canadian women who are seeking equality at the bar stool.

National Post, July 29, 2008
Restaurateur goes to court over human rights ruling on medical marijuana
A Burlington restaurant owner is going to court to overturn a human rights complaint over his refusal to allow a patron with a medical marijuana licence to smoke on his property.

National Post, July 28, 2008
Insite works
To illuminate the double standard surrounding "harm reduction," Dr. Stephen Hwang, a medical researcher and associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, offers the following scenario: Suppose that an innovative but controversial intervention is launched to reduce complications of Type 2 Diabetes, and 7,000 subjects take part in a trial.

National Post, July 28, 2008
The solution is abstinence
Prevention, treatment, enforcement: These traditional policies were announced in 2007 as the pillars that would uphold Canada's National Anti-drug Strategy.

CTV News, July 25, 2008
Police not charging enough drunk drivers: MADD
Statistics Canada says that drunk driving charges have been cut in half over 20 years, but MADD Canada says the reason for that is because police are laying fewer charges due to cracks in Canada's laws.

CBC News, July 24, 2008
Staffing shortage shuts northern drug treatment program
A staff shortage at the Northern Health authority's only residential drug treatment program has temporarily forced the facility to shut its doors, according to internal memos obtained by CBC News.

CBC News, July 22, 2008
Analyst: New drugs and driving law a 'strong, positive step'
Recent amendments to the Criminal Code contained in Bill C-2 give police new powers to deal with drivers suspected of being under the influence of drugs. Alan Young, a criminal lawyer and a professor at Toronto's Osgoode Law School, told CBCNews.ca in a July 10 interview what he believes to be the possible complications from the new law. Doug Beirness of the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse has a different take on the legislation.

CBC News, July 21, 2008
'Drug court' offers addicts rehab instead of jail
The federal government is reviewing the country's most innovative anti-drug programs, including Winnipeg's Drug Treatment Court.

Victoria Times Colonist, July 19, 2008
Home provides new start for addicts
Kevin Craig sits in the living room of his new home at 512 Cecelia Rd., a room with fresh buttery yellow paint, newly restored woodwork and hardwood floors. He's far from one of the lowest points of his life just over a year ago, when his home was on the streets of Victoria, a prisoner of his alcohol addiction.

Victoria Times Colonist, July 18, 2008
Binge-drinking teens on track for disaster
As always, I had a great time at Courtenay's Island Music Fest this past weekend, and I don't want what I'm about to say to be taken as criticism of what is a summer highlight for my family. But holy moly, there was some out-of-control drinking going on up there.

The Canadian Press, July 16, 2008
Quebec move toward safe-injection sites could be awkward for Tories
Health officials in Quebec are preparing to open a supervised-injection site in Montreal in the coming months and say it could become one of many in the province.

Ottawa Citizen, July 14, 2008
Sound drug strategy must seek to reduce harm, advocates say
Harm reduction needs to be included as part of a healthy drug strategy, and this can be achieved by open discussion, supporters of North America's only safe-injection site said at a public forum on Monday.

Georgia Straight, July 10, 2008
Liberal nominee wants addicts sent to island
The B.C. Liberal party candidate in Vancouver–Mount Pleasant, where Vancouver’s supervised injection site is located, wants drug addicts taken away to an “island”.

Ottawa Citizen, July 10, 2008
Health warning issued over 'club pills'
Health Canada issued a warning Thursday advising against taking drugs sold by Purepillz, a Toronto-based company purporting to sell a "new breed of club pills."

CBC News, July 10, 2008
Q&A: Canada's new drug testing laws will be difficult to implement: lawyer
Last week, new legislation on impaired driving came into effect in Canada that includes tougher penalties and new, mandatory tests for drivers suspected of taking drugs. Allison Dunfield of CBCNews.ca spoke with Alan Young, a criminal lawyer and a professor at Toronto's Osgoode Law School, about the new legislation and possible complications that may arise from it.

Vancouver Courier, July 2, 2008
VPD: Does Insite feed addiction?
Don't expect the Vancouver Police Department to wade into the debate surrounding the medical merits of the city's supervised injection site, says the VPD's drug policy coordinator.

Burnaby Now, July 2, 2008
New facility a first of its kind in B.C.
A new mental health and addictions centre - billed as the first of its kind in B.C. - opened Friday in Burnaby.

North Shore News, July 2, 2008
Drug history's sad centenary
In a little more than a week, Canada will reach a milestone that will pass more or less unnoticed. In the context of the continuing debate over drugs, it would be reasonable to expect some kind of recognition that, on July 11 1908, Parliament passed our first drug law.

National Post, June 30, 2008
Keeping cap on liquor sales
Singer Corey Hart was promising to "Never Surrender," Pamela Anderson was graduating from a British Columbia high school and the Toronto Maple Leafs finished with the worst record in the National Hockey League in 1985. At the same time, the newly elected Liberal government in Ontario was promising to bring the liquor distribution laws "into the 1980s" by allowing the sale of wine and six-packs of beer in convenience stores.

CTV News, June 28, 2008
Dutch marijuana coffee shops brace for smoking ban
This city's famed marijuana bars have weathered many challenges over the years and are still smoking.

Vancouver Sun, June 28, 2008
Prison won't treat these offenders, either
Less than four months ago, the Vancouver Police Department released an exhaustive report detailing how police officers are dealing with more and more people suffering from mental illness and addiction.

CBC News, June 27, 2008
Justice minister heralds new enforcement rules on drug-impaired driving
Police forces across Canada will have new powers to crack down on drug-impaired driving after the holiday weekend, federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson reminded Canadians on Friday.

Canwest News, June 27, 2008
Pot dispute has Ont. bar owner smoking mad
A sports bar owner said he risks breaking the law and could lose his licence if he signs an agreement to settle a complaint at the Ontario Human Rights Commission to allow a patron to smoke medical marijuana outside the front door of his Burlington, Ont. bar.

Vancouver Sun, June 26, 2008
Seeing is believing for city's powerbrokers
You cannot fix what you do not understand, not with all the MBAs, PhDs, CFOs and CEOs and alphabetically enhanced powerbrokers in the world.

National Post, June 26, 2008
1 criminal, 148 convictions
William Edward Marshall is no ordinary criminal. The 46-year-old has been breaking and entering, thieving and assaulting for the past 27 years, often unsuccessfully.

Victoria Times Colonist, June 26, 2008
That little joint could kill your child, MD says
It's not only those pills in the bathroom cabinet that could kill your child -- it could also the pot left out after a party, Dr. Anna Jarvis told delegates at the 85th annual conference of the Canadian Pediatric Society in Victoria.

Vancouver Province, June 25, 2008
New drug-driving law gets mixed review in Vancouver
Drivers suspected of being stoned will face roadside tests and compulsory urine, blood or saliva testing under a controversial law that takes effect a week from today.

Ottawa Citizen, June 23, 2008
Drugs, alcohol off the menu
Adolescent girls who frequently sit down for meals with their families are half as likely to smoke, drink and use marijuana as those who share family meals less often, according to a new study.

Vancouver Sun, June 22, 2008
Government not on brink of building new prisons
The Harper government has no long-term plans to build new prisons to house an anticipated influx of offenders convicted under the Conservatives' tough-on-crime initiatives, despite setting aside up to $245 million for at least one extra penitentiary immediately after coming to power two years ago.

Vancouver Sun, June 20, 2008
Chronic addiction-based offenders must first be separated from society
It's hard to say 30 strikes and you're out with a straight face. It sounds like a silly joke.

Vancouver Province, June 20, 2008
One junkie in jail leaves 4,000 citizens crime-free
Each year an estimated 4,000 Greater Vancouver citizens become victims of his crack cocaine-stoked break-ins and thefts.

Ottawa Citizen, June 20, 2008
Needle-exchange program stays with push to clean up discards
The city's medical officer of health smoothed the turbulent waters of the needle-exchange program yesterday, convincing city councillors the program should carry on as it has, but promising a big push to get discarded needles off Ottawa's streets.

Ottawa Citizen, June 18, 2008
Harm-reduction report critical of mayor
Mayor Larry O'Brien's political interference in Ottawa's Safer Crack Use Initiative damaged relations between the police service and the public health unit, says a report from the Canadian AIDS Society and the Canadian Harm Reduction Network.

Edmonton Journal, June 18, 2008
Car ignitions help curb drunk drivers
Traffic safety officers and anti-drunk-driving activists praised new rules for Alberta's worst impaired drivers Tuesday, but said the province has been slow to take aggressive action to stop people from boozing and getting behind the wheel.

Windsor Star, June 16, 2008
City builds defence against drug problems
The Windsor area has taken its first steps in a fight against the devastating effects of drugs in our region, say the authors of a new framework document aimed at preventing and reducing substance abuse.

Victoria Times Colonist, June 14, 2008
Editorial: We're too blind to alcohol's ills
Our society's love affair with alcohol is unlikely to cool anytime soon. But we can strive to ensure that we are not blind to the damage being done by the object of our affection.

Vancouver Sun, June 13, 2008
Putting a price on alcohol abuse shows a simple first step
No one doubts that alcohol abuse is a major social problem.

Ottawa Citizen, June 13, 2008
Needle exchange won't be 'one-for-one'
Ottawa's new drug-needle policy won't be the one-for-one exchange some had hoped for, but Mayor Larry O'Brien and Ottawa Police Chief Vern White heralded it as a co-operative step in the right direction.

Victoria Times Colonist, June 13, 2008
Karlie's story: Abuse, drugs -- and hope
These days, Karlie spends her time in an old Victoria restaurant, where she's working on getting past all the bad things that came her way in the last two years.

Vancouver Sun, June 12, 2008
Alcohol abuse tab hits $463 each
Alcohol abuse costs each Canadian an estimated $463 annually, according to a study by researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

CTV News, June 12, 2008
Marijuana potency increases in 2007: study
Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released Thursday by the White House.

Victoria Times Colonist, June 12, 2008
West Shore drug crime not increasing, police say
The number of drug possession, drug-trafficking and break-and-enter charges in the West Shore has mostly decreased or stayed the same in the past two years, according to police.

Ottawa Citizen, June 11, 2008
Police chief gets credit for treatment centre
The newcomer to Ottawa credited with being the catalyst for a new residential drug-treatment centre for youth managed the feat by "repackaging" the proposal from a health issue into a crime prevention issue.

CBC News, June 11, 2008
Cold, wet spring threatens B.C. pot crop
Wet weather across British Columbia is threatening profit margins for producers of one of the province's largest — although illegal — cash crops — outdoor marijuana.

Metro, June 10, 2008
Mayor’s CAST a castoff
The new head of the Non-Partisan Association caucus plans to cast aside one of Mayor Sam Sullivan’s pet projects.

Rabble.ca, June 9, 2008
Federal Health Minister gets dose of Insite
The federal Minister of Health is having a rough time these days.

Toronto Star, June 8, 2008
Ottawa's bad prescription on addiction
When the federal government announced it would appeal the B.C. Supreme Court's decision on Vancouver's safe injection site, it chose to dismiss growing scientific evidence of the positive role harm-reduction programs can play in society.

Montreal Gazette, June 7, 2008
Prescribed heroin project 'promising'
For many hardcore heroin addicts, the hustling begins first thing in the morning.

Victoria Times Colonist, June 6, 2008
Insite's not the answer, but it sure helps
Perhaps you're familiar with that fable about the six blind men and the elephant. I find it coming to mind a lot these days in the fight over Canada's only supervised injection site.

Victoria Times Colonist, June 6, 2008
Needle exchange's mobility questioned
Victoria is stepping backward in its efforts to help addicts, Victoria city councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe said yesterday.

Georgia Straight, June 5, 2008
Jenny Kwan wants PM to back off supervised-injection site
Since her election to the legislature in 1996 as the NDP MLA for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant, Jenny Kwan has been a forceful advocate for low-income people who live in her constituency.

Telegraph-Journal, June 4, 2008
Harm-reduction sites have met goals: ethics official
For Dr. Tim Christie, director of ethics services for the Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation, the debate between harm reduction and law enforcement policies is a simple one - it all comes down to goals.

National Post, June 4, 2008
The Tories don't understand harm reduction
Iam trained as a nurse, not a lobbyist. So perhaps I was naive to think that when I was invited last week to address the House of Commons health committee (along with a team of health and policy experts from Vancouver), Stephen Harper's government would listen to the facts about Insite, North America's first supervised drug-injection site.

North Shore News, June 4, 2008
Insite ruling bad medicine
Waving the flag of the Charter of Rights, judicial activism marches on, oblivious to its over-riding duty to maintain law and order.

Vancouver Province, June 4, 2008
Legalizing marijuana would cripple the profits of the violent drug lords
Gangs, gangs, gangs. That's all we heard about in the news this past weekend. Gangs . . . and guns.

National Post, June 4, 2008
Romancing the bottle
Like many middle-aged men, I spend a lot of time reflecting on the reckless stunts my friends and I unleashed on the world when we were young and stupid.

Vancouver Sun, June 4, 2008
Appeal granted in sniff test impaired case
A man who successfully appealed a drunk-driving conviction by claiming the arresting officer infringed on his constitutional rights by telling him to "blow in his face" will face another trial.

St. John's Telegraph Journal, June 4, 2008
Local advocate welcomes B.C. court decision
It's not often a decision on a program in the east end of Vancouver has an impact more than 5,700 kilometres away in Saint John but, in time, it could.

Canwest News Service, June 4, 2008
Quebec eyes opening safe-injection sites
Quebec is considering opening safe-injection sites for drug addicts, following in the footsteps of a controversial Vancouver initiative that the federal government is trying to shut down.

Victoria News, June 4, 2008
Look closely at effectiveness of safe injection site
Time and again we have been told that the “experts” support a safe drug consumption site for Victoria, and a majority of our city council agrees.

Vancouver Sun, June 3, 2008
Things would be different if Insite were in Montreal
Imagine Vancouver's supervised injection site being situated not in the Downton Eastside, but in Montreal's gritty east end.

Vancouver Sun, June 3, 2008
B.C. may fight to keep Insite legal
B.C. Health Minister George Abbott said Monday the province may intervene in a court case that could determine the future of Vancouver's supervised injected site.

Victoria Times Colonist, June 3, 2008
Prescribed heroin shows promise
The scene wouldn't be out of place in any other clinical trial. Patients receive measured doses of a drug prescribed by a doctor, and inject it in a sterile environment under the watchful eye of a nurse.

CTV News, June 2, 2008
Clinical trial that prescribes heroin ending
A unique clinical trial that prescribes heroin to addicts in Vancouver and Montreal wraps up at the end of this month.

Montreal Gazette, June 2, 2008
Drug addicts have a right to health and safety, too
Ottawa is wrong to appeal a British Columbia Supreme Court ruling that extended a government-funded safe-injection site for junkies.Instead, it should have done its duty and resolved the case once and for all.

Ottawa Citizen, June 2, 2008
Drawing the line on drunk driving
New federal legislation that takes effect next month will restrict those falsely accused of impaired driving from proving their innocence, prominent criminal defence lawyers say.

Vancouver Sun, May 31, 2008
Poll finds only 25% would shut down Insite
Only a quarter of people in the region support shutting down the city's precedent-setting supervised-injection site, according to a poll done this week by Angus Reid Strategies.

Ottawa Citizen, May 31, 2008
An irrational and stupid drug policy
The government's handling of drug policy is so ignorant and foolish it is a challenge to explain why in a newspaper column.

Ottawa Citizen, May 31, 2008
What we know about marijuana
Leading the recent National Post debate on cannabis, columnist Barbara Kay can't have anticipated Vancouver's safe injection site, rather than legalized cannabis, would be the Trojan Horse for the legalization of all addictive drugs.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 31, 2008
Society pays a high price for the bad choices of a few
I'm not much impressed with all the crowing and cackling in the national barnyard over the court judgment relating to Insite. I think it lacks considerable insight.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 30, 2008
Insite appeal ignores common sense, science, morality
The ruling on the future of Vancouver's safe injection site should change the way we talk about drugs and addiction.

National Post, May 30, 2008
A better way to treat addicts
Yesterday I announced that I would ask Cabinet colleague Rob Nicholson, Canada's Minister of Justice, to appeal this week's decision of the B. C. Supreme Court with regard to the supervised injection function of Insite, in Vancouver.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 29, 2008
Court a beacon on drug policy
The ruling on Vancouver's safe-injection site marks an overdue turning point in our response to addiction.

National Post, May 29, 2008
Clement disagrees with Insite decision
Federal Health Minister Tony Clement yesterday said his government disagrees with a B. C. Supreme Court decision that rules that it would be unconstitutional for Ottawa to shut down North America's only supervised safe-injection facility.

Globe and Mail, May 29, 2008
Does judgment clear way for safe-injection sites?
Legal experts were divided yesterday on whether a BC Supreme Court ruling ensuring that Vanouver's injection facility for heroin addicts remains open clears the way for supervised injection sites across the country.

Vancouver Province, May 29, 2008
Insite debate a slippery slope
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ian Pitfield has certainly set the cat among the pigeons with his ruling that Vancouver's safe-injection site, Insite, should be allowed to remain open for at least a year.

Globe and Mail, May 29, 2008
The rights of drug addicts
Insisting that a Vancouver clinic be allowed to provide potentially life-saving supervision for heroin and cocaine addicts to inject their drugs, as a British Columbian judge did this week, is the right thing to do.

Vancouver Sun, May 28, 2008
Judge rules Vancouver safe injection site can stay open for a year
Canada's trafficking and possession laws are unconstitutional when they are applied to addicts using a supervised-injection site, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.

Vancouver Sun, May 28, 2008
B.C. court makes a courageous decision to support Insite
The B.C. Supreme Court has thrown Canada's drug law into limbo, saying a key section conflicts with provincial health responsibilities and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 28, 2008
The horror of finding your child dead of an overdose
David Shelton is certain his son would be "totally pissed off" if he saw what he did on May 14.

National Post, May 28, 2008
Don't call it reefer madness
Because libertarians never achieve political power, they have the luxury of advancing passionately held, logically consistent theories that will never be tested in real life.

Yahoo! News, May 28, 2008
Canada ruling keeps 'legal drug' clinic alive
A clinic in a seamy neighborhood of Vancouver in western Canada is the only place in North America where addicts can get medical supervision as they inject drugs illegally bought on the street.

Vancouver Sun, May 27, 2008
Canadian drug injection site ruled needed service
The Canadian government cannot constitutionally shut North America's only legally-sanctioned drug injection site because it is a needed health service, a judge ruled on Tuesday.

CTV News, May 27, 2008
Safe injection site can stay open, court rules
A B.C. judge has ruled that the federal government cannot constitutionally shut down Vancouver's safe-injection site.

Vancouver Province, May 25, 2008
Dion supports Insite during Liberal leader's visit to Vancouver
The leader of the federal party that first supported the Vancouver safe-injection site wants his opponents to keep it going.

Ottawa Citizen, May 23, 2008
The missing evidence
Harm reduction is fairly new - to Canada, at least - but not prevention, treatment, and law enforcement. In one form or another, prevention and treatment have been widely used for many decades.

National Post, May 23, 2008
Colby Cosh on legalizing marijuana: Barbara Kay vs. Mary Jane
In yesterday's National Post, our columnist Barbara Kay unexpectedly revived an editorial that appeared in our pages in July of last year, when the UN Office of Drugs and Crime declared Canadians the world's leading consumers of marijuana.

National Post, May 22, 2008
Barbara Kay on the new marijuana: Not your mother's reefer
The 18th-century poet Alexander Pope was a keen student of human nature, and often delivered bits of timeless wisdom in memory-friendly rhyming couplets.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 22, 2008
Drug-injection plan comatose in Victoria
Plans are at a standstill for a supervised injection site in Victoria despite the enthusiastic support from the city, police and the health authority when the vision was released more than a year ago.

Vancouver Sun, May 20, 2008
Grow ops sprout in upscale 'burbs
They're appearing everywhere, from apartments to million-dollar mansions.

Vancouver Province, May 20, 2008
B.C. addicts will die if safe-injection site closes: Experts
Drug addicts would face "certain death" if a supervised injection site in British Columbia is closed, former police officers from Canada, Britain and Australia said Tuesday.

The Hill Times, May 19, 2008
Opposition MPs warn Tories of voter backlash in B.C. on safe injection site
A divisive federal politics debate is heating up on the Hill over a Vancouver safe injection site, with local opposition MPs now warning the federal government that if it does not renew the site, it will create a backlash among voters in the province.

Vancouver Province, May 18, 2008
Support for Insite growing
Dean Wilson credits Insite with keeping him clean for the past month.

CBC News, May 16, 2008
Bill could keep Vancouver injection site alive: NDP
B.C.'s provincial opposition is introducing a private member's bill that it hopes will keep Vancouver's supervised injection site open.

Vancouver Province, May 16, 2008
Drug treatment site to be put in drug market
A plan to put an abstinence-based drug treatment centre for sex workers in the heart of the Downtown Eastside's drug market has been slammed by a sex-worker advocate.

