war against drugs

[Moonglow]

I'm good with pot/weed being legalized. I say that because I don't believe it's a 'gateway' drug.

That said; I've seen kids die from heroin and other drugs. I've seen the pain families experience.
I've also had to physically subdue patients brought into our ER because they couldn't control themselves.

Heroin, IMO, is the single biggest drug problem in this country.

I see no joy in puking.. I can't take Oxycontin I get soo sick...They can keep it, now demerol...

 

[Dschrute3]

LEGALIZE IT MON!!

 

[Staidhup]

I think cocaine and heroin should be legal, that way they can kill themselves off quickly and we wouldn't have to care for their sorry pathetic ass.

 

[Staidhup]

Its their life choice, they weren't born with a cig in their mouth, needle in their arm, alcohol bottle to their lips.....They chose to exercise Darwins theory and flunked.

 

[Dschrute3]

I think cocaine and heroin should be legal, that way they can kill themselves off quickly and we wouldn't have to care for their sorry pathetic ass.

Decriminalize most drugs. Humans like getting high. They always have. It's an adult decision. It's not a Government issue.

 

[initforme]

Yup. Americans are all about getting buzzed up. Its a big part of our heritage.

 

[Staidhup]

Losers love getting high because they are too blind to see the beauty in the world or too self absorbed in self pity.

 

[Dschrute3]

Yup. Americans are all about getting buzzed up. Its a big part of our heritage.

Americans consume most of the world's narcotics, both illegal and legal. They love getting high. It's time to decriminalize most drugs and declare an end to the 'War on Drugs.' Using drugs is an adult decision, no different than using alcohol. Just let the People get high. It's gonna happen regardless.

 

[initforme]

Those losers you speak of include ceos, doctors, and other white collar administrators.

 

[initforme]

Beauty in the world exists in the wilderness....where there are no people.

 

[tycho1572]

I'm good with pot/weed being legalized. I say that because I don't believe it's a 'gateway' drug.

That said; I've seen kids die from heroin and other drugs. I've seen the pain families experience.
I've also had to physically subdue patients brought into our ER because they couldn't control themselves.

Heroin, IMO, is the single biggest drug problem in this country.

I see no joy in puking.. I can't take Oxycontin I get soo sick...They can keep it, now demerol...

I was given strong pain meds at work after getting 17 stitches. I took one after getting the prescription filled, and didn't need any more.
I was also told I couldn't work for at least 2 weeks, and was back in just 3 days.

 

[waltky]

Big ol' cocaine haul...

Coast Guard, Royal Navy Seize 26 Tons of Cocaine in Pacific
Dec 15, 2016 — Officials from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy are in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to offload 26.5 tons of cocaine — worth an estimated $715 million — seized in the waters off the Eastern Pacific.

Officials from the United States and Canada will discuss the drug interdictions during a news conference at Port Everglades on Thursday morning.

A view of 350 kilograms of seized cocaine offloaded from the Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge (WPC-1102) at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach in Miami, Florida​

In a news release, the agencies said Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Naval crews participated in 27 separate drug smuggling vessel interdictions and five bale recovery operations off of Central and South America. The participating ships sailed with embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment teams aboard.

The agency says increased U.S. and allied presence in known drug transit zones off Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Basin is part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy.

Coast Guard, Royal Navy Seize 26 Tons of Cocaine in Pacific | Military.com

See also:

U.S. Coast Guard Unloads 26 Tons of Cocaine
December 16, 2016 - The Coast Guard is unloading the latest stash of cocaine nabbed from smugglers off the Eastern Pacific Ocean -- all 26.5 tons of it.

The cocaine, which weighs about as much as four male elephants, was seized in 27 separate missions, plus five bale recovery operations. It has an estimated street value of $715 million wholesale.

A view of about 26.5 tons of cocaine aboard Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton on Dec. 15, 2016 at Port Everglades Cruiseport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.​

The Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Naval Crews and interagency partners took the drugs from smuggling boats found along the coasts of Central and South America. Boasts suspected of smuggling are tracked by military or law enforcement, but the boarding of the ship is done by U.S. Coast Guardsmen.

