Marijuana-induced psychosis behind Toronto lawyer’s bat attack, judge rules

SEAN FINE JUSTICE WRITER ST. THOMAS, ONT. APRIL 10, 2018

Mark Phillips arrives at court in St. Thomas, Ont., on April 10, 2018.

As the federal government prepares to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, an Ontario judge has ruled that cannabis-induced psychosis led a man to a seemingly hate-filled attack on a family, in what appears to be the first case of its kind in Canadian criminal courts.

The man who committed the attack, Mark Phillips, is a Toronto lawyer with an otherwise clean record, and the great-grandson of Nathan Phillips, a former mayor after whom the civic square in front of Toronto City Hall is named. The 37-year-old pleaded guilty Tuesday to assault causing harm in the Dec. 7 incident in St. Thomas, in southwestern Ontario, in which he cracked a man’s rib with a baseball bat.

Sergio Estepa was with his wife, Mari, teenage son and a family friend, speaking Spanish in the parking lot of a St. Thomas mall when a stranger, Mr. Phillips, approached and told them to stop speaking French, according to evidence in court.

He then came at them with a baseball bat, repeatedly screaming “ISIS,” saying he was arresting the family, and calling for help. The family also called for help.

Ontario Court Justice John Skowronski said that, in ordinary circumstances, such an attack would call for a penitentiary sentence ­— that is, at least two years in federal prison. But he accepted the recommendation of defence lawyer Steven Skurka that Mr. Phillips be given a conditional discharge, on the condition that he complete three years of probation. A conditional discharge means that, once his probation is successfully finished, Mr. Phillips will not have a criminal record.

Addressing the family, whose members had told the court in emotional victim-impact statements about the nightmares and anxiety they had experienced, Justice Skowronski said he wanted them to know that what happened to them was an aberration for the country. “Canada is a country of immigrants, different nations, skin colours, accents, names,” he said, adding that his name had not come from this country.

“This is something that took place because of a mental illness.”

Although Crown prosecutor Lisa Defoe had urged a suspended sentence and probation, which would have left Mr. Phillips with a criminal record, she, too, had accepted the defence argument that the attack was caused by cannabis-induced psychosis.

“At first blush this may appear to be a hate crime,” she told Justice Skowronski, “but it’s important for the Crown not to react emotionally.”

Mr. Skurka had told the court that Peter Collins, a forensic psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, had uncovered after several sessions with Mr. Phillips that he had been smoking marijuana heavily, including three or four joints earlier on the day of the attack.

With marijuana legalization on the horizon, the case raises questions about mental-health risks and new challenges for the legal system. According to Mr. Skurka, Dr. Collins warned that higher levels than in the past of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, is creating a higher incidence of drug-induced psychosis.

For complete story https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-lawyer-mark-phillips-pleads-guilty-in-st-thomas-ont-baseball-bat/

Facebook shuts down drug hashtags on Instagram

Apr 8, 2018

Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, has cracked down on hashtags with drug names such as #fentanyl, #oxycontin, #opioids and more. A search on Saturday for #oxycontin came up with no results, while a search for #fentanyl or #xanax left a posts but also had the message that recent posts \”are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram\’s community guidelines.\”

An Instagram spokesperson told CBS News their \”community guidelines make it clear that buying or selling prescription drugs isn\’t allowed on Instagramand we have zero tolerance when it comes to content that puts the safety of our community at risk.\”

Instagram constantly monitors hashtag behavior.

The move comes just days after Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb criticized social media companies for not doing enough to prevent their sites from being used to sell opioids.

Gottlieb said Wednesday the agency would be inviting the CEOs of major internet companies to a summit to discuss the tech industry\’s role in the opioid crisis. Gottlieb said the agency found offers to purchase opioids on a number of social media sites, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit, according to Engadget.