Metro, May 16, 2008
Advocates rally in bid to save safe-injection site
In a quiet plea and peaceful vigil, Leah Martin and Joey Only from Vancouver stood outside Stephen Harper’s Calgary constituency office yesterday afternoon, protesting his plan to close Insite, the controversial safe-injection site in Vancouver.

Vancouver Sun, May 16, 2008
Alcoholics need sobering centres, not jail, inquiry hears
A lawyer representing the Vancouver police department asked Frank Paul Inquiry Commissioner William Davies to recommend that sobering centres be set up in Vancouver to handle chronic alcoholics so police would no longer have to detain them in police cells.

Macleans, May 14, 2008
What's too much?
Whether their beverage of choice is a full-bodied red or an ice-cold Blue, Canadians love to drink.

CBC News, May 13, 2008
Risk of serious assault rises when booze sales go up, study suggests
The risk of being a victim of serious assault rises when alcohol sales are higher, and young urban males appear to be particularly vulnerable, a new study suggests.

National Post, May 12, 2008
InSite and harm reduction work
In the National Post May 7 article about Vancouver's supervised injection site (" 'Social revolution' nears its expiry date") Canada's Minister of Health, Tony Clement, says that the best way to get addicts off drugs is to provide the supports for that addict, rather than do the work InSite does. I disagree.

Windsor Star, May 12, 2008
Drug abuse: The Insite experiment
The Harper government is clearly uncomfortable with the idea of Vancouver's supervised drug injection site.

24 Hours, May 11, 2008
Groundbreaking treatment centre planned in Keremeos
Surrounded by dozens of unkempt residents of Vancouver's notoriously drug-ridden Downtown Eastside, Davin Boutang is happily munching on a free hotdog.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 9, 2008
Needle exchange enters untested waters
We're about to become the first major city in Canada to pull the plug on its needle exchange, without a clue about what will happen as a result.

Victoria News, May 9, 2008
IV drug experiment supported by Martin
Providing intravenous drug users with free heroin or other prescription narcotics will give them a better ability to get off the street and into treatment.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 8, 2008
Vancouver mayoral candidates unite to support supervised drug-injection site
Candidates for Vancouver's mayoral seat bridged party divides Wednesday to deliver a united message to the federal government: stop being ideological, look at the facts, and allow Vancouver's supervised-injection site to stay open.

Winnipeg Free Press, May 8, 2008
Vancouver safe injection site should stay, say supporters
Eliminating the safe injection site in Vancouver would have a negative impact on First Nations people battling addiction, the head of a national native addictions group said this afternoon.

Toronto Star, May 8, 2008
Expanding prisons won't cut crime, group says
The federal government is being warned to not follow in the footsteps of the United States, which jails more of its citizens than anywhere else in the world.

National Post, May 7, 2008
Safe-injection site gets lukewarm review
Tony Clement would not say yesterday whether he will keep open Vancouver's controversial safe-injection site, but he stressed in an interview that his government believes prevention, treatment and enforcement are the keys to battling drug addiction.

Metro News, May 7, 2008
Crosses for lives saved
Nearly 1,000 wooden crosses were driven into the grass at Crab Park yesterday in recognition not of death, but of each life saved from overdose at Vancouver’s supervised injection site.

CTV News, May 5, 2008
Expert: Safe injection site improves 'public order'
Vancouver's safe-injection site has not lowered or increased crime in the area, but has slightly reduced public drug use and saved taxpayers' money in health costs, according to a new report.

National Post, May 5, 2008
Addicts turning to pain patches
Despite triggering a growing list of overdose deaths, powerful pain-control patches have become a rare but highly sought-after narcotic on some Canadian streets, a new study indicates.

Ottawa Citizen, May 5, 2008
An addict's White knight
Ottawa police chief Vern White demonstrated leadership this month by travelling to Toronto and personally making the case for proper drug treatment facilities in Ottawa.

Ottawa Citizen, May 2, 2008
Kicking the habit -- hard
'The cocaine," says John Sabourin, "ran the show." Some show. When the curtain fell, he was, in his words, a dead man walking.

Vancouver Sun, April 30, 2008
'Treatment works,' city-sponsored conference told
Treatment works for homeless, mentally ill drug addicts, despite many public myths that it doesn't, a senior public health authority said Tuesday.

National Post, April 30, 2008
Addicts kicking heroin with painkillers
Heroin is fast being replaced by legal pharmaceutical drugs such as OxyContin and morphine among street users of opioids, suggests a national survey of addicts that underscores the challenges and opportunities of the changing drug trade.

Vancouver Sun, April 28, 2008
Conference to focus on mental illness, addiction
Mayor Sam Sullivan hopes that a city-organized conference on mental illness and addiction starting today will help spur the province to make sure there is enough money for support and services in the new social housing it's building.

Vancouver Sun, April 28, 2008
Drug laws tested this week in B.C. Supreme Court
Canada's drug prohibitions and the laws upholding them will be under attack in B.C. Supreme Court this week in two separate significant legal challenges.

Montreal Gazette, April 28, 2008
"Safe drug" program should be renewed
V ancouver's Downtown Eastside is a heartbreaking city-scape of dingy hotels, dirty alleys and hundreds of drug addicts. If ever there was a place that needed help with a drug problem, this is it.

CBC News, April 28, 2008
Intervention reduces costly service calls by chronic street people, committee told
A small group of addicts and people with mental-health issues in Winnipeg consume hundreds of thousands of dollars in public services each year — but targetted intervention could reduce that cost, according to a city report.

Victoria Times Colonist, April 27, 2008
UVic prof lectures PM on Tories' drug policy
University of Victoria professor Susan Boyd's weekly letters to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on drug research haven't garnered a response from the federal government, but others around the world are reading.

CBC News, April 25, 2008
Mandate focused on just 1 Toronto drug squad team: task force head
The head of an RCMP-led special task force examining Toronto police drug squads has broken his silence, saying that despite evidence of more widespread problems, his mandate was to focus on just one team of officers.

Victoria Times Colonist, April 25, 2008
If we just say no, things will get worse
We've got the motivation. We've got the ideas. We've certainly got the money and knowledge we need to fix the problems taking root on B.C. streets.

Dose.ca, April 25, 2008
Canada's drug crime bill brings calls for caution from U.S.
Ten years ago this spring, Karen Garrison watched as her twin sons were locked up in prison, for longer than she ever thought possible.

Ottawa Citizen, April 25, 2008
Searching for common ground
Ottawa researcher says 'politicization of science' is harming effective needle exchanges, crack-pipe programs

CBC News, April 25, 2008
Random use of police sniffer dogs breaches charter: top court
The use of drug-sniffing police dogs in the random search of a southwestern Ontario school and a Calgary bus terminal was unconstitutional, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday.

CBC News, April 25, 2008
Feds should help Ottawa with drug problem: Police chief
Ottawa police Chief Vern White said the federal government should do more to help solve the city's street drug problem — but he knows what kind of help he doesn't want.

Georgia Straight, April 24, 2008
Recovery centre challenges Richmond's fears
There was a sign on the door, and it read: “Our children are not safe”. Some 800 people came through that door at Howard DeBeck elementary school in Richmond last December 1.

CTV News, April 24, 2008
Depression risk dims hopes for anti-addiction pills
Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight and maybe kick other tough addictions like alcohol and cocaine.

Vancouver Sun, April 22, 2008
Floating treatment centre solves several problems at once
Roy Howard wants to float an idea. It involves boats. And drugs.

Vancouver Province, April 22, 2008
Harper urged to extend drug injection site agreement
Supporters of Vancouver's supervised drug injection site were in Ottawa on Tuesday, "begging" Prime Minister Stephen Harper to put politics aside and keep Insite open.

Vancouver Province, April 22, 2008
Unofficial grow-op searches bend the law, says lawyer
A law allowing homes that show unusually high power consumption to be inspected is a ruse for police to gain entry without a warrant to search for marijuana grow-ops, a B.C. Supreme Court judge was told yesterday.

Vancouver Province, April 22, 2008
One law for potheads, another for picnickers, says councillor
Police made no arrests as thousands of people gathered in Vancouver on Sunday to smoke marijuana at a downtown rally.

Toronto Star, April 22, 2008
Young, addicted and on hold
Megan's parents were puttering at home on a frigid February evening when they got the call. They were told to come immediately and pick up their 16-year-old.

Victoria Times Colonist, April 22, 2008
Welfare system ineffective, study concludes
The province's welfare system makes people homeless, sometimes forces women to turn to prostitution and relies on food banks and charities to help provide the basics to its clients, according to an unprecedented in-depth study of welfare recipients.

Toronto Star, April 22, 2008
Harm reduction and abstinence
Last week, my friend Tony Gizzie of the Community Editorial Board wrote an article arguing against a harm-reduction approach to drug and alcohol addiction.

Vancouver Sun, April 21, 2008
At-risk teens plus hard-core addicts equal disaster
The province's little-noticed $10-million-plus plan to house up to 100 hard-core drug addicts cheek-by-jowl with at-risk youth and BCIT at Willingdon and Canada Way looks like a recipe for disaster.

Calgary Herald, April 21, 2008
Exotic B.C. detox clinic facing probe
Health officials plan to inspect a British Columbia clinic that uses a powerful hallucinogenic as a drug-detoxification treatment.

Edmonton Journal, April 21, 2008
Culture clash blamed for local qat bust
Two local Somalis are caught in a cultural divide over a leafy plant that could land them in a Canadian jail.

CTV's W-Five, April 19, 2008
Capital shame
There is a crack and crime epidemic in downtown Ottawa. When cheap crack cocaine flooded the streets in 2005, it changed the landscape of the illegal drug trade.

Vancouver Courier, April 18, 2008
Sam CASTs lot with Insite
Mayor Sam Sullivan says his proposal for a drug treatment program for addicts is not a signal to the Conservative government to approve the program and then shut down the city's supervised injection site.

Vancouver Sun, April 18, 2008
Overdoses, disease cause of half the deaths of B.C. homeless people
Overdoses and chronic diseases were the cause of half the deaths among homeless people in B.C. over the last two years.

National Post, April 18, 2008
The 'Two-Beer' defence
The Supreme Court ruled against the 'two-beer' defence yesterday, concluding that 'expert' analysis is not reliable enough to outweigh a failed Breathalyzer test.

Ottawa Citizen, April 18, 2008
Dirty needles plague city's core
Shirley Mosley clicked on her microphone, faced the city councillors and, at a table holding stapled reports and reams of whereases, promptly emptied the contents of a clear bag.

Kitchener-Waterloo Record, April 18, 2008
Online treatment program helps people with addictions
An online addiction treatment program, designed and operated by local psychotherapists, can help bridge the gap while people are waiting for treatment.

Georgia Straight, April 17, 2008
Stephen Harper's government has no love of science
The principal role of science in society is to advance human understanding. Unfortunately, in modern times a host of political masters have invested considerable energy and resources in an effort to cloud science.

Ottawa Citizen, April 17, 2008
Find roots of drug woes
Ottawa has between 3,000 to 5,000 injection drug addicts according to David Salisbury, the city's chief medical officer of health. To attack this problem, a proposed youth drug treatment centre, weighing in at about $7 million, is expected to have only 28 beds.

Vancouver Courier, April 16, 2008
Harm reduction champion calls for more housing
Seven mothers involved in a program that helps women with drug addictions have needlessly given their babies up to foster care in the last two weeks, says Dr. Ron Abrahams.

Vancouver Province, April 15, 2008
Insite proven effective
Late Friday afternoon, the federal government released the Final Report of the Expert Advisory Committee on Supervised Injection Site Research.

Toronto Star, April 15, 2008
More care urged for addicted teenagers
Nancy Sampson peered nervously into the camera and described the terror of having a 15-year-old addicted to street drugs.

Montreal Gazette, April 15, 2008
Pot smokers getting older: survey
More adults in Ontario are smoking marijuana than a decade ago, and the average age of cannabis users is increasing, Jurgen Rehm, senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, said yesterday.

Vancouver Sun, April 15, 2008
Youth emergency shelter to expand
B.C. doesn't need the United Nations to tell us we have a homelessness problem, Premier Gordon Campbell said Monday.

Ottawa Citizen, April 15, 2008
$200,000 sought for needle cleanup
Another $200,000 a year is needed to do a better job of collecting needles used by drug addicts in Ottawa, city officials say.

Globe and Mail, April 14, 2008
Safe-injection site a provincial responsibility, court to be told
As the deadline approaches for a federal government blessing for Vancouver's supervised injection site, supporters are preparing to head to court to argue that the controversial place is a health-care facility and, therefore, the sole preserve of the province.

CTV News, April 14, 2008
Medical marijuana users more than $500K in arrears
Medical marijuana users are on the hook for more than $500,000 in unpaid bills for government-certified weed, raising questions about the effectiveness of Health Canada's troubled dope program.

Globe and Mail, April 14, 2008
Parents call for more programs for teens battling mental illness, addiction
Investment executive Nancy Sampson spent $400,000 to send her two teenaged children - grappling with depression and addictions - to the United States for treatment because there was nothing available in Ontario.

Vancouver Sun, April 12, 2008
Health Canada panel gives injection site favourable review
Vancouver's much-debated supervised injection site for drug users is well supported by the community, provides as much as $4 in benefits for every dollar spent, doesn't cause increased drug use, doesn't appear to affect crime rates, encourages users to get treatment, and saves at least one person a year from dying of a drug overdose.

CBC News, April 10, 2008
Mayencourt defends struggling drug treatment program
The MLA for Vancouver-Burrard is defending a drug rehabilitation centre he's running in northern B.C.

CBC News, April 10, 2008
Ontario should pay dirty needle cleanup costs: Ottawa councillor
Since Ontario requires the City of Ottawa to make sure drug users have clean needles, the province should cover the costs of cleaning them up from city parks and sidewalks after being used and discarded, says a local city councillor.

Burnaby Now, April 9, 2008
More students are staying away from alcohol, drugs, and sex
Fewer B.C. students are drinking, smoking, using drugs and having sex, but the provincial government is concerned about obesity, sexually transmitted infections, anxiety disorders and cyberbullying.

CBC News, April 9, 2008
Ottawa's chief medical officer to quit
The doctor in charge of public health in the city of Ottawa is resigning. Medical officer of health Dr. David Salisbury will leave his current job on May 5, the city announced Wednesday in a news release.

Calgary Herald, April 9, 2008
Bars facing stiffer rules
The province's drinking age will not be going up, Solicitor General Fred Lindsay said Tuesday.

Canada.com, April 8, 2008
Calgary man gets a year for growing opium poppies
Gurdev Samra's garden of opium poppies once offered him a euphoric cup of tea, but on Monday it made him the first man in Canada to be convicted of growing the illicit plant.

Vancouver Province, April 7, 2008
Let's stop grow-ops stealing power from you and me
Anyone who thinks that growing marijuana in B.C. is a victimless crime should take a close look at his or her electricity bill.

Vancouver Sun, April 7, 2008
Jail needle sharing accelerates spread of AIDS
Up to 15 per cent of incarcerated drug users report injecting heroin and cocaine while behind bars, according to one of two new studies that say Canadian prisons are contributing to the spread of the virus that causes AIDS.

CBC News, April 7, 2008
Pay finder's fee to gather up syringes: community leader
Paying a 10¢ finder's fee for every discarded syringe picked up in Vancouver's east side would encourage street people to collect and return them, says a community policing leader.

Vancouver Sun, April 6, 2008
Needle sharing prompts renewed calls for in-prison exchange programs
Up to 15 per cent of incarcerated drug users report injecting heroin and cocaine while behind bars, according to one of two new studies that say Canadian prisons are contributing to the spread of the virus that causes AIDS.

Victoria Times Colonist, April 4, 2008
Crack-pipe kits may be distributed by summer
Crack-pipe components could be distributed to the capital region's approximate 500 hard-core crack-cocaine smokers and 1,200 casual users by this summer, according to the chief medical health officer of the Vancouver Island Health Authority.

CBC News, April 3, 2008
5 per cent of Prince George babies born drug addicted, hospital says
Prince George, B.C., physicians are alarmed about the growing number of babies born with drug addictions. Dr. Marie Hay, the vice-president of medical staff at Prince George Regional Hospital, told CBC the number of drug-damaged newborns in the region is increasing rapidly and now accounts for five per cent of local births.

UBC Reports, April 3, 2008
UBC Psychiatry Prof. to Help Lead Mental Health Collaboration for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
“If you are not investing in innovative strategies, you are not moving forward in solving the pressing issues of today,” says Dr. Michael Krausz, UBC Prof. of Psychiatry and a Clinician at St. Paul’s Hospital.

Vancouver Courier, April 2, 2008
End of NAOMI wastes research
The federal government is about to pour millions of dollars in drug research down the drain. This is not about the anticipated closure of the supervised injection site this summer. This is about the NAOMI project, the North American Opiate Medication Initiative, which is about to end.

CBC News, April 2, 2008
Crystal meth leads to other drugs: study
Researchers with the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/Aids released a study Wednesday painting a grim picture of crystal methamphetamine use among street youth in Vancouver.

24 Hours, April 2, 2008
Break down barriers to reach the addicts
A recovering heroin addict shared his story of dependence and recuperation in hopes of shaping future drug policy in B.C.

Canada.com, March 31, 2008
Experts renew call for safe drug-injection site for Victoria
B.C.'s provincial health officer and a prominent drug expert are renewing calls for a supervised injection site in the city of Victoria, where addicts can more safely inject and consume drugs.

CTV.ca, March 31, 2008
Casual cocaine use can damage heart, doctors warn
Many side effects are associated with cocaine use. But one under-reported consequence is the effect on the user's heart.

National Post, March 31, 2008
Marc Emery should not be extradited
This editorial board has more than once presented its strongest moral case for the Canadian government to block the extradition of Marc Emery, the West Coast marijuana advocate who faces a possible life sentence south of the border for operating a mail-order seed business out of his Vancouver headquarters.

National Post, March 31, 2008
Needles and the damage done
Long before Edmonton got its first needle-exchange program in the 1980s, a group called the Non-Beverage Alcohol Coalition lobbied for inner-city liquor stores to open longer hours and against merchants who knowingly sold cans of Listerine and Chinese cooking oil for the purpose of intoxication.

Vancouver Sun, March 29, 2008
Drug rehab centre at a crossroad
It's not clear exactly when Jeremy Ward hit bottom. It could have been last October when the 20-year-old cocaine addict crammed a handful of pills down his throat, hoping the massive combination of anti-psychotics and Valium would ease the pain of being dumped.

Vancouver Province, March 28, 2008
Why not open drug-rehab centre instead of second Pickton trial
This plea is to the families of 20 missing moms, sisters and daughters whose names and photos occupy convicted serial-killer Willie Pickton's second charge sheet.

Vancouver Sun, March 28, 2008
Prince of Pot's deal with U.S. shot down by Ottawa
A tentative deal between Marc Emery, Vancouver's Prince of Pot, and the U.S. government over money-laundering and drug charges has been nixed by Ottawa.

Vancouver Province, March 28, 2008
Vile robber deserves no sympathy over his drug addiction
Society's current tendency to view drug addicts as victims of their dependency, rather than the cause of it, has predictable consequences.

Globe and Mail, March 27, 2008
Program's focus on inner strength helps turn young drug users around
Not long ago, Joe Goodwill's teenaged daughter was drinking and doing drugs with an unsavoury group of friends.

24 Hours, March 27, 2008
Experts call for more drug prevention
In a city where drug culture dominates current affairs, it can be difficult to look ahead. But at a Four Pillars Coalition meeting in Van-couver yesterday, experts urged policy-makers - including Sam Sullivan - not to forget about the "other" pillar: Prevention.

BC Local News.com, March 27, 2008
New season calls for new drug understanding
Spring is about rebirth. About new beginnings. And this year, it couldn’t come too soon because as a society, we really need to let go of some of our old ways and start over, especially when it comes to gathering and interpreting information about drugs.

Vancouver Sun, March 26, 2008
Sheltering the homeless will cost less than leaving them on the street
In the continuing debate about homelessness in British Columbia, there has always been an abundance of one thing: Arguments that attempt to convince people that resolving this problem is the right thing to do.

Edmonton Journal, March 25, 2008
Boom fuelling gang growth: report
Central Canadians aren't just attracted west by the oilpatch. Alberta's drug market is tempting, too, says Toronto-based gang expert Michael Chettleburgh.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 24, 2008
A path to recovery
Michael Walsh lost 16 years to alcohol and cocaine addiction. Now sober, he's trying to help others find their way out through a new secular peer-support group called LifeRing.

Winnipeg Free Press, March 24, 2008
Cheap beer opponents say it leads to binging
Cheap beer in Manitoba is causing a pricing debate to bubble over, pitting those who say it encourages binge drinking against those who fear higher costs will only drive abusers to other substances.

