In The News

Mexico Tightens Security at U.S. Border Crossings

Richard Marosi December 3, 2009
The United States has always imposed stringent checks at its Mexican border, but now Mexico is responding with increased oversight of its own, especially at the heavily-trafficked crossing at Tijuana. Mexican president Felipe Calderon says the move is necessary, given the drug violence in northern Mexico thought to be committed with guns purchased in the United States. But business and local...

Globalization Boosts Europe’s Gangsters

Leigh Phillips October 28, 2009
Reduced trade barriers and ease of transportation brought about by globalization are also helping transnational criminal networks succeed in the European Union. A new report from the EU’s criminal intelligence agency says drug dealing, human trafficking, and trade in counterfeit luxury goods are on the rise. Criminal organizations are taking advantage of trade liberalization and low-cost airlines...

Hillary Clinton Admits US Role in Mexico Drug Wars

Jo Tuckman March 27, 2009
Mexico is a source as well as major transshipment point for most of the illegal drugs moving into the US – a trade route marked with thousands of cases of torture, murder and ruined lives. Yet American teenagers and college students do not connect their casual use of marijuana and cocaine at lively, secure campus parties with the brutal violence on display throughout Mexico. During a visit to...

The War on Drugs Is a Failure

Fernando Henrique Cardoso February 23, 2009
In 1971, US President Richard Nixon declared that fighting drug abuse would be a major priority. More than 30 years later, three former presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico label the policies that attack the supply side a failure. “Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization of consumption simply haven't worked,” write Brazil’s Fernando Henrique...

Drug Making’s Move Abroad Stirs Concerns

Gardiner Harris January 28, 2009
Consumers want inexpensive medications and yet express concern about pharmaceutical firms relocating factories abroad, along with the loss of jobs and possible loss of quality control. “Like other manufacturing operations, drug plants have been moving to Asia because labor, construction, regulatory and environmental costs are lower there,” reports Gardiner Harris for the New York Times, adding...

More Than Half of US Drug Safety Studies Never See the Light of Day

James Randerson September 23, 2008
Before taking a prescribed medicine, patients assume that the product has undergone rigorous testing, with researchers proving it safe and effective. Of the world’s 20 largest pharmaceutical firms, more than half are in the US, and so global consumers depend on the US Food and Drug Administration to regulate drugs and report safety concerns. A survey conducted by a team at the University of...

The Scourge of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Laura H. Kahn December 28, 2007
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria – including Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA – are a growing public-health problem. Complicating matters is the tendency of high-strength antibiotics to kill or change regular bacteria that live in the human body; people with low levels of the regular bacteria can be more susceptible to infections. The agriculture industry’s practice of feeding farm animals with...