\”I know that internet firms are reluctant to cross a threshold, where they could find themselves taking on a broader policing role,\” he said. \”But these are insidious threats being propagated on these web platforms.\”

Glassbreaks CEO Eileen Carey told Wired that she had confronted two executives from Facebook about the hashtags. On March 30, she tweeted at Rob Leathern, Facebook\’s director of product management, about the issue. Leathern responded the next day saying the posts had been removed.

For complete story https://www.cbsnews.com/news/facebook-shuts-down-drug-hashtags-instagram-2018-04-07/

Mom\’s Marijuana Winds Up in Breast Milk

By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, April 9, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Breast-feeding has known benefits for both baby and mom, but if a new mom also smokes marijuana, does the drug turn up in her breast milk?

Yes, says new research. But the exact consequences of the small amount of marijuana that makes it to a baby aren\’t yet clear.

\”This study is just a start to see if marijuana transferred into breast milk. Levels in milk were quite low,\” said senior study author Thomas Hale, director of the Infant Risk Center at Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Amarillo.

The researchers also don\’t know if the levels of pot in breast milk would rise if a woman smokes more.

Still, study co-author Dr. Teresa Baker, co-director of the Infant Risk Center at Texas Tech, said, \”We do not recommend the use of marijuana. There\’s concern for the developing brain exposed to THC [the active component in marijuana].\”

Both Hale and Baker said that women should abstain from smoking marijuana while breast-feeding because there\’s simply no known safe amount.

For complete story https://consumer.healthday.com/women-s-health-information-34/breast-feeding-news-82/mom-s-marijuana-winds-up-in-breast-milk-732774.html

For information contact: John Pastuovic  312-925-9092  [email protected]

Calvina Fay Announces her retirement from Drug Free America Foundation

For Immediate Release

St. Petersburg, FL — Thursday, April 26, 2018- Calvina Fay, Executive Director of Drug Free America Foundation announced at Wednesday night’s Annual Lifetime Achievement Awards Gala that she will be retiring at the end of the month. Fay has been executive director of the organization for twenty years and a drug prevention advocate for over thirty-five years.

As Calvina Fay steps down as executive director, she does so after a distinguished career in drug prevention that few can match. “Under Calvina Fay’s leadership, Drug Free America has had a profound impact in Florida, in the United States and throughout the world,” according to Betty Sembler, founder of Drug Free America Foundation.

In her remarks, Fay thanked everyone for their support throughout the years and encouraged them to continue the fight. “Drug Free America Foundation has left an enormous footprint on the effort to combat substance abuse, and I know through our shared commitment this organization will continue to lead the way,” Fay said. “Without the efforts of this organization, I am convinced that schedule one drugs like heroin, LSD, PCP and marijuana would be legal, and the number of young people using these illicit drugs would be far greater,” she added.

In addition to her work with Drug Free America Foundation, Fay was a founding board member of Save Our Society from Drugs (S.O.S.) and was president of Drug Watch International, a network engaged in combating the drug legalization movement globally. She has served as an advisor to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as well as several political leaders, including President George W. Bush, on drug policy issues.

Fay is considered a pioneering expert on workplace drug abuse prevention programs. She has authored several books, including The Supervisor\’s Handbook for Preventing Drug Abuse in the Workplace and Starting a Drug Free Business Initiative, as well as numerous newsletters and publications in the field on regional and national levels. She was the managing editor and co-author of A Report on Employer Attitudes and the Impact of Drug Control Strategies on Workplace Productivity. She also served as the managing editor of a monograph titled Drug Abuse in the Decade of the Brain.

Fay also holds a master’s degree in business administration and has built and sold two successful businesses. She has taught at a number of universities including Argentina’s Universidad del Salvador, where she was named an honorary professor.

Fay expressed her optimism that the momentum will continue and increase under new leadership. “Amy Ronshausen, the incoming executive director, shares my passion for this mission. I have been privileged to have her by my side for the past 10 years, and this organization is fortunate to have her as its next leader,” Fay concluded.

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\”We here at \’DONT LEGALIZE DRUGS\’ are very sorry to see a wonderful champion for best practice drug policy advocacy, step back.

