In The News

With Labs Pumping Out Legal Highs, China Is New Front in Global Drug War

Charlie Campbell September 18, 2013
Factories in China are rapidly manufacturing synthetic drugs, meant to mimic the effects of illegal substances like marijuana or cocaine. The drugs, untested for health and safety, are sold around the world labeled as bath salts or plant food. New to regulators, the substances remain legal until health issues, including deaths, are reported. The US Drug Enforcement Administration describes,...

Botanical Bandits: Rampant Poaching Threatens Ginseng’s Survival

Jake Frankel September 9, 2013
The delicate plant with tiny red berries has drawn thousands of scavengers to Appalachia forests, digging up roots of the ginseng plant, wiping out entire groves, for sale to Asian markets. “[W]ith wild ginseng root fetching upward of $800 a pound, untold numbers of poachers have taken to local forests, overwhelming meager law enforcement resources and leaving the plant’s survival in doubt,”...

Mob Rule

Christian Caryl July 26, 2013
Organized crime is linked to trade in illegal drugs, human trafficking, poaching, internet scams, tax evasion or counterfeit goods – and relies on greed to lure cooperation of some law-enforcement and political leaders. The World Economic Forum estimates illegal activities represent 8 percent of global trade. “Mobsters thrive on instability,” Christian Caryl writes for Foreign Policy, whether...

Glaxo Executives Accused of Breaking Chinese Law

Ben Hirschler, Kazunori Takada July 24, 2013
Chinese leaders have promised a crackdown on corruption in China, and executives of foreign multinationals are not exempt from the scrutiny. China has accused several executives of a British pharmaceutical firm with bribery in violation of Chinese law. “China has long been known for a culture in which drug companies make payments to doctors, since physicians rely on rewards for writing...

In Mexico, Tweeting on Drug War to Fill the Void of Traditional Media

Justin Ellis March 22, 2013
The drug wars in Mexico have targeted traditional journalists and blocked investigations. But a research study is showing that Twitter users “are spreading the word on shootings, arrests, and clashes between the cartels and police,” reports Justin Ellis for Neiman Journalism Lab. “And, researchers say, they’ve developed a kind of media-esque ecosystem that values traits like sourcing and...

Real Criminal Element: Lead

Kevin Drum January 10, 2013
The US had a noticeable decrease in crime during the 1990s. City mayors took credit, and economists also pointed to correlations with the aging population, reproductive rights, reduced illicit drug use and an improving economy. But these correlations were imperfect. Another possibility is that lead in gasoline contributes to low intelligence, hyperactivity, juvenile delinquency and violence, a...

World Needs New Paradigm on Drugs After Failing War

Santiago Sosa September 21, 2011
A war on drugs has failed, concludes the UN Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. While heroin and cocaine use is on the decline in aging Europe and the US, it’s on the rise elsewhere. In particular, Europe and the US go easy on domestic users, emphasizing supply that ignores the problem’s roots, explains Santiago Sosa for Colombia Reports. Communities that depend on illegal crops...