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Minimum sentences prove unsuccessful

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Mon, 05/31/2010 - 7:15pm
By Greg Vandermeulen, Altona Red River Valley Echo
 
The dark side of mandatory minimum sentences was revealed in provincial court last week.
 
Long trumpeted as the fix-all for the justice system, the Conservatives and other proponents loudly proclaimed the glory of mandatory minimums.
 
The idea was that judges are flawed, tied to precedent and too inclined to be merciful. Some types of offenses are so terrible they must have minimums attached.
 
Killing or hurting someone with a firearm was one of those categories that most of us couldn't imagine why we wouldn't have a mandatory minimum.
 
Turns out we should have left that decision to the judges.
 

Manitoba addictions expert quits job

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 05/27/2010 - 12:11am
CBC News
 
One of Manitoba's foremost experts on addictions is leaving her job out of frustration.
 
Dr. Lindy Lee said the addictions unit at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre is overwhelmed with people addicted to opiates such as OxyContin and codeine.
 
The unit needs to be expanded into a full clinic to deal with the growing demand, she said, noting that staff are so overwhelmed they can't assist people when they first call for help.
 
"It needs a whole organized clinic…an outpatient clinic. And although we've asked for that, it's not happening and the workload is no longer manageable," Lee said.
 

Overdoses surge for addicts awaiting methadone treatment

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 05/26/2010 - 11:20pm
By Jen Skerritt, Winnipeg Free Press
 
WINNIPEG — Accidental overdoses of oxycodone and fentanyl have killed at least 25 Manitobans in the last two years, raising fears that more people will die awaiting treatment as waiting lists continue to soar.
 
New data from the Chief Medical Examiner's Office reveals the number of accidental prescription opiate overdoses is on the rise. In 2008, 10 people died following accidental overdoses of oxycodone and fentanyl. Preliminary data from 2009 indicates that number rose to at least 15 last year, and some toxicology reports haven't been finalized yet.
 
Oxycodone is a narcotic pain reliever included in such prescription drugs as OxyContin and Percocet.
 

Canada's hemp acres on the rise

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 04/07/2010 - 9:22pm

(Resource News International, Published: Western Edition Country Guide) -- Canadian farmers are expected to grow more hemp this year, as demand for both the seed and fibre is increasing, and the crop can offer good returns to producers, according to an industry official.

"This year there is a lot of optimism in the market," said Kim Shukla, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, an industry group based at Steinbach, Man.

"We had some very strong movement on the food side of the business," she added, noting both exports of processed hemp seed and domestic demand were strengthening.

As a result, she said, the area seeded to hemp across the country was expected to increase from about 14,000 acres in 2009, to 25,000 acres this spring.

Province cracks down on OxyContin use

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 8:00pm

CBC News

The province is placing new restrictions on people's access to the prescription painkiller OxyContin in an effort to curb the illegal use of the drug.

OxyContin, a derivative of the opium poppy, is highly addictive and known on the street as "Hillbilly Heroin" because of the narcotic effects it produces.

The illegal sale of the drug has been increasing on the streets of Winnipeg in recent years.

A single tablet can sell for as little as $5, depending on available supply. In rural areas of Manitoba, the drug is often sold for much more, sometimes as high as $40 per dose.

Jail not sought for Manitoba pot advocate

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Wed, 03/03/2010 - 5:36am
By Mike McIntyre, Winnipeg Free Press
 
WINNIPEG — Manitoba justice officials are not seeking a jail sentence against a medical-marijuana crusader found guilty of trafficking pot to clients across Canada.
 
Grant Krieger said he feared he would die behind bars after jurors found him guilty during his high-profile Queen's Bench trial last fall. But the Calgary resident returned to Winnipeg for sentencing Wednesday, and learned the Crown agrees he can remain free in the community under a conditional sentence.
 
The judge has reserved her decision until next month.
 

Oxycodone boom hits Manitoba

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Mon, 03/01/2010 - 7:33pm
By Chris Kitching, QMI Agency
 
WINNIPEG -- A few years ago people were worried crystal meth would invade Manitoba the way it did some U.S. states, which became ridden with addicts, fatal overdoses and clandestine labs.
It didn’t happen to that extent, thankfully.
 
But a different drug has creeped in without the hoopla and warnings, and is quickly becoming an abused drug of choice, especially for middle-class Manitobans.
 
The oxycodone boom is here.
 

Painkiller seized in Winnipeg drug bust

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Tue, 02/23/2010 - 6:16pm
By Chris Kitching, QMI Agency
 
WINNIPEG -- At a time when addiction and black-market sales are on the rise in Winnipeg, city police officers have made one of their largest seizures of OxyContin, a highly addictive opiate.
 
Saturday’s bust reflects a growing problem of OxyContin abuse in local homes, especially in one age group, a support worker says.
 
“It seems to be the younger generation who’s addicted to OxyContin,” said Laurie Magee, manager of Addictions Foundation of Manitoba’s methadone program, which has a lengthy waiting list of people seeking treatment.
 
Magee said the most dominant group tends to be middle-class high school and university students.

Cuts at addictions centres?

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Mon, 01/25/2010 - 5:45pm
Director may trim services without new provincial funding
 
By: Bruce Owen, Winnipeg Free Press
 
 
A former drug addict who helps operate three facilities for recovering addicts says he may have to cut back his services because he can't afford to pay staff to be on the premises 24 hours a day.
 
Ian Rabb, general manager for Winpark Dorchester Properties and a former methamphetamine addict, says he's lobbied government for more than a year for increased funding of up to $150,000 a year to manage the non-profit facilities; two are for men and one is for women. The properties, in which he's said he's invested about $1 million, include a 14-bed supervised facility called Two Ten Recovery on Maryland Street.
 

Dope activist spared jail time; No real victims, judge tells court

Submitted by Nicole Seguin on Tue, 12/22/2009 - 11:11pm
By: Mike McIntyre; Winnipeg Free Press
A Manitoba judge has cut a break to a medical marijuana crusader found guilty of trafficking pot to numerous clients across Canada.
Grant Krieger received a suspended sentence with nine months of probation Monday -- a far cry from the jail sentence he feared he might receive and predicted would kill him.
"Mr. Krieger is not like most of the drug offenders we sentence in this court," Queen's Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg said. "While Mr. Krieger's actions were illegal, many, perhaps most, would say they are not immoral. Indeed he has no real victims."
Krieger, 54, was convicted last year of possession for the purpose of trafficking following a high-profile trial.
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