The World Wide War on Drugs #6 -Is de zinloze "oorlog" over?

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Op vrijdag 8 november 2013 01:24 schreef El_Matador het volgende:
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Nog maar eens.

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Op dinsdag 24 december 2013 20:29 schreef Nieuwschierig het volgende:
De waarheid is dat er in Nederland tienduizenden mensen/gezinnen hun inkomen halen uit de handel in drugs. Geld waar ze nauwelijks iets voor hoeven te doen, behalve risico lopen.
Zodra drugs legaal worden is er niets meer aan te verdienen en zullen deze figuren andere manieren zoeken om aan snel geld te komen.
Winkelovervallen, straatroof, autodiefstal en dat in aantallen die voor de staat totaal onbeheersbaar zijn.

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 03:42 schreef heiden6 het volgende:
Recreational Marijuana Shops Open In Colorado

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 08:19 schreef arjan1112 het volgende:

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waarom zouden ze niet gewoon normale ondernemers , boeren en groothandelaren worden bij een legalisatie ?

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 08:19 schreef arjan1112 het volgende:

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waarom zouden ze niet gewoon normale ondernemers , boeren en groothandelaren worden bij een legalisatie ?

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 16:58 schreef Nieuwschierig het volgende:

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Omdat er veel minder geld in om zal gaan als het legaal is.
Er is dan simpelweg te weinig geld in de markt om iedere crimineel een eerlijk bestaan te geven.
Bovendien is het slechts een kwestie van tijd tot de legale drugs bij de drogist of de tabakswinkel te koop zijn.

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 18:05 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Als we nou banken verbieden en drugs legaliseren?

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 18:12 schreef Nieuwschierig het volgende:

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Dan schieten ze jou kapot

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 18:33 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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De bankiers of de dealers?

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 18:44 schreef Nieuwschierig het volgende:

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De voormalige delers, die gaan geen wekker zetten om 's morgens naar de baas te gaan.
Die bellen 's avonds aan en nemen je geld en je dochter mee terwijl jij in de hal ligt te kreperen

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 18:49 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Dat is na de drooglegging ook niet gebeurd en ik heb toch geen dochters.

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The Mafia took advantage of prohibition and began selling illegal alcohol. The profits from bootlegging far exceeded the traditional crimes of protection, extortion, gambling and prostitution. Prohibition allowed Mafia families to make fortunes

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After prohibition ended in 1933, organized crime groups were confronted with an impasse and needed other ways to maintain the high profits they had acquired throughout the 1920s.

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 18:56 schreef Nieuwschierig het volgende:

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Dat is nu precies wat er wel gebeurd is na de drooglegging.
Toen is de Amerikaanse mafia overgegaan van illegale drankhandel naar georganiseerde harde criminaliteit

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Mafia

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 20:11 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Dus omdat een verbod de georganiseerde criminaliteit vooruit hielp, wil jij dat handhaven.

Duidelijk

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 20:21 schreef Nieuwschierig het volgende:

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Lees je eigen beweringen nog eens na aub...

Bovendien, IK wil niets.

Mijn stelling is dat de overheid het verbod op drugs handhaaft om te voorkomen dat duizenden kleine drugshandelaren die alleen maar gewend zijn aan snel en makkelijk geld verdienen los gaan op "de brave burger" die totaal onvoorbereid is op een golf van harde criminelen.
Nu speelt dit circuit zich af in een beperkte kring die door de overheid te overzien is.
Na legalisatie knalt die kring uit elkaar en regent neer op de 'gewone' maatschappij.

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 20:40 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Net zoals na de drooglegging. Ik waag het er op. Ff Opstelten dumpen.

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 20:58 schreef popolon het volgende:
14 Ways Marijuana Legalization Could Boost The Economy

De voordelen zijn ZOVEEL groter dan de nadelen. Bring it on!

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Op donderdag 2 januari 2014 20:21 schreef Nieuwschierig het volgende:

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Lees je eigen beweringen nog eens na aub...

Bovendien, IK wil niets.

Mijn stelling is dat de overheid het verbod op drugs handhaaft om te voorkomen dat duizenden kleine drugshandelaren die alleen maar gewend zijn aan snel en makkelijk geld verdienen los gaan op "de brave burger" die totaal onvoorbereid is op een golf van harde criminelen.
Nu speelt dit circuit zich af in een beperkte kring die door de overheid te overzien is.
Na legalisatie knalt die kring uit elkaar en regent neer op de 'gewone' maatschappij.

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China deploys 3,000 police, speedboats and helicopters in village drug raid

Police confiscate 3 tonnes of crystal meth and arrest 182 people working in clan-based drug industry in southern Guangdong village

Chinese authorities deployed helicopters, speedboats and paramilitary police to seize three tonnes of methamphetamine in a raid on a southern village notorious for illegal drug production.

