Drug ring left tell-tale evidence in computer

Drug ring left tell-tale evidence in computer: "It was a drug trafficking ring that kept detailed accounting records, and the police were grateful for that.
At least four people who were part of a large-scale crack cocaine trafficking ring – which operated in downtown Montreal and was tied to the Hells Angels – pleaded guilty at the Montreal courthouse Thursday.
The people were arrested in 2009’s Project Machine, a Montreal police investigation that targeted the activities of Daniel Leclerc, a member of the Hells Angels Nomad chapter in Ontario.
More than 40 people were arrested in June 2009, and 27 of those were charged in an indictment along with Leclerc."

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CBC News - Health - Larger cigarette warnings coming in U.S.

CBC News - Health - Larger cigarette warnings coming in U.S.: "U.S. government is unveiling a new plan to snuff out tobacco use, including larger warning labels for cigarettes that include images of corpses, cancer patients and diseased lungs and teeth.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the new efforts on Wednesday, aiming to curb an addiction responsible for about 443,000 deaths per year.
The plan is part of a law passed in June 2009 giving the FDA authority to regulate tobacco.
The new labels will be set by June and cigarette makers will have 15 months to comply."

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European Commission calls for rapid action to tackle new drugs, “legal highs” and trafficking routes

European Commission calls for rapid action to tackle new drugs, “legal highs” and trafficking routes: "Every year, 6,500 to 7,000 people die in the EU from a drug overdose. Between 25 and 30 million Europeans are estimated to have taken some type of illicit drug in the last year, including 4 million who took cocaine. There were 1,000 cocaine-related deaths.
“Drug abuse and related crimes affect the lives of millions of Europeans. Despite some encouraging progress, we need to do more to reduce the harm caused by drugs and react quickly to new substances entering the market,” said Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner. “I call on EU governments to keep up drug prevention and treatment services in the context of the economic crisis, which could worsen the drug situation in the EU.”"

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Prescription drugs become 'new heroin' in Armstrong County - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Prescription drugs become 'new heroin' in Armstrong County - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "Gary DeComo saw it coming in 2007.
He held a program for doctors and got fliers for local pharmacies in an attempt to thwart its infiltration into Armstrong County.
'I said it in 2007 and this is 2010,' said Decomo, a district judge heavily involved in drug and alcohol awareness. 'The police are chasing everyone down they can get for heroin, but there's literally thousands of doses of pain relievers in the hands of legitimate users.'
Creating awareness of a problem that was predicted to exist hasn't stopped an increase in prescription drug use during the past few years nationally and locally. The common theme in prescription drug abuse is easy access — something law enforcement has been attacking by asking those with prescriptions to keep a close eye on their pills and patches.
It's become a 'serious problem' locally, said District Attorney Scott Andreassi.
'This is our new heroin,' he said."

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Prescription deaths mount in Tennessee: 1,600 in 3 years | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Prescription deaths mount in Tennessee: 1,600 in 3 years | tennessean.com | The Tennessean: "Prescription drugs killed more than 1,600 Tennesseans over a three-year period, according to yet-to-be-released research conducted by the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy."

READ MORE - Prescription deaths mount in Tennessee: 1,600 in 3 years | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Police: Prescription drug abuse reaches epidemic | MailTribune.com

Police: Prescription drug abuse reaches epidemic | MailTribune.com: "From cheerleaders to athletes to academic high scorers to homeless drop-outs, the numbers of teens who are stealing prescription drugs out of medicine cabinets or buying pills on the street is escalating, Law said.
'The danger of overdose is so great, especially if you are drinking as well,' Law said. 'But these kids don't understand that. They don't think it's like meth. They think these pills are safe because they came from a doctor.'
According to data collected by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, there were 26 prescription drug deaths in Jackson County in 2009, said Medford police Deputy Chief Tim George.
Of the 26 prescription deaths, 11 are listed as accidental deaths, eight are listed as undetermined and seven are listed as suicides.
The latest teen death is a wake-up call for the community, George said.
'This is reaching epidemic proportions,' he said. 'These are the sad situations that bring it to light.'"

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British man among spate of drug related deaths in Málaga

British man among spate of drug related deaths in Málaga: "The alarm has been raised after three drug takers have died in Málaga province in just 72 hours. Two of the dead were Spanish, one British, and all were aged between 35 and 45.

The first case was the 35 year old Briton. His body was found on Saturday in Torre del Mar at his home by his flat mate. Final results from the autopsy have not yet been published, but the police think that the man had gone out the night before and had taken a mixture of cocaine and alcohol.

The second case was of a 40 year old Spaniard who was found dead in the passenger seat his car in the Carranque area of the city, Police found a syringe by his neck.

The third case was on Tuesday, when the body of a Spanish man in his 40’s was found inside his home after family members called on the fire brigade to help break the door down. The body was found on the bed."

