[photo] Duterte tells civilians 'don't get yourselves kidnapped' as he orders troops to BOMB hostage-takers and threatens to declare martial law as part of Philippines' drug war * President Rodrigo Duterte say kidnap victims may become 'collateral damage' * Abu Sayyaf, which is linked to al-Qaeda, earns millions kidnapping for ransom * Duterte also threatened to bring in martial law in his campaign against drugs * His government also acted at the weekend to ban Filipinos watching Pornhub President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to 'blast' Islamist militants who have been on a kidnap-for-ransom spree in the Philippines, even if hostages would also be killed. [continues 759 words]
I've only just started! Filipino President Duterte's bloody war on drugs has claimed 6,000 lives and seen 900,000 addicts surrender in just six months -- as he claims his country is now safer for normal people * The Philippines government has claimed it is winning the war on drugs after a brutal crackdown on dealing * 6,000 people have been killed by police or vigilantes in a six month campaign ordered by President Duterte * The Filipino government has said that thanks to the crackdown, the country is now a safer place for residents [continues 1462 words]
* Phylos Bioscience is attempting to map the genetic data for every marijuana strain in the world * The team has so far sequenced over a thousand different kinds, which they plot on the interactive 'Galaxy' * Genetic report reveals a strain's closest relatives, clonal relationships, its uniqueness, origin, and more * The researchers say this could one day help scientists to achieve 'unthinkable' strains of marijuana Scientists may soon be able to achieve 'unthinkable' strains of marijuana thanks to new efforts in DNA sequencing. [continues 634 words]
A California company is selling a MARIJUANA monthly subscription box packed with curated cannabis products * San Diego-based Club M requires a California medical marijuana license to join and delivers boxes each month for $97 * The packages include marijuana, edibles, vapes, and other 'gear' for using * Each box is worth about $200 and can be purchased without a subscription, except for the new limited-edition boxes for $1,000 each There seems to be a subscription box service for everything these days, from cosmetics to snacks to alcohol -- so really, it was only a matter of time for the medical marijuana community got in on the monthly shipment craze. [continues 465 words]
JAMAICA is to install cannabis kiosks at its airport terminals - so tourists can start using the drug as soon as they touch down. Officials are looking at ways the country can cash in on cannabis, which Jamaica decriminalised last year in the hope of emulating the US where legal sales of the drug raised UKP4billion last year. They plan to offer the drug in arrival halls and seaports. Tourists would be able to register to use marijuana at the kiosks and then pick up the drugs before continuing to their holiday destinations. [continues 142 words]
A number of critical airline staff have tested positive for hardcore drugs and alcohol while on the job, leaving passengers concerned about the protocols in place to keep them safe in the air. At least 14 Australian airline and airport employees operating in 'safety sensitive' roles came to work affected by alcohol and drugs in 2015, according to The Daily Telegraph. Three ground staff were found with traces of cannabis and methamphetamine in their system, an engineer tested positive for cocaine and a student pilot tested positive for cannabis. [continues 408 words]
A CHIEF constable who wants to legalise drugs has been charged with overseeing how officers tackle the menace nationwide. Mike Barton believes some Class A and B drugs should be made legal and, in some cases, handed out for free to addicts. Despite his controversial views, the officer has now been quietly elected to an influential role at the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC). The move provoked fury from critics who warned legalising drugs would simply create a new set of challenges. [continues 200 words]
POSSESSION of all drugs, including heroin and cocaine, would be decriminalised under radical plans tabled by the Liberal Democrats today. The party's push, led by ex-police chief Brian Paddick, will attempt to ambush a Government Bill to ban the sale of legal highs when it is debated by the Lords. Under their proposals, nobody would be arrested or prosecuted for possession of drugs - even the hardest Class A substances. Instead, police 'may' ask the offender to attend a drug awareness course or treatment programme. [continues 415 words]
FACING a wipeout at the General Election, Nick Clegg is busy finding ever more desperate ways of appealing to the young voters who have abandoned his party in droves. Having betrayed them over his manifesto pledge to abolish tuition fees, his latest wheeze is to target the druggie vote by reaching out to students who smoke cannabis. The Lib Dems have pledged that personal possession and the use of drugs - not just marijuana, but even heroin - would no longer be a criminal offence. Even by Clegg's standards, this is a proposal of such reckless imbecility that it makes you wonder what he's been smoking. [continues 323 words]
Almost 30,000 prisoners addicted to drugs were given a heroin substitute last year to feed their dependence, figures show. The drugs were paid for by the taxpayer and given to inmates in a bid to help them kick the habit. However inmates who are in prison for less than three months do not have time to complete the drug treatment programme, but are supplied with methadone or buprenorphine. The figures were revealed in a request by Andrew Griffiths MP to the Secretary of State. [continues 201 words]