"This not only showcases the threat posed by dangerous cartels, gangs and criminal groups that make up extensive transitional organized crime networks, but it also highlights the commitment of the Coast Guard and its interagency partner's efforts to detect, interdict, investigate and prosecute operatives for these criminal networks," said Vice Adm. Karl Schultz, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, in a statement.

U.S. Coast Guard Unloads 26 Tons of Cocaine | Officer.com

 

[waltky]

China denies, Duterte belies...

Beijing denies US claim that China is synthetic drug king
Dec 19,`16 -- U.S. assertions that China is the top source of the synthetic opioids that have killed thousands of drug users in the U.S. and Canada are unsubstantiated, Chinese officials told The Associated Press.

Both the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy point to China as North America's main source of fentanyl, related drugs and the chemicals used to make them. Such statements "lack the support of sufficient numbers of actual, confirmed cases," China's National Narcotics Control Commission told DEA's Beijing office in a fax dated Friday. In its letter, which the commission also sent to AP, Chinese officials urged the U.S. to provide more evidence about China's role as a source country. DEA officials said their casework and investigations consistently lead back to China. DEA data also shows that when China regulates synthetic drugs, U.S. seizures plunge. "China is not the only source of the problem, but they are the dominant source for fentanyls along with precursor chemicals and pill presses that are being exported from China to the U.S., Canada and Mexico," said Russell Baer, a DEA special agent in Washington.

Beijing is concerned enough about international perceptions of China's role in the opioid trade that after AP published investigations highlighting the easy availability of fentanyls online from Chinese suppliers, the narcotics commission made a rare invitation to a team of AP journalists to discuss the issue at the powerful Ministry of Public Security, a leafy complex just off Tiananmen Square at the historic and political heart of Beijing. U.S.-China cooperation is essential for mounting an effective global response to an epidemic of opioid abuse that has killed more than 300,000 Americans since 2000. The presence of fentanyl, a prescription painkiller up to 50 times stronger than heroin, and related compounds in the U.S. drug supply began to rise in 2013, after dealers learned they could multiply profits by cutting the potent chemicals into heroin, cocaine and counterfeit prescription pills.

Even as the U.S. Congress considers legislation to punish opioid source countries, no government agency has produced comprehensive data on seizures of fentanyl-related substances by country of origin. The national database on drug seizures overseen by DEA does not require reporting by source country and may not accurately reflect seizures of all fentanyl-related compounds. Baer said it didn't even have a "fentanyl" category until around two years ago. It also takes time for chemists to identify seized drugs, which means fentanyl-related samples may get incorrectly logged as other drugs. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy declined to comment. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it had data by country of origin only for 2015: Nearly two-thirds of the 61 kilograms (134 pounds) of fentanyl seized last year came from Mexico. The rest came from China.

A man drinks tea near a computer screen displaying websites of companies selling carfentanil online on a train leaving Beijing. U.S. assertions that China is the top source of the synthetic opioids that have killed thousands of drug users in the U.S. and Canada are unsubstantiated​

DEA officials say Mexican cartels are key bulk suppliers of fentanyl to the U.S., but portray Mexico as a transshipment point. Mexican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be quoted, said fentanyl and its precursors were coming from China. Only two labs trying to produce fentanyl from scratch have been located in Mexico in recent years, with others apparently taking simpler steps to turn precursors into fentanyl, the officials said. Mexican authorities did not immediately respond to requests for seizure data by country of origin. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence indicating that China plays an important role in the fentanyls trade, and despite disagreements, Chinese authorities have been proactive in trying to stop fentanyl manufacture and export.