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“secondary extraction” labs have been detected in Spain EU faces new frontiers on drug trafficking

FT.com / Brussels - EU faces new frontiers on drug trafficking: "Elaborate methods of smuggling cocaine and a record number of new unregulated drugs are challenging drug control policies in Europe, where about 1,000 cocaine-related deaths are reported a year, according to the European Union’s drug agency.
Traffickers are increasingly using exports such as clothes, plastics and fertilisers to smuggle cocaine base which is then extracted in clandestine laboratories, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction said on Wednesday.
High time to legalise marijuana - Oct-27Top Mexican trafficker captured - Aug-31Focus on gangs after Gambia cocaine raid - Jun-09A number of these “secondary extraction” labs have been detected in Spain – 25 in 2008 – together with the UK, Denmark, Ireland and Italy, the countries where cocaine use is most prevalent.
In the UK, the number of death certificates citing cocaine doubled from 161 in 2003 to 325 in 2008, according to Lisbon-based EMCDDA, which collects and analyses information for European policymakers."

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Service to remember drug deaths in Aberdeen

BBC News - Service to remember drug deaths in Aberdeen: "service to remember those who have lost their lives through drugs is due to be held in Aberdeen.
The service, now in its fifth year, will be attended by church leaders, local politicians and members of organisations working with drug users.
It is aimed at relatives and friends of those who have died through a drug-related cause.
The ecumenical service is due to be held at St Peter's Church in Justice Street from 1900 GMT."

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cocaine cost £70 a gram in 2003 but can now be found as cheaply as £40 a gram.

The figures show that three in 100 Britons aged between 16 and retirement age had used cocaine recently in 2008 compared to 2.3 per cent in 2007. In 2003, the level was two per cent.
Nearly one in six Britons aged under 34 said last year that they had tried cocaine at least once, and 6.2 per cent said they had used it over the previous 12 months. Some 6 per cent of 16-year-old children in this country have tried the drug.

In Spain, where cocaine use has been driven up by high levels of immigration from Latin America, the figure was 5.5 per cent.

The next in the European league table was Denmark, with 3.4 per cent, and then Ireland, with 3.1 per cent of people under 34 having used the drug over the previous year.
A reputable survey taken last year in bars and clubs in Manchester found that more than four out of five clubgoers had used cocaine.

Britain was also top of the league for users of ecstasy and amphetamine, and in the top four for cannabis use.

The popularity of cannabis has declined over the past seven years as users have been put off by the growing evidence of a link between it and mental illness, especially schizophrenia. Ecstasy and amphetamines have become less common as cocaine has become cheaper.

According to the Drugscope carity, cocaine cost £70 a gram in 2003 but can now be found as cheaply as £40 a gram. A gram, depending on purity, can provide ten or 20 hits or ‘lines’ for the user.

The falling price has been one of the major reasons why a drug that 30 years ago was used only by the wealthy and fashionable gradually spread through young professionals and to schoolchildren.

READ MORE - cocaine cost £70 a gram in 2003 but can now be found as cheaply as £40 a gram.

Number of young Britons using cocaine shoots up 50 per cent | Mail Online

Number of young Britons using cocaine shoots up 50 per cent | Mail Online: "Men are twice as likely to die from cocaine than women
One in seven 15 to 34-year-olds have taken cocaine
Almost 400,000 coke-users aged under 25

British youngsters have become the greatest consumers of cocaine in the developed world, according to a major international study.It found that numbers of young people using the drug in this country have shot up by 50 per cent over five years.This means Britain has left other countries which face major cocaine problems – in particular the U.S. and Spain – far behind in the league table of those worst-affected."

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ten most dangerous substances were deemed to be:

ten most dangerous substances were deemed to be:

1.Heroin - popular street names include smack, skag, and junk.
2.Cocaine - often referred to as snow, flake, coke, and blow.
3.Barbiturates - popular slang names include yellow jackets, reds, blues, Amy's, and rainbows.
4.Street Methadone
5.Alcohol
6.Ketamine - a powerful hallucinogen, often referred to as Special K.
7.Benzodiazepines - a family of sedative drugs.
8.Amphetamines - known as greenies among baseball players.
9.Tobacco
10.Buprenorphine - also called bupe or subbies.
The remaining drugs that were assessed in this study ranked as follows:

1.Cannabis - includes marijuana.
2.Solvents - volatile substances that can be inhaled, such as glue, nail polish remover, paints, hair spray, and lighter fuel (gas).
3.4-MTA - is a derivative of amphetamine and has similar effects to ecstasy.
4.LSD
5.Methylphenidate - central nervous system stimulant, commonly sold as ritalin.
6.Anabolic steroids
7.GHB - short for Gamma hydroxybutyrate, a powerful central nervous system depressant, most commonly known as the date rape drug.
8.Ecstasy
9.Alkyl nitrates - group of drugs commonly referred to as poppers.
10.Khat - an amphetamine-like stimulant.

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Is Love A Drug, Scientists Ask | Article Directory Project

Is Love A Drug, Scientists Ask | Article Directory Project: "Sex is a Trap
Sex is booby-trapped for to make partners bond. According to the researchers – the more two people have sex together, the more likely they are to bond.
“We all know you can have sex without falling in love but if you have enough sex with the same person there’s a good chance you will hit the body’s booby-trap which is there to tip you head over heels into love,” reported Dr Marsden.
So having sex is an addiction which can’t be cured, because people love each other and are attracted to their life partners."

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