Saskatchewan Drug War News

Hemp Beer Project Growing Strong

2007-07-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

It has been a while. I won't bore you with my excuses ...

Endless rain, a couple of hail storms, 40C temperatures have all had thier effect on my modest hemp crop. The hail storm damaged a lot of plants, but the ones that survived are growing strong.

Here are some pictures from today:

Support for Kieran King and Student's Rights

2007-06-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

A couple of letters were published today in the Regina Leader Post and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, respectively.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Marijuana and free speech

Published Letter
The Regina Leader-Post

As one of the protesters at the high school in Wawota in support of student Kieran King's civil liberties on June 12, I felt like I was in Selma, Alabama, in the 1960s or in the Soweto township in South Africa in the 1980s.

But this was Wawota, Saskatchewan, in 2007 with the Parkland high school under lockdown because a handful of patriotic Canadians had chosen to highlight the anti-democratic jackboot policies of the school's principal.

We are told by our government that our troops in Afghanistan are killing and being killed for the "freedoms we all enjoy", but our children in Wawota are not permitted to discuss soft drug policy without fear of intimidation or harassment by their own teachers!

Perhaps we should redeploy our troops to Wawota from Kandahar to defend freedom and democracy closer to home. (OK, they have not been invited, but then again I don't think they were invited to Afghanistan either).

For our desire to demand freedom of speech, we were accused of being "B.C. hippies" intent on spreading the "drug culture" -- this by a so-called public health nurse who seemed to make herself some self-appointed spokesperson for Wawota's parents.

Instead of discussing her perspective in a reasonable and constructive way, she yelled at us and attempted to belittle us with inferences of being alien and foreign.

This is something -- despite being born here -- I have had thrown at me a fair amount for "my different ways" in this province. It has been used to assail me, marginalize me and degrade me, but the anger and hate I felt in Wawota was the closest I have felt to being overwhelmed by such sentiment. All this because a modest number of folks from around the province wished to defend the right of a young man to explore all sides of an issue.

What is our beautiful, once-free nation becoming? A land of fascist-inspired no-fly lists where you cannot even discuss the potential rationalities of a nonprohibitionist soft-drug policy in a place of education?

May the spirits of true democracy and truly free education save us from ourselves!

Richard Wooldridge
Edenwold

Contact: letters@leaderpost.canwest.com
Contact: http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/letters.html

reginaleaderpost

The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon, SK)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Principal violates rights

The StarPhoenix
Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2007

What kind of neo-Stalinist gulag is principal Susan Wilson running at Wawota Parkland School that she would suspend a student for espousing his views on marijuana?

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right of all individuals to "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression" -- and that includes students.

Rather than encouraging students to think for themselves, Wilson seems intent on fashioning them into mindless, obedient "citizens" who will accept the party line and always do what they're told.

She might be running the show at the school, but that doesn't allow her to violate her students' constitutional rights in the process. Perhaps, Comrade Wilson is the one in need of some "re-education."

Keith Solomon

Saskatoon

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007

Free Speaking Student Should Be Honored

2007-06-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

An excellent LTE published in the National Post regarding Kieran King's fight tohave his voice heard:

Canada: PUB LTE: Student Role Model
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n722/a06.html
Newshawk: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
Rate this article Votes: 0
Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jun 2007
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2007 Southam Inc.
Contact: letters@nationalpost.com
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Kieran+King (Kieran King)
Author: Kenneth Tupper

STUDENT ROLE MODEL

Re: School Suspends Teen After Drug-linked Protest, June 14.

The core question raised by the case of the Saskatchewan student suspended for telling the truth about cannabis, contrary to drug-war orthodoxy, is whether public schools are institutions for education or indoctrination. Education encourages students to think for themselves, even if it means challenging received wisdom; indoctrination demands students unquestioningly accept the dogma of authorities.

In this case, sadly, it seems clear that Wawota Parkland School feels it is in the business of indoctrination. Kieran King deserves an apology ( and a scholarship ) for speaking truth to power. He has demonstrated the kind of integrity, courage and leadership Canadian schools should be rewarding, not punishing.

Kenneth Tupper, PhD student, Department of Educational Studies, University of British Columbia, Victoria.

***

Other media references to Kieran are recordedat mapinc.org.

No FreeSpeech in Wawota schools

2007-06-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Schools decision to muzzle student sets bad example

Editorial
The Saskatoon StarPhoenix

A form of reefer madness has hit the tiny town of Wawota, where the principal of the local Parkland School recently suspended a 15-year-old student who shared with friends his view that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco.

Grade 10 honours student Kieran King says the principal, Susan Wilson, threatened him with police action, and reportedly accused him of using and selling drugs at the school after he did some independent research into marijuana and decided to share his findings with other students.

"In my opinion, cannabis is safer than they say, it is not worse than alcohol or tobacco," says King, who insists he's not a pot-head and is willing to take a drug test to prove it.

"I've never smoked marijuana. I've never even seen it."

When King, who felt the principal had violated his right to free speech by asking him to stop sharing his views with other students, tried to organize a walkout at the school, the school went into lock-down mode, with teachers standing at doorways and threatening to punish any student who left.

Four students walked out, among them Kieran and his brother, Lucas.

While the King boys received three-day suspensions, the other two students returned to school and avoided punishment.

The suspension meant Kieran King, who was scheduled to leave for China on Thursday to attend a course, would miss his final exams.

His mother Jo Ann Buler, who is teacher within the school division that oversees Wawota School, is trying to negotiate with the school to have his final exams faxed to the Canadian embassy in Shanghai, but even if Kieran misses out on the 30 per cent, his marks now in the 80s and 90s are enough that he won't flunk Grade 10.

"The main purpose wasn't cannabis. It was the defence of freedom of speech. I believe we have a right to freedom of expression. I don't believe in vulgarity," he offered.

While it likely didn't help the youth's case when pro-marijuana activists showed up in the town of 500 to wave signs and shout into megaphones, King was absolutely right to defend his actions.

Unless the principal had evidence the boy was selling drugs -- his mother is adamant that, "I know my children don't smoke, drink or take drugs" -- she had no business either levelling the charge or trying to muzzle him from sharing his opinion, one that certainly isn't an outlandish exception in society today.

An education institution whose objective should be to foster independent thinking and research to mold bright young minds shouldn't be trying to herd kids' behind some line of intellectual conformity.

Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html

saskatoon starphoenix

Submitted LTE:

The invitation of marijuana activists from the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party (www.skmp.ca) and eNDProhibition (www.endprohibition.ca) resulted in the situation in Wawota coming to light. What is surprising is that no other political figures seem willing to defend core Canadian values.

Kieran King has his basic rights severely abused. First by being silenced, then with threats of legal action based on fabricated accusations, and finally by vindictively holding back his grades.

The attitudes that foster this type of 'reefer madness' are clear in the video footage. Your readers may find videos at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=SaskMarijuanaParty.

Moe Brondum
North Battleford, Saskatchewan

Wawota Student denied Freedom of Speech

2007-06-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

Wow ... Wawota, Saskatchewan is about the unfriendliest town I know. In fact, it is the only place they lockdown the school every time a stranger comes to town. Here is the video explaining why the lockdown occured from a school official...

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

p.s. I am sure I would not want to get health care there either. Yikes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSNucl6mJVw

The Hemp Beer Project - Signs of Life

2007-05-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Well, here is a picture from this morning. A few signs of life. However, it is a long way from a frosty hemp brew on a hot afternoon.

Bong Hits for Unitarians

2007-05-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Tanya Derbowka and Ken Sailor, two very courageous individuals, gave a talk to the Unitarian congregation in Saskatoon the other day. I refer you to Tanya's speach over at her blog. I wish I could have been there, hopefully there will be more to attend in the future.

Blame The Drug War: Speech to the Unitarians

The Hemp Beer Project - Fasamo Hemp Seeds

2007-05-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

One of the challenges in growing Hemp is obtaining seeds. You are not allowed to possess viable hemp seed unless you have recieved an excemption to cultivate Hemp from Health Canada. Ironically, low-THC hemp seeds are harder to come by than marijuana seeds.

Thankfully, I was able to aquire seeds a number of years ago. Last summer, I produced a few plants and collected the seed for this years project. The fasimo strain I produced is common to Canada and is cultivated in Saskatchewan by a growing number of farmers.

More information about Saskatchewan Hemp industry can be found in the Hemp Report.

Growing Hemp for personal use is still very much illegal, as I mentioned. Ridiculously, growing Hemp is considered the same as growing marijuana. This idiotic situation contraveines so many of our rights and should be struck down. All Canadians should have the unquestioned right to produce hemp in thier gardens just as they do carrots, tomatoes, and other produce.

Here is a good summary of the law from Health Canada.

***

I produced much more seed than I can possible use. If anyone wants a few seeds, I would be happy to send some seed packs to anyone that will cover the cost of shipping. Just send me an email.

If you want to purchase seeds, allow me to recommend this site: Vancouver Seed Bank

***

Previous Hemp Beer Project posts:

The Hemp Beer Project: Intro

The Hemp Beer Project

2007-05-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am facinated by Vikings and it is this facination that lead me to the topic of this blog entry.

The Vikings travelled enourmous distances in thier ships. Evidence suggests that the Vikings reached North America long before other Europeans. Seeds were often taken on these voyages, for obvious reasons.

Hemp and flax seeds would have ensured survival where ever they might set ashore. They would provide food, cloth and rope. And, perhaps most importantly, they would provide ingrediants for beer.

So, like any good Dane should, I am going to pay my respects to my ancestors by brewing up some hemp beer.

Of course, I am going to need some hemp. This isn't easy. Commercially available hemp has been processed in some manner. I want raw hemp and the only way to get that is to grow it.

Not a lot, just enough for a case of beer or two.

My hemp field ...

In future posts, I will chronicle the progress of my hemp farm and efforts to brew hemp beer.

Help Protect Free Speech Online!

2007-05-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

EFF is a donor-funded nonprofit group of passionate people—lawyers, technologists, volunteers, and visionaries — who depend on your support to continue successfully defending your digital rights. Litigation is particularly expensive; because two-thirds of our budget comes from individual donors, every contribution is critical to helping EFF fight —and win—more cases.

You Have the Right to Blog Anonymously. EFF has fought for your right to speak anonymously on the Internet, establishing legal protections in several states and federal jurisdictions, and developing technologies to help you protect you identity. With your support, EFF can continue to defend this right, conducting impact litigation to establish strict standards to unmask an anonymous critic in more jurisdictions.

You Have the Right to Keep Sources Confidential. In Apple v. Does, EFF is fighting to establish the reporter's privilege for online journalists before the California courts. With your support, EFF can defend news bloggers from subpoenas seeking the identity of confidential sources in more jurisdictions.

You Have the Right to Make Fair Use of Intellectual Property. In OPG v. Diebold, Diebold, Inc., a manufacturer of electronic voting machines, had sent out copyright cease-and-desist letters to ISPs after internal documents indicating flaws in their systems were published on the Internet. EFF established the publication was a fair use. With your support, EFF can help fight to protect bloggers from frivolous or abusive threats and lawsuits.

