War on Drugs

The Royal Navy warship Prince William is serving on busted a speedboat carrying $80 million worth of cocaine northeast of Barbados, the Sun reports. The Ministry of Defense said today that Wills was “part of the ship’s company” but would not specify his exact role when they intercepted the 50-foot boat, supposedly en route to Europe or West Africa. More »

Mexicans increasingly accuse state troops of beating and murdering innocents on their mission to curb violent drug cartels, Time reports. Since the state assigned 25,000 soldiers to fight drug-runners 2 years ago, troops have killed at least 13 unarmed people—while traffickers have added 1,800 more to the tally. "These soldiers are idiots," a witness to a shooting said. "What protection do they give us?" More »

Twenty-two years ago, Celtics legend Larry Bird called the sudden death of new Boston draftee Len Bias "one of the the cruelest things I've ever heard." The legacy of the Maryland basketball great, whose NBA career ended with cocaine use just two days after it began, retains its nuance and potency even now, writes Michael Weinreb for ESPN. More »

Some drugs have such serious drawbacks that even doctors won’t take them, Men’s Health reports. The big eight: Advair: Can actually increase the severity of asthma attacks Avandia: Diabetes drug carries risk of heart attack More »

Across the world, raw sewage is being analyzed for clues to illegal drug use. Environmental scientists are testing waste from US and European cities to gather data, which reveals everything from what's popular to which days see the greatest use of which substances. "Every sample has one illicit drug or another, regardless of location," a chemist tells the LA Times. More »

When Mexican authorities seize a cache of weapons from a drug-cartel hitman, their first call is long distance: to the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Because, Portfolio reports, chances are any gun used in Mexico’s noxious drug war—which has left close to 10,000 dead since 2001—was made in the US and smuggled through the leaky border. More »

Mexico City's least-known museum may be one of its most interesting, Newsweek reports. The city's Narcotics Museum chronicles drug use in Mexico from the days of the Aztecs to the ruthless heroin-smuggling narcotraficantes of today. Exhibits include bling and heavy weaponry confiscated from drug lords. A visit is essential training for cadets in Mexico's counternarcotics force. More »

Afghanistan police have made what is believed to be the biggest narcotics bust in history, the Guardian reports. Some 260 tons of hashish—worth $400 million—was found buried in trenches near the Pakistan border. The narcotics haul, which would have made as much as $14 million in profits for the Taliban, was so massive that an airstrike had to be called in to destroy the drugs. More »

Today's marijuana is the strongest crop since the heyday of Cheech and Chong, a new study finds. University researchers who analyzed seized samples dating back to the '70s found the level of active ingredient THC hit an average of 9.6% last year, up almost 1% from the year before and more than double the 4% recorded for 1983, the AP reports. More »

As drug-fueled violence skyrockets in Tijuana, the upper-class is fleeing the city, with more than 1,000 wealthy families migrating to the US, reports the LA Times . The Mexican city is now second to Baghdad in kidnappings and many American real estate agents describe clients who arrive missing fingers or with fresh wounds. A government crackdown on drug cartels may have forced organized crime groups to seek out other means of income. More »

New England Patriots offensive tackle Nicholas Kaczur wore a wire to help authorities nail a drug dealer after he was arrested in April for possession of prescription painkillers, the Boston Globe reported yesterday. The 28-year-old starter secretly recorded three $3,900 OxyContin transactions with Daniel Ekasala, sources say. But Kaczur denies helping out, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about, bro." More »

Voters in a northern California county have backed a measure tightening one of America's loosest pot laws, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. State law allows Californians to grow six marijuana plants each for medicinal use, but Mendocino County allowed its residents 25 plants each for any use. The county's residents will now have to make do with the standard six. More »

Tatum O’Neal is thanking the police who busted her for buying drugs Sunday. "Just when I was about to change that and wreck my life, the cops came and saved me!" the actress tells New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser. She says the death of her Scottish terrier “seemed to set me off.” More »

A majority of Mexicans say violent drug gangs are thrashing President Felipe Calderon's government after nearly 500 people were slain in May—the highest number of killings since Calderon took office in December 2006, reports Reuters. Some 53% of Mexicans believe the gangs are beating the federal forces, while only 24% say the government is winning. More »

Troubled actress Tatum O'Neal, who wrote a book on her addiction to drugs and alcohol, was arrested last night for buying crack cocaine down the block from her Manhattan luxury condo, the New York Post reports. O'Neal, who at 10 was the youngest person to win an Oscar, for Paper Moon , was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. More »

Indoor pot farms are sprouting up around California and causing some bad vibes in the Golden State, the Los Angeles Times reports. In one northwest community, authorities estimate that 1,000 of 7,500 homes are devoted to cultivating marijuana, cutting into the housing supply and raising safety concerns. Many residents complain that out-of-staters are flooding in to take advantage of liberal laws about medical marijuana. More »

CSI co-star Gary Dourdan sidestepped 3-4 years in jail yesterday by copping a plea in a case involving cocaine and ecstasy, the AP reports. Dourdan, whose character was killed off in the season finale, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony drug possession after an arrest last month near Palm Springs, Calif.; a heroin charge was dropped after he agreed to a 30-hour diversion program. More »

The feds are cracking down on a small brewer in Weed, Calif., because they're very much unamused by the slogan on his bottle caps: "Try Legal Weed." A bureau of the Treasury Department says the phrase not only alludes to marijuana but misleads consumers about the ingredients of Weed Ales, reports the Los Angeles Times . The 61-year old brewer faces big fines and sanctions but isn't budging. More »

A gun battle in Mexico's drug capital of Culiacan ended with seven federal police officers and a civilian lying dead, and four officers wounded. Drug dealers opened fire and hurled a grenade as police raided a drug house in the city, where 1,000 people have died in drug-related violence since the beginning of the year, reports CNN. More »

Production of cannabis-centric films is hitting a high, reports the Christian Science Monitor . Once pigeonholed with Cheech and Chong and low-budget cult films such as The Big Lebowski , movies that feature pot-smoking characters now tend toward mainstream frat-house humor. This summer alone will see four marijuana-tinged releases, including the Judd Apatow-produced Pineapple Express . More »