Chinese companies offering to export synthetic opioids are easy to find, the AP found in investigations published in October and November. China's narcotics commission said it was scrutinizing 12 opioid vendors the AP identified, along with others that advertise fentanyl analogs. In some cases, China has enacted faster, more comprehensive changes to its drug control laws than much of the rest of the world. Beijing already regulates fentanyl and 18 related compounds and is considering designating four more: carfentanil, furanyl fentanyl, acryl fentanyl and valeryl fentanyl, the narcotics commission told AP. In the meantime, the commission told AP it warned Chinese vendors and websites that carfentanil and other analogs are harmful and should not be sold. The resulting ripple of anxiety prompted some companies to recommend alternative opioids, like U-47700, the AP found in conversations with a dozen vendors. "Friend, fent is illegal in China," wrote one. "It is dangerous for us."

News from The Associated Press

See also:

Duterte: Unfair to blame Beijing for the Philippines' drug problem
December 20, 2016 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's office, responding to a Reuters report, came to China's defense on Monday, saying it was unfair to hold Beijing responsible for the drug problem in the Philippines.

"Many of those running the drug trade are Chinese triads, which are criminal syndicates. These are not government officials," the statement said, in response to a Reuters article published on Dec. 16 that focused on China's role as the main source of the drug methamphetamine and the precursor chemicals used to produce "meth" that are smuggled into the Philippines. "China has strict anti-drug laws, which carries even the penalty of execution when caught," the statement from the Presidential Communications Office said. Even as he wages a brutal drug crackdown at home, Duterte is warming to China, the main source of the methamphetamine consumed in his country. At the same time, he is distancing himself from the United States, the main source of foreign aid to the Philippines in fighting drugs. In October, during a trip to Beijing, Duterte announced his "separation" from the United States and his country's realignment with China.

Philippine drug control officials say that Chinese nationals play a pivotal role in the drug trade in their country. According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, almost two-thirds of the 77 foreign nationals arrested for meth-related drug offences between January 2015 and mid-August 2016 were Chinese. And almost all the clandestine meth laboratories uncovered by police in the Philippines over the past 20 years have been run by, or at least involved, Chinese nationals, drug enforcement officials and prosecutors say. But the Duterte administration deflected blame from China, saying in the statement that it was a mistake to connect the drug traffickers with "their countries of origin." "It is not fair to blame all of China and her people for the drug problem perpetuated by some of its nationals," the statement said. "Not all Chinese are related to drugs."

Philippine drug enforcement officials say that China has done little over the years to staunch the flow of meth and its precursors. In the Dec. 16 report, the national police spokesman told Reuters he was not aware of "any high-profile drug cooperation between China and the Philippines" since the visit by Duterte to Beijing in October. The statement from the communications office noted that an agreement to collaborate on drug control was signed by Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping in October and some 50 Philippine police officers had attended a drug control and law enforcement training program in Yunnan province in October. More than 2,000 people have been killed in police raids since Duterte took office on June 30, and a further 3,000 deaths are currently under investigation by the police. The killings have drawn international criticism, with some countries, including the United States, expressing concern about reports of extrajudicial executions. The United States recently acted on those concerns, saying it was shifting $5 million (587 million yen) in funding for Philippines law enforcement away from police drug-control programs.

Duterte seems unperturbed. "Efforts to eliminate drugs in the country will not stop even if the United States shifts its funding," the statement said. "Several countries have backed the President's war on drugs. These include China, Japan and Indonesia. They have offered us assistance, support and cooperation without any political strings attached." The statement also rejected criticism of Duterte's crackdown for focusing almost exclusively on drug users and small-time pushers, rather than the drug barons who supply them. It said that dozens of government officials linked to the drug trade had been arrested, and that local politicians and drug lords had surrendered to the authorities. The president, it said, "has a list of drug personalities with narcopoliticians and Chinese businessmen, and the authorities are doing their best to investigate and validate this list to catch the big fish."

Duterte: Unfair to blame Beijing for the Philippines’ drug problem：The Asahi Shimbun

 

[EvilCat Breath]

We don't have a war on drugs. The Philippines has a war on drugs.