Iran is facing a female drug-abuse crisis as the number of young, well-off and well-educated women using substances continues to rise. At least six million of Iran's 77.7 million population have drug related problems, according to official reports. And addiction, especially to Shisheh - a high-purity form of crystalline methamphetamine - is increasingly spreading across all social classes. The substance has become the second most popular drug after opium among young people seeking an escape from social and economic hardship, the Financial Times reports. [continues 472 words]
Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana sales. Now the state's voters may consider a ballot measure to allow pot smokers to carry a concealed firearm. The 'Colorado Campaign for Equal Gun Rights' is working to put a question on the November 2016 ballot to have Colorado ignore guidelines from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about firearms and pot. The measure would change state law to prevent sheriffs from denying concealed carry permits because of marijuana use. It's a new frontier in the marijuana wars, and one that has divided gun-rights activists. [continues 569 words]
FURTHER to the new cannabis study by Professor Wayne hall of King's College London (Mail), none of us calling for an end to the so-called War On Drugs is suggesting that cannabis (or any other drug) should be made available to adolescents. I'm equally concerned about the potential harm caused by drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. But the appropriate responses are evidence-based public health interventions and sensible regulation. Drug policies have neither curbed demand for illicit drugs nor reduced supply. They certainly haven't done anything to eliminate the risks Prof hall has identified. There are no greater obstacles to reducing harm than prohibition and the continued criminalisation of drug users. [continues 116 words]
THE day after a Lib Dem vote to soften the law on cannabis comes a devastating analysis of 20 years' research into the drug's dangers, especially to the young. Collated by Professor Wayne Hall, senior adviser to the World Health Organisation, the study finds that smoking cannabis is highly addictive, while doubling the risk of psychotic disorders, impairing brain function and affecting exam results. The Lib Dems claimed their relaxed approach to the drug was based on the 'latest evidence'. But that was Sunday. In the light of the most comprehensive research ever, will they now change their minds? Or are they so wedded to the notion that cannabis is oh-so-liberal and trendy that they don't care a damn what damage it does to the young? [end]
A definitive 20-year study into the effects of long-term cannabis use has demolished the argument that the drug is safe. Cannabis is highly addictive, causes mental health problems and opens the door to hard drugs, the study found. The paper by Professor Wayne Hall, a drugs advisor to the World Health Organisation, builds a compelling case against those who deny the devastation cannabis wreaks on the brain. Professor Hall found: One in six teenagers who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it, [continues 1173 words]
Juan Manuel Santos Approves Bill Allowing Sales of Medicinal Cannabis Praised Bill for Giving People Access to Medicine While Reducing Crime Uruguay Has Legalised Drug, With Brazil and Chile Considering Law Change The President of Colombia has endorsed new legislation which paves the way for legalising medical cannabis. Juan Manuel Santos made the announcement yesterday at a drug policy forum in the capital Bogota. Mr Santos called the bill 'a practical, compassionate measure to reduce the pain (and) anxiety of patients with terminal illnesses' while adding that it would help combat crime. [continues 193 words]
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson has used his address at the international AIDS conference in Melbourne to once again call for an alternative approach to prohibitionist drug laws. Sir Richard, a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which in a 2011 report concluded that drug prohibition has been an abject failure, said that while some countries have virtually eliminated drug-related HIV transmissions, drug war policies in the US, Russia and certain South East Asian countries are still causing needless infections and AIDS deaths. [continues 245 words]
She's well known for her own addiction battles with alcohol, drugs and prescription painkillers. On Thursday Melanie Griffith flew into Los Angeles after speaking at the National RX Drug Abuse Summit, a three-day event at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia. The 56-year-old looked in the pink - literally - in an unusual blush-coloured leather jacket and matching bag, paired with ripped blue skinny jeans and black ankle booties. The Working Girl star pulled her blonde tresses back into a bun while her fringe framed her face. [continues 316 words]
Officials say 18 people are being rounded up in New York City on allegations they sold 'party packs' of cocaine and sex to high-end clients ahead of the Super Bowl. They say surveillance shows the ring laundered money and credit cards through clothing, wig, beauty supply and limousine businesses and targeted wealthy out-of-town customers, especially during large events. Prostitutes would bring cocaine to clients who ordered the so-called party packs. Officials say 18 people are being rounded up in New York City on allegations they sold 'party packs' of cocaine and sex to high-end clients ahead of the Super Bowl. [continues 408 words]
A STAGGERING half a million people in the UK are running secret cannabis farms in their homes. An explosion in production of the drug means hundreds of thousands of suburban houses have been converted into hidden marijuana factories. The booming industry is fuelled by gangs switching from hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin because of the more lenient penalties for cannabis, police say. An investigation found dealers know they will escape jail if they grow fewer than ten plants in a single property - even if they are growing the dangerously potent skunk form. [continues 558 words]