Vancouver Sun, March 22, 2008
The cost of homelessness
We've been counting them and governments have been scrambling to try to help them, but a recent university study has been looking at a new question about homeless people in B.C. -- what each one costs taxpayers a year.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 22, 2008
No home for needle exchange: Where do we go from here?
The Vancouver Island Health Authority's plan to provide Victoria drug users with clean needles through a mobile service -- because it can't find a new permanent location -- will only drive drug users to other neighbourhoods and increase the problem, a prominent drug expert says.

Vancouver Courier, March 21, 2008
School board wants kids to just say no
The Vancouver School Board wants to expand a fledgling drug and alcohol abuse prevention program, a pilot project that began at Sir Charles Tupper and Kitsilano secondary schools in 2006/07.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 20, 2008
Needle exchange deserves a chance
The pause in the planned relocation of the needle exchange to Pandora Avenue is welcome given neighbours' concerns and the flawed way in which the project has been handled.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 19, 2008
The needle exchange doesn't go far enough
The recent furor surrounding the location of the needle exchange should be welcomed in that it brings to light many problems surrounding one of the bigger travesties in recent history.

Ottawa Citizen, March 18, 2008
Drug treatment centre up to Grits
Detailed plans for a much-needed youth residential drug treatment centre in Ottawa will be made public in a few weeks, but if it's to go ahead soon, the provincial government will have to find some money in next week's budget.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 18, 2008
MDs boost dosages of prescribed pot
Canadian doctors have been increasing daily dosages of marijuana for patients using cannabis for medical purposes, Health Canada reports.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 18, 2008
VIHA seals deal on building, needle exchange still in limbo
The Vancouver Island Health Authority has sealed a $2-million deal to purchase the St. John building but still remains without a home for Victoria's controversial needle exchange - a key reason for the purchase.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 18, 2008
Nanaimo commune proposed for addicts
A commune for recovering addicts could be established in Nanaimo if the John Howard Society secures funding for the project.

Windsor Star, March 17, 2008
B.C. chronic offenders targeted
When confronted with high levels of mental illness, drug addiction and property crime, it's tempting to look for a one-size-fits-all solution. And that solution all too often involves throwing more people into already overcrowded and understaffed jails.

CBC News, March 17, 2008
Needle exchange not to blame for used syringes in streets: health official
Many of the city's needle exchange programs don't require addicts to turn in a dirty needle in order to get a clean one, but that's not why used, dirty needles are littering the streets of Ottawa, says the head of a health centre that runs a needle exchange site.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 14, 2008
Victoria: A hotbed of crime?
B.C.'s provincial capital is being billed as one of Canada's crime capitals in a controversial ranking that suggests Victoria is the eighth most dangerous city. But police and criminologists say don't run for cover just yet.

Maclean's Magazine, March 13, 2008
Fact check: Tony Clement on drugs
Eugene Oscapella agrees drug education is in dire straits. But he says it's not just the government's fault; law enforcement agencies should also shoulder at least part of the blame.

CBC News, March 13, 2008
Ottawa's needle-exchange policy too dangerous, shelter says
One of Ottawa's main homeless shelters has abandoned a key aspect of the city's policy of handing out clean needles to addicts even if they don't turn in a dirty one for safe disposal, saying used needles are littering parks and streets and creating a danger for the public.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 13, 2008
Parents not buying needle exchange plan
Assurances by police and Vancouver Island Health Authority that a relocated needle exchange will not result in the street chaos now seen outside the Cormorant Street facility failed to mollify angry parents of St. Andrew's Elementary School students last evening.

Toronto Star, March 13, 2008
Drunk driving calls yield 200 arrests
Normally police don't encourage motorists to drive while talking on their cellphones. But when it comes to nabbing drunk drivers, authorities are making a big exception.

CBC News, March 12, 2008
Cape Breton police cracking down on drug houses
Police in Cape Breton, with the help of a provincial investigator from Halifax, will move to close down 26 suspected drug houses over the next few weeks, using the provincial Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act.

Edmonton Journal, March 12, 2008
Bar faces charges for overserving booze
For the first time under the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Act, a bar has been charged with overserving a customer who later died of alcohol poisoning.

Vancouver Courier, March 12, 2008
City council gives go-ahead to 'crime free' housing plan
The city's bid to stamp out public disorder in Vancouver is getting a cash boost through a safety program aimed at residential buildings across the city.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 11, 2008
Police chief: Open drug use not an option at new site
Victoria's interim police chief says he won't allow the same open drug use seen near the needle exchange on Cormorant Street to occur at a proposed new location on Pandora Avenue.

CBC News, March 11, 2008
B.C. police warn teens to beware of foxy methoxy
Police in Vancouver are warning the public about a new designer drug with hallucinogenic properties that is causing teens to put themselves in unsafe sexual situations.

Vancouver Sun, March 11, 2008
Brain health gets $25-million boost from B.C. government
The B.C. government has announced $25 million in funding for a new Centre for Brain Health at the UBC Hospital that will treat patients and conduct research into everything from Alzheimer's to addiction.

CBC News, March 10, 2008
New mental health team to hit N.L. streets
The Canadian Mental Health Association in Newfoundland and Labrador hopes a new pilot project, which will send a crisis response team of health professionals to the streets, will help police deal with mental illness in the community.

Vancouver Sun, March 10, 2008
Ruling shines different light on Emery's case
Finally, a court ruling that puts in perspective the five to 10 years' imprisonment that B.C. cannabis crusader Marc Emery faces in U.S. prison for selling pot seeds.

Ottawa Citizen, March 9, 2008
Close encounters with addiction
Gabor Maté is in a basement room in the Ottawa Mission, firing questions at Pierre, who's finally clean after a quarter century of ingesting everything from hash and booze to opiates and crack.

Vancouver Sun, March 9, 2008
Sullivan takes new anti-drug strategy
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan is taking a new direction in his war on drugs. The mayor has written to Health Minister Tony Clement to say he would like some of the federal government's anti-drug strategy money to go to street health-care teams, not just the drug-substitution experiments that he has been advocating for the last two years.

Vancouver Province, March 8, 2008
Harm-reduction advocates outraged at UN call to shut Insite
Supporters of Canada's harm-reduction approach to drug addiction are livid that a United Nations monitoring body wants Ottawa to slam the door shut on Vancouver's safe-injection site -- and put an end to distribution of "safe" crack kits to addicts.

Ottawa Citizen, March 7, 2008
Closed minds
According to what the media described as "a United Nations report released Wednesday" - more on that description in a moment - the soft treatment of celebrity drug offenders gives young people the impression that drug use is no big thing. Thus, it "could undermine wider social efforts at reducing demand for drugs."

Victoria Times Colonist, March 7, 2008
Needle exchange heads to Pandora
The Vancouver Island Health Authority plans to relocate the city's controversial needle exchange to a building on Pandora Avenue, next to the newly constructed Our Place homeless drop-in centre.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 7, 2008
Researchers study habits of club denizens
High-risk drug users don't all live on the streets of Victoria. An in-depth survey of 44 people last year suggests they frequently attend university and college and hold down full- and part-time jobs.

National Post, March 6, 2008
The cost of getting high
Canada is the greatest nation on the globe -- a land of hope and opportunity. We all want our children to be able to take full advantage of everything Canada has to offer, to grow into successful adults who make a valuable contribution to our society. This goal is put at risk when young people are offered drugs before they are mature enough to grasp the consequences of their actions.

CTV News, March 6, 2008
Dollar drinks to go the way of the dollar bill
Halifax partiers may soon be raising their glasses to the good old days, when life was simple and drinks were only a dollar.

National Post, March 6, 2008
Stacking the deck
More crimes, harsher jail sentences, easier prosecutions -- all of it adds up to more innocent men in jail longer. Of course that's not the intent, but it surely will be the case. And strangely enough, it doesn't much bother those whom it should -- conservatives skeptical of state power.

Vancouver Province, March 6, 2008
'Don't let our story become your story' of his family . . . It's SO sad.''
If there's one person in B.C. who embodies pointless loss and hope for the future, it's former drunk driver Kevin Brooks.

Toronto Star, March 5, 2008
Hell, a handbasket and tougher drug laws
Eugene Oscapella is a criminologist who teaches at the University of Ottawa. He dresses like a modern academic hipster: short leather jacket, blue shirt, dark tie, grey strides. He is also a lawyer who is sharp on the subject of drug policy. He was in town recently, speaking to front-line health and harm-reduction workers about the perils of the government's proposed crime legislation.

Vancouver Province, March 5, 2008
UN drug czar wants Insite closed
The head of the United Nations drug-control agency wants Insite, Vancouver's safe-injection site, closed.

Ottawa Citizen, March 5, 2008
Shut drug injection sites, Canada told
The head of the United Nations drug control board put the federal government on notice yesterday to rein in provincial and other health authorities deemed to be flouting international treaties aimed at combating illicit drug use.

Vancouver Province, March 4, 2008
Researchers shed light on why some people drive drunk . . . again and again
Take a five-year snapshot of B.C. drinking and driving and count the guilty people.

Vancouver Province, March 3, 2008
Police face a legal minefield
Two Vancouver police officers stepped into a legal minefield when they arrested Roland Andrew Brown after an 11:30 p.m. accident.

Vancouver Province, March 3, 2008
Long arm of the law is crippled
A trip to the hospital can be the best defence for a drunk who's just crashed his car. Barely one in 10 drunk drivers injured in traffic accidents in B.C. is convicted of impaired driving, a study led by a prominent Vancouver emergency-room doctor has found.

Vancouver Province, March 3, 2008
Drunk driving: Law is stacked against police
Suddenly, around a bend in the road, red and blue lights are flashing. For some drivers, it's time to panic -- and start rolling down the windows and fumbling for gum. This is a police roadblock, the front line in the battle against drunk driving.

Vancouver Province, March 3, 2008
Drunk drivers are being filmed
British Columbia's RCMP brass have watched the numbers on drunk driving hit crisis levels and have declared war.

Vancouver Province, March 2, 2008
B.C. Ferries implements new drug-testing policy
B.C. Ferries is implementing a new mandatory drug and alcohol testing policy in the wake of the sinking of the Queen of the North and a safety board warning that crew regularly smoked dope between shifts and off the ship.

Vancouver Province, March 2, 2008
'People aren't getting the message'
One dead son. One dead sister. One dead brother-in-law. One maimed brother. Joan Parsons has experienced more than her share of drinking-driving cases.

Vancouver Province, March 1, 2008
Pilot police project targets repeat offenders in five cities
The province has launched a pilot project in Surrey and five other cities intended to break the crime cycle of petty criminals who commit dozens or hundreds of crimes.

Vancouver Sun, March 1, 2008
When science runs into an ideological wall
While it's usually a badge of distinction to have your work cited in a top-flight academic journal, the federal government wasn't exactly in a celebratory mood after two recent journal editorials discussed the feds' attitude toward science.

Victoria Times Colonist, February 29, 2008
A life hauled back from the brink
By the time Thea dragged herself into the health authority's drug and alcohol centre on Quadra Street in November, she was drinking so heavily that death was looking like a terrifying possibility.

Vancouver Sun, February 28, 2008
Family wrestles with street's death grip
She is the matriarch of three generations of Keewatin women and girls whose lives have been thrown into turmoil by drugs.

Vancouver Sun, February 28, 2008
Answers sought for city's homeless
The city will be the site of a federally funded research project on how best to help homeless people who are mentally ill and addicted to drugs.

Calgary Sun, February 28, 2008
Calgary police get training to sniff out drivers high on drugs
Calgary cops are being trained to ferret out those who drive under the influence of drugs, the Sun has learned.

Vancouver Sun, February 27, 2008
Odds stacked against women trying to recover
By her second week at the Salvation Army's Harbour Light detox centre, Darlene Rowley had enough strength to keep her eyelids open, walk without shuffling and speak without straining for each word.

North Shore News, February 27, 2008
Alberta: the Nanny State
Ever thought what it would be like to have your child taken forcibly from your home? Not by kidnappers, but by agents of your provincial government?

Vancouver Province, February 27, 2008
Long-forgotten fine leaves columnist stranded
George W. Bush may want to call off the war on drugs now that border patrols have intercepted a notorious drug desperado trying to cross into the U.S.

National Post, February 27, 2008
Eight years of reefer madness
Jim Kerr was making lunch one Friday afternoon last month when seven police officers burst in, put him up against the wall and handcuffed him.

Vancouver Sun, February 26, 2008
'Nothing's Changed'
Cheryl Paul smiles in the cool February night air outside Pigeon Park, where Vancouver's addicted, homeless and mentally ill often congregate with their curious collections of personal possessions.

Edmonton Journal, February 26, 2008
Prescription drugs a hit on the street
As medical director of an inner city health clinic, Dr. Mat Rose can't afford to be naive when it comes to addictions to prescription drugs. Almost every day, he gets patients requesting potentially addictive painkillers such as OxyContin or Ms-Contin.

CBC News, February 26, 2008
Going to pot
If Jean Chrétien is still thinking about that post-retirement doobie he famously contemplated during his last days in power, he might want to come down here and smoke it in California.

24 Hours, February 26, 2008
Legal joint ignites debate
Losing the ability to smoke medicinal marijuana in public places is a troubling prospect for a Burnaby woman recovering from multiple sclerosis.

CTV News, February 26, 2008
How do you talk to your kids about drugs?
For some parents it can be difficult to talk to their kids about drugs. But a little education and honesty can make it a lot easier.

CBC News, February 25, 2008
Winnipeg man seeks addiction treatment in Cuba
A Winnipeg man who travelled to Cuba to receive treatment for alcoholism says he was "blown away" by the treatment he received in the Caribbean nation.

National Post, February 25, 2008
B.C. to seize drunk drivers' vehicles
British Columbia plans to begin seizing and selling vehicles of impaired drivers, Solicitor-General John Les says.

Ottawa Citizen, February 23, 2008
Squealing on the dealers
Ottawa police Chief Vern White says drug dealers should not receive government welfare and should be charged with fraud if they fail to report income from their crack sales.

Victoria Times Colonist, February 23, 2008
Health budget upsets needle exchange neighbour
Victoria lawyer Stewart Johnston, who sees the grim reality of homelessness, mental illness and drug addiction daily in Victoria, is concerned the local health region will receive only half the funding increase it says it needs.

Business Edge, February 22, 2008
Recovering addicts often a workplace plus
Employees on the road to recovery deserve a second chance. That's the mantra of Mark Elliot, a Toronto radio talk show host who is also a recovering addict.

CBC News, February 22, 2008
Substance abuse among seniors rising: addictions foundation
Substance abuse among seniors has become a silent epidemic, according to people at a workshop in Winnipeg Friday.

CTV News, February 22, 2008
HIV study in B.C. finds many die without treatment
Forty per cent of the people who died of HIV-AIDS in British Columbia never accessed life-saving treatment even though it was free, according to a new study released Friday.

Vancouver Sun, February 22, 2008
Facility planned for mentally ill
The B.C. Health Ministry is set to announce plans today to create 100 new "stabilization" beds for the province's most challenging group of the mentally ill, many of them living in the Downtown Eastside.

Vancouver Sun, February 21, 2008
Vancouver tops in gun violence, study finds
Metro Vancouver has the highest rate of gun-related violent crime of any major metropolitan region in Canada, according to a new Statistics Canada study.

Vancouver Province, February 21, 2008
We applaud program to combat crime in city's rental buildings
As the statistics keep reminding us, Vancouver has one of the highest crime rates in Canada. Indeed, the city's rate of property crime, though reported to be falling, remains among the worst in North America.

CBC News, February 20, 2008
Club ID scans not 'reasonable,' says Alberta privacy commissioner
Alberta's privacy commissioner has ordered a Calgary nightclub to stop scanning patrons' driver's licences, disputing the bar owner's stance that the practice curbs violent behaviour.

Victoria Times Colonist, February 20, 2008
The forgotten capital region
Capital region residents were shortchanged by the provincial budget. Most critically, it failed to address the issues of homelessness, mental illness and addiction that have created so many problems for individuals and communities.

Regina Leader-Post, February 20, 2008
Behind the scenes at 'Drug Class'
Robert Pytlyk recalls a phone call in the middle of the night from a Regina teen in the midst of a crisis.

Vancouver Sun, February 19, 2008
Use science to judge injection site, Ottawa told
In the latest salvo in the battle over Vancouver's controversial supervised drug injection site, leading researchers are criticizing the Harper government for not differentiating between legitimate science and a report endorsed by a U.S. law-and-order lobby group.

National Post, February 19, 2008
The street Toronto abandoned
With large numbers of jobless, single men flowing to the city after the Second World War, Sherbourne's majestic Victorian homes were converted into rooming houses, shelters, hostels and hotels. Slowly, businesses vacated the area and the once-stately public parks grew dodgy. In 1959, Seaton House opened as an emergency homeless shelter.

Calgary Herald, February 18, 2008
No matter the kick, drugs don't work
Even amid the surreal screenplay of Super Bowl Sunday, one TV commercial stood out: the ad about the shady-looking drug dealer lurking around a phone booth behind an urban convenience store.

National Post, February 18, 2008
More illegal search evidence allowed
A Canadian phenomenon in the criminal justice system was highlighted again by two recent rulings by provincial courts of appeal. Evidence obtained by police after a breach of an individual's constitutional rights may still be used in court in Canada, unlike the United States where it would automatically be excluded.

Vancouver Sun, February 16, 2008
Rather spotlights Downtown Eastside
A Safe Place to Shoot Up is the title of a Downtown Eastside documentary airing this Tuesday on Dan Rather Reports, a cable-TV news show hosted by one of the world's most respected television journalists.

CTV News, February 16, 2008
Vancouver prostitutes incorporate first co-op
A group of Vancouver sex-trade workers has incorporated the country's first sex industry co-operative with the goal of setting up a legal brothel.

Vancouver Sun, February 15, 2008
Mentally ill addicts fight dual demons
Lisa McNally has haunted blue eyes peeking out from her dishevelled hair. Her hands continually fidget, she crosses and uncrosses her legs anxiously. A large sore is healing under her nose.

Vancouver Sun, February 15, 2008
A new breed of the mentally ill puts B.C. facilities near chaos
B.C. is home to a new tribe of mentally ill people. They're nothing like the people who lived in the Riverview psychiatric hospital for all those years. They are a new generation who are fractured by powerful combinations of mental illness, drug use, homelessness and severe physical breakdown.

CBC News, February 15, 2008
Alcohol, drugs main causes of in-custody deaths: RCMP
An internal RCMP report obtained by CBC News shows 80 people died while in police custody between 2002 to 2006, the majority due to alcohol intoxication or drug overdoses.

Vancouver Sun, February 15, 2008
Drug addiction is Problem One
In the late 1980s HIV/AIDS disease started to appear in intravenous drug users in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Edmonton Journal, February 14, 2008
Stelmach touts anti-drug-house law
Premier Ed Stelmach vowed today that children will not be exposed to a lifetime of drug abuse in Alberta.

Georgia Straight, February 14, 2008
Our hungry ghosts
As I pass through the grated metal door into the sunshine, a setting from a Fellini film reveals itself. It is a scene both familiar and outlandish, dreamlike and authentic.

Vancouver Province, February 14, 2008
UBC's 'experts' on addiction policy are all singing the same old tune
The wise and the good at UBC are sending into our humble midst certain luminaries to broaden our horizons in matters of drug policy.

Edmonton Journal, February 13, 2008
Report shines light on cost of mental illness
"Recent research indicates that psycho-pathology usually precedes drug use," notes the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (a European Union research agency).

Rabble.ca, February 13, 2008
Students lobby for a sensible drug policy
Drug use is a health issue, not a criminal justice issue. That is the message youth and students from the Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy (CSSDP) delivered to Members of Parliament on February 4, during their first hugely successful lobby day on Parliament Hill.

Chronicle Herald, February 13, 2008
Overdose victim’s dad calls for public inquiry
Two Glace Bay pharmacists will lose their licences for a week after an investigation found they dispensed methadone improperly.

Vancouver Province, February 13, 2008
Don't lower alcohol limits: Safety council
The Canada Safety Council opposes lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers because it says roadside suspensions are effective.

Ottawa Citizen, February 12, 2008
Councillors demand one-for-one needle trade
Drug users must hand in their old needles when taking new ones handed out at public expense, three city councillors argue.

CBC News, February 12, 2008
Superbug threat growing in Vancouver: study
The percentage of injection-drug users from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood found to be carrying a worrisome superbug jumped 150 per cent from 2000 to 2006, a study reveals.

CBC News, February 12, 2008
Make ignition interlock compulsory, says MADD
P.E.I. should force convicted impaired drivers to install an ignition interlock device, says Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

National Post, February 12, 2008
Pot smell not grounds for search, arrest, court finds
The scent of weed wafting from an open car window doesn't give an officer the right to make an arrest and search a vehicle, according to a recent decision made by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.

Times Colonist, February 11, 2008
A smarter way to reduce crime
It seems so obvious you wonder why the police didn't try it long ago. By shifting attention to repeat offenders, RCMP in five B.C. communities dramatically reduced the incidence of property crimes.

National Post, February 11, 2008
Medical marijuana advocates cry foul
It was more than 35 years ago that the LeDain Commission recommended marijuana be decriminalized in Canada.

