- -- and says he's done it before In his latest controversial statement, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, known for his bloody anti-drug war that has killed thousands, threatened to throw corrupt officials out of a helicopter, saying he has done it before, to a kidnapper, and won't hesitate to do it again. "I will pick you up in a helicopter to Manila, and I will throw you out on the way," Duterte said in Tagalog in front of a crowd in the Camarines Sur province Tuesday, according to GMA News. "I've done it before. Why would I not do it again?" [continues 563 words]
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, 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 field office in a fax dated Friday. [continues 1179 words]
Deadly synthetic opioids are streaming into the United States amid a flood of mail that arrives unscreened from abroad every day, overwhelming the Postal Service and fueling the drug epidemic gripping much of the country, security experts and Massachusetts lawmakers say. Nearly 1 million packages a day enter the country without any advance electronic information that might flag the presence of dangerous opioids such as fentanyl, much of which is manufactured in China, said Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant Homeland Security secretary. [continues 926 words]
The Canadian government needs to fill more than 200 federal RCMP vacancies in B.C. to help the province deal with its drug overdose crisis, B.C.'s director of police services said Monday. Clayton Pecknold, who co-chairs the province's task force on overdose response, credited the federal government with introducing legislation to ease the way for safe consumption sites and prevent the smuggling of opioids into Canada. "But there's more they can do," he said. "We are still down in the number of RCMP officers that we have doing federal drug enforcement in this province. We'd like to see the federal government act quickly on filling those positions." [continues 429 words]
Suppose 700 people died in a terrorist attack. Would you shrug it off because it didn't happen near you? Suppose 700 people died from a toxic chemical sprayed on farm vegetables. Would you still expect to see those vegetables for sale at your local supermarket? Not * likely! So why do we blandly tolerate government foot-dragging on the 700 drug overdose deaths that will happen in B.C. before the end of this year? As of October, the province had 622 deaths. Two more months will push the toll over 700. [continues 699 words]
Ottawa achieved a dubious distinction over the weekend when the capital saw its 50th shooting of 2016. With a quarter of the year left to go, that beats the previous record of 49 set in 2014. Now, I am not prepared to invite outrage and opprobrium from the left by suggesting that we might encapsulate the increased violence with the sobriquet of "welcome to Justin Trudeau's Canada." But it does suggest that while Canada enforces some of the toughest gun control legislation in the world, the criminals never have any difficulty in obtaining weapons. [continues 580 words]
I believe that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plan to decriminalize and regulate the production, sale and use of marijuana is correct and should be applied as well to other drugs, such as cocaine. I feel this way not because I am in favour of drug use (I wouldn't dream of using these substances myself ) but because an iron-fisted "war" to eradicate drug use doesn't work and is counterproductive. Greater problems are caused by making drugs illegal than by the drugs themselves. [continues 300 words]
I believe that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plan to decriminalize and regulate the production, sale and use of marijuana is correct and should be applied to other drugs as well - like cocaine, for example. I feel this way not because I am in favour of drug use, but because an iron-fisted "war on drugs" attempt to eradicate drug use doesn't work and is counterproductive. Greater problems are caused by making drugs illegal than by the effects of the drugs themselves. [continues 232 words]
I believe that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plan to decriminalize and regulate the production, sale and use of marijuana is correct and should be applied to other drugs as well, like cocaine, for example. I feel this way not because I am in favour of drug use (I wouldn't dream of using these substances myself ), but because an iron-fisted "war on drugs" attempt to eradicate drug use doesn't work and is counterproductive, in the sense that greater problems are caused by making drugs illegal than by the effects of the drugs themselves. [continues 308 words]
Canadian Matthew Harvey was banned for life from the United States in 2014 after he gave U.S. border guards an honest answer when asked if he had ever smoked marijuana. Harvey, who is now a licensed medical marijuana user, told the border agents the truth: he had smoked pot as an adult, even before he got his medical marijuana licence. Turns out that was not the response U.S. Customs and Border Protection wanted to hear. Even though Harvey was attempting to cross the border into Washington state, where marijuana use was (and still is) legal, the border service declared him inadmissible to the country. In the United States, pot is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Federal Controlled Substances Act. That means that despite the legalization of medical marijuana use in 25 states and Washington, D.C., pot remains one of the most power is inevitable and necessary for the respective countries to keep their nations safe and their populations secure, while also maintaining smooth border passages. There would be impossible lineups at airports and other entry points if every person who passed through were entitled to a full judicial hearing on the reason for their visit and the authenticity of their documents. [continues 266 words]
(AP) - PRESIDENT Duterte said on Monday that the bloody antidrug campaign, that has left nearly 1,800 people dead, did not amount to genocide, but he nevertheless assured the policemen he was ready to go to jail to defend them from lawsuits. Mr. Duterte drew a line between the widespread killings sparked by his antidrug war and the brutality under Syrian President Bashar Assad and the atrocities committed by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. "Genocide? Who did I kill? I did not kill any child. I did not drop barrel (bombs) just like Assad," the President said in a speech to mark National Heroes' Day before war veterans, ambassadors and top officials. "I'm fighting ... criminals." [continues 230 words]