 

[buckeye45_73]

It's not a war on drugs it's a war on people. It is the fastest way to a police state. They are commodities that should be legal, taxed and regulated.

I dont mind but if you kill somone on it, you should be put to death and if you od, we let you die

 

[waltky]

Big ol' cocaine bust, Italian style...

Italian police bust ring planning to smuggle tonnes of cocaine
Wednesday 25th January, 2017: Italian anti-mafia police said on Tuesday they had broken up an international drug ring that was conspiring to smuggle about eight tonnes of cocaine to Europe from Colombia.

Fifty-four people with links to the 'Ndrangheta, the organised crime group based in the southern Calabria region, were arrested in various parts of Italy, they said in a statement.

The haul, confiscated in a plantation near the Caribbean port of Turbo, would have had a total street value of about 1.6 billion euros (US$1.7 billion), officials said.

The drugs were to be smuggled into Europe via Calabrian ports and airports. What police called a "test run" of 63 kilograms (139 lb) of pure cocaine was found hidden in a load of bananas in the central Italian port city of Livorno.

Italian police bust ring planning to smuggle tonnes of cocaine

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dat's why we need a wall...

Drug-hurling catapult found attached to U.S.-Mexico border fence
Feb. 16, 2017 -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection said border patrol agents found a catapult attached to a U.S.-Mexico border fence designed to hurl drugs into Arizona.

Douglas Station Border Patrol agents made the discovery on Friday when they saw several people on the Mexican side of the border quickly retreat once the agents approached. "When agents arrived at the fence they found a catapult system attached to the south side of the border fence. They searched the area and located two bundles of marijuana" weighing more than 47 pounds combined, U.S. CBP said in a statement on Tuesday.

U.S. Border Patrol agents found a drug-hurling catapult mechanism attached to the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Arizona on Friday. The agents also found nearly 50 pounds of marijuana nearby.​

U.S. agents contacted Mexican law enforcement authorities, who launched an investigation. U.S. Border Patrol agents dismantled the catapult system, which Mexican authorities seized.

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to build a wall, with some fencing, along the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the flow of illegal immigration and drugs into the United States.

Drug-hurling catapult found attached to U.S.-Mexico border fence

 

[waltky]

Marijuana and prescription painkillers are flooding into the Gaza Strip...

As drugs flood into Gaza, Hamas to get tougher on smugglers
Wednesday 8th March, 2017: Marijuana and prescription painkillers are flooding into the Gaza Strip as never before, prompting officials from the ruling Islamist group Hamas to seek tougher punishments for smuggling drugs into the blockaded territory.

The quantity of drugs seized In Gaza in January was as much as for the whole of 2016, officials said. Eight major dealers were arrested in one of the biggest police stings to date. Palestinian and Egyptian gangs move marijuana and an opioid painkiller called tramadol from Egypt into Gaza, where two million Palestinians live in a territory about 45 km long and up to 12 km wide and where four in 10 young men have no job, pushing some towards drugs. "They think tramadol will change the reality and will make them feel at peace," said Fadel Abu Heen, a psychiatrist. "They want to lose awareness and any feeling of reality."

In their latest raid, police seized more than 100 kg (220 pounds) of marijuana, worth as much as US$5 million on the streets of Gaza, and 250,000 tablets of tramadol, which sells for between 130 and 170 shekels (US$35-US$45) for 10 pills. Until 2013, most smuggling was through a network of tunnels Palestinians and Egyptians had built under the border to move everything from food and consumer goods to cars, cattle and rockets. But Egypt destroyed the tunnels - blowing them up or flooding them - in 2014 and 2015 to crack down on the trade. Since then, smugglers have found new ways of shifting merchandise.

