"While thousands of Canadians have died in recent decades from the toxic drug crisis, fentanyl isn’t the first substance that has stirred controversy in the province."

"But they're doing this in an always risky and unpredictable environment, where access to some harm-reduction services, such as drug testing, is limited or politicized."

“According to the regularly conducted survey, the proportion of adolescents aged 12 to 17 who have consumed cannabis in the past 12 months fell from 6.7 percent in 2023 to 6.1 percent this year.” reported RND

On days when veterans reported being high from cannabis for longer periods, they tended to report fewer PTSD symptoms and lower levels of negative affect.

"Results suggest that cannabis consumers self-titrate when switching between flower and concentrate product types, but more frequent consumers prefer higher-potency versions of a given product type and consume them in larger amounts."

“These findings underscore that people don’t just stop using cannabis when their state bans it. They often shift to alternatives that are easier to access, even if they’re less well-studied or poorly regulated” www.forbes.com/sites/ajherr...

"History and science have shown these are the places doing the work that helps us all."

"The notion that cannabis legalization was promoted as a way to end a deeply embedded black market instantly is simply not supported by the facts, just feelings."

"HR sites have experienced an increase in client engagement post-decriminalization, reporting challenges related to site capacity and funding, and emphasizing the need for additional investments to support and expand HR services."

"It might seem easy to connect the dots here and assume Albertans are drinking less because they're consuming more cannabis instead, but it's not quite so simple to draw a one-to-one connection between the two trends"

"Members of the research team heard about frequent unannounced police visits to local harm reduction programs."

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨, 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚: 𝐀 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝

"Oregon’s attempt at drug decriminalization, San Francisco’s effort to link public benefits with drug testing, and Louisiana’s decision to punish drug selling as felony homicide."

"Initiation of THC-dominant medicinal cannabis was associated with acute reductions in anxiety and depression, and sustained reductions in overall symptom severity over a 6-month period."

“The AMA is committed to eliminating unnecessary barriers” that stand in the way of substance-use disorder patient care, Dr. Madara wrote, “and this legislation is a welcome step toward that goal.”

"Today’s data release provides a picture of substance-related deaths and harms in 2024. From January to December 2024, there were 7,146 opioid-related drug toxicity deaths, 5,514 hospitalizations, 36,266 Emergency Medical Services responses, and 24,587 emergency department visits."

"Dog ownership provided participants with a positive sense of self and reinforced feelings of self-worth. This helped them move away from impulsive or habitual substance use patterns and adopt a more intentional, less harmful approach."

"There is an urgent need for the scale-up of services in rural and remote settings and for research and policy attention to the public health response in non-urban and northern settings."

"These results contribute to a growing body of evidence that supervised consumption sites are not associated with increased public disorder or crime in their vicinity and could improve safety in their nearby vicinity." www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/homi...

On this edition of Century of Lies: Progress in a Crisis #SupportCommunityRadio #SupportKBOO kboo.fm/media/127547...

"This study found that opioid arrests led, more often than not, and especially in the case of arrest for opioid possession, to increased risk of opioid overdoses."

“Our research study found that people in British Columbia who experienced drug poisoning were 19.5 times more likely to have a brain injury compared to people with no history of drug poisoning”

"As a group, we are concerned that RFK will use his position to promote punishment, abstinence only, and 12-step programs as a way to address the current drug crisis."

"Despite its demonstrated benefits, many people on safe supply face losing access to treatment in Ontario and nationwide." filtermag.org/safe-supply-...

"Marijuana legalization appears to reduce the prevalence of violent crime and suicide."

"The legalization of cannabis was a watershed moment for Canada’s health-care system – but legalization without education has left patients vulnerable to misinformation."

Alas, this article portrays harm reduction as being in opposition to abstinence and recovery, asserting HR became the "drug-management method of choice in Canada." HR might have dominated the "discourse," but never the funding. We still fund law enforcement, treatment and HR, in that order.

"Net prescription drug claims in these markets were reduced by approximately 6% following recreational cannabis legalization."

"The province’s legislation to close safe consumption sites near schools and daycares has inadvertently “dismantled” another key Toronto harm-reduction program amid a toxic drug crisis."

"These findings suggest a need for more balanced reporting that incorporates harm reduction perspectives and avoids potentially stigmatizing language when covering substance use disorders."

"Rather than pour money into theatrics at the whims of America’s president, our leaders could put those funds to work for Canadians, collaborating with the provinces to invest in the full umbrella of primary health care."

"Legal market capture of cannabis 5 years post-legalization in Canada is ∼78 %. Overall, evidence of substantial transition in expenditures from illegal to legal cannabis market."

"The level of violence in a given drug market is also a function of the value of the drugs: more valuable drugs (e.g. Class A drugs) tend to attract more violence, as the stakes are higher ..."

"Despite testing positive for cannabis in the roadside stop, Vipond says he was not impaired by cannabis, not having consumed it for nearly a full day prior to being pulled over in February after stopping at a cannabis store."

"The concentration of alcohol, tobacco, and fast-food outlets in communities of color is not random, but results from a legacy of residential segregation where White, well-resourced groups have used local ordinances to carry out ... (NIMBY) agendas ..."