So-called synthetic marijuana products are sold in smoke shops and online under names like K2.

00:52 So-called synthetic marijuana products are sold in smoke shops and online under names like K2. 0 Comments

Reacting to what it called complaints from law enforcement and a surge in medical emergencies, the Drug Enforcement Administration said on Wednesday that it would ban several chemicals used to make so-called synthetic marijuana products, which resemble herbs or potpourri but mimic the effects of the drug when smoked.

So-called synthetic marijuana products are sold in smoke shops and online under names like K2.
In a notice published in the Federal Register, the agency said it would use its emergency powers to ban possession and sale of five synthetic cannaboids whose effects mirror that of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which gives marijuana its potency. Those chemicals are used to coat a variety of products which are marketed as incense, but have become popular as smokables for those seeking a legal high.

Under the action, the five cannaboids will be listed as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category, for at least a year while the government studies whether they should be permanently banned.

The temporary action will take at least 30 days to take effect, meaning the products will not immediately be illegal. But on Wednesday, the acting agency administrator, Michele M. Leonhart, made it clear that she believes they are an imminent public safety threat.

“Makers of these harmful products mislead their customers into thinking that ‘fake pot’ is a harmless alternative to illegal drugs, but that is not the case,” she said in a statement.

The products, which began to appear in the United States in 2008, are sold in smoke shops and online under names like K2, Blue Dragon and Black Mamba Spice, and are marked with warnings saying “not intended for human consumption.” But according to the drug agency, those warnings are being ignored, leading to a variety of bad reactions, including agitation, vomiting, seizures and hallucinations.

Tony Newman, a spokesman for the Drug Policy Alliance, which seeks to liberalize the drug laws, said the ban seemed to be the wrong approach.

“The D.E.A. says that prohibiting synthetic marijuana will ‘control’ it — yet we know from history that prohibition is the complete opposite of drug control,” Mr. Newman said, adding that regulating and setting age limits would be a better approach than “relegating it to the black market.”

Fifteen states have sought to control the THC-like chemicals, the drug agency said. But the products are still easily available; one online retailer on Wednesday was advertising Blue Dragon as “perfect for someone who gets drug tested and doesn’t want to test positive.” And, on Polk Street in San Francisco a packet of three grams of K2 was bought for $25.

Brands such as “Spice,” “K2,” “Blaze,” and “Red X Dawn” are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose

00:48 ” “Blaze , ” “K2 , ” and “Red X Dawn” are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose , Brands such as “Spice 0 Comments

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is using its emergency scheduling authority to temporarily control five chemicals (JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol) used to make “fake pot” products. Except as authorized by law, this action will make possessing and selling these chemicals or the products that contain them illegal in the U.S. for at least one year while the DEA and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) further study whether these chemicals and products should be permanently controlled.

A Notice of Intent to Temporarily Control was published in the Federal Register today to alert the public to this action. After no fewer than 30 days, DEA will publish in the Federal Register a Final Rule to Temporarily Control these chemicals for at least 12 months with the possibility of a six-month extension. They will be designated as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category, which is reserved for unsafe, highly abused substances with no medical usage.

Over the past year, smokable herbal blends marketed as being “legal” and providing a marijuana-like high, have become increasingly popular, particularly among teens and young adults. These products consist of plant material that has been coated with research chemicals that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and are sold at a variety of retail outlets, in head shops and over the Internet. These chemicals, however, have not been approved by the FDA for human consumption and there is no oversight of the manufacturing process. Brands such as “Spice,” “K2,” “Blaze,” and “Red X Dawn” are labeled as incense to mask their intended purpose.

£2.5m cocaine smugglers jailed for 14 years (From Basildon Recorder)

21:07 £2.5m cocaine smugglers jailed for 14 years 0 Comments

£2.5m cocaine smugglers jailed for 14 years (From Basildon Recorder): "Colombians Fredy Paz Preciado, 30, and 37-year-old James Quinones hid on the container ship for 12 days over Christmas last year.
The ship set sail from Colombia on December 15, stopping at Rotterdam, before travelling on to Tilbury.
The pair were discovered en route to Tilbury when a crew member heard a knocking from one of the hatches leading to the ship’s hold.
The men were found below in the tiny area where they had been living – along with packages containing 50 kilos of cocaine.
In preparation for their escape from the ship once it docked at the Essex port, both men were wearing wetsuits under their clothes and had bags, mobile phones and GPS co-ordinates to get back to Rotterdam.
When they were arrested, they claimed they had stowed away to flee their homeland.
They denied any knowledge of the drugs, but forensic tests by the UK Border Agency confirmed sticky tape on packaging around the cocaine matched tape found on their bags."

Binge drinkers have a risk of heart disease twice that of people who consume the same amount of alcohol but more steadily

08:46 Binge drinkers have a risk of heart disease twice that of people who consume the same amount of alcohol but more steadily 0 Comments

Binge drinkers have a risk of heart disease twice that of people who consume the same amount of alcohol but more steadily, researchers say.

The study compared 10,000 male drinkers from "booze-bingeing" Belfast and "moderate" France over 10 years.

It concluded that downing lots of alcohol in one or two sessions is worse than drinking more regularly in a week.

Experts said the British Medical Journal work reinforced what was known but was a wake-up call for bingers.

Amy Thompson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: "This reinforces what we already know - that drinking high levels of alcohol can be harmful to your heart.

"It's important to avoid binge drinking and it's better to have a small amount of alcohol regularly rather than large amounts in one go. If you do drink, it's important to keep within the recommended limits."

The official advice in the UK is that women should not regularly drink more than two to three units (about two glasses of wine or one pint of beer) a day and men should not regularly drink more than three to four units a day.

In the study, some 9% of the middle-aged men in Belfast were binge drinkers, consuming at least three pints of beer or five glasses of wine in one sitting, mostly on a weekend, compared with 0.5% of those in France.

The French men tended to drink less alcohol in each sitting but drank more regularly.

Three-quarters of the French men drank daily, compared with 12% in Belfast.

The researchers found the men who were binge drinkers had nearly twice the risk of heart attack or death from heart disease compared with regular drinkers over the 10 years of follow up.

Professor Jean Ferrières, from Toulouse University Hospital, who carried out the research, believes the irregular pattern of drinking is to blame.

Another reason for the higher risk of heart disease in Belfast, said the authors, could be that more men there tended to drink beer and spirits than wine - the opposite of what the men in France tended to drink.

Killer drugs linked to 8 Malaga deaths | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain

12:38 Killer drugs linked to 8 Malaga deaths 0 Comments

Euro Weekly News | Killer drugs linked to 8 Malaga deaths | Costa del Sol | News | The Largest English Language Newspapers in Spain: "POLICE fear that a ‘bad’ batch of cocaine may be responsible for the deaths of eight people in Malaga. Tests have revealed all eight that died had consumed cocaine, and are investigating if there is a dangerous batch of the killer drug being sold in the Costa del Sol.
The victims died between October 30 and November 12, and were aged between 31 and 45.
All of them died in Malaga city, except one who was found in Torre del Mar, east of the city.
The reports from the Malaga Institute of Legal Medicine reveal that victims had taken drugs ranging from cannabis, benzodiazepine, trankimazin, to valium, among other; but they all had taken cocaine prior to their death."