UPDATE

Thai protesters take to streets in new show of defiance

Pro-democracy protesters gathering at the Victory Monument in Bangkok on Oct 18, 2020.PHOTO: AFP

BANGKOK (REUTERS, AFP) – Thousands of Thai anti-government protesters took over key intersections in Bangkok on Sunday (Oct 18), defying a ban on protests for the fourth day with chants of "down with dictatorship" and "reform the monarchy."

Demonstrations have persisted despite the arrest of dozens of protesters and their leaders, the use of water cannon and shutdowns on much of Bangkok’s metro rail system in a bid to quell over three months of street action.

The youth-led movement has suffered several blows this week, with scores arrested after demonstrators surrounded a royal motorcade and flashed “democracy salutes” at Queen Suthida. 

The government reacted with emergency measures – including banning gatherings of more than four people in Bangkok – and the arrest of protest leaders who have called for the removal of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha, a former military chief brought to power in a 2014 coup. 

"Free our friends", the protesters called out as they stood in a rain, a mass of colourful ponchos and umbrellas. Some held up pictures of detained protest leaders.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said at least 80 protesters had been arrested since Oct 13 with 27 still being held. 


Police have given no full breakdown.

“I cannot let the students fight alone,” said 24-year-old Phat, a first-time rallygoer at Bangkok’s Victory Monument. 

National Police spokesman Yingyos Thepjumnong warned protesters earlier on Sunday that no rallies “causing unrest and disorder” would be allowed. 

“If they defy it, police will do whatever is necessary to enforce the law,” he said. 

Pro-democracy protesters carry sections to make a metal barrier through the crowd during an anti-government rally at Victory Monument in Bangkok, on Oct 18, 2020. PHOTO: AFP


But police kept a low-key presence on Sunday as local media said more than 20,000 people descended on the landmark from late afternoon shouting “Free our friends” while carrying posters of those arrested.

"We are committed to maintain peace and order. In order to do so we are bound by laws, international standards, human rights," police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen told a news conference.

Demonstrators nonetheless distributed helmets and goggles to protect them during any attempt to disperse them by force. 

Protesters say Prime Minister Prayut engineered last year’s election to keep power he seized in a 2014 coup – an accusation he denies. 

The demonstrations have also become more openly critical of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s monarchy, breaking a longstanding taboo, demanding curbs to its powers despite potential jail terms of up 15 years for anyone insulting the king. 

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Thai PM calls for tougher crackdown on protests after clashes

During demonstrations by tens of thousands of people at multiple points across Bangkok on Saturday, protesters painted a flag on the road with "Republic of Thailand" written across it.  The writing was painted out overnight. 

The Royal Palace has made no comment on the protests but the King has said Thailand needed people who love the country and the monarchy.

Once-taboo in Thailand, the demands for royal reform is one of the biggest challenges facing the kingdom’s conservative military-aligned government. 

“There are groups of people claiming the monarchy for their own benefit and to get rid of their political opponents,” said a 24-year-old graduate who asked not to be identified. 

“We will not get true democracy if there’s no monarchy reform,” he told AFP.

Across Thailand, demonstrations were being organised in at least 19 other provinces in solidarity on Sunday. 

Pro-democracy protesters showing the three-finger salute as a police vehicle drives by, during a rally in Bangkok on Oct 18, 2020. PHOTO: REUTERS


Solidarity protests were also being held or planned in Taiwan, Denmark, Sweden, France, the United States and Canada.

Victory Monument, one of Bangkok’s busiest thoroughfares, was blocked off by protesters, but they made way for emergency vehicles and sent supplies down human chains formed along streets leading to the roundabout. 

Since the movement started in July, the social media-savvy protesters have harnessed unorthodox ways of spreading their messages, sending alerts through newly formed groups on Telegram – a secure messaging app – and borrowing tips from Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. 

Another protest site in Asok, a popular shopping and restaurant district, drew a smaller group of protesters. 

Gatherings were planned across the country – from Phuket in the south to Khon Khaen in the north-east, where students held up a portrait of Mr Prayut with the words “Get out” scrawled on it.

Links have grown between protesters in Thailand and Hong Kong in a so-called Milk Tea Alliance referring to drinks popular in both places.

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong tweeted in support of Thai protesters. 

"Their determination for #Thailanddemocracy cannot be deterred," he said.

Thai protesters take over key Bangkok intersections
Demonstrations in solidarity held across the country in at least 19 other provinces

A Buddhist monk and other protesters giving the three-finger salute - a symbol of the pro-democracy movement - during a rally in Bangkok yesterday as they defied a ban on protests for the fourth day. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE


BANGKOK • Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took over key intersections in Bangkok yesterday, defying a ban on protests for the fourth day with chants of "down with dictatorship" and "reform the monarchy".