You have the Right to Allow Reader's Comments Without Fear. In Barrett v. Rosenthal, EFF is working to establish that Section 230, a strong federal immunity for online publishers, applies to bloggers. With your support, EFF can continue to protect bloggers from liability for comments left by third parties.

You Have the Right to Protect Your Server from Government Seizure. In In re Subpoena to Rackspace. EFF successfully fought to unveil a secret government subpoena that had resulted in more than 20 Independent Media Center (Indymedia) news websites and other Internet services being taken offline. With your support, EFF can hold the government accountable for investigations that cut off protected speech.

You Have the Right to Freely Blog about Elections. EFF has advocated for the sensible application of Federal Election Commission rules to blogs that comment on political campaigns. With your support, EFF can continue to protect political blogs from onerous campaign regulations.

You Have the Right to Blog about Your Workplace. EFF has educated bloggers on their rights to blog about their workplace and developed technologies to help anonymous whistle bloggers. With your support, EFF can help shape the law to protect workplace bloggers from unfair retaliation.

You Have the Right to Access as Media. EFF has educated bloggers on their right to access public information, attend public events with the same rights as mainstream media, and how to blog from public events. With your support, EFF can fight for bloggers right to access as media.

Know Your Rights and Prepare to Defend Them. EFF has created the Legal Guide for Bloggers to give you a basic roadmap to the legal issues you may confront as a blogger and a guide on How to Blog Safely. With your support, EFF can expand and update these guides.

Support EFF by Becoming a Member Today!

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BC3 Extradition Hearing DELAYED!

2007-05-09T08:54:00.001-07:00

There has been a change with the hearing dates, so I recommend people don't book flights to Vancouver for the 28th of May. We still need support, but it won't be focused around May 28 through June 1, as we had previously thought. On Wednesday, May 9, we will be in court to determine the new Extradition Hearing dates!

read more | digg story

Saskatoon GMM 2007

2007-05-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

I was a part of the Global Marijuana March in Saskatoon on May 5th. What a great time and a great cause. More later ... here is the video.

Here is the StarPhoenix article:

CN SN: Marchers Advocate Legalizing Pot
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n572/a12.html
Newshawk: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
Rate this article Votes: 0
Webpage: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/local/story.html?id=d0d4fe32-f8c0-419c-98f
Pubdate: Mon, 07 May 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Michelle Martin, The StarPhoenix
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Marijuana - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Marijuana+March

MARCHERS ADVOCATE LEGALIZING POT

The smell of hot dogs and cannabis lingered in the air outside of City Hall on Saturday, as more than 50 marijuana legalization advocates gathered on the building's front lawn to celebrate the Global Marijuana March.

The local march began at Vimy Memorial and culminated with a barbecue at City Hall, which was sponsored by the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party.

The mood at the late afternoon gathering was mellow, but there was no mistaking the politicized nature of the event.

Cannabis flags blew in the breeze and placards read "No U.S. Drug War in Canada" and "Repeal Cannabis Prohibition." Leaders of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party wanted to spread the message that cannabis prohibition is an issue affecting all Canadians.

"People do not realize how much money the government actually spends throwing people in jail and prosecuting people through the court system ( on marijuana-related charges )," said Marijuana party Leader Nathan Holowaty. "All the lost revenues could be used toward health care."

He said there's no reason marijuana should be illegal.

"It has been used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes. . . . It is harmless compared to a lot of legal drugs like alcohol," he said. "If we are supposedly a free society, why would someone be thrown in jail for growing a plant?"

Michael Kereiff, party deputy leader, said he hoped the success of the day would encourage other legalization supporters to participate in future events.

"This is one of our best events," said Kereiff.

The party gained official party status in June 2006 and is set to run candidates in the next provincial election.

The local march and barbecue were part of a worldwide celebration of cannabis culture. This year, more than 200 cities, from Tokyo to Mexico City, took part in the Global Marijuana March.

Happy 420!!!

2007-04-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

420 is a symbol that connects marijuana smokers from all over the world to the cannabis culture. You may have seen it, read about it or heard it referred to by someone you know. Most commonly, it marks a time of day ( 4:20 ) or a date ( 4/20 ). On the date, April 20th, hundreds of thousands of Canadians will join millions of people around the world to gather, in private and in public, to celebrate the annual cannabis holiday.

Of course, it is not an official holiday, yet.

There are probably as many explanations of why April 20th has become so significant to the cannabis culture as there are people who observe the day. But, one thing seems to be common among them all and that is a desire for freedom. From the brashest activist to the closet toker, every marijuana user is acutely aware that they do not have it and that their involvement with marijuana might result in the loss of liberty.

Yet, we continue to do it. And, on April 20th, many will gather in public. These gatherings occur in parks and public areas across the country. In many respects, they are expressions of defiance. Defiance of the arbitrary laws that prohibit a plant that so many Canadians use for medical, spiritual and recreational purposes.

On April 20th, I will take my place among the hundreds of thousands of Canadians, who like me believe in freedom and the right of an individual to control their own bodies and minds. I will venture to the customary local gathering place, there is one in every city and town across this country, and celebrate the cannabis culture. I will smoke a joint with friends and pray that this is the year we gain our freedom.

Hope to see you there.

Fuck you, Kim 'Killer' Walker. Rot in Jail!

2007-04-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yet more publicity for this mudering scum. I don't care how well this ass played bag pipe, how much his neighbours liked him, or what the hell he thinks. When our society starts listening to murderers, it is time to get a new society.

Here is the Star Phoenix story ...

Kim Walker speaks of events before murder
Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, April 11, 2007

PRINCE ALBERT (CP) -- A father who killed his 16-year-old drug-addicted daughter's boyfriend says he has nightmares about that fateful day four years ago.

In an interview at the Saskatchewan penitentiary, Kim Walker told the CTV News show The Verdict that he doesn't remember much the day he fired 10 shots at James Hayward, hitting him five times.

Walker was convicted last fall of second-degree murder for the 2003 shooting of Hayward and received a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years. He is appealing.

A jury heard how, in the months before the attack, Walker's teenage daughter, Jadah, was living with Hayward in Yorkton and using morphine with him.

"It was a culmination of so many different factors -- the attempts we took, the steps we took to get her out of the drug house, our pleas to police were ignored," Walker said during the interview. Speaking slowly, his eyes welling with tears, Walker said he and his wife, Elizabeth, didn't realize at first that Jadah was on drugs, but it wasn't long before they were constantly arguing with her.

"She was calling us by our first names. When the police came they said, 'Does she always treat you like this?' and we said, 'No, not always.' The police said we should practise tough love."

He said Jadah left the house, going to a place "Hayward had set up."

Walker and his wife would pick her up for lunch a few times a week and try to convince her to come home. She did come home, but only for one night at a time.

Walker said Hayward would send people to collect Jadah, who had dropped from 125 pounds to 85 pounds because of her morphine addiction.

The Walkers got a mental-health warrant that allowed police to take Jadah from Hayward's house into secure custody. After 72 hours, she was out again, but a few hours later, Jadah was on the phone and Walker picked up another receiver. He said hello and heard Hayward's voice.

"James said he would make her disappear and I would know what that would mean. Because me and my wife interfered in his business, I believe."

However, he admitted he never talked to Hayward himself.

Walker said the toll on his family has been terrible. He said his wife cannot work due to the emotional distress and has had to apply for welfare.

"I have lost my husband, my children have lost their father," she said in an interview from her home in Yorkton.

"Our lives have been ripped apart, so what is the price to pay for that?"

CTV said relatives of Hayward declined to be interviewed for the program.

© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007

419, 420, 421 ...? Marijuana Birthday Party

2007-04-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

Better late than never, indeed. This should be a good time.

On April 20th 2006, supporters of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party handed a petition to Saskatchewan's Chief Electoral Officer, Jean Ouellet in order to register the SKMP. To celebrate this moment just one year ago, the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party will be holding a "Better late Than Never" 4:20 birthday party event. Come out to listen to some live music, eat some good grub and listen to great, informative speakers.

Better Late Than Never 4:20 Birthday Party

Featuring
Marc Emery, Canada's Prince of Pot
With the Musical Stylings of
Ross Campbell and Phat Chantz
And
Jimmy Schmidt Jazz Explosion

DATE: April 21, 2007
TIME: 6:30PM - 12:00AM
PLACE: Cosmo Senior's Center 614 11th St E

Admission: $10 for the night, $5 for SKMP members

Featured speakers to include: Nathan Holowaty, SKMP Leader, Dr. Lester Grinspoon of the Harvard medical school and Marc Emery, Canada's Prince of Pot.

Advance tickets can be purchased at BOB HQ and Vinyl exchange in Saskatoon. Advance ticket holders are eligible to win door prizes!

Come out to enjoy some good grub, games, informative talks and live musical entertainment. Schmooze with the SKMP and have a fun night out. Celebrate the SKMP and theur one year landmark.

More information available at www.skmp.ca

Salvia Divinorum: Another Devil's Weed?

2007-04-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Whatever can be said about Salvia Divinorum, it does seem to live up to its name as a divining drug. In fact, it seems to be very good at that. Why, I remember distinctly the following story appearing in the Star phoenix, I remember submitting a letter to the editor .... but it must have been a halucination.

More videos available on You Tube.

Tanya has some comments at Blame The Drug War: Health Canada can't control psychedelic herb. Here is the Star Phoenix article:

Canada: Police Powerless As Psychedelic Herb Remains Legal

Pubdate: Mon, 09 Apr 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Canadian Press

POLICE POWERLESS AS PSYCHEDELIC HERB REMAINS LEGAL

OTTAWA -- An easily available herb that packs a powerful psychedelic punch has some federal health officials recommending strict controls.

But Health Canada says it can't regulate the use of salvia divinorum until there's more evidence of its dangers.

Department documents obtained by The Canadian Press under Access to Information law say salvia is being used by adolescents and young adults for its hallucinogenic properties.

Salvia divinorum is difficult to grow outside of its native habitat in southern Mexico, but the plant's leaves and extracts of salvia's active ingredient in pill form are sold in Canada.

A December 2005 report by the marketed health products directorate, an arm of Health Canada, recommends that salvia be placed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Department spokesperson Jason Bouzanis said salvia has been known to cause hallucinations, outof-body experiences, unconsciousness and shortterm memory loss. But that's not enough to declare it illegal.

"We can't make any recommendations to place salvia under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act schedules until we have sufficient scientific and empirical data that concludes it has the potential for misuse and abuse," Bouzanis said.

Australia is one of few countries that has made it illegal to possess, distribute and consume salvia, also known as Sally D, the diviner's sage, or the sage of seers. It is a species of sage, which belongs to the mint family, and is most commonly found in Mexico, where indigenous Mazatec shamans have used it for centuries for spiritual journeys.

Salvia leaves are most commonly dried and smoked. Extracts of salvinorin-A, salvia's active ingredient, are available in tablet form. Pill prices can range anywhere from $30 to $80 in Canada depending on the potency desired. Most online sellers of salvia advertise the herb as a natural health product.

