All stories about "Drugs"

Not only is the euro putting the US dollar to shame, now Europeans are getting America's drugs too. "The United States believes that South American cocaine traffickers are diverting shipments away from the United States to Europe." These larger amounts of blow are being routed to Europe by way of Venezuela and West Africa. [AP]

The Dutch government is looking to ban "magic mushrooms," the hallucinogenic that is sold in "Smart Shops." The health ministry warned that hallucinogens can produce "life-threatening behavior." [via]

A team of scientists is trying to figure out what drugs Oregon residents are on by looking at what's going into their toilet. Using the relatively new method of "sewage epidemiology," a mere teaspoon of sewage can tell scientists the drug usage for an entire city. [NPR]

A crowd of around 10,000 gathered at Colorado University to celebrate 4/20 with some marijuana: they "climbed trees, played the bongos, snapped pictures and had miniature picnics." For the first time, CU's police didn't attempt to arrest anyone participating. [via]

Columbian drug lord Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia's underwear was the quickest item to sell at yesterday's auction of his belongings. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that the drug baron was arrested last year in São Paulo while he was half naked. Of the 3,000 items for sale, 80% sold in 3 hours. The auction, which welcomed 5,000 attendees, was held one week after Abadia was given a 30-year jail sentence. [BBC]

Weed is the greatest drug ever. It's all natural, it won't make you strung out, you can't OD on it, and it allows you to enjoy the happy feeling of dying brain cells. Best of all, smoking pot makes eating food awesome. Snacking while high is one of the greatest pleasures this world has to offer. It's hard out there for New York stoners. This city doesn't have medical marijuana clubs, and the NYPD actively pursues drug dealers and folks who smoke herb outdoors. But what New York does have are some damn fine munchie foods. Since outing purveyors of fine plant online is not cool at all, you're on your own when it comes to finding stuff to smoke, but once you do, this map will tell you everything else you need to know about getting high and pigging out in the Big Apple. [Photo]

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to crack down on pot smoking, but his government isn't cooperating. Tony Blair, the previous Prime Minister, had downgraded marijuana to a Class C drug. Blair's move led to police having a more laid back attitude towards stoners, and some critics claim it also caused more young people to smoke weed. Brown wants cannabis to be reclassified as a Class B substance once again, but the Government's drug advisory body has come out against the idea. [Telegraph]

Along with travelers heading to Colombia to take in all the traditional tourist attractions, many are coming solely to score some of the country's most infamous export: cocaine. "It seems the drug is becoming a tourist attraction in itself. Just as you try steak in Argentina and caipirinhas in Brazil; in Colombia, you sample the coke." Much talked-about trips, like that to Ciudad Perdida, are said to even include stops at a "cocaine factory." The drug-fueled image is one the Colombian government is working hard to contradict; but the going's tough. "The type of traveler coming to Colombia is changing," a local hostel owner told the Guardian. "Now, a lot more people are just here to party. [The Guardian]

British writer Sebastian Horsley, who the always reliable Wikipedia describes as "best known for wearing a stovepipe hat" (he's also notable for getting himself temporarily crucified in the Phillipines in 2000), was denied entrance into the United States on Tuesday when he landed in Newark. He was coming over for the book party and launch of his autobiography Dandy in the Underworld, which devotes many pages to his drug abuse, wild spending on prostitutes (£100,000, he claims), and a stint as a prostitute himself. It was evidently all that memoiring that got him into trouble.

A 22 year-old drug mule was caught on a Miami-bound flight after swallowing "dozens" of cocaine-filled capsules. The man began vomiting and convulsing just as the plane was about to depart from San Jose, Costa Rica. The wannabe drug smuggler, identified only by his last name: "Keller," was sent to a nearby hospital where doctors surgically removed almost a half pound of coke from his stomach. [Reuters]

Authorities at Heathrow Airport intercepted a large potential drug haul last night. Two Mexican children, who appeared to be traveling with their mother, are alleged to have been carrying 15 kilograms in cocaine (675,000 euros worth),strapped to their legs. The woman in question was arrested after the three arrived on a flight from Mexico City, while the two kids, an 11-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, were taken into the care of social services. [The Times]

Life must be pretty sweet for cokeheads in California. Today, the DEA announced the arrests of three men in Modesto, who were found with a drug stash worth over a quarter million dollars. It included 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) of cocaine in "flavors such as strawberry, lemon, coconut and cinnamon." The feds say that the busted dealers were "attempting to lure new, younger customers to a dangerous drug by adding candy 'flavors.'" The coke was brightly colored and spiked with candy powder. Users of flavored cocaine can reportedly taste and smell the difference. The cops say the fruity stuff sold for $1,100--1,400 an ounce ($38--$49 a gram)-- about twice as much as the "wholesale" price of ordinary coke. Candy-flavored cocaine has been making headlines in California for the past few years, and it seems like strawberry blow may be the next big thing.