Security forces surrounded and then entered the village of Boshe, where more than a fifth of the households were suspected to be involved in or linked to the production and trafficking of drugs, Guangdong province's police force said on its website.

Police and paramilitary forces from four cities were mobilised in Sunday's raid and they arrested 182 suspects who worked for 18 large drug gangs, the statement said.

Police said: "The village has made a criminal drug production a clan-based, industrialised operation with local protection."

"The offenders have for a long time been brazenly committing crimes, avoiding investigations and even ganging up to violently oppose law enforcement."

China routinely carries out operations targeting illicit drug rings but it is unusual for such wideranging law enforcement resources to be deployed at once against a single village.

An aerial photo posted on the police website showed dozens of police vans parked in rows outside a walled village of densely built old houses with traditional-style peaked, tiled roofs. Another photo showed a helicopter taking off and another one parked nearby. Speedboats were sent to prevent suspects from fleeing the coastal village by sea.

The Yangcheng Evening News, a local newspaper, said the raid involved 3,000 police officers who seized three tonnes of methamphetamine in the raid. Photos showed paramilitary officers in camouflage uniforms and holding rifles stood over large boxes filled with large packets of what is presumably crystal meth.

Boshe's villagers have resisted Chinese authorities for years, blockading the village entrance with motorcycles when word of a raid spread. The villagers would brandish replica AK-47s, lay nailboards on the road and hurl stones and homemade grenades at officers, said the paper.

The paper said police first captured the village party secretary, who allegedly was protecting the drug operations from authorities. Other officials captured included the police chief and some of his officers.

The provincial police said the city of Lufeng, which Boshe is in, has in the past three years become the source of a third of the country's total crystal meth supply.

The Boshe raid was part of Operation Thunder, which was launched in July 2013 and has resulted in the detention of 11,000 suspects and the seizure of eight tonnes of drugs.

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Op zaterdag 4 januari 2014 20:17 schreef waht het volgende:
Gratis crystal meth voor kleuters zal dit oplossen.

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3000 liter drugsafval gevonden in Roermond

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Sweden's justice chief left high and dry over spoof marijuana deaths story

Ruling Conservative's Beatrice Ask posts spoof article on Colorado marijuana overdoses to support anti-drug claims

Sweden's justice minister is facing ridicule for posting a spoof article about marijuana-linked deaths on her Facebook page along with comments about her zero-tolerance against drugs.

Beatrice Ask of Sweden's ruling Conservative party posted a link to the Daily Currant's satire article, which jokingly – and erroneously – claimed that marijuana overdoses killed 37 people in Colorado on the first day of legalisation.

Above the link she wrote: "Stupid and sad. My first bill in the youth wing was called Outfight the Drugs! In this matter I haven't changed opinion at all."

The comment quickly spread in social media, triggering widespread criticism.

Ask's press officer Per Clareus said the minister was aware the article was fake and was trying to criticise the website for joking about such a serious matter, but was misunderstood.

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Op woensdag 8 januari 2014 20:21 schreef Probably_on_pcp het volgende:
Bill O'Reilly met zijn onzin, belachelijk gemaakt door Jon Stewart

http://www.thedailyshow.c(...)cebook_010814_tds_19

Neuroscientist Carl Hart: Science Says We Should Decriminalize Drugs

Drugs aren't the problem

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Op woensdag 8 januari 2014 23:56 schreef heiden6 het volgende:

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Carl Hart

Neuroscientist Carl Hart: Science Says We Should Decriminalize Drugs

Drugs aren't the problem

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Bolivia wil cocablad legaliseren

De Boliviaanse president Evo Morales wil als nieuwbakken voorzitter van de Groep van 77 - een losse coalitie van ontwikkelingslanden - het platform gebruiken om cocabladeren, het basisingrediënt van cocaïne, te legaliseren. Dat heeft hij woensdag op een persconferentie gezegd.

Morales zei ook dat hij als G-77-voorzitter vrede en harmonie met de natuur wil bevorderen, af wil van monarchieën en economische hiërarchieën en sociale uitgaven wil bevorderen in plaats van het oppotten van rijkdom. Met gepaste trots zei hij dat vorig jaar erkenning is bewerkstelligd voor de traditionele consumptie van cocabladeren. In landen in en rond de Andes wordt vooral op de bladeren gekauwd om hoogteziekte te verminderen.

In 2011 trok Bolivia zich terug uit de antidrugsakkoord van de Conventie van Wenen, maar vorig jaar keerde het land terug op voorwaarde dat het kauwen van cocabladeren niet wordt vervolgd. Bolivia beschouwt dat als een internationale erkenning van de legaliteit van het traditionele sociale gebruik van cocabladeren. 'Onze volgende taak is het verwijderen van het cocablad van de lijst van verboden middelen', zei Morales. 'Cocaïne, waarvoor het cocablad wordt gebruikt, blijft natuurlijk illegaal.'