An October 2006 report by the natural health products directorate of Health Canada, which is responsible for assessing safety among all marketed health products, highlights four cases of adverse reactions to salvia.

One case involves a 16-year-old Canadian boy who reportedly became incoherent, suicidal and threatened to kill police officers after taking a single tablet of salvia in March 2005.

Despite being aware of salvia's potentially harmful effects, the RCMP can't crack down on the herb because it's legal.

"As far as including salvia included under the Controlled Substances Act, that's Health Canada's responsibility," said Sgt. Nathalie Deschenes.

"The RCMP is always concerned about any substance or product that may put the safety and security of Canadians at risk." The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lists salvia as a "drug of concern" but it has not been banned by the U.S. federal government.

Missouri and Louisiana have criminalized the herb and there are proposals to make it illegal in Alaska, Illinois, Oregon and Wyoming.

Dr. Bryan Roth, a professor of pharmacology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is very concerned about the availability of the herb.

"Salvia is the world's most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen," he said.

"You wouldn't want to be driving a car, or you wouldn't want to be on a balcony in a high building so the concern is that if individuals were to take a sufficient dose, they might get themselves or others into trouble.

"The distribution is totally unregulated so unsuspecting teens or even children younger than teenage years might chance upon it and that's a recipe for disaster."

Here is the Star Phoenix article from a few months back. It is essentially the same story only with more of a local focus. Note the similarities in the stories. Niether story is based on facts about Salvia. Both stories balance the opinions of authority figures against headshop employees.

Legal hallucinogen concerns police

David Hutton, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, December 21, 2006

Saskatoon police are concerned about a legal hallucinogen sold in hemp stores and on the Internet, but local users defend the powerful herbal psychedelic as a mind-altering but safe trip.

The herb is Salvia divinorum, known more commonly as Salvia, magic mint or the diviner's sage. It's an unregulated hallucinogen that is legal to possess, distribute and consume in most places in the world and can be bought over the Internet or in hemp stores. In Canada, Salvia is not regulated under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, but it is banned in Australia. Several U.S. states are considering a ban.

Saskatoon police admit they haven't had any specifi c problems with Salvia and can't do anything about it, but they say it may only be a matter of time before something happens.

"Stores shouldn't be selling it to anybody, period," says Sgt. Jerome Engele with the Saskatoon police integrated drug unit. "It's legal and that's a problem.

Unless drugs have some kind of medicinal purpose, they shouldn't be sold. It's caused epileptic seizures and put people in comas in other places.

"Stores that sell the stuff should be held liable if anyone is injured as a result." Health Canada has been monitoring the national and international trend of Salvia use but says the long-term effects of the hallucinogen are unknown.

According to Health Canada, it has been known to cause unconsciousness and short-term memory loss, but the department is not aware of any dependency.

"If it ever came to the point where there was an infl ux of use and police and health-care professionals said this substance posed a threat, then we would take appropriate action," says Health Canada spokesperson Jason Bouzanis.

"For now, we're continuing to collect relevant information specific to this substance." Salvia has been used for hundreds of years by the Mazatec indigenous people of Mexico for spiritual trips and is usually chewed or smoked. Around three years ago, it made its way into commercial sale in Canada. It gives users a short but powerful hallucination, lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes.

Dr. Bryan Roth, director of the psychoactive drug screening program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, says Salvinorin A, Salvia's active hallucinogenic compound, is unique and activates a different brain receptor than other drugs, such as LSD. He says that causes a "profound effect on the human consciousness." The price of Salvia ranges from $15 to $150 in stores and on the Internet, depending on the potency.

"It's a religious-type experience," says Kerry Kunka, owner of B.O.B. HeadQuarters, a hemp store on Broadway Avenue. "It slows you down and gives you a chance to really experience yourself.

"In western society we're getting out of touch with the spiritual part of life.

There are two ways to look at society and some people don't want to see freethinking in the world and want everyone to conform." A student user in British Columbia described the experience of using Salvia as "reality shattering" and says he "found God" on his lunch break.

Kunka says his store only sells Salvia to people 18 or older and includes a warning label that tells users they may experience mild headaches and insomnia.

The store sells roughly fi ve or six grams of Salvia a week, according to Kunka.

"It's not a party drug," says an employee at B.O.B. HeadQuarters, who says he's tried Salvia around 10 times. "I always warn people not to trick friends into smoking it.

"I don't agree with Salvia being banned. That's only going to force it underground and create a black market."

dhutton@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2006

Propaganda and bullshit that is about all this is.

***
Information about Salva divinorum at Erowid.org

Who is the babe?

2007-04-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

The Star Phoenix has a way of packaging news that just makes you wonder. If I wasn't such a curmudgeon, I'd suspect that the following was a parody of the police. Take the picture, it has none of the flair one has come to expect of a drug bust. Where are the shotguns? this looks more like a bake sale table after the rush - some stale sugar cookies and a cash box.

I like bake sales. I could go for a brownie or two ... mmm brownies.

And, who is the woman in the background? Is she early for the party? Are she and the old guy gonna do a couple lines and then role around naked in the cash after the cameras are gone? These are the things, I as a reader would rather know.

You'd have to be sober to think this was a good way to spend our tax dollars.

Anyway ... here's the story.

CN SN: Combined Special Police Unit Pays Dividends With Big
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n433/a07.html
Newshawk: CMAP http://www.mapinc.org/cmap
Rate this article Votes: 0
Webpage: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/local/story.html?id=a0130a80-27e3-41d5-aa9
Pubdate: Wed, 04 Apr 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Author: Betty Ann Adam, The StarPhoenix

COMBINED SPECIAL POLICE UNIT PAYS DIVIDENDS WITH BIG BUST

New government funding designed to attack organized crime helped provide extra police for an investigation in Saskatoon that resulted in the arrest of four people Friday and the seizure of a kilogram of cocaine, an ounce of crack, four vehicles and $35,000 cash.

The successful conclusion of an investigation that began last December was celebrated Tuesday at the Saskatoon police station by municipal police and RCMP, including the combined forces special enforcement unit ( CFSEU ). The unit was created in 2005 with $2 million per year earmarked to attack organized crime, said Insp. John Cantafio, head of CFSEU.

That unit worked with members of the Saskatoon integrated drug unit, the Saskatoon Police Service street crime unit and support services from both forces, including a criminal intelligence analyst.

"That financial support allowed stepped up activity," Cantafio said.

The investigation involved about 30 officers who often put their personal lives on hold as they worked around the clock to complete the job, said Insp. Jeff Bent of the Saskatoon police.

On Friday afternoon, 15 officers stormed a house in the 200 block of Thomas Crescent in the west-side neighbourhood of Pacific Heights.

Darren Craig Harper, 35, Chad Michael Waldner, 26, both of Saskatoon, and Jonathon Robert Kearney, 24, of Calgary were arrested in connection with the raid.

That evening, police arrested Crystal Anne Servetnyk, 28, of Saskatoon at a house in the 400 block of Stensrud Road, in the northeast neighbourhood of Willowgrove.

Harper is charged with directing a criminal organization, participating in a criminal organization, criminal conspiracy, possession of property obtained by crime and trafficking in cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking. He was remanded in custody and returns May 2 for a bail hearing.

Harper is already facing charges that were laid following a 2003 police sweep. He was free on bail at the time of the arrest, police said.

Waldner and Kearney are each charged with participating in a criminal organization, conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and possession for the purpose of trafficking. Kearney is also charged with possession of property obtained by crime.

Servetnyk is charged with participating in a criminal organization, conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and possession of property obtained by crime.

Police also seized four vehicles during the arrests.

At the police station Tuesday, investigators turned back the wrapping on a kilogram brick of cocaine to reveal a mushy, smelly centre that looked like cottage cheese. The odd appearance of the drug apparently was the result of an attempt to dissolve it under running water as officers forced their way into the house Friday.

Police also displayed a gram of crack cocaine seized in the raid and Ziplock bags of cash, including $30,000 in $20 bills, bundled into thick packets of $5,000 each.

A kilogram of cocaine is a significant amount in the Saskatoon market and could reach as many as 2,000 people on the street, Bent said.

My LTE:

The Star Phoenix story, "COMBINED SPECIAL POLICE UNIT PAYS DIVIDENDS WITH BIG BUST", provides us with insight into the cost of a drug bust, but the reporter never adds them up. Many of your readers might be interested to know exactly what they are getting for their money.

How much did it cost to secure this one kilo of cocaine?

30 police officers worked overtime on this drug bust for 4 months, the article says. That is the equivalent of 10 full time police officers for one year. If the average salary of a police officer is $65000.00 annually, the cost would be $650000.00. Of course, they worked overtime, too. There are also benefits to be paid, equipment to be purchased, support staff to run the offices, facility costs and vehicles to consider. I wonder if they used the plane?

I would say that taxpayers spent more than a million dollars on this arrest. And, that isn't the end of it. We are going to spend more on the trials and possible detention of these individuals. That is quite a bit of tax money being spent.

As a result of this exercise, are any of the 2000 customers going to go without cocaine? No. Probably not.

It is time to stop our 'spend more, do nothing' approach and control the access to these drugs through regulation in a controllable marketplace.

Moe Brondum
North Battleford, Saskatchewan

***

Information about COCAINE AND CRACK at erowid.org.

Saskatchewan Drug News Digest - March 2007

2007-04-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

Total Published: 15
Number of Articles: 8
Number of Editorials/OPEDs:
Number of Columns: 1
Number of LTEs: 6

Total Publications: 6
Most Active Newspaper: Regina Leader-Post

CN SN: School Parents Group Opposes Location Of Youth Detox Centre
Thu, 29 Mar 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Haight, Lana

CN SN: Second Charge Means Prison
Thu, 29 Mar 2007
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Pruden, Jana G.

CN SN: PUB LTE: What's The Big Deal
Fri, 30 Mar 2007
Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
Erkiletian, Ethan

CN SN: Police Get Limited Access To Health Info
Thu, 29 Mar 2007
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Kyle, Anne

CN SN: New Law Gives Police Greater Access To Health
Thu, 29 Mar 2007
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Kyle, Anne

CN SN: Gov't Directs Funds Toward Gang, Drug Strategies
Fri, 23 Mar 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Bernhardt, Darren

CN SN: Stay Away From Meth, Pregnant Women Warned
Sun, 18 Mar 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
French, Janet

CN SN: Drug Overdose Spurs Mission To Change Lives
Thu, 15 Mar 2007
News Review, The (CN SN)
Lizon, Shannon

CN SN: PUB LTE: Holy Conflict
Wed, 14 Mar 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
White, Stan

CN SN: LTE: Last Word On DARE
Wed, 14 Mar 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Atkings, Tyson

CN SN: Grow-Op House Seized By Authorities
Sat, 10 Mar 2007
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Polischuk, Heather

CN SN: Edu: Book Review: This Bud's For You
Thu, 08 Mar 2007
Sheaf, The (CN SN Edu)
Straker, Cory

CN SN: PUB LTE: Down On DARE
Wed, 07 Mar 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Randell, Alan

CN SN: PUB LTE: It Was Just Propaganda!
Mon, 05 Mar 2007
Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
Brondum, Moe

CN SN: PUB LTE: Unrealistic Disaster
Fri, 02 Mar 2007
Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
Erkiletian, Ethan

***

The March 2007 News Digest was collected from MapInc.

