PUERTO CACHICAMO, Colombia-The pandemic closed the only school in this remote hamlet, long a stronghold for Marxist guerrillas. With no internet connection for virtual classes, 16-year-old Danna Montilla told her family she was leaving to find work, but instead authorities say she joined a narco-trafficking rebel group. Last month, Colombia's military bombarded the group's jungle camp, killing Danna, another underage girl and 10 others. Residents here said her death underscored a grim reality: Armed gangs have found fresh recruits from an ample pool of youths who, like Danna, have been out of school because of the coronavirus pandemic. [continues 1200 words]
SHINAHOTA, Bolivia-During nearly 14 years as president, Evo Morales pampered the Chapare, the coca leaf-growing jungle region of central Bolivia where he got his start in politics. Mr. Morales expelled U.S. antidrug agents and promoted the health benefits of the coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine, which is legal and chewed by many indigenous people. His socialist government built a paper mill, an airport, and a 25,000-seat soccer stadium in the region. In turn, the farmers gave Mr. Morales, the head of a federation of coca growers, their fervent support. [continues 902 words]
CBD, a cannabis compound, is in everything from gumdrops to bath bombs. In Maplewood Mall, holiday shoppers pick up CBD tinctures from an organic hemp farm at the Nothing But Hemp kiosk. Festive gift sets with CBD-infused body lotions, shampoos and soaps are available a few miles away at Minnesota Hempdropz. Spot Spa in Minneapolis has CBD oil massages on its list of services and tries to keep pricey gourmet gumdrops from "aspirational" CBD purveyor Lord Jones on its shelves. The problem? They continually sell out. [continues 1241 words]
YOKY RIDGE, Colombia-On a hilltop base shielded with sandbags, police sharpshooter Jose Diaz gazed into thick jungle as a fellow commando checked tripwires protecting the stronghold. A radioman listened in on the fighters they were battling. "They're always looking for the right moment to attack our base," said Hector Ocampo, commander of the Colombian detachment in a cocaine-trafficking corridor near Panama. Their adversaries weren't the FARC rebels that security forces had long fought, but a cocaine-trafficking gang known as the Gulf Clan. In the year since the powerful Marxist guerrillas disarmed, drug gangs like this one have battled each other and the state for control of the booming cocaine trade in remote regions where the FARC once ruled. [continues 872 words]
Some remain skeptical the proposed Cannabis Act (Bill C-45) will achieve one of its primary objectives: protecting youth from cannabis-related harms. Some feel the minimum age should be higher than the minimum age for alcohol, worried that those under 25 seem more vulnerable to dependence and health problems linked to long-term, heavy use. Critics of the proposed minimum age may be overlooking another primary objective: displacing the black-market. Young adults aged 18 to 24 represent one third of the market. The act attempts to strike a balance between keeping marijuana away from minors and cash away from criminals. [continues 629 words]
Deserted chocolate factory now home to world's largest publicly traded producer All it took was a little marijuana to lift this Canadian town's spirits. Smiths Falls, Ont. - population 8,885 - is seeing a revival of fortunes since medical marijuana producer Tweed Inc. set up shop four years ago in an abandoned Hershey chocolate factory. The company, since renamed Canopy Growth Corp., has become the world's largest publicly traded cannabis producer and is the town's largest private-sector employer. [continues 766 words]
The anti-narcotics police arrived here in the heart of Colombia's cocaine industry last month to destroy the coca crop. The community was determined to save it. Roughly 1,000 farmers, some armed with clubs, surrounded the hilltop camp that police had set up in a jungle clearing and began closing in on the officers. The police started shooting. When they were done, seven farmers were dead and 21 were wounded. "Several friends and neighbors died on the ground waiting for medical assistance," said Luis Gaitan, 32, who protected himself by hiding behind a tree stump. [continues 1571 words]
As deadly fentanyl fuels a public health crisis, Free Press reporter Jennifer Bieman reveals what you should know about common London street drugs Forget the old adage that what you don't know, can't hurt you. When it comes to street drugs, what you don't know can kill you. That was the thrust of a rare public health warning - three health agencies and London police joined in its release - last week in London, when authorities stressed that the latest villain in Canada's opioid drug crisis, deadly fentanyl, is turning up in other illegal street drugs. [continues 1350 words]
A Downtown Eastside activist and a local entrepreneur are hoping to spearhead the first nonprofit organization of its kind with support from Vancouver's cannabis community. The vocal support of Sarah Blyth, the founder of the Overdose Prevention Society for grassroots, peer-led harm reduction led to the establishment of several safe-consumption sites in Vancouver and beyond. Unfortunately, the ongoing overdose crisis hasn't slowed-numbers for 2017 are set to double last year's count of 935 overdose deaths provincewide-so when Blyth, who doesn't use cannabis, came across an American study that found that states with legalized marijuana saw a 33-percent reduction in overdose deaths, she decided to explore the concept further. [continues 817 words]
So-called bath salts, other street drugs are not a safe way to seek pleasure When someone offers a tiny packet of "bath salts" for sale with a price tag somewhere between $30 and $50, you know that it is not meant to be sprinkled into a bathtub. These "bath salts," commonly available in head shops, online and even in some convenience stores, may sport a label declaring "not for human consumption," but they are clearly designed to cater to the insides of the body rather than the outside. [continues 908 words]
