Canada’s Got the E Hookup
March 2nd, 2009 by Perry
The Toronto Star reports Canada needs to do slightly more to curb drug trafficking, as it has become the No. 1 source of ecstasy in the United States.
The 2009 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released Friday, highlights the growth of methamphetamine “superlabs” throughout the country, particularly in British Columbia and Ontario.
Most of the bloggers who commented, (Canucks to be specific,) brought up a pretty good point: Canada should probably start worrying about the flow of drugs down south as soon as we start worrying about the flow of guns up north.
Although the United States isn’t the only country caught in this web of deception by our seemingly polite neighbors to the north, the report cites Canadian data indicating Canadian-produced meth has turned up around the world, including Australia, Japan and New Zealand.
How about what’s the deal with Canadian bacon, too? It’s not Canadian or bacon, those cheeky bastards.
Ecstasy: Not a Big Health Risk? Word?
February 25th, 2009 by Perry
Word.
After years of apocryphal horror stories, a recent large-scale study showed long-term, the effects of MDMA aren’t really that bad for you.
The UK Advisory Panel on the Misuse of Drugs found the results showed that mild memory loss is a common occurrence but the most harmful effect seems to be how someone’s system will react to the drug, with some cases even a small MDMA dosage leading to death from exhaustion or poisoning.
The study argues this is an extremely small minority, as millions of people take the drug every year in the UK and there were 30 deaths linked to the drug last year. The review also called for a rescheduling of the drug by class into a lesser category with cannabis.
Click here for the full report.
Police Bust Ecstasy Ring in NorCal
January 30th, 2009 by Perry
Wrapping up a series of raids Tuesday, police seized over more than 100 pounds (45 kg) of ecstacy with a street value of over $2 million. The amount of powder found in the series of labs around Northern California is thought to be enough to make 88,000 ecstasy pills.
The raids were part of a sting investigation that netted nine arrests aimed at shutting down a drug ring called “dangerous” by Attorney General Jerry Brown.
The seizures also included 23 pounds of psychedelic mushrooms and more than half a million dollars in cash, which was found in a different home. 30 pounds of marijuana said to be valued around $50,000, and what is thought to be LSD powder, was found in yet another house. The sting operation began on an anonymous tip to police about a potential drug lab, which then led to the surveillance that uncovered the drug coop.
The San Jose Mercury News also reported agents seized a .45-caliber handgun, thousands of dollars worth of chemicals, commercial-grade laboratory glassware and more than 100 gallons of toxic, poisonous and flammable liquids and solids. Hazardous chemicals and laboratory equipment filled 40 large barrels.
[img via Oakland Press]
Sydney Cops Seize $12m Ecstasy Supply
December 17th, 2008 by Perry
Working on an anonymous tip, police raided a Sydney home and found 200,000 ecstasy tablets, and enough MDMA powder, the drug’s active ingredient, to make 200,000 more.
The West Australian reported that the uncompressed powder police found weighed roughly 110 pounds (50 kg) and the haul is thought to be large enough to actually affect drug supply in the city, a rare occurrence in even large-scale raids.
Two men who are thought to be the owners of the house — which had basically been turned into a drug lab to process MDMA — are wanted for questioning in connection with the seizure.
The Ecstasy Rainbow
October 24th, 2008 by Alex
Want some eye candy for the weekend? How about the ecstasy rainbow?
Exactly 99 different ecstasy pills, all different colors, with all different logos. From the dollar sign to McDonald’s to the Playboy bunny – branding is king, even in the designer drug trade.
Click the image for a hi-res version.
[image copyright Erowid, 2007]
UK Drug Law Experts Re-Think Classifications
September 23rd, 2008 by Alex
Ahead of a UK government meeting on the misuse of drugs, the UK Drugs Policy Commission has submitted a report to . UK uses an ‘A, B and C’ scale to dictate the danger of drugs and the correlating penalties for being caught with them.
The commission is suggesting that the over-politicization of drug classifications is harming the system, and the entire scale needs to be re-thought. Basically, rating things on a “danger scale” has no effect on any users, and a more intelligent system that alerts people of physical & mental dangers would be much more effective.
Roger Howard, Chief Executive, UK Drug Policy Commission, had this to say:
The time has come for an independent wholesale review of the system to clarify how a scientific rating of drug harms should be used for drug classifications and for wider applications such as setting policing priorities or public health messages.
Exciting? No. A possible step in the right direction (for Europeans)? Yes.
4 Million Euro Worth of Drugs Destroyed
March 20th, 2007 by Alex
Ever wonder how Eastern European authorities destroy large amounts of seized narcotics? Me neither.
Just in case you’re still interested, here’s a quick photoset from Macedonia involving tons of drugs, a steel mill and temperatures hot enough to melt the Terminator 1000.
So what exactly was destroyed? Only 150 kilos of hashish, 250 kilos of marijuana, 80 kilos of heroin, 30,000 ecstasy pills and 16 kilos of cocaine worth a street value of almost 4 million Euro.
See more pictures after the jump.
Mouse Party: Drug Education Animation
February 16th, 2007 by Tim
Here is a really excellent interactive flash animation done by the University of Utah.
What it does is simply & effectively explain the different ways that illegal substances interact with the brain. As an added bonus, it’s a pretty damn cool presentation with well-animated mouse characters that fit all the stereotypes of the major drug users in this country.
Marijuana, methamphetamines, ecstasy, heroin, alcohol, LSD and cocaine are all covered and each one affects us in different ways. You learn something new everyday…
Click to view the animation…
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