CLICKHEREx

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/police-to-start-making-suspected-drug-driving-motorists-give-blood-samples/story-fnihsrf2-1226811612981 Thomas Chamberlin The Courier-Mail January 28, 2014 12:00AM QUEENSLAND motorists are so loaded up on everything from ice, marijuana and synthetic drugs to prescription pills that police will make suspect motorists give blood samples even if they pass roadside tests. One in every 15 drivers being stopped by police is returning a positive test, which is more than double the rate compared to two years earlier. Police are so worried about the spike in the detection rate that drivers who appear to be in an "affected state" could be made to supply blood. If they refuse, they may be charged with failing to supply a specimen and driving under the influence of drugs. NUMBER OF DRUG DRIVERS SHOCKS POLICE POLICE CATCH 10 DRUG DRIVERS AT LOGAN IN JUST EIGHT HOURS The roadside tests screen for marijuana, methamphetamines and MDMA. But most synthetic drugs are largely able to bypass the standard drug test, alarming police. "We have the capability under legislation to take blood from an individual," Road Policing Command acting Inspector Shane Panoho said. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE POLICE CRACKDOWN? TELL US IN THE COMMENTS BELOW "If we cannot attribute it (the driver's affected state) to some other medical condition that may be affecting their driving behaviour, we will then look to take them in and have blood taken from them, as much to ensure their safety as the safety of every road user." Toxicology tests have the ability to screen for any type of drug. "In some of those instances I've had people come back that have consumed multiple prescription drugs," Insp Panoho said. "In that circumstance we involve the government medical officer to assist us in an interpretation, then coupled with advice from the medical experts, from our scientists and the observations from the officer as to whether we proceed to the prosecution of a case." Police figures show in the past year there were more than 1300 drug drivers from about 20,500 tests, up from 827 caught from 25,000 tests in 2011. Police said roadside drug tests would increase this year if there were spikes in drugged motorists on the road. In some instances, drivers have been on a cocktail of drugs or tested positive to both speed and marijuana. Queensland University of Technology's Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety found drug driving was a contributing factor to about 7 per cent of road fatalities in Australia while about one in four drivers killed in a car crash tested positive to drugs other than alcohol. Insp Panoho said drug driving could have catastrophic consequences and police wanted the "safest people we possibly can have on our roadways". "Don't drive under the influence, because it increases the risk of you being involved in a traffic incident and potentially harming yourself and others," Insp Panoho said. "Certainly we monitor the strike rates of positive drug drivers to tests conducted and if we have spikes in certain areas we will alter our enforcement strategies. "We need everybody to be engaged in road safety every day and it means making conscious decisions about your safety and being considerate of other people using roadways." He said there may be a propensity for people to use drugs at music festivals and police would target these in 2014. "We will target those where history has shown us where there has been an increase in substance abuse," he said. Queensland had the highest number of national cannabis arrests and seizures, with more than 17,000 arrests and 18,000 seizures, according to the Australian Crime Commission 2011-12 annual report. The 2012 Crime and Misconduct illicit drug market report said there had been an "explosion" in designer drugs - synthetic drugs mimicking the effects of other drugs - in Queensland since 2009. It also said there had been an increase in the use of pharmaceutical drugs for non-medical purposes in the state. Comments 5 comments Sign in 10 people listening DavidJeffElizabethCloseJamesPeter To comment or reply, please login or create an account. Newest | Oldest | Top Comments David David 54 minutes ago The biggest problem isn't people using illicits and driving, although that is a problem; the biggest problem are those people on benzodiazepines (sleeping pills, relaxants and anti-anxiety medications) who are driving. Legally prescribed and legally used but the result is half-doped people driving. Lets start testing for these truly dangerous drugs. FlagShare LikeReply Peter Peter 1 hour ago The problem with Marijuana is that it stays in your blood system for anything up to 6 months. So now tell me what happens when you're blood is taken, you have Marijuana in your system, but you have not consumed any for a week. Technically, you are NOT under the influence, but have the drug in your system. How's that going to pan out in court? More tax payers money down the drain as another case gets thrown out. FlagShare LikeReply Close Close 3 hours ago When will police be drug tested at the start of every shift? How are we to know there aren't drug users tainting our tests? So if you have a speech impediment or just feel like sticking to the law and not telling police where you have been, where you are going expect them to say ah we want ya blood. Honestly cant understand why they cry about drug use but RUN AWAY from police being tested. If they have nothing to hide they have nothing to fear. FlagShare LikeReply Elizabeth Elizabeth 6 hours ago And what happens if police misjudge the situation and you end up being dragged somewhere to have a blood test for nothing. .are police trained to make those judgements? Will compensation be paid for that? I don't drink or take drugs unless necessary for a medical condition but I'm getting a little bit sick of our entire lives being taken over by the police state. They should take the l out of lnp. .false advertising. FlagShare LikeReply Jeff Jeff 14 hours ago It will have a cost because Police aren't qualified to take blood samples but something needs to be done. Not just the illicit drugs. Anti-psychotics, opiates and benzos dished out by GPs are are just as bad and often abused by the recipients. By themselves or add one or two drinks or pot on top of the legal ones and responsibility for operating machinery like a car goes out the window.

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/711448-2-Bitcoin-operators-charged-illicit-drug-site-bust poledriver View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Jul 2005 Posts 7,501 Today 07:44 2 Bitcoin operators charged illicit drug site bust NEW YORK — The top executive of a New York City-based Bitcoin company and a Florida Bitcoin exchanger have been charged with conspiring to commit money laundering by selling more than $1 million in Bitcoins to users of the black market website Silk Road, authorities said Monday. Charlie Shrem, 24, the chief executive officer of BitInstant and vice chairman of a foundation that promotes the Bitcoin currency system, was arrested Sunday at New York's Kennedy Airport while Robert Faiella was arrested Monday at his Cape Coral, Fla., residence, prosecutors said in a news release. Federal prosecutors in New York said Shrem personally bought drugs on Silk Road and was fully aware that it was a website that let users buy illegal drugs anonymously, among other contraband. Shrem's attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment ahead of a court appearance scheduled for Monday. It wasn't immediately clear who would represent Faiella in court in Florida. Authorities have said Silk Road's San Francisco operator generated more than $1 billion in illicit business from January 2011 through September on the website, which used Bitcoin, the tough-to-track digital currency, before it was shut down. The website, which had nearly 1 million registered users by July, let users anonymously browse through nearly 13,000 listings under such categories as cannabis, psychedelics and stimulants. It was shut down with the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, who authorities say masterminded the operation while hiding behind the alias of "Dread Pirate Roberts," an apparent reference to a character in "The Princess Bride." He was arrested in a branch of San Francisco's public library, where authorities said he was chatting online with a cooperating witness. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Faiella and Shrem conspired to sell more than $1 million in Bitcoins to criminals who wanted to sell narcotics on Silk Road between December 2011 and October. "Truly innovative business models don't need to resort to old-fashioned law-breaking, and when Bitcoins, like any traditional currency, are laundered and used to fuel criminal activity, law enforcement has no choice but to act," Bharara said. James J. Hunt, acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York office, said the defendants were "hiding behind their computers" as they earned substantial profits by facilitating anonymous drug sales. According to prosecutors, Faiella operated under the name "BTCKing" as he ran an underground Bitcoin exchange on the Silk Road website, where Bitcoins were the only form of payment accepted. Copyright The Associated Press http://www.wsoctv.com/ap/ap/californ...ecution/nc4Cf/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 .:Holy::Toast:. View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Sep 2010 Location The Land Of Ooo Posts 1,543 Today 08:09 This is such horse shit They were running legitimate businesses, how the fuck are they supposed to screen all their customers to see if they're going to launder money or purchase drugs. Just another high cost arrest affecting honest people and doing absolutely fuck all in the "war" on drugs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 TheRapperGoneBad View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Oct 2013 Location Breezy in Boise Posts 802 Today 08:13 They realize they cant stop the business of tor markets so they go after the legitimate side of selling bitcoin. Pathetic Good post toast -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #4 citizenuzi View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Apr 2006 Location Western Mass Posts 177 Today 09:01 Understand that this guy was caught because he was directly selling BTC ON SR as well as other deepweb drug sites. I think he may get fucked, their argument will obviously center around the fact that he was transferring btc directly into people's SR accounts.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/vic-police-sniff-out-drugs-at-big-day-out/story-fn3dxiwe-1226810204183 AAP January 25, 2014 2:26PM Police have welcomed a decrease in drug-related arrests at Melbourne's Big Day Out music festival. Source: AAP THERE'S been a decrease in the number of drug-related arrests at Melbourne's Big Day Out music festival. A total of 29 people were arrested for drug offences on Friday, down from 40 people at the same festival at the Melbourne Showgrounds last year. Acting Superintendent Bernie Edwards says only a small number of the 23,000 music fans at the festival were doing the wrong thing. "We were generally happy with patron behaviour throughout the day, and it looks like most people enjoyed the event," he said. "It is disappointing that 29 people didn't get the message." Sniffer dogs were used to find revellers carrying illegal drugs. Police seized drugs such as ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis. Of the 29 arrested, 15 people have been referred to a drug diversion program and 14 have been cautioned. The Big Day Out heads next to Sydney on Australia Day. ----------------------------------------------------- I'm wondering if it's just because people are becoming smarter* at getting drugs through, that numbers of arrests are dropping, and want to know whether that trend continues to BDO Sydney. * It's better if you have them rolled up and where the dogs can't detect them (a cigarette pack?)," replied the official - http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=37477 of 23/1/14

23-01-2014, 21:14 Hey :-) Silver Member Join Date: 02-12-2009 Female from Earth Posts: 616 Blog Entries: 4 Spanish police offer advice on how to smuggle marijuana -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cultural magazine Jot Down asked cops if people flying out of the country would be better off a stashing joint in a carry-on or checked luggage. The response? Put it where drug-sniffing dogs cant smell it like a pack of cigarettes. Stash your drugs where the sniffer dogs can't smell them. That's the controversial advice tweeted by Spain's National Police account on Tuesday after being asked how to best carry four marijuana joints on board a plane to a foreign country. Cultural magazine JotDown questioned cops whether drugs were better off in a carry-on or checked luggage. "It's better if you have them rolled up and where the dogs can't detect them (a cigarette pack?)," replied the official account to its 715,000 followers. It did add a warning: "You do risk a report for public consumption." The tweet, however, still sparked outrage from anti-drugs campaigners, who suggested police were officially encouraging cannabis smokers to try and smuggle drugs abroad. The police deleted the tweet and replaced it with more of a lecture, reports 20Minutos. "To avoid confusion, the possession or consumption of drugs in public places carries an administrative penalty," it stated. The National Police later apologized for the tweet, saying it was an "error" that had been "rectified immediately." Carlos Fernandez, who runs the official police account, later tweeted via his personal handle that there had been an "awkward failing." By Lee Moran Photograph David Mcnew/Getty Images 22 January 2014 New York Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/news/worl...ommentpostform Attached Thumbnails Read more: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235753#ixzz2rK2gx2KG

