War on Drugs

Stories

Stories 61 - 80 of 108

<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

March 2008
- Thais Nab 'Merchant of Death'
  
  New York Times | Mar 6, 08 5:18 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Russian arms dealer branded "the merchant of death" was apprehended in Thailand today after US intelligence linked him to Colombia rebels, the New York Times reports. Victor Bout is on international most-wanted lists for allegedly using his private air fleet to supply al Qaeda and the Taliban—plus war-torn African countries—with weapons. The US plans to seek his extradition. More »
- Feds Map Drug and Mental Problems by State
  
  Reuters | Mar 6, 08 8:25 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Vermonters smoke the most pot and Utah has the lowest drinking and marijuana rates among young people in the nation—but the highest rates of adults reporting mental health problems. Those are some of the nuggets uncovered in a fascinating new report by government researchers who made a state-by-state examination of substance abuse and mental health problems, Reuters reports. More »
- First Inmates Freed in Crack Overhaul
  
  Washington Post | Mar 5, 08 3:19 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Federal prisons are beginning to release prisoners to comply with new crack-cocaine sentencing guidelines, the Washington Post reports. The US Sentencing Commission made more than 3,000 inmates eligible for release this year by voting in December to even out punishments for crack-cocaine offenses against those involving powdered cocaine; crack sentences had been 100 times harsher, though the drugs are nearly the same. More »
February 2008
- UK Beaches Awash in Cocaine
  
  Guardian (UK) | Feb 28, 08 11:28 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - When a British beachcomber brought police a wheelbarrow full of 50 lbs. of pure Colombian cocaine the other day, Cornwall police weren’t stunned. In the last 3 weeks, five other such packages have washed up on Cornwall’s beaches, with a total street value of $1.2 million. “Luckily I’m one of the good guys,” said the upright citizen, “but you wonder how many of these packages” haven’t been reported. More »
- Mortgage Crisis: Judges to the Rescue?
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 26, 08 1:00 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Over the loud objections of lenders, Senate Democrats are lining up behind a plan to give bankruptcy judges the power to alter mortgages, the LA Times reports. The proposals could go to the floor as early as today. “This bill will have more impact… than any other option currently on the table,” said Jack Kemp, housing secretary in the first Bush administration. More »
- Vaccines, Medicines to Treat Addiction on the Way
  
  Newsweek | Feb 25, 08 1:45 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - It's been decades since scientists recognized that addiction is a disease, not just a lack of willpower, but only now are potential treatments coming online that address what Newsweek calls "a chronic, relapsing brain disorder to be managed with all the tools at medicine's disposal." The magazine surveys recent breakthroughs, from pills that prevent intoxication to vaccines that turn antibodies against addictive agents. More »
- Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out
  
  New Yorker | Feb 19, 08 3:57 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The days when drug use could derail a Supreme Court nomination or make a hairsplitting presidential candidate look ridiculous are long gone, Hendrik Hertzberg writes in the New Yorker, and Barack Obama has broken yet another barrier: He is apparently "marginally less of a pothead than he has made himself out to be." More »
- Major US Doctors' Group Backs Medical Marijuana
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 15, 08 3:15 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The second-largest physicians' organization in the nation is taking a stand supporting medical marijuana, declaring that science has proven the drug has therapeutic value. The American College of Physicians is asking federal lawmakers to drop marijuana from a category of drugs considered to have no medicinal value, the Los Angeles Times reports. In a position paper, the association also calls for the protection of doctors and patients in states with laws supporting pot use for health reasons. More »
- US, UK Zero in on Illegal Prescription Drug Abuse
  
  Guardian (UK) | Feb 10, 08 1:09 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - American and British officials have launched campaigns to curb the illegal use of prescription drugs. The target of the British effort is doctors who "mis-prescribe" high doses of painkillers and sleeping pills that officials say are proving dangerously addictive, the Guardian reports. Across the Atlantic, Washington is spearheading an initiative to alert parents to the new drug threat facing teens. More »
- US Music Drunk on Booze and Drugs
  
  Reuters | Feb 7, 08 7:27 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Turns out 2005's A-one songs aren't so AA-friendly. A study of the top 279 tunes of that year in the US found 30% of the lyrics referenced illicit substances, mostly positively, reports Reuters. The average 16-year-old racks up 2.4 listening hours a day, which funnels 30,000 alcohol- and marijuana-laced messages into impressionable ears each year, the report says. More »
- Drug Cartels Aim to Master the Deep
  