Demonstrations have persisted despite the arrest of dozens of protesters and their leaders, the use of water cannon and the shutdown of much of Bangkok's metro rail system, in an effort to quell over three months of street action.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said at least 80 protesters have been arrested since last Tuesday, with 27 still being held.

"Free our friends!" the protesters called out as they stood in the rain in a mass of colourful ponchos and umbrellas.

Some held up pictures of detained protest leaders.

"I cannot let the students fight alone," said 24-year-old Phat, a first-time rallygoer at Bangkok's Victory Monument.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is concerned about the spreading protests and the government wants to talk, his spokesman said.

Across Thailand yesterday, demonstrations were held in solidarity in at least 19 other provinces, including Nonthaburi, Chonburi and Khon Kaen.

National Police spokesman Yingyos Thepjumnong warned protesters earlier yesterday that no rallies "causing unrest and disorder" would be allowed.

But police kept a low-key presence yesterday as more than 20,000 people, according to local media, descended on the Victory Monument.

"We are committed to maintaining peace and order. In order to do so, we are bound by laws, international standards, human rights," police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen told a news conference.

Protesters say Mr Prayut engineered last year's election to keep the power he seized in a 2014 coup - an accusation he denies.

The demonstrations have also become more openly critical of the monarchy, with protesters demanding curbs to its powers despite potential jail terms of up to 15 years for anyone insulting the King.

During demonstrations by tens of thousands of people at multiple points across Bangkok on Saturday, protesters painted a flag on the road with "Republic of Thailand" written across it. Overnight, the writing was painted over.

The Royal Palace has made no comment, but King Maha Vajiralongkorn has said Thailand needs people who love the country and the monarchy.

Solidarity protests were also being held or planned in Taiwan, Denmark, Sweden, France, the United States and Canada.

The Thai protesters, who have adopted the fast-moving tactics of Hong Kong activists, kept the police guessing about where demonstrations would be held with a slew of social media posts.

Links have grown between protesters in Thailand and Hong Kong with a so-called Milk Tea Alliance, referring to drinks popular in both places.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG

12-year-old boy makes 'significant' dinosaur discovery
Discovery was made at Horseshoe Canyon in the Alberta Prairies

By James Rogers | Fox News

A 12-year-old boy in Canada has found fossils that paleontologists have hailed as a “significant” dinosaur discovery.

The discovery was made at Horseshoe Canyon in the Alberta Prairies, according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

“In July, 12-year-old aspiring paleontologist Nathan Hrushkin and his father, Dion, discovered the partially exposed bones while hiking on the conservation site,” said the Nature Conservancy, in a statement last week. “They sent photos of their find to the Royal Tyrrell Museum, who identified that the bones belonged to a young hadrosaur, commonly known as a duck-billed dinosaur.”

The Royal Tyrrell Museum sent a team of experts to the conservation site, who uncovered between 30 and 50 bones from the canyon’s wall.

“All of the bones collected belong to a single specimen, a juvenile hadrosaur approximately three or four years old,” the Nature Conservancy said, in the statement. “While hadrosaurs are the most common fossils found in Alberta’s Badlands, this particular specimen is noteworthy because few juvenile skeletons have been recovered and also because of its location in the strata, or the rock formation.”

INCREDIBLE DINOSAUR DISCOVERY: HERD OF OPAL-ENCRUSTED DINOS UNCOVERED

The fossils are believed to be 69 million years old.



12-year-old Nathan Hrushkin discovered the fossils. (Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and NatureConservancy.ca)

“My dad and I have been visiting this property for a couple of years, hoping to find a dinosaur fossil, and we’ve seen lots of little bone fragments,” said aspiring paleontologist Nathan Hrushkin, in the statement. “This year I was exploring higher up the canyon and found about four bones. We sent pictures and to the Royal Tyrrell Museum and François, the paleontologist who replied, was able to identify one of the bones as a humerus from the photos so we knew we’d found something this time.”

Last year, paleontologists in Canada touted the discovery of the world’s largest Tyrannosaurus rex.

Fox News’ Christopher Carbone contributed

NCC_CNC Media

@NCC_CNCMedia

NEWS: @NCC_CNC is announcing major discovery of dinosaur bones on its Nodwell property at Horseshoe Canyon, AB. We are grateful to 12-year-old Nathan Hrushkin, his father, Dion & the staff @RoyalTyrrell! More: http://natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/alberta/news/twelve-year-old-boy-finds.html… #dinosaurs #Alberta #fossils #history #abpoli

10:06 AM · Oct 15, 2020

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Tens of thousands rally to demand Pakistan PM Khan resign

By Syed Raza Hassan  

© Reuters/AKHTAR SOOMRO Anti-government protest rally in Karachi

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied on Sunday in the city of Karachi as part of a campaign to oust Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, who they accuse of being installed by the military in a rigged 2018 election.