A listing of monitored publications in Saskatchewan is presented below:

Carillon (CN SN Edu) Editor: carillon@ursu.uregina.ca
Estevan Mercury (CN SN) Editor: mercury_merc1@sasktel.net
Grenfell Sun & Broadview Express (CN SN) Editor: stoneprint@sk.sympatico.ca
Maple Creek News (CN SN) Editor: Feedback form
Meadow Lake Progress (CN SN) Editor: Feedback form
Melfort Journal, The (CN SN) Editor: editor@melfortjournal.com
Moose Jaw Times-Herald (CN SN) Editor: Fax (306) 692-2101
News Review, The (CN SN) Editor: editorial@yorktonnews.com
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN) Editor: njournal@sk.sympatico.ca
Observer, The (CN SN) Editor: observer@sasktel.net
Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN) Editor: editorial@paherald.sk.ca
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Editor: letters@leaderpost.canwest.com
Saskatchewan Sage (CN SN) Editor: sage@ammsn.com
Sheaf, The (CN SN Edu) Editor: sheaf.editors@usask.ca
Southwest Booster, The (CN SN) Editor: boosternews@swbooster.com
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Editor: Feedback form
Western Producer (CN SN) Editor: newsroom@producer.com
Weyburn Review (CN SN) Editor: production@weyburnreview.com
Weyburn This Week (CN SN) Editor: editorthisweek@sasktel.net
Whitewood Herald (CN SN) Editor: herald@whitewoodherald.sk.ca
World-Spectator, The (CN SN) Editor: world_spectator@sasktel.net
Wynyard Advance Gazette (CN SN) Editor: w.advance@sk.sympatico.ca
Yorkton This Week (CN SN) Editor: editorial@YorktonThisWeek.com

***

Saskatchewan Drug News Digest - February 2007
Saskatchewan Drug News Digest - January 2007

CN SN: Gov't Directs Funds Toward Gang, Drug Strategies

2007-03-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

What government budget would be complete without adding a little more fuel to the fire of the War on Drugs. We currently have an NDP government that resolved to:

"support the federal NDP's call for a non-punitive approach to cannabis law, including elimination of all penalties for personal cultivation and possession by adults, and actively work to institute non-punitive cannabis policies at the provincial level."

What a load of grade A political horse shit. Here we have a party that recognizes the problem, has the power to positively effect the problem, but chooses to just blindly continue on. Either they are incredibly stupid, liars or just plain old prohibitionists. Either way, these guys need to be shown the curb.

Vote SASKATCHEWAN MARIJUANA PARTY

Here is a Star Phoenix article outlining a few budget highlights:

Pubdate: Fri, 23 Mar 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2007 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Darren Bernhardt, The StarPhoenix

GOV'T DIRECTS FUNDS TOWARD GANG, DRUG STRATEGIES

Funding, New Officers For Child Exploitation Units In Saskatoon, Regina, P.A.

More police, a crackdown on gangs and child sexual predators and a score of courthouse projects form a large chunk of the provincial government's spending in 2007-08 to create safe communities.

But the budget announced Thursday by Finance Minister Andrew Thomson is cryptic when it comes to specific details about the projects and how the money will be spread around. It left potential beneficiaries wondering about their share of the pie.

Saskatoon police Chief Clive Weighill and RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Brad Kaeding were reluctant to comment until they get more clarity.

"We're happy anytime there's more funding for police or policing issues but until we find out more there's not much we can say," Saskatoon Police Service spokesperson Alyson Edwards said.

There is $246 million allocated for Justice and $142.6 million for Corrections and Public Safety in the province's $8.3 billion budget.

The capital portion of the provincial budget is $534.8 million, of which Justice's share is $4.4 million while Corrections and Public Safety receives $28 million. That is a combined increase of 61 per cent over 2006-07.

Justice Department spokesperson Deb McEwan said much of the spending is for multi-year projects previously announced, such as courthouse restoration ( November 2006 ), the gang strategy ( November 2005 ) and recommendations of the First Nations and Metis Peoples and Justice Reform Commission report of 2004.

An investment of $1.6 million will increase the number of officers assigned to gang and drug strategies. Nine RCMP officers will be added, including three criminal intelligence analysts, along with two Crown prosecutors devoted to those crimes.

Corrections and Public Safety is also receiving money for its role in the gang strategy. A total of $1.6 million and 16.5 new full-time equivalent positions will go toward better supervision of high-risk offenders in the community. A further $486,000 will fund a new supportive employment training program to help offenders reintegrate into the community upon release from jail.

New child sexual exploitation units will be created with the province dedicating $1.3 million for two additional city police officers in both Regina and Saskatoon and one in Prince Albert. The funding also covers an increase in resources directly related to the arrest and prosecution of child sexual offenders.

The Department of Community Resources will receive $2.1 million to expand outreach and treatment spaces for sexually exploited children. It is estimated there are approximately 400 sexually exploited children and youth in the province, according to the budget document.

Among the capital projects addressed in the budget is $2.7 million worth of improved security at Saskatchewan's courthouses, including airport-style, walk-through metal detectors in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert. There is $500,000 for the planning of courthouse renovations in Saskatoon

A number of renovations will be undertaken in court facilities across the province to create additional space.

Justice and Corrections will each receive $112,000 for the Justice Enterprise Information Network ( JEIN ), a computer database system used to track court decisions, fines and other information critical to the operation of the justice system.

Tanya wrote a good commentary on the recent Federal budget that outlines their Drug Strategy funding.

LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH

2007-03-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

From Drug Sense Weekly

LETTER WRITER OF THE MONTH - FEBRUARY

DrugSense recognizes Moe Brondum of the Saskatchewan Marijuana Party, North Battleford, Saskatchewan for his seven letters published during February. This brings his total published letters, that we know of, to 14.

You may read his published letters at:

http://www.mapinc.org/writers/Moe+Brondum

Wow, this is cool. I like being recognized for my modest efforts. February was an unusual month because I sent letters outside of Saskatchewan, which I rarely do. I tend to focus on Saskatchewan papers because many seem to print local letter writers only, and there are so many wonderful letter writers covering other parts of Canada and North America.

Saskatchewan needs more anti-prohibition and pro-cannabis writers. Any cannabis activist from Saskatchewan is encouraged to participate in the 2nd Annual LTE Contest.

Saskatchewan, where are you going to grow!

2007-03-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

I think we should advertise the benefits of starting a grow-op in Saskatchewan. We have everything that a future grow-opportunist would want or need.

Cheap real estate whether you are looking for a secluded acreage or a sub division of affordable housing.

Easy access to foreign markets

Even the smallest community will have a well stocked garden department. ...

CN SN: Grow-Op House Seized By Authorities

Sat, 10 Mar 2007
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)

letters@leaderpost.canwest.com
http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/
Heather Polischuk, Leader-Post

A Regina house has been seized under provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Earlier this week, Regina Court of Queen's Bench Justice Guy Chicoine agreed to issue orders of restraint and management against a house at 106 Hawkes Bay.

The house was one of several properties searched in November during a major drug bust by Regina and area police.

In total, more than 2,400 marijuana plants were located in 12 properties at or near Regina, White City and Kronau during a synchronized series of raids. One of the properties searched was the Hawkes Bay address.

According to the restraint and management order, that home's owner is Hon Thi Nguyen, who is one of about 10 people facing drug charges in relation to the November bust.

It is alleged 336 growing marijuana plants were found inside the Hawkes Bay house.

Federal Crown prosecutor Hal Wellsch said the case against the 10 has not yet been set down for a trial or preliminary hearing as information is still being exchanged between lawyers in the case.

He explained the purpose of restraint and management orders is to prevent anything further being done with a property by the accused person, such as selling or otherwise transferring the property. That differs from the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act ( SCAN ) in how it affects the homeowner.

"SCAN actually will remove people from the neighbourhood, so if it's a renter for example, or even a property owner, SCAN has the ability to physically remove the people," he said. "( Under restraint and management orders ) we restrain the property based on the fact that it is either an offence-related property or proceeds of crime, and we will be seeking then forfeiture of any equity in the property at the end of the day under Section 490 of the Criminal Code."

Under restraint and management orders, third parties -- such as mortgage companies -- can also have a say in what happens to the property, Wellsch explained.

"If there is a mortgage on the property, which there would be on Hawkes ( Bay ), then the mortgage company would still have the right to do whatever they see fit, as far as foreclosure on the property," he said.

"And we would only be interested in any equity over and above what the mortgage company might be interested in in the property. So we can't affect a third-party right to deal with it.

"We can only affect, through the restraint order, the ability of the owner to deal with it," he said.

Wellsch said these types of orders are used "a fair amount" when dealing with houses connected to drug activity.

Those charged with using their properties to carry out drug activity may also face eviction under the provincial Justice Department's SCAN Act. The purpose of that act is to improve community safety by targeting and, if necessary, shutting down properties that are used for illegal activities, such as drug activity, child pornography, solvent abuse or prostitution, among other activities.

'Inhalation room' opens in Regina

2007-03-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Dean Foster of Regina, Saskatchewan.

CBC News

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.

Dean Foster said he made numerous calls to the authorities, but still doesn't know whether authorities will consider it legal.

"We've contacted the RCMP, we've contacted the city police, the integrated drug squad, the City of Regina, the Province of Saskatchewan and all the way to Ottawa," he said. "Not one person anywhere has said it's illegal and not one person anywhere will tell me it's legal."

Foster has fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by chronic pain. He's one of about 40 people in Saskatchewan licensed to use marijuana to ease his suffering and has formed a group called the Medical Marijuana Compassionate Club.

As of Monday, anyone with a stash of legal pot has been able to take it to Foster's Field of Dreams hemp store east of the downtown. The service is free.

Instead of lighting up, Foster's customers will be shown into a back room where they use an inhaler. The marijuana is inserted into a capsule, a machine blows through heated air and the vapours are gathered in a plastic bag.

There's no smoke, because only the active ingredient in the marijuana — tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC — is vapourized.

There is a legal cloud hanging over the enterprise, however. When Foster opened his doors Monday morning, he wasn't sure whether he would be raided by police.

Marijuana Party runs first candidate in by election

2007-03-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

Nathan Holowaty campaigns in Martensville. Photo from Saskatchewan Marijuana Party

Elections Saskatchewan

Unofficial results here

Results from the Nov 5, 2003 general provincil election:

CONSTITUENCY: MARTENSVILLE

Ben Heppner Saskatchewan Party 3771 55.25% X
Zane Dmytryshyn New Democratic Party 1834 26.87%
Allan Earle Liberal Party 1135 16.63%
Warren Fehr Western Indep Party 85 1.25%

Last Update Wed Nov 5 11:14:01 CST 2003 44 of 44 polls reporting

***

More when results are available.