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/710148-Woah!-Daily-Mail-reports-Customs-ordered-to-ignore-Class-B-possession-at-borders! Si Ingwe View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries Visit Homepage View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Mar 2002 Location UK Posts 1,993 Yesterday 18:55 Is this real? Border officials have been told not to arrest passengers caught with cannabis in their luggage, a report revealed last night. Official guidance to customs staff tells them not to arrest anyone with personal use quantities of Class B drugs. The rules are also thought to also apply to other drugs in that category, including amphetamines and mephedrone. Drugs campaigners said the incident suggested ministers had given up on enforcing drugs laws. Mary Brett, from Cannabis Skunk Sense said: This is extraordinary. Why do we bother to have laws on cannabis if theyre not going to be enforced? What message does it send when people arent stopped with illegal drugs? We seem to have given up entirely on cannabis, and made it de-facto decriminalised. Details of the Border Force edict emerged in an official immigration inspectors report in to Stansted Airport. A passenger was arrested after customs officials found cannabis in his baggage - but then let him go, the report said. Astonishingly, the report suggested he was de-arrested because officials concluded he was high on drugs at the time. The report states: The passenger was initially detained under immigration powers in the immigration detention suite, but was subsequently found to have a small quantity (for personal use) of what was believed to be cannabis in their baggage. [He] was subsequently de-arrested and released due to a Border Force perception that they were under the influence of controlled drugs. The Chief Inspector commented on the incident: The passenger was arrested despite previously issued guidance stating that arrests for personal use quantities of Class B drugs were not to be undertaken (unless there were extenuating circumstances, which there were not in this case). The passenger was de-arrested and released, even though they had been found in possession of prohibited drugs, and were perceived to be under the influence of them. The incident was detailed in a report by Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine. Two years ago similar report by Mr Vine revealed passengers who come in to Gatwick with cannabis were having the drugs confiscated and then being sent on their way without even a fine or other legal sanction. Instead customs staff were giving out oral warnings. At the time, Home Office officials insisted that anyone caught with Class B drugs in their luggage should be arrested on the spot. The Stansted report also revealed that illicit goods could be being smuggled in in vast quantities through the airport because of an almost total absence of customs staff at the countrys fourth biggest airport. Mr Vine said he was surprised to find little visible Border Force presence in customs during the inspection visit last year. Staff were often hauled out of customs channels to man immigration and passport checks, the report found. This meant insufficient resources were allocated to customs functions the report found. Mr Vine said: I was surprised to find so little visible Border Force presence in the customs channels. These resources are important both to detect smugglers and provide a deterrent to others. The airport missed its target for Class A drugs seizures last year and the report found no heroin has been seized since July 2012. The report also found that passengers could enter the airport and buy duty-free cigarettes or tobacco but then leave the airport without travelling abroad. The weakness in the controls was as a result of the layout of the airports domestic and international facilities. Airport staff became suspicious when one passenger made repeat purchases of duty-free goods on the same day. Immigration minister Mark Harper said: We have accepted all the recommendations in the inspection report and many of the issues raised have already been addressed. Since we split Border Force from UKBA, it has been making significant improvements in its performance - security has been strengthened and excessive queues are gone. This extends to both passengers and goods and is underpinned, for the first time, by a clear operating mandate set by ministers. Transforming all areas of Border Force will take time but I am confident that we are making the right changes with security now at the heart of everything Border Force does. from - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz2rIiWJMqZ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 neversickanymore View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Moderator Recovery Support -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Jan 2013 Location babysitting the argument in my head Posts 6,476 Yesterday 19:17 Boom if it is the drug war is close to over.. THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "the incident suggested ministers had given up on enforcing drugs laws." Last edited by neversickanymore; Yesterday at 19:37. RECOVERY FORUMS ~~~ADDICTION GUIDE~~~ CONTACT ME -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 Si Ingwe View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries Visit Homepage View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Mar 2002 Location UK Posts 1,993 Yesterday 19:40 For sure! It could be true, it's in The Telegragh too! Border guards have been instructed not to arrest travellers who bring small amounts of cannabis or other drugs into Britain, it has emerged. Official guidance to Border Force staff at ports and airports says no action should be taken against people found with personal use quantities of Class B drugs such as cannabis, amphetamines and mephedrone, also known as meow meow. The instruction was disclosed for the first time in a report on Stansted airport by John Vine, the Chief Inspector of Border and Immigration. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ards-told.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/22/australian-customs-to-receive-88m-to-increase-screenings-of-mail-and-cargo Australian customs to receive $88m to increase screenings of mail and cargo Customs and Border Protection says new money will fund war against drug syndicates and weapon smugglers Helen Davidson theguardian.com, Wednesday 22 January 2014 17.55 AEST Customs officers Customs officers in Sydney examine a weapon discovered at the NSW Container Examination Facility in December. Photograph: AAP Customs and border protection services will receive an extra $88m in extra funding from the government to enhance screening of incoming international mail and cargo as part of a war against drug syndicates and weapon smugglers, it was announced on Wednesday. Were in war against drug syndicates, and against those who would seek to import weapons into this country, drug precursors, steroids, illicit drugs, said the chief executive of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Michael Pezzullo. In a war you need weapons, you need bullets and I welcome the governments announcement today delivering on its election commitment they undertook before the last election to give us some more weapons and some more bullets, he said. In August last year, then opposition leader Tony Abbott announced at a press conference that a Coalition government would give $100m in extra funding to customs, particularly into customs screenings. Two days before the election the Coalition released its final costings, with $88m earmarked to restore and further boost Customs funding for cargo inspections over four successive financial years. A spokesman for Morrison said the $88m package was developed in consultation with customs. The fact the government is able to institute these measures to better tackle border crime at a lesser cost to taxpayers is a pleasing result. The bulk of the $88m, will go towards increasing inspections of international mail from 40m inspections to 50m per year and of air cargo to 2m from 1.5m per year, and $24m to expand container examination operations in Sydney and Melbourne. More advanced detection technology, an extra 15 detector dog teams, a new investigation squad and eight extra officers to support intelligence activities will also be funded. This is the Abbott government fulfilling a promise to deliver stronger borders, Morrison said. Not just to our north, but all around our country. The risks that present to our borders just dont exist in terms of people smuggling. There are any number of criminal syndicates trying to breach our borders for all sorts of nefarious purposes that put Australians at risk. Australian customs and border protection services is our frontline agency that is essential to that task, he said. Morrison confirmed there would be no retasking or rearrangement of resources within customs. This is new money to do additional tasks and to increase the capacity of the Australian customs and border protection service. The current level of screening sees 66% of international mail screened by either dogs or x-ray and will increase to around 85% with the new funding. Air cargo will rise from 4% to around 6%. Customs and law enforcement agencies are currently targeting criminal activities and corruption within the service, but Pezzullo said Operation Heritage, targeting illegal activities at Sydney airport was ending, but Taskforce Pharos was ongoing. On the issue of integrity and corruption, obviously a year or so ago we had a problem at Sydney airport, said Pezzullo. There was a ring of officers who have since been charged and in some cases convicted of very serious crimes That operation is winding up. More generally weve since had cause to arrest other officers those matters are currently ongoing, he said, adding that extra powers given by the previous government were having an effect. The culture of the organisation is changing, he said.