Times Colonist, February 10, 2008
Breakthrough came too late to save user
t's called a moment of clarity. A certain, unmistakable moment when it becomes clear to a person that things in their life are careening perilously out of control and they need help.

Vancouver Sun, February 9, 2008
Cocaine Central
B.C. has become a major hub for cocaine smuggling over the past two years, with gangs bringing in the drug from the U.S. for transport across Canada and around the world, says an internal Canada Border Services Agency report.

CTV News, February 8, 2008
Dion indicates Vancouver safe injection site is OK
The Liberal party has no intention of advocating the legalization of cannabis but leader Stephane Dion made it clear Friday that under a Liberal government, other Canadian cities could see safe injection sites like the one in Vancouver.

Times Colonist, February 8, 2008
The biggest barrier to better, safer streets
If you read my column with any regularity, you might be starting to see a theme emerging these past couple of months. As my mother has noted more than once, "All you ever write about is homelessness!"

Georgia Straight, February 7, 2008
Activist aims to school Harper in drug policy
Every week for the next 52 weeks, Susan Boyd will be “educating” Prime Minister Stephen Harper about harm reduction and drug regulation by sending him a letter.

Vancouver Province, February 7, 2008
Justice turns blind eye to pot plants
A judge has thrown out the evidence in a drug trial -- 704 marijuana plants -- because the Surrey cops botched the raid.

Vancouver Sun, February 6, 2008
Our U.S.-inspired drug policy wastes money and lives
The B.C. Health Officers' Council this week reiterated its stance that a health-based approach to addiction and drug policy is required, not a criminal strategy.

Vancouver Province, February 6, 2008
We can't win drug war with just police: Forum
A United Nations forum on drug policy yesterday agreed that "over-reliance on law enforcement" causes deaths, fuels crime and unfairly targets "poor people of colour."

Vancouver Province, February 6, 2008
Drug conference high on harm reduction
For a region thick with addicts and thin on rehab beds, it's logical to assume a global forum on solving the world's drug woes would want to encourage talks on various recovery initiatives.

Vancouver Province, February 6, 2008
Drug legalization is not the solution it's cracked up to be
Advocates for legalized drugs make the claim that, since the "war on drugs" in the U.S. has failed, it is pointless for Canada to follow. Rather inconveniently, however, there's little evidence to support their assertions. Most recent figures suggest the opposite.

Vancouver Sun, February 4, 2008
Health system failing DTES
Det.-Const. Fiona Wilson-Bates of the Vancouver police department belies the usual beefy image of a cop: She's petite and polished, and would not look out of place behind a Holt-Renfrew counter.

Vancouver Province, February 4, 2008
U.S.-style war on drugs a dismal failure and Canada shouldn't try it, says former cop
As long as the U.S-style "war on drugs" continues, criminals will control what drugs are sold, how much they cost, how deadly those drugs are, and how young their customers will be.

Vancouver Sun, February 3, 2008
New facility to fill treatment gap for mentally ill: Abbott
The province will create a new type of facility by summer for its most difficult and violent mentally ill people, Health Minister George Abbott said today.

Vancouver Sun, February 2, 2008
Police report tells shocking stories of life on city streets
It's shocking and tragic and stomach-churning. It's an indictment of a mental health system unable to help those who need it most.

Vancouver Sun, February 2, 2008
Conservatives' decision to censor scientists will increase public distrust
Environment Canada's muzzling of its scientists might be shocking, but it's hardly surprising.

Winnipeg Free Press, February 2, 2008
Drugged driving law
It is only natural that as attitudes towards marijuana loosen up, that police see more tokers behind the wheel. But unlike the jurisprudence on drunk driving, the law and science around drugs and impairment is not well developed.

Times Colonist, February 1, 2008
Time to ACT is now: Teams taking shape to help the homeless
Dr. Ian Musgrave didn't let on yesterday that the weight of Victoria's homeless problem is now on his shoulders. But Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe left no doubt.

Times Colonist, February 1, 2008
Crack, and a life where rats wouldn't live
Guy Grolway and I came across each other at a bus stop near city hall one morning a couple weeks ago -- me looking for someone out there who felt like talking, him taking in the morning before another day on the streets.

Winnipeg Free Press, February 1, 2008
Crackdown on drugs and driving
HIGH times behind the wheel could soon be over. The Harper government's Bill C-2, currently before the Senate, will give police the power to charge people with impaired driving who are suspected of being high on marijuana, cocaine and other drugs.

Vancouver Sun, January 31, 2008
Federal anti-drug campaign will educate youth on 'harms of illicit drug use'
A new national program designed to prevent youth from using drugs received $10 million from the federal government Wednesday.

Vancouver Province, January 31, 2008
'Big spike' in bank robberies
The first 29 days of 2008 have seen a 136-per-cent jump in bank robberies in Vancouver over January last year.

Vancouver Province, January 30, 2008
UN-backed debate on drug harm hits Vancouver shortly
Drug prohibition is killing people, according to some Vancouver experts. And they'll get their say when a UN-endorsed conference starts in Vancouver next week, which will ask non-governmental organizations what they think about drug-control policy.

Toronto Star, January 30, 2008
Pot-linked 'epidemic' of lung cancer predicted
Smoking a joint is equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of lung cancer risk, scientists in New Zealand say, as they warned of an "epidemic" of lung cancers linked to cannabis.

CBC News, January 30, 2008
Drug-Related Images Trigger Brain's Reward Center
Cocaine-related images can trigger the brain's emotional centers in drug addicts, even if they're unaware that they've actually seen such an image, says a study funded by the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Victoria Times Colonist, January 29, 2008
Man sues police for wrecking grow-op
The Saanich Police Department is being sued by a man who claims his marijuana grow operation was damaged during a police raid, even though he had a Health Canada certificate to legally grow the substance.

National Post, January 29, 2008
A new strategy for helping the homeless
In October's Speech from the Throne, the federal government gave voice to Canadians' desire to aid the most vulnerable people in our country -- namely, "those seeking to break free from the cycle of poverty and homelessness."

Ottawa Citizen, January 27, 2008
The high price we pay - and keep paying
We are wedded, beyond hope, to drink. It is, at its heart, a deal with the devil, a bargain for which we never stop paying.

National Post, January 26, 2008
Painkiller use stokes death fears
When it comes to consuming prescription opioids, Canadians are world leaders, taking twice as many of the powerful, addictive narcotics as Europeans and 20 times as many as the Japanese.

Vancouver Province, January 25, 2008
Mayor says plan will put drug pushers out of work
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan says his controversial plan to supply substitute prescription drugs to addicts will rob drug dealers of $50 million in profits and put hundreds of them out of work.

Vancouver Province, January 25, 2008
Skip whistleblower and focus on prison drugs
The fact that drug mules manage to trundle pot, heroin and cocaine into federal prisons, past the noses of guards and screening tools, is old news to most of us.

Vancouver Province, January 25, 2008
Skip whistleblower and focus on prison drugs
T he fact that drug mules manage to trundle pot, heroin and cocaine into federal prisons, past the noses of guards and screening tools, is old news to most of us.

Vancouver Sun, January 24, 2008
Booze plan: higher alcohol content, higher price
Booze prices in British Columbia could soon reflect alcohol content -- and potential for social harm -- if proposals for the coming provincial budget are adopted.

Harm Reduction Journal, January 24, 2008
Amazing Grace: Vancouver's supervised injection facility granted six-month lease on life
Addiction should be a matter, primarily, for the Chief of Medicine, rather than the Chief of Police.

Vancouver Sun, January 24, 2008
Ottawa vows crackdown on child drug mules in prison
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day says he's already working to ensure children aren't used as unwitting mules to sneak illicit drugs into federal prisons.

Ottawa Citizen, January 24, 2008
Taming the beast of addiction takes effort
As expected, my decision to provide provincial government funding to distribute safe crack-inhalation kits has met with a storm of protest. This debate, which has played itself out in the Ottawa community, has allowed two wonderful expressions of society's goals for its citizens to be powerfully proclaimed. There is a common ground.

Georgia Straight, January 24, 2008
Grow-ops contributing to the rental crunch
Marijuana grow operations are a major concern for law-enforcement agencies, but perhaps they should also be troubling to renters. That’s because the indoor farming of cannabis—a multibillion-dollar crop in British Columbia—may be contributing the rental crunch. According to police, growers often use rental homes and commercial buildings to avoid damage to their own property.

Ottawa Sun, January 24, 2008
More family ties among homeless in treatment, study finds
A new study says clients of the Ottawa Mission are mostly disconnected from their families, but those enrolled in the shelter's addiction services are more likely to have regular contact with family.

Star Phoenix, January 24, 2008
Cannabis pill ready in five years: firm
Drug company Echo Pharmaceuticals expects to sell the world's first cannabis pill within five years, targeting a four-billion euros ($5.85 billion US) global market, its chief executive said.

Toronto Star, January 20, 2008
RCMP denies 'extreme ecstasy' flowing to U.S.
The head of the RCMP's national drug branch is debunking claims by the United States' drug czar, who claims organized crime rings in Canada are dumping dangerous, methamphetamine-laced "extreme ecstasy" into his country's illegal drug market.

Times Colonist, January 19, 2008
Recovery farm deserves support
We've been wringing our hands so long over homelessness and street problems that we should grasp imaginative ideas when they come along. Richard LeBlanc has such an idea. He wants to buy 78 hectares of farmland at Woodwynn Farm on West Saanich Road and turn it into a place where street people can get back to the land and turn their lives around.

Ottawa Sun, January 18, 2008
Dazed and confused
Let it be stated for the record that at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008, I could still recite my address. I knew where I lived but when I arrived home in the car of my colleague Darren Calabrese, I couldn't remember how I got there.

Ottawa Sun, January 18, 2008
Number of women addicts going up
Record numbers of Ottawa women are struggling with addictions to alcohol, drugs and prescription meds, an expert claims.

Edmonton Journal, January 17, 2008
Drug court gives addicts hope
In drug treatment court, where laughter is often heard and offenders enthusiastically applaud each other's progress, a young woman in the prisoner's docket on Wednesday smiled, even though she had just pleaded guilty to her crimes.

CBC News, January 17, 2008
Drugs blamed for child prostitution
Manitoba's government has promised to convene a summit to examine the sexual exploitation of children — but some people in Winnipeg neighbourhoods plagued by prostitution say they already know why children end up hooking.

Vancouver Sun, January 16, 2008
Canada shirks its duty in Prince of Pot case
If all goes as planned, Marc Emery will soon begin serving a five-year prison sentence in Canada, thanks to a deal with United States prosecutors on charges of selling marijuana seeds and money laundering.

Ottawa Citizen, January 16, 2008
Weeding out bad policy
Pretending that marijuana possesses magic evil qualities that make it more dangerous than a thousand other substances our laws permit doctors to prescribe, from Ritalin to morphine, hurts physicians and their patients.

Vancouver Sun, January 14, 2008
Marc Emery agrees to five years in Canadian prison
Marc Emery, Vancouver's self-styled Prince of Pot, has tentatively agreed to a five-year prison term in a plea bargain over U.S. money laundering and marijuana seed-selling charges.

Vancouver Sun, January 14, 2008
Plan targets serious drug offenders
It's no secret that illicit drugs fuel organized crime and foster petty crime. They also undermine healthy families and safe communities across Canada.

Ottawa Citizen, January 14, 2008
Crack pipe end run upsets O'Brien
Mayor Larry O'Brien isn't happy that a crack pipe distribution program has been revived by the provincial government last month, so he has written a letter to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Jim Watson, demanding an explanation.

CBC News, January 14, 2008
Abundance of drugs in N.L. schools, kids tell RCMP
Drugs are not just present but plentiful, and in great variety, in Newfoundland and Labrador's schoolyards, students have told RCMP officers.

Prince George Citizen, January 14, 2008
Addiction centre opens
Monday's opening of a therapeutic treatment centre at the former Baldy Hughes radar base near Prince George has nothing to do with ridding Vancouver of street people for the Olympic Games, said one keen supporter.

Vancouver Sun, January 13, 2008
Criminal sought longer sentence to kick drug habit
When Monir Alejandro Leila was busted for possession of stolen property in 2006, he didn't dispute the charges. In fact, the Chilean immigrant asked for a longer sentence than his lawyer originally wanted, all for the chance at getting into a federal addictions program to kick his heroin habit.

Vancouver Sun, January 12, 2008
Controversial solutions are better than none
If it were any other social problem that causes billions of dollars in health care costs, policing and property damage, Canadians would be demanding that governments do everything -- or at least everything that science suggests will help -- to reduce or eliminate the problem.

Vancouver Sun, January 12, 2008
Gang wars hit B.C. prisons
Two Fraser Valley prisons are locked down after a series of convict-on-convict assaults this week that guards say is linked to control of the drug trade inside the institutions.

Vancouver Sun, January 12, 2008
A never-ending tale of political neglect
A decade and several elections ago, the three levels of government and their many and varied agencies agreed that an integrated approach was the only way to heal the problems of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

CBC News, January 11, 2008
Court strikes down regulation limiting growers of medical marijuana
Canadians who are prescribed marijuana to treat their illnesses will no longer be forced to rely on the federal government as a supplier following a Federal Court ruling that struck down a key restriction in Ottawa's controversial medical marijuana program.

Vancouver Province, January 10, 2008
Our courts must just say no to those who buy illegal drugs
It's a bizarre world out there -- especially, it seems, when it has anything to do with illegal drugs and the legal profession. We're talking here about the strange case of a young woman who took some crystal meth, had an overdose, then sued the man who gave her the drugs -- and now has won her case in court.

The Chronicle Herald, January 10, 2008
Fuelling a world of woe
It’s time people started thinking differently about a drug that’s been popular in Halifax for the last 250 years or so, the city’s top emergency doctor says.

Times Colonist, January 9, 2008
The Prince of Pot deserves B.C. support
B.C. Liberals and New Democrats are much too careful to say publicly what they really think about Marc Emery, the Prince of Pot. He might soon be a hot political issue, but provincial politicians want little to do with him. To ask an MLA about Emery is to discover how many incredibly important other things they have to do right now -- goodbye.

Vancouver Sun, January 8, 2008
Why is Canada copying failure?
Is there really anyone anywhere in Canada who believes that U.S. drug policies are working? Or that they are deserving of being copied here?

Vancouver Province, January 8, 2008
Health officer responds
I'd like to put the issue of safer crack kits for crack cocaine smokers into a broader context. The most recent (2002) estimate of the social costs of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs for B.C. are: tobacco, $2.33 billion; alcohol, $2.22 billion; and illicit drugs, $1.5 billion.

Vancouver Sun, January 8, 2008
Drug dealer successfully sued by overdose victim
A woman who overdosed on crystal methamphetamine in rural Saskatchewan has successfully sued the man who gave her the drug in what is believed to be the first legal victory of its kind in Canada.

CTV News, January 7, 2008
Tories award contract for drug-prevention surveys
Canada's most poll-reliant government is spending $1 million on polling services to help guide its drug-prevention strategy for youth.

Vancouver Province, January 7, 2008
Joey Thompson: Free crack pipes send wrong message
It's more about the message than the money. B.C.'s latest handout to crack addicts is likely considered a cruel joke by the sick among us, struggling to afford the over-priced pills they have to ingest to keep their chronic diseases in check.

Rabble.ca, January 7, 2008
Dr. Thomas Kerr: "public health hero"
Dr. Thomas Kerr is a Research Scientist with the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. In his current role at the BC Centre, Dr. Kerr is a principal investigator of several large cohort studies involving injection drug users, HIV-positive individuals and street-involved youth.

Vancouver Province, January 3, 2008
Free crack mouthpieces on the way
Crack-pipe mouthpieces are soon to join syringes, alcohol swabs and water vials on the list of free supplies distributed by the B.C. government to drug users.

Vancouver Sun, January 3, 2008
Criminal legal system being asked to provide what it can't
B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal in his year-end interviews emphasized the need for reform and change to the legal system.

Times Colonist, January 3, 2008
Late-night drunks need a firm hand
Establishing a shuttle-bus service to whisk bar patrons from downtown at closing time to their homes in the suburbs is certainly worth trying. Just don't expect that the shuttle service, which is being proposed by the Victoria Bar and Cabaret Association, will by itself eliminate the drunken chaos that too frequently occurs.

Times Colonist, January 3, 2008
Addiction crisis ignored by governments
Shutting down Kiwanis House, which has served the addicted here in Kamloops for 37 years, is like closing a hospital in the midst of a medical emergency.

CTV News, January 2, 2008
U.S. researchers work on cocaine vaccine
Two Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Houston are working on a cocaine vaccine they hope will become the first-ever medication to treat people hooked on the drug.

National Post, January 2, 2008
An open letter to justice minister Rob Nicholson
Dear Mr. Nicholson: On Jan. 21, 2008 an extradition hearing will begin in Vancouver for Marc Emery, Canada's pre-eminent activist for the legalization of marijuana. Marc has been charged in the U.S. with conspiring to manufacture and distribute marijuana, and conspiring to launder money. If convicted under U.S. law, he faces possible life imprisonment without parole.

Edmonton Journal, December 30, 2007
Drug bomb defused
The much feared explosion of methamphetamines on Edmonton streets has fizzled.

Edmonton Journal, December 29, 2007
Chief targets repeat crimes
More money and co-operation among the justice and health systems is needed to deal with criminals who are drug addicts, police Chief Mike Boyd says.

Georgia Straight, December 27, 2007
Will harm reduction be a victim in Harper's war on drugs?
Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies knows all about the war on drugs, especially after a trip earlier this month to New Orleans, where she saw the effects of the Bush administration's policies. For one, she told the Georgia Straight, there is too much of a focus on "crime and punishment", which she claimed has "destroyed" millions of lives in the U.S.

Ottawa Citizen, December 26, 2007
Drug commission defined jurist's career
Gerald Le Dain, who died last week at 83, was only 44 years old when he was handed the assignment that would make him an improbable counter-culture icon.

Vancouver Sun, December 21, 2007
Health benefits of booze in doubt
All it takes is a few drinks and ordinary, peaceful Canadians are willing to give electric shocks to strangers who annoy them.

Ottawa Citizen, December 20, 2007
Liz Evans. The dead can't kick drugs
I was saddened by Margret Kopala's recent column, "Revoke this licence to enable" (Dec. 8). Like Ms. Kopala, I remember my first experiences in the Downtown Eastside as shocking, and I too was naive about the problems there when I left the hospital as a nurse to work in the community.

Georgia Straight, December 20, 2007
Jesus loves harm reduction, but Stephen Harper doesn’t
The province's top public-health doctor has slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper for creating a $64-million drug strategy based on ideology rather than reason. The National Anti-Drug Strategy, announced by Harper on October 4, is heavy on enforcement and includes treatment and prevention, but it leaves out harm reduction, which is controversial among some Christians.

Vancouver Sun, December 20, 2007
Storied steps still saving alcoholics
V. joined the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous when she was 38, a drinker who endured life between binges, who showed up at work hung over or called in sick on the days she couldn't manage even that.

Ottawa Citizen, December 20, 2007
Alcohol is no licence to kill
It sounds like a classic if sad instance of domestic violence: Three years ago a man stumbles home after a night on the town and, in his drunken state, stabs his wife to death. Next thing he knows, he's sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 14 years.

Vancouver Sun, December 19, 2007
Drinks after work both tonic and toxin
Beneath the twinkling white bar lights at a downtown Ottawa lounge, where luscious cabernets and crisp whites are poured into generous glasses, a woman in a short tweed skirt and black opaque hose sips an apple martini and kvetches about how not to dress for the office.

Ottawa Citizen, December 19, 2007
Shelters ask court to bar dealers
Three downtown Ottawa homeless shelters are asking the courts to prevent those charged with dealing drugs on their premises from coming within 500 metres until their charges are dealt with.

Toronto Star, December 19, 2007
'Name and shame' doesn't deter drunks
Even the risk of public humiliation didn't deter them. More drunk drivers have been nabbed in Durham Region despite a police "name and shame" tactic aimed at keeping motorists off the road after they've overindulged.

CTV News, December 19, 2007
MADD disappointed Quebec sticking to alcohol limit
Anti-drinking and driving activists say they're disappointed that provincial legislators in Quebec did not reduce the legal alcohol limit for drivers in the province's new road safety legislation.

National Post, December 19, 2007
The war on khat
Two recent reports -- the RCMP's annual public summary of the Drug Situation in Canada and an intelligence document prepared for the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre for counterterrorism -- make prominent mention of khat, a stimulant plant traditionally chewed by men in the Horn of Africa and the populated fringes of Arabia. According to the former report, the Mounties seized a total of about 14,000 kilograms of the drug in 2006.

CBC News, December 19, 2007
Legal blood alcohol limit won't drop in Quebec
The legal blood alcohol limit in Quebec will remain at 0.08 per cent after opposition parties blocked the Liberal government's attempts to lower the threshold.