Calvina\’s commitment and contribution to the health and well-being of our society has been stellar and rarely equaled. We want to thank her and her family for their superlative dedication and remarkable impact and legacy!

She will be missed – But not forgotten!\”

US seizes pot-growing houses tied to China-based criminals

• By DON THOMPSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Apr 2018

McGregor Scott, the U.S. Attorney For the Eastern District of California, discusses the months-long investigation that led to the law enforcement raids on illegal pot grows in roughly 100 Northern California homes, during an interview the Associated Press, April 4, 2018, in Sacramento,

Hundreds of federal and local law enforcement agents have seized roughly 100 Northern California houses purchased with money wired to the United States by a Chinese-based crime organization and used to grow massive amounts of marijuanaillegally, authorities said Wednesday.

The raids culminated a monthslong investigation focusing on dozens of Chinese nationals who bought homes in seven counties. Most of the buyers were in the country legally and were not arrested as authorities investigate if they were indebted to the gang and forced into the work, U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said.

Much of the pot was shipped to Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania through Atlanta, Chicago and New York City, he said. The drug is legal in California but requires permits to grow and can\’t be sent across state lines. It is still banned by the U.S. government.

Black-market pot-growing houses have proliferated in the inland California region where authorities carried out the raids, and many of them were traced to Chinese criminal organizations from the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-2000s, Scott said. The high number of grow houses in the area may be because of low property prices compared with the Bay Area and the state\’s large Chinese population, the prosecutor said.

Scott called the recent crackdown \”a game-changer\” that may have cost the criminal organization \”hundreds of millions of dollars\” in lost drug profits and the money it spent on the homes.

\”It hits the criminals right where it counts – in the pocketbook,\” he said.

Authorities tracked at least 125 wire transfers totaling $6.3 million from Fujian Province in China, all just below the $50,000 limit imposed by the Chinese government.

For complete story http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-seizes-pot-growing-houses-tied-china-based-54237083

NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR MURPHY FIGHTS FOR MARIJUANA INDUSTRY

March 2018

Yesterday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy vowed to fight for the legalization of marijuana, despite opposition in his own party, the Democratic Party of New Jersey.  New Jersey’s Black Caucus and many Democratic representative support decriminalization as a better alternative. Governor Murphy seems to be acting recklessly.

New Jersey’s new governor should know that Colorado has a $500 -700 million budget deficit this year, and that Colorado Governor Hickenlooper advised other governors not to legalize.   All drugs become more available via legalization of marijuana.

Ties to Cannabis Industry and Lobby

However, the governor’s chief of staff, Peter Cammarano, founded the New Jersey Cannabis Industry Association.   Cammarano did not disclose who is on the trade group’s board, but one wonders how much its members donated to Murphy’s gubernatorial campaign.

If the industry donated to Murphy’s campaign, one can consider this money “blood money.”   Legalization usually leads to more people using all drugs, and more DUI driving deaths.  In the midst of an opioid crisis, this policy normalizes pot use rather than offering people an alternative of recovery, hope, and success.

SAM and RAMP oppose Legalization

Do you want a New Jersey with more or fewer people using drugs? Do you want a state with more impaired drivers on the road or fewer of them? In the midst of an opioid crisis, do you want to further drug normalization?

We all know who will pay for this policy — vulnerable communities (where do YOU think pot shops will end up?), our youth (what parent can honestly say that using pot is GOOD for their kids?), and Garden State taxpayers (today’s highly potent THC is linked to a host of problems, including mental illness). And we know drug dealers will thrive under legalization by evading taxes, undercutting the legal price, and selling to kids. If we have an age limit as the Governor proposes, who do we think will keep selling pot to a 12-year-old? Just ask Colorado, where a major newspaper just labeled the state “marijuana’s black market hub.”

For complete story http://www.poppot.org/2018/03/14/new-jersey-governor-murphy-fights-marijuana-industry/