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/709466-The-final-confessions-of-a-Silk-Road-kingpin #1 poledriver View Profile View Forum Posts View Blog Entries View Articles Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Jul 2005 Posts 7,415 Today 02:56 The final confessions of a Silk Road kingpin By Patrick Howell O'Neill on January 22, 2014 Email By our third phone call, Steven Lloyd Sadler was a fugitive. Facing federal charges for drug trafficking and distribution, Sadler decided he'd rather skip the trial and jail sentence altogether. He was pulling away from Seattle, where he was charged, and we talked for hours. He began that particular conversation on speakerphone, attempting to circumvent the states law prohibiting the use of cellphones while driving, but noisy interference forced him to pick up the call. He shrugged as he put his phone to his ear, his other hand taking a firm grip on the wheel. "I hope I don't get pulled over." I'd spent hours talking to Sadler, one of Silk Roads most popular heroin and cocaine dealers, before and after he made the decision to run. By late October, he was out on bond, seemingly as a reward for helping Homeland Security in a larger investigation into the infamous Deep Web black market. The conditions of the bond were clear: Sadler wasn't allowed leave the state of Washington. He was also strictly forbidden from dealing or using drugs. "Hold on, he cut in at one point. I have to buy some cocaine, can I call you back?" Five minutes later, he was back on the line, as chatty as ever. At the time, there was no clear direction forward. Maybe he'd go to Las Vegas on a wild bender. Maybe he'd try to start his drug empire over in Los Angeles. Maybe hed visit old friends in his hometown who didn't know about his criminal enterprise. Sadler talked through each potential scenario, as if working through them in his mind, looking for possibilities and pitfalls. In roughly 10 hours of phone calls over the course of several weeks, Sadler told me almost everything. Then he dropped off the grid. "I'm guilty," Sadler admitted in our first conversation, several weeks after he was let out on bond. Sadler was apprehended by Homeland Security on July 31, 2013, when 20 federal agents descended on his condo. Officers accused Sadler and his girlfriend, Jenna White, of running one of the most successful illegal drug operations in Silk Road history, aided by the veil of Tor's anonymizing software. Under the alias Nod, he ran the digital storefront: taking orders, making the all-important supply connections, and coordinating shipping. White, 20, reportedly handled much of the driving and mailing. A third person, who has thus far escaped prosecution, Sadler said, helped with operations. The trio sold premium product, and a lot of it: 2,269.5 grams of cocaine, 593 grams of heroin, and 105 grams of meth in four months, according to the criminal complaint, but all signs point to a much larger operation. For two months, Sadler served as a valuable federal informant against Silk Road and its founder, Dread Pirate Roberts. After he was finally arrested and taken before a judge in October, his name was plastered across the media landscape, as was his role as an informant. Shortly after we published our extensive Oct. 9 story on Nods rise and fall, someone purporting to be Sadler sent me an email saying it brought a smile to my face. He wanted to tell his side of the story while he still could. Within minutes, Sadler sent a photograph of his Washington driver's license to confirm his identity. That was followed by court documents, including the discovery and evidence log, the search-and-seizure warrant, and access to hundreds of emails between Sadler and federal authorities from his time as a criminal informant. Our conversations lasted hours. The first time we spoke, he was regularly interrupted by a friend pleading with him to shut up. Sadler laughed it off. He was facing a potential life sentence. What did he have to lose? A warrant was reportedly issued for his arrest on Nov. 6, a week after he left his hometown of Bellevue, Wash. "They'll be pretty pissed off at me," he said, referring to his federal public defenders. In a strangely cheerful tone, at odds with the severity of his comments, Sadler told me how he lost almost everything: his freedom, his business, and his girlfriend. Sadler and White, who are facing the same charges, are now forbidden to speak to each other. They hear about the other only indirectly, through mutual friends. Worse still, the reputation he spent years building on the Web has been tarred and feathered, his legacy reduced to that of a cheap crook and snitch. "I don't like the way society treated me as a bad person," he said. "That really bothered me." I excluded violence and cheating and all these things associated with people of that ilk, he added. I didn't think people would have a negative impression of what I'd done." For the first 38 years of his life, Steven Sadler was drug-free. As an information technology professional employed at big companies like Intelius across Seattle's formidable tech sector, he'd worked in big data, information security, and systems administration for two decades. By his 30s, though, Sadler said he had grown tired of the IT worldand his life. He laid much of the blame on his father, who impressed upon him the idea that possessions and money engender happiness. With Sadler's six-figure income leaving him deeply dissatisfied, like Tyler Durden in Fight Club, drastic change was inevitable. He found some solace in prostitutes, but "there's no substance to that relationship," Sadler said. "If there's one regret in my life, it's that I didn't push more toward family bonds, real social connections, being less of a hermit." He tried pot. He liked it. Then he moved on to cocaine. After he heard about Silk Road on the tech community Slashdot, Sadler was soon buying drugs and befriending vendors online. After a short time on the site, Sadler bought a costly vendor account from PaythePiper, an established Xanax salesman on Silk Road who wanted to retire, in an attempt to cash-in on the stores positive reputation and customer base. Piper taught Sadler how to purchase pills from overseas and flip them for a profit on the black market, but the storefront didnt last long. It's against the rules to sell accounts, and Silk Road administrators shut it down after somehow learning about the transfer. In May 2012, Sadler purchased his own vendor account, called Poundsign, and started buying supplies in bulk. For $1,000, he acquired 335 pills of Alprazolam (generic Xanax) from Pakistan. That's about $3 per pill. He sold them for $6 each on Silk Road, a considerable markup on street prices. The profit was nice, but Sadler soon discovered that actually receiving his supply was the hardest part of the operation. Often, the pills would get lost in the mail or caught by customs. In November 2012, cops intercepted 900 tablets addressed to a post office box under the name Aaron Thompson. Police released the package, but no one came to retrieve it. "I thought customs didn't care," Sadler recalled. "It turns out they do." He tried selling other pharmaceuticals, most notably Valium, but found demand was relatively weak. When shipping Xanax from overseas became too unsafe, Sadler decided to make the move to a surer product: heroin. He didn't even use heroin when he began selling it, but he was able to buy the drug domestically. Sadler created a new account to distinguish between his two operations. Overnight, he reinvented himself as Nod, a heroin kingpin. Nods specialty was bitchin black-tar heroin, as he put it in his pitch to customers. To kickstart business, Sadler made 10 purchases from Nod and left himself positive feedback. He sold high-quality heroin at low prices to create hype. It wasn't immediately profitable, but he was focused on the long-term potential. The customers who liked his stuff zealously went to bat for him, praising everything about his operation with equivalent of five-star Yelp ratings on everything from shipping and customer service to, of course, the heroin itself. From the moment he became a vendor on Silk Road, Sadler was selling a premium product. As Poundsign, he was renowned for customer service. As Nod, he was likely the most reliable high-quality dope slinger around. He could afford to be. Sadler bought a gram of black-tar heroin for $50. He sold it for about $220, a 440 percent markup. Black-tar heroin. Photo via the Drug Enforcement Agency "With heroin, you just get shit once in a while," Sadler said. "You're stuck with it." While other dealers had no problem selling lower-quality drugs, Nod made a point not tochoosing to absorb the lossand customers responded in kind. "Silk Road was a value-added portal," Sadler said. In essence, people were paying for the drugs but more so for peace of mind and quality. They wanted to avoid trouble, to find someone reliable. "These people are typically professionals in the 30- to 40-year-old range, Sadler confided. They want to be treated with respect." Nod's heroin "tastes delicious," Nod's first real customer wrote, and still retains its potency and the initial surge of vinegar on the inhale but once its in your mouth/lungs for a second it just tastes very sweet. Nod's reviews were so good that he was accused of faking them. (He did, of course, make earlier purchases from himself, but posting phony reviews on the forumsas with eBay or Amazonis seen as a much worse offense by most Silk Roaders.) To boot, he learned how to game the system with some some sleight-of-hand editing. For example, he'd create a listing for one gram of cheap, top-notch heroin, and then sell it in high volume so itd rise through the ranks. When it reached the top, hed update the listing to push even larger, more expensive quantities. All of a sudden, big bricks of Nod's finest product were at the top of Silk Road with a ton of great reviews, selling like mad. By December 2012, Sadler's year-old operation was having major problems. Police had intercepted a number of his packages, and he had lost his cocaine connectiona dealer apparently ripped him off for thousands of dollarsleaving him unable to meet his customer's demands. "Losing the money is a problem but not a big deal," Sadler said. "Losing the connection is what really hurts." Much to the disappointment of his clientele, Sadler took a noticeable break as he searched for a new supply line. Later that month, Sadler spoke with another Silk Road cocaine vendor named Magic Moments. Nod proposed a partnership in which he handled marketing and sales while Magic used his functioning supply chain to ship cocaine to his customers. "It didn't go through because he had the ethics and organization of a street dealer," he said. "He couldn't see past his face." Magic, Sadler claims, ended up ripping another Silk Roader off for about $7,000. Still, Sadler was convinced that working with fellow Silk Road vendors was the key to maximizing his success. He found a new connection in Los Angeles, a man some believe to be Michael Shapiro, a 28-year-old from California. While extent of their relationship remains unclear, Sadler confirmed to me what court documents had said: Shapiro was the intended recipient of an intercepted shipment of $3,200 in September 2012. Sadler spent most of January 2013 in Los Angeles getting set up to sell hard drugs. By February, he was turning $105,000 monthly in profit, mostly off of cocaine, a drug with an enormous customer base on Silk Road, but it came at a steep price. Sadlers attempts to collaborate only worked on paper. After all, he ran a great marketing operation and was selling premium product. If he could collude with other cocaine dealers to set prices even higher, he saw no reason why more profits wouldn't follow. His messages to other cocaine dealers quickly leaked to the public, causing ire with sellers and buyers alike. There's a ton more money to be made cooperating than by competing, Nod wrote in the leaked documents. Let's help each other get rich! Dread Pirate Roberts, the leader of Silk Road, quieted the controversy. It was impossible to create a cartel on a truly free market in any case, Roberts said, a truth Nod realized as his potential collaborators leaked his offers and continued to try to undercut his prices. "I thought I was on to something, Sadler reflected. I made a list; it got a little over the top. I had a lot of good ideas and I was trying to throw out anything. I was brainstorming. It didn't go well." He paused. "But it didn't hurt sales at all." As anyone whos ever seen Breaking Bad can attest, pushing drugs is only half the equation. You still have to launder the profits. Silk Road runs on Bitcoin, a digital cryptocurrency popularized by the Deep Web for its anonymous nature. Its traded like gold, with a fluctuating market value. Some people use tumblers to obscure the transaction chain, making Bitcoin as anonymous and private as cash," the Electronic Frontier Foundation once proclaimed. But Sadler still needed a way to transfer his influx of bitcoins into cash without linking it to his bank account. First, he stole identities. From his work at Intelius, a public records business, Sadler said he had access to social security numbers, drivers' license numbers, mothers' maiden names, and other information that, when combined, could be used to set up prepaid credit cards in the names of other people. To lessen risk, Sadler targeted Poland, which essentially doesnt require a real individual to open prepaid cards. An unidentified Polish man sold Sadler, he claims, more than 120 Polish bank debit cards. The process went something like this: Sadler would convert his bitcoins to fiat currency and deposit them into his prepaid cards. He'd then withdraw the money from 20 different cards at a time at walk-up ATMs. With this method, cashing out cost 14 percent in fees and 20 percent more in man hours to complete the process from start to finish. "120 cards is a ridiculous amount of labor," Sadler said. It was so bad that in September 2012, he almost quit the business entirely. Soon, Sadler stumbled on an alternative. A personal friend of Sadler's wanted to buy bitcoins to purchase MDMA on Silk Road. She offered $12,000 in cash. There were no fees to worry about. Transferring coins this way was obviously a much preferred situation. From there Sadler found LocalBitcoins.com, a website that connects Bitcoin traders and buyerseither in person or onlinefor a low fee. The site moves quickly. Within a few seconds of joining the service's chat room, users are typically bombarded with messages asking if they are selling bitcoins. To avoid fees and legal issues, bitcoins are sold for less than market value, which helps traders use the site to to make a living. It's a popular service in tech-friendly cities like San Francisco. "Any Silk Road vendor not on LocalBitcoins is losing a lot of money," Sadler said. Soon Sadler was doing $8,000 deals out of a suitcase in a local Starbucks. When he outgrew the local market, he found a new LocalBitcoins buyer in Las Vegas: Mark Russell, a preacher and student of the Reformed Theological Seminary. Russell, who remains an active buyer on LocalBitcoins but could not be reached for comment, requires a minimum order of $5,000, with a fee starting at 5 percent. Russell and Sadler first began trading in January 2013, Sadler said, with small trades in Las Vegas casinos. While Sadler said that some traders were "car salesmen, slimeballs who will do anything to pull one over on you," he described Russell as polite, intelligent, and honest. Sadler said he made his biggest ever single trade when Russell gave him $84,000 in a briefcase in the bar of the Cosmopolitan casino, a spot chosen for its security. After all, no one is going to run out of a casino holding cash without being stopped. Sadler claimed he was eventually making $70,000 per month on cocaine alone at Silk Road. Sadler wasnt satisfied. He was creating something resembling an empire, ensuring his legacy. "I could have done more," he said, "with a better work ethic or more motivation." Simple mistakes and poor timing sealed Sadlers fate. His partner and then-girlfriend, Jenna White, took sealed product packages to dozens of post offices around the Seattle area as a security precaution. After authorities intercepted packages in September 2012, post office clerks were able to identify White as the blonde woman responsible for them. She bought an unusually large volume of stamps and her handwriting was identical to that found on the packages containing heroin caught by police, according to the complaint. She parked directly in front of cameras at post offices, making it easy for authorities to identify her face, car, and license plate number. White and Sadler, lovers separated by a 20-year age gap, became business partners in a highly profitable, highly risky drug operation out of their condo. At White's determined insistence, Sadler said he gave her more and more responsibility in the operation. The relationship turned toxic, as the mixing business and pleasure often does. The couple broke up on July 29. Soon, White was carrying boxes of her belongings out of the condo they shared. What neither knew at the time was that the cops were already watching closely. When police saw White on the move, they assumed the couple was making a run and obtained a warrant. They were arrested two days later. Homeland Security, however, had its sights on a much bigger target: Dread Pirate Roberts. A few hours after he was first arrested, the agency asked Sadler to become an informant. "No," he quickly responded, "of course not." Then agents searched his home and found drugs, supplies, and well-kept records that Sadler thought might remain hidden. The drugs, according to the evidence log, were stashed in the ceiling, next to various paraphernalia and documents. "I didn't think they'd find all the drugs," he told me. "They did, and I was fucked." It didn't take long for Sadler to flip. Agents said that if he cooperated, they'd leave the criminal complaint against him sealed so that no information would be made public. Soon, he was officially cooperating with Homeland Security, using his acclaim as a vendor on Silk Road and a friendly relationship with Roberts to help track down the founder of the Internet's most notorious black market. "It was interesting, Sadler said. People always talk on Silk Road about how to find the servers, and this was my chance to do it. It sounded like fun, and it would affect someone I didn't have a problem with harming." Sadler's job was to send a constant stream of carefully crafted messages to Roberts to work his way into the founder's confidence. The ultimate goal was to administer a Silk Road server or, using a staff position, to find a financial trail to follow. This wasn't the first time Sadler and Roberts considered working together. Early in 2013, months before any law enforcement became involved, Sadler offered to help Silk Road deal with its considerable growing pains. The site had dealt with a week of downtime following a nasty distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, and Sadler had some ideas that he thought could help Silk Road. No deal transpired, but the line of communications had been established. Homeland Security wanted more than talk. Sadler, overseen by federal agents, began regularly communicating with Roberts about Silk Road's security and scalability issues. In particular, Roberts was concerned about vulnerabilities described in a 2013 research paper, called Trawling for Tor Hidden Services, which claimed a hypothetical attack on Tor that could de-anonymize a service in eight months. Sadler said the police believed it would take four months of computing power. He thought it could be done in even less. Through police intermediaries, Nod and Roberts allegedly discussed Silk Road's security at length. In his early correspondence with law enforcement, Sadler laid out what he thought of Roberts. "DPR is not a tech star," he wrote in an email to police on Aug. 14. "The person currently working on it is not progressing fast enough and is not giving him enough insight. DPR previously fronted that he wanted to move slow (very slow to trust) but the picture this message paints is he [is] thirsty for help. This quick shift of posture indicates he is really eager and will let us right in the front door. He continued: "The rate at which the walls are falling gives me a feeling that this will be successful. The way this is likely to unfold is he'll have me working on this new system and I will be able to locate the system once inside. The system will not be at DPR's house, it will be at a hosting facility somewhere. If the hosting facility can be made to cooperate there is a good chance of locating DPR as he connects to that system." Sadler did his early work with Roberts "in good faith." By mid-September, they had negotiated a wage: $100 per hour to analyze potential risks, a figure low enough to be accepted and high enough to not provoke suspicion. Sadler said it was a justified trial period and that, if both parties liked the setup, they would renegotiate in three months. The trial also allowed Sadler to circumvent Roberts request to reveal his identity for security purposes. An screengrab of a conversation between Roberts and Nod. Through a Homeland Security intermediary, Sadler and Roberts exchanged hundreds of private messages on the Silk Road forum. In an attempt to become a routine in Roberts' life, Sadler sent message after message, stopping just short of asking "How's the weather?" He always asked questions in his messages, making it so that Roberts had reason to communicate back. It worked. Sadler said that Roberts even spoke to him about administering servers for a new criminal enterprise unrelated to Silk Road, although he never went into much detail. Note: Roberts mentions "this other project." Sadler was making real progress toward uncovering Silk Roads servers, and he seemed to be gaining favor with the authorities he was collaborating with. "We went from being adversaries to being very friendly," Sadler continued. "Our guards went down." While he worked, Sadler believed that although "no one said it out loud," his cooperation was meant to buy him leniency and maybe even a get-out-of-jail-free card. In emails between Sadler and law enforcement and forwarded to the Daily Dot, agents often sent pictures of other Silk Road suspects in the Seattle area, asking if Sadler recognized them. In August, when Dread Pirate Roberts' Forbes interview was published, police sent a copy of the article to Sadler with highlights, notes, and questions about security issues. The notated PDF file allegedly sent from Homeland Security officers to Sadler. The Daily Dot reached out multiple times for comment from the federal prosecutor's office as well as from Sadler's defense lawyer. We have been declined each time. Over the course of hundreds of emails and dozens of meetings, Sadler became candid with the cops as they worked toward a common goal. That was "a very good time, he said. I really enjoyed that." On Oct. 2, Ross William Ulbricht was arrested in the science-fiction section of a San Francisco public library, accused of being Silk Roads Dread Pirate Roberts and of narcotics trafficking. It wasn't Homeland Security, the department that Sadler had worked with, however, that made an arrest. It was the FBI in a separate investigation. The FBI claimed that Ulbricht was speaking with an informant when he was caught. Sadler said it wasn't him and doesn't know who it was. In fact, when it comes to other police investigations into Silk Road, Sadler hasnt said much at all. With Ulbricht behind bars, Sadler suddenly became less useful to Homeland Security. The criminal complaint against him was unsealed. He was arrested and put on bond to await trial. The unspoken agreement Sadler anticipated was gone. He felt betrayed. "Oh," Sadler said when asked how his life has changed since Oct. 2, "it's gotten much worse." Sadler was kicked out of the condo where he had lived for seven years. He was called a danger to society by neighbors and has been unable to get a job, despite being "a very skilled computer programmer." In the aftermath of Silk Roads demise, Sadler's arrest made news around the world. Soon, his cooperation with police was revealed in a report by the Smoking Gun. Rumors have circulated that Sadler was involved in a National Geographic Channel show called Drug Inc., which featured Silk Road vendors in Seattle, while others accused him of giving away lists of customers and ratting out fellow vendors. Sadler denied those allegations"It might have [been] Seneca, been another Seattle-based dealer I've met, he saidthough the police report indicates various documents were removed from Sadler's apartment, including a list of shipment addresses. Sadler's bond agreement came with several conditions. He couldn't leave the state of Washington, possess weapons or drugs, or contact anyone he worked with, including ex-girlfriend Jenna White. Sadlers also subjected to random urine analysis and had to call into a computer system seven days a week to report to the police. Not that any of that mattered to Sadler. He used methamphetamine and heroin in the lead-up to a court appearance and in express noncompliance with his bond conditions. He told me he skipped out on a urinalysis appointment he was instructed to attend. Soon afterward, he stopped calling the computer system. Despite repeated calls from his attorney and pretrial officer, he'd essentially gone off the grid. "To your face they smile and act nice," Sadler said, "but if they locate me, I'll be burned at the stake." When Sadler went on the run, it wasn't clear where he'd end up. He claimed to have his car searched by professionals to see about a tracking device, and our phone calls were increasingly erratic. He said he was buying and using cocaine during several of them. Sadler was made aware of the warrant for his arrest by his attorney, according to emails he forwarded to the Daily Dot. We could not independently confirm the warrant, despite multiple calls to the federal prosecutor and defense attorneys assigned to the case. On Nov. 13, Sadler said the U.S. Marshal's Office visited his residence and discovered that he had moved on Oct. 31. The way he sees it, Sadler was lied to by his pretrial officer and Homeland Security, which seemingly gave him little or no credit for his assistance leading up to Dread Pirate Roberts' arrest. Despite emailed assurances from his attorney, Michael Filipovic, Sadler doesnt feel like the Bureau of Prisons would take steps to protect him as a known informant. "If you do a search for articles about this on the Internet and look in the comments, you will see the public perception is that I turned in all my customers and they are very angry," Sadler said he told his attorney. "There is even a price on my head. There's a phrase 'snitches get stitches'when I go to prison I am going to get harmed. So here I am, cooperating as best I can, and not only did I not get credit, people want me harmed and killed on the outside, and people will harm me or kill me on the inside." I last heard from Sadler on Nov. 6. in what was more than our 100th email. He told me enjoyed our "lectures" and laid out a plan for future lessons that included "Drug quality assessment, how drug dealers on the street work, drug weights, drug dealer lies, customer service, management and handling, mailing, marketing and branding, competitors to Silk Road, buying drugs online, handling yourself around drug dealers, and electronic security." The truth is that I enjoyed the lectures as well. They were the most interesting and informative phone calls I've ever made. I found myself looking forward to them and keeping my phone close by, just in case. But then two weeks went by without word from Sadler. It had been longer still since he touched base with his family or friends, whom he pushed away during his rise as a Silk Road vendor. "I've lost most of my social support," he once told me. "When your mom calls, you can't really tell her what you did that day." The future looked bleak. He had few options, nearly all of which included endlessly running with one eye always on the rear-view mirror. "I've been in a pretty tough place, he told me the last time we spoke. It's been a pretty tough time for me." Late on the night of Nov. 19, I received an email from Bobby Sadler, Steven's father, telling me that Steven was in custody. He's unhappy about being incarcerated, Bobby said, but he's in good health. Bobby was unsure of just how his son ended up in jail. When Steven called his father, he requested that I send him a copy of this article to read. "Steve believes you will send me that article. If you do send me a copy of that article, I will e-mail it to Steve as he requested," Bobby explained. "Since Steve's incarcerated, the corrections officials read all his correspondence including incoming and outgoing e-mails. He believes there is nothing in the article I requested that will hurt his criminal defense case."