National Post, December 19, 2007
The war on khat
Two recent reports -- the RCMP's annual public summary of the Drug Situation in Canada and an intelligence document prepared for the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre for counterterrorism -- make prominent mention of khat, a stimulant plant traditionally chewed by men in the Horn of Africa and the populated fringes of Arabia.

Vancouver Sun, December 18, 2007
Illegal drug industry Booming with potent new products: RCMP study says
Organized crime continues to fuel the drug trade in Canada, with increasingly sophisticated gangs branching out to produce more potent and lethal drugs with names like "budder" and "cheese," a new report shows.

Vancouver Sun, December 18, 2007
Canadian women drinking to excess
The last thing V. remembers of the night she hit bottom was calling 911. She came to in an emergency ward tied to a stretcher.

Canada.com, December 18, 2007
Drug rings becoming more sophisticated, say RCMP
Organized crime is continuing to fuel the drug trade in Canada and a new report notes that criminal organizations are branching out and becoming more sophisticated.

Vancouver Sun, December 17, 2007
The high cost of alcohol abuse
Do you ever drink to escape from your worries or troubles? If you answer yes, you might need help. Across Canada, per capita consumption of our favourite legal psychoactive substance has increased more than 11 per cent over the past decade.

Vancouver Province, December 17, 2007
Too little help for junkies struggling to clean up
She was one of many junkies who spent time getting wasted at Robert "Willie" Pickton's pig-slaughtering farm.

Ottawa Citizen, December 17, 2007
'It's unbelievable how bad the street-level drug problem is'
For a solid hour on Saturday afternoon, Project Street Sweep zeroes in on its targets: street-level drug dealers working city streets, selling single rocks of crack cocaine for $20 a hit.

CTV News, December 16, 2007
Winnipeg police release names on impaired charges
Winnipeg police have launched a new front in the battle against impaired drivers this holiday season -- they are releasing the names of people they charge.

Times Colonist, December 14, 2007
The case for free crack pipes
Everyone should calm down about the free crack pipes. Of all the aspects of the addiction problem and our inadequate response the decision to provide pipes to users is among the least troubling.

Times Colonist, December 14, 2007
It's easy to fall to the street, and so hard to climb back up
His name is Brad, and we'll leave it at that. He told me he doesn't care about having his full name out there, but I don't know whether his sisters and teenage children would feel the same way.

CBC News, December 14, 2007
Ottawa mayor against crack pipe program despite hep C study
Research that found traces of the hepatitis C virus on a used crack pipe has not changed Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien's opposition to the city's former crack pipe program.

The Tyee, December 13, 2007
Fighter for Addicts Ready to Quit
After spending the past 13 years trying to save Vancouver's poor from the filthy alleys of the Downtown Eastside, Ann Livingston doesn't have a pension plan or any significant savings, but she has decided to quit her job.

Vancouver Sun, December 12, 2007
Gordon Campbell, meet the Downtown Eastside
Is it just us or does it seem British Columbians are being asked to accept "me-too" leadership from the provincial government instead of the real deal?

Vancouver Sun, December 10, 2007
Addicts steal hospital hand sanitizers
Hand-sanitizing dispensers at St. Paul's Hospital have been ripped from the walls by addicts due to the product's high alcohol content.

Regina Leader-Post, December 10, 2007
Drunk driving could stop: experts
Emerging nanotechnology may put an end to a costly social problem that years of public awareness campaigns have not -- deaths caused by drinking and driving.

Vancouver Sun, December 7, 2007
Officials debate best use of drug funding
Local politicians and health officials are waiting anxiously to find out exactly what they're going to get out of the federal government's new National Anti-Drug Strategy money.

Toronto Star, December 7, 2007
Failed strategy connects Afghan fields, city streets
In the coming months, under the leadership of the former U.S. ambassador to Colombia, U.S. private contractors will likely attempt to fumigate poppies in Afghanistan. Around the same time, the Canadian government will decide whether to shut down the Insite supervised injection site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The two policies are inextricably linked and unambiguously bad.

Georgia Straight, December 6, 2007
Feds abandon prostitutes
From a third-floor office on Vancouver's West Pender Street, CeeJai Julian pointed to a recess at the rear of a building across the back alley where she used to sleep when she was still selling sex to survive. Someone had painted the face of a woman on the wall, and each time Julian looks down from her desk at the Prostitutes Empowerment Education Resource Society, she is reminded of some names: Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin, Sereena Abotsway, Kerry Koski, Sarah de Vries, and Inga Monique Hall.

CTV News, December 4, 2007
Feds restricting access to medical pot: lawyers
The federal government must loosen unfair restrictions that are preventing seriously ill Canadians from obtaining the medical marijuana they need to treat their debilitating illnesses, lawyers for the sick argued Monday in Federal Court.

Times Colonist, December 4, 2007
Costly stumbling on needle exchange
The proposals to fix problems at the Cormorant Street needle exchange look much like a Band-Aid to be slapped on a large and nasty sore. Helpful, certainly, but far short of what is needed for users or the community.

Vancouver Province, December 2, 2007
New Hope for drug addicts
Vancouver MLA Lorne Mayencourt's dream of a made-in-Italy drug treatment centre for B.C. came closer to reality yesterday, despite limited staff, clients, budget and government funding.

Times Colonist, December 2, 2007
The Street: Mental illness and addictions take toll
At least 80 per cent of the people living homeless in Greater Victoria have an addiction, a mental illness or both. While addiction is classified as a psychiatric disorder, it tends to be treated as an issue of "free will" that people are expected to figure out on their own.

Toronto Star, December 1, 2007
O Cannabis! War on drugs seen as flawed echo of U.S.
As far as ideas go, the verdict on new Tory anti-crime measures unrolled over the past couple of weeks – from people who make a living studying such things – has been unanimous. Bad idea.

The Walrus, December 2007
Rat Trap
"Canada’s anti-drug strategy a failure, study suggests,” read the headline of a brief cbc story that circulated through a handful of news outlets before dying out early this year. The British Columbia Centre for Excellence in hiv/aids had just published a paper revealing that almost three-quarters of the $368 million allocated to Canada’s Drug Strategy in 2004–2005 was spent on enforcement initiatives aimed at staunching the supply of drugs. The authors pointed out that despite this war on drugs, the rate of consumption was higher than ever: in 2002, 45 percent of Canadians reported having used illicit drugs in their lives, up from 28.5 percent in 1994.

Times Colonist, November 30, 2007
Needle exchange gets cash, but won't be moving
The Vancouver Island Health Authority will inject $125,000 into cleaning up Victoria's controversial needle exchange, but to the disappointment of neighbours, the site won't be moving anytime soon.

Times Colonist, November 29, 2007
B.C. needs more addiction treatment, says jury investigating cocaine-related death
B.C. should have more funded treatment facilities for people with mental-health and drug problems, a coroner's jury looking into the death of a cocaine addict recommended Wednesday evening.

Rabble.ca, November 28, 2007
Politics of fear: Harper's "war on drugs"
The Conservative government has taken another big step in its ideological drive for a "tough on crime" law and order agenda.

Edmonton Sun, November 27, 2007
Drug war about damage control
There is no evidence that tough enforcement of drug laws either reduces the availability or increases the price of illicit drugs. Yet the U.S. has consistently maintained its hardline stance on drugs over the years and the Harper Conservatives just announced that Canada, too, will impose stricter sanctions for certain drug crimes.

Edmonton Journal, November 27, 2007
Compassion fatigue an occupational hazard
People who have to listen to traumatic stories involving violence, death, abuse and loss as part of their jobs are susceptible to "compassion fatigue," a conference heard today.

Times Colonist, November 27, 2007
Tory mandatory minimum terms offend judges, Gomery says
Retired Quebec judge John Gomery says the Harper government's plan to create mandatory minimum jail terms for drug crimes is a "slap in the face" to judges and suggests the Conservatives don't trust them to craft appropriate sentences for individual cases.

CTV.ca, November 27, 2007
Military demand for addictions counselling growing
An addictions expert with the Canadian military said Monday that they're seeing an increased demand for addictions counselling at the country's military bases.

National Post, November 27, 2007
Base drug sentences on conduct, expert says
Lengthy prison sentences should be used on the worst drug dealers -- the ones who use children or guns to deal drugs --and should not be based mainly on the quantity being sold, says a U.S. expert on drug control policy.

Edmonton Sun, November 26, 2007
Tougher drug laws in Canada 'insane'
A renewed government focus on tougher drug laws in Canada is “insane,” a U.S. expert today told a conference on substance abuse.

CBC News, November 26, 2007
Crime bills vs. bills for crimes
Exploding bladders. That's the phrase that sums up my opposition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's plan for mandatory sentences for drug traffickers. Read on, I will explain it.

CBC News, November 26, 2007
Conference told pregnancy, childbirth barriers to addiction treatment
Poverty, pregnancy and a lack of child care are often barriers to women who need treatment for drug, alcohol or tobacco addictions, a national substance abuse conference in Edmonton heard Sunday.

Vancouver Sun, November 26, 2007
Addicts, mentally ill need help, not jail time
The B.C. Court of Appeal issued a plea to Victoria on Friday to improve treatment resources for mentally ill and addicted recidivists who are clotting up the criminal legal system.

Times Colonist, November 25, 2007
The Street: Doing business on the front lines
Charlayne Thornton-Joe gives one heck of an unusual downtown tour. Others might be better at pointing out old buildings and historic landmarks, but few would be as informed as Thornton-Joe about the doorways where everybody pees, or the corners where the kids sell drugs.

Times Colonist, November 23, 2007
Needle exchange's neighbours demand it go now
Victoria's controversial needle exchange must move. Any other solution by the health authority to clean up the operation won't work, say its neighbours.

National Post, November 23, 2007
Harper's misguided war on pot
We are glad to see the Conservative government using the excess lifespan donated by Her Majesty's Opposition to get tough on crime. But was it really necessary to include victimless acts among the list of crimes being targeted?

Montreal Gazette, November 23, 2007
Good news on substance abuse
There was lots of good news in the latest statistics on consumption of tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs by teenagers in Quebec.

Times Colonist, November 22, 2007
Ex-addict warns of crystal's deadly allure
Morgana Glass thought she had big problems at age 15. When she got hooked on crystal meth, those problems got a lot bigger.

Montreal Gazette, November 22, 2007
Teens say no to drugs
Although recreational drug use among Quebec high school students has declined markedly since 2004, teens who do use drugs are experiencing higher rates of social and health problems, according to a new study.

Times Colonist, November 22, 2007
Drug law will fill jails, expert warns
B.C.'s already crowded jails will need to squeeze in another 700 marijuana growers per year if new mandatory sentences are enacted, an analysis of sentencing figures suggests.

Canada.com, November 21, 2007
Teens turning to prescription painkillers, drug survey finds
While alcohol still remains the substance of choice among Canadian teens, a new study in Ontario released Tuesday shows use of prescription painkillers is a growing cause for concern.

Vancouver Sun, November 21, 2007
Tories reveal mandatory jail terms for growing marijuana
The Conservative government unveiled legislation Tuesday to create the first mandatory prison terms in Canada for people convicted of trafficking illicit drugs, including those who grow marijuana for profit.

Vancouver Province, November 21, 2007
Ottawa cracks down on illegal drugs
The Conservative government unveiled historic legislation yesterday to create the first mandatory prison terms in Canada for people convicted of trafficking illicit drugs.

Canada.com, November 21, 2007
Teens turning to prescription painkillers, drug survey finds
While alcohol still remains the substance of choice among Canadian teens, a new study in Ontario released Tuesday shows use of prescription painkillers is a growing cause for concern.

CBC News, November 20, 2007
Methadone alternative to hit Canadian market
A new heroin-addiction treatment that many doctors say is safer than methadone can be prescribed in Canada starting this week.

CBC News, November 20, 2007
Ottawa police crack down on downtown petty crime
People involved in street level drug dealing, prostitution and petty thefts in Ottawa's downtown core are being targeted by the new Ottawa Police Street Crime Unit.

CBC News, November 19, 2007
Ottawa crack cut with risky crystal meth: addiction workers
Those who work with Ottawa's drug-addicted homeless say they believe crack for sale on the streets is being cut with more dangerous and addictive crystal meth.

Prince George Citizen, November 19, 2007
Forum highlights depths of meth despair
Crystal methamphetamine (meth) addiction is so powerful, chronic users will attempt to render their own urine to re-ingest the superdrug, said a pair of leading meth antagonists at a public forum in Prince George, on the cusp of National Addictions Awareness Week.

CTV News, November 16, 2007
Tories to launch new get-tough-on-crime bills
The federal Conservatives will launch a flurry of law-and-order anti-crime legislation next week to crack down on illegal drug use, identity theft and young offenders.

Victoria Times Colonist, November 15, 2007
Leyne column: Bottoms up for B.C. booze prices?
The legislature's finance committee unveils its recommendations this afternoon, and there was an intriguing flurry of last-minute activity to do with liquor pricing that makes one wonder.

Georgia Straight, November 15, 2007
Police apology starts new era in DTES
When Dean Wilson filed a complaint against the Vancouver police five years ago, all he wanted was a simple apology. The 51-year-old drug user recalled that he was inside his room in the Sunrise Hotel on East Hastings Street when he saw a woman standing on the ledge of a window one unit away.

Prince George Citizen, November 15, 2007
Victoria’s homeless project a success, forum told
An apartment complex for the homeless in Victoria that's similar to a controversial proposal for the corner of Seventh and Queensway in Prince George was hailed as a success during a forum on affordable housing held Wednesday at the Civic Centre. Aimed at those who are the "hardest to house and have a long history of homelessness," the 26-unit Medewiwin Apartments won an award from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in 2004 for best practices in affordable housing.

24 Hours, November 14, 2007
Dry home difficult to find
When a pair of expecting parents relapsed under the pressures of crack-cocaine addiction, the couple realized their old home is as cancerous as the drugs.

Abbotsford Times, November 13, 2007
New attitude on drugs is brewing
It's not often that gang warfare makes its way into the legislature as the main topic of debate, but that's exactly what happened this month as the Lower Mainland seemed to morph into something out of The Untouchables.

The Leader-Post, November 13, 2007
A needle necessity
New needle-collection boxes reduce the risk of someone accidentally being infected by needles discarded by drug addicts.

CBC News, November 13, 2007
Albertan could be first drunk driving dangerous offender
Crown prosecutors in northern Alberta are trying to make legal history, pursuing a dangerous offender designation for a chronic drunk driver who killed a mother and her three daughters in a crash last year.

Calgary Herald, November 13, 2007
Addiction treatment facility gets OK
Work can begin on a new 50-bed addiction treatment centre -- a move that addresses a main recommendation of the province's crime reduction report -- after city council on Monday approved its location in an industrial park.

Times Colonist, November 13, 2007
'Vigilante justice' pondered to fight drugs
Parents of doped-out high school students in Hope say they'll use "vigilante justice" to combat drug dealers.

Vancouver Sun, November 12, 2007
Legalize pot, a key drug fuelling gang wars
Simon Fraser University economist Stephen Easton said it best -- marijuana is the low-hanging fruit for organized crime. The rise of gangs in this province is due primarily to the immense profits to be had from B.C. bud.

Toronto Star, November 12, 2007
New studies confirm cancer is alcohol's deadly hangover
Just when many people were getting comfortable with the idea that our most popular drug – alcohol – is largely harmless to most, even beneficial to some, there is troubling news.

Vancouver Province, November 11, 2007
'Legalize it, control it and tax the livin' hell out of it'
Larry Campbell has seen the effects of Canada's marijuana prohibition laws first-hand, as an RCMP drug officer for eight years and as chief coroner of B.C. before his election as mayor of Vancouver in 2002.

Vancouver Province, November 11, 2007
'Marijuana is an addictive drug'
Sgt. Scott Rintoul mans the RCMP's drug-awareness bureau in B.C. Well-acquainted with the arguments for legalizing marijuana, he challenges the legal-pot advocates to consider one important point -- our children.

Calgary Sun, November 11, 2007
Coke abuse up in Alberta
Cocaine abuse is Alberta's biggest drug problem, with reported offences jumping 12% last year, according to a provincial task force.

Vancouver Sun, November 10, 2007
Going to the root of our inner city's woes
What's noteworthy about a big-name media star training his lens on the Downtown Eastside is that folks were bothered more by the prospect of bad publicity than by the misery in our midst.

Vancouver Sun, November 10, 2007
Politicians play the hot air game on crime
When politicians are faced with responding to a crisis, they have two options. They can commit themselves to the uncertain and uneasy task of translating the best research into policy, or they can ignore the research and hoodwink the public into believing they're actually doing something by offering certain and easy answers.

Canada.com, November 10, 2007
Campus pubs going dry
Campus pubs and bars, once known as party central, are no longer money makers for most Canadian universities and colleges, a slump that is attributed to students who are more studious, money conscious, health wise, and prefer campus coffee shops and juice bars.

Times Colonist, November 8, 2007
Finally, end is in sight for homelessness
It's beginning to sink in. Together we will end homelessness. The Downtown Service Providers applaud the vision and conclusions of the mayor's task force on breaking the cycle of mental illness, addictions and homelessness.

Vancouver Province, November 8, 2007
'All the hardcore kids in gangs . . . don't care if they die'
There are more guns on the street than ever, and the bad guys are more likely to use them, says a former gang member.

Vancouver Sun, November 8, 2007
Harper rebuffs 'awkward' law charges
Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday rebuffed American suggestions Canada isn't doing enough to stem the flow of drugs, illegal guns and money-laundering between Canada and the United States.

CBC News, November 7, 2007
Calgary's top cop applauds province's new crime strategy
Alberta's plan to fight crime by spending more to help drug addicts and alcoholics is on the right track, Calgary police Chief Rick Hanson said.

CBC News, November 6, 2007
Nicotine Plus Alcohol May Be Tough to Beat
As many bar patrons know all too well, drinking and smoking tend to go together. Now, research in mice suggests why that might be so.

CBC News, November 5, 2007
Ketamine: Few parents aware of drug du jour 'Special K'
If you ask a teenager about 'Special K' these days, don’t expect them to immediately reach for a cereal bowl. That's because it's the nickname of the drug du jour — ketamine.

Vancouver Sun, November 3, 2007
What will Dan Rather do with his local assignment?
Dan Rather - he of Texan charm and lantern jaw - arrived in Vancouver this week, his celebrity trailing in the wake of his trench coat. It caused some waves. His presence in this little ol' seaport was a big deal.

Vancouver Sun, November 2, 2007
Dan Rather here to show ugly side of Vancouver
The Downtown Eastside, the poorest neighbourhood in Canada, has long been a time-bomb this city has never bothered to defuse. Now it's about to explode on the international stage. Dan Rather, one of the best and most famous U.S. TV journalists of his generation, is in Vancouver for the next few days with a news crew working with students at the UBC School of Journalism.

Vancouver Courier, November 2, 2007
Police chief wants longer sentences for repeat offenders
Police Chief Jim Chu wants to make Vancouver the safest major city in Canada, but he will not guarantee he can alleviate the city's drug problem by the time his five-year contract expires in 2012.

Vancouver Courier, November 2, 2007
Chief Chu chooses Insite words carefully
Name the person behind this quote in reference to the city's supervised injection site. "We still think there needs to be more research being done. We're aware of some consultants and academics who are going to be brought in and do some further evaluations. So we'll wait to see what the research results are before we come out and give you a definitive answer [on whether the city needs more sites]."

CTV News, November 2, 2007
Mass. to hand out heroin overdose kits to addicts
Massachusetts officials next month will begin distributing kits to heroin addicts that include medication to treat overdoses.

Edmonton Journal, November 1, 2007
Homelessness can't be solved with just housing
Well, folks, mark it down on your calendars. By 2018, we'll have eliminated homelessness. Yup, in 10 years, every Albertan will have a safe, warm place to live. No more panhandlers pushing bottle-filled shopping carts sleeping in our ravines and abandoned buildings. No more people spending the night in bank vestibules or tents.

The Province, October 31, 2007
Jail addicts? 'Mr. Harper, we're already here'
Mission Institution prisoner No. 786492E was an admitted crack-cocaine addict now doing minimum 10 in medium security for killing a woman he met at an addiction treatment centre.

Ottawa Citizen, October 31, 2007
Play hardball with patients with bad habits, doctors urged
Robert Cushman has been called a social engineer instead of a mere doctor, praised and pilloried for delving into smoking and pesticide bans, needle exchange programs, and bicycle helmet laws during his career in public service.

London Free Press, October 30, 2007
City unveils plan to combat drug abuse
London's five-year-plan to combat substance abuse on city streets is ambitious, multi-faceted and mostly dependent on hoped-for funds from the federal and provincial governments. City hall staff yesterday unveiled its plan to attack drug use on many fronts, the proposal unanimously endorsed by the city's community and protective services committee.

London Free Press, October 30, 2007
Social cost soars
Addiction to oxycodone drugs is hitting all age groups and genders and is starting to tax social services, health care and policing. There's a lot of money involved in cut-throat dealing.

Edmonton Journal, October 30, 2007
Are prisons ready for extra inmates?
The Harper government wants to make communities safer by locking more criminals in jail and keeping them there longer. Its proposed crackdown on violent crime calls for mandatory five-year jail sentences for gun crimes and prison time for some drunk drivers, for instance.