Video reveals inconvenient truths

2007-03-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

Link to story and video at CNN.COM.

There are millions of Canadians that use marijuana responsibly in a manner similar to the way millions of others use alcohol responsibly. How different is smoking a bit of marijuana on a Sunday afternoon while doing yard work from drinking a beer and doing the same thing? Or, at a party? Or, on a Saturday night watching a DVD or the hockey game? It really is not different at all. Responsible use of marijuana and alcohol can make chores less tedious, social gatherings more exciting, or set the perfect mood for an evening at home with your partner.

Images of teenagers blowing marijuana smoke into the faces of toddlers should be a reminder to us all that we have a problem that needs our attention. The issue of drug use in our society has been polarized into two camps. One side wants to completely eradicate marijuana and the other side wants to remove all legal restrictions. Neither seems to be dealing with our current reality.

Somewhere in between the two extremes is where we are most likely to find the truth and some effective answers. But we have to start talking about the issues, collaborating on solutions, and finding ways to prevent the types of behavior seen in the video. We need to deal with irresponsible use and address the concerns of the millions of responsible users if we hope to come up with an effective solution.

We are all aware of the violent and destructive behaviors that can result from the irresponsible use of alcohol. Once we stopped snickering about drunks or making excuses for their bad behavior, factual public awareness campaigns made significant impacts on problem behaviors associated with alcohol. A balanced approach that targeted irresponsible users for punishment and problem users for treatment also recognized that alcohol prohibition was futile.

The same approach should be tried with marijuana. Alcohol research resulted in factual public education and awareness. The resulting change in attitude, toward the use of alcohol, achieved a greater degree of responsible behavior among users. For example, people still go to bars and drink too much, but now they have designated drivers and use cabs because they are informed about the dangers of drinking and driving. Fewer drunks on the road has dramatically reduced the number of alcohol related accidents and deaths.

Despite the concern that some have that all marijuana use is bad, the rest of us should be wondering why we don't know more about it. Knowing more about marijuana and how it is being used or abused will allow Canadians to set acceptable social boundaries for its use, provide social supports for those that need help, and rational penalties for irresponsible users.

CTV Coverage included this story ...

Video shows teen giving pot to young nephews

Updated Mon. Mar. 5 2007 9:06 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

A videotape showing a 17-year-old helping his two and five-year-old nephews smoke pot has led to criminal charges.

"Unless you see it, you just don't believe it," Bruce Ure, director of public safety for the city of Watauga, Texas, told CTV Newsnet on Sunday.

"It shows the two children, a two-year-old and a five-year-old, being coached into smoking marijuana," he said. "The little guy, the two-year-old, he's coughing, he's falling down -- his pants are even falling down, he's so disoriented."

The accused is shown putting the marijuana cigarette to the toddler's mouth, and in a later part of the video, the older boy is shown smoking on his own. There are also scenes of marijuana smoke being blown in the children's faces.

"In 25 years in law enforcement, I've never seen anything like this, either on a local level or the national level."

Ure says it appears that the tots knew what they were doing.

"There's little question in our mind that these kids have done this before," Ure told Canada AM Monday.

"The small child, he has a horrible cough. He's got a smoker's cough. His voice is raspy which is indicative of a lot of tobacco smoke. It's horrible."

The video was uncovered as part of a joint effort between the Watauga and Fort Worth police departments, Ure said. Police had searched the house, while investigating burglaries.

"They seized some electronic equipment and they brought it back to the police station. They viewed the video -- quite often, some of the criminals videotape themselves doing things they shouldn't.

"They saw the video, they recognized the inside of the house as they had just come from that residence inside of our city. So they called us, and we took possession of the video and proceeded with the investigation."

The 17-year-old has been identified as Demetris McCoy; the 18-year-old as Vanswan Polty. They are charged with two counts each of causing bodily injury to a child.

Under the Texas penal code, the felony carries a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum of 10 years, Ure said. Since the suspects face two charges each, that minimum sentence could be doubled, he said.

The mother, sister of one of the accused, told police she was asleep in the house and hadn't been aware of what was happening.

The boys have been placed in protective custody, but the family wants them back.

With a report from CTV's Joy Malbon

***

Information about Cannabis at Erowid.org.

Saskatchewan Drug News Digest - February 2007

2007-03-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

Total Published: 30
Number of Articles: 15
Number of Editorials/OPEDs: 1
Number of Columns: 1
Number of LTEs: 13

Total Publications: 9
Most Active Newspaper: Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)

CN SN: PUB LTE: All Part Of Nature
Wed, 28 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Kaczor, Klaus

CN SN: PUB LTE: DARE
Wed, 28 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Barth, Russell

CN SN: PUB LTE: Intimidation Tactics
Wed, 28 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Brondum, Moe

CN SN: PUB LTE: Better Programs Out There
Wed, 28 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Derbowka, Tanya

"CN SN: Editorial: If Not DARE, Then What?Wed, 28 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Kiedrowski, Ryan

CN SN: MP Says Yorkton Tragedy Generates Serious Questions
Wed, 21 Feb 2007
Yorkton This Week (CN SN)
Harvey, Ann

CN SN: PUB LTE: 'Non-punitive approach'
Wed, 23 Feb, 2007
Regina Leader Post, The (CN SN)
Moe Brondum

CN SN: Kim Walker Story Hits Parliament
Thu, 22 Feb 2007
News Review, The (CN SN)
Kopan, Karl

CN SN: PUB LTE: Research Being Reassessed
Thu, 22 Feb 2007
Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
Tupper, Kenneth

CN SN: Health Region Approves Land For New Facility
Thu, 22 Feb 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Haight, Lana

CN SN: G.F.K. Community Council Sets New Drug Policy
Fri, 16 Feb 2007
Observer, The (CN SN)
Husband, Ben

CN SN: Woman Pleads For Help For Girl, 16
Thu, 22 Feb 2007
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Cowan, Pamela

CN SN: Hemp Shop Owner Delays Plan To Open Medicinal Room
Wed, 21 Feb 2007
Expositor, The (CN ON)

CN SN: It's Not Easy Being Green, Or Any Fringe Party
Wed, 21 Feb 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Jackle, Jordan

CN SN: Weyburn Experiments With LSD
Tue, 20 Feb 2007
Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
Spasoff, Paul

CN SN: Column: Speak Up, If You Dare
Wed, 14 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Kiedrowski, Ryan

CN SN: PUB LTE: In Reply To 'DARE Program In Jeopardy'
Wed, 14 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Barth, Russell

CN SN: PUB LTE: Good Riddance To DARE
Wed, 14 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Brondum, Moe

CN SN: PUB LTE: Prohibition Approach To Drugs Removes Focus
Fri, 16 Feb 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Fisher, Ron

CN SN: PUB LTE: Frank Discussion On Drug Use Needed To Prevent
Wed, 14 Feb 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Brondum, Moe

CN SN: Forum Discusses Addictions
Tue, 13 Feb 2007
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Cowan, Pamela

CN SN: PUB LTE: Discussion Needed On Drugs
Thu, 08 Feb 2007
News Review, The (CN SN)
Brondum, Moe

CN SN: Walker Files His Appeal
Thu, 08 Feb 2007
News Review, The (CN SN)
Kopan, Karl

CN SN: PUB LTE: Wrong Headline Used
Sat, 10 Feb 2007
Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)>
Erkiletian, Ethan

CN SN: DARE Program In Jeopardy
Wed, 07 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)
Bokinac, Denise

CN SN: Marijuana Party To Contest Byelection
Wed, 07 Feb 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)

CN SN: Walker Appeals Murder Conviction
Sat, 03 Feb 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)

CN SN: Murder Conviction Appealed
Sat, 03 Feb 2007
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Kyle, Anne

CN SN: LTE: Justice System Failing
Fri, 02 Feb 2007
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Lewis, Bill

CN SN: Edu: The Relevance Of Pot Politics
Thu, 01 Feb 2007
Sheaf, The (CN SN Edu)
Hamilton, Charles

***

The February 2007 News Digest was collected from MapInc.

A listing of monitored publications in Saskatchewan is presented below:

Carillon (CN SN Edu) Editor: carillon@ursu.uregina.ca
Estevan Mercury (CN SN) Editor: mercury_merc1@sasktel.net
Grenfell Sun & Broadview Express (CN SN) Editor: stoneprint@sk.sympatico.ca
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Nipawining DARE in the Bud and other bad puns

2007-03-01T19:52:00.001-08:00

I am beginning to love small town newspapers.

Luckily, in Saskatchewan we have an abundance of small towns and every town has a booster, a herald, a journal, or a shopper. Some of them are just advertising rags, some of them don't like controversy, but ... some of them like to have old fashion debates through the Letters to the Editor section.

One of those great, small town newspapers is the Nipawin Journal.

On Feb. 7, the paper published an article on the Peace 100 rally that has been hosted by the Elks club every year since the dawn of time. The article, DARE Program In Jeopardy, explained that the Elks club support of the DARE program through their Peace 100 program was threatened and they needed everyone to come out. The cause - get rid of crazy, pot smoking people like me. Basically, the same story they write every year.

Here are some examples:
Wed, 16 Feb 2000 CN SN: Weekend Snowmobile Rally Raises $52,000 For Drug Awareness
Wed, 16 Feb 2005 CN SN: Peace 100 Raises More Than $20,000 For Drug Awareness
Wed, 08 Feb 2006 CN SN: Youth Drug Programs Benefit Most From PEACE 100 Rally

I felt compelled to respond and sent the following letter to the editor of the Nipawin Journal:

CN SN: PUB LTE: Good Riddance To DARE
Wed, 14 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)

GOOD RIDDANCE TO DARE

The availability of illicit drugs in Saskatchewan schools and communities is staggering. As a parent of four great kids, I applaud the Elks for their concern and attempts to do something about it, but the problem needs to be taken more seriously. Unfortunately, abstention based programs like DARE have been completely unsuccessful.

Drug use among school aged children has steadily increased over the last 25 years - the same 25 years that DARE has been around. This inability to have even the slightest impact has caused DARE to lose credibility with parents, educators and law enforcement officials across North America.

We send trained firefighters to deal with fires, police to deal with crime. Why are we not using trained, professional educators to teach? It will be hard to convince younger generations to help perpetuate the lies and misinformation that DARE promotes. The Elks would do better to promote a program based on facts that is taught by qualified professionals.

MOE BRONDUM
Saskatchewan Marijuana Party
North Battleford, Sask

I was surprised to see it published in the Feb 14, 2007 edition of the paper. Along with my letter, there was also another letter by Russell Barth and an editorial Speak Up, If You Dare. The editorialist was surprised at the reaction the annual Peace 100 rally received. Perhaps that is why he issued this challenge:

It's easy to point at a program and assume that it does nothing if one does not know what the program is about or what it teaches. To say that DARE promotes misinformation and lies without any hard evidence to back up the claim certainly negates that claim. Perhaps those who criticize others for being misinformed should educate themselves.