19-01-2014, 07:31 5-HT2A Titanium Member Join Date: 13-01-2011 Male from Earth Posts: 110 Alcohol Is a Major Factor for Auto Crashes, So Why Are Govts. Focusing on Cannabis? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- While numerous substances, from prescription medications to illicit drugs, can impair driving performance, alcohol remains far and away the substance that is most likely to increase ones risk of experiencing a fatal accident behind the wheel. So concludes the findings of a major new study, entitled Drugs and Alcohol: Their Relative Crash Risk, published this week in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Investigators at the Pacific Research Institute in Maryland and the University of Puerto Rico assessed whether alcohol, licit or illicit drugs, or a combination of substances is most likely to contribute to fatal rash risk. The answer: [T]he contribution of alcohol to crash risk is much larger than that by other drugs, researchers concluded. In fact, even the presence of alcohol in the blood at permissible limits (below 0.08% in the United States) elevated drivers risk of accident in a more significant manner than did the presence of barbituates, benzodiazepenes, sleep aids, opiates, amphetamines, cocaine, PCP, or marijuana. The authors wrote, [O]ur finding that the risk of involvement in a fatal crash at a BloodAlcoholContent of 0.05% is significantly higher than that for being positive for drugs other than alcohol. As for the crash risk associated with the presence of marijuana, authors determined much to their surprise that there existed little association at all. They wrote: Although drugs other than alcohol do contribute to crash risk, we found that such a contribution depends on the type of drug under consideration. Somewhat unexpected was the finding that although marijuanas crude OR (odds ratios) indicated a significant contribution to fatal crash risk, once it was adjusted by the presence of alcohol and drivers demographics, marijuanas OR was no longer significant among either sober or drinking drivers. Overall, authors concluded, Alcohol was not only found to be an important contributor to fatal crash risk, it was associated with fatal crash risk levels significantly higher than those for other drugs. The much higher crash risk of alcohol compared with that of other drugs suggests that in times of limited resources, efforts to curb drugged driving should not reduce our efforts to pass and implement effective alcohol- elated laws and policies. Unfortunately, lawmakers in a growing number of states are rejecting this advice instead opting to enact unscientific per se laws or zero tolerance per laws that criminalize those who operate a vehicle with the trace presence of THC (or in some cases the presence of the inert THC metabolite carboxy THC) in ones blood or urine, regardless of whether or not there exists demonstrable evidence that the driver was actually impaired. Further, recent analyses regarding the imposition of such laws found that even when strictly enforced, such policies do not actually reduce incidences of drug-impaired driving or traffic fatalities. Predictably, the new study in JSAD is far from the only recent paper to affirm alcohols primary role in car crashes. A Danish study published in the October issue of the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention determined: "The highest risk of the driver being severely injured was associated with driving positive for high concentrations of alcohol (≥0.8 g/L), alone or in combination with other psychoactive substances. ...The second most risky category contained various drug-drug combinations, amphetamines and medicinal opioids. Medium increased risk was associated with medium sized BACs (at or above 0.5 g/L, below 0.8 g/L) and benzoylecgonine. The least risky drug seemed to be cannabis and benzodiazepines and Z-drugs." Authors concluded, [A]mong psychoactive substances, alcohol still poses the largest problem in terms of driver risk of getting injured. Likewise, a study published in November in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health determined, Not surprisingly, the legal drug alcohol topped the list of psychoactive substances identified in blood samples from fatally injured drivers, which confirms results and surveys done in other nations Indeed, in 76 percent of fatalities the autopsy BAC was over 1.0 g/L, which gives convincing evidence that these drivers were impaired at the time of the crash. By contrast, investigators acknowledged that the presence of an illicit drug alone was only identified in 2.5 percent of all fatal crashes. THC specifically was identified in the blood of 3 percent of all drivers, though in many of these cases other substances were also identified. A recent study by US researchers also reported similar findings in regards to the presence of drugs and crash risk. Investigators at Columbia University conducted a case-control study to assess the association between drug use and fatal crash risk. Of the substances identified by researchers, authors reported that depressants were most likely to be associated with elevated car crash risk (estimated odds ratio = 4.83). Estimated odds ratios for other specific drug categories were 3.57 for stimulants, 3.41 for polydrug use (excluding alcohol), and 3.03 for narcotics. Marijuana (1.83) possessed the lowest odds ratios of the substances identified. Similarly, a comprehensive 2013 meta-analysis of 66 separate studies assessing the risk of road accident associated with the presence of various licit and illicit drugs estimated that marijuana was associated with only a nominally increased risk of fatal accident (estimated odds ratio = 1.26) or injury (1.10). In that study, only anti-histamines (1.12), penicillin (1.12), and analgesics (1.02) were associated with comparable odds ratios to that of cannabis. Of course, highlighting these scientific findings is not intended to imply that driving under the acute influence of cannabis is not without risk or that such behavior should not be discouraged, both socially and legally. (The act itself is a criminal offense in all 50 states.) However, as more states contemplate plans to liberalize their pot possession policies, general (and sometimes unsubstantiated) concerns regarding the substances potential impact on driving performance ought not to serve as a justification for continuing arrest of millions of people who consume cannabis responsibly. January 17, 2014 By Paul Armentano Source: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/alcoho...-people-toking -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 19-01-2014, 15:51 CLICKHEREx Newbie Join Date: 28-09-2012 Male from Australia Posts: 43 Infractions: 0/1 (20) Re: Alcohol Is a Major Factor for Auto Crashes, So Why Are Govts. Focusing on Cannabi -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The reason? In Western democracies, the alcohol companies make sizeable donations, often to both or all parties, to keep them "sweet". Read more: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1412923#post1412923#ixzz2qos8Zlw5