The Province, October 29, 2007
We've got to change attitudes about addicts
A fitting reward for the well-heeled landowners whose decaying Downtown Eastside hotels aren't even fit for the area's scavengers and addicts would be a lengthy stint in one of the foul, filthy rooms they let for top dollar.

The Province, October 29, 2007
Insite could run without feds' OK
Vancouver's largest supervised injection site does not need Health Canada's permission to operate, says the head of a smaller injection site that operates without federal permission.

Winnipeg Free Press, October 29, 2007
'Hillbilly heroin' use is rising: MD
THE director of the addictions unit at the Health Sciences Centre said she's seen a jump in the number of addicts seeking help for a drug nick-named 'hillbilly heroin' on the street. Dr. L.M. Lee said in the last 18 months she's seen more patients addicted to OxyContin -- a strong narcotic painkiller containing oxycodone -- and other opiates, like morphine.

24 Hours, October 29, 2007
Harper skirts drug issue
The federal government's attitude towards harm-reduction programs for drug users revolves around partisan politics rather than evidence-based results, according to a quartet of critics gathered at SFU Harbourfront yesterday.

London Free Press, October 28, 2007
Two guys - hooked, part 2
For two young London men, what started as pain relief for back problems grew into an all-consuming addiction to painkillers that changed life as they knew it. Part 2 of a series.

London Free Press, October 27, 2007
Oxy, part 1
Oxy, Oxygen, M&Ms, 80s, Oxycotton. Killer. The drug sweeping London's downtown streets, workplaces and suburbs goes by many nicknames. But it has one effect on police, civic officials, social service and health-care workers, users and those dealing in drug subculture -- alarm.

Victoria Times Colonist, October 26, 2007
Overdoses get kids' attention
Victoria MacFayden doesn't need to pay attention to any more "boring" drug prevention lectures after seeing one of four teens who overdosed on what they thought was ecstasy Tuesday night.

Richmond Review, October 26, 2007
Addiction recovery facility scales back its plans
Turning Point Recovery Society is scaling back the size of its proposed addiction services facility on Ash Street, near Blundell Road.

Vancouver Province, October 26, 2007
Dead pushers doomed by own product
Whalley's street-level drug dealers say four fellow pushers slain a week ago in an upscale highrise were victims of their own product.

Georgia Straight, October 25, 2007
The quest for the ultimate cure for addiction
Could the root of an African shrub hold the key to getting millions of addicts off heroin, coke, and crack – oh, yeah, and cure alcoholism in its spare time? Can a single dose of an extract from the mysterious shrub's root bark be worth years on a therapist's couch?

Ottawa Citizen, October 24, 2007
Dan Gardner: Defining drugs
A glossy brochure recently dropped out of my newspaper: "Discover your taste for whisky," it advised. As it happens, I discovered my taste for whisky long ago and so was not in need of this advice. But it struck me as surpassingly odd that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario is spending a considerable amount of money to convince the uninitiated to try potent forms of a psychoactive drug whose known risks include addiction, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disorders, liver cirrhosis, several types of cancer, fetal alcohol syndrome and fatal overdose.

Times Colonist, October 24, 2007
City to clean up streets within four months
Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe promises the city will sweep off the streets 50 homeless people who are shooting up drugs and causing conflict downtown within four months.

Times Colonist, October 24, 2007
Teen smokers more likely to abuse drugs, alcohol
Teenagers who smoke are five times more likely to drink and 13 times more likely to use marijuana than those who are not smokers, according to a report issued yesterday.

North Shore News, October 24, 2007
The 'party' that never was
THE other day an interested observer found himself walking in Vancouver from Main and Powell to Hastings and Carral, a stroll through what we -- and the rest of the country -- consider an open sore on our body politic.

CTV News, October 23, 2007
Pot's antidepressant effects reverse at high doses
A new study finds that a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is an effective antidepressant at low doses. But, at higher doses, the effect reverses itself and can actually worsen depression.

Ottawa Citizen, October 23, 2007
Study links genes to stress, addictions
A team of Quebec researchers has uncovered a series of genes linking the response to stress and high blood pressure with alcoholism and tobacco dependence. If a person has that series of genes, he or she will be more prone to drink or smoke in order to cope with stress and high blood pressure, according to researchers.

The Province, October 21, 2007
Can employers test for pot?
Drug and alcohol testing programs can be implemented in workplaces in Canada -- and employees suspended or fired as a consequence of the results.

Times Colonist, October 20, 2007
Help for the homeless
The Vancouver Island Health Authority will supply $7.6 million for measures to ease Victoria's homeless crisis, including new detox beds and specialized outreach teams.

Macleans Magazine, October 19, 2007
Blame it on The Beatles
Bob Dylan once insisted "everybody must get stoned." The Rolling Stones’ extended family used to include "cousin cocaine" and "sister morphine." While Lou Reed was boasting that shooting heroin made him feel "just like Jesus’s son," Jefferson Airplane enjoined us to "feed our head."

The Province, October 19, 2007
Give chronic crooks a choice: Clean up or stay locked up
If like many Vancouverites you are well and truly fed up with the amount of crime taking place in your city, you will find yesterday's story on the subject by Province reporter Andy Ivens refreshing reading.

Times Colonist, October 19, 2007
Needle exchange an unmitigated disaster
I write out of concern that the desperation, exhaustion and fearfulness of the citizens who work and live near the Cormorant Street needle exchange has not come through clearly enough. Frustration can come across as insensitivity, a lack of compassion or a kind of NIMBY attitude, which would be very misleading.

Vancouver Sun, October 18, 2007
Out of the tiresome droning about poverty comes a success story
The odds didn't favour Sheldon Vance: foster child, drug addict, street kid. Yet he is a survivor, thanks to the one place that helped him.

Times Colonist, October 18, 2007
Forced drug tests stir ethical worries
Forcing employees to take drug tests at work is a contentious issue, complicated by human-rights legislation, contradictory court rulings and U.S. pressure, say industry representatives and civil liberties experts.

London Free Press, October 18, 2007
Canadians say no to 'just say no'
Just say no to "just say no." An Angus Reid Strategies poll released yesterday shows Canadians back some of the federal government's $64-million anti-drug strategy, but they say the plan needs to stress more than enforcement, treatment and prevention.

Ottawa Citizen, October 18, 2007
Drug strategy fails to address harm reduction
What I would like to know, because I think it would be most illuminating, is how many gun crimes are products or unintended consequences of drug prohibition.

CTV News, October 18, 2007
Give criminals one-way ticket home, Van. cop says
Vancouver's police chief thinks he has a novel solution to that city's property crime problem. He wants to send out-of-province criminals "back home."

Westender, October 18, 2007
New addiction-treatment program seeks funding
Innovative research trials that aim to help addicts kick drug addiction — including crystal meth and crack cocaine — could make Vancouver world-renowned for taking a far-sighted approach to dealing with the dual problems of addiction and crime.

London Free Press, October 18, 2007
Homeless overdose deaths send chill
There are lots of numbers in the city briefing. But only one of them stops me cold. There's the estimated cost of addiction to the local economy ($243 million a year), the average number of homeless people on London streets (1,500), the number of available shelter beds (360) and the percentage of shelter users coping with addiction and mental illness (40 per cent). And then there's the number of homeless people who've died of an overdose this year: 18.

CTV News, October 18, 2007
San Fran considers Vancouver-style injection site
SAN FRANCISCO -- City health officials took steps Thursday toward opening the nation's first legal safe-injection room, where addicts could shoot up heroin, cocaine and other drugs under the supervision of nurses.

Edmonton Journal, October 17, 2007
Mental health, addictions therapies need to be integrated - experts
More work needs to be done to make sure people with mental illnesses have access to addictions counselling, the Mental Health Commission of Canada heard Tuesday during public consultations in Edmonton.

Vancouver Sun, October 16, 2007
Curiosity about drugs shouldn't be a crime
For many years, I have been able to successfully stick my head in the sand about illegal drug use. My older child started high school this fall. The sand is crumbling away.

Times Colonist, October 16, 2007
Needle exchange told to clean up or be evicted
AIDS Vancouver Island's needle exchange has been given a month by its landlord to clean up its act or face eviction.

London Free Press, October 16, 2007
Study urges safe drug-user sites
It will take about $15 million over five years -- some of it to set up safe drug injection sites -- to fix a growing drug problem in London's core, city staff told a council committee yesterday.

Ottawa Citizen, October 16, 2007
Punish the pushers
'If you are addicted to drugs, we'll help you, and if you sell drugs, we'll punish you," Prime Minister Stephen Harper claimed recently in launching his drug strategy. The statement and the plan were met with a wave of derision from opposition parties, newspaper editorials and columns, and much of the general public, judging from an influx of letters to the editor.

Vancouver Province, October 12, 2007
Life-long druggie says prison's no answer
Prison, Terry McKinney tells me, screws up your head so badly that when you're on the outside, it's payback time: A confused and off-track kid goes in, a slick, seasoned felon comes out. So if Prime Minister Stephen Harper thinks users and traffickers like him will rush to change their stripes -- spooked by a $64-million anti-drug plan that imposes must-do jail time -- he can forget it.

Vancouver Province, October 12, 2007
Everybody wins when ex-addicts learn to live again
A great failing of current strategies to solve the problem of drug addiction in B.C. is the near-absence of any long-term programs catering to the needs of patients in recovery. It is doubly disappointing then, that when a private initiative is put forward offering such a program, it should encounter resistance from within the community.

Vancouver Province, October 11, 2007
Neighbours fight housing for ex-addicts
A $20-million social-housing proposal called Welcome Home is receiving a decidedly unwelcome reception in Surrey.

Regina Leader-Post, October 11, 2007
Federal strategy ignores alcohol
While welcoming news of the federal government's proposed anti-drug strategy, some Saskatchewan officials say it doesn't go far enough to deal with one of the biggest and most troublesome addictions out there: Alcohol.

National Post, October 11, 2007
Ethan Nadelmann: End the war on drugs
The global war on drugs can't be won. A "drug-free world," which the United Nations describes as a realistic goal, is no more attainable than an "alcohol-free world" -- and no one has talked about that with a straight face since the repeal of Prohibition in the United States in 1933.

Vancouver Sun, October 10, 2007
SFU prof takes prize for causing science flap
Prof. Bruce Alexander once built an expansive cage to dispel a conventional notion -- that caged rats will become addicted to morphine if it is readily available. Try as he might to tempt the rats, including making the morphine sickly sweet, they invariably chose water over the drug. The experiments led him to conclude it's not drugs that instil an addictive need in rats or human beings. Rather, environment and psychological factors play a role.

Vancouver Sun, October 10, 2007
City drug policy at odds with Harper's announced plans
Why does Vancouver seem so out of step with the rest of the country when it comes to drug policy? For a decade now, this city has led the nation in new approaches to the persistent and pernicious problem of illegal substance abuse.

Ottawa Citizen, October 10, 2007
Harmful impressions
That Stephen Harper minimized the role of harm reduction in his new drug strategy, while continuing to promote old and disproved criticisms, shows just how misunderstood the harm-reduction model still is.

Times Colonist, October 10, 2007
Editorial: Drug policy offers same old failures
Prime Minister Stephen Harper bills his new national anti-drug strategy as a fresh approach to the country's growing drug problem. Unfortunately, it is neither new nor different. The strategy continues the enforcement-focused policies of previous governments and misses opportunities to strike out in new directions.

Edmonton Journal, October 9, 2007
Tories talk loudly, carry small stick in drug initiative
Still not two years on the job, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has yet to reach Jean Chretien's skill at the politics of "let's not and say we did."

Montreal Gazette, October 9, 2007
Drug plan is good, but has its flaws
The Conservative government's new $63.8-million, two-year drug strategy could be worse, but it could be better.

CBC News, October 9, 2007
Rehab, treatment jam-up delays parole for federal inmates
Long waiting lists for federal inmates to receive treatment for their violent behaviour and addictions has meant more and more prisoners are walking out free without getting help for their problems, says the union representing Ontario's prison guards.

CTV News, October 9, 2007
Migraine pill helps alcoholics taper off drinking
A migraine pill seems to help alcoholics taper off their drinking without detox treatment, researchers report, offering a potential option for a hard-to-treat problem.

Winnipeg Free Press, October 7, 2007
Coalition blasts Tory anti-drug plan
Critics of the Conservative government’s new anti-drug plan are calling it everything from naive to politically opportunistic and a threat to the civil liberties of Canadians.

Ottawa Citizen, October 6, 2007
What's Harper smoking?
Stephen Harper's announcement Thursday of a new national drug strategy served at least one valuable purpose: It conclusively demonstrated that the prime minister knows nothing about drugs or drug policy.

CTV News, October 5, 2007
New Tory drug plan could be too tough: expert
The Conservative government's new drug strategy could end up further victimizing those caught up in drug useage and addiction, warns one expert.

Vancouver Sun, October 5, 2007
Tories' 'new' strategy to fight drugs just pours more money into same old failed approaches
Canada's worst kept secret was revealed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Winnipeg on Thursday, and not surprisingly, the National Anti-Drug Strategy offers few surprises.

Toronto Star, October 5, 2007
Drug rehab technicality adds to pain
Susan and Sheila are mother and daughter. They live in a tidy house on a quiet street in a leafy part of town. Those are not their real names because everyone deserves a second chance.

CBC News, October 4, 2007
PM doesn't know scourge of drug addiction, B.C. advocate says
Prime Minister Stephen Harper lacks leadership when it comes to harm reduction programs, a long-time advocate for addiction services in Vancouver said Thursday.

Georgia Straight, October 4, 2007
Council split on addict aid
Vancouver city councillors' attempts at unity over the health crisis in the Downtown Eastside have been dashed against the rocks.

Ottawa Citizen, October 4, 2007
Tories' war on drugs termed U.S.-style
A national anti-drug strategy that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is set to launch in Winnipeg today has been panned in advance by opposition party critics as too ideological.

Times Colonist, October 3, 2007
Six-month reprieve for Insite denounced as a stalling tactic
The federal government's six-month extension to a supervised injection site in Vancouver is a stalling tactic unlikely to bolster Victoria's push for a similar research project, say local politicians.

National Post, October 3, 2007
A better way to fight the drug war
It's not often I find myself at odds with the police, particularly on law and order issues. But on the Conservative government's new anti-drug strategy, expected out this week, I'm afraid I cannot share the official sunny assessment of the Canadian Police Association (CPA).

Times Colonist, October 2, 2007
TB outbreak tied to crack users
The current tuberculosis outbreak in Port Alberni is linked to the use and abuse of crack cocaine, announced a VIHA official this week.

CBC News, October 2, 2007
Supervised injection site granted 6-month extension
The federal health minister has told Vancouver Coastal Health that the city's controversial supervised drug injection site will be allowed to operate for a further six months.

The Province, October 1, 2007
Safe injection site at risk as feds ramp up war on drugs
The 5,000 injection-drug addicts in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside will be exposed to greater death and disease if Insite is shut down in the federal government's latest initiative in its war on drugs, a Downtown Eastside advocate said yesterday.

Seattle Times, September 30, 2007
Maverick Vancouver, B.C., mayor faces Olympic-size challenge
Sam Sullivan's city spreads from the windows of his 16th-floor Yaletown condominium, his life mapped behind, below, beyond.

CBC News, September 29, 2007
Tories plan get-tough national drug strategy
Health Minister Tony Clement will announce the Conservative government's anti-drug strategy this week with a stark warning: "The party's over" for illicit drug users.

CBC News, September 28, 2007
Rising number of soldiers treated for addictions
The Canadian Forces are struggling to help the drastically rising number of soldiers seeking treatment for drug addictions as their combat mission in Afghanistan continues.

Vancouver Sun, September 26, 2007
Trial would give users legal substitute drugs
Vancouver is taking another step toward becoming the leading North American laboratory for pioneer experiments in dealing with illegal-drug addiction. A Vancouver research team will put in a request this week to run Canada's first trial in giving legal substitute drugs to cocaine and crystal-meth users, says Richard Mulcaster, the director of a non-profit organization formed to promote giving legal drug substitutes to addicts.

Vancouver Province, September 23, 2007
B.C. universities start intervening
Hit the books, not the bottle. That's the message B.C. post-secondary institutions are sending students as the first month of school rolls into the second and midterm exams approach.

Vancouver Sun, September 18, 2007
Continuing the 'war on drugs' is not helping the addicted
Cocaine or crack cocaine started to be distributed in large quantities in Vancouver in 1995. Along with heroin, crack led to increased transmission of HIV-AIDS and hepatitis C and to premature deaths from overdoses.

Prince Albert Daily Herald, September 18, 2007
Treatment centre will allow kids to stay closer to families
A family treatment centre pegged for Prince Albert will allow parents in the province to seek addiction recovery without being separated from their kids.

Times Colonist, September 17, 2007
VIHA to study 'public order' at needle exchange
Junkies continue to shoot up, defecate, buy drugs and collapse on the streets around the Victoria needle exchange while area businesses continue to try to shut it down and the health authority plans another study.

Edmonton Journal, September 17, 2007
Free cocaine for addiction study subjects
Human guinea pigs in an unusual McGill University study are being given cocaine for free so researchers can chart the effects of the highly addictive drug on the brain with hopes of finding ways to curb strong cravings.

The Star-Phoenix, September 15, 2007
Qu'Appelle Valley youth treatment centre puts emphasis on First Nations culture
Culture and spirituality will play a significant role in the treatment of youths at the Leading Thunderbird Lodge. The youth treatment centre in the Qu'Appelle Valley held its official grand opening on Friday.

Victoria Times Colonist, September 12, 2007
Western cities plagued by street drugs, gangs
Western Canadian cities are fighting a rising tide of street drugs and gang activity, according to a report released yesterday by the Canada West Foundation.

Vancouver Sun, September 10, 2007
Canadians are too lenient with drinking drivers
Canada's thousands of drunk-driving deaths and injuries, far from being accidents, are the completely avoidable and inevitable product of "inadequate laws and policies," according to one of the country's foremost experts in the field.

Vancouver Sun, September 7, 2007
New treatment centre to offer help for teen drug addicts
Drug-addicted teens from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and other areas of the Lower Mainland will soon be able to seek long-term treatment in a new facility in Keremeos.

Montreal Gazette, September 5, 2007
Drunk drivers get easy ride in Canada
Canada's thousands of drunk-driving deaths and injuries, far from being accidents, are the completely avoidable and inevitable product of "inadequate laws and policies," according to one of the country's foremost experts in the field.

Vancouver Sun, September 1, 2007
Conservatives confuse science and moralizing
In an editorial directed at the federal government's mendacious attempts to discredit the science surrounding Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site, University of Toronto medical professor Stephen Hwang notes that "the health of the nation is placed in peril if our leaders ignore crucial research findings simply because they run contrary to a rigid policy agenda driven by ideology or fixed beliefs."

National Post, September 1, 2007
Comment: Disgusted in Victoria
There is something wrong in this city. Blessed with natural good looks and a charming, historic downtown core, B.C.'s political and tourist capital is losing appeal, nonetheless. It's no secret why; local officials don't try to deny it. Junkies, panhandlers and drunks are growing in number and becoming more brazen. They are scaring people.

CTV News, August 30, 2007
Homeless' hospital stays tied to mental illness
Mental disorders account for more than half of the hospital stays among the homeless in Canada, says a new report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Times Colonist, August 28, 2007
Editorial: Detox facility offers a new start
Adding detox facilities to Vancouver's Insite safe-injection site makes such good sense it should have happened long ago, but the province still deserves credit for coming through on this important addition.

Canoe.ca News, August 26, 2007
Vancouver's safe-injection site adding detox beds and housing
Addicts who shoot up their own drugs at the city's safe-injection site will soon have a place to start getting clean as the facility expands to include detox beds and short-term housing.

Ottawa Citizen, August 23, 2007
The A, B, Cs of drug abuse
Health Minister Tony Clement's promise to educate young people about drugs, if done properly, might be very useful.

Times Colonist, August 21, 2007
Ottawa to ramp up anti-drug message
Federal Health Minister Tony Clement delivered a tough anti-drug message to doctors yesterday, saying young people need straight talk about the dangers of illicit drugs, including marijuana.

CBC News, August 17, 2007
Advocates of B.C. safe-injection site go to court to keep it open
Saying it's time to end the uncertainty over the future of Vancouver's safe-injection site, a group that runs the facility as well as two drug addicts filed a lawsuit Friday in an attempt to pre-empt any attempts by the federal government to close it.

Ottawa Citizen, August 19, 2007
Study seeks ways to combat drug use
The city will spend $25,000 to figure out what to do about Ottawa's growing drug program, Mayor Larry O'Brien announced yesterday.

Calgary Sun, August 17, 2007
Total reform key to war on drugs
Sometimes the irony gets so thick, its weight smothers the ability to recognize it. Take the predictably failed attempt to clean up Calgary's drug-infested blight: While police say they've devoted more resources to the battle, their enemy's tentacles have only spread.