© Reuters/AKHTAR SOOMRO Anti-government protest rally in Karachi

Nine major opposition parties formed a joint platform called the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) last month to begin a nationwide agitation against the government.

© Reuters/AKHTAR SOOMRO Anti-government protest rally in Karachi

"You've snatched jobs from people. You have snatched two-time a day food from the people," said opposition leader Maryam Nawaz about Khan while addressing the rally, which drew growing crowds in the second such gathering in three days.

She is the daughter and political heir of the former three-time premier Nawaz Sharif.

"Our farmers have hunger in their homes... our youth is disappointed," said another opposition leader, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

The protests come as the country's economy - which had already tanked before the global pandemic - struggles with double digit inflation and negative growth, which Khan’s opponents blame on his government. 

© Reuters/AKHTAR SOOMRO Anti-government protest rally in Karachi

Khan's two-year tenure has also seen mounting censorship and a crackdown on dissent, critics and opposition leaders.

"Inflation has broken the back of poor citizens forcing many to beg to feed their children," said Faqeer Baloch, 63, at the Karachi rally.

"It is high time that this government should go now," he said as the crowd chanted, "Go Imran go!"

The next general election is scheduled for 2023.

The rally in Karachi followed a protest by the alliance in eastern Gujranwala city on Friday, which was the biggest demonstration against Khan since he took office.

Speaking via video link from London to the Gujranwala gathering, Sharif accused army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa of rigging the 2018 elections and orchestrating his ouster in 2017 in what he said were trumped up charges aided by judiciary.

Maryam said her party was not anti-military, but, "If you say that we will respect those who would crush the ballots under their boots, that's not going to happen."

The military, which denies meddling in politics or electoral wrongdoing, has yet to respond specifically to Sharif's accusations.

Khan, who came to power on an anti-graft platform and denies the army helped him win, has defended the military.

(Writing and additional reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Editing by Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis)

UNCLE JOE

Column: The Corrido of 'Amigo' Biden: How the presidential candidate finally got his Mexican ballad

For over 200 years, the Mexican corrido has told stories of derring-do about heroes and villains and hero-villains galore.

© (David Diaz) Frame grab from the video, "New Northern Wave — The Signal Is Joe and Kamala." (David Diaz)

The ballad form naturally carried over to the United States, and eventually caught on to American politics, where heroes and villains (and hero-villains) rule. JFK got dozens to mark his assassination; one hailed Jimmy Carter as the "peanut king."

La Hillary earned some too, including “El Corrido de Hillary Clinton,” a lazy effort released in 2016 by ranchera icon Vicente Fernandez that repurposed an old hit of his to tell fans to vote for Clinton.

And we all know how that turned out. Oh, she got the popular vote. But apparently Chente never heard of el electoral college.

President Trump has appeared in a few, inevitably cast as a bad hombre — and not in a cool way. Tio Bernie? A jammin' one called “El Quemazón” (“The Bern”).

But Uncle Joe Biden? He just doesn't inspire the same feelings among Latinos — whether hatred or love — as Trump or Sanders.

© (John Locher / Associated Press) A mariachi band waits to perform before a January campaign event for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in Las Vegas. (John Locher / Associated Press)

So he was left largely corrido-less until the Diaz brothers decided to do something about it.

And the way they put together “La Señal es Joe y Kamala” ("The Signal Is Joe and Kamala") was so Los Angeles circa 2020:

Take two natives of Watts — David's a music producer, Elvis is a political science undergrad at Columbia University.

Throw in a songwriter based in Chiapas, the southernmost state in Mexico.

Find a norteño band in Las Vegas to record the track.

Have them debut it at a nightclub in small-town Georgia.

Release it on YouTube.

"La Señal" by La Nueva Onda Norteña starts with a flourish of notes plucked off a bajo sexto (12-string guitar) by singer Selwyn Gonzalez. As images drawn from Biden’s career flash on a screen behind the band, Gonzalez croons out what a vote for the Democratic presidential candidate would bring to Latinos: Respect. Hope. Walls that tumble down.

"The signal/I see the signal," the song's chorus proclaims. "Of a new era/Of a change for real."

Strangely, the easy villain for such a tale is nowhere to be found. Trump is not even mentioned.

Instead, La Nueva Onda Norteña’s swaying song offers something absent in electoral politics these days: optimism.

The expectations for “La Señal” are modest for David, who spent about $1,500 of his own money to produce it.

“If we change the mind of one person, I’ll be happy,” said the 28-year-old via phone from Mexico. “But hopefully, it changes millions.”

At fewer than 4,000 YouTube hits, it probably won’t. Elvis sent the song to Biden's team, which hasn't responded; instead, they used songs by Vicente Fernandez's son, Alejandro, and reggaetón superstar Bad Bunny to score campaign commercials.

