Recent Articles:
Below are past articles previously published in Drugs & Addiction Magazine. These are filled with current and relevant information and statistics and can be used as great conversation starters with youth.
It’s Bell Let’s Talk Day!
January 30, 2019Former Insys CEO pleads guilty to opioid kickback scheme
January 17, 2019Resolve to Detox Your Social Circle
January 16, 2019Easing test anxiety boosts low-income students’ biology grades
January 15, 2019Craving insight into addiction
January 14, 2019People with low self-esteem tend to seek support in ways that backfire, study finds
January 10, 2019Ban on cigarette sales in NYC pharmacies starts Jan. 1
January 9, 2019Too many problems? Maybe coping isn’t the answer
January 8, 2019Half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14
January 3, 2019Sexting Teens
December 19, 2018Screen Addiction: Today’s Biggest Threat to Schooling?
December 19, 2018Texting Etiquette & Safety: 5 Rules for Keeping Your Kids & Teens Secure & Drama-Free
December 17, 2018Amnesty International: Indigenous Peoples’ rights
December 17, 2018New Canadians sworn in as Winnipeg museum celebrates International Human Rights Day
December 13, 2018Statement by the Prime Minister on Human Rights Day
December 12, 2018Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in America, CDC confirms
December 12, 2018The Illustrated Version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
December 11, 2018Homeless man with terminal cancer donates to holiday toy drive
December 10, 2018Boy gets Colorado town to overturn snowball fight ban
December 6, 2018Fortnite addiction is forcing kids into video game rehab
December 5, 2018Clarity on Cannabis
December 4, 2018Mental health education recommended for RCMP members following inquest
November 30, 2018Social Media – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence
November 28, 2018Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence
November 27, 2018#GIVINGTUESDAY TODAY ONLY YOUR GIFT CAN BE MATCHED
November 27, 2018The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
November 26, 2018#ENDViolence in schools
November 23, 2018Statement by Minister MacLeod on National Child Day
November 22, 2018November 20th marks National Children’s Day across Canada
November 21, 2018National Child Day
November 20, 2018Facts & Figures
November 16, 2018The Push For Change®
November 15, 2018Winter Giving 101
November 14, 2018First came the stroke, then the inspiration…
November 13, 2018Canadian Youth Speakers Bureau: Scott Hammell
November 9, 2018John Connors’ brilliant IFTA Award speech
November 9, 2018Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone
November 8, 2018This teen pizzeria employee traveled 3 hours to deliver pizza to a man with terminal cancer
November 6, 2018Video captures joyful law student’s reaction to passing her bar exam
November 5, 2018MADD Canada launches annual red ribbon campaign in Halifax
November 2, 2018Nova Scotia’s Health Department says talks underway for province’s first overdose prevention site
October 31, 2018Crystal meth eclipsing opioids on the Prairies: ‘There’s no lack of meth on the street’
October 29, 2018Opioids Don’t Discriminate: An Interactive Experience.
October 26, 2018Guelph police warn drug users of spike in purple fentanyl
October 25, 2018What exactly are you inhaling when you vape?
October 23, 2018Study ADHD Medication Overdoses
June 14, 2018A Cry for Guidance
January 18, 2018Your Friend’s Substance Abuse
September 15, 2017Depression
September 15, 2017Methamphetamines
September 15, 2017Alcohol
September 15, 201725 Healthy Ways to Feel Better
September 15, 2017Mental health education recommended for RCMP members following inquest
November 30, 2018By HINA ALAM The Canadian Press
BURNABY, B.C.—A coroner’s inquest jury is recommending the RCMP make changes to mental health programs for its officers and their families after the death by suicide of a sergeant in 2013 who was involved in a high-profile case in British Columbia that resulted in criticism of the department.
The inquest heard three days of testimony before the recommendations were made Thursday, much of it focused on Pierre Lemaitre’s role as the RCMP’s media spokesman after the death of a man who was in a confrontation with police at Vancouver International Airport in 2007.
The inquest heard Lemaitre released inaccurate information about the case of Robert Dziekanski that his superiors wouldn’t let him correct.
Lemaitre’s former family doctor and psychologist testified he had post-traumatic stress disorder from dealing with victims of crime but the incident involving Dziekanski increased his depression and anxiety.
Atoya Montague, a former media strategist for the RCMP, said Lemaitre was used to tell a false story about the death of Dziekanski, a Polish man who couldn’t speak English and became agitated after wandering around the airport arrivals area for 10 hours.
After the incident, Lemaitre told reporters that officers approached a combative man and jolted him twice with a Taser, but two days later a video emerged that showed Dziekanski was relatively calm when the Mounties arrived and that they used the stun gun five times.
Sheila Lemaitre said her husband was transferred off the case after two days and eventually moved to the traffic division, which he compared to “being put out with the trash.” He felt belittled and disrespected by his colleagues, with one calling him “redundant,” she testified earlier this week.
The five-member jury made five recommendations that call on the commissioner of the RCMP to:
— Include mental health assessments in conjunction with the department’s three year mandatory physical assessment.
— Offer a “variety of learning methods” for mental health education for all RCMP members.
— Develop measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the RCMP’s mental health strategy.
— Make funding available to implement the jury’s recommendations.
— Provide classes to family members after an officer is hired to provide an overview of the potential mental health issues they could face.
The RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the jury’s recommendations.
The officer’s family doctor told the inquest Lemaitre was prescribed antidepressants and anxiety medication but he was not suicidal. Dr. Cameron Smith described Lemaitre as a stoic man whose mental health issues began improving, only to worsen after Dziekanski’s death.
RCMP Supt. Denis Boucher, who was Lemaitre’s supervisor when he was moved to the traffic division, broke down as he read the last few email exchanges between the two men. He described Lemaitre as an integral part of the team.
But John Ward, a retired staff sergeant who was Lemaitre’s supervisor in the media division, said the officer didn’t seem overly stressed about the inaccurate information he gave the media after Dziekanski’s death.
www.thestar.com