Category Archives: Drugs

FBI to reinvestigate 2023 White House cocaine find and leak of supreme court Dobbs draft

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Agency also announced new inquiry into pipe bombs found outside Democratic and Republican offices in 2021

The FBI will launch new investigations into the 2023 discovery of a bag of cocaine at the White House during Joe Biden’s term, as well as into pipe bombs discovered at Democratic and Republican party headquarters before the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot by supporters of Donald Trump, and the leak of the supreme court’s draft opinion before the historic overturning of national abortion rights with the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v Wade in 2022.

Dan Bongino, a rightwing podcaster turned deputy director of the FBI, made the announcement on X, where he said he had requested weekly briefings on any progress in looking into the old cases. The incidents have been popular talking points on America’s political right wing and among conspiracy theorists.

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Australian accused of smuggling cocaine into Bali faces ‘death penalty or life in jail’

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The 43-year-old from Sydney appears in prison jumpsuit after allegedly being in possession of 1.7kg of drugs

Authorities are providing consular assistance in Bali to an Australian man accused of trying to smuggle drugs into the Indonesian tourist island.

The 43-year-old from Sydney was arrested on Thursday after police raided his rented house near Kuta Beach.

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UK ‘the sick person of the wealthy world’ amid increase in deaths from drugs and violence

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While mortality from cancer has decreased, deaths from accidents and poisonings have risen, research finds

The UK is becoming “the sick person of the wealthy world” because of the growing number of people dying from drugs, suicide and violence, research has found.

Death rates among under-50s in the UK have got worse in recent years compared with many other rich countries, an international study shows.

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Mexican woman charged in US with supplying arms to ‘terrorist’ drug cartel

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María Del Rosario Navarro, 39, accused of conspiring to provide material support to Jalisco New Generation cartel

A 39-year-old woman has become the first Mexican national to be indicted in the United States on charges of providing material support to a cartel designated as a foreign terrorist organization, according to the US Department of Justice.

María Del Rosario Navarro is accused of conspiring with others to provide grenades to the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), a powerful Mexican crime faction that the US in February designated as a terrorist organization alongside other criminal groups across Latin America.

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Weight-loss jabs may be good for mental health, research shows

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Swiss study finds wellbeing and life quality can be improved more than with insulin and other antidiabetic drugs

Weight loss jabs may be good for people’s mental health as well as helping curb their appetite, according to research.

A study by scientists from the University of Bern in Switzerland has found that appetite-suppressing injections also improve mood, wellbeing and quality of life more than insulin and other antidiabetic drugs.

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New bill aims to allow research to catch up with US’s increasing cannabis consumption

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Legislation would radically ease research restrictions on cannabis and other schedule I substances

A recently introduced bill, if it passes, would allow research on cannabis despite its schedule I status, which some experts say could help policymakers “craft effective” legislation in the future and potentially allow more clinical research on medical cannabis.

Representatives Dina Titus and Ilhan Omar introduced the Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act of 2025 (EBDPA) last week, which would radically ease research restrictions on cannabis and other schedule I substances.

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Synthetic opioids linked to spate of overdose deaths found in wastewater across Australia

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Detection of powerful nitazenes in samples from 60 sites a ‘red flag’ amid surging use to lace street drugs

Synthetic opioids a thousand times stronger than morphine and an animal sedative used to lace street drugs have been detected in Australia’s wastewater.

The discovery has been described as a “red flag” and comes as the deadly class of synthetic opioids – nitazines – claims dozens of lives in Australia.

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Nasal spray similar to ketamine to be added to PBS for treatment-resistant depression

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Spravato, derived from a popular club drug and also known as esketamine, offers hope to tens of thousands of Australians living with chronic mental illness

A medication chemically similar to ketamine will be made cheaper to improve the lives of Australians suffering from treatment-resistant depression.

The drug, which comes in the form of a nasal spray, is a chemical cousin of ketamine, used for decades as a powerful anaesthetic before it was adopted as a party drug in underground rave culture.

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Top cancer experts ‘being put off UK by politicians’ messaging on immigration’

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Exclusive: Leaked report says high visa costs also derailing clinical trials and research, denying NHS life-saving drugs

The world’s best cancer doctors, scientists and researchers are being put off moving to or staying in the UK by politicians’ rhetoric on immigration, a leaked report reveals.

Recruiting and retaining “global talent” to treat NHS patients and find new ways to cure cancer is vital, amid an acute British workforce crisis and rising numbers being diagnosed with the disease.

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NHS cancer patients denied life-saving drugs due to Brexit costs, report finds

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Exclusive: Britons found to have ‘lost out’ while rest of Europe benefits from golden age of research and treatments

British cancer patients are being denied life-saving drugs and trials of revolutionary treatments are being derailed by the red tape and extra costs brought on by Brexit, a damning report warns.

Soaring numbers are being diagnosed with the disease amid a growing and ageing population, improved diagnosis initiatives and wider public awareness – making global collaborations to find new medicines essential.

