Vancouver takes a wrong turn on opioid treatment

The National Post is reporting that "B.C. gives up on its addicts and decides to just keep them on drugs. Exactly how will installing vending machines with high-dose opioids help drug addicts kick their habit?" The National Post nailed it. Hey ho, Justin Trudeau and the BC NDP have got to go.

"The British Columbia public health authorities are making a huge mistake. The province is advancing a series of reckless interventions that are counterproductive in fighting the opioid epidemic. If B.C. continues in this manner, the province is destined to remain in a state of perpetual opioid addiction." That is only in the pharmaceutical companies best interest.

"Ottawa recently granted approval of a B.C. pilot to distribute high-dose hydromorphone, a potent opioid, three times daily at supportive housing units and supervised injection sites. Drug users are free to use the hydromorphone as they please; authorities anticipate many will crush and inject the opioids to intensify their high. Moreover, the province has plans to grant qualified opioid users biometric access to vending machines of hydromorphone for drug users’ convenient consumption." This is NOT the Portugal model. This is the highway to Hell.

The Portugal model implemented mandatory treatment. This is not treatment this is the opposite. It is once again promoting addiction. It is a direct contradiction to the BC government's recent class action lawsuit against the opioid industry. Now they are going to have to sue themselves.

The Portland Hotel Society is dripping in corruption. It is in a conflict of interest.

CBC reported that the B.C. government has released details of a damning audit that shows a non-profit group that looks after some of Canada's poorest citizens spent thousands of dollars on lavish hotels, limousine rides, expensive dinners and even a trip to a Disney resort. Separate financial reviews examining expenses by the Portland Hotel Society - which runs Canada's only supervised injection site - have uncovered alleged misuse of corporate credit cards, unsupported expenses and inadequate criminal record checks.

The Huffington Post reported that Jenny Kwan is back from an unpaid leave she took after government audits revealed financial irregularities at the Portland Hotel Society, including lavish travel expenses. Kwan says she believed her former husband Dan Small covered the travel expenses for herself and their two children, but audits reveal the society covered the costs. Those aren't volunteers at the Portland Hotel Society. Those are paid staff members.

Harm reduction programs like safe injection sites don't beat addiction. They just sustain it.

Dr. Colin Mangham on Insite

“I call on the committee, especially the elected representatives, to stop allowing a group of activists, whatever else they're clothed in, to dictate Canada's drug policies. The people of Canada and elected officials need to set drug policy.’

Dr. Colin Mangham speaks to Parliament

"The most telling thing I saw that never found its way into the media was that only a small percentage of drug users use Insite. It's not reaching the cocaine users. An even smaller portion use it for the majority of their injections. As I told CNN, it's like building a dyke out of chicken wire. Why, then, is this still being clung to? "

Ottawa Police officer faces sexual harassment allegations as well as domestic assualt

CBC is reporting that "CBC News has learned that an Ottawa police officer accused of assaulting a woman is also being investigated internally for allegedly sexually harassing rookie officers he was assigned to mentor. The harassment allegations are coming to light more than a year after Const. Carl Keenan, 42, was charged by MRC des Collines police with assault causing bodily harm following an off-duty incident in La Peche, Que., on Dec. 14, 2017. Ottawa police issued a news release five days after Keenan's arrest and called the incident a domestic matter."

Steven Skinner and Opération Loquace

CBC recently ran an interesting documentary in French about Steven Skinner, the guy from Halifax that murdered Larry Amero's co accused Frédéric Lavoie in Columbia. Opération Loquace listed six men as heads of that international drug ring tied to the Hells Angels: Larry Amero, Mihale Leventis, Rabih Alkhalil, Shane Maloney, Frédéric Lavoie and Timoleon Psiharis.

Interesting to note that Benoit Roberge, the dirty cop from Quebec that was caught selling information to the Hells Angels told Frédéric Lavoie about the bust ahead of time so he and Timoleon Psiharis skipped town. Larry Amero and Shane Maloney were busted on the first day while Rabih Alkhalil and Mihale Leventis were arrested soon after.

Frédéric Lavoie who skipped town without letting Larry know about the pending bust was murdered and dismembered by Steven Skinner in Colombia. Timoleon Psiharis, who also skipped town after receiving early notice of the pending drug bust was murdered in Greece of all Places. Psiharis was tortured, doused with acid and beaten to death in Greece in 2012.

So is that how Damion Ryan got his Filthy Few patch? And the dirty cops have him on their payroll now too. God help us. No one else will. Gang enforcement in BC is COMPROMISED.

Shane Maloney does not have ties to the West End gang in Montreal. He's just a local loser from Burnaby that Larry knew. He is the illegitimate son of a waitress at a bar. That is all.