But the corrido does show how this election has inspired Mexican American men who previously didn’t care for American politics to jump into the fray.

Those who have gravitated toward Trump because of a sense that he’s a macho’s macho are getting mucho media attention. But the Diaz brothers and La Nueva Onda Norteña represent the silent majority of these señores: men who care for their family and community and long saw their ceaseless work, not elections, as the way forward for Latinos.

Until now.

It's also an inadvertent call-out to the modern-day Mexican regional music industry in the United States, which has a surprisingly long history with American presidential campaigns beyond merely chronicling them. Mariachis serenaded JFK the night before his death, and Richard Nixon at his 1973 inauguration gala. Ranchera legend Antonio Aguilar was a friend of Ronald Reagan. Vicente Fernandez even performed at the 2000 Republican National Convention.

Today? The industry finds it easier to praise avarice and any number of narco lords than American democracy. Or democracy, period.

“We Mexicans all have a friend who was born here but doesn’t want to vote,” Gonzalez said. “That it doesn’t matter. But we need them to get conscious.”

“Before this, my interest in politics was zero,” admitted David. “But we need a change. Something different from what Trump is doing. And I needed to do something.”

**

© (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press) Joe Biden walks on a picket line with members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 outside the Palms Casino in Las Vegas in February. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)

David takes pains to differentiate himself from Elvis — the brother, not the King. “He’s more on the side of smartness," he said. "He goes to Columbia. Me, I’m more the streets. I know Mexican music.”

Elvis, a 30-year-old who has worked for the Thai and Peruvian consulates in the United States and as a speechwriter for Mozambique’s ambassador to the United Nations, never bothered talking politics with his younger brother.

“He’s a businessman, and doesn’t want to lose any potential income,” Elvis said. “But we all need to participate this year.”

Knowing the social buzz that the Bernie Sanders corrido earned during the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries, Elvis pitched his idea to his brother. After a couple of deep talks, David agreed.

“People don’t understand the power of a vote until it affects them,” he said. “And this election definitely will.”

David reached out to a previous collaborator, Hunab Mandujano. Even though he’s based in Chiapas, the 28-year-old was “happy and excited” to write something about Biden.

“We [in Mexico] know about what’s going on up there, and the racist language Trump uses, and not just about Mexicans,” Mandujano said. The Diaz brothers offered only one suggestion: Don't focus on Trump, because that corrido market was already full of songs that ranted the president is "crazier than a goat" . Or a "pinche payaso" in another. And those are the insults we can print.

“Look, I’m into marketing,” David said. “All that [trash]-talking on Trump helps him."

He's right. Because if you've heard one anti-45 corrido or Facebook screed, for that matter, you've heard them all. Obsessive hate offers no way forward other than to hate some more.

Instead, David said he "wanted us to show positivity.”

So Mandujano read articles about Biden and heard his speeches, and delivered something within a week.

His ultimate inspiration?

“Joe’s smile,” Mandujano said. “He’s also a more analytical person and firmer [than Trump]. And he can do a lot of good for the American project.”

The Diaz brothers then sent "La Señal" to Gonzalez, who admitted it was initially “a bit of a challenge” to figure his way musically around the subject. His group is more used to singing love songs.

“Politics is a subject that can bring you a lot of repercussions, good or bad,” Gonzalez said.

But the American-born 30-year-old reflected on his parents, former undocumented immigrants. He thought of Nevada, a formerly deep-red state where Latinos are now a swing vote. And so he sang “La Señal” with “those feelings” in mind. The singer got so into it, that he ad-libbed in Spanish “Now, let’s go out to vote for the amigo Biden — hell ya!” halfway through the tune.

“It has a lot of the qualities of what makes a good campaign song,” said Dana Gorzelany-Mostak, music professor at Georgia College. She studies the use of songs in presidential campaigns. “You have to have the marriage of inspirational lyrics, good music, and great hooks. It has an exuberance to it. Even if you don’t know the language, you get the emotions.”

The plan was to debut “La Señal” in time for Gonzalez and his bandmates to play a live concert while Biden visited Nevada earlier this month. But “the timing just didn’t work out,” and a tour for La Nueva Onda Norteña across the South was forthcoming.

So the song debuted in a club in Moultree, Ga., a city of about 14,000 in southern Georgia near a major chicken-processing plant. Gonzalez said the audience was mostly Salvadorans and Guatemalans, but “they liked it.”

The club promoter, on the other hand …

“He was at first like, ‘What was up with that corrido?’” he said. “He was nervous about being seen as political. But there’s always a first time for something."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

‘It’s changed so much’: Alberta cannabis retailers, growers reflect on success as legal industry turns 2

Canada became the second country to legalize the sale and consumption of marijuana on October 17th, 2018 -- meaning Saturday marked the two-year anniversary of the industry

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© Eloise Therien / Global News The Bud Supply Group has locations in Lethbridge, Taber, Fort Macleod, Claresholm, Vulcan, and Pincher Creek.