So, I wrote this letter:

CN SN: PUB LTE: Intimidation tactics
Wed, 28 Feb 2007
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN)

I find it incredible that a one-week training course that costs several hundred dollars would in any way be compared to a four-year education degree. Most educators receive many more hours of in service training a year than a DARE officer receives through the entire course.

Here are the requirements for DARE Training:

You must be a police officer, neat in appearance, comfortable with children, not be a substance abuser, and be able to work unsupervised. Of course you also need a desire to be trained.

The cost of the course is about $500 dollars and takes about a week.
I have been on countless training courses. Most are about a weeklong if they are intensive and have usually cost substantially more than $500. I would never equate these short skill-training programs to a university degree. There is no relation between the two.

However, who teaches the course is maybe less important than what is taught. The fundamental problem with DARE program and other abstention-based programs is that they fail to teach much of anything. They teach kids to stand up to peers and resist pressure by employing pressure tactics. You need to be a police officer to teach the program because the uniform, badge and gun provide the intimidation.

Yes, you may not agree with my position, but I feel I am asking a legitimate question. Why support a program that has been shown to have no effect? We need real programs that have a real effect. I know that is what I want for my four children.

Moe Brondum
Saskatchewan Marijuana Party
North Battleford, Sask.

Again, I was very surprised to see my letter printed. Even more surprising was that there were 3 letters printed responding to the challenge and another editorial, If Not DARE, Then What?.

A letter by Tanya Derbowka who writes Blame the Drug War, 'Better Programs Out There', suggested many alternatives to the DARE program. Russell Barth commented again on the failed DARE program in his letter, 'DARE = Disaster'. Klaus Kaczor wrote 'All Part Of Nature'.

I have to thank Klaus for this line, 'Bravo to the Moe Brondum for voicing the truth', that appears in his letter. Thanks! That made my day.

It is just propaganda

2007-02-28T08:11:00.001-08:00

This appeared in thePrince Albert Daily Herald on Wed, Feb 28, 2007 with the headline 'It's just a drill':

Police attempt to restrain a man, although it is only a drill — they were participating in a mock disaster exercise in Prince Albert on Monday. The scenario was a meth lab explosion at a party. Police, paramedics and firefighters all took part in the drill and their performance will be discussed at a debriefing session today. At far left, these two young women are only pretending to be wounded and in shock. At left, paramedics and police tend to several “victims.”

Herald photo by Barry Glass

It is important that police, firefighters and ambulance personel prepare for all kinds of disasters. However, the PA Herald headline on Feb 28, 'It's just a drill', is a shameful peice of propaganda that neither informs readers about training practices nor provides any safety information to the public.

The article seems exclusively designed to elicit fear in the reader about crystal meth and the dangers it poses. A review of newspaper articles relating to crystal meth explosions in Canada confirms that there have been very few. A scan of canadian newspaper articles between 2000-2007 reveals this single incident.

CN ON: Two Injured In Meth Lab Explosion

This isn't even getting into the stupidity of the scenario of a large party occuring at a 'clandestine' lab. Obviously, RCMP propagandists are getting their definitions confused.

***

To the editor of the PA Herald:

It is important that police, firefighters and ambulance personel be prepared for all kinds of disasters and emergencies. However, the PA Herald story on Feb 28, 'It's just a drill', is a shameful piece of propaganda that neither informs readers about emergency training practices nor provides any safety information that might prove useful. Instead, the reader is given the impression that more training is required to combat crystal meth labs.

Is this really true? A scan of Canadian newspapers from 2000-2007 reveals only 1 incidence of such an explosion. The event which resulted in two injuries occurred in Mississauga, Ontario in 2006.

It is a real shame that essential emergency services must resort to such tactics to get proper funding and recognition. While it is a long shot that PA firefighters will need to rescue party goers at a 'clandestine meth lab', they are called upon daily to help us all with our everyday emergencies. We should thank them for that and ask our politicians to put some money into training to respond to emergencies that might actually happen.

Moe Brondum
North Battleford, Saskatchewan

***

Information about Meth at Erowid.org

NORML Video Contest

2007-02-28T06:04:00.001-08:00

Dear NORML Supporters,

The NORML Foundation announces the grand prize-winner of the Cannabis Clip Contest, a contest where over 150, mostly thirty second Flash animations or videos were submitted for consideration to our three distinguished judges: NORML Advisory Board members filmmaker Ron Mann and travel author/TV host Rick Steves and NORML's Outreach Coordinator Erin Dame.

The winning ad is a great take off on today's pharmaceutical-to-patient advertisements that clutter mass media, as well as sly wordplay on an up-in-coming cannabis-based pharmaceutical.

Congratulations to the winner of the $1,000 grand prize for the 2007 Cannabis Clip Contest! Also, many thanks and great admiration to the creativity demonstrated by the other two finalists, honorable mentions and other top choices by the judges.

These advertisements for NORML will be both promoted and archived among 36 years worth of public advertising in support of cannabis law reform.

If you own or manage a webpage, including a MySpace or Facebook page, NORML invites you to help spread the good word about the immediate need to reform cannabis laws by publicizing some or all of the ads inspired by NORML's 2007 Cannabis Clip Contest.

For example, consider forwarding one 'cannabis clip' ad a week -- that is over four months worth of ads -- to like-minded friends and family (and maybe some NOT so like-minded folk too). Word of advice before viewing these creative advertisements for NORML: Kick back, get right, and enjoy.

As always, thanks for the terrific support,

Allen St. Pierre
Executive Director
NORML/NORML Foundation
Washington, DC
director@norml.org

Get out of Dodge and leave the money

2007-02-28T06:02:00.000-08:00

I think the following story from the Saskatoon Star Phoenix would be an very good definition of the slang term 'bummer'. Do the youngsters still say 'bummer'? Suddenly, I feel old ...

CN SN: Traffic stop results in cash discovery
Saskatoon Star Phoenix
Wednesday, February 28, 2007

A routine traffic stop on Monday evening resulted in the seizure of almost $35,000 in cash.

A Victoria, B.C., resident made his first appearance in provincial court in Saskatoon on Tuesday afternoon.

The 23-year-old was initially charged with possession of a controlled substance, but he was later charged with possession of the proceeds of crime.

The suspect was stopped by the Saskatoon police at Idylwyld Drive and 28th Street around 10 p.m. Monday.

He's been released on a number of conditions, including that he must leave the province unless he is to appear for court.

***

Bummer, dude.

The Psychadelic Prairie

2007-02-27T15:03:00.000-08:00

In the 1950s, researchers at the Hospital in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, conducted experiments with LSD.

In 2005, SCN released a documentary called the Psychedelic Pioneers which examined the research.

CN SN: Powerful Doses Of LSD Treated Sask Alcoholics
CN SN: The True Origin of LSD

In 2006, Erika Dyke published "Hitting Highs at Rock Bottom’: LSD Treatment for Alcoholism, 1950–1970" in the Social History of Medicine and the Weyburn experiments received more attention.

CN SN: Weyburn Experiments With LSD
CN SN: Weyburn Hospital Led In LSD Treatment For Alcoholics

LSD research conducted in Weyburn, Saskatchewan in the 1950s has recently been in the news again.

CN SN: LSD Research In Weyburn Leads To Beginning Of
CN SN: PUB LTE: Research Being Reassessed

It is a mystery to me why we develop prejudices against some drugs and not others. I do not have much to say other than that. Hopefully, this information might lead someone to discover that substances like LSD are neither good nor bad, but the trip could be.

Here is an except from 'Acid Dreams, The Complete Social History of LSD' by Martin A. Lee & Bruce Shlain:

THE ORIGINAL CAPTAIN TRIPS

The stout crew-cut figure riding in the Rolls-Royce was a mystery to those who knew him. A spy by profession, he lived a life of intrigue and adventure befitting his chosen career. Born dirt poor in Kentucky, he served with the OSS during the Second World War and went on to make a fortune as a uranium entrepreneur. His prestigious government and business connections read like a Who's Who of the power elite in North America. His name was Captain Alfred M. Hubbard. His friends called him "Cappy," and he was known as the "Johnny Appleseed of LSD."

The blustery, rum-drinking Hubbard is widely credited with being the first person to emphasize LSD's potential as a visionary or transcendental drug. His faith in the LSD revelation was such that he made it his life's mission to turn on as many men and women as possible. "Most people are walking in their sleep," he said. "Turn them around, start them in the opposite direction and they wouldn't even know the difference." But there was a quick way to remedy that—give them a good dose of LSD and "let them see themselves for what they are."

That Hubbard, of all people, should have emerged as the first genuine LSD apostle is all the more curious in light of his long-standing affiliation with the cloak-and-dagger trade. Indeed, he was no run-of-the-mill spook. As a high-level OSS officer, the Captain directed an extremely sensitive covert operation that involved smuggling weapons and war material to Great Britain prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. In pitch darkness he sailed ships without lights up the coast to Vancouver, where they were refitted and used as destroyers by the British navy. He also flew planes to the border, took them apart, towed the pieces into Canada, and sent them to England. These activities began with the quiet approval of President Roosevelt nearly a year and a half before the US officially entered the war. To get around the neutrality snag, Hubbard became a Canadian citizen in a mock procedure. While based in Vancouver Where he later settled he personally handled several million dollars filtered by the OSS through the American consulate to finance a multitude of covert operations in Europe. All this, of course, was highly illegal, and President Truman later issued a special pardon with kudos to the Captain and his men.

Not long after receiving this presidential commendation, Hubbard was introduced to LSD by Dr. Ronald Sandison of Great Britain. During his first acid trip in I95 I, he claimed to have witnessed his own conception. "It was the deepest mystical thing I've ever seen," the Captain recounted. "I saw myself as a tiny mite in a big swamp with a spark of intelligence. I saw my mother and father having intercourse. It was all clear."

Hubbard, then forty-nine years old, eagerly sought out others familiar with hallucinogenic drugs. He contacted Dr. Humphry Osmond, a young British psychiatrist who was working with LSD and mescaline at Weyburn Hospital in Saskatchewan, Canada. Like most other researchers in the field, Osmond was primarily interested in psychosis and mental illness. In I 9 5 2 he shocked the medical world by drawing attention to the structural similarity between the mescaline and adrenaline molecules, implying that schizophrenia might be a form of self-intoxication caused by the body mistakenly producing its own hallucinogenic compounds. Osmond noted that mescaline enabled a normal person to see the world through the eyes of a schizophrenic, and he suggested that the drug be used as a tool for training doctors, nurses, and other hospital personnel to understand their patients from a more intimate perspective.

Osmond's research attracted widespread attention within scientific circles. The CIA, ever intent on knowing the latest facts as early as possible, quickly sent informants to find out what was happening at Weyburn Hospital. Unbeknownst to Osmond and his cohorts, throughout the next decade they were contacted on repeated occasions by Agency personnel. Indeed, it was impossible for an LSD researcher not to rub shoulders with the espionage establishment, for the CIA was monitoring the entire scene.