A drug addict stands behind bars at a Hamas-run prison in Gaza City​

Drugs are moved inside cooking gas canisters or washing machines. Sometimes, small quantities are thrown or catapulted from Egypt into Gaza. There are kilometres of tubes used to move small packages, and in some cases drugs are shipped inside goods imported from Israel. "It is a problem but not a phenomenon," said Ahmed Al-Qidra, head of Gaza's anti-drug squad. "We suffer from it just as most countries all over the world." But sentences for drug dealing had become more lenient over the years and may have helped spur a resurgence, he said. The law allows life sentences and even the death penalty for drug smugglers, but many manage to escape long prison terms, he said.

Yehya Al-Farra, an aide to Gaza's attorney-general, said the courts needed to get at least at tough as they were in 2009 when one dealer got 15 years in prison. "The dealer who sells poison is a killer of the soul, he is the same as the killer who uses a gun or a knife," Farra told Reuters. "Therefore, the law states that a punishment up to the death penalty can be applied." He and Qidra want more recruits to the anti-drug squad and more medical facilities to treat addicts. Inside a Gaza prison, convicts urged men to reject drugs. A 26-year-old barber said he started taking half a tramadol a day after a friend offered him some. Soon he was addicted. "I urge young people ... to give up bad friends, otherwise they will be destroyed like me," he said. "I was a respected man who knew a loser friend and I became a loser myself."

As drugs flood into Gaza, Hamas to get tougher on smugglers

 

[waltky]

Is heroin being smuggled to UK on Pakistani planes?...

Is heroin being smuggled on Pakistani planes into Heathrow?
Wed, 24 May 2017 - Pakistani officials investigate two incidents in which the drug was found on London-bound planes.

Pakistan's national carrier says it is taking measures to ensure its planes are not used to carry drugs after heroin was found on two of its London-bound aircraft. Aviation authorities are also investigating how the drugs might be making their way on to the planes of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

What happened?

On 15 May, UK's Border Force officials impounded a PIA flight from Islamabad on arrival at London Heathrow airport and searched it for several hours. The National Crime Agency later said that a quantity of heroin had been found hidden in different panels of the plane. There were suggestions that the British authorities had acted on a tip-off from Pakistan. No-one was charged. The pilot was allowed to return to Pakistan the next day, while the crew members were given their passports back a day later.

Heroin was found on two PIA flights to London​

The episode caused considerable embarrassment to PIA, which was already reeling from a plane crash in that killed dozens of people in December and a number of near-misses subsequently, sparking allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Then on 22 May, Pakistani officials at Islamabad airport seized more than 20kg (44lb) of heroin from another aircraft headed to Heathrow. An investigation is continuing.

What is Pakistan doing about it?

See also:

Pigeon 'caught with backpack of drugs'
Thu, 25 May 2017 - A pocket holding 178 pills was strapped to the bird which was caught near the Iraq border - report.

Customs officials in Kuwait have apprehended a pigeon carrying drugs in a miniature backpack, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai reports. A total of 178 pills were found in the fabric pocket attached to its back, the newspaper says. The bird was caught near the customs building in Abdali, close to the border with Iraq. An al-Rai journalist said the drugs were a form of ketamine, an anaesthetic also used as an illegal party drug.

Customs officials are reported to have been tracking the pigeon before it was caught​

Abdullah Fahmi told the BBC that customs officials already knew pigeons were being used to smuggle drugs, but this was the first time they had caught a bird in the act. Law enforcement officials elsewhere have, however, identified previous cases where pigeons have been used to carry lightweight high-value narcotics. In 2015, prison guards in Costa Rica caught a pigeon carrying cocaine and cannabis in a zipped pouch.

And in 2011, Colombian police discovered a pigeon that was unable to fly over a high prison wall because of the weight of a package of cocaine and marijuana strapped to it. Pigeons have been used to carry messages since Roman times, using their powerful "homing" ability. Racing pigeons can return to their lofts from distances of hundreds of kilometres.

Pigeon 'caught with backpack of drugs' - BBC News

 

[Dschrute3]

Let the People do their drugs. As long as they're adults, it's their decision. Government should stay out of it. Time to scrap the 'War on Drugs.'