British nuclear physicist's daughter Shivaun Orton faces death for heroin haul in Malaysia | Mail Online: "Dressed in orange prison robes and handcuffed to a fellow suspect, this is the daughter of a British nuclear scientist facing the death penalty in Malaysia for drugs trafficking.
Shivaun Orton, 41, and her husband were arrested after police found £16,000 of cannabis, amphetamine, ecstasy and heroin during a raid on their home.
If found guilty, she could become the first British woman to be hanged since Ruth Ellis in 1955. But yesterday she insisted she was innocent. She said that while her Malaysian husband Abdul Harris Badileh was a womanising drug user, she had been kept as a virtual prisoner at their home 12 miles from a beach resort they own."
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Number of Scots jailed for drugs soars in ten years - The Daily Record: "umber of prisoners jailed for drug offences has soared by 74 per cent in the last decade.
A report by Scotland's Chief Statistician found 1463 crooks were sent to jail for committing a drug related crime in 2009-10.
But in 2000-01, the equivalent figure was 839.
The increase in the last 12 months alone was 10 per cent. It comes after justice minister Kenny MacAskill brought in legislation to limit jail terms of three months or less.
Although the numbers jailed for drug related crime increased, the number jailed for handling offensive weapons, crimes of dishonesty, common assault and motor vehicle offences all decreased.
The Prison Statistics Scotland 2009/10 report found Scotland's imprisonment rate per 100,000 population was 158. That is higher than the rest of the UK, as well as Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Holland and Belgium.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: 'These statistics continue the trend of recent years that, despite the fact recorded crime is at a 32-year low, more people than ever before are being locked up in Scotland."
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Fighting drugs, addiction -with classical music: "In one of the world's deadliest cities, where drug gangs murder a dozen people a day, a former heroin addict is changing lives with violins and trumpets rather than assault rifles.
Alma Rosa Gonzalez is helping poor children learn classical music and give them an outlet that might stop them falling prey to the gangsters who are terrorizing this city of about 1.5 million on the Texas border.
'Just to see a gang member bringing his child to school carrying an instrument means the kid's life has changed, he won't be the same as his father,' said Gonzalez, a social worker who started the youth orchestra program in 2005."
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"Veronica Treviño stares straight at the camera as she answers questions from an unseen interrogator. She speaks loudly, without hesitation, and with little expression.
Who does she work for? 'The Zetas [a drugs cartel]' What is her group doing in the north-eastern city of Tampico? 'Heating up the turf of the Gulf cartel [a rival trafficking gang].' What actions does that include? 'Killing taxi drivers, police officers, innocent people and children.'
The video of Treviño's confession, presumably under pressure from the Gulf cartel, was posted on the internet at the end of November.
It was followed a couple of days later by uploaded photographs of her severed head in an icebox.
Organised crime in Mexico has traditionally been an almost exclusively male world, but there is growing evidence of a rapid increase in the number of women involved with the cartels and the violence surrounding them."
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Report shows cartel arrests didn't slow drug trade :: Lifestyles :: Post-Tribune: "On a sleepy boulevard of motels and fast-food joints near the Mexican border, police stopped a car with a broken tail light. In the trunk, an officer found a trash bag containing 48 pounds of narcotics, and in the driver's pocket, scraps of paper scrawled with phone numbers.
Almost four years later, a grave Eric Holder called his first news conference as attorney general and announced where those phone numbers had led — to a sweeping investigation called Operation Xcellerator, which produced the largest-ever federal crackdown on Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel, with 761 people arrested and 23 tons of narcotics seized."
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The Associated Press: Gunmen kill 4 in attack on 2 Mexico rehab centers: "Mexican police say armed commandos attacked two drug rehabilitation centers in this border city across from El Paso, Texas, killing four people and wounding five.
Municipal police spokesman Adrian Sanchez says the attacks occurred Sunday afternoon. Three were killed in one center and one was killed in another.
Gangs have killed dozens in drug rehabilitation centers in the last two years across Mexico, including nine last summer in Durango in the north and 19 in Chihuahua city, capital of the border state Ciudad Juarez is located.
Cartels run the centers in some cases to recruit addicts, leaving them open to attacks from rivals.
Warring drug cartels have turned Ciudad Juarez into on of the world's most violent cities."
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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.
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): "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, 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.
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."
Booze puts one Briton in hospital every 7 minutes as NHS sees 54% leap in alcohol admissions over past decade | Mail Online: "One person every seven minutes is admitted to hospital for a health problem directly attributed to alcohol. It marks an astonishing 54 per cent rise over the past decade, as the scale of Labour’s binge-drink legacy is laid bare.And the startling figures do not even come close to reflecting alcohol’s full impact on the NHS because they exclude conditions that are merely exacerbated by drink, such as diabetes and most types of heart disease.The figures from the NHS Information Centre show that almost 70,000 people were admitted to NHS hospitals last year wholly due to alcohol, compared with 45,000 in 1999/2000.This includes people who have had too much to drink, and are classified as suffering anything from alcohol poisoning to cirrhosis of the liver.It includes some admissions from A&E and some directly into hospital via ambulance or doctor’s referral.Separate figures last week revealed that 13,000 alcohol-related admissions of young people under 18 were recorded last year – mostly girls. That number is up by a third in just five years."
Crime Scene - DEA claims big Va. drug bust: "The Drug Enforcement Administration says it has busted one of the largest drug rings in the Hampton Roads area.
The federal agency says the $9 million operation was allegedly run for the past 10 years by the owner of a Virginia Beach restaurant.