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - The rules are a bit of a buzzkill. Drug users must officially register with the government. Machines will scan buyers' fingerprints at every purchase, and there are strict quotas to prevent overindulgence. But when Uruguay's marijuana legalization law takes full effect on Wednesday, getting high will take a simple visit to the pharmacy. As American states legalize marijuana and governments in the hemisphere rethink the fight against drugs, Uruguay is taking a significant step further: It is the first nation in the world to fully legalize the production and sale of marijuana for recreational use. [continues 1284 words]
LOS RIOS, Colombia - Every three months or so, Javier Tupaz, a father of six, heads downhill from his clapboard home to work in his cocaine laboratory. Under a black tent in the jungle, he shovels coca leaves into a giant vat with gasoline, then adds cement powder - the first steps in his cocaine recipe. Like everyone in his village, Mr. Tupaz depends on coca for cash and has survived decades of war here in Colombia. He churned out his product during the seemingly endless conflict between the rebels and the government, which tried many times to destroy his coca plants. He simply replanted. [continues 1457 words]
The bill to legalize marijuana is a victory for public health, but the goal of eliminating an illegal supply will be a tougher challenge. Marijuana was criminalized in Canada in 1923. There was no debate in the House of Commons, just the statement, "There is a new drug in the schedule." The prominent Edmonton magistrate Emily Murphy had written a book about illegal drugs in 1922, concluding of marijuana, " there are three ways out from the regency of this addiction: 1st - Insanity. 2nd - Death. 3rd - Abandonment. This is assuredly a direful trinity." [continues 736 words]
CORINTO, Colombia - For years, Blanca Riveros has had the same routine: After fixing breakfast and taking her son to school, she heads home to a large plastic trash bag filled with marijuana. She trims the plants and gets them ready for Colombian drug traffickers. After school, her son helps cut more. The business was long overseen by the country's largest rebel group, which dominated this region, taxed its drugs and became internationally notorious for trafficking in billions of dollars in illicit substances. But when the government signed a peace deal with the fighters last year, the state swept in and reclaimed this remote mountain village, threatening to end the trade. [continues 1347 words]
Friday mornings in the office tend to be a little bit slower, so we end up discussing a wide variety of topics. One topic of discussion, which was addressed were thoughts surrounding the legalization of marijuana. The Liberals ran on a platform, which stated they would pursue this legalization. Although it hasn't been a priority in government, I do feel that it is something that would generate revenue for the government. Much like the Government of Saskatchewan has a liquor tax, the Government of Canada could impose one on marijuana sales. [continues 537 words]
Psychedelics, the fabled enlightenment drugs of the '60s, are making a comeback - this time as medical treatment. A recent study claimed that psilocybin, a mushroom-derived hallucinogenic, relieves anxiety and depression in people with life-threatening cancer. Anecdotal reports have said similar things about so-called microdoses of LSD. The allure is understandable, given the limits of our treatments for depression and anxiety. About a third of patients with major depression don't get better, even after several trials of different antidepressants. But I fear that in our desire to combat suffering, we will ignore the potential risks of these drugs, or be seduced by preliminary research that seems promising. [continues 713 words]
Editor: I think the development of more powerful street drugs (i.e. fentanyl, meth, etc.) of course is driven by the profits available for cheaper more powerful lethal drugs. I think it may be time to look at legalizing drugs so we can better control them. Drugs at one time in world history were legal and the use of them was far less widespread. Coca Cola at one time contained cocaine (hence the name coke). The consumption of alcohol during Prohibition was far more widespread than when it was legal. There were many deaths from badly produced by unregulated producers of alcohol or antifreeze-laced cocktails. The growth of gangland crime and political corruption was rampant. [continues 107 words]
Yes, there is a fentanyl crisis, but it is one we made ourselves in our all-fired enthusiasm to control everything. The Drug War had its origins almost exactly 100 years ago when legislation was created both in the U.S. and Canada to "control" cannabis and opium, and were largely racially-inspired attacks on unpopular minorities who used these substances (eg. Chinese labourers working on the CP railway, and disposable artsy types). Since the Second World War, the drug problem has grown like Topsy, each ill-advised exacerbation of the laws being reliably accompanied by an increase in prison populations, in the U.S. from 500,000 in 1980 to about 2.2 million in 2013. [continues 181 words]
TORONTO - Is it possible to ingest cocaine by kissing someone who has just snorted the powerful stimulant drug? Enough that its chemical signature would show up on an athlete's doping tests? That's reportedly what happened to Canadian pole vaulter Shawn Barber, who tested positive for trace amounts of cocaine after winning the Canadian title in Edmonton in early July. Despite the result, the 22-year-old was allowed to compete at the Rio Olympics after the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada determined he had inadvertently absorbed the banned substance while kissing a woman he'd met for a sexual tryst the night before the national competition. [continues 385 words]
Cannabis is obtained from the plant of the genus Cannabis. Cannabis is the only drug that grows in Sri Lanka. It is grown illicitly, mostly in the dry zones of the country (in the Eastern and Southern provinces). Cannabis causes euphoria, "high" feeling, pleasurable state of relaxation, impaired performance, sleepiness, confusion and hallucinations. Cocaine Cocaine, which is obtained from the plant of genus Erythroxylon coca, is available as a paste, or "Crack" hard white rocks or flaky material. Cocaine is smoked, sniffed or injected. It causes euphoria and alertness and postpones hunger and fatigue. [continues 991 words]