In Lethbridge, the first licensed cannabis retailer to open its doors was a New Leaf Cannabis's location in early November. Now, dozens of stores can be found around the city.

Chase Bennett, chief executive officer for the Bud Supply Group, says starting up their business was a gamble, not knowing what the new industry would bring, but hoping it would be a positive change.

"We didn't like our jobs, we didn't like our current life situation," he explained.

Now, they have six locations across southern Alberta, with Bridge Bud Supply in Lethbridge being their most popular.

Read more: Calgary-based cannabis company has plans for 180,000 sq.-ft. greenhouse in Lethbridge

Bennett says sales continue to climb the longer they're in business, and COVID-19 saw a spike in customers.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadians spent close to $650 million on non-medical, licensed cannabis in the second quarter of 2020. That's up from $372 million one year prior.

"Each month is generally our best sales month, so we couldn't be in a better scenario right now, and we're very grateful for all of our customer support," Bennett said.

"This is a great industry to work in, I find it's such low stress day-to-day," added chief commercial officer Blaine Emelson. "Our customers are great. We're part of the community, we're part of their daily routine, and dealing with these people on a daily basis, it really makes our life easy."

Read more: Winnipeg cannabis worker reflects on two years of legal pot

Riley Kascak with Twenty Four Karat Cannabis says although the industry is still relatively young, it's already different than it was two years ago.

"It's changed so much," he said. "Every month there's always something kind of new with either the products, or just who's kind of getting a little bit more interested. This past year with edibles, and topicals, and extracts being legalized, we've had a lot broader of selections."

Kascak adds he's seen the perception of recreational cannabis use shift as well, with new customers coming in on a regular basis.

"There's always going to be a stigma on cannabis, but you know, there's been such big improvements now that people are [getting] a lot more educated on the overall effects of cannabis," Kascak said. "People are kind of willing to give it much more of a try."

In terms of cost, Emelson says illegal cannabis was cheaper for some time, but those prices are changing as well.

"We're seeing more and more people coming from the black market to the white market every single day, and as the industry gets more competitive, more producers come into the market, then prices are coming down," Emelson explained. "So now we're right on par with black market prices."

Read more: COVID-19 pandemic a ‘boon’ for legal cannabis in Canada as marijuana industry turns two

Rebecca Tomson, co-president of cannabis cultivation and processing facility Prairie Grass Inc. in Grassy Lake, Alta., says the legalization of marijuana has allowed their fourth-generation farm to diversify.

"Legalization just brought a really fantastic opportunity for us to be able to move into the recreational side of things and really just bring cannabis wellness to what we're doing," she said. "We're very excited to diversity the farm, and be able to bring a wellness-focused product to southern Alberta."

For longtime medical cannabis user Frank Straka, the ability to grow plants at home through the Cannabis Act has saved him a lot of money, and he has peace of mind knowing exactly where the product is coming from.

"We've always been organic in our foods, and I don't see why I would not be organic with my medicine if I can possibly help it," he said.

"It's going to catch on more and more."

Federal health minister appeals to Alberta to reconsider closing opioid treatment program

Terry Reith CBC

© Shutterstock Injectable opioid agonist therapy has been shown effective for people with severe opioid addiction.

Canada's health minister is calling on the Alberta government to reconsider the closure of its injectable opioid agonist treatment program, which Premier Jason Kenney says will end in the spring when the province stops funding it.

The service provides patients with severe opioid use disorder, a recognized condition, with injections of pharmaceutical-grade heroin, known as diacetylmorphine, or hydromorphone.

"We are disappointed by this decision from the Alberta government, and we urge them to reconsider," a spokesperson for Patty Hajdu said.

The health minister's call comes one week after a group of patients benefiting from Alberta's injectable opioid agonist treatment (iOAT) pilot program filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to stop Alberta's provincial government from ending it.

If the three Alberta clinics that offer the treatment close, few people east of British Columbia would have access to the program, which is a cornerstone of the federal government's latest strategy to combat the opioid crisis.

"Many people are struggling with substance use, and in too many communities, the COVID-19 pandemic is compounding this ongoing public health crisis," the minister's statement said.

From January 2016 to March of this year 16,364 Canadians died from opioid overdoses according to figures from the federal government. The numbers have shown an increasing trajectory, with 3,799 deaths last year, and over 1,000 in the first three months of 2020.

The federal government began opening the door to community-based iOAT treatments in 2018 and has provided funding for pilot projects.

The move followed decades of research — first in Europe, then in British Columbia. Multiple studies suggested that providing daily access to pharmaceutical grade injectable opioids allowed long-term chronic users to stabilize their lives, find homes and stop engaging in criminal activity many relied on to support their addictions. Most stuck with the program long term, and some were able to stop using injection drugs altogether.

