cocaine

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Feds Map Drug and Mental Problems by State

Vermonters smoke a lot of pot, Utah adults suffer high rate of mental ills

(Newser) - Vermonters smoke the most pot and Utah has the lowest drinking and marijuana rates among young people in the nation—but the highest rates of adults reporting mental health problems. Those are some of the nuggets uncovered in a fascinating new report by government researchers who made a state-by-state examination...

First Inmates Freed in Crack Overhaul

More than 3,000 eligible for release this year under new sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - Federal prisons are beginning to release prisoners to comply with new crack-cocaine sentencing guidelines, the Washington Post reports. The US Sentencing Commission made more than 3,000 inmates eligible for release this year by voting in December to even out punishments for crack-cocaine offenses against those involving powdered cocaine; crack...

UK Beaches Awash in Cocaine
UK Beaches Awash in Cocaine
Feb 28, 2008 11:28 AM CST

UK Beaches Awash in Cocaine

$1.2 million in cocaine appears to have drifted across the Atlantic

(Newser) - When a British beachcomber brought police a wheelbarrow full of 50 lbs. of pure Colombian cocaine the other day, Cornwall police weren’t stunned. In the last 3 weeks, five other such packages have washed up on Cornwall’s beaches, with a total street value of $1.2 million. “...

Drug Cartels Aim to Master the Deep

Narcotics gangs are increasingly relying on submersibles to transport cocaine

(Newser) - Colombian drug cartels are increasingly relying on homemade submersibles to transport cocaine, the Washington Post reports, with 13 such vessels seized last year—more than in the previous 14 combined. The vehicles skim just under the waves, nearly invisible to sonar and aircraft. And even enforcement officials have grudging respect...

Chavez Linked to Columbian Drug Trade

FARC guerrillas run cocaine through Venezuela

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez recently grabbed headlines by brokering the release of two women held hostage by FARC, Colombia's guerrilla rebels. But Chavez was no neutral mediator: FARC operates openly in Venezuela, and even hand-in-hand with government agencies, both to wage war in Colombia and smuggle Colombian cocaine into Europe, the Guardian ...

Heath, Michelle Split Over Drugs
Heath, Michelle Split Over Drugs
Jan 31, 2008 12:49 PM CST

Heath, Michelle Split Over Drugs

Insider says Ledger was hooked on cocaine, heroin for past year

(Newser) - Heath Ledger's cocaine and heroin use became so bad over the past year that girlfriend Michelle Williams kicked him out of their Brooklyn home and threatened to take custody of daughter Matilda, the New York Post reports. A "drug pal" described partying bouts just as two TV shows decided...

Overdose Deaths Up Sharply
Overdose Deaths Up Sharply
Jan 26, 2008 8:05 AM CST

Overdose Deaths Up Sharply

Prescription drugs now kill more than cocaine and heroin

(Newser) - The death of Heath Ledger from a suspected drug overdose has highlighted a huge spike in drug overdoses in the US, reports the Los Angeles Times. Accidental poisoning deaths, 95% of which are overdoses, rose sharply from 12,186 in 1999 to 20,950 in 2004. Doctors say prescription drugs,...

Judge Sends Lohan to the Morgue
Judge Sends Lohan to the Morgue
Jan 18, 2008 10:47 AM CST

Judge Sends Lohan to the Morgue

Actress will chase DUI conviction with community service

(Newser) - Glamorous, it ain't. Lindsay Lohan will begin working at a morgue as punishment for her most recent drunken driving conviction, the AP reports. Lohan will put in two days of community service at the morgue and another two in a hospital emergency room. The court-ordered program is aimed to illustrate...

Turner Died of Cocaine OD
Turner Died of Cocaine OD
Jan 16, 2008 8:17 PM CST

Turner Died of Cocaine OD

Music pioneer, 76, had a lifelong problem with drugs

(Newser) - Rock and soul legend Ike Turner died last month from a cocaine oversdose, a coroner's report says. Turner, 76, perhaps as famous for his abusive relationship with Tina Turner as for his pioneering music, had lifelong problems with drugs. The San Diego medical examiner says the overdose appears to have...

Bill Loses It, Calls Barack Story 'Fairytale'

'Give me a break,' Clinton sneers at 'charismatic figure'

(Newser) - While his wife was nearly in tears yesterday, Bill Clinton was losing his cool, angrily telling a crowd that the press has given Barack Obama a free ride and that his seductive political narrative is “the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen.” The ex-prez said Obama had...

