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September-October 2010

Canada deports Mexico’s drug-war refugees, with deadly consequences

Augusta DwyerWebsite

Thousands of Mexicans seek refuge from their country’s gruesome drug wars, but Canada has slammed the door. For some, deportation has been a death sentence The first of Juan Escobedo’s many trials began in 2007 when his common-law wife, Lisbeth, then just 31, was diagnosed with cancer. The couple had four children and little money. […] More »
May-June 2010

A new generation of Quebec filmmakers captures a culture adrift

Patricia Bailey

Young Québécois filmmakers are rejecting the commercially successful nostalgia movies of recent years in favour of suburban ennui, substance abuse, and suicide. Get ready to get gloomy! The title of Quebec director Stéphane Lafleur’s Continental, un film sans fusil (Continental, A Film Without Guns) is not only a playful warning to viewers seeking the adrenaline […] More »
May-June 2010

Pro-pot lawyer Alan Young preps to fight the next round of drug laws

Alex Consiglio

“This is about the complete failure of democracy,” Alan Young says, munching on his strawberry-jam toast at Sunnybrook Restaurant in Toronto. Young, a criminal lawyer, has been Canada’s forerunning pot reformist since he got a judge to declare that “marijuana is relatively harmless compared to the so-called hard drugs, and including tobacco and alcohol” during […] More »

Wednesday WTF: We watched the PM on YouTube so you don't have to

Graham F. Scott

Most videos on YouTube are total fiascos, but at least they’re entertaining fiascos. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s debut on YouTube—in which he responded with carefully prepared talking points to carefully screened video questions in a carefully pre-taped appearance—was dull because there was nothing at stake. It was like watching a man walk a tightrope across his […] More »

Wednesday WTF: Reading between Rahim Jaffer's "lines" *wink wink*

Graham F. Scott

Former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer was clocked doing 93 km/h in a 50 zone one evening last September. At the time, police charged him with impaired driving and cocaine possession. A few months go by, and—abracadabra!—the drunk-driving and the drug possession charges disappear, replaced by a guilty plea for “careless driving”: Crown attorney Marie Balogh […] More »
November-December 2009

Supervised injection sites work—but the feds still don’t get it

Sukaina Hirji

Despite ongoing efforts by the Harper government to shut it down, Insite, the Vancouver-based supervised-injection site, is alive and thriving, with over 10,000 registered users and around 800 daily visitors. To Mark Townsend, an Insite representative, it’s a success story that needs to be replicated in other cities. Established in 2003 as a scientific research […] More »

Body Politic #8: Big Pharma and public health insurance—too close for comfort

lyndsie bourgon

When was the last time you called Bayer or GlaxoSmithKline up for a chat about your prescription regime? Never, right? Doctors are our go-between, the ones who prescribe and manage our health, who pay attention to developments in pharmaceuticals, and we generally have to trust them to know what we need. While many provinces are […] More »

Body Politic #5: Our unhealthy addiction to health care

lyndsie bourgon

When we’re put on wait lists, or stand in line at clinics, or fall asleep in waiting rooms it’s easy to think that there’s something wrong with Canada’s health care system. We need more doctors, we need more nurses, we need more surgeons — we need a better way to get better. But what if […] More »
November-December 2009

Interview: B.C.’s “Prince of Pot,” Marc Emery

Paul McLaughlinWebsite

Unrepentant on the eve of his extradition, B.C.’s Prince of Pot has one message: he’ll be back Marc Emery, Vancouver’s famous marijuana activist, has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment in the United States in a negotiated deal relating to his mail-order business that sold marijuana seeds throughout North America. We caught up with him […] More »

Today in Legalization: quitting our addiction to failure in the War on Drugs

Graham F. Scott

Our (totally made up, unofficial) Legalization Week continues today with Katie Addleman’s exploration of the drug trade, and the catastrophic effect prohibition has had on law enforcement, gang violence, addicts’ health, and community safety: Ounce for ounce, marijuana is worth more than gold, and heroin more than uranium. Yet it’s only as a direct result […] More »
November-December 2009

Crack down on organized crime and save addicts — Legalize Hard Drugs

Katie Addleman

The misbegotten “War on Drugs” has funnelled billions into the pockets of criminals, and drug use is higher than ever. We’re addicted to policy failure — time to kick the habit Shortly after Vancouver was named the host of the 2010 Olympics, Naomi Klein was seething about injustice again. “The Vancouver-Whistler Olympic bid presented the […] More »