Beach Boy Brian Wilson tells The Observer that he regrets taking LSD - " it really fouled up my mind ".

January 10, 2008 Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew premiers, a reality television show featuring celebrities undergoing drug and alcohol addictions.

January 15, 2008 25-year-old actor Brad Renfro is found dead in his Los Angeles apartment from a heroin overdose.

January 16, 1980 Paul McCartney is arrested in Tokyo for possession of 7.7 ounces of marijuana in his luggage.

January 19, 2007 Former WWE star Bam Bam Bigelow dies from multiple drugs in his system, including cocaine. He joins a lengthy list of other prominent pro-wrestlers who have died in the past decade.

January 23, 2008 "Rehab" singer Amy Winehouse's record company, Island, announces it is ready to abandon its U.S campaign to promote her, following video footage depicting the singer smoking crack.

Actress Drew Barrymore releases her novel, Little Girl Lost - detailing her childhood battle and survival with drugs, from being a ten year old smoking marijuana to a twelve year old snorting cocaine.

February 2, 1979 The Sex Pistols' bass guitarist Sid Vicious dies from a heroin overdose ; an autopsy later finds his death was a result of excessive fluid in the lungs, a symptom that is characteristic of heroin abuse.

February 2, 2009 A leaked photograph of swimming star Michael Phelps inhaling from a bong leads to speculation that he will lose his multi-million dollar sponsorship deals with Kellogg Co., Visa and Speedo.

February 5, 2008 A 13-year-old girl from Rigaud, Quebec (west of Montreal) dies after taking ecstasy during a sleepover. It's unknown why only one of the girls became sick and died as both took equal amounts of the drug.

February 11, 1998 Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati is temporarily stripped of his gold Olympic medal after he tests positive for marijuana, until further investigation reveals that it was only due to second-hand exposure.

February 21, 2008 Aaron Carter is jailed for marijuana possession.

February 24, 2008 Singer Elton John tells CBS News that, "I'm 18 years clean and sober this year and I've never been happier ."

February 25, 2000 Montreal police arrest 15 students at Jeanne Mance High School for trafficking marijuana and LSD.

February 27, 2003 Socialite Nicole Richie is arrested for the possession of heroin.

February 27, 2005 The Canadian film "Ryan" wins the Oscar for best animated short. Ryan details the life of National Film Board animator Ryan Larkin and his struggles with drugs and alcohol.

February 27, 2006 Singer George Michael is arrested for drug possession in London, after being discovered slumped over the steering wheel of his car .

Saturday Night Live's John Belushi is found dead in his room, by an injection of speedball (combination of cocaine and heroin).

March 12, 1969 George Harrison and wife Pattie Boyd are arrested for marijuana possession, following a drug raid of their home by London police.

March 17, 2004 Superstar Whitney Houston enters rehab for the first time, following years of public speculation over her drug abuse.

March 23, 1992 Degrassi's Siluck Saysanasy hosts Drug Abuse one in a six-part series of the TV documentary Degrassi Talks.

March 26, 2009 A 16-year-old youth faces nine charges including two counts of criminal negligence causing death in the drug-related death of two teenage girls (a 14 year-old and a 15 year-old) from the Paul First Nation, west of Edmonton.

Canadian and U.S police smash a drug ring involving marijuana and ecstasy. 29 people are arrested in Ottawa, as well as two in Montreal and one in Toronto. They are among 170 charged in both countries.

April 5, 1994 Kurt Cobain, lead singer of rock grunge group Nirvana, is discovered in his home approximately three days after his suicide by heroin and traces of Valium.

April 23, 2003 17-year-old Jack Osbourne voluntarily checks himself into a rehab clinic in Pasadena; he later admits "...I voluntarily checked myself into a detox facility for my own health and well-being".

April 24, 2001 Actor Robert Downey Jr. is fired from Ally McBeal, hours after being arrested for another drug-related incident.

Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) is introduced, replacing the Narcotic Control Act and Parts III and IV of the Food and Drugs Act. The CDSA prohibits the importation, exportation, production, sale, provision and possession of a wide variety of drugs and substances.

May 19, 2006 In an interview with Macleans, Margaret Trudeau states, "I'll never be around anybody who abuses drugs ever again. If I go to a party and there's drug use, I'll leave."

May 25, 1987 Health Canada's "Really Me" anti-drug strategy campaign is launched.

Dee Dee Ramone, a founding member of punk group The Ramones, dies from an accidental heroin overdose.

June 20, 1986 Len Bias, considered by many experts to be one of the greatest college basketball players of the modern era, dies of heart failure due to cocaine intoxication two days after being drafted by the Boston Celtics.

June 26, 1987 The United Nations General Assembly decides to recognize this day as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, in order to strengthen action and cooperation towards ending drug abuse worldwide.

June 21, 2008 An 18-year-old male (name withheld) is arrested for marijuana possession for the purposes of trafficking in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.

June 29, 2006 Canadian and U.S police bust a cross-border drug smuggling ring working between B.C and Washington to transfer marijuana and cocaine. Six people are arrested in Canada under the guise of "Operation Frozen Timber".

The Doors' Jim Morrison dies of heart failure at the age of 27, due to a heroin overdose.

July 11, 2008 Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page is arrested for the possession of cocaine and marijuana in New York.

July 17, 1959 Jazz singer Billie Holiday dies; a long-time drug addict, she once said, "All dope can do is kill you - and kill you the long slow hard way."

July 24, 2007 Lindsay Lohan is arrested for DUI and the possession of cocaine. The Seattle Times reports that her "latest legal troubles may cost her movie roles".

July 24, 2008 Seven Mississauga residents, including a 17-year-old female, are among 20 people charged in connection to a drug production and trafficking network in the Greater Toronto Area.