First Surrey Shooting of the New Year

The Peace Arch News is reporting that "Police in Surrey say nobody was hurt after shots were fired at a house in Guildford Wednesday night. Surrey RCMP say it happened in the 14000 block of 115A Avenue just after 6:30 p.m. Police say “evidence was located” confirming that shots had been fired. Nobody was in the house at the time, police said. RCMP say a black Honda CRV SUV was seen driving away with its headlights off, and a similar vehicle was located. Three people were detained but one had been released as of Thursday morning. Two men, in their 30s and 40s, remain in custody as the investigation continues. “The Honda has been seized for investigational purposes,” Sergeant Chad Greig said. Police are calling it a targeted incident.”

Toronto had their first shooting New Years Day.

Two men charged after shots fired at Surrey house

The Peace Arch News is reporting that "Christopher Boucher, 30, has been charged with one count of unlawfully discharging a prohibited or restricted firearm, one count of possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm, one count of possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm without being the holder of an authorization or licence and one count of occupying a vehicle knowing there was a prohibited or restricted firearm in the vehicle."

"Jamie Tibbs, 42, has been charged with one count of possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm, one count of possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm without being the holder of an authorization or licence and one count of occupying a vehicle knowing there was a prohibited or restricted firearm in the vehicle. A third person has been released without charges."

3 men charged after first shooting incident of 2019 in Ottawa

Hells Angel on Death row in Thailand

9 News is reporting that "A Perth member of the notorious Hells Angels and his wife have been sentenced to death in Thailand for trying to smuggle half a tonne of crystal methamphetamine into Australia. Luke Cook, 34, and his Thai wife Kanyarat Wechapitak, 40, were arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport in December and charged over a 2015 plot to smuggle an estimated $300 million worth of the drug - also known as ice - into Thailand then on to Australia. A Thai court has sentenced the couple to death but that is expected to be commuted to life in prison, according to media reports."

As we reported December 2017 "Cook, owner of the Piss Stop Bar in Pattaya, was convicted in 2016 of helping Australian kick-boxer and former Sydney businessman Antonio Bagnato flee Thailand after he murdered Wayne Schneider, another Hells Angels member and prominent figure of Sydney's underworld, in 2016."

As we reported February 2017, Antonio Bagnato received the death sentence for murdering Wayne Schneider. Only now ABC is reporting that Bagnato's murder charge was overturned, and he was instead sentenced to three years for assault." Things that make ya go hmmmm.... Three years for murder? That's pretty shady. With friends like that, who needs enemies?

New Years Day on Mount Seymour 2019

I went snowshoeing up Mount Seymour this morning. It stared snowing heavily riding my bike up the mountain and continued hiking all the way up to Brockton Point. At First Peak it started to break and by Third Peak it cleared up nicely. This is a short video clip from the summit of Third Peak. All is quiet on New Years Day. This is a video clip from the London Fireworks last night. For me New Years doesn't start until the sun breaks on the horizon New Years Day.

New Years 2019: Pressing Forward

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. That is very true. If you don't take that first step, you will never arrive at your destination. Last year our theme was free Tibet and free yourself. Now it's time to press forward. Hard work forever pays yo. The ability to work is not a curse, it is a blessing. Work is the means of all accomplishment. There is no joy without work.

When I was in Ireland, my parents sent me a poster of an old workhorse pulling a heavy load during a blizzard. The caption read, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. That image stuck with me. When times get tough, the tough get to work.

Thomas Paine once said: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

Martin Luther King once said “The belief that God will do everything for man is as untenable as the belief that man can do everything for himself. It, too, is based on a lack of faith. We must learn that to expect God to do everything while we do nothing is not faith but superstition.”



Drug Treatment in Surrey:

Realistic Success Recovery Society

John Volken Academy

Phoenix Society

Floyd Mayweather Defeats Tenshin Nasukawa via TKO

ESPN is reporting that "Floyd Mayweather dusted off the boxing gloves and stopped Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in the first round of their three-round welterweight exhibition match on New Year's Eve. Mayweather, 41, a former five-division world champion, floored Nasukawa three times before the end of the first round. Nasukawa's corner threw in the towel after the third knockdown, and the 20-year-old was left in tears after being humbled by the retired Mayweather."

It was an undefeated kickboxer fighting a boxer with boxing rules which once again reaffirms that guys who can't make it in boxing, go into kickboxing. Boxers have that art mastered. Hat's off to Floyd Mayweather. A champion with class unlike the pathetic loser that turned the UFC into WWF trash with his tasteless racism. A video clip of this fight has been posted on Twitter.