Hingis Nets 2-Year Ban for Coke
Hingis Nets 2-Year Ban for Coke
Jan 4, 2008 3:17 PM CST

Hingis Nets 2-Year Ban for Coke

Ex-top player must return Wimbledon prize money

(Newser) - Martina Hingis received a 2-year ban from competitive tennis today after testing positive for cocaine at last year's Wimbledon tournament, the BBC reports. The former world No. 1 had already announced her retirement, so the ban may not mean much, but she also has to return about $130,000 in...

Shots Could End Coke Addiction
Shots Could End Coke Addiction
Jan 2, 2008 8:02 AM CST

Shots Could End Coke Addiction

Vaccine stops drug from producing a high

(Newser) - Scientists have developed a potential vaccine against cocaine addiction and have asked the federal Food and Drug Administration to greenlight large-scale clinical trials. The injections of modified cocaine work by stimulating the immune system to attack cocaine when it's ingested, preventing the drug from producing a high, reports the Houston ...

Italian Syndicate Quietly Rules Europe's Cocaine Trade

US market tumbles as mobsters flourish

(Newser) - Europe is gaining a foothold in the world’s cocaine trade, elbowing out the US as the largest market thanks to the bravado of one Italian crime syndicate. The ‘Ndrangheta mafia, based in the hills of southern Italy, has won prominence by dealing directly with Colombian kingpins and shunning...

Slugger Hopes for Shortened Prison Term

Retroactive cuts in crack sentences may aid Willie Mays Aikens

(Newser) - Now that the US Sentencing Commission has agreed to retroactively reduce prison terms for crack cocaine offenses, one of baseball's record-holders stands to benefit. Willie Mays Aikens, the only player to hit multiple homers in multiple games in the same World Series (playing for Kansas City in 1980), may have...

Recent Cases Showcase New Judicial Leeway

Black, Vick decisions illustrate turn from sentencing guidelines

(Newser) - More federal judges are giving themselves wiggle room when it comes to once-strict sentencing guidelines, as evidenced by three recent high-profile court cases. The three—involving Conrad Black, Michael Vick, and a crack cocaine case that made it to the Supreme Court—illustrate how a spate of high-court rulings have...

Supremes: Judges Can Shorten Crack Sentences

Court sides with judicial discretion

(Newser) - The Supreme Court ruled today that federal judges can use discretion to order shorter prison sentences in crack cocaine crimes, to lessen a disparity with sentencing for powdered cocaine. It was a win for civil rights advocates, who have long argued that sentencing guidelines call for longer terms in crimes...

Death Airs Hedge-Fund Excesses
Death Airs Hedge-Fund Excesses
Dec 5, 2007 3:00 PM CST

Death Airs Hedge-Fund Excesses

Drowning unleashes rumors of coke binges, male strippers and murder

(Newser) - The legal wrangling that has followed the September death of hedge fund manager Seth Tobias in his Florida swimming pool is sensational enough, the New York Times reports—his wife says he drowned; Tobias' brothers accuse his wife of murder—but details of the high living bankrolled by high finance...

Europeans Go for Coke
Europeans Go for Coke
Nov 22, 2007 4:46 PM CST

Europeans Go for Coke

2007 EU report says coke use up by one million

(Newser) - Cocaine is "Europe's stimulant of choice," according to a new study that says nearly five million Europeans used coke this year—a million more than last. The Spanish and British used it most, BBC reports, but Danes and Italians increased their usage most in 2007. Two million Europeans...

UK Teens Guilty of Cocaine Smuggling in Ghana

16-year-olds may spend three years in detention

(Newser) - Two 16-year-olds were found guilty today of attempting to sneak $600,000 of cocaine from Ghana to Britain, the Times reports. The conviction could mean up to three years in a Ghanaian juvenile detention center for the British girls, who claimed they had been set up when they were arrested...

Sentence Cuts In Store for 19,500 Crack Convicts

Federal commission mulls rule change

(Newser) - The federal panel that sets sentencing guidelines for judges may decide as soon as tomorrow to cut at least 2 years off the sentences of 19,500 inmates convicted of using crack, the LA Times reports. New rules introduced this month equalize crack and powdered cocaine sentences, and tomorrow will...

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