Alberta's previous NDP government launched the pilot program in late 2017. Kenney is giving the 60 patients currently enrolled one year to transition to other programs that do not involve injecting opioids. He has called the federal government's approach "facilitating addiction."

"Handing out free narcotics to addicts is not compassion," the premier said in response to questions from CBC News in September.

Patients file lawsuit to keep Alberta program operating

Patients enrolled in the program have have filed 11 affidavits in a lawsuit that is attempting to put a human face on the treatment. People who had focused their entire lives on the pursuit of drugs described awakening to a new world free of the stress and danger on the streets.

Among them a once nationally ranked swimmer. Taylor Maxey began taking opioids following an injury in his late teens. He was soon homeless, panhandling on the streets and committing petty crimes.

Maxey's drug habit was costing $900 a day. He watched friends die around him. He attempted suicide. He tried and failed multiple treatment programs.

Today, at the age of 32, he says in an affidavit that he has stable housing, a new network of supportive friends, and hopes of becoming an outreach worker. Instead of hustling for street drugs, he is injected with opioids at the Calgary clinic slated to close in the spring.

Maxey is terrified of what will happen.

"My life would be shorter and much harsher if I returned to the streets and were denied access to iOAT," he says in an affidavit. "I would be subject to the violence of the streets and the unsafe and precarious world of opioid use. I would be exposed to unsafe supplies of opioids."

© Sam Martin CBC News Patients of Edmonton's injectable opioid agonist treatment program meet outside the office of lawyer Avnish Nanda on October 8, as they announce legal action to block the program's closure.

The Alberta government has not filed a statement of defence in the case. The injunction application will be heard in November.

What the research shows

Beyond personal testimonials, iOAT is supported by a range of clinical research that began in Switzerland in the 1990s. on what was then known as heroin assisted treatment, or HAT. A two-year study of 1,000 people across several centres in Switzerland found "substantial improvements for illicit heroin use, health status and crime among HAT patients," according to a published review of the evidence. It also found a positive cost-benefit ratio because those provided with drugs had fewer medical issues and committed less crime.

A groundbreaking study published in 2009 in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded heroin-assisted treatment was safe and effective. Researchers followed 251 people in Vancouver and Montreal over 12 to 15 months. They found 88 per cent of patients receiving heroin stayed with the program, and among them, there was a 67 per cent decrease in criminal behaviour.

Overdoses and seizures were the most common adverse events recorded, though the study noted that since the patients were under close medical supervision, the overdoses were treated and the patients recovered.

As fentanyl and carfentanil have increasingly tainted the illicit drug supply, creating an overdose crisis, the provision of pharmaceutical heroin has increasingly been seen as a potential solution.

In 2019, the federal government formalized regulations, and the Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Misuse added clinical practice guidelines. At the time, Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, said expanding the availability of pharmaceutical-grade heroin "will save lives."

Availability limited as overdose deaths increase

But in spite of expectations the therapy would expand across Canada, it remains limited to a handful of sites in B.C., mostly in Vancouver. If the Alberta program shuts down, the only other places in Canada offering it will be Ottawa's Managed Opioid Program, which treats a maximum of 25 people in a residential setting, and a newly opened program in Fredericton, which currently serves seven patients.

Rob Boyd, the program director of another Ottawa treatment centre, would like to offer iOAT but says he can't, because the drugs are not adequately covered by Ontario's health plan.

"Lots of places want to do it," he said. "We would fill up right away."

As overdose deaths increase — there have been more than 1,000 in British Columbia alone this year — Canada's health minister is urging provinces and regulatory bodies to adopt the treatment.

"Do all you can to help provide people who use drugs a full spectrum of options for accessing medication," she wrote in a letter to her provincial counterparts and regulatory bodies on Aug. 24.

"We need immediate action from all levels of government and health care practitioners to prevent further deaths from the contaminated illegal drug supply and COVID-19."

Video: Alberta critical care doctor stresses importance of vaccines as COVID-19 long-term impacts begin to emerge (Global News)

https://tinyurl.com/y5z8fvxr
WATCH | Unauthorized safe injection site set up in Lethbridge:

The cannabis industry could be a big winner on Election Day

Many states have adult-use legalization initiatives on their November ballots.

 Vice President Joe Biden and running mate Senator Kamala Harris support adult-use marijuana decriminalization, moderate rescheduling, federal medicinal legalization, allowing states to set their own laws and expunging prior cannabis convictions — though not federal legalization.

 Alongside tax revenue and job creation, social justice reform is the strongest argument for legalization, on both the federal and state levels

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© Provided by CNBC A customer lights a joint at Lowell Farms, America's first official Cannabis Cafe offering farm-to-table dining and smoking of cannabis in West Hollywood, California, October 1, 2019.

