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WTF Wednesday: Nursing homes are prescribing drugs and are fully aware they may kill residents

Kelsey Braithwaite

Many nursing homes’ workers are giving residents potentially lethal pharmaceuticals to help with dementia. These nurses and doctors are well aware the drugs may kill those suffering from the disease. But it’s still happening all across the province. The Star recently conducted an investigation into the usage of these pharmaceuticals in Ontario nursing homes. It […] More »

WTF Wednesday: New law bans medical marijuana users from growing their own pot

Simon Treanor

On April 1, the federal government will enact a new law banning individuals from growing medical marijuana for their own use. Instead, those who wish to acquire the drug will be forced to buy it from provincially-approved growers, who then mail the dried product to the patients. Currently, only seven growers are approved; their prices […] More »

WTF Wednesday: tobacco industry still targeting youth

Joe Thomson

If high-school kids are smoking, they’re likely to have used flavoured tobacco products like candy flavoured cigarillos, according to a coalition of health groups that released the findings of their Youth Smoking survey on Monday. More than 50 percent of those who smoked had used flavoured tobacco products, which have come under fire for their […] More »

FTW Friday: Sweet news for bees

Hillary Di Menna

Canada now has a working group dedicated to figuring out bee mortality. On July 9, environmental group Sierra Club Canada shared a press release announcing the group’s formation, which is made up of beekeepers, farmers, scientists and others in agri-business. The press release mentions the recent loss of 27 million bees near Elwood, Ont. In […] More »

WTF Wednesday: A female Viagra is coming…as a nasal spray

Sara Harowitz

It’s been 14 years since the erectile dysfunction pill Viagra hit the market, and it seems like women are finally close to getting one, too—in the form of a nose spray. The product, called Tefina, is a testosterone gel that gets sprayed up the nose and absorbed within minutes, with effects that could be felt […] More »

Friday FTW: Public health officials want you to smoke pot safely

Megan Harris

As we all know, marijuana is an illegal drug in Canada, a fact unlikely to change anytime soon. But this week, a team of public health experts seem to be facing reality. Reality being, of course, that many people in Canada are recreational marijuana users. A Health Canada survey in 2010 showed that 10.7 percent […] More »
March-April 2011

Why Canada’s drug-approval process isn’t as safe as you think

Elizabeth Wright

On March 18, 2000, Terence Young was at home catching up on the weekend paper when his 15-year-old daughter, Vanessa, came to ask his permission to go out with some friends that evening. Exhausted and not relishing the idea of another conversation about Vanessa’s curfew time, Young asked her to wait until after dinner. There […] More »

Your complete guide to the fight over chemicals in your tap water

dylan c. robertson

Yesterday Canadian economics blogger Mike Moffatt posted his thoughts about the costs of reducing the murder rate by 30 percent through water treatment. The post was based on a Big Think article that studied correlations between higher lithium amounts in public drinking water and drops in suicides and violent crime rates. Lithium, a mood-booster, is […] More »
July-August 2010

26 million hectares of forest, $17 billion, and one lonely bush pilot

Ashley Walters

For years, Joel Theriault has waged a losing battle against pesticide spraying in Northern Ontario forests. He’s made enemies in the logging business, the Ministry of Natural Resources—and even among his fellow environmentalists. What keeps him going? On a chilly afternoon in mid-June 2009, bush-pilot-turned-environmental-activist Joel Theriault is once again flying over the deforested landscape […] More »
July-August 2010

Progressive Detective: Is it safe to use the Pill to skip my period?

Sarah SnowdonWebsite

Dear Progressive Detective: I’ve heard of a new birth control pill, Seasonale, that reduces your period to four times a year instead of 12. I see the appeal, but messing with my cycle just seems like a bad idea. How safe are these kinds of contraceptives? Extended-use hormonal contraceptives like Seasonale boost estrogen to levels […] More »

Canadian Water Summit 2010: On Canadian reserves, don't drink the water

Alixandra GouldWebsite

[Editor’s note: Alixandra Gould is attending the 2010 Canadian Water Summit on Thursday, June 17. In advance of that, she interviewed a few of the experts who will be speaking at the event about some of the key issues in current Canadian water policy. Today we bring you her report on the sorry state of […] More »