Forgiveness brings Peace

I'm not a very forgiving kind of guy for the most part. I'm a bit cynical in my old age. Once bitten twice shy. Twice bitten and it's go f*ck yourself. I believe in the Christian principle of repentance and the Christian principle of forgiveness but I believe there is a process to both.

There's a young guy at the gym I always go out of my way to say Hi to. He's very friendly. From our previous conversations I became aware that he was a Christian. The other day I made the mistake of wishing him a Merry Christmas. "Oh I don't celebrate Christmas" he said.

I was a bit startled because I knew he was a Christian. Usually its non Christians that get offended by the term but even they are very receptive to it. He goes off about how Jesus wasn't born at Christmas it was just a pagan holiday they assigned to Jesus' birth. I'm like yeah, we all know that but nobody cares. It's a season of good will. There's nothing bad about Santa. Then he goes off about how Santa is spelt like Satan and I just gave him that AYFKM look.

I'm like for me that's a little bit extreme and I shun extremism. It's like those Christians who say you can't have pictures of Christ up on your wall. For me that is weird and extreme. It completely misses the point. He asked me if I was a Christian and I said yes then hesitated. Well kind of. Certainly not like that kind of Christian.

Forgiveness is a fundamental aspect of Christianity. The wages of sin is death and no one is without sin so we all need an atonement. We all need to be forgiven. Martin Luther King said the old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.

The Lord's Prayer says forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others who trespass against us. I understand that principle but I also understand how that principle can be abused. That's how some people become door mats for others to walk on and stay in abusive relationships because of it. That kind of exploitation doesn't do anyone any good.

Martin Luther King also said "I've seen too much hate to want to hate and every time I see it I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear." Obviously holding on to hate isn't healthy. As Buddha pointed out it's like holding on to a hot coal which simply burns oneself.

I look back over my life and I look at examples of when people have tried to f*ck me over and I can honestly say I have no hard feelings. It's water under the bridge. I wish no harm upon them. That doesn't mean I have the slightest desire to get back together with that person because that simply isn't going to happen. We can all learn from the past and move forward is positive healthy directions. Yet forgiveness does bring peace. Often the hardest person to forgive is ourselves.

Maybe this year it's time to forgive ourselves and let the past go so we can finally be free.

Fentanyl in Fort Mcmurray tied to the Hells Angels

My McMurray is reporting that "The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) has issued an arrest warrant for JC after they seized fentanyl and a handgun from a home in Eagle Ridge Dec. 15, 2018. The 45-year-old man is suspected of being involved in drug trafficking activities and has previous criminal convictions for similar offences. A drug trafficking investigation led the Wood Buffalo RCMP to provided assistance during the seizure which was the result of a search warrant executed at the home."

"ALERT’s Fort McMurray organized crime and gang team seized 42 grams of suspected fentanyl powder, a loaded handgun with its serial number removed along with ammunition and one person was arrested. A 37-year-old woman was arrested inside the home and charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of trafficking, possession of proceeds of crime, five firearms-related offences, and causing a child to be drug endangered. There were two children living at the home where the fentanyl was found. In order to protect the children’s identity, the accused women is not being named."

I intentionally held back reporting on this until after Christmas because the guy has a little girl and it would suck being in prison for Christmas as it does for everyone who is in prison for Christmas. 42 grams isn't much and it likely wasn't within reach of the kids but Fentanyl is fatal. No one should be selling that. I realize times are tough but the bottom line is that if you want to be a Dad to your daughter you need to find another career.

I left the guy's name out of my report because I want to give the guy a chance at getting a real job. I will point out however, that this is not his first offense and that I have blogged about him before. JC received a 14 year sentence for drug trafficking in Fort McMurray where he was described as a cocaine kingpin for the Edmonton Hells Angels.

We will note that the Hells Angels convicted in that case were using their children as pawns to gain sympathy from the court. We will also note that while in prison, JC extorted a prison guard into supplying him with drugs in prison. "Johnstone testified he was checking JC's cell and the inmate blocked the door and told him he knew his address and phone number and his mother’s address. Johnstone said the large and muscular convicted cocaine kingpin then told him that if he didn’t bring in a package for him, someone would be “paying my mom and I a visit.”

Once again we have the Hells Angels using kids as pawns while they threaten other people's families to further the drug trade. Those members are what the real world refers to as POS. History has recorded that. JC is connected to Jared White who was charged in the murder of Ashley Chisholm and Patric Felix, another Fentanyl supplier in Fort Mac. This is JC's last chance. Get out now while you still can. He who lives by the sword will die by it. Word.