Canada

The McGill Daily, 26 Jan 2015 - Youth Outreach Project Doubles Capacity With New Hire Last November, Head & Hands hired a second employee for its Street Work program, restoring the program to the capacity it had before budget cuts forced its discontinuation in 2011. The program was partially reinstated in 2013 with the hiring of a single street worker after substantial fundraising.

Sudbury Star, 26 Jan 2015 - Multi-sector team tackles substance problems Greater Sudbury Police and the Sudbury and District Health Unit are issuing a collective Call To Action on substance misuse. That's the subtitle of a new Community Drug Strategy for the City of Greater Sudbury endorsed at a recent meeting of the police services board.

The Province, 26 Jan 2015 - I passed by Pidgeon Park in Vancouver last week and noticed a Hispanic man selling drugs in broad daylight. I've heard that most of the dealers are illegal aliens. It's disgusting that they come to Canada to commit crimes. Where are the police? Are they blind? Vancouver police Chief Jim Chu should set up a task force and clean up the city of these scum who take advantage of very sick and addicted people.

Metro, 26 Jan 2015 - Illegal Grows Way Down, While Legal Operations Create New Concerns Calgary has seen dramatic drop in arrests, charges and search warrants related to illegal marijuana grow-ops since 2009, but legal weed operations are posing a growing challenge for local law enforcement.

Toronto Star, 24 Jan 2015 - But new venture shouldn't be construed as support for broader cannabis use, he says Ernie Eves has gone from politics to pot. While other politicians tend to join law firms, become consultants or work on various other staid pursuits, the former Progressive Conservative premier of Ontario has chosen to branch out.

Winnipeg Free Press, 24 Jan 2015 - OTTAWA - Non-violent drug addicts who break the law will again have the option of rehab instead of jail time as federal funding revives the Winnipeg Drug Treatment Court. Ottawa finally committed to renewing funding for the court, offering $1.2 million over the next three years, the provincial government confirmed Friday. The court stopped accepting new clients last spring because Ottawa had not agreed to extend the funding beyond the end of March.

Winnipeg Free Press, 24 Jan 2015 - BEING in Arizona on a university campus and immersed in U.S. culture is fascinating generally, and especially so with regard to the debate about legalization and regulation of recreational use marijuana. I am currently teaching part time at Arizona State University as we develop a North American law degree program. What's really interesting in the Arizona and American news generally is seeing both the language patterns that are being used in the narrative as well as the legislative and political machinations around the issue of marijuana use.

Globe and Mail, 24 Jan 2015 - It's an "only in Vancouver" phenomenon that is so new it doesn't even have a name yet. Let's call it "roaching." Here's the scene: Monday night, on my way home from grabbing a beer at one of the many fine craft breweries within walking distance of my house. Two gangly young men are lurking under an awning on Commercial Drive.

London Free Press, 23 Jan 2015 - Since Health Agencies Began Giving Kits That Reverse Overdoses to Drug Users, They've Been Used Successfully Three Times. Jennifer O'brien Reports. Three lives saved. Saved, not by doctors, paramedics or police, but by peers - other drug users - of addicts suffering life-threatening overdoses. Three is a small number, but one that gives hope and momentum to organizers of a new program that aims to equip drug users with medication called Naloxone that can reverse a life-threatening overdose.

Metro, 22 Jan 2015 - More than 1.8 million clean needles distributed over past four years Nearly half a million needles were handed out in Calgary last year as uptake of safe injection services offered through Alberta Health Services' Safeworks program continues to rise.

The Record, 22 Jan 2015 - City Says the Installations Are Not Tied to Anti-Needle Push KITCHENER - The City of Kitchener says its decision to install sharps containers in 25 city facilities has nothing to do with a city woman's recent campaign to rid downtown of what she calls a glut of discarded drug needles.

The Recorder & Times, 22 Jan 2015 - KEMPTVILLE - Provincial police here are assisting a coroner's investigation into the death of a 23-year-old woman that may have been related to the use of ecstasy, also known as MDMA or Molly. Grenville OPP say that just after 3 a.m. on Sunday, they were called to a Kemptville home to assist with a woman who had no vital signs. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Parksville Qualicum Beach News, 22 Jan 2015 - Re: 'Police say dispensary is illegal,' Jan. 20 edition of The NEWS. I am an organizer for Sensible B.C. in Parksville-Qualicum Beach. Forty five hundred people in Oceanside signed the Sensible B.C. petition initiative to legalize cannabis in B.C. last year and we had conversations with adults from every demographic who support changing the legal status of cannabis.

Innisfil Journal, 22 Jan 2015 - Council could approve a town-wide policy outlining rules to build medical marijuana facilities in Innisfil as early as March 4 But first residents will have a chance to ask questions and offer their ideas during a public open house at the town hall Jan. 29 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The Georgia Straight, 22 Jan 2015 - THE AVERAGE MARIJUANA bud one finds on the streets of Vancouver has a THC concentration in the neighbourhood of 25 percent. That's a lot stronger than what people were smoking back in the '60s, but it's got nothing on the high that "dabbing" can deliver. Dabbing, an old technique that's seeing a surge in popularity, involves smoking cannabis products with THC concentrations above 90 percent.

Parksville Qualicum Beach News, 22 Jan 2015 - Re: 'Police say dispensary is illegal,' Jan. 20 edition of The NEWS. Indeed, cannabis dispensaries are illegal. Unfortunately, this is a bad law that causes a great deal of suffering. We have a court-ordered program in Canada to provide access to medical cannabis, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government is not supportive of cannabis as medicine and has created a program that is cumbersome, with many time delays, at best, and completely unworkable at worst.

The Georgia Straight, 22 Jan 2015 - JODIE EMERY SAYS she remains a supporter of Justin Trudeau and the Liberals after the party dropped her from its nomination race in Vancouver East. "This doesn't change anything for me," the advocate for marijuana reform told the Straight. "There are a lot of people who feel this is backtracking by the party, but most people understand that this is a high-stakes election and any sort of distraction could do a disservice."

The Georgia Straight, 22 Jan 2015 - THE NEWS THAT came over Jodie Emery's Twitter feed was terse and direct. "At 3:58 pm I received an email from the Liberal Green Light Committee informing me they are not recommending me to be a nomination candidate," she wrote.

The Province, 21 Jan 2015 - Finally, a country is sending out a clear message to narcotics traffickers. You will be executed for your actions if found guilty. Someone called Indonesia's execution by firing squad of six drug dealers "cruel and inhumane punishment." What about all of the lives these drug traffickers have ruined with their greed and pursuit of money?

Edmonton Sun, 21 Jan 2015 - If our premier is serious about new revenue streams, it's time to look at legalizing marijuana and taxing it like liquor and cigarettes. Many countries around the world, and some U.S. states have done so already. The logic of imprisoning pot smokers, well it's NOT logical.