Osmond's reports also caught the eye of Aldous Huxley, the eminent British novelist who for years had been preoccupied with the specter of drug-induced thought control. In 1931 Huxley wrote Brave New World, a futuristic vision of a totalitarian society in which the World Controllers chemically coerced the population into loving its servitude. While Huxley grappled with the question of human freedom under pharmacological attack, he also recognized that certain drugs, particularly the hallucinogens, produced radical changes in consciousness that could have a profound and beneficial effect. Upon learning of Osmond's work, he decided to offer himself as a guinea pig.

Huxley seemed like the perfect subject. A learned man steeped in many disciplines, he was also gifted with a writer's eloquence. Even if the drug confounded him, it would not tongue-tie him, for he was a glorious talker. But Osmond was still a bit apprehensive. "I did not relish the possibility, however remote, of being the man who drove Aldous Huxley mad," he explained. His worries proved to be unfounded.

In May 1953, less than a month after the CIA initiated Operation MK-ULTRA, Huxley tried mescaline for the first time at his home in Hollywood Hills, California, under Osmond's supervision. "It was," according to Huxley, "without question the most extraordinary and significant experience this side of the Beatific Vision." Moreover, "it opens up a host of philosophical problems, throws intense light and raises all manner of questions in the field of aesthetics, religion, theory of knowledge."

Huxley described his mescaline adventure in his famous essay The Doors of Perception (which took its title from the works of William Blake, the eighteenth-century British poet and visionary artist). With this book Huxley unabashedly declared himself a propagandist for hallucinogenic drugs, and for the first time a large segment of the educated public became aware of the existence of these substances. Not surprisingly, the treatise created a storm in literary circles. Some hailed it as a major intellectual statement, others dismissed it as pure quackery. Few critics realized that the book would have such an enormous impact in years to come.

In The Doors of Perception Huxley elaborated on Henri Bergson's theory that the brain and the nervous system are not the source of the cognitive process but rather a screening mechanism or "reducing valve" that transmits but a tiny fraction of "the Mind-at-Large," yielding only the kind of information necessary for everyday matters of survival. If this screening mechanism was temporarily suspended, if the doors of perception were suddenly thrust open by a chemical such as mescaline or LSD, then the world would appear in an entirely new light. When he looked at a small vase of flowers, the mescalinized Huxley saw "what Adam had seen on the morning of creation—the miracle, moment by moment, of naked existence...flowers shining with their own inner light and all but quivering under the pressure of the significance with which they were charged.... Words like 'grace' and 'transfiguration' came to my mind."

Huxley obviously was not undergoing an "imitation psychosis." On the contrary, he contended that the chemical mind-changers, when administered in the right kind of situation, could lead to a full-blown mystical experience. He went so far as to predict that a religious revival would "come about as the result of biochemical discoveries that will make it possible for large numbers of men and women to achieve a radical self-transcendence and a deeper understanding of the nature of things."

Huxley recognized that the perceptions afforded by hallucinogens bore a striking similarity to experiences achieved without the use of drugs, either spontaneously or through various spiritual exercises. His writings reflected more than a passing interest in nonchemical methods of altering consciousness, such as hypnosis, sensory deprivation, prolonged sleeplessness, fasting—techniques closely scrutinized by the CIA as well, but for vastly different reasons. Whereas the CIA sought to impose an altered state on its victims in order to control them, Huxley's explorations were self-directed and designed to expand consciousness. He was well aware of the potential dangers of behavior modification techniques and constantly warned of their abuse. Thus it is ironic that he unknowingly consorted with a number of scientists who were engaged in mind control research for the CIA and the US military.

While writing Heaven and Hell (the sequel to The Doors of Perception) in 1955, Huxley had his second mescaline experience, this time in the company of Captain Al Hubbard. They were joined by philosopher Gerald Heard, a close friend of Huxley's. "Your nice Captain tried a new experiment—group mescalinization," Huxley wrote to Osmond. "Since I was in a group, the experience had a human content, which the earlier, solitary experience, with its Other Worldly quality and its intensification of aesthetic experience, did not possess.... it was a transcendental experience within this world and with human references."

Later that same year, with the Captain again acting as a guide, Huxley took his first dose of LSD. Although he consumed only a tiny amount, the experience was highly significant. "What came through the closed door," he stated, "was the realization—not the knowledge, for this wasn't verbal or abstract—but the direct, total awareness, from the inside, so to say, of Love as the primary and fundamental cosmic fact. These words, of course, have a kind of indecency and must necessarily ring false, seem like twaddle. But the fact remains...I was this fact; or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that this fact occupied the place where I had been."

Huxley and his LSD mentor were a most improbable duo. The coarse, uneducated Captain lacked elegance and restraint (''I'm just a born son of a bitch!" he bellowed), while the tall, slender novelist epitomized the genteel qualities of the British intellectual. Yet the two men were evidently quite taken by each other. Huxley spoke admiringly of "the good Captain" whose uranium exploits served "as a passport into the most exalted spheres of government, business, and ecclesiastical polity." In a letter to Osmond he commented, "What Babes in the Wood we literary gents and professional men are! The great World occasionally requires your services, is mildly amused by mine; but its full attention and deference are paid to Uranium and Big Business. So what extraordinary luck that this representative of both these Higher Powers should (a) have become so passionately interested in mescalin and (b) be such a very nice man. "
Despite their markedly different styles Huxley and Hubbard shared a unique appreciation of the revelatory aspect of hallucinogenic drugs. It was Hubbard who originally suggested that an LSD-induced mystical experience might harbor unexplored therapeutic potential. He administered large doses of acid to gravely ill alcoholics with the hope that the ensuing experience would lead to a drastic and permanent change in the way they viewed themselves and the world. (According to Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, the most important factor in recovery for alcoholics is "a deep and genuine religious experience.") Once the individual's rigidified notion of himself had been shattered, "extensive emotional reeducation" was much more likely. At this point the Captain took over. By using religious symbols to trigger psychic responses, he attempted to assist the patient in forming a new and healthier frame of reference that would carry over after the drug wore off. Hubbard found that everyone who went through this process seemed to benefit from it. A number of former alcoholics described their recovery as nothing short of "miraculous." Buoyed by these results, the Captain proceeded to establish LSD treatment centers at three major hospitals in Canada, most notably Hollywood Hospital in Vancouver, where he resided.

Dr. Humphry Osmond was also working with alcoholics in Saskatchewan, but initially he approached the problem from a different vantage point. Osmond noted that some alcoholics decided to give up the bottle only after they "hit bottom" and suffered the withdrawal symptoms of delirium tremens. Could a large dose of LSD or mescaline simulate a controlled attack of the DTs? A "model delirium tremens," so to speak, would be considerably less dangerous than the real thing, which normally occurs after years of heavy drinking and often results in death. Osmond's hypothesis was still rooted in the psychotomimetic tradition. But then Hubbard came along and turned the young psychiatrist on to the religious meaning of his "madness mimicking" drug. The Captain showed Osmond how to harness LSD's transcendent potential. Nearly a thousand hard-core alcoholics received high-dose LSD treatment at Weyburn Hospital, and the rate of recovery was significantly higher than for other forms of therapy—an astounding 50%.

Osmond and his coworkers considered LSD the most remarkable drug they had ever come across. They saw no reason to restrict their studies to alcoholics. If LSD changed the way sick people looked at the world, would it not have as powerful an effect on others as well? With this in mind Osmond and Hubbard came up with the idea that LSD could be used to transform the belief systems of world leaders and thereby further the cause of world peace. Although few are willing to disclose the details of these sessions, a close associate of Hubbard's insisted that they "affected the thinking of the political leadership of North America." Those said to have participated in the LSD sessions include a prime minister, assistants to heads of state, UN representatives, and members of the British parliament. "My job," said Hubbard, "was to sit on the couch next to the psychiatrist and put the people through it, which I did."

Hubbard's influence on the above-ground research scene went far beyond the numerous innovations he introduced: high-dose therapy, group sessions, enhancing the drug effect with strobe lights, and ESP experiments while under the influence of LSD. His impressive standing among business and political leaders in the United States and Canada enabled him to command large supplies of the hallucinogen, which he distributed freely to friends and researchers at considerable personal expense. "Cost me a couple of hundred thousand dollars," he boasted. "I had six thousand bottles of it to begin with." When Dr. Ross MacLean, the medical director at Hollywood Hospital in Vancouver, suggested that they form a partnership and set a price for administering LSD, Hubbard would hear nothing of it. For the Captain had "a mission," as he put it, and making money never entered the picture.

Hubbard promoted his cause with indefatigable zeal, crisscrossing North America and Europe, giving LSD to anyone who would stand still. "People heard about it, and they wanted to try it," he explained. During the 1950s and early 1960S he turned on thousands of people from all walks of life—policemen, statesmen, captains of industry, church figures, scientists. "They all thought it was the most marvelous thing," he stated. "And I never saw a psychosis in any one of these cases."

When certain US medical officials complained that Hubbard was not a licensed physician and therefore should not be permitted to administer drugs, the Captain just laughed and bought a doctors degree from a diploma mill in Kentucky. "Dr." Hubbard had such remarkable credentials that he received special permission from Rome to administer LSD within the context of the Catholic faith. "He had kind of an incredible way of getting that sort of thing, " said a close associate who claimed to have seen the papers from the Vatican.

Hubbard's converts included the Reverend J. E. Brown, a Catholic priest at the Cathedral of the Holy Rosary in Vancouver. After his initiation into the psychedelic mysteries, Reverend Brown recommended the experience to members of his parish. In a letter to the faithful dated December 8, 1957, he wrote, "We humbly ask Our Heavenly Mother the Virgin Mary, help of all who call upon Her to aid us to know and understand the true qualities of these psychedelics, the full capacities of man's noblest faculties and according to God's laws to use them for the benefit of mankind here and in eternity."

Like a molecule at full boil, the Captain moved about at high speeds in all directions. He traveled around the world in his own plane (he was a registered pilot and master of sea vessels), buying up LSD and stashing it, swapping different drugs, and building an underground supply. "I scattered it as I went along," he recalled. With his leather pouch full of "wampum" he rode the circuit, and those on the receiving end were always grateful. "We waited for him like the little old lady on the prairie waiting for a copy of the Sears Roebuck catalogue," said Dr. Oscar Janiger, a Los Angeles psychiatrist.

Dr. Janiger was part of a small circle of scientists and literary figures in the Los Angeles area who began to use psychedelics at social gatherings in the mid- I 95 OS. In addition to Huxley and Gerald Heard, those who participated in these drug-inspired intellectual discussions included philosopher Alan Watts, deep-sea diver Perry Bivens, and researchers Sidney Cohen, Keith Ditman, and Arthur Chandler. This informal group was the first to use LSD socially rather than clinically. Captain Al Hubbard, the wandering shaman who visited southern California on a regular basis, supplied the group with various chemicals.

"Something had to be done and I tried to do it, " Hubbard explained. He was, in his own words, "a catalytic agent" who had a "special, chosen role." While this is certainly an accurate appraisal, he was also another kind of agent—an intelligence agent—which raises some intriguing questions about what he was really up to.