Former National Hockey League player John Kordic dies on route to a hospital in Quebec; pathologist Dr. Georges Miller later testifies that the troubled athlete was killed by a cocaine overdose and that he had never seen so much cocaine in a person's blood in all his 20 years of practice.

August 19, 2009 Record-setting bust includes 160 pounds of dried opium poppy heads. It is the largest opium poppy seizure in Alberta's history.

August 21, 2008 Canadian equestrian Eric Lamaze, a former cocaine addict, wins the gold medal during the Beijing Olympics. Lamaze was barred from two previous Olympic games because he tested positive for cocaine.

August 28, 2009 Not an urban myth! "Grit weed" or marijuana that has been embedded with tiny bits of glass or silica to add weight is now showing up on the east coast of Canada.

U.S President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan address their country with a speech that first introduces the "Just Say No" (to drugs) campaign.

September 14, 2009 The Dutch government announces plans to limit drug tourism by reserving the sale of hashish and cannabis in coffee shops to local users only.

September 15, 2005 Supermodel Kate Moss is photographed with boyfriend Pete Doherty snorting a line of cocaine - leading to an eventual loss of a $7.2 million dollar modelling contract with H&M.

September 16, 2009 Provincial Mounties have seized over 15,000 pot plants in New Brunswick over a four-week period and the hunt for more plants continues. The province's Crime Stoppers hotline is leading to an increase in pot seizures.

September 19, 2008 British Columbia's National Democratic Party candidate Kirk Tousaw steps down after a video surfaces of him smoking marijuana.

September 21, 2004 Canadian hip-hop artist k-os releases his second album, Joyful Rebellion, which speaks out against the music industry for marketing drugs.

September 23, 2009 High school athletes in Juneau, Alaska will be tested for illegal drugs starting as early as November 2009 - in time for the winter sports season.

September 24, 2003 In an interview with Rolling Stone, Rufus Wainwright speaks about hitting rock bottom when he "took a lot of crystal meth, Special K and Ecstasy all at once? I went blind for an hour." He promptly sought help in October 2002, by checking into rehab.

September 24, 2007 Singer Britney Spears' bodyguard speaks out to the media of his boss' suspected overdose on cocaine, methamphetamines and crystal meth.

The Betty Ford Clinic opens its doors. Twenty years later, more than 56,000 patients have been admitted to the drug and alcohol addiction treatment centre, many of them famous celebrities.

October 4, 1970 Janis Joplin, famed rock roll/blues singer, dies in her Landmark Motor Hotel room of a heroin overdose, possibly combined with alcohol.

October 7, 2005 Pop star Boy George is arrested in New York for cocaine possession, after reporting a false burglary.

October 8, 2008 City police arrest a 16-year-old male for supplying ecstasy to two young girls in Estevan, Saskatchewan during the summer. One girl was hospitalized, while the other died from an overdose.

October 8, 2009 Russian teens will be tested for drugs at school and the results will be given to the their parents. The proposed mandatory drug screenings was announced by Russia's anti-narcotics agency.

October 18, 1968 John Lennon and Yoko Ono are arrested for marijuana possession in their London home. Lennon later pleads guilty at a trial, out of fear that Ono would be deported.

October 22, 2006 Former Senator Barack Obama admits to using marijuana as a teenager, before entering politics. He explains this experience "...was reflective of the struggles and confusion of a teenage boy".

October 28, 2009 Tennis professional Andre Agassi admits to using crystal meth in 1997 in his autobiography titled Open.

October 31, 1964 Jazz musician Ray Charles is busted in a Boston airport for carrying marijuana, heroin and a syringe in his overcoat; he later takes a year off touring to check into a sanatorium, to kick his drug habit.

October 31, 1993 Actor River Phoenix collapses and dies from an overdose of heroin and cocaine; he once remarked that "drugs aren't just done by bad guys or sleaze-bags; it's a universal disease".

The Canadian government introduces Bill C-17 to decriminalize marijuana; like its predecessors Bill C-10 and C-38, it does not pass.

November 9, 2008 Seventeen-year-old Daniel Asarfo-Adjei is shot and killed in Fort McMurray, Alberta; he is the latest victim in a series of drug-related killings.

November 15, 2000 Several hundred students rally in Swift Current, Saskatchewan in support of preventing drug and alcohol abuse.

November 17, 2008 15-year-old "Michelle" of Calgary describes how her escalating drug use led to family troubles, homelessness and prostitution.

November 20, 2007 The Canadian government introduces the penalty of imprisonment for illegal drug producers and traffickers.

November 28, 2007 Ontario drama students from Lambton Central Collegiate and Vocational Institute (LCCVI) Petrolia educate Grades 7 and 8 students on the risks and consequences of drug abuse through a stage performance.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports (CCES) joins UK Sport to launch an online Drug Information Database to provide athletes with easy access to information on which drugs and medications are banned in sports.

December 10, 2003 A five-month drug investigation, "Operation School Yard", leads to the arrests of 25 Montreal high school students and four adults. The students are charged with trafficking illegal drugs and indefinitely suspended from school.

December 11, 2006 Socialite Nicole Richie is arrested for driving on the wrong side of the highway, putting herself and others at risk; she confesses driving under the influence of marijuana and Vicodin.

December 15, 2004 Rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard (ODB), a founding member of the WuTang Clan, dies from an accidental overdose of cocaine and the painkiller Tramadol.

December 18, 1997 Saturday Day Night Live's Chris Farley is found dead in his room, by a combined overdose of cocaine and morphine, a fate eerily similar to his idol and predecessor, John Belushi.

December 27, 2007 Actress Mischa Barton is arrested for DUI, relating to alcohol and the possession of marijuana.