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New daily weight-loss pill shows success at clinical trial

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Orforglipron also reduced blood sugar levels in participants with type 2 diabetes

A significant trial of a daily weight-loss pill has found that it helped people to shed the pounds and reduce their blood sugar levels, making it a contender to join the new wave of drugs that combat obesity and diabetes.

People who took a 36mg pill of orforglipron lost an average of 7.3kg (16lbs) over nine months, according to results from a phase 3 clinical trial reported by the drug’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly, on Thursday.

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Revealed: drug tests in California prisons yielded false positives, affecting thousands of people

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Records suggest Quest Diagnostics erroneously detected opiates. Lawyers say parole requests were jeopardized in the process

Thousands of drug tests used by a major US diagnostic company in California prisons last year are suspected to have generated false positive results, an enormous error that has jeopardized the parole requests of some incarcerated people, according to civil rights lawyers and prison medical records.

California prison officials have known about the issue for months, but have failed to clear people’s records or reverse the consequences people have faced from the tests.

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California university to expand student minds with new psychedelic studies course

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California Institute of Integral Studies, located in San Francisco, will welcome its first undergrad class this August

The home of the Summer of Love will soon house the first undergraduate program in psychedelic studies.

The California Institute of Integral Studies – a non-profit university founded in 1968 and located in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood – will welcome its first class of undergrads to its Bachelor of Science in Psychedelic Studies program this August. The program’s launch symbolizes the renewed attention hallucinogens like MDMA and psilocybin have received in recent years as a growing body of evidence suggests they may be powerful treatments for psychiatric conditions, like PTSD and treatment-resistant depression.

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Benefits of ADHD medication outweigh health risks, study finds

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Children taking ADHD drugs showed small increases in blood pressure and pulse rates but ‘risk-benefit ratio is reassuring’

The benefits of taking drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder outweigh the impact of increases in blood pressure and heart rate, according to a new study.

An international team of researchers led by scientists from the University of Southampton found the majority of children taking ADHD medication experienced small increases in blood pressure and pulse rates, but that the drugs had “overall small effects”. They said the study’s findings highlighted the need for “careful monitoring”.

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Bar managers investigated over sexual assault of 41 women in Belgium

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Prosecutors allege suspects spiked victims’ drinks with drugs at venues in Kortrijk between 2021 and 2024

Belgian authorities are investigating the alleged rape and sexual assault of at least 41 women whose drinks are thought to have been spiked, with three bar managers identified as prime suspects, prosecutors have said.

Officials believe drugs were mixed into the women’s drinks, including ketamine, a general anaesthetic used for recreational purposes because of its hallucinogenic effects.

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Trump policies could fuel illicit drug trade despite vow to curb fentanyl

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‘Coercive’ tariffs and federal funding cuts could worsen flow of illicit drugs into US, ex-government officials warn

Donald Trump’s policies could leave the US more vulnerable to dangerous synthetic drug trafficking from abroad, even as the administration has vowed to stop fentanyl from entering the country, former government officials say.

This week, Trump imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, ostensibly as a tactic to stem the flow of illicit drugs into the US.

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Eight jailed after posing as electricians to divert power to UK cannabis farms

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Criminals dressed as utilities repair teams dug up roads to access cables to power industrial-scale drug production

A group of eight criminals who dug up roads and diverted electricity to cannabis farms run by organised crime gangs have been jailed by a judge in Liverpool.

The criminals used a legitimate company as cover and pretended to be workers who were digging up the roads to repair utilities in a “sophisticated operation”, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

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FBI offers $10m reward for ex-Olympic snowboarder turned drug kingpin

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Ryan Wedding, 43, wanted for role in billion-dollar cross-border drug trafficking operation and several homicides

Authorities in the United States have offered a $10m reward for information that leads to the arrest of a Canadian former Olympic snowboarder-turned-international drug kingpin.

Police in Los Angeles said on Thursday that Ryan Wedding – also known as “El Jefe”, “Giant” and “Public Enemy” – is wanted for his role in a billion-dollar cross-border drug trafficking operation and for several homicides linked to his drug sprawling network.

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Sniffer dogs deployed as NSW pill-testing trial begins in Wollongong

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Attenders able to check what substances are in their illicit pills and powders at two-day Yours and Owls music festival

Festival goers using NSW’s first pill testing service won’t be subjected to sniffer dog searches but that doesn’t apply to people on their way to have their substances checked.

Authorities warned taking drugs remains illegal and police vowed to maintain a highly visible presence around the long-awaited trial site, insisting safety was the top priority.

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Mexican drug lord pleads not guilty to killing of DEA agent after US extradition

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Rafael Caro Quintero arraigned in New York over federal agent’s death after years as one of US’s most wanted men

After years as one of US authorities’ most wanted men, the Mexican drug cartel boss Rafael Caro Quintero was brought into a New York courtroom on Friday to answer charges that include orchestrating the 1985 killing of a US federal agent.

Caro Quintero pleaded not guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise. Separately, so did Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the leader of another cartel. Carrillo is accused of arranging kidnappings and killings in Mexico but not accused of involvement in the death of the DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.

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