So it begins. http://www.theage.com.au/nsw/customs-discover-ice-chemicals-in-herbal-tea-20140118-3117n.html January 18, 2014 Alana Schetzer Customs have discovered two kilograms of a drug used to make ice hidden in herbal tea packets in Sydney. Australian Customs and Border Protection Service officers seized the ephedrine in Sydney following an examination of the packages at Sydney International Mail Centre. Inside the six sealed boxes from China were 81 tea packets bundled with clothes. Further inspection revealed the tea packets contained ephedrine, which is used to manufacture drugs including ice. Officers who discovered the illegal contents were praised by ACBPS acting national manager of cargo operations John Ikin. Advertisement "This shows once again our skilled, resourced and experienced officers continue to detect illegal drugs that can be so damaging to our communities," he said. "Customs and Border Protection continues to adapt to new techniques and methods used to bring drugs like these into Australia." Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/customs-discover-ice-chemicals-in-herbal-tea-20140118-3117n.html#ixzz2qo3BVa27

Also view: "The VLAD Laws (Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013) – Jarrod Bleiji" at http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=37364#entry450689

http://www.tripme.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?11557-The-VLAD-Laws-(Vicious-Lawless-Association-Disestablishment-Act-2013)--Jarrod-Bleiji&p=80709#post80709 Today, 11:12 AM #1 awake2infinite View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message Visit Homepage Add as Contact Member Join Date Aug 2011 Location in your mind Posts 59 Thanks 11 Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts The VLAD Laws (Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013) – Jarrod Bleiji Queensland Australia – The VLAD Laws (Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013) – Jarrod Bleijie – Public Demand To Show Cause - Max Igan Let it be a matter of public record that this demand for Jarrod Bleijie to show cause was issued on behalf of the people of Queensland Australia with respect, without malice, frivolity or vexation, on January 14th, 2014 and that should Mr Jarrod Bleijie not respond to this video within 21 days of this date, action will be taken aimed at commencing legal proceedings against Mr Bleijie for Abuse of Power, Human Rights Violations, Sedition and Treason for his actively working to Undermine Democracy and the Rule of Law in Australia. If necessary, such action will be undertaken in an international court. See also : WORLD WIDE! AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY & CONSULATE PROTEST AGAINST VLAD... EVERY AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY & CONSULATE – EVERY COUNTRY Australian motor bike riders and clubs have been unfairly targeted! We all have serious problems with our government and VLAD – Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013. We have been having nation wide bike rallies to every Parliament House in Oz with 10s of 1000s involved.. We are now taking it WORLD WIDE! On January 26th 10 AM – Australia day.. we are asking you to please merge on the Australian Embassy in your country on the 26.1.14. On bike, foot, truck or push bike in support of the victims of this horrendous law in a so called free country. We, the freedom loving people of Australia would be very grateful.. Please tell your mates Freedom Day Protests! (Austrailia Day 2014) WORLD WIDE! AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY & CONSULATE PROTEST AGAINST VLAD – Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act https://www.facebook.com/events/3252...4993/?source=1 LONDON PROTEST https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200888956499384&set=g... Australia Day Bill of Rights Rally and Petition Run A.C.T https://www.facebook.com/events/230962497071771/?ref=3&ref_news... ADELAIDE TO CANBERRA RUN https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=793706457312045&set=gm.... MELBOURNE PARLIAMENT HOUSE PROTESThttps://www.facebook.com/events/720663681286712/ West Gippsland Meeting points BP OFFICER INBOUND PRINCESS FWY https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200882092247782&set=p... ST.KILDA TO PARLIAMENT HOUSE https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=622669034465015&set=gm.... ADELAIDE PROTEST https://www.facebook.com/events/586501151418262/?ref_newsfeed_story... ADELAIDE PROTEST OF BASIC BILL OF RIGHTS https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200883898172929&set=g... Adelaide Protest run Cavan https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/p480x480/148... Adelaide Protest Run Hackam https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1453454_5876... Australia Day ride .Brisbane to gold coast https://www.facebook.com/events/2516...1248/?source=1 Queensland Ride to Canberra https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=615362511862334&set=gm.... Sydney to Canberra https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=614401205291798&set=gm.... Sydney Protest https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200845903463085&set=g... Brisbane Protest https://www.facebook.com/events/6528...10925/?fref=ts North QLD to Brissy Ride to the Australia Day Protest https://www.facebook.com/events/4704...4249/?source=1 TASMANIA PROTEST https://www.facebook.com/events/1383...7520/?source=1 * People living in Australia – please go to this page for protest details and links https://www.facebook.com/events/230962497071771/?ref=3&ref_news... "He who hears not the music thinks the dancer mad." Proverb "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Reply Reply With Quote Thanks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remove Your Thanks The Following User Says Thank You to awake2infinite For This Useful Post: CLICKHEREx (Today) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today, 11:13 AM #2 awake2infinite View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message Visit Homepage Add as Contact Member Join Date Aug 2011 Location in your mind Posts 59 Thanks 11 Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts Synthetic Cannabis ------------------------------------------- View video via http://www.tripme.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?11557-The-VLAD-Laws-(Vicious-Lawless-Association-Disestablishment-Act-2013)--Jarrod-Bleiji&p=80709#post80709

http://www.skynews.com.au/offbeat/article.aspx?id=941825 An Auckland grandmother has discovered $50,000 worth of drugs hidden in her suitcase, four years since she last used it on a trip to Australia. Gillian Rodgers, 74, found the tightly-packed bag of white powder, about the size of a packet of cigarettes, on Saturday as she packed for a trip to Blenheim. She took the bag to her local police station and was told it was 55g of amphetamine. She says she last used the suitcase four years ago on a month-long cruise around Australia before flying home from Sydney. The pocket where the drugs were found was the only one which wasn't padlocked, she told the NZ Herald. Ms Rodgers was shocked to discover she was being used as a drug mule. 'I wonder if they were going to try to retrieve it. I'm sure they would have wanted it back. I wonder if they followed me,' she told the paper. 'I could've been picked up at the airport. Or if I'd gone through somewhere like Bali or Thailand with that in my bag... terrifying.' Customs spokeswoman Nicky Elliott says the drugs could have been planted anytime since Ms Rodgers last used the suitcase. Customs processed about 10 million travellers a year. 'We are confident this system works well and that the border is fully protected.' Police are now looking into how the drugs may have been planted in the suitcase. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Police are now looking into how the drugs may have been planted in the suitcase". - This certainly makes Schapelle Corby's claim that baggage handlers in Aus stashed the drugs in an unlocked part of the luggage more believeable, but they must have had a way of retreiving the drugs at destination, presumably baggage handlers or other airport staff. If that's the case, there would have to have been communications between them, to co-ordinate, and I'm wondering if it was through encrypted emails or mobile phones?

