MADE FOR WALKING TAKING A STROLL MAY KEEP YOU AWAY FROM THE SNACKS {page 18}
SCI-FI FACT? IS MOVIE FICTION MOVING CLOSER TO REALITY? {page 16}
CALGARY
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 www.metronews.ca News worth sharing.
Ecstasy dealers could face harsher penalties: Police
Heat. Wave
Deaths linked to toxic compound rise to 7 2 cases still being investigated Police could seek charges against suppliers if caught As the body count linked to a toxic ecstasy compound making its way through Calgary’s illegal drug trade rose Monday, police indicated suppliers of the substance could face stiffer punishment. Testing has now revealed 23year-old SAIT student Cody Gorlick died as a result of PMMA, a cheaper and more deadly compound being used in place of the more common MDMA. That brings the total PMMArelated deaths in Calgary to seven dating back as far as last summer. Five deaths in Vancouver also occurred after the substance was ingested and two other southern Alberta drug overdoses continue to be investigated for possible links. Police staff Sgt. Mike Bossley qualified the rash of drug-related deaths recently as an “anomaly,” one that could lead investigators to pursue one-of-a-kind charges
Treating patients Alberta Health Services reports treating more than 100 patients in recent months for symptoms linked to PMMA. The compound is considered five times more toxic than common ecstasy compounds and even those who survive after taking it run the risk of permanent kidney and brain damage. Calgary defence lawyer Balfour Der said the longest sentence a drug-dealing client of his has received was seven years in jail, but he believes Crown prosecutors would seek a doubledigit term if they were able to gain a manslaughter or criminal negligence conviction.
against PMMA dealers if and when they are caught. “There are a number of things we could look at, including crim-
inal negligence causing death,” he said. “It would essentially mean longer jail time.” Calgary defence lawyer Balfour Der said it’s “theoretically possible” to lay stiffer charges against drug dealers, namely manslaughter, but establishing a link between a supplier’s stash and a specific user could prove difficult. “It has been done in similar circumstances where a parent has been charged after they allowed a child to be in a dangerous situation ... it would be similar to allowing a 12-year-old to have access to a loaded handgun,” he said. Bossley said in 22 years with the police force he is not aware of such charges being pursued against drug traffickers, however, he believes drastic times call for drastic measures. “We haven’t seen this kind of thing before,” he said.
UNITS FROM $330’S TO $500’S
LIVE YOUR
PICTURE
JEREMY NOLAIS
Jeremy Koehler and his dog George take in the warm weather yesterday at the Southland Dog Park. CANDICE WARD/FOR METRO
Expect balmy weather all week Temperatures reached 10 C yesterday and are expected to stay above freezing during the day all week in Calgary.
NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION pixelcondos.ca 1120 KENSINGTON ROAD 4 0 3 . 2 9 0 . 1 6 6 4
IN KENSINGTON
b at ti s te l la . ca