Times Colonist, August 13, 2007
UVic educates students on binge-drinking risks
Students at the University of Victoria who should have been hitting the books have been hitting the bars so hard that the administration is taking action.

Canada.com, August 10, 2007
From the streets to the classroom
From the rough streets of Vancouver's drug districts to the soft lecture hall seats at the University of Toronto, Nanaimo's Jason Devlin is taking an unorthodox path to becoming a doctor.

Times Colonist, August 9, 2007
Senator to testify in city challenge of med-pot law
A Canadian senator who has called for the legalization of marijuana took the stand yesterday in the trial arising from a raid on the Vancouver Island Compassion Society's grow operation.

Vancouver Province, August 7, 2007
Granville strip closure curbs violence
Vancouver police say shutting down a four-block stretch of Granville Street on Friday and Sunday nights transformed the booze-fuelled boulevard into a long-weekend "love-in."

Open Medicine, August, 2007
Science and ideology
Consider the following hypothetical scenario. An innovative new intervention for people with diabetes is developed. Health Canada provides funding to a highly accomplished group of academic health scientists, who have no financial conflicts of interest with respect to the new intervention, to conduct research on its effectiveness.

Vancouver Sun, July 31, 2007
Drugs and the police
In 1967, John Conroy was a clean-cut University of B.C. student and a member of the varsity swim team. It wasn't until after he graduated that he formed the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in Canada, becoming its first president.

CBC News, July 31, 2007
Social agencies to fund crack pipe program despite threats
A group of Ottawa social service agencies say they will hand out free crack pipes to drug users at the agencies' own expense despite threats from at least one city councillor that they could lose their municipal funding if they do so.

CBC News, July 31, 2007
Forced detox program sees dozens of youth
Almost 100 children have been forced to check into the province's new detoxification centre for youth since it opened nine months ago, and officials are calling the program a success.

CBC News, July 30, 2007
1 joint equivalent to smoking up to 5 cigarettes: study
Smoking just one joint has the same impact on the lungs as smoking up to five cigarettes, says recent research out of New Zealand.

Vancouver Sun, July 27, 2007
Researchers 'reverse' the effects of cocaine on the brain
Researchers working with laboratory mice have found a way to reverse the effects of cocaine on the brain, according to a study published on Thursday that could lead to better treatments for drug addicts.

Toronto Star, July 27, 2007
Methadone rules tightened
Ontario will stop doctors from exploiting drug addicts for profit, Health Minister George Smitherman announced yesterday.

CTV News, July 24, 2007
StatsCan crime report ignores drugs, critics say
Some critics are arguing that a recent Statistics Canada report painting Canada's crime rate as being at a 25-year low is misleading.

Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 2007
Tracking the truth on crack
Sometimes you run across a story that's too good to check. Like the one about the crack dealer with a stack of city-issued crack pipes, handing them out like Happy Meal toys to his customer-victims.

Victoria Times Colonist, July 20, 2007
Editorial: The wrong course on marijuana
It's disheartening to see Canada sliding backwards on drugs, embracing policies that have been proven to do considerable damage while accomplishing nothing.

CBC News, July 19, 2007
Police charge 63 in Downtown Eastside drug sweep
Sixty-three people are facing a total of 89 trafficking charges on Thursday after Vancouver police concluded a two-week undercover operation targeted at street-level drug dealers in the Downtown Eastside.

Vancouver Sun, July 19, 2007
City police getting tougher with pot smokers
Prior said most of those convicted of marijuana possession in B.C. receive a fine or probation -- with very few getting any jail time.

Canada.com, July 18, 2007
Detox helps youth heal
Most teens only have to worry about their grades or getting grounded; not where their next fix is coming from. But for young people who have been caught up in the drug trade, addiction is a tragic reality.

National Post, July 18, 2007
Crime rate lowest in 25 years: StatsCan
The national crime rate dipped to its lowest point in 25 years and Canada recorded fewer homicides last year, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada.

Vancouver Sun, July 18, 2007
On the long road to recovery
The last time former Surrey city councillor Gary Robinson was in the public eye, he was addicted to crack cocaine and recovering in hospital from second- and third-degree burns on 25 per cent of his body after he was doused in rubbing alcohol and lit on fire in an apparent drug-related attack.

CTV News, July 17, 2007
Experts urge Ottawa to fix marijuana laws
Ottawa needs to fix long-standing loopholes and inconsistencies in Canada's marijuana laws to help the justice system contend with a surge of court cases resulting from the Conservative government's new zeal for enforcement, legal experts say.

Vancouver Sun, July 16, 2007
Appeal court OKs tougher penalties for pot growers
B.C.'s highest court says jail time is okay in first-time marijuana cultivation cases even if the offender is a model citizen.

Ottawa Citizen, July 14, 2007
Politics killed crack-pipe program: workers
Health and social support officials working with homeless and addicted people are urging the provincial government to strip Ottawa city council of its responsibilities as a board of public health.

Ottawa Citizen, July 13, 2007
Health agencies seek to resurrect crack-pipe program
Health and support agencies that help drug users are gearing up to start their own crack-pipe program after the city's was scrapped by council, two agency officials said yesterday.

CBC News, July 13, 2007
Ont. minister, mayor to take 'first step' toward Ottawa drug treatment centre
Ontario's minister of health promotion will meet with Ottawa's mayor, chief of police and chief medical officer of health early next week in the first step toward building an $8-million, 48-bed residential drug treatment centre for youth.

Toronto Sun, July 13, 2007
Downtown Ottawa in decline
Canada's capital city is a national disgrace. That's the only conclusion I can come to after visiting my son, who attends university in Ottawa.

CBC News, July 12, 2007
Police chief urges review of scrapped crack pipe program
An Ottawa program that hands out free crack pipes to addicts to reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis C should be reviewed even though city council voted to end the program Wednesday, says the city's police chief.

Vancouver Province, July 11, 2007
Decriminalize pot: Campbell
Possession of marijuana should result in a fine, not a criminal record, says Sen. Larry Campbell.

National Post, July 11, 2007
Rules set to loosen for issuing narcotics
Foot doctors, midwives and nurses would be able to prescribe morphine, Oxycontin and other powerfully addictive medicine under a proposed federal rule that some analysts fear could inadvertently fuel Canada's growing prescription drug-abuse problem.

CBC News, July 11, 2007
Ottawa council scraps crack pipe program
An Ottawa program that provides free crack pipes to drug users will be discontinued, city council decided Wednesday.

National Post, July 11, 2007
Legalizing pot makes sense
If you had to guess which of the world's countries consumed a lot of marijuana, and you had only crude, tabular economic information instead of facts about culture to work from, you would probably look for a physically huge land mass with a long open border that was parcelled out into hundreds of thousands of privately owned agricultural tracts: farms full of brush and little stands of trees that no policeman would ever set foot in more than once every hundred years. And you'd be right on the money.

Vancouver Province, July 10, 2007
Larry Campbell says pot possession should result in fine not criminal record
Possession of marijuana should result in a fine, not a criminal record, says Sen. Larry Campbell. "If we're going to call people who have smoked pot criminals, half the country would be criminals," Campbell, a former Vancouver mayor, coroner and RCMP drug cop, said yesterday.

CBC News, July 10, 2007
Detox not enough, conference told
A 30-day detoxification offers little hope to addicts if it is not followed up, the keynote speaker at the National Summer Institute on Addictions heard Monday.

Montreal Gazette, July 10, 2007
Marijuana laws a confusing mess
Four years ago, then-prime-minister Jean Chretien brought in a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Unfortunately, that bill never became law, though many Canadians believe its outlines guide current policing. But that's not so. In fact, Canadian marijuana law is a shambles, with uneven enforcement and inconsistencies at every stage.

Times Colonist, July 10, 2007
Ahousaht: Get clean or get out
An innovative get-treatment-or-get-out ultimatum handed to bootleggers and drug dealers in Ahousaht, near Tofino, has already changed the atmosphere in the small, isolated First Nations community. Those who chose treatment over banishment are now offering to help counsel other band members with addiction problems, which is proof that the strategy is working -- so far, said Dave Frank, community health services manager at the Ahousaht Holistic Centre.

CTV News, July 9, 2007
Many use sleeping pills after hospital stay
Half of elderly Canadian patients who are prescribed the type of sleeping pills called benzodiazepines after being sent home from the hospital are still chronic users of the drugs six months later, finds a new study. Doctors say the trend is worrisome because benzodiazepines can be addictive. 

Vancouver Sun, July 9, 2007
Law lets parents force kids into drug treatment
Since it came into effect on July 1, 2006, the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act has sent nearly 400 children between the ages of 12 and 17 -- including about 60 from the Calgary region -- into drug treatment. Only Alberta and Saskatchewan have legislation allowing parents to seek court-ordered confinement.

Vancouver Province, July 9, 2007
Kelowna cracks down on crackheads
Monast has been driving a cab in Kelowna for three years and has lived here for 16. He says he picks up crackheads daily, even without working downtown. "You can't avoid them," he says. "But the police are doing a better job" than in previous years.

Vancouver Province, July 9, 2007
The homeless and drug-addicted can be anywhere, so let's just face up to it
R ich Coleman, the B.C. Minister Responsible for Housing, certainly touched a provincewide nerve recently when he said that Vancouver's growing homeless population might do better outside the misery of the Downtown Eastside.

CTV News, July 9, 2007
Pill may help curb smoking, drinking urges
A single pill appears to hold promise in curbing the urges to both smoke and drink, according to researchers trying to help people overcome addiction by targeting a pleasure centre in the brain.

Ottawa Citizen, July 7, 2007
Wired in the workplace
Mr. Elliot's co-workers and bosses could see he wasn't eating -- at six-foot-four, he weighed a mere 140 pounds. But at first they turned a blind eye. "I was a star performer," Mr. Elliot explains. And why mess with success? Indeed, some managers are reluctant to confront an addict who is a top performer, or simply don't know how to handle the situation.

The Toronto Star, July 7, 2007
Hooked on helping others
Michael Flaxman has come a long way since his addiction to heroin and cocaine had him convinced that robbing banks was an excellent solution to his cash-flow problem.

CBC News, July 6, 2007
The drug trade
Well, we can officially call ourselves Toker Nation now. According to the 2007 World Drug Report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Canada has the dubious honour of leading the industrialized world in marijuana use, at least when calculated as a percentage of population.

Times Colonist, July 6, 2007
Editorial: Needle exchange must stay alive
Everyone claims to be committed to dealing with the problems being created by drug abuse in the city -- crime, the eroding sense of security, damage to businesses, sickness, death and despair.Where's the action?

Times Colonist, July 5, 2007
Needle exchange seeks to double funding
AIDS Vancouver Island needs $585,000 -- more than double its current operating budget -- to run an expanded needle exchange in a new location, according to a confidential draft document sent by the agency to city and health officials.

Times Colonist, July 4, 2007
Police see surge of street drug overdoses
Emergency personnel are reporting a spike in drug overdoses on Victoria streets in the past week. Police have no hard figures for the number of overdoses, but on Saturday afternoon alone there were 10 calls.

Edmonton Journal, July 3, 2007
Drug court offers another way to go straight
Recovering drug addict David Chemago built a second family in Courtroom 267. Judge Darlene Wong was his mother. The Crown prosecutor was his father. And his drug court friends became his brothers and sisters.

The Ring, July/August 2007
UVic starts conversation about healthy habits for undergrads
As first-year students get ready to begin their new life and studies at UVic, the university is turning to parents to help start the dialogue about healthy lifestyles.

Georgia Strait, Jun 14, 2007
More Insites not on agenda
Mayor Sam Sullivan says he considers Vancouver’s supervised injection site “an absolutely vital part” of his overall drug strategy. However, he won’t commit to pushing for more sites beyond the current one on East Hastings Street.

Vancouver Sun, June 28, 2007
Poll backs injection site
Close to two-thirds of British Columbians don't want the Conservative government to shut down Vancouver's supervised injection site for drug addicts, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Edmonton Journal, June 25, 2007
Celebs make rehab trendy, ex-addict says
Troubled Hollywood celebrities who use rehab to get out of legal binds are helping to change society's perception of substance abusers and making it fashionable to be in recovery, says an American drug counsellor.

Vancouver Province, June 24, 2007
Coleman touts new strategy for Downtown Eastside
Provincial Housing Minister Rich Coleman says the eventual answer for the homeless of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is relocation -- to another B.C. community.

Ottawa Citizen, June 22, 2007
Councillors endorse plan to fight drugs
Councillors on the city's community services committee endorsed the next phase of the municipality's plan to combat drugs and addiction yesterday, including a possible review of the crack-pipe program.

CTV.ca, June 18, 2007
Family dinners lower drug use among teens: study
There is a growing movement across North America to promote having families to eat dinner together. Studies show the sit-down meals are more nutritious and produce children who are less likely to smoke, drink or use drugs.

Ottawa Citizen, June 16, 2007
Report calls for review of crack-pipe program
Ottawa's controversial crack-pipe program should undergo an independent review, according to a report that will be presented to the city's community and protective services committee next week.

Macleans.ca, June 15, 2007
Safe injection site users more likely to detox: study
Drug addicts who use Vancouver's controversial safe injection site are more likely to enter detox programs and start methadone therapy, a new study shows.

Vancouver Province, June 15, 2007
Vancouver council renews support for injection site
Vancouver city council ended a week of speculation yesterday with a formal declaration of support for the city's safe-injection site.

National Post, June 13, 2007
Put the gangs out of business: legalize drugs
Childhood and adolescence should rightfully be a time of love, learning and life. But for thousands of young Canadians, their journey to adulthood is marred forever by street-gang involvement, which almost always means an active role in the massive business of illicit street drugs, too.

Times Colonist, June 12, 2007
Vancouver mayor to lead campaign for injection site
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan plans to lead an aggressive campaign to lobby for the continued operation of the country's only injection site for drug users.

Canada.com June 11, 2007
Natives are first clients as centre for tobacco addiction opens
Twenty tobacco-addicted First Nations people will become the inaugural participants in a revolutionary residential treatment program to quit smoking. The Tobacco Healing Centre, scheduled to open today near Ottawa, touts an 80 per cent quit rate and will handle up to 1,500 smokers a year. It's the first centre dedicated solely to tobacco addiction in Canada.

Vancouver Sun, June 9, 2007
Hope and a way to the future
Where dark sunken bloodshot circles used to announce years of self-inflicted abuse, Vito Telesca now has two bright and vibrant brown eyes. His body -- the one that just five years ago had suffered so many injections it could no longer stand -- has morphed from a stench-filled rack of pasty flesh into an athletic frame that, on this day, gently tugs at the shoulder seams of a crisp white dress shirt.

National Post, June 7, 2007
The evidence is clear: Harm reduction works
When the National Post comments on harm reduction so glibly (" 'Harm reduction' doesn't work," editorial, May 29), and without any research to back up those comments, it does itself, and its readers, a great disservice.

National Post, June 4, 2007
Let's buy Afghanistan's poppies
At home, the red European wild poppy is a symbol of Canada's military heritage. But the Canadian soldiers of today are trudging through fields of opium poppies every day in Afghanistan, and for them, the potent tall-stalked plant has become a contemporary symbol of the frustrations of nation-building in a failed state.

Vancouver Sun, June 2, 2007
The problem with 'DARE' is that it doesn't work
In November 2000, a 43-year-old man on Vancouver Island died from an overdose of heroin. Certainly not unusual, especially in British Columbia, you might say. But two things made this case unique: One, the man, Barry Schneider, was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer. And two, he was a top official with DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the popular, RCMP-run, school-based drug prevention program. Schneider's death was certainly an irony, and a tragedy. But there is a continuing tragedy here, and it's that DARE continues to live.

Vancouver Sun, June 1, 2007
If alcohol slurs your speech, your heart will suffer: study
A new study provides more evidence that when it comes to alcohol and health, moderation is key. While women who drank were at lower risk of having a non-fatal heart attack than their peers who abstained from alcohol, getting drunk once a month or more sharply increased their risk, according to Dr. Joan M. Dorn of the University at Buffalo, New York.

Victoria Times Colonist, June 1, 2007
Crack-pipe project to be reviewed
Vancouver Island Health Authority staff have distributed about 200 free crack pipes to addicts in the downtown Nanaimo area over the last five months as part of a harm-reduction pilot project.

Calgary Sun, May 31, 2007
Edmonton warm to idea of safe-injection site
Nearly half of Edmontonians support the idea of establishing a safe-injection site for intravenous drug users in the city, according to a new survey.

Montreal Gazette, May 30, 2007
New program to help homeless women
Carole Pigeon knows the routine of the Old Brewery Mission's women's shelter well. You arrive about 4:30 p.m. to get a shower, a hot meal and a bed in a dormitory you share with 30 other itinerant women.

Ottawa Citizen, May 30, 2007
Liberal or Tory, drug policies remain the same
Have you heard the news? Stephen Harper thinks he's Ronald Reagan. "The Conservative government is set to launch a regressive war on drugs," a Liberal press release says. The war is scheduled to start this week, when the government releases a new National Drug Strategy that will -- according to a report in this newspaper last week -- get tough on drugs. More law enforcement. More treatment and prevention. But less "harm reduction" -- including the end of support for "Insite," Vancouver's safe-injection facility.

Vancouver Sun, May 26, 2007
Researchers slam Ottawa's 'politicization of science'
Canadian scientists, doctors and public health researchers have started openly protesting against what they call the federal Conservative government's U.S.-style "politicization of science" in the controversy over supervised-injection centres for drug addicts.

Vancouver Sun, May 27, 2007
Health minister against safe injection site: documents
The top policy adviser to Health Minister Tony Clement ordered federal officials to debunk five "myths"_about Vancouver's Safe Injection Site, just before Clement announced his refusal last year to extend the site's permit.

CTV News, May 25, 2007
Safe injection increases use of detox: study
Drug addicts who visit Vancouver's embattled safe injection site are more likely to enter detox programs, more likely to start methadone therapy and reduce their number of monthly visits to the facility, a new study reports.

Vancouver Sun, May 25, 2007
New study showing Insite's role in getting addicts into treatment should silence critics
As the evidence mounts, it's becoming harder and harder for detractors to condemn Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection facility.

Globe and Mail, May 24, 2007
Do booze-happy bosses breed heavy drinkers?
There are those who say work drives them to drink. This could be more true than they realize. A research report released today suggests that a party-hearty work culture can influence the drinking habits of employees after hours.

Ottawa Citizen, May 24, 2007
The chief needs the facts
Now that Vernon White is Ottawa's chief constable, he needs to take a close look at the city's crack-pipe program. Chief White, sworn in Tuesday, is skeptical of the initiative that offers clean crack-pipe mouthpieces to street addicts. Addicts with cracked lips sharing dirty pipes can contract serious illnesses; a $5,000-a-year program could save millions in health costs plus prevent chronic illnesses in addicts who might recover.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 24, 2007
Pot challenge gets high-profile help
Philippe Lucas, founder of the Vancouver Island Compassion Society, is flying high. As a supplier of medical marijuana and political activist bent on reforming Canada's pot laws, Lucas has a supportive MP in Vancouver East New Democrat Libby Davies.

Ottawa Citizen, May 23, 2007
Tories set to unleash get-tough drug policy
The Harper government's new anti-drug strategy is expected to take a tough approach to illicit drugs, including cracking down on grow-ops and pushers and retreating from "harm reduction" measures such as safe injection sites for addicts.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 22, 2007
Inside a police drug operation
You won't find it on a map, but there are two Yates Streets in Victoria. One is the Yates of coffee shops and eateries, bustling with shoppers and tourist traffic. To see the other, keep your head up and your eyes on those people you might normally avoid - the ones walking aimlessly, resting in locked doorways or, suspiciously, waiting near the bus stop for a bus that never arrives.

Victoria Times Colonist, May 22, 2007
Drug seizures are themselves a bust: expert
What do drug busts actually accomplish? Drug officers will be the first to tell you any positive effect in busting mid-level street dealers is temporary, at best.

CBC News, May 17, 2007
Granville Mall crackdown working, say Vancouver police
Vancouver police say their efforts to control the late-night drunken violence in the city's Granville entertainment district are starting to pay off.

Globe and Mail, May 14, 2007
Number of drug-addicted seniors to surge as boomers retire
Mavis Becker was a little early to the psychedelic Sixties. In the mid-Fifties, at the tender age of 14, she started smoking pot. Within a decade, most of her friends were taking Timothy Leary's advice to turn on, tune in and toke up.

Vancouver Province, May 13, 2007
Drug-use harm 'minimization' with education
Bad outcomes from drug use among senior high-school students can be significantly reduced by education. That was the major finding of a four-year study by Dalhousie professor Christiane Poulin, one of North America's leading researchers into

Times Colonist, May 8, 2007
Needle van a going concern
The VARCS mobile needle exchange cruises downtown hangouts and takes residential calls from all over Greater Victoria, Monday to Friday. The demand for clean needles is huge and, with soaring gas prices, the $36,000 a year budgeted for the mobile needle exchange is stretched to the limit, said executive director Karen Dennis.