http://www.smh.com.au/national/synthetic-drugs-authorities-struggle-to-deal-with-booming-trade-20140110-30lzk.html January 11, 2014 Rory Callinan Investigative journalist The new business of synthetic drugs has rapidly rewritten the rules of the 'highs' industry while generating millions in profits. The local postman become an unwitting mule. Photo: Louie Douvis The sex-shop employee is understandably nervous talking about her industry's profitable but illegal sideline. ''I could get into real trouble for this. I'm pretty sure there's a corrupt policeman involved who is tipping people off,'' she says, asking that her name not be used. ''They're making tens of thousands of dollars a week travelling down to NSW getting the stuff from postboxes just over the border. Then they drive it north to where it is distributed among the adult shops. ''The suppliers won't send it to Queensland because they know it's illegal. That's why it comes to a postbox just over the border.'' They call it aphrodisiac tea and it's sold under the counter, she says. This so-called ''aphrodisiac tea'' is a synthetic cannabis or cannabinoid, and the shop assistant's admissions provide a glimpse into the rapidly evolving trade in ''new psychoactive substances'', or synthetic drugs, in Australia. In the past five years, authorities have watched the lucrative trade explode and have been left struggling to deal with the horrific fallout that has caused five fatalities in a year. The deaths started with Newcastle truck driver Glenn Punch, who injected a substance known as bath salts and stripped naked, jumped a fence and started foaming and fitting before he stopped breathing in November 2012. Less than a month later, central coast schoolboy Nick Mitchell, 15, died in his bedroom after taking NBOMe - a synthetic substance supposedly designed to mimic the affects of LSD but far more dangerous. The same drug is suspected of killing Perth schoolboy Preston Bridge, who fell from a balcony in February, and also Sydney schoolboy Henry Kwan, 17, who jumped to his death from a balcony at his home in front of his mother and sister in June last year. There was also the death of a 47-year-old from Lake Macquarie on Christmas Day. This loss of life prompted outrage and changes to laws but the jury is out on whether the reforms are working. What is obvious is that the business of new psychoactive substances (as the police call them) has rewritten the old rules of the ''highs'' industry and turned on its head the paradigm of drug dealers, suppliers and users while generating millions in profits. The raw material producers are not machinegun-toting Afghan farmers or tattooed bikie speed cooks, but white-coated lab technicians based in legally operated industrial complexes in southern China, India and Pakistan, where they brew deadly substances designed to mimic illegal drugs. The chemical structure of the potions is engineered to fall outside the laws in the buyers' countries. The buyers, or the top-level dealers, are not gangsters but often hip young university graduates, whose operations turn over six-figure sums in days and who know more about the structure of their personally ordered chemicals than the government chemists who regulate them. These entrepreneurs advertise and co-ordinate their business online and use slick marketing, packaging and incentive deals to attract customers using the so-called ''legal highs'' tag. The local postman becomes an unwitting mule, delivering quantities to users and low-level dealers, who can be anyone from the owner of the local sex-shop or tobacconist to naive teenage school students or mine workers and military personnel trying to dodge drug-testing regimes. In the sex shop case, the drugs are supposedly being imported into Victoria, posted to northern NSW and then driven into Queensland to take advantage of differences in state laws. ''It has been a wild, unrestrained evolution that kind of came out of left field,'' says emergency medicine specialist David Caldicott, who has been studying synthetic drugs in Australia and Britain. ''You have a hierarchy of well-informed, chemically educated people who are commissioning the manufacture of novel products. ''I get concerned because the rate of change is so fast that something big and ugly is just around the corner.'' Dr Caldicott is monitoring the new drugs via the emergency department of Canberra's Calvary Hospital. His concerns are shared by Australian Crime Commission acting chief executive Paul Jevtovic. ''The reality is we can't keep up,'' Jevtovic says. ''The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has found that, since 2011, we are seeing a new drug in this category every week.'' An indication of the increasing amounts coming into Australia can be found in Customs seizure records. Last financial year, the agency recorded more than a 1000 per cent increase in the volume of synthetic drug seizures. The source, and the distribution, have been difficult to track until now, as information starts to trickle from the first prosecutions under the new laws, yet to be tested in higher courts. In Queensland, a man was committed to face trial in Brisbane's District Court after being charged in connection with the alleged supply of a product that is said to have contained Alpha-PVP, an analogue of the substance methcathinone, which is supposed to act like an amphetamine. Much of the money appeared to go to an NSW company set up by a man from a wealthy Sydney family. The NSW man cannot be named because he is facing charges. Court documents reveal the Queensland company's credit card transaction with a company from Christchurch that has previously been known to supply herbal products and other ''relaxant substances''. Efforts to contact the Christchurch company were unsuccessful. New Zealand has recently introduced laws under which the drugs could be legalised in a manner similar to the way medicines are regulated. Before the laws come into force, sellers of the drugs can apply for an interim licence. One seller that has applied for a licence is a company called Lightyears Ahead, an Auckland operation that was allegedly owned by the country's ''King of Kronic'', Matthew Wielenga. Kronic is a synthetic form of cannabis and he earned his nickname through promoting and selling it before it was banned. In 2011, Wielenga allegedly branched into Australia and began selling other synthetic drugs in Queensland through a company called Subliminal Marketing, documents filed in Queensland's Supreme Court show. Queensland Police raided Subliminal Marketing's Gold Coast operation and say the company was selling cannabinoid products, intended to be similar to already banned compounds and therefore in breach of the state's laws aimed at the new synthetic drugs. Wielenga denies any impropriety. The authorities have sought a restraining order over the company's assets, including a $4 million shopping centre. Several Australian entrepreneurs are keen to emulate such highly profitable operations while avoiding breaking the law. Fairfax Media has obtained an order form for many substances that lists a company allegedly owned and run by one of the pornography industry's major figures. Efforts to contact the man were unsuccessful. The suppliers of the engineered chemicals are also believed to be operating legal laboratories in Asian countries that do not regulate the production of these chemicals, police say. ''Most of the stuff is coming out of China, and it can come two ways - already pre-packaged or in a powder form,'' the head of the NSW drug squad, Detective Superintendent Nick Bingham, says. Jevtovic says the Crime Commission has seen evidence that the Chinese suppliers have a significant influence on the market, even to the point where they have told people ''how to frustrate and evade Australian borders'' detection. The main area is the Guangdong region in south-west China, Dr Caldicott says. ''There's a very big pharmaceutical concern based in that region that is making legitimate pharmaceuticals but for the same process they can manufacture 100 kilograms or so of something more speculative and turn a nice profit.'' Queensland Police say to their knowledge there is no laboratory producing the active ingredient in that state. ''We have found sites where they manufacture it by spraying it on but there hasn't been a laboratory producing it,'' says Detective Acting Sergeant Clay Baker, who sits on Queensland's inter-departmental working group for the Drugs Misuse Act. Despite the producers being out of reach, Australian authorities believe the laws they have introduced have been effective in starting to control the trade and several arrests have been made. However, both Queensland and NSW police say none of the cases relating to the arrests has been tested so far in the higher courts. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/synthetic-drugs-authorities-struggle-to-deal-with-booming-trade-20140110-30lzk.html#ixzz2q49BN3ws

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/debate-on-drugs-is-healthy/story-fni0ffsx-1226793906862 January 02, 2014 9:00PM The legalisation of cannabis in Colorado has sparked the debate in Victoria. Source: AFP VICTORIA is hearing peoples opinion on whether they should be able to buy marijuana over the counter instead of from drug dealers after retail sales started in Colorado in the United States. But why do our governments have to be prompted so often about social issues when they should be discussed in Parliament and the community? The last time the legalisation of marijuana was discussed was in the 1990s under then premier Jeff Kennett. Professor David Penington was asked to conduct an inquiry into drug policy and says it is once again time to consider practical solutions to the drug problem. Australia remains among the small group of nations that have the highest consumption of cannabis, says Prof Penington, and has the "dubious honour of being the greatest user of ecstasy in the world". Prof Penington advocates those over 16 having regulated access to cannabis and ecstasy, provided they are prepared to go on a national confidential users register, with the aim of taking these drugs out of the hands of criminals. Users would then receive counselling. It would also lessen the risk of young people being encouraged to take harder drugs. While opposed to the use of marijuana or ecstasy, the Herald Sun believes community debate on social issues is necessary although often put in the too-hard basket by politicians. Same-sex marriage is another issue that has needed overseas example to prompt discussion. Its more than time we started to think for ourselves. http://www.aussielegalhighs.com.au/search.php?searchid=110270

Try Progressive Muscle Relaxation, at http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html and EFT. It is free via the searchbar at www.mercola.com "EFT" & "EFT therapists" ( ) or www.tapping.com (13 free videos) or eftuniverse.com. Professional is best (Google local EFT therapists). There is a version for use in public places, as you employ the acupressure massage/lightly tap your temples. Use whichever works best for you.

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/700933-Aus-Cops-to-disqualify-driving-license-to-anyone-guilty-of-anything Jon Kaila Herald Sun November 26, 2013 12:01AM 75 comments Cops get licence to disqualify crooks Police are vowing to disqualify licences of anyone convicted of an offence. Source: HeraldSun opi8 View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date May 2010 Posts 1,385 Blog Entries1 Yesterday 20:45 ... Plus have interlock devices fitted when they get their license back if they thought about smoking a joint when in highschool. EXCLUSIVE: TENS of thousands more Victorians each year stand to lose their drivers' licences under a new law police are vowing to exercise in court. Sweeping legal changes which came into effect on September 30 allow courts to suspend or cancel the licence of any person convicted or found guilty of any offence - regardless of whether that offence has anything to do with driving. Victoria Police has exclusively revealed to the Herald Sun that it will seek to use the new powers in up to 50,000 court cases each year. It has already briefed its prosecutors on the law. "If you're convicted or found guilty of any offence, a court may suspend or cancel and disqualify your licence," said Acting Senior Sergeant Richard Bowers, of the Victoria Police Prosecution Division. "The legislation does not govern or put a limiting factor on which cases it applies to. It's any offence, and it's completely open to the magistrate as to whether or not they impose it. "Unless a superior court gets hold of one of these cases and says 'Well, this is an inappropriate exercise of discretion,' it will remain open for use for a magistrate to use in any way they see fit." But the move has angered civil libertarians. "We are very disturbed at the lack of consultation, given this is such a sweeping and draconian measure," Jane Dixon, SC, the president of Liberty Victoria, said last night. "To deprive someone of their driving licence can often also deprive them of their livelihood. "We believe, for well-being, there should be a strong foundation between driving and the offending." Victoria Police said it would advice its prosecutors to use the legislation in any case where the offending can be linked to using a vehicle, which it estimates at around 50,000 cases a year. "We will raise the legislation in circumstances where driving had been part and parcel of the offending," Sen-Sgt Bowers said. "It may be an offence where the accused used a car to commit the offences; for example, residential burglaries, using the car to get around." In another change to the law, anyone disqualified from driving may be forced to fit an alcohol interlock device in their vehicle when the licence is reinstated, if the original crime can be linked in any way to alcohol or drugs. First-time offenders, and those guilty of even the most minor offences, will not be exempt from the new law. There are no set suspension or disqualification limits, giving magistrates free rein to cancel a licence for as long as they see fit. Sen-Sgt Bowers also highlighted drug trafficking and family violence cases as likely ones for the exercise of the law. "You have to look at each case on its merits and determine where is the best use of this legislation. We have left prosecutors with a fair bit of discretion," he said. "It's a deterrent and a preventive measure. From our perspective, anything that has the potential to prevent further offending is a good thing," he said. bullshit at : http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-o...-1226768223410 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 drug_mentor View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Moderator Australian Drug Discussion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Jul 2006 Location Australia Posts 5,756 Yesterday 21:40 Fucking absolute horse shit this, I never even heard of this before clicking this thread right now, what in the absolute fuck?! In the last few years this is really becoming a police State, I fear that in another decade we will have no rights left at all. I cannot understand why a country that was traditionally liberal and progressive is going backwards so fast in recent years, but it is well and truly happening. What do they hope to achieve with this? All it does is make life harder for people with convictions, harder to work and harder to live, this is not the situation you want to create for people convicted of a crime if one wants to keep the recidivism rates down. Pretty sure anyone caught dealing who loses their licence as a result and in turn loses their job is gonna go straight back to dealing. It just makes no sense. I am so angry and disappointed as a citizen of and driver in the State of Victoria. Shame on whatever fuck wits passed this legislation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 _DankOpiAmp_ View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Sep 2013 Posts 60 Yesterday 21:55 This is the arbitrary use of power defining tyranny. Why must cops always seek new ways to nurture criminality and marginalize an ever-growing segment of the population? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #4 neversickanymore View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Moderator Recovery Support -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Jan 2013 Location babysitting the argument in my head Posts 4,858 Today 02:25 They must be desperate.. you know what fuck them and their bullshit.. I thought the US was the "land of the free" but wow you guys might be pulling ahead.. RECOVERY FORUMS ~~~ADDICTION GUIDE~~~ CONTACT ME -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #5 MagickalKat777 View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Feb 2004 Location Denver, CO Posts 4,266 Today 07:39 Wow. Just wow. How long will that one hold up? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #6 'medicine cabinet' View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Jun 2006 Location Baltimore Posts 5,987 Today 14:06 Looks like no one will be driving in au anymore. At least there will be less pollution. Thats so fucked up. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #7 bukweat View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Add as Contact Bluelighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join Date Jun 2013 Location between a rock and a hard place Posts 248 Today 14:53 So this law affects tens of thousands? If the courts do follow through they will create a near-permanent criminal underclass. Maybe I made the assumption about needing a drivers license to work. It surely is that way here. I would lose my job for sure. Can't commute, no mass transit where I work. The courts are totally overreaching here. So if I get a misdemeanor pot charge, my drivers license is revoked? What next gulags? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #8 CLICKHEREx View Profile View Forum Posts Private Message View Blog Entries View Articles Greenlighter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Join DateSep 2012 Posts41Today 16:59 I predict that sales of motorised and/or electric bikes will skyrocket in Victoria, and with many novices commuting, will result in many more road deaths. http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/cops-to-use-licence-to-disqualify-anyone-guilty-of-anything/story-fni0fee2-1226768223410

As far as I know, there are at least 2 types of damiana, the much more expensive, more psychoactive Turnera aphrodisiaca, and the cheaper, less psychoactive Turnera diffusa, which is often used as a base for herbal incense, so make sure you check that out.