It's Time to Conquer Addiction for the Good of Everyone; Victims and Police Included Try holding your breath for 72 seconds. It's uncomfortable, but you'll live, unlike Anthony Heffernan at the end of those 72 seconds in that Calgary Super 8 hotel room. By now, many Calgarians are divided into one of two camps regarding the tragic death of this young man, who was shot four times by police as he held a syringe in one hand and a lighter in another while under the dreadful influence of cocaine. [continues 593 words]
We can rant all day about how dirty and bloody the current war on drugs has become, but we cannot deny the fact that only President Rodrigo Duterte has shown utmost resolve and political will to do battle with drug syndicates. The illegal drug trade is just one of the tentacles of the underworld. According to law enforcement experts, revenues accrued from drug trafficking fund the criminal colony that is illegal gambling, human trafficking, white slavery, gunrunning, cybercrime and terrorism, not to mention sustaining the network of government officials who aid the illegal structure. [continues 920 words]
Suspicious Itineraries Pay Huge Dividends to Federal Drug Agency USA TODAY identified 87 cases in recent years in which the Justice Department went to federal court to seize cash from travelers. Federal drug agents regularly mine Americans' travel information to profile people who might be ferrying money for narcotics traffickers - - though they almost never use what they learn to make arrests or build criminal cases. Instead, that targeting has helped the Drug Enforcement Administration seize a small fortune in cash. DEA agents have profiled passengers on Amtrak trains and nearly every major U.S. airline, drawing on reports from a network of travel-industry informants that extends from ticket counters to back offices, a USA TODAY investigation has found. Agents assigned to airports and train stations singled out passengers for questioning or searches for reasons as seemingly benign as traveling one-way to California or having paid for a ticket in cash. [continues 1550 words]
In the midst of a presidential election year, Americans rightly expect to hear debates on almost every relevant topic. However, there is one topic that seems to be missing from the debate, even when it seems compellingly relevant: The "war on drugs." When we talk about Mexican and Central American immigration, we ignore the fact that many immigrants are unaccompanied children, refugees fleeing drug war violence, while drug warriors claim to be concerned about "the children." And when the violence follows the refugees, we blame them, not the drug war. [continues 484 words]
Car Sales Exec: I'm Appalled at Silence on Vigilante Slays ACCOUNTABILITY and due process amid the wave of killings of suspected drug pushers and users, most of them poor, are among the hot-button issues that President Duterte should speak about in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona), according to people interviewed by the INQUIRER. Other issues include the President's stand on the Paris pact on climate change, conditional cash transfer and poverty alleviation, the South China Sea dispute, the monster traffic jams in Metro Manila, K-12 program and corruption. [continues 1143 words]
DEA to Decide If Pot Is Still a Schedule 1 Drug or Has Medical Potential Washington - When President Richard Nixon signed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, the federal government put marijuana in the category of the nation's most dangerous drugs, along with LSD, heroin and mescaline. In legal parlance, pot is a Schedule 1 drug, with a high potential for abuse and no medical purpose. Forty-six years later, the law might soon change, as the Obama administration prepares to make what could be its biggest decision yet on marijuana. [continues 701 words]
A fear that America's obsession with security might gum up critical border travel has loomed over some of Canada's domestic-policy debates. But on two matters currently in the news - the legalization of marijuana and visa-free travel for Mexicans - the United States is proving not to be the border bogeyman that Canadian politicians and bureaucrats sometimes make it out to be. Last week, as the presidents of Mexico and the U.S. visited Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he will lift the requirement that Mexicans have a visa to visit Canada. This move caused controversy, as bureaucrats raised concerns of a "significant risk" the U.S. will see Canada as weak on security and decide to "thicken" border regulations. [continues 585 words]
Illegals Aren't The Only Worry Americans Encounter With Open Borders The two groups with the most to lose with a Donald Trump victory on Nov. 8 would be the Mexican drug cartels and their Chinese suppliers. The reason is pretty simple: Mr. Trump has made securing the border his principal campaign theme. If the border is secured by a wall or some combination of means against the flood of illegal aliens and potential terrorists, then it automatically puts a major hit on the flow of narcotics across the border. If they can't get the illegals in, they can't get the dope in, either. [continues 700 words]
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has frequently expressed his intense anger with drug dealers, even to the extent of executing some of them. When speaking at the International Day Against Drugs on Sunday he proposed a new approach that could rival the actions of his Philippines counterpart Rodrigo Duterte. But just as capital punishment has not defeated the scourge of drug abuse in the country so Jokowi should never try to go that far, let alone consider breaking the rules. "Chase them, beat them, hit them. If the law permits, shoot them." Luckily the law does not permit such measures, he added. Nevertheless that's the President's punch line, which might represent the wish of the majority of Indonesian people, particularly parents who have sacrificed all they have to save their children from addiction. [continues 382 words]