  Washington Post | Feb 6, 08 7:41 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Colombian drug cartels are increasingly relying on homemade submersibles to transport cocaine, the Washington Post reports, with 13 such vessels seized last year—more than in the previous 14 combined. The vehicles skim just under the waves, nearly invisible to sonar and aircraft. And even enforcement officials have grudging respect for the ingenuity the traffickers show in constructing them. More »
- Super-Strong 'Skunk' Pot Linked to Psychosis
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Feb 6, 08 12:21 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Seizures of a super-strong strain of marijuana nicknamed "skunk" have risen sharply in the UK and experts say it could be causing an epidemic of cannabis-induced psychosis, the Daily Telegraph reports. Skunk is up to four times more potent than regular herbal cannabis, and now accounts for 80% of street seizures. British politicians are now debating reclassifying marijuana as a more dangerous drug. More »
- Chavez Linked to Columbian Drug Trade
  
  Guardian (UK) | Feb 3, 08 2:19 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Hugo Chavez recently grabbed headlines by brokering the release of two women held hostage by FARC, Colombia's guerrilla rebels. But Chavez was no neutral mediator: FARC operates openly in Venezuela, and even hand-in-hand with government agencies, both to wage war in Colombia and smuggle Colombian cocaine into Europe, the Guardian reports. More »
January 2008
- Overdose Deaths Up Sharply
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jan 26, 08 8:05 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The death of Heath Ledger from a suspected drug overdose has highlighted a huge spike in drug overdoses in the US, reports the Los Angeles Times . Accidental poisoning deaths, 95% of which are overdoses, rose sharply from 12,186 in 1999 to 20,950 in 2004. Doctors say prescription drugs, which are often casually prescribed and easy to get online, are behind the alarming rise. More »
- Mexico Spiraling Out of Control
  
  Reuters | Jan 16, 08 5:56 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The violent conflict between drug cartels and Mexico's government has the country perilously close to spinning out of control, writes Reuters' Bernd Debusmann. The battle for control of the drug trade that delivers the majority of the US’ cocaine and marijuana has produced a culture in which there is “widespread acceptance of insecurity as a way of life,” Debusmann says. More »
- Feds Target 'Extreme Ecstasy' Spread
  
  Detroit News | Jan 4, 08 6:11 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Federal drug-enforcement agents are setting their sights on a new form of ecstasy containing methamphetamines being smuggled across the border from Canada, the Detroit News reports. Known as "extreme Ecstasy," the combination of the two drugs could easily lead to overdoses and death recalling a recent wave of similar fatalities from heroin laced with fentanyl. More »
- Shots Could End Coke Addiction
  
  Houston Chronicle | Jan 2, 08 8:02 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Scientists have developed a potential vaccine against cocaine addiction and have asked the federal Food and Drug Administration to greenlight large-scale clinical trials. The injections of modified cocaine work by stimulating the immune system to attack cocaine when it's ingested, preventing the drug from producing a high, reports the Houston Chronicle . Current treatment for cocaine addiction is limited to counseling and 12-step programs. More »
- No Dice for Smoking Gamblers
  
  Chicago Tribune | Jan 1, 08 9:12 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The brand-new ban on indoor smoking in Illinois is expected to hit the state's nine casinos hard, the Chicago Tribune reports. Plenty of gamblers like a smoke, and along the Mississippi River, all they'll need to do is cross into Missouri or Iowa to enjoy one. "No smoking and I'm gone elsewhere," said one gambler. "Gambling and smoking—they just go together." More »
December 2007
- Italian Syndicate Quietly Rules Europe's Cocaine Trade
  
  Los Angeles Times | Dec 27, 07 4:44 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Europe is gaining a foothold in the world’s cocaine trade, elbowing out the US as the largest market thanks to the bravado of one Italian crime syndicate. The ‘Ndrangheta mafia, based in the hills of southern Italy, has won prominence by dealing directly with Colombian kingpins and shunning the spotlight, the LA Times reports. The syndicate of 155 families has assets totaling $50 billion. More »
- Slugger Hopes for Shortened Prison Term
  
  Washington Post | Dec 26, 07 4:30 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Now that the US Sentencing Commission has agreed to retroactively reduce prison terms for crack cocaine offenses, one of baseball's record-holders stands to benefit. Willie Mays Aikens, the only player to hit multiple homers in multiple games in the same World Series (playing for Kansas City in 1980), may have his 15-plus-year sentence commuted. More »