Drug Addiction Shoots Up in Mexico

Transferred cash, drugs across international borders

(NEWSER) - The New York Times last month revealed that undercover US agents have laundered and smuggled millions of dollars for Mexico's drug cartels—and today the paper shines a light on one such operation, in which federal agents helped one drug trafficker and his Colombian supplier move cash and cocaine across international borders. Over a period of months in 2007, US and Mexican agents worked with that supplier—Harold Mauricio Poveda-Ortega, aka "The Rabbit"—who fed cocaine to cartel leader Arturo Beltran Levya, the New York Times reports. More»

$2M used to ferry cocaine to Mexico, say officials

(NEWSER) - A submarine that aimed to ferry masses of cocaine to Mexico has been nabbed off the coast of Colombia. The 100-foot-long fiberglass vessel was found stashed in a jungle area in southwestern Colombia. The sub—big enough to carry four people and eight tons of cargo—was capable of traveling some 30 feet beneath the surface. It appeared to be ready to launch. Colombian Navy officials estimate the vessel cost close to $2 million, reports the BBC . (And it's not the first to be nabbed... ) More»

Border fence pot-flingers foiled

(NEWSER) - Mexican drug smugglers trying to get marijuana across the border have resorted to medieval methods. A pot-flinging catapult was seized after National Guardsmen in Arizona spotted it being used other side of the border and alerted Mexican authorities, AP reports. The smugglers got away but left behind their vehicle, 35 pounds of marijuana, and the device, which was capable of launching around 5 pounds of pot at a time. Click for more . More»

(AP) - Mexico has enacted a controversial law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging free government treatment for drug dependency. The law sets out maximum "personal use" amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities will no longer face criminal prosecution when the law goes into effect Friday. More»

Addicts need help, but casual users need jail: Monbiot

(NEWSER) - The head of the UN drug and crime office recommended last week that casual drug use be decriminalized and said users "need medical help, not criminal prosecution." We should certainly help addicts, but casual users of marijuana and cocaine belong in jail, George Monbiot of the Guardian writes. They abet a brutal regime of murder, slavery, and environmental devastation: "You'd cause less human suffering if you went into the street and mugged someone." More»