24 Nov 2013 Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) Website: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340 Author: Melissa Dribben MALE BREAST GROWTH AND POT Weed advocates call the link a myth lacking scientific support. But doctors see evidence in their practices. As legalized medical marijuana gains acceptance across the country, a long-smoldering question burns a little hotter. In the vernacular, stoners ask, "Do doobies make boobies?" Plastic surgeons phrase it more scientifically. "Does marijuana cause gynecomastia?" Speculation that men who smoke pot are prone to develop abnormal breast tissue or "man boobs" has been around for decades. The first scientific paper examining the clinical impact of the drug's active ingredient, THC, on hormonal systems was published in 1972 in the New England Journal of Medicine. This was about the same time Brewer & Shipley stoked Spiro Agnew's ire with the hit single "One Toke Over the Line." The drug's ability to stoke controversy has not abated. The 1972 study found that the drug has "widespread effects on multiple hormonal systems, including gonadal, adrenal, prolactin, growth hormone, and thyroid hormone regulation." When the drug throws off the normal balance of hormones, estrogen levels rise and stimulate breast tissue growth. Subsequent studies have been few and their findings conflicting. As a result, marijuana's advocates call the association a myth, asserting that there is no solid scientific proof. They have a point, says Adrian Lo, a plastic surgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital who specializes in breast reduction for men. Because marijuana is illegal in most states, he explains, it's hard to conduct research. But this does not make the link a myth. "What we're left with are doctors, endocrinologists, and surgeons with clinical acumen saying we notice a trend," he says. Of the 100 or so patients who come to him for breast reduction surgeries each year, more than one-third report regular marijuana use. "Some men are more susceptible to gynecomastia than others," he says. Smoking pot can lower testosterone levels for 24 hours, he says. After just one joint, patients have reported feeling swelling and puffiness around the nipple, while regular users may have no reaction, at least in their breast tissue. "We can't predict who it's going to happen to," Lo says. "I wouldn't say I was smoking seven days a week, but it was close," says a 23-year-old patient who recently underwent breast reduction. Worried about the legal ramifications and his job security as an actuary, he agreed to speak identified only by his middle name, Michael. He first developed enlarged breasts when he was going through puberty, a few years before he started smoking. His mother took him to the pediatrician, who said the condition was normal and temporary. But Michael was among the small percentage who did not grow out of it. For years, he would avoid baring his chest. "In games where the choice was shirts vs. skins, you never wanted to be skins," he says. Once he started having relationships with women, he worried about how they judged his body. At 5- foot- 11 and 190 pounds, he was not overweight, and worked out three or four times a week at the gym. "I benched and lifted," he says. "Underneath, I had pecs." But no amount of exercise made his breasts turn to muscle. He had heard that pot could cause man boobs. "When I was high, they felt a little more noticeable," Michael says. "But I don't know if it was my state of mind at the time." Since he had had them for so long, he did not think quitting would make a difference. "This is, of course, an inflammatory topic. There is skepticism either way," says Lo. "But in my experience, it's very simple. If you're a guy and you're worried about gynecomastia, you shouldn't smoke pot because there's a link." "That is the prevailing opinion," says Robert X. Murphy Jr., president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, noting that it matches his own clinical experience. With the recent increase in men seeking breast reduction surgery, he says, empirical evidence is mounting. In 2012, the society reports, 20,723 gynecomastia procedures were performed, a 5 percent increase from the year before. The number of these surgeries had fallen from their peak in the late 1990s, when more insurers were willing to cover the procedure. Patients now pay between $3,000 and $8,000 out of pocket for the operation. Since 2006, it has been among the top five cosmetic surgical procedures for men. Emily Pollard, head of plastic surgery for Lankenau Medical Center, now performs one gynecomastia surgery a month, twice as many as the year before. The increase, she believes, is partly driven by direct marketing by companies that manufacture liposuction equipment. The largest percentage of gynecomastia cases have no clearly identifiable cause, says Murphy. The rest are caused by a constellation of conditions. It is common for boys like Michael to develop tender and enlarged breasts during puberty, although, as his pediatrician said, most outgrow the condition. Additionally, more than 90 drugs have been linked to gynecomastia, including some antidepressants and antibiotics and ulcer, heart, and HIV medications. Men who are obese are susceptible. So are bodybuilders who use anabolic steroids, men who use Propecia to prevent hair loss, and those who self-administer testosterone, which the body breaks down into two compounds, one of which is similar to estrogen. Because people may be exposed to multiple risk factors, it can be difficult to identify which are to blame. "We can't paint with a broad stroke," says Murphy. But when young men come to him to remove their breasts, and they are neither overweight nor taking any other of the trigger medications, he says, it is reasonable to deduce that pot is the likely cause. "It is one of those things that you ask about," he says. "Whether people admit it or not is another matter." Living with gynecomastia can be a psychological burden. "I was scared of relationships," says a patient who gave his middle name, Andrew. "It really was a strain, every day." A 26-year-old drug and alcohol counselor, he says he rarely took off his shirt at the beach and would layer T-shirts to hide his body. "My friends would tease me. They thought I could make it go away with exercise." Unable to afford the surgery, Andrew borrowed the money for the $5,500 procedure. He had his surgery last month. "I'm thrilled with it," he says. "It's such a relief." The surgery is normally an outpatient procedure that takes about an hour to complete, says Lo. The surgeon cuts around the nipple, removes 90 to 95 percent of the glandular tissue, and contours the chest. The remaining tissue can still be stimulated to grow, Lo says. "So we obviously advise to avoid the factors that caused it in the first place." Marijuana, he says, is one of them. "I'm not hating on pot," Lo says. "Everyone who does what I do has seen it, whether you choose to believe it or not." http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v13/n561/a02.html?397

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/synthetic-drug--ban-will-not-protect-public-20131207-2yxvh.html December 7, 2013 Jill Stark Senior writer for The Sunday Age A BAN on a synthetic cannabis brand that left five Victorians in hospital will not protect the public, according to drug experts who have urged the state government to adopt a smarter approach to controlling the substances. On Saturday, Minister for Mental Health Mary Wooldridge announced that 'Marley' - which last week put five people in intensive care - would be outlawed from Tuesday. She said people who had smoked the herbal-chemical blend experienced symptoms such as loss of consciousness, seizures, agitation, confusion and difficulty breathing. But experts say the move is doomed to fail because manufacturers can simply circumvent laws by reformulating the drugs. 'Marley' is the 10th substance the Coalition has banned since introducing legislation in 2011 to tackle the burgeoning synthetic drugs market. "Because of the way these drugs are made, as soon as you ban one substance they'll tweak the chemical formulas that will mean it has the same effect but won't be illegal. It's not going to stop unless we start looking at it a bit more creatively," said John Rogerson, chief executive of the Australian Drug Foundation. "We need to be following New Zealand where they've put the onus back on the producers to show the drugs are safe. They've taken all the synthetic drugs off the market and allowed 20 of the lowest risk products to stay on the market as long as they go through the testing process prove it is safe for human consumption." Synthetic drugs, which are mostly sold online or in tobacconists and sex shops are proving a headache for regulators around the world. Victoria Police last year told Fairfax Media they were virtually impossible to control as there is no way to know what chemicals are in them without forensic tests, and manufacturers frequently change the chemical structure of the substances to get round bans. Users have no way of knowing if they are committing an offence because there is no requirement for a product's ingredients to be listed. Sam Biondo, executive officer of the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association, said further bans were not the answer. "We need to start labelling what chemicals are in the pack when people are buying it because at the moment we have no idea. Kids are turning up to hospital and the doctors are not sure what they've taken and doctors don't know how to treat it. Some form of regulation and harm-reduction messaging would probably end up saving lives," he said. In a statement, Ms Wooldridge described synthetic cannabinoids as "highly dangerous". "If a substance poses a significant risk to the health of consumers I have the power to declare that substance a schedule 11 poison. Following extensive forensic lab analysis, I have signed the regulations to list the active ingredients in 'Marley'." The move means anyone caught trafficking the drug faces a jail term of up to 15 years. "Retailers who sell synthetic drugs are dicing with people's health and their own future. Retailers, including shop staff, may face stiff criminal penalties if they don't know exactly what they are selling," Ms Wooldridge. A spokeswoman for Ms Wooldridge said the 2011 legislation provides powers to ban individual ingredients, as well as whole classes of drugs, without requiring legislative changes. "Banning a class of drugs removes the capacity of drug manufacturers to make minor changes to a substance to avoid the law. The Coalition Government also has legislation before the Parliament that will further strengthen our powers in relation to these dangerous substances," he said. Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/synthetic-drug--ban-will-not-protect-public-20131207-2yxvh.html#ixzz2mrH9UXtP

In Darwin in the 70's, a magistrate had appointed to him a Commonwealth car and driver, the rumour being that he had allegedly killed a young girl while he was drunk driving, but it was hushed up by the Territorian "good old boys" network; you know, the same mob who decided to disregard the coroner in the Azaria Chamberlain case, and prosecute her for murder, most probably because they thought baby killing dingos would be bad for tourism.

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/700027-Aus-Government-to-seize-babies-of-mothers-who-use-drugs opi8 Today 15:17 The New South Wales Government is preparing to introduce laws that would allow babies to be seized at birth if their mothers abuse drugs during pregnancy. Pregnant women who use drugs or alcohol will be made to sign Parental Responsibility Contracts ordering them to undergo treatment, or risk losing their child. The contracts are already in use but currently can only be applied after a child has been born. The Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward says hundreds of heroin-addicted babies are born every year, with terrible consequences. "So Parental Responsibility Contracts... extending those to before the birth means we have the opportunity to require a mum to go to a drug or alcohol abstinence program (to) manage her addiction to ensure that the baby has a much better chance of being born normal and she has a much better chance of keeping her baby," she said. The Government has been repeatedly accused of inadequately resourcing case workers, but Ms Goward doesn't believe the changes will add the workload. "This way we have a greater opportunity of intervening earlier. "We have drug and alcohol services that are available that are provided to the mothers and in the long run this is a much more effective way of managing the baby and the resource allocation need not be so intense,"she said. But the New South Wales Opposition is giving no guarantees that it will support the legislation. Opposition spokeswoman Linda Burney says drug abuse by pregnant women is a serious issue but she is concerned about the details of the legislation, including other matters such as adoption. "The timeframes about moving to adoption are very short. "There is less emphasis on getting consent from parents for adoption and there is (a) possibility, as I understand it, that adoption will move from the Supreme Court. "Those things do concern me and Labor will be looking at it very carefully," she said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-1...08?section=nsw __________________________________________________________________ A whole new generation of stolen children? What if the birth mother likes poppyseed rolls? What about cannabis or tobacco use?