After his legendary exploits with the OSS, the Captain continued to serve as an undercover operative for various agencies within the US government. He had many contacts with the FBI, for example, and he claimed to be a close friend of J. Edgar Hoover's. "That old bugger was tough, really tough, " Hubbard said with admiration. But when he tried to turn on the FBI chief, Hoover stubbornly declined. However, the Captain did manage to give the drug to "some top intelligence men in Washington, always with good results."

During the early 1950s Hubbard was asked to join the CIA, but he refused. "They lied so much, cheated so much. I don't like 'em," he snarled. "They're lousy deceivers, sons of the devils themselves." The Captain's beef with the Agency stemmed in part from his unsuccessful attempt to secure back pay owed to him from his OSS days. "They crooked me," he complained bitterly.

Hubbard was unkindly disposed toward the CIA for other reasons as well. Most important, he didn't approve of what the Agency was doing with his beloved LSD. "The CIA work stinks, " he said. "They were misusing it. I tried to tell them how to use it, but even when they were killing people, you couldn't tell them a goddamned thing. " (Hubbard was certain that Frank Olson was not the only person who died as a result of the CIA's surprise acid tests.)

"I don't know how Al's Washington affairs were done," Dr. Osmond admitted. "He was one of those naturally brilliant wheeler-dealers." Indeed, Hubbard seemed to have a knack for popping up in the most unpredictable places. He worked for the Treasury Department as a young man during the Capone days, busting moonshiners and gangsters who were smuggling liquor into the US from Canada. Apparently he was able to ingratiate himself with both sides during Prohibition, as he subsequently became deputy chief of security for the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. "Those Mafia men were always interesting to talk to," Hubbard remarked, "but they never smiled."

The Captain also engaged in undercover work for a number of other government agencies, including the Federal Narcotics Bureau and the Food and Drug Administration tat a time when both organizations were assisting the CIA's drug testing programs). During the mid-1960s he was employed by Teledyne, a major defense subcontractor, as "director of human factors research." In this capacity Hubbard served as adviser and consultant to a combined navy and NASA project that involved testing the effects of psychochemical agents on a newly designed "helicopter avionics system." Teledyne worked closely with various government organizations, including the CIA, to apply these techniques to additional areas of military interest.

While Hubbard was not a CIA operative per se, his particular area of expertise—hallucinogenic drugs—brought him into close contact with elements of the espionage community. The CIA must have known what he was up to, since Sandoz and the FDA kept the Agency informed whenever anyone received shipments of LSD. The Captain, of course, was one of their best customers, having purchased large amounts of the drug on different occasions.

In a sense "the mysterious Al" embodies the irony and ambiguity of the LSD story as a whole. As one of his friends put it, "Cappy was sort of a double agent. He worked for the government, but in his own way he was a rebel." Some call him a "witch doctor," others describe him as "an incurable scoundrel." A most unlikely combination of mystic and redneck, Hubbard above all remains an enigma.

"Al Hubbard was a very strange man," confided a fellow drug researcher, "but he probably knew more about LSD than anyone else in the world." And while his tale has many gaps and fuzzy edges, this much can be established beyond a shadow of a doubt: his enthusiasm for LSD never waned. "Anyone who'll try to tell me that this has all been a big hallucination has got to be out of their mind. . . . What I've seen with it has been the truth and nothing but the truth. "

And as a parting shot he added, "If you don't think it's amazing, all I've got to say is just go ahead and try it."

***

Information about LSD at Erowid.org

Saskatchewan Drug News Digest - January 2007

2007-02-27T12:14:00.000-08:00

Total Published: 49
Number of Articles: 30
Number of Editorials/OPEDs: 7
Number of Columns: 3
Number of LTEs: 9

Total Publications: 10 (3 are not CN SN papers)
Most Active Newspaper: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)

CN SN: LTE: Diabetics Shortchanged As Drug Addicts Get Help
Wed, 31 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Geisler, Rebecca

CN SN: PUB LTE: Need To Address Addiction Real Debate In
Tue, 30 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Bacon, Cheryl

CN SN: LTE: Use Of Illicit Drugs At Heart Of Notorious Murder
Tue, 30 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Kozmyk, James

CN SN: PUB LTE: Hayward Needs To Be Seen As Victim Of Brutal
Tue, 30 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Mackey, Joelene

CN SN: PUB LTE: Walker Case Eye-Opener On Prevalence Of Disease
Tue, 30 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Lowry, Margaret

CN SN: Needle Pickup Costs Concern City Councillor
Mon, 29 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Warren, Jeremy

CN SN: LTE: BC Father Would Do Same
Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Waller, Ron

CN SN: He Didn't Deserve To Die, Hayward Family Laments
Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Getty, Alana

CN SN: Lawyers Share Their Thoughts On Trial's Outcome
Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Kopan, Karl

CN SN: Walker Found Guilty Of Second Degree Murder
Wed, 24 Jan 2007
Source: Yorkton This Week (CN SN)
Author: Harvey, Ann

CN SN: PUB LTE: Sugar Kills, Marijuana Doesn't Says Writer
Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Brondum, Moe

CN SN: Walker Trial Comes To Dramatic End
Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Kopan, Karl

CN SN: Column: We Can All Learn From This Tragedy Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Kopan, Karl

CN SN: OPED: Outrage Translates To Action
Fri, 26 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Gormley, John

CN SN: PUB LTE: War On Drugs Gave Walker Justification For
Fri, 26 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Derbowka, Tanya

CN SN: Drug Addicts Getting More Support
Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Author: Cowan, Pamela

CN SN: Editorial: When Desperation Leads To Tragedy
Tue, 23 Jan 2007
Source: Whitewood Herald (CN SN)
Author: Ashfield, Elaine

CN SN: Experts Question Address To The Jury In Walker Trial
Tue, 23 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Author: Polischuk, Heather

CN SN: Editorial: Crime And Punishment
Tue, 23 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)

CN SN: Walker Appeal Draws Legal Interest
Tue, 23 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Polischuk, Heather

CN SN: 'Unconditional Love'
Mon, 22 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: She'll Be There For Her Father
Mon, 22 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: Yorkton Residents Have Mixed Reactions
Sat, 20 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Author: Cowan, Pamela

CN SN: Mistrial Sought in Yorkton
Fri, 19 Jan 2007
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Author: Friesen, Joe

CN SN: Column: Justice Takes A Detour
Sat, 20 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Burton, Randy

CN SN: He Just Wanted Her At Home
Thu, 18 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Kopan, Karl

CN SN: Jury To Be Charged Today In Murder Trial
Wed, 17 Jan 2007
Source: Yorkton This Week (CN SN)
Author: Harvey, Ann

CN SN: PUB LTE: Sask Should Have Safe Injection Sites
Thu, 18 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Greer, Benn

CN SN: Pot Case May Be Basis For Appeal
Sat, 20 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Coolican, Lori

CN SN: Man Jailed For Killing Daughter's Boyfriend
Sat, 20 Jan 2007
Source: National Post (Canada)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: Jury Finds Walker Guilty Of Murder
Sat, 20 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: Closing Statements Heard
Thu, 18 Jan 2007
Source: News Review, The (CN SN)
Author: Kopan, Karl

CN SN: Convicted Murderer A 'Hero' To Daughter
Sat, 20 Jan 2007
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Author: Friesen, Joe

CN SN: Condoning Shooting Misguided: RCMP
Fri, 19 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: Walker No Hero: Shooting Victim's Brother
Fri, 19 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: Murder Trial Puts Focus On Teenage Drug Use
Fri, 19 Jan 2007
Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)
Author: Cook, Tim

CN SN: Awaiting Verdict
Fri, 19 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: Editorial: Troubling Issues Come To Light In Walker Case
Fri, 19 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)

CN SN: Manslaughter Or Murder
Thu, 18 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: Six Arrested, Dog Shot During Regina Drug Raid
Mon, 15 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)

CN SN: Editorial: Canada Needs New Policy On Drug Abuse Tue, 16 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)

CN SN: Judge Unconvinced Marijuana Was 'Medicine'
Wed, 17 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)

CN SN: Editorial: Silence From Councillors On Drug Strategy
Tue, 16 Jan 2007
Source: Moose Jaw Times-Herald (CN SN)

CN SN: Editorial: Crime Stoppers Pays In Many Ways
Wed, 17 Jan 2007
Source: Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)

CN SN: Father 'Saved' Daughter - Lawyer
Wed, 17 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

CN SN: Police Allege Suspects Sent Pit Bull After Officers
Tue, 16 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Author: Pruden, Jana G.

CN SN: Dealer's Addiction Led Her Into Drug Ring
Fri, 12 Jan 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Author: Pruden, Jana G.

CN SN: Column: War On The War On Drugs
Wed, 10 Jan 2007
Source: Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN)
Author: Dyer, Gwynne

CN SN: Father On Trial In Death Of Daughter's Partner
Wed, 10 Jan 2007
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Author: Wood, James

***

The January 2007 News Digest was collected from MapInc.

A listing of monitored publications in Saskatchewan is peresented below:

Carillon (CN SN Edu) Editor: carillon@ursu.uregina.ca
Estevan Mercury (CN SN) Editor: mercury_merc1@sasktel.net
Grenfell Sun & Broadview Express (CN SN) Editor: stoneprint@sk.sympatico.ca
Maple Creek News (CN SN) Editor: Feedback form
Meadow Lake Progress (CN SN) Editor: Feedback form
Melfort Journal, The (CN SN) Editor: editor@melfortjournal.com
Moose Jaw Times-Herald (CN SN) Editor: Fax (306) 692-2101
News Review, The (CN SN) Editor: editorial@yorktonnews.com
Nipawin Journal, The (CN SN) Editor: njournal@sk.sympatico.ca
Observer, The (CN SN) Editor: observer@sasktel.net
Prince Albert Daily Herald (CN SN) Editor: editorial@paherald.sk.ca
Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Editor: letters@leaderpost.canwest.com
Saskatchewan Sage (CN SN) Editor: sage@ammsn.com
Sheaf, The (CN SN Edu) Editor: sheaf.editors@usask.ca
Southwest Booster, The (CN SN) Editor: boosternews@swbooster.com
StarPhoenix, The (CN SN) Editor: Feedback form
Western Producer (CN SN) Editor: newsroom@producer.com
Weyburn Review (CN SN) Editor: production@weyburnreview.com
Weyburn This Week (CN SN) Editor: editorthisweek@sasktel.net
Whitewood Herald (CN SN) Editor: herald@whitewoodherald.sk.ca
World-Spectator, The (CN SN) Editor: world_spectator@sasktel.net
Wynyard Advance Gazette (CN SN) Editor: w.advance@sk.sympatico.ca
Yorkton This Week (CN SN) Editor: editorial@YorktonThisWeek.com

Welcome to the blog

2007-02-27T07:53:00.000-08:00

I have been tracking drug related news in Saskatchewan and writing letters to editors for several years. For some reason, I decided to start a blog and continue doing the same thing I have always done, only here.

So welcome to my blog, I hope I have some ideas a few people might find interesting.