Fred Phillip Wills Jr., his wife, Makishea Bobbi Wills, and Kendall Dwight Callaham were arrested earlier this week on a federal indictment on multiple drug distribution charges.
The indictment alleges that the three sold more than 244 pounds of cocaine and smaller quantities of marijuana and laundered the proceeds through the numerous restaurants Fred Wills has owned over the years under the “Big Daddy” name.
Family members at the latest restaurant and Wills' lawyer declined to comment."
Hooker Claims There Was Cocaine in Charlie Sheen's Room - Charlie Sheen: "So much for rehab! Charlie Sheen was not only drunk last night when he was escorted to the hospital, cocaine was reportedly found in his room as well!
The hooker that was accompanying Charlie claims there was a bunch of blow in the room. 'The prostitute says Charlie was using cocaine,'"
EXCLUSIVE: Charlie Sheen Tests Positive For Cocaine | Radar Online: "Charlie Sheen tested positive for cocaine after his bizarre meltdown in a New York hotel room, RadarOnline.com learned exclusively.
Sheen, 45, was taken to a New York hospital by ambulance early Tuesday morning after trashing his hotel room at The Plaza when he thought a prostitute had stolen his wallet.
'Cops told Sheen he could either go to the hospital or the (police) station,' a source told RadarOnline.com.
Sheen went to the hospital and was checked in for a psych evaluation.
'After that incident, a battery of tests were run on Sheen. He tested positive for cocaine,' the source told RadarOnline.com. 'And he's only been out of rehab for two months.'"
Did Charlie Sheen test positive for cocaine in hotel matter? | HollywoodNews.com: "Charlie Sheen has some new, major problems on his hands after being involved in a hotel and hospitalization incident that may have had something to do with cocaine.
It is being alleged that Sheen tested positive for cocaine after being removed from the hotel where he reportedly destroyed his room, states RadarOnline.com. Sheen was reportedly taken to the hospital and given a number of tests including one that allegedly found he had been doing cocaine.
Sheen has been out of rehab for a couple months now after being involved in a domestic violence matter. He has reportedly been doing cocaine for a number of weeks now ever since his release.
Do you think Charlie Sheen is back on drugs?"
Paul Gascoigne in rehab in last-ditch bid to avoid Xmas in jail | The Sun |News: "43-year-old - nicked on Thursday on suspicion of possessing coke - has been told that staying sober is the only chance he has of keeping out of prison.
Cops had found him slumped at home with the Class A drug in front of him after a worried pal dialled 999 fearing the former Newcastle and Spurs ace had overdosed.
came two days after Gazza was warned he faces a jail term after admitting drink-driving in court. He could get three months after he was caught in his blue MG sports car while four times the limit.
He also faces a separate drink-drive trial next month."
''24/7 sobriety'' programme involves people paying to be tested for alcohol twice a day after being convicted of drink-related crime, and appearing in court to face the prospect of custody if they test positive.
It has already been implemented in the US, with the state of South Dakota reporting a 14 per cent drop in the prison population as a result, according to Deputy Mayor of London Kit Malthouse.
He said he would like to pilot the scheme in the capital in the New Year, subject to government approval.
He described London as having a "desperate problem" with alcohol where up to 50 per cent of crime is alcohol-related.
"The advantage of this is it is not just punitive but corrective," he told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.
"It may be that it is used as an alternative to prison or conjunctive to prison."
Mr Malthouse said that current methods such as counselling did not work to discourage persistent offenders and that some needed a "more rigorous approach".
He added: "If you ask the police there are some people who cause trouble every Saturday night."
Mr Malthouse said the American version of the scheme had a 99 per cent compliance rate and that it was "of no cost to the tax payer", because the people taking part paid a dollar per alcohol test. He described it as a ''cheaper and more cost-effective'' alternative to prison.
The deputy mayor said that he hoped the scheme would have an impact on the amount of domestic violence that takes place in London, much of which is drink related. He said that in Dakota people can be on the programme for one to two years.
He said: ''We would like to try it here. We do think drink is a great driver of crime in this city.''
However, Don Shenker, who runs Alcohol Concern, said he did not think "compulsory sobriety" was the best way to teach people to drink moderately and called for more government funding for alcohol education programmes.
He said: "The evidence shows that if you give people brief advice on their drinking and ask them to look at why they are drinking then they can change that."
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Lindsay Lohan Back In Rehab Over Cocaine « Wow Celebrities: "Lindsay Lohan Avoids Jailtime and is Sent Back to Rehab
When does she not catch a break??? Lindsay Lohan has avoided jail time (for the ga-zillionth time) and has been ordered back to rehab. Full story is below… Lohan was let off fairly easy (like always) in court today by Judge Elden Fox who unlike the deputy district attorney….didn’t believe 180 days in the slammer would serve"
man, who claimed to be the former drug dealer of Angelina Jolie, has said that the ‘Salt’ star was on cocaine while she was interview by Charlie Rose in 2000 to promote ‘Girl, Interrupted.
Franklin Mayer said that Jolie, who rambled in the Rose interview about her role as Gia, the drug-addicted model she played in an HBO film, was on drugs herself at the time.
“She’d taken coke. She did the show and then she came back over after,” the New York Post quoted him as saying.
Jolie said in 1998 of her Gia role, “I hate heroin because I have been fascinated with it.”
Meyer said he met her in 1997 at the Chelsea Hotel and claimed he saw her two to three times a week when she was in New York, either at her apartment or at the hotel.
“She would generally spend about 100 dollar each time. That would buy maybe half a gram of coke and a 10th of a gram of heroin,” he concluded.
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