Published on May 22, 2014
Brazil's Congress is considering new legislation that will increase penalties for drug traffickers and lead to forced treatment of some addicts. The number of crack cocaine addicts in the country has risen by a factor of ten over the past decade. And now, there's a profound disagreement about how to tackle the problem. CCTV's Stephen Gibbs has this report from Sao Paulo.
All the rage around these parts: Ohio; is the epidemic of overdose deaths. The spike in death really is a problem, but drugs are not really a new problem. In fact, when it comes to the USA, drugs are us.
Think about it.
How many people do you know that are 100% drug and alcohol free? Personally, I can count on one hand those who are not on some kind of prescription mood modifying drug or pain killer, people who do not drink at least 3 drinks more than 5 times a week or more than 5 drinks at least 3 times a week, pot heads, coke heads, pot and coke heads, etc. It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.
Why is that? Is life that crappy? I would think the opposite. Life is good. But, the stats seem to suggest that maybe it is too good. After all, why else would everyone want to dope themselves up, or drink away their life?
It is the American life style it does appear. Muslims and Buddhists have no need to delve into drugs and alcohol unlike you Americans.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say "western life style"? Your point is generally good, but those in the east including China had opium as part of their culture more than a century ago.
China did not want opium, that was forced by the UK as a way to balance trade. So the UK was for a period of time a narco state but unlike Columbia the drug pushing was legal and pushed by the government
ISIS-linked stimulant Captagon more dangerous than previously thought, scientists say
[Good Morning America]
MORGAN WINSOR
Good Morning AmericaAugust 18, 2017
A banned amphetamine-type stimulant linked to substance abuse in the Middle East and said to be favored by ISIS is more potent than previously thought, scientists said Wednesday.
Fenethylline, also known by its brand name Captagon, is a combination of amphetamine, a stimulant, and theophylline, a drug traditionally used to treat respiratory diseases such as asthma. The latter greatly enhances the former's psychoactive properties, making the codrug a powerful amphetamine, according to scientists from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, who published their findings in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
Captagon has been around for a while, Wenthur noted. It was used therapeutically before it became illegal in the United States and most countries in the 1980s. But the study's findings may explain why the illicit stimulant has gained popularity in recent years and is abused by young people in the Middle East.
Kim Janda, who co-led the Scripps Research Institute team on the study, said he first became interested in Captagon after it had made headlines around the world as a potential performance-enhancing stimulant and source of "pharmacological morale" for ISIS fighters.
It is illegal to grow it...:mrgreen:pot heads... It seems to me almost everyone in the US has a drug problem.
Why is that?
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say "western life style"? Your point is generally good, but those in the east including China had opium as part of their culture more than a century ago.
The opium problem was generated by the English who needed more money.
Sao Paulo struggles to end 'Crackland' drug market
By sarah dilorenzo, associated press
SAO PAULO — Oct 9, 2017, 12:05 AM ET
Brazil is likely the world's largest market for crack cocaine, according to the U.S. State Department. Its largest city, Sao Paulo is home to intense poverty and homelessness and to the nation's biggest criminal organization, which plays a vital role in moving cocaine from the Andes producer countries to the streets of Europe. Those factors provide Crackland with both its supply of the drug and ample demand for it among Sao Paulo's downtrodden and homeless.