Bolivia is na Peru en Colombia de grootste teler van cocabladeren ter wereld. Meer dan veertigduizend Bolivianen zijn afhankelijk van de cocateelt voor hun levensonderhoud en het draagt volgens de Verenigde Naties ongeveer 1,5 procent bij aan de Boliviaanse economie. Uit een studie van de Europese Unie bleek vorig jaar dat 58 procent van de cocabladeren voor traditioneel gebruik is, wat betekent dat de rest tot cocaïne wordt verwerkt.

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Op zaterdag 4 januari 2014 20:45 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Misschien beter dan Ritalin.

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Op donderdag 9 januari 2014 10:17 schreef waht het volgende:

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Nee, crystal meth is nooit door medische trials gekomen.

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Op donderdag 9 januari 2014 10:17 schreef waht het volgende:

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Nee, crystal meth is nooit door medische trials gekomen.

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Politie zoekt getuigen dumping xtc-afval

De politie zoekt getuigen die iets gezien hebben van de massale dumping van xtc-afval in de nacht van vrijdag op zaterdag op vier plekken in Maasbree en Venlo. Daarbij werden vele tientallen vaten met duizenden liters chemisch afval in de bossen en in de Everlosebeek gedumpt.

'Het gaat om zulke grote hoeveelheden, je zou zeggen: iemand moet toch iets gezien hebben', zei een woordvoerster van de politie zondag. Brandweer, waterschap en gemeenten hebben zaterdag bijna de hele dag nodig gehad om de vaten op te ruimen. Een deel van de vaten lekte, maar het waterschap heeft geen hoge concentraties gif in de Everlosebeek aangetroffen.

De politie onderzoekt later deze week wat er precies in de vaten zit. Ook probeert de politie de herkomst van de vaten te achterhalen.

Het is de tweede grote dumping van gevaarlijk afval in Limburg in enkele dagen tijd. Afgelopen dinsdag werden op een parkeerplaats in Roermond drie pallets met in totaal 3000 liter drugsafval gevonden.

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Insight: War turns Syria into major amphetamines producer, consumer

(Reuters) - Syria has become a major amphetamines exporter and consumer as the trauma of the country's brutal civil war fuels demand and the breakdown in order creates opportunity for producers.

Drugs experts, traders and local activists say Syrian production of the most popular of the stimulants, known by its former brand name Captagon, accelerated in 2013, outpacing production in other countries in the region such as Lebanon.

Reports of seizures and interviews with people connected to the trade suggest it generates hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues in Syria, potentially providing funding for weapons, while the drug itself helps combatants dig in for long, grueling battles.

Most other economic activity in Syria has ground to a halt in the past two years due to the violence, shortages and international sanctions.

Consumption of Captagon outside the Middle East is negligible, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), but it is a significant drug in the Arab Gulf, and nascent markets were detected in North Africa last year.

Sitting at a crossroads in the Middle East, Syria has long been a transit point for drugs coming from Europe, Turkey and Lebanon and destined for Jordan, Iraq and the Gulf.

The breakdown of state infrastructure, weakening of borders and proliferation of armed groups during the nearly three-year battle for control of Syria has transformed the country from a stopover into a major production site.

Even before the conflict, Saudi Arabia received about seven metric tons of Captagon in 2010, a third of world supply, according to UNODC figures.

A member of a prominent drug trading family in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where much of that country's drug production and smuggling takes place, told Reuters that demand from the Gulf kingdom had increased since then, and Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates were also big consumers.

The trader said production in Lebanon fell 90 percent in 2013 from two years earlier, and wholly attributed the drop to a shift in production to Syria. He said some production might also have moved to Syria from Turkey during the past year.

Khabib Ammar, a Damascus-based media activist, said Syrian fighters involved with the drugs trade were buying weapons with the money they made, though Reuters could not independently verify claims that Captagon profits were being used to fund either side of the conflict.

Syrian government forces and rebel groups each say the other uses Captagon to endure protracted engagements without sleep, while clinicians say ordinary Syrians are increasingly experimenting with the pills, which sell for between $5 and $20.

REGULAR SEIZURES

The drug was first produced in the West in the 1960s to treat hyperactivity, narcolepsy and depression, but by the 1980s was banned in most countries because of its addictive properties and no longer has a legitimate medical use. Its active ingredient, fenethylline, is metabolized by the body into the stimulants amphetamine and theophylline.

Lebanese psychiatrist Ramzi Haddad said the drug had the typical effects of a stimulant. "It gives you a kind of euphoria. You're talkative, you don't sleep, you don't eat, you're energetic," he said.

Production is cheap and simple, requiring "only basic knowledge of chemistry and a few scales", he added. Syrian and Lebanese authorities regularly seize homemade laboratories used to make the pills.

National drug control offices in the region also report Syria's increasing role in the trade.

Colonel Ghassan Chamseddine, head of Lebanon's drug enforcement unit, told Reuters the pills are hidden in trucks passing from Syria to Lebanese ports where they are then shipped to the Gulf.

"It comes from Syria. Most of the Captagon production is there, according to our information," he said.

Official figures show Lebanon seized more than 12.3 million Captagon pills in 2013. Chamseddine said most of that came from a few large busts in the Bekaa Valley, which borders Syria. One seizure of 5.3 million pills implicated a Syrian family that he said has been smuggling drugs for 10 years.

The Lebanese trader said the main players in Lebanon's Captagon trade are established families in the Bekaa who started off smuggling hashish and cocaine decades ago. They either produce the pills themselves or provide the materials and equipment to partners inside Syria and then help smuggle the pills out of the country, he said.

Turkish authorities have also identified a rise in Captagon production in Syria. In May, they seized 7 million pills en route to Saudi Arabia, according to Saudi media. The head of Turkey's anti-drug-trafficking directorate said the pills were made in Syria with materials from Lebanon, but he couldn't confirm a connection to rebels there.

Dubai police also reported making a seizure of a record 4.6 million Captagon pills in December.

MUTUAL DENIALS

Syrian state media regularly mention Captagon pills as one of the items government forces seize alongside weapons when they capture rebel fighters or raid their bases.

A drug control officer in the central city of Homs told Reuters he had observed the effects of Captagon on protesters and fighters held for questioning.

"We would beat them, and they wouldn't feel the pain. Many of them would laugh while we were dealing them heavy blows," he said. "We would leave the prisoners for about 48 hours without questioning them while the effects of Captagon wore off, and then interrogation would become easier."

The opposition retorts that the government is aiming to sully its reputation and say it is the pro-government 'shabiha' gunmen that run the Captagon trade.

Opposition activist Ammar said consumption was limited to government supporters and fighters who use the cover of the revolution to pursue lucrative criminal activities.

"These days, the criminals and addicts do whatever they want," he said. "They've increased because of hunger, poverty and lack of work."

A psychiatrist named George said he treated Captagon users at his clinic in the government stronghold of Latakia.

"The use of Captagon and other pills increased after the revolution even among civilians because of psychological and economic pressures," he said.

He said the government exaggerated the drug's prevalence among opponents, but added that it was likely both the shabiha and rebel Free Syrian Army were users, "especially when they are assigned night duty or other long missions".

A resident of the central city of Homs said the use of Captagon and hashish had become widespread and open in the past year in his neighborhood, an area populated mostly by Alawites, the same Muslim sect that President Bashar al-Assad belongs to.

"It's young people in general, and most of them are in the National Defence Force and shabiha organizations," he said.

(Additional reporting by a reporter in Syria whose name is withheld for security reasons; Editing by Will Waterman)

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Mexicaanse burgers schieten drugsbende provincie uit

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In de Mexicaanse deelstaat Michoacan, op nog geen vijfhonderd kilometer van Mexico Stad, nemen gewapende burgers in rap tempo de macht over. Ze verwijten de regering geen actie te ondernemen tegen een gewelddadige drugsbende die de deelstaat terroriseert, en nemen het heft in eigen handen.

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Comment: The Home Office admits it has no idea if the war on drugs is working

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They sneaked it out in December.

The Home Office report is called 'Drug Strategy 2010 Evaluation Framework – evaluating costs and benefits'. It is not the sort of title which seduces the attention, but inside you can find a fascinating, topsy-turvy, down-the-looking-glass world of hopeless causes.

The purpose of the document is to set out the kind of evidence you'd need if you wanted to work out whether the government was getting value for money with its anti-drugs programme.

On its own, that's a creditable aim. The more we look into the spending on anti-drug programmes the more we highlight the chasm of financial and human waste which constitutes prohibition.

What we get, of course, is nothing of the sort. Instead, lodged innocuously in the middle of the report and couched in impenetrable language, there is a startling admission.

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When Transform tried to gets its hands on the Home Office's value for money study in 2010, officials discussed keeping it out the public eye because it would help those campaigning to end prohibition.

Luckily - and with the Home Office's usual capacity for incompetence they accidentally sent the internal memo to BBCs Martin Rosenbaum. It read:

. The release of the report entails the risk of Transform, or other supporters of legalisation, using information from the report to criticise the government's drug policy, or to support their call for the legalisation of drugs and the introduction of a regulated system of supply. These risks should be considered in reaching a decision on whether to release the report, as recommended.