FRIDAY AUGUST 8 2014 VOL. 41, NO. 31
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Bruno comes to Bowen
Water taxi owner docks 50 passenger boat on Bowen for the first time
Adventures in the neighbourhood
Artist interview
Summer vacations in Howe Sound
Bowen artist Stuart Slind prepares for Vancouver exhibit
A meeting of minds to make prescription drugs safer Round-table at the Orchard Recovery Centre focuses on “Vanessa’s Law” MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
Cease and Desist, with Barney Bentall on the left, entertain the crowd at this year’s Dock Dance. Brian Biddlecomb, photo
Fire chief urges islanders to be “smart and safe”as fire ban continues MERIBETH DEEN EDITOR
The ban on outdoor fires is in full effect on Bowen Island and heading into its fourth week, is rated as “high” on the scale of risk. Bowen Island Fire Department Chief Ian Thompson says that there have been no fires to fight this summer. “No outdoor fires at all are permitted at this time,” says Thompson. “A few weeks back, there were a couple days of rain but that wasn’t enough to make it safe for fires and there were a number of people who thought that maybe it was.” Thompson says that the south side of the island, near the Cape Roger Curtis, is pushing “extreme” on
the risk scale. “This area is most susceptible to fires because it is the driest and experiences winds that could easily blow a spark that might catch on the dry grasses in the area and cause a wildfire.” Last year, the fire department had to put out a major wild fire at the Cape in April. “People really need to be smart and safe,” says Thompson. “Last week there was an incident out at Grafton Lake where someone fell off the rope swing. On the way to the site of the accident, there were cigarette butts everywhere.” Thompson adds that there is currently no end in sight to this fire ban, as it will take prolonged and heavy rains to bring the risk level down.
Pharmacists, doctors, recovery specialists and politicians met at the Orchard Recovery Centre on Bowen Island last week to discuss prescription drugs, and how to make them safer. The aim of the meeting was to raise awareness about the Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act, otherwise known as Vanessa’s Law, among local doctors and pharmacistss. The law received third reading in the House of Commons on June 16th and will be passed on to the Senate for review in the fall. Vanessa’s Law is named for Vanessa Young, the daughter of Terence Young, the Member of Parliament for Oakville, Ontario. Thirteen years ago, when she was 15 years old, Vanessa died of a heart attack after taking a prescription drug that was later deemed unsafe. The law, if passed, will make reporting of adverse drug reactions mandatory; increase penalties for unsafe products; compel drug companies to do more testing on products especially when they are being used by at-risk populations (children, for example); and make labeling on prescription drugs more clear, especially when it comes to health warnings. Lorinda Strang, the Executive
Director of The Orchard, says she is happy to see that Vanessa’s Law will likely be passed. “If people have more information, they can make better decisions for their health,” says Strang. “While this law may not appear to have a direct link to addiction, people need to understand that all drugs can be poison and they can also be abused.” Strang says that when she, and Dr. Maire Durnan (also from the Orchard) testified at House of Common’s Standing Committee on Health’s drugs caucus, they spoke about the lives shattered by the prescription drug Oxycontin. “I’ve spoken to many patients here at the Orchard who were prescribed this drug on legitimate grounds, and became addicted. The people who become addicted are not the ones you’d expect. I’ve met young people who had everything going for them, star athletes, not people who’ve had some trauma or horrible childhood that leads them to drug abuse,” says Strang. “I’ve heard some of these patients tell me that if only they’d known, they would have preferred the pain of their broken ankle, or whatever it was, than the pain of trying to get off of this drug.”
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