The lure of illicit pleasure spreads a web that entangles Laos VANG VIENG, Laos-Western travelers of every ilk are whispering about the latest Shangri-la, a remote hamlet shrouded by sawtoothed mountains and dotted with enough opium dens to satisfy an army of drug-seeking tourists. Indeed, if not for opium, Peter Wu would probably never have come to Vang Vieng, 250 miles over a mountain road from the capital city of Vientiane. A was hoping for a place where a bunch of old-timers lay out on mats puffing away," said Wu, 32, who travels to Southeast Asia when not writing advertising copy in Lo Angeles. [continues 1208 words]
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Former Republican insider Arianna Huffington is helping to organize a "shadow" convention that would draw attention to issues such as campaign finance reform during this summer's Republican National Convention, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Wednesday. The newspaper said Huffington, a one-time confidante of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Georgia Republican, is expected to be joined at the gathering by actor Warren Beatty, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The so-called shadow convention would run July 30 to Aug. 4 and address issues including campaign finance reform, the federal government's war on drugs and the growing income gap between rich and poor in the United States. [continues 83 words]
I am concerned that a recent article (June 9, WV drug program panned) and an editorial criticizing the DARE program in West Vancouver schools may seriously damage the reputation of this program, and, indeed, cast reproach upon those students in West Vancouver who have neither experimented with, nor do they ever intend to experiment with, "some form of drug." Since my report on DARE was referred to in the article by Katharine Hamer, in which the chairman of the Youth Advisory Committee is quoted as recommending that DARE "should be abolished completely," I should like to comment on several findings in my study that should be considered in any decision to remove DARE from West Vancouver schools, and also to suggest that although several recommendations of the committee should certainly be examined, its report needs to be put in the proper context. [continues 1032 words]
BEIJING -- China marked U.N. anti-drug day Monday by executing dealers, torching narcotics and publicly acknowledging the grim inroads that drugs are making among Chinese, particularly the young. Those executed included three drug traffickers from Taiwan, a Hong Kong resident, two Shanghai heroin dealers, four dealers in the northern province of Shaanxi, three farmers in China's drug-afflicted southwest and four manufacturers of methamphetamine, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said. It carried conflicting accounts on the total number of people put to death but said the executions made "a clear and compelling statement." [continues 172 words]
Are soil bacteria behind a recent spate of heroin deaths? DRUG dealers who have deliberately cut heroin with a soil normally used in industry may be to blame for the wave of mystery deaths among British and Irish addicts, say infectious disease experts. Last week government scientists identified Clostridium novyi, a common soil bacterium, as a likely suspect in the hunt for the mystery killer of 30 heroin addicts in Britain. But it may not be the only culprit. A lethal cocktail of soil bacteria, including anthrax in one case, seems to have contaminated Europe's heroin, possibly because someone doctored the drug with earth. [continues 486 words]
BEIJING---China marked U.N. anti-drug day yesterday by executing dealers, torching narcotics and publicly acknowledging the inroads drugs are making among Chinese, particularly the young. Those executed included three drug traffickers from Taiwan, a Hong Kong resident, two Shanghai heroin dealers, four dealers in the northern province of Shaanxi. three farmers in china's drug afflicted southwest and four manufacturers of methamphetamine, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said. China executed at least 38 drug traffickers last week. [end]
Recent trends show that the use of pharmaceutical drugs like painkillers for mind-altering purposes is on the rise, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy's Diversion of Legitimate Drugs. The latest drug problem involves codeine and benzodiazepine drugs particularly codeine cough syrup, which is available by prescription only. It has been known to be deadly in combination with other drugs such as marijuana and heroin, according to research by the University of Maryland Center for Substance Abuse. [continues 372 words]
Economies dependent on illegal crop have few alternatives CHIMORE, Bolivia - Coca leaf farmers recently dynamited sections of the mountain road connecting the Bolivian capital, La Paz, with the northern Yungas region, causing a landslide of rocks and boulders - a natural road blockade. A U.S. military helicopter was shot at last month, injuring one soldier. Violent acts of protest such as these are on the rise in Bolivia's coca-growing regions as the country moves very close to eradicating all of its illegal coca as part of the global "war on drugs." [continues 957 words]
BEIJING, CHINA China marked UN anti-drug day Monday by executing dealers, torching narcotics and publicly acknowledging the grim inroads drugs are making among Chinese, particularly the young. Those executed included three drug traffickers from Taiwan, a Hong Kong resident, two Shanghai heroin dealers, four dealers in the northern province of Shaanxi, three farmers in China's drug-afflicted southwest, and four manufacturers of methamphetamine, the state-run New China news agency said. It carried conflicting accounts on the total number of people put to death but said the executions made "a clear and compelling statement." [continues 77 words]
"Life, liberty and property" is the way philosopher John Locke put it. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is the way Thomas Jefferson, in the Declaration of Independence, later put it. Either way, property clearly is important to a state of freedom and liberty. That's why an initiative petition that would mildly limit property seizure in Utah is important. Hopefully, its backers have secured enough signatures for it to be placed on November's general election ballot. Thursday was the deadline. A decision on ballot certification is due by July 6. The proposal would not require a criminal conviction in a court of law as a prerequisite for property seizure. [continues 273 words]