New Jersey is expected to approve a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use (aka recreational) marijuana on Election Day next month. Aside from stoking up the 61% of likely Garden State voters in favor of the measure, its passage is projected to generate up to $400 million in adult-use sales in its first year and $950 million by 2024, translating then to nearly $63 million in annual state tax revenue and an additional $19 million in local taxes, as estimated by Marijuana Business Daily. In an economy shattered by the coronavirus pandemic, legal weed looks like a great idea.


That may not be the only good news for legalization proponents after Nov. 3. They're hoping New Jersey's pro-pot vote will trigger a domino effect in neighboring states considering similar efforts. "Once New Jersey goes, it's going to set off an arms race along the East Coast, putting New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania on the clock," said DeVaughn Ward, senior legislative counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project, a cannabis advocacy group in Hartford.

Those three states already permit medicinal marijuana sales and have been moving toward legalizing adult-use for several years, considering tax revenue, job creation and the will of the majority of residents in favor of full legalization. The legislative stars appeared aligned following the 2018 midterm elections' blue wave, yet ultimately there weren't enough yea votes in the respective state houses last year. Then the pandemic hit in March, keeping legalization bills in lockdown until next year.

Three additional states — Arizona, South Dakota and Montana — have adult-use legalization initiatives on their November ballots, and Mississippians will vote on a bill allowing medicinal sales. If all five measures pass, medicinal marijuana will be legal in 38 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and adult-use in 14 of those, plus D.C.

Legalization is another leg on the long, strange trip the U.S. cannabis industry is experiencing in the Year of Covid. Marijuana sales have gone up during the pandemic, thanks to stay-at-home orders and federal stimulus money. And the prospects for continued growth are high.

Total cannabis sales in the U.S. this year are projected to reach $15.8 billion, according to Arcview Market Research/BDSA, up from $12.1 billion in 2019. In adult-use states, the numbers are eye-popping. Illinois, for instance, recently reported its fifth straight month of record-breaking marijuana sales, which hit $67 million in September. Oregon has seen adult-use sales rise 30% above forecast since the pandemic began, averaging $100 million a month over the summer.

"As a whole, the industry is doing fairly well," said Chris Walsh, CEO of Marijuana Business Daily. "Some companies have struggled, but in general we haven't seen an overwhelming number of layoffs or companies going out of business." A big boost, he added, was that most states deemed cannabis businesses as essential during the pandemic. "They were able to stay open while the economy virtually came to a grinding halt," Walsh said.

© Provided by CNBC A customer holding a cannabis product gestures while leaving the Natural Vibe store after legal recreational marijuana went on sale in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada October 17, 2018.

Even so, because marijuana remains illegal on the federal level, the industry was ineligible for funds distributed through the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program. "It's just another irony on top of irony about how the country handles cannabis in general," Walsh said. House Democrats have included the industry in previous and proposed Covid stimulus packages, but to no avail.
Federal stance on pot legalization

Depending on the outcome of next month's presidential and Congressional elections, the likelihood of full federal legalization — which means removing it from its highly restrictive Schedule I drug classification under the Controlled Substances Act — could be greater than ever. What's more, there's a good chance that the rampant injustices inflicted during the nation's nearly century-old cannabis prohibition, disproportionately upon people of color, may be overcome.

The Trump administration has had an enigmatic relationship with cannabis. It rescinded an Obama-era policy that prevented federal prosecutions for marijuana offenses and made immigrants ineligible for citizenship if they consume marijuana or work in the cannabis industry. Yet Trump has previously favored states' rights to legalize pot and signed the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp, its non-intoxicating variety. He's running for reelection on a law-and-order platform and has never promoted federal legalization, so even if Congress turns solid blue, it's hard to predict where he might come down on the issue.

Trump's Democratic opponent, Vice President Joe Biden, has a complicated history with cannabis, too. As a senator, he championed the 1994 crime bill that sent tens of thousands of minor drug offenders to prison. Yet while serving as Obama's vice president, the administration issued the Cole memo, which cleared the way for state-legal marijuana businesses to operate largely without federal interference. Biden and running mate Senator Kamala Harris support adult-use marijuana decriminalization, moderate rescheduling, federal medicinal legalization, allowing states to set their own laws and expunging prior cannabis convictions — though not federal legalization.

Harris and Rep. Jerry Nadler were co-sponsors last year of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and eliminate criminal penalties under federal law. The MORE Act also would expedite expungements, impose a 5% tax on cannabis products to fund criminal and social reforms and prohibit the denial of any federal public benefits based on marijuana use. Congress was scheduled to vote on the bill in September, but it was delayed, probably until next year.