Ottawa Citizen, May 6, 2007
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside a cautionary tale for Ottawa, officer says
Ottawa's commitment to helping drug addicts could put the city on a perilous path to creating a version of Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside, a senior Vancouver police officer who spent five years policing the infamous strip warns.

Vancouver Courier, May 4, 2007
No surprises in report on Downtown Eastside hotels, says mayor
Emergency calls to Downtown Eastside hotels will decrease once a new community court opens in the fall and a substitution drug treatment program is approved.

Canada.com, May 4, 2007
BC researcher outraged that study concludes safe injection site is a failure
A scientist who has published several studies on the positive impact of Vancouver's safe-injection site is outraged that the author of a report has hailed the facility a failure without any evidence through medical research.

Brandon Sun, May 2, 2007
Hard-hitting B.C. film shows impact of fatal crashes involving auto theft
It started out as any other morning - he stopped at the door and said "I love you" to his wife and left for work. But Brad Gri drove only 10 minutes past his house that day before a drug-fuelled auto thief slammed into his car and killed him instantly.

CTV News, May 2, 2007
Flavoured meth aimed at first-time buyers
Arkansas police officers had seen leftover methamphetamine ingredients just like the mess they found in a suspected cook's trash can last month. What gave them pause this time were the packets of strawberry-flavoured children's drink mix next to the bin.

Toronto Star, May 2, 2007
The personal dope on medical marijuana
The pot smokers came to a downtown hotel on a recent afternoon to hear the speeches, to meet others and to talk. Who, me? I attended the Cannabis Awareness Forum, not because I am unaware, nor because I inhale, but because I tend to favour legalization.

Montreal Gazette, May 2, 2007
Tories' drug bill violates basic civil liberties
Picture this: Your 19-year-old daughter is pulled over by police on suspicion of impaired driving. She is tested for "physical co-ordination," then taken to a police station where she is required to submit urine and blood samples. The test results indicate the presence of marijuana in her urine, although it cannot be ascertained when the drug was consumed or whether she was only exposed to the smoke - remember Ross Rebagliati? Nevertheless, she is subsequently charged with driving while impaired by drugs. If convicted, she loses her licence for at least one year and receives a criminal record.

Vancouver Sun, May 1, 2007
So-called low-risk drinking isn't
Like any drunken tale too good to be true, it turns out the supposed health benefits of low-risk drinking have been greatly exaggerated, says a Victoria researcher in an international report released Monday.

Canoe News, April 28, 2007
Is legalizing street drugs the answer?
His childhood initiation into drugs and gangsterism has done little to harden the 18-year-old. "T's" boyhood face is easily traceable in a pair of dark, round eyes, a frank gaze and wide, cheeky grins.

Vancouver Sun, April 28, 2007
Drink Inc.
Just after 1 a.m. Thursday, a special team from Richmond RCMP clandestinely watched as cars turned off Bridgeport Road and into a dark parking lot beside an industrial strip mall. The peculiar site of late-night traffic in a retail area near Ikea was a tell-tale sign for Cpl. Brian Edwards -- there was an illegal after-hours booze can nearby.

Globe and Mail, April 26, 2007
Before junkies can clean up, we must sweep past the politics
Since 1993, at least 2,500 people have died of drug overdoses on the streets and in the fleabag hotels of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. That's three deaths a week from intravenous drug use in a tiny section of one of the most beautiful and prosperous cities on Earth.

Vancouver Sun, April 25, 2007
Court rulings uphold important anti-drug tool, lawyer says
Two decisions of the B.C. Court of Appeal Tuesday allowing the Crown to seize homes in which the owners had marijuana-growing operations uphold an important tool in the battle against illicit drug operations, says a lawyer representing the federal Justice Department.

Victoria Times Colonist, April 25, 2007
Drunk-driving talks good for parents, kids
A Saanich police program that encourages parents and kids to talk about the dangers of drunk driving is getting high marks from the academic community as it begins its fourth year.

Surrey Leader, April 22, 2007
Unique addiction centre opens in Whalley
Dressed conservatively in a blue dress shirt and pleated black pants, Stephen shows off his new bachelor suite at Phoenix Centre, an addiction treatment centre at 13686 94A Ave. which hosted an official opening ceremony Thursday.

Victoria Times Colonist, April 16, 2007
Police can't win the drug battle
Full credit to Victoria police for a successful undercover operation aimed at disrupting a major local source of heroin and cocaine. But don't expect "Project Plato," as the exercise was dubbed, to have any effect on problems on Victoria's streets in terms of making drugs harder to get or more expensive or curbing crime.

CTV News, April 15, 2007
Health Canada markup on certified dope: 1,500%
The federal government charges patients 15 times more for certified medical marijuana than it pays to buy the weed in bulk from its official supplier, newly released documents show.

Vancouver Province, April 15, 2007
Community court offers beacon of hope in battle against petty crime
If your car gets broken into, chances are the person who smashed your window and ripped you off has done it before. Chances are they've done it many, many times before. According to the provincial government's working group on street crime, the addict who smashed up your car could easily have done the same to 19 other cars that same day.

Globe and Mail, April 14, 2007
Canada's cracked-out capital
You know you're in Ottawa when the first drug dealer you meet once worked on Parliament Hill. On a cold Friday afternoon, Raymond Lambert leans in his black leather jacket against the wrought-iron gate outside the Shepherds of Good Hope, a homeless shelter on the edge of the Byward Market, a short walk east of the Peace Tower.

CTV News, April 14, 2007
New doc tackles failures of drug laws
It's a familiar scene on TV newscasts: wads of cash, rows of guns and bags full of drugs displayed neatly on a table by police officers seemingly posing by their latest set of trophies.

Vancouver Sun, April 13, 2007
Bars' tracking system under scrutiny
Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis has fast-tracked his investigation into a high-tech system used by downtown Vancouver nightclubs to track troublemakers. The system, which scans patrons' ID and takes a photo of them as they enter clubs and bars, was recently upgraded to allow clubs to share warnings about problem patrons with each other.

CBC News, April 9, 2007
Calgary drug court set to open next month
Calgary will soon join a number of cities around the country to open a special drug court, officials say.

Vancouver Courier, April 5, 2007
Mayor's drug treatment committee plans to have proposal ready by June
It will be several months before a non-profit created to get Mayor Sam Sullivan's drug treatment plan off the ground will apply to Health Canada for approval.

CBC News, April 4, 2007
Conference tackles workplace substance abuse
The workplace environment drives many Canadians to drink heavily enough to threaten their own careers, a researcher told a conference in Fredericton.

Macleans, April 3, 2007
The bottle and the damage done
Behind door number one is a frosty mug of beer. Behind door number two are four lines of crystal meth and a tightly rolled $20 bill. For the sake of the nation, which do you choose? A new study from the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse suggests the answer isn't as clear-cut as you might think.

24 Hours, April 3, 2007
Cure for drug woes?
Will a proposal to give legal drug substitutes to hardcore addicts solve Vancouver's drug problems? A majority of residents appear willing to give the idea a try.

Montreal Gazette, April 2, 2007
Discarded needles - disease risk is low
The case of the 7-year-old Laval girl who pricked herself Tuesday with a syringe found in a hedge left many people gasping in horror. The reassuring news is the chance of contracting HIV or hepatitis B or C from such incidents is extremely rare.

Vancouver Sun, March 31, 2007
Myths and hysteria bad basis for drug laws
On Aug. 11, 2005, the former federal Liberal government announced, to much fanfare, that our current demon drug, methamphetamine, would be upgraded to Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which provides for the most severe penalties.

Vancouver Courier, March 30, 2007
Addicts feeling at home at safe injection site
Addicts using Vancouver's supervised drug injection site will have access to transitional housing starting next month as they wait to enter addiction treatment programs and find a permanent home.

Vancouver Sun, March 30, 2007
Prison guards face rising threat from violence, drug abuse
More than 27 per cent of prisoners in B.C. are suspected of drug use -- the highest in a national prison system that is rife with increasingly violent prisoners, drug abuse and the growth of organized crime, according to a new report by the Correctional Service of Canada.

Vancouver Sun, March 29, 2007
Prescription heroin might dent the illegal drug trade
While Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site, continues to serve an important and necessary function, the evidence is mounting that what we really need is to provide prescription opiate and stimulant substitutes to heroin and cocaine/amphetamine addicts.

Vancouver Sun, March 28
Booze, drugs killing thousands of youth: report
A third of deaths among young people in developed countries such as Canada are caused by alcohol and illicit drugs, according to a new paper co-authored by a University of Victoria researcher.

CTV News, March 27, 2007
Taxes, nagging may stop drug-related teen deaths
Taxes, nagging and creative thinking offer the best defence against teen substance abuse, says a new study to be published Tuesday.

Victoria Times Colonist, March 19, 2007
Revamped drug strategy leads budget's crime measures
A revamped national drug strategy, expanded treatment for prisoners with mental health problems, new money for Canada's spy agency and an initiative to interview first-time applicants for gun licences are four major components of a $286-million budget package aimed at "keeping Canadians secure."

Vancouver Sun, March 17, 2007
Canadian drug traffickers go global
When former Surrey resident Gurdish Singh (Ricky) Toor was arrested in India last August, police there said he was the kingpin of an international drug cartel linked to China and Canada. The 29-year-old remains locked up in Delhi's Tihar jail where B.C. members of the RCMP's drug enforcement unit recently interviewed him and other Canadians allegedly involved in global drug trafficking rings.

The Globe and Mail, March 16, 2007
Drug sweep nabs dozens
A small-time crack dealer thought he was getting an early start to the day's business. Instead, he became the latest arrest in the Vancouver Police Department's crackdown on drug trafficking in the Downtown Eastside. Vancouver police touted the results of an eight-day sweep of the Hastings area at a late-morning news conference, saying they had issued 55 warrants and arrested 34 people on suspicion of dealing drugs, mostly crack cocaine.

The Chronicle Herald, March 12, 2007
It's long past time we legalized it
British Columbia fast becoming the only province in Canada in which the biggest industry is illegal. In 2005, forestry ($ 10 million) was BC's top economic driver, and construction ($ 7.9 billion) ranked second. But what was this, coming up fast on the inside to move into third place? The marijuana industry. Puff, puff.

The Province, March 12, 2007
Treatment and prevention are keys to a successful drug strategy in B.C.
Stephen Harper's Conservative government has been promising a new national drug strategy: "Get tough on drug crime, U.S.-style." With a late spring election looming, this policy would represent a key plank in their election platform. This will be a dramatic shift from the consensus strategy that has been built supporting a public-health approach to our drug problem.

Vancouver Sun, March 12, 2007
Appeal court picks punishment over rehabilitation
The B.C. Court of Appeal has ordered a three-year prison term for a homeless, crack-addicted New Westminster burglar in a decision that would make Charles Dickens wince.

Vancouver Sun, March 10, 2007
Narcotics board looks to be 'closed to reason'
Given how the federal Conservatives feel about harm reduction measures, they didn't really need an excuse to shut down Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection facility. But the International Narcotics Control Board recently provided them with one nonetheless.

Edmonton Journal, March 7, 2007
'Wet' shelter needs political will
A homeless man stumbles towards you. "Buddy," he says. "Can you help a poor man buy a drink?" You politely decline, feeling satisfied with yourself for refusing to enable an alcoholic's addiction. Now meet the merciful enablers of Toronto's Seaton House, where staff hand out hourly shots to chronic street alcoholics.

CTV News, March 6, 2007
Toronto police urged to make grow-op list public
CTV News has obtained a list of the more than 1,000 homes in Toronto that have been used as marijuana grow-operations since 2003, but there are calls to make the information available to the public.

Vancouver Sun, March 6, 2007
More young people smoke pot than tobacco, survey finds
A Vancouver Coastal Health survey has found that most youth in Vancouver start smoking marijuana before their 15th birthday, not long after their first whiff of tobacco or sip of beer. The city-wide survey of youth aged 16 to 24 shows cannabis sativa is the illicit drug of first choice for today's young people.

CBC News, March 5, 2007
Medical marijuana user opens 'inhalation room'
A Regina man has opened an inhalation room in his hemp store for people who can legally use medical marijuana, but questions are swirling about its legality.

CBC News, March 5, 2007
Medical marijuana user opens 'inhalation room'
A Regina man has opened an inhalation room in his hemp store for people who can legally use medical marijuana, but questions are swirling about its legality.

Vancouver Sun, March 3, 2007
UN report unwittingly makes the case for prescribing drugs to addicts
Political opposition to Insite, Vancouver's supervised injection site, is nothing new. But more often than not, such opposition serves to highlight the scientific evidence in favour of the site. Now the most recent criticism, from the United Nations, might actually help to support the cause of providing prescription drugs to opiate and stimulant addicts.

CTV News, March 3, 2007
Addiction proposal mostly hype: B.C. doctors
Doctors who participate in a proposed project aimed at fighting drug addiction among cocaine and crystal meth users may not be equipped to help the vulnerable population, says a spokesman for the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Vancouver Sun, March 2, 2007
Tory senator attacks Sullivan's drug-treatment plan
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan's plan to get drug addicts off the streets, which received major backing this week from former Conservative MP John Reynolds, has come under attack by another senior federal Tory.

Vancouver Sun, March 2, 2007
Safe injection site breaks treaties, UN agency says
The United Nations drug control agency is expected to warn Health Minister Tony Clement at a conference later this month that Canada is flouting international drug control treaties by enabling illicit drug use at a supervised injection site in Vancouver.

Maclean's Magazine, March 2, 2007
Insite under fire
The United Nations' drug control agency has come out against the safe injection site in Vancouver and syringe and other drug paraphenalia-distribution programs across Canada.

Vancouver Sun, March 1, 2007
Needle exchange to be moved
AIDS Vancouver Island will move its needle exchange from the corner of Cormorant and Blanshard streets, an area that hard-core intravenous drug users have turned into Victoria's drug zone.

Montreal Gazette, March 1, 2007
Prescription drug abuse growing
Abuse of prescription drugs is about to exceed the use of illicit street narcotics worldwide, and the shift has spawned a lethal new trade - counterfeit painkillers, sedatives and other medicines potent enough to kill - a global watchdog warned yesterday.

24 Hours, February 27, 2007
New trial 'a bargain': Mayor
If a new clinical trial goes ahead as planned in Vancouver, crystal-meth and crack-cocaine addicts will soon be able to legally access maintenance drugs.

CTV News, February 26, 2007
Vancouver to try drug replacement program
Mayor Sam Sullivan has introduced a new approach to fighting drug addiction and cleaning up the city's crime problem with a project that could surpass what's been tried in other cities around the world.

Ottawa Citizen, February 23, 2007
Stop export of 'B.C. bud'
U.S. "drug czar" John Walters wants Canadian officials to crack down on marijuana use, stop the export of "B.C. bud" to the U.S., and co-operate with extradition requests. That tough approach to drugs was tempered somewhat yesterday by the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, who thanked Canadian officials and law enforcement in Ottawa for their "outstanding co-operation" on the "war against drugs."

Victoria Times Colonist, February 23, 2007
Our blindness to fixes for social problems is costly
Life on the front lines facing a load of social issues these past three years has underlined for me the problems of a community that can't come to grips with what's going on in its streets.

Ottawa Citizen, February 22, 2007
Canada must not follow the US on drug policy
The U.S. drug czar, John Walters, is in Ottawa today, trying his best to put a positive spin on one of the greatest disasters in U.S. foreign and domestic policy. Part of his agenda is to persuade Canada to follow in U.S. footsteps, which can only happen if Canadians ignore science, compassion, health and human rights.

Edmonton Journal, February 22, 2007
Allowing booze at homeless shelter will be examined
The Edmonton Police Commission wants to look into the possibility of establishing a homeless shelter that permits alcohol.

Ottawa Citizen, February 20, 2007
Protesters urge city not to cut crack-kit funds
"Crack kits save lives" was the simple chorus of about 25 protesters who paced in front of City Hall with bristol board signs, noisemakers and a megaphone yesterday afternoon.

Globe and Mail, February 19, 2007
B.C. aims to choke tobacco industry
Tobacco companies that tempt cigarette addicts with advertisements are no better than preacher Jim Jones, who induced 900 followers to drink a cyanide-laced Flavor Aid in the infamous 1978 massacre, says a B.C. government brief to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Vancouver Province, February 18, 2007
Calgary millionaire lost it all after first puff of crack
In the fall of 2001, Michael (not his real name) had a personal net worth of more than $160 million, his own private jet and homes around the world. Today, the 38-year-old is broke and addicted to crack cocaine.

Vancouver Sun, February 16, 2007
Ex-Tory organizer to lead mayor's drug program
A former campaign organizer for federal Health Minister Tony Clement has been named to drive forward Mayor Sam Sullivan's plan to provide substitute legal drugs for cocaine users.

Winnipeg Sun, February 14, 2007
The folly of prohibition
How's Nixon's war going? Not Vietnam. The other one. The so-called war on drugs declared by the former U.S. president almost 40 years ago.

Vancouver Sun, February 13, 2007
Margaret Trudeau says quitting marijuana helped mental health
Quitting cannabis has been an important part of her recovery from mental illness, Margaret Trudeau said Monday at a press conference in Vancouver for the Canadian Mental Health Association's upcoming Bottom Line Conference.

Victoria Times Colonist, February 12, 2007
Ex-cop an advocate for drug law reform
A retired career cop speaking in favour of the legalization of drugs? You've got to be kidding. But Hunter McDonald, 63, is dead serious about his stance, so much so that he gave a speech at the eighth annual cannabis convention at UVic yesterday.

Edmonton Journal, February 10, 2007
Addicts help police ID those high at the wheel
Police officers are praising the mutual benefits of including drug addicts in their training to recognize drivers who are high behind the wheel.

Vancouver Courier, February 9, 2007
New program aimed at classroom stoners
A new prevention program at two Vancouver schools is creating a good buzz that doesn't rely on drugs.

Vancouver Courier, February 9, 2007
Business sees benefit in mayor's drug plan
After 30 years of watching the repeated failure of efforts to combat hard drug addiction and the crimes that accompany it, a former Vancouver police officer believes the mayor's proposed drug substitution treatment program is worth trying.

24 Hours, February 7, 2007
RCMP bust synthetic drug ring
The scope of the synthetic drug trade is being ignored, RCMP said as they showed off a massive amount of drugs seized in a recent bust.

The Tyee, February 5, 2007
Activists plan "safe site" for drug smokers
Addicts who smoke hard drugs will have an indoor place to get their fix if a Vancouver drug users group is able to open North America's first safe inhalation site later this year.

CTV News, February 1, 2007
Hotline launched to combat marijuana grow ops
In an effort to combat a rapidly increasing problem, Toronto police have launched a hotline for tipsters to report marijuana grow operations.

Westender, February 1, 2007
Mayor endorses controversial addiction plan
Last week, Mayor Sam Sullivan announced that he would lobby the federal government for an exemption from Canada's narcotics laws in order to implement the program for roughly 700 stimulant addicts. If approved, it would be the first of its kind, on this scale, in the world.

Vancouver Courier, January 31, 2007
Mayor's man hard at work on new drug plan
As David Holtzman sees it-and he can't help but see it where he lives in the Downtown Eastside-the open drug market continues to flourish. As a resident of Gastown and Chinatown for the past 10 years, the 47-year-old has seen the bottom end of what addiction can do to a person. There's the poor health, the crime and the hopelessness. He wants to change that. And he's in a good position to make change because of his connection to Mayor Sam Sullivan. Holtzman is the independent consultant overseeing the mayor's controversial treatment plan for drug addicts.

CBC News, January 29, 2007
Vancouver shelter for aboriginal women faces closure
A Vancouver drug and alcohol recovery house for aboriginal women from the Downtown Eastside could soon be closed because its funding is being cut by the federal government.

The Windsor Star, January 27, 2007
Cops urge keg registry
When beer flows from a keg at a house party, cops say a slew of problems can follow. That's why police in Ontario cities are gathering in February to discuss the idea of a keg registry, an idea that is already in place in some parts of the U.S. and Europe.

Vancouver Sun, January 26, 2007
Safe injection project 'quite a success'
A federal Liberal government would provide funding for supervised injection sites in more Canadian cities, party leader Stephane Dion said Thursday.

CTV News, January 25, 2007
Dion says Vancouver's drug injection site works
Liberal leader Stephane Dion is blasting Prime Minister Stephen Harper for not fully endorsing the safe drug injection site in downtown Vancouver.

Vancouver Sun, January 24, 2007
Alternative treatments give addicts a chance
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan's plan to set up an alternative drug-treatment plan for 700 cocaine and crystal methamphetamine addicts might never come to fruition, but it's something that should be seriously considered.

Vancouver Sun, January 23, 2007
Flying in the face of facts, governments cling to futile drug strategies
With all the controversy about Vancouver's supervised injection facility, one could easily be lulled into thinking that we've all but abandoned enforcing Canada's drug laws, that we've chosen to emphasize harm reduction at the expense of prevention, treatment and enforcement.

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