News

'Sudbury is a lucrative market for the gangs to expand to' The first thing Greater Sudbury Police noticed was more fentanyl showing up on local people in their arrests.

VANCOUVER - Drug users are the solution to addressing overdose deaths and providing services to people before they die alone, says a woman who attended a meeting of health professionals in Vancouver trying to develop new strategies to deal with a growing crisis in B.C.

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- The Latest on the legal battle of the launch of Nevada's recreational pot sales

OVER EPIDEMIC OF OPIOID DEATHS Citing an epidemic of opioid overdose deaths across the country, state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Friday that California is joining with more than 26 other states to investigate whether drugmakers have used illegal marketing and sales practices.

Opinions

With pot legalization about a year away, we can conclude that the Ontario government is working on a plan. Or at least a plan for a plan.

THE Trudeau government is set on legalizing marijuana by the summer of 2018. While they will enjoy the political payoff of appearing progressive on this matter, all of the associated problems and the logistics of doing so will fall on the shoulders of the provincial governments and their civic counterparts.

Vancouver seems to have two seasons: Rain and tourists. Just as we make our way out of one, the other hits us full force. Nowhere is the throng of tourists thicker than Gastown, where they scramble for selfies with the steam clock.

Canada's law enforcement agencies, MADD Canada and other first responders took to the country's roads and highways recently in their annual campaign to promote safety on our highways over the summer holiday season.

Letters

Noel Hershfield is incorrect. In fact, there is an abundance of studies dispelling the 'gateway' myth. Marijuana is like a gateway drug the same way an appetizer is a gateway to an entree. One generally occurs before the other.

Noel Hershfield is incorrect. In fact, there is an abundance of studies dispelling the 'gateway' myth. Marijuana is like a gateway drug the same way an appetizer is a gateway to an entree. One generally occurs before the other.

I just heard Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer on the news discussing our gang problem, killings and crime in Fresno. He then mentioned marijuana as the drug gangs use. That might be true, but why do we rarely hear about the huge methamphetamine problem in Fresno from Chief Dyer, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims and the local media?

People do not just wake up one day and decide, "I am going to become a drug user." There are social causes that bring about drug use which need to be dealt with in order to reduce this problem. Drug use is more prevalent among people who are disadvantaged. If we really want to stop this epidemic of opioid overdose, there needs to be public policy in place that will lessen the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged people in order to stop drug use before it starts.

Thanks for the June 2 editorial, "Possession penalties are too harsh." While any discussion about reforming Wisconsin's draconian marijuana laws is certainly welcome, decriminalization is an old idea that still leaves out a legal source for pot.

On May 29, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published an editorial written by its editor-in-chief, Dr. Diane Kelsall, titled "Cannabis legislation fails to protect Canada's youth."

Larry Comeau seems to believe that legalizing marijuana amounts to "government adding another dangerous drug to the mix". The pot is already out there and legalizing it will not increase usage. However I do agree that all drug usage needs national attention.