When words turn bad
The other day I was on a conference call and we were discussing which tags and keywords should be included in a collaborative online database. The terms “substance use” and…
drugs
Are the Anti-Gentrification Front protesters wrong to “vandalize” Save-on-Meats?
My facebook feed went crazy last night with my Vancouver friends posting about a stolen sandwich board. Why is this important? Context: Save-on-Meats is kind of an iconic butcher in…
War on Drugs doc launches for free – Friday Film Pick: Breaking the Taboo
It’s too early in the day for us to watch a documentary on the so-called “war on drugs,” so we’re not actually endorsing this week’s FFP, Breaking the Taboo, which…
Marijuana Decriminalization Lowers Youth Crime Rate
Marijuana has been recently decriminalized in a few states in the USA, and based off of data from California the overall rate of youth arrests will drop dramatically. This is…
The lowdown on substance use
Last night I attended a free session at our local mental health facility. It was called Getting the Low Down on Substance Use, and was presented by Michael Coughlin, a…
War On Office Supplies
With the War on Drugs deemed an abject failure, it’s time to focus our security state on some other threat. I propose Office Supplies. The police have a head start,…
How to Make Money Selling Drugs – Documentary is part how-to video, part indictment of drug policy
Of the 372 film titles listed in the Toronto International Film Festival’s program this year, few are likely to raise more eyebrows than How to Make Money Selling Drugs, a…
Dune
Dune is an epic science fiction tale about religion, inter-stellar politics, and the awesomeness of riding around on giant worms that crap out the greatest drug ever.* The drug in…
Young Liberals take strong stand against Mulcair’s pro-Harper, pro-prohibition stance on marijuana
Today Young Liberals across the country are taking part in a campaign taking on NDP leader Tom Mulcair for his pro-Harper position on marijuana prohibition. I’m proud to count myself…
Safe injection sites: Treating people with addictions like they matter
Last October, the Supreme Court ruled that Insite, Vancouver’s safe injection site, could stay open despite the Harper Government’s objections. The arguments hinged on whether addiction was primarily a health…
Honey, I Scalded the Kids
I don’t care for coffee. I don’t make this a secret, even though I probably should, since non-coffee drinkers are often looked at as some sort of aliens who are…
We Must Stop Stephen Harper and the 20% from Destroying Canada
There has been lots of discussion about how Stephen Harper’s majority only represents 40% of voters because of the way our electoral system works. But, in reality, his agenda has…
Smoking Pot Not As Damaging to Lungs as Cigarettes
Many people come to my blog to read about things neither of us wish were happening, but they want my opinion about it along with some facts I’ve found. Here’s…
Rick Parry is not as think as you stoned he is!
Here are the "high"lights of soon-to-be-former-presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry's recent speech in New Hampshire. If you want to sit through the entire addled trainwreck you can watch it…
The Halloween Feast of Madness Bird
Say what you will about Marge and Delia, but they served a mean turkey dinner. Sure they might have been witches. Sure, they tended to use a little too much…
Safe injection facilities and arbitrary government decisions
I often talk to friends or strangers about law. I remember a debate I had with someone once about the government. Can it make arbitrary decisions? I said yes, and…
The Insite Victory and Kevin’s Story
I've written about Kevin before. The young heroin addict I found shooting up on the door step of the Yale Town apartment I was renting, while taking a summer course…
Kicking Addictions: Commentary on What It Takes and What Helps
Work on getting past addictions by setting effective, personally-valued goals, exercising discipline but tolerating lapses, accessing support, finding substitutions, distractions and adaptive strategies, and cultivating mindfulness and insight into emotions…
Girly Men Are The Real Thing!
Harper Government: Changing our genes and caffeine. Arnie the Governator was right! There are girly men. Do you know what’s causing them, and causing girls to hit puberty before their…
The War On Drugs
The War on Bugs has not yet been won either. The War on Drugs left a trail of destruction through the property of innocent people I know, today. The RPS…