Hermagoras "Fatty" Gonzalez, believed to be a leading drug lord and arms smuggler, was arrested Sunday by Venezuelan authorities. Gonzalez has been accused "of sending large quantities of cocaine into America, including 9 tons in just one year." The move is especially noteworthy considering the U.S. government's condemnation of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez's supposed lack of cooperation with U.S. anti-drug officials and failure to do "enough to stop Columbian cartels moving cocaine through Venezuelan territory." [Reuters]

The AP reports that traces of pharmaceutical drugs -- including antibiotics, anticonvulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones--"have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans." And, "in the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas, from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, KY." It seems the proliferation of prescriptive drugs is in part due to wastewater having being cleaned, but not enough so that all drug residue is removed. While the long-term effects of such exposure have not yet been determined, worries among scientists are "heightening." [via]

Chicago lawmakers are proposing a ban on miniature ziplock baggies, because pretty much nobody uses them for anything other than storing crack, cocaine, and weed. The law would prevent "self-sealing plastic bags under two inches in either height or width," from being sold in the city. The ban probably won't have too much of an impact, though, since drug dealers can just purchase their baggies on the internet. For example on one site that I found by googling "dime bag," mini ziplocks are available in several designs, including a version festooned with marijuana leaves. The site notes that their products are "great for storing rare coins, jewelry, and stamps!" I'm sure that, in addition to drug dealers, jewelers, coin collectors, and philatelists are all devastated by the proposed baggie ban in Chicago. [Chicago Sun-Times]

The UN's International Narcotics Control Board has released their annual report on the state of the global drug scene, and it looks like we're in the midst of a worldwide coke binge. The report describes an increase in organized crime activity in the US and Canada, massive drug distribution networks in the Caribbean and West Africa, and a growing cocaine problem in Europe. Recent news items suggest that the UN's fears of a surge in sales of Bolivian Marching Powder are valid. After the jump, more evidence of the spreading nose candy epidemic, including record cocaine seizures in Africa, plummeting coke prices in Europe, and flashy South American drug cartels.

The US State Department has released a report that says opium production in Afghanistan is at "historic highs." That's probably not the only thing that's hitting "historic highs" with so much sweet dope coming out of Afghanistan. The State Department says that 93 percent of the world's raw opium came from Afghan poppies last year. They also say that 14 percent of the country's population is involved in opium production. When asked for comment the junkie who uses the pay phone up the block from my house said only "ooooohhhhhhhh." [Al Jazeera]

"She had a burrito on the table ... it grew legs and teeth and started to attack her," said a San Bernardino county sheriff, describing a young lady's experience with the natural high from (ab)using recreational Salvia divinorum. A California State Bill that was introduced last year in hopes of halting the uncontrolled sale of salvia was denied; thus sales of the "magic mint" or "Sally D" continue at outposts like Mike's Smoke Shop in Hollywood. [via]

Looking to make some extra cash, or just fuel your coke habit? Head to Nicaragua. The New Zealand Herald reported this weekend that, specifically in the town of Bluefields, people don't have to work thanks to the fact that every week, up to 35 kilograms of cocaine drifts in from the sea. "Nicaraguan waters are near Columbian territorial limits, making the area extremely popular with cocaine smugglers using very small, very fast fishing boats." Smugglers often have to dump their narcotics when authorities get too close, much to the locals' delight. Thus, the hunt for "the white lobster" is on. [NZH]

This is the photo that ran with a Reuters story last week about Amsterdam police being forbidden to smoke weed even in their off hours. Nice one, anonymous wire service photo editor! Subtle too. [Reuters]

My grandma buys hemp from Canada. No, she doesn't smoke it. She uses it for cooking -- because hemp oil is good for Grandma's arthritis. Unfortunately for her aching joints, the cultivation of hemp for research and commercial purposes in the US is "heavily regulated." But given its environmental benefits, its use as an ecological alternative to other crops, and the breadth of its applications (ranging from cosmetics to fuel), it's legal in Germany to grow the low THC-content plants.