04-12-2013, 14:41 Phenoxide Research Chemicals Forum Super Moderator Join Date: 11-10-2009 Male from United Kingdom Posts: 4,302 Army researchers build portable 'fake pot' detector prototype to curb drug use -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Army researchers build portable 'fake pot' detector prototype to curb soldier designer drug abuse ADELPHI, Md. - Army researchers are building a portable drug detector that, soon, could help military and civil law enforcement agencies throughout the country more quickly catch synthetic drug abuse. The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's prototype biosensor model is expected to directly detect the active chemical substitutes that help "fake pot" fade from notice in commercially available synthetic cannabinoid detectors. It would be the first field-ready test on the market. In 2012, the Army Criminal Investigation Command, known as CID, conducted 1,675 investigations involving soldiers and spice, bath salts, or other synthetic drugs, according to a May 2013 Army Times article. Army Research Laboratory, or ARL is collaborating with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory, or ACIL, on this work, as synthetic cannabinoids are a rising threat that burdens their case-load. Currently there are no fieldable detection systems to perform analysis on the spot and tests are sent back to ACIL for evaluation. ARL is attempting to build a sensor that is not only portable, but can detect an ever-changing culprit. "Garage chemists" sneak their concoctions of chemically laced kitchen herbs past detectors law enforcement use today, because those biosensors are designed to find a specific molecule. "But there are hundreds of synthetic cannabinoid variants, so a sensor that detects one specific synthetic cannabinoid that is seen on Spice or K2 would be quickly outdated as these types change regularly," said Dr. Mark Griep, principal scientist on the project, who works in the Composite and Hybrid Materials Branch in ARL's Weapons and Materials Research Directorate. Griep joined with Dr. Shashi Karna, an Army senior research scientist and noted international expert in nanotechnology, to form a team of government and academic scientific investigators in building a detector that "will be able to detect the whole "class" of chemicals that have an affinity for the cannabinoid receptors in the brain," Griep said. These are the receptors that are targeted by the drug and induce its effects. "Therefore, even if entirely new synthetic cannabinoid molecules are created, they are created to activate these receptors, so our sensor will be sensitive to them." This work builds upon the fundamental bio-nano science conducted at ARL and the Michigan Technological University in 2008, where a joint team of military and university researchers developed a unique opto-electronic hybrid system based on the integration of quantum dots with the highly functional protein bacteriorhodopsin, and revealed the fundamental science and mechanisms behind their interactions. Based on this hybrid bio-nanomaterial, researchers were able to patent a system they developed that could selectively target a material, and when that target binds to the sensor it induces a change in the proteins electrical output. With this understanding of the materials, ARL was able to develop a unique sensing platform that is amenable to functionalization toward a wide variety of airborne or liquid targets. The base platform is very generic and could be tailored it to a multitude of sensing needs, explained Griep. "Although this bio-nano sensing platform wasn't developed with drug sensing in mind, this program leverages our bio-nano sensor expertise towards a specific drug testing problem. The fact that our sensor platform has the potential to be small, lightweight, user-friendly, and fieldable in addition to being generic enough to be tailored towards synthetic cannabinoid detections made it a unique fit to fill this specific drug detection need," Griep said. Synthetic marijuana arose from the "unfortunate manipulation of science far outside the intended purpose" to study the effects of cannabinoids on brain functioning and their efficacy in treating pain, Griep said. Several cannabinoid compounds were created to help advance the treatment of serious ailments like multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and cancer. The protocols of basic science to communicate findings in open literature, namely the "Materials and Methods" section, "became a shopping list and recipe for garage chemists with ambitions straight out of AMC TV's Breaking Bad. They laced natural herbs with these molecules and advertised the product as a legal alternative to pot, with the further come-on that this substitute could not be detected in drug tests. At the same time, a warning label said the item was not for human consumption as a way to skirt watchdogs like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," said Griep, who first created new biosensor platforms for a DARPA-funded project in 2008. He is tailoring bio-nanosensing platforms he created to build the synthetic cannabinoid detection platform. His research team at Michigan Technological University and ARL won the Paul A. Siple award for their efforts in Bio-Nanoelectronics at the Army Science Conference in 2010. Griep said traditional drug-focused sensors are focused on two aspects. Finding the synthetic cannabinoids before use, which is what the ARL model is being designed to do, and detecting the drugs after use and after they have been processed in the body, which is when urine and hair analyses come into play. "Although detecting the drug after it's in the body is standard for normal marijuana and THC [tetrahydrocannabinol ] metabolites, it is hard to implement for synthetic cannabinoids since a lot of research is required to find out how each specific chemical is processed in the body. This is has been figured out for a few synthetic cannabinoids, but the problem comes back to the hundreds of variants of these synthetics. A new test would need to be developed for each variant," Griep said. There is plenty of research available that gives a sense for the complexity of the "system to process chemicals in your body. So even if there's a single atom or bond change in the material, the entire pathway could change. Thus, the end product, or what ends up in your hair or urine, could be greatly different. Every synthetic cannabinoid has a different structure or functional group arrangement, so it will be processed differently in the body," Griep explained. The Department of the Army banned the use of synthetic marijuana for Soldiers in 2011. Earlier this month, the Department of Defense approved the addition of synthetic cannabinoids to the approved random testing panel within the next ninety days, said Buddy Horne, drug testing manager for the Army Substance Abuse Program. Synthetic cannabinoids are substances chemically produced to mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. When smoked or ingested, they can produce psychoactive effects similar to those of marijuana and have been reportedly linked to heart attacks, seizures and hallucinations. Some abusers reported marijuana-consistent effects such as sleepiness, relaxation and reduced blood pressure, but others have reported symptoms not common with marijuana abuse such as nausea, increased agitation, elevated blood pressure and racing heart rates. The Michigan Technological University expects to deliver to the Army a unit to house ARL's biosensor technology in December. ARL expects to deliver a functional prototype to ACIL by the end of 2014, but until then, Army researchers will work with collaborators from the National Institutes of Health, ACIL and the DEA to test its efficacy using real-world synthetic cannabinoid samples. If it works well, Griep said, this device could quickly roll out to military police and civilian law enforcement agencies around the country. ACIL is responsible for all the forensic investigation work within the DOD. In the case of synthetic cannabinoids, whenever military police investigators come across a suspicious sample or there is a synthetic drug case involving military personnel during an investigation, the contents of the sample must be evaluated and proven at ACIL. "Since there aren't any field tests, all the characterization and analysis is done at ACIL. There are a tremendous amount of potential synthetic cannabinoid related cases, so there's quite a workload of samples arriving at ACIL," said Griep. "If there was a good field-able sensor - our work's goal - capable of allowing law enforcement to determine if the suspicious package contained synthetic cannabinoids or not, then the ACIL workload would be cut down since only samples that actually contain synthetic cannabinoids would be sent back for analysis." Defense Video and Imagery Distribution System (T'Jae Gibson reporting) 3rd December 2013 http://www.dvidshub.net/news/117683/...ner-drug-abuse Attached Thumbnails Read more: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=231686#ixzz2mUNj5WCI

27-11-2013, 13:04 Phenoxide Research Chemicals Forum Super Moderator Join Date: 11-10-2009 Male from United Kingdom Posts: 4,275 Salt in medicines 'poses a health risk' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soluble painkillers used by millions of people in Britain could pose a health risk because they are high in salt, UK researchers are warning. Some formulations taken at maximum dose tip users over the recommended daily sodium intake for an adult, with potentially dangerous consequences, the study authors say. Their work in the BMJ looks at the outcomes for 1.2 million UK patients. It found a link between effervescent tablets and heart attacks and stroke. Compared with patients taking the same drugs without salt, those who regularly took effervescent or soluble medications increased their risk of having a heart attack, stroke or dying from a vascular cause by a fifth. They were also seven times more likely to develop high blood pressure or hypertension, which the researchers say is at the root of the problem. Lead researcher Dr Jacob George, from Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, said: "We know that high salt causes hypertension and that hypertension leads to stroke." The British Heart Foundation said it was important to remember that the research applied to people who were taking these medicines every day - it did not mean that occasional use could damage your heart health. Hidden salt Many effervescent medicines contain salt. This is because in order to fizz and dissolve, they contain a substance called bicarbonate, which is often combined with sodium. The study looked at 24 different prescribed effervescent medicines, including common painkillers such as paracetamol and aspirin, as well as supplements. But Dr George said many more people bought these types of treatment from chemists, without a prescription. He said people needed to be aware of the risks and that drug manufacturers should look at cutting the salt content of their products. In the study, sodium levels in tablets ranged from as low as 3mmol to as high as 18mmol - approximately a fifth of a teaspoon. The recommended sodium intake for an adult in the UK is 104mmol per day. A person who takes the maximum daily dose of eight tablets of soluble paracetamol, for example, would ingest 148.8mmol of sodium, which exceeds their daily salt allowance. If you then took in to account the dietary salt a person was likely to get from the food that they ate, their overall salt intake could be dangerously high, said Dr George. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it kept a close check on the safety of all licensed medicines. "We will carefully review the findings of this new research," said a spokeswoman. All medicines that contain at least 1mmol (or 23mg) of sodium - a component of salt - in each dose are required to declare on their labelling that the product contains sodium. The accompanying patient information leaflet provides information on the quantity of sodium and includes a warning to patients on a low-sodium diet to take the amount of sodium in the medicine into account. "We recommend that people with questions about their salt intake should read the patient information leaflet and speak to their GP," the MHRA said. But Prof Gareth Beevers, of Blood Pressure UK, said many consumers would be unaware of the risks. "It is extraordinary to think that sodium has been hiding in our medicines all this time. "Without clear labelling on these products, it is impossible to know how much additional sodium you would be eating, so it is shocking to find you could be having more than your daily maximum from medicines alone. "Eating too much sodium - in any form - puts up our blood pressure, which puts you at increased risk of strokes and heart attacks, the biggest killers in the world." BBC News 27th November 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25091741 Quote: Something for CWE'rs to bear in mind, and another reason to avoid effervescent codeine. Read more: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1389855#post1389855#ixzz2lpHig8wL

Synthetic drug stores to be shut down in S.A. The Reynell Report.Nineteen synthetic drug products, which mimic the effect of legal drugs, or are marketed as such, were banned by Attorney General John Rau in June this year. Particular chemicals that may be contained in synthetic drugs have also been banned. The Attorney General has now proposed laws that shut down shops that sell synthetic drugs. Under the proposed laws police may seek an order for a store to cease trading, if it repeatedly puts these dodgy products on its shelves. As mentioned in the last Reynell Report, the government is doing all it can to stop the purchase of these products on the internet. A national approach is needed, and South Australia will raise the issue with the new Commonwealth Attorney General, as well as pushing for a quick passage of laws through the South Australian Parliament.

23 Oct 2013 Source: Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO) Website: http://www.coloradoan.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1580 Author: Kristen Wyatt, Associated Press COLORADO POT INDUSTRY ON DISPLAY AT DRUG-POLICY CONFERENCE IN DENVER DENVER ( AP ) - Dignitaries from three nations sniffed marijuana, walked through greenhouses full of tagged marijuana plants and learned about video pot surveillance on a three-day Weed 101 tour in Colorado, which has a regulated marijuana market and is planning to expand sales to all adults in a few weeks. More than two dozen visiting officials from Canada, Mexico and Uruguay made the trip this week. Colorado is preparing to play host for 1,000 drug policy experts and legalization backers at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference. "We see the hypocrisy of the American policy toward Latin America," said Julio Calzada, drug czar in Uruguay, which is expected to become the first country in the world to license and enforce rules for the production, distribution and sale of marijuana for adult consumers. [Remainder snipped]