Drugs News

Potential Colombian cocaine production jumps 31 percent By AFP Apo - Illegal coca plantations in Colombia reached record levels last year following a 17 percent increase from 2016 to around 423,000 acres (171,000 hectares), the United Nations said on Wednesday.

Potential Colombian cocaine production jumps 31 percent By AFP Apo - Illegal coca plantations in Colombia reached record levels last year following a 17 percent increase from 2016 to around 423,000 acres (171,000 hectares), the United Nations said on Wednesday.

Legalised pot spots: a rarity around the world By AFP Paris - A ruling by South Africa's top court Tuesday legalising the personal use of cannabis puts the nation on course to become one of only a few to legalise cannabis for recreational purposes.

Drugs kill seven at Vietnam music festival By AFP Seven Vietnamese have died and five are in a coma after taking drugs at an electronic dance music festival in Hanoi, officials said Monday, as authorities scrambled to trace the substance.

Carell, Chalamet hunt Oscars with 'Beautiful Boy' By AFP Toronto - A father's anguished struggle to save his son from a deadly drug dependence in "Beautiful Boy" stirred Oscar buzz for stars Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet at its Toronto film festival premiere over the weekend.

Getting high in Laos' opium-riddled mountains By AFP - In a hut on the top of a fog-licked mountain in northern Laos, Vo Pali is getting high.His poison is opium, a sap extracted from poppies grown illegally by the poor hill tribes in the Communist state's rugged, inaccessible uplands.

Colombia kills 'most dangerous' FARC dissident By AFP Apo - Colombian armed forces killed "the most dangerous" dissident guerrilla from now-disbanded Marxist rebels FARC on Saturday in the drug violence-infested jungle area on the border with Ecuador, the government said.

Mass grave site with 166 bodies found in Mexico By AFP Campeche - Mexican authorities discovered at least 166 bodies at a mass grave site in Veracruz state, prosecutors said Thursday, the latest horrifying find in a region hit by bloody drug cartel turf wars.

Spanish police seize cocaine-stuffed pineapples By AFP Madrid - Spanish police said Monday they have seized 67 kilogrammes (148 pounds) of cocaine found inside dozens of hollowed-out pineapples at Madrid's main wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

Mexico seizes record 50 tons of meth By AFP Mexico - Mexican marines seized a record 50 tons of crystal meth from a drug lab in the state of Sinaloa, authorities said Friday.The military said it detected the lab in the town of Alcoyonqui, near the state capital Culiacan, and raided it on Thursday.

Warning sounded about online pharmacies By Tim Sandle London - A call has been made from medical professionals for new regulations to be put in place to control online stores that sell prescription only medicines. The regulation would help to protect patients.

US judge rejects German drug maker's effort to halt execution By AFP Chicago - A US judge on Friday denied German drugmaker Fresenius Kabi's motion to stop a planned lethal injection execution in Nebraska on the grounds that the state improperly obtained the company's drugs.

German drug maker sues to halt US execution By AFP Chicago - German drug maker Fresenius Kabi is suing to halt a planned execution in Nebraska, claiming the US state illegally obtained the company's drugs to use for the lethal injection procedure.

Artificial intelligence system develops drugs from scratch By Tim Sandle The drug development process is a convoluted process with as many false starts as there are successes. A new research project has shown how artificial intelligence can help to accelerate the process.

Lebanon's hash farmers fear going legal may hit profits By AFP Bechou - The sun-soaked cannabis fields are just out of reach of a nearby army checkpoint. Its production is lucrative in Lebanon, but growers fear legalising its medical use could slash profits.

Mexico arrests alleged drug trafficker over missing Italians By AFP Mexico - Police in Mexico have arrested an alleged drug trafficker in connection with the disappearance of three Italians in January, the attorney general's office said on Monday.

UK doctors given green light to prescribe cannabis By AFP London - British doctors will be able to prescribe medicinal cannabis, the government announced Thursday following a review -- but insisted it was not a first step towards legalising recreational use.

Censors jump into action as China's latest vaccine scandal ignites By AFP Bejing - Chinese censors on Sunday deleted articles and postings about the vaccine industry as an online outcry over the country's latest vaccine scandal intensified.

French drug smuggler home after being held 18 years in Indonesia By AFP Paris - A Frenchman detained for 18 years after trying to smuggle drugs into Bali arrived in Geneva on Sunday and was on his way home after being deported in a case that sparked outrage in France over Indonesia's tough narcotics laws.

Fugitive DHL heir arrested, jailed in Palau By AFP - The fugitive DHL heir Larry Hillbroom Jr has been arrested and jailed in Palau after two days on the run, the Pacific island nation's attorney general said Saturday.

Peru declares state of emergency on Colombian border By AFP - Peru has declared a 60-day state of emergency on its border with Colombia in order to guarantee security in a region rife with drug trafficking.

US judge delays 'El Chapo' trial two months to November By AFP New York - The US judge overseeing the case against Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, accused of running one of the world's biggest drug empires, ordered Monday that his trial be delayed 60 days until November.

Artificial intelligence to predict drug side effects By Tim Sandle Advances in artificial intelligence are helping researchers to predict medicinal drug combinations' side effects. This information will help to enhance patient safety.

Two Colombia police officers killed in emergency zone By AFP Apo - Two police officers were killed and another injured while patrolling an area housing thousands of evacuees who escaped a potentially catastrophic flood in northeast Colombia, authorities said Friday.

Thousands displaced by Colombia conflict, says UN By AFP Apo - At least 16,000 people have been displaced from their homes by armed conflict in the border region between Colombia and Venezuela, the United Nations said.

Honduran Air Force seizes drug trafficking planes By AFP Tegucigalpa - The Honduran Air Force seized two light aircraft suspected of involvement in drug trafficking to the United States, the armed forces said in a statement on Monday.

Pablo Escobar son says money laundering charges violate his rights By AFP Buenos Aires - The son of late drug lord Pablo Escobar is "outraged" that he and his mother have been charged with money laundering in Argentina -- a move he described as judicial "bullying" based on their identities.

Colombia to resume aerial spraying to destroy coca crop By AFP Apo - Colombia will resume aerial spraying of coca plantations with the herbicide glyphosate to counter a record increase in production of the cocaine crop, President Juan Manuel Santos announced Tuesday.

Global opium and cocaine production at record highs: UN By AFP Vienna - Global production of cocaine and opium, stemming largely from Colombia and Afghanistan respectively, has hit record levels, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said Tuesday in its annual report.

Record Colombian coca cultivation, cocaine output in 2017: US By AFP Washington - Coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia reached an all-time high in 2017, the office of the US "drug czar" said Monday, calling on the government in Bogota to do more to reverse the trend.

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