Alongside tax revenue and job creation, social justice reform is the strongest argument for legalization, on both the federal and state levels. Dating back to the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, criminalization and incarceration, especially of minorities, have been foundational to drug laws. "The war on drugs has historically and continues to disproportionately target communities of color," said David Abernathy, vice president of research and consulting for Arcview Group, an Oakland-based firm that matches cannabis businesses and investors, who also is on the board of the Minority Cannabis Business Association.

Business opportunities in the cannabis market

While decriminalization and expungement are paramount to legalization, providing business opportunities for minorities in legal cannabis is equally vital, Abernathy said. "It's harder for communities of color to participate in the industry as it gets better capitalized and folks from other industries move into it with their connections," he said. That's why there's been pushback in some state initiatives that disqualify individuals with drug convictions from working with cannabis.

On the investment side of the equation, Abernathy noted that even before Covid, there was a significantly slower capital market than in recent years. But with the industry's uptick during the pandemic, for some investors it's been "a good place to put money in this volatile time," he said. Next year, especially if legalization initiatives pass, "we expect this growth trend to continue."

Another positive trend is the increasing sophistication of cannabis businesses, with publicly-traded companies such as Tilray, Cronos Group, Aurora Cannabis, GW Pharmaceuticals and Canopy Growth as prime examples. They are among start-ups involved in medicinals, CBDs, edibles, vaping and smokable products, as well as cannabis cultivation and distribution, where allowed in the U.S. and other countries. If and when marijuana becomes federally legal in the U.S., those endemic players are likely to be joined by conventional food, beverage, tobacco and other consumer product companies that for years have been anticipating a multi-billion-dollar global cannabis market.

Additionally, the industry has the potential for significant job growth, said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association in Washington. There are already 250,000 people working in legal cannabis, according to a report by Leafly last year, "but with new states coming on board and [possible] federal legalization, that could turn into tens of millions of jobs," Smith said. "Given the state of the economy, policy makers and voters ought to look to this industry for its economic potential."

UNQUALIFIED QUACK

Twitter removes post from Trump coronavirus advisor Scott Atlas claiming masks don’t work

Dr. Scott Atlas, member of the White House Coronavirus Taskforce, walks at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 12, 2020. 

(Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP) 

Twitter has removed a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump's novel coronavirus advisor, Scott Atlas, suggesting wearing masks does not help stem the spread of the virus.

In a tweet Saturday morning, Atlas shared an article suggesting face coverings do not help limit the spread of COVID-19.

"Masks Work? NO," he wrote.

One physician, Dr. Michael Mina, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was among those who called on the social media platform to remove the post.

"This is dangerous misinformation from a primary advisor to the president on the COVID response. This needs to be taken down immediately," he wrote, "It is simply false."

In an email to Global News, a spokesperson for Twitter said the tweet was taken down for "violating our Covid Misinformation Policy."

It was removed Sunday morning, the platform confirmed.

Atlas, a neuroradiologist with no background in infectious diseases, has faced scrutiny for downplaying the importance of face masks and his reported views on "herd immunity," an approach that holds that once enough individuals have been infected and become immune, others are less likely to be infected.

Atlas was a late addition to the White House's coronavirus task force, joining the team in August.

In a subsequent tweet later Saturday morning, Atlas said "the right policy is @realDonaldTrump's guideline: use masks for their intended purpose -- when close to others, especially hi risk," he wrote. "Otherwise social distance. No widespread mandates. #CommonSense."

However, in June, the World Health Organization recommended everyone wear a fabric or non-medical mask in public areas where there is a risk of transmission.

"Masks are a key measure to suppress transmission and save lives. Masks reduce potential exposure risk from an infected person whether they have symptoms or not," the organization's website reads.

"People wearing masks are protected from getting infected. Masks also prevent onward transmission when worn by a person who is infected."

Read more: Trump campaign rolls out vote-by-mail ads after months of raising fraud concerns

While Trump has said wearing a mask is appropriate in some settings, he has not issued a countrywide mask mandate.

What's more, the Republican president has also repeatedly mocked his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, for wearing masks in public.

“I don’t wear a mask like him, every time you see him he’s got a mask on. He could be 200 feet away, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen,” Trump said during the first presidential debate earlier this month.

Trump himself contracted COVID-19 earlier this month, and spent three days seeking treatment for the respiratory illness at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland.

However, with less than three weeks until the election, the president has sought to downplay the threat of the virus.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is near. We are rounding the turn,” Trump told supporters Friday at an event in Fort Myers, Florida. “Don’t listen to the cynics and angry partisans and pessimists.”

Meanwhile, the United States remained the epicentre of the virus on Sunday, with more than 8.1 million confirmed cases.

The virus has also claimed 219,311 lives in the U.S., according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

Since it was first detected in Wuhan, China late last year, it has killed 1,110,955 around the world.

--With a file from Reuters and the Associated Press