Drugs in the news

'They stole our dreams': blogger reveals cost of reporting Mexico's drug wars

Anonymous author of celebrated Blog del Narco speaks for first time about the risks – and reveals she is a woman

The Guardian (UK)
Wednesday, April 3, 2013

For three years it has chronicled Mexico's drug war with graphic images and shocking stories that few others dare show, drawing millions of readers, acclaim, denunciations – and speculation about its author's identity. Blog del Narco, an internet sensation dubbed a "front-row seat" to Mexico's agony over drugs, has become a must-read for authorities, drug gangs and ordinary people because it lays bare, day after day, the horrific violence censored by the mainstream media.

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'Cannabis clubs are the solution, not the problem'

The Local (France)
Tuesday, April 2, 2013

'Cannabis clubs' all over France have taken the high-risk move of registering with authorities as non-profit organizations. Farid Ghehioueche, a leading activist tells The Local why the clubs should be seen as part of solution to the drug problem. Last week’s registration of clubs as non-profit groups forms part of a strategy to push those in power to come up with an alternative, experimental framework for cannabis use in France.

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Marijuana to fight drug addiction

Could marijuana solve Colombia's crack cocaine problem?

The Huffington Post (US web)
Tuesday, April 2, 2013

BBC Mundo reports that Bogotá is planning a system of "controlled consumption centers," where addicts could be weaned off more hard-core drugs, such as heroin or crack (bazuco), and slowly introduced to pot. Because of its continued prevalence, as well as its toxicity, bazuco will be one of the drugs targeted by Mayor Gustavo Petro's planned treatment centers. The treatment centers are part of a larger movement in Colombia to classify drug addiction as an issue of public health rather than crime.

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HSBC gives Argentina prosecutors chance to correct US blunder

InSight Crime
April 1, 2013

The accusations from Argentina's tax authority that London-based HSBC laundered over $100 million may pale in comparison to that of the bank's US - Mexico case, but they raise the specter that someone from HSBC could finally go to jail. The charges, announced by the head of Argentina's tax collection agency, Ricardo Echegaray, on March 19 include tax evasion and money laundering totalling up to $120 million.

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Brad Pitt: America's war on drugs is a charade, and a failure

The actor and executive producer of the documentary The House I Live In says US drugs policy needs a radical rethink

Brad Pitt

The Observer (UK)
Sunday, March 31, 2013

"Since declaring a war on drugs 40 years ago, the United States has spent more than a trillion dollars, arrested more than 45 million people, and racked up the highest incarceration rate in the world. Yet it remains laughably easy to obtain illegal drugs. So why do we continue down this same path? Why do we talk about the drug war as if it's a success? It's a charade." (See: The house I live in)

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Un premier "cannabis social club" reconnu officiellement en Vendée

Le réveil du "peuple de l'herbe"

Le HuffPost (France)
Dimanche, 31 mars 2013

C'est une première en France. Cette semaine, la Préfecture de Vendée a officiellement accepté la création d'un "cannabis social club" (CSC), en accusant réception d'un dossier monté par cinq personnes. Ces derniers ont reçu le papier d'attestation officielle avec leur numéro d'association. Les cannabis social clubs, dans lesquels les membres cultivent du cannabis et partagent leur production sans en faire commerce, existent déjà en Espagne et en Belgique. Mais sont totalement illégaux en France.

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Consultant: Tax revenues on pot won’t be half of what’s projected

The Seattle Times (US)
Friday, March 29, 2013

Washington’s new pot consultant has one overarching, discouraging message for lawmakers and state budget writers: don’t look at weed as an ATM. Potential tax revenues will probably be less than half of the $450 million that’s been projected, said Mark Kleiman, in a interview Thursday night with TVW’s Austin Jenkins. More important, Kleiman said, to rely on money from pot — like money from gambling, alcohol and tobacco — means relying on abuse and addiction, which are not necessarily desirable state goals.

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Scathing audit throws Colorado recreational marijuana rules into chaos

The Denver Post (US)
Thursday, March 28, 2013

Colorado's under-construction plan for regulating recreational marijuana nearly came unglued when lawmakers questioned whether the agency that would enforce the rules is up to the task. The plan called for the state's Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division — which regulates medical-marijuana businesses — to transition to the Marijuana Enforcement Division and be in charge of all pot enterprises in the state. But a scathing audit cast doubt on the division's fitness for handling the massive job.

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UN concerned by arbitrary arrests in Brazil

CBS News (US)
Thursday, March 28, 2013

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention voiced concern about the rising number of arbitrary arrests in Brazil, which has one of the highest prison populations in the world with around 550,000 persons, 217,000 (about 40%) of whom are in pre-trial detention. They also expressed serious concerns regarding the arrests and compulsory confinement of drug addicts due to forthcoming major events such as the Soccer World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. (See: Prison overcrowding in Brazil)

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Avec les Cannabis social club, le «peuple de l’herbe» veut se faire entendre

Libération (France)
Mercredi, 27 mars, 2013

Avec les Cannabis social club (CSC), dont les statuts ont été déposés lundi dans plusieurs préfectures, des militants défenseurs du cannabis bravent l’interdit pour promouvoir la dépénalisation et l’autoproduction et mettre ainsi un terme aux trafics et à la mise en circulation de produits «frelatés»: 15 à 20 clubs ont été officiellement créés, notamment en Loire-Atlantique, Vendée, Creuse, Charente-Maritime, Indre-et-Loire et Haute-Vienne, emboîtant ainsi le pas à la fédération, créée le 4 mars en Indre-et-Loire.

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Drugs in the news

'They stole our dreams': blogger reveals cost of reporting Mexico's drug wars

Anonymous author of celebrated Blog del Narco speaks for first time about the risks – and reveals she is a woman

'Cannabis clubs are the solution, not the problem'

Marijuana to fight drug addiction

Could marijuana solve Colombia's crack cocaine problem?

HSBC gives Argentina prosecutors chance to correct US blunder

Brad Pitt: America's war on drugs is a charade, and a failure

The actor and executive producer of the documentary The House I Live In says US drugs policy needs a radical rethink

Un premier "cannabis social club" reconnu officiellement en Vendée

Le réveil du "peuple de l'herbe"

Consultant: Tax revenues on pot won’t be half of what’s projected

Scathing audit throws Colorado recreational marijuana rules into chaos

UN concerned by arbitrary arrests in Brazil

Avec les Cannabis social club, le «peuple de l’herbe» veut se faire entendre

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