US: New METH Drugs seized in Oakland – September 2002 New Meth Drugs seized in Oakland
By SFGate.com - Thursday September 5 2002
Copyright: SFGate.com
The brightly colored pills could be mistaken for candy, especially by the young people they are intended for.
The pills are known as ya ba, a Southeast Asian methamphetamine. And while the drug has not gained a foothold in the East Bay, that is where thousands of doses have been smuggled into the country, federal authorities said.
Earlier this month, U.S. Customs officials in Sacramento arrested 14 people involved in the transport and distribution of the drug, and seized 45 shipments from ships docked at the Port of Oakland and at the U.S. Postal Service's international mail facility in West Oakland.
Federal agents suspect some of those arrested are also involved in the shipment of opium, which is predominantly used by older Mien and Hmong residents in Northern and Central California.
Investigators were able to match the addresses of previous opium shipments to the destinations of the drugs that were seized two weeks ago, said Dan Lane,
a spokesman for the U.S. Customs office.
"The culture is so closed that after the drugs get here, what happens to them is still a bit of a mystery," he said.
Although the opium smuggling cases -- because of their connections to the immigrant community -- have been largely ignored by prosecutors, the new drug, which is often flavored like grape candy, has raised new concerns, Lane said.
"Thai authorities say it's made the way it is to appeal to young people," he said.
Used by an estimated 3 million people in Thailand, including truck and taxi drivers, ya ba, Thai for "crazy drug," produces a longer-lasting euphoric state similar to the popular rave drug ecstasy.
The tablets, made in Burma, are so small they can be hidden in waistbands or a cigarette. The drug is sometimes ingested, but most commonly it is smoked.
In the immigrant community, the drug most often is used by middle-aged men, particularly in the underground gambling operations.
Federal investigators say they are also seeing indications that Mien and Hmong street gangs may be becoming involved in the distribution of the drug.
Narcotics officers in San Francisco and Oakland have not encountered the drug on the street, but the involvement of gangs could change that soon.
"I've seen ecstasy sold with alligator symbols or Mercedes-Benz emblems, even color-coded pills, but no ya ba," said Sgt. Dave Martinovich, a San Francisco police narcotics officer.
NEW LEASE FOR OLD STUFF: After a two-year fight to remain on San Pablo Avenue on the Berkeley-Oakland border, the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse has settled its lease dispute with UC Berkeley.
Under terms of a new lease negotiated in mid-August, the art-supply store, a veritable Ikea store of castaway stuff for the frugal and eclectic, will stay put until January 2006.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the university agreed to pay legal fees for the store, which is packed with fabric, buttons, spools and bins of plastic bric-a-brac.
The settlement of a June 2001 lawsuit brought by the store came two months before a scheduled trial date. The university served the store an eviction notice in October 2000, when the economy was riding high.
Overcrowding at UC Berkeley caused by earthquake retrofit projects forced the university to consider reusing the four-story building, university officials said.
The store offered to pay twice its $2,500 monthly rent, but that only amounted to half the amount the 4,500-square-foot space was worth on the open market.
As the trial date approached, the store's attorney urged a settlement, citing the continuing litigation costs and the negative publicity.
"Our lawyer kept saying to their lawyer, 'We're rolling up costs here, and the university just looks worse and worse picking on some little nonprofit,' " said David Elliott, the reuse center's board president.
Not to mention that UC has much bigger fish to fry in its lawsuit against fallen energy giant Enron Corp. The UC system lost $145 million in pension funds and endowments when the company collapsed.
Since the dispute began, the biotech firm that occupied the second floor of the university-owned building has left, and the commercial real estate market has cooled down.
The offices that were to be moved during earthquake retrofit work on campus could be relocated to a new building on Hearst Avenue, Elliott said.
After all was said and done, maybe the university realized that having an established retail store that serves artists and teachers and residents is a pretty good tenant after all.
http://www.sfgate.com/
US: Seattle is first in trips to ER for drug use – September 2002 Seattle is first in trips to ER for drug use
By Seatle PI - Thursday September 5 2002
Copyright: Seatle PI
The Seattle area had the highest rate of drug-related emergency-room visits in a government survey of 21 metropolitan areas, according to results released yesterday.
The Seattle area also had the highest increase -- 32 percent -- in the number of drug-related visits. The increase stemmed from almost all types of drug use.
Overall, drug-related emergency-room visits rose to a record level of more than 600,000, with sharp increases because of heroin and club drug ecstasy use, according to the survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The study includes data from such metro areas as San Francisco, Baltimore and Philadelphia, and from hospitals in King and Snohomish counties.
"The survey is a cause for us to continue our ongoing concern about the impact of substance abuse, and to expand our treatment capacity and prevention capacity," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, director of Public Health -- Seattle & King County.
But Plough said the survey should be interpreted with caveats.
It doesn't sort out multiple visits by one person. It doesn't show information on direct drug use, and deals only with hospital visits. And its results are partially at odds with local surveys.
From 1999 to 2000, the number of drug-related emergency room visits in the Seattle area increased from 8,426 to 11,116. There were 563 such visits per 100,000 population.
Visits for marijuana or hashish last year, at 1,414, increased by 75 percent. There were 540 meth-related visits, up by 53 percent. And the 3,338 cocaine-related visits were up by 32 percent.
Seattle also ranked high in the rate of hospital visits for ecstasy and LSD.
Drugs such as ecstasy, Rohypnol and Ketamine are called club drugs because of their growing popularity among young people, who tend to use them at dance clubs.
Plough said the increase in hospital visits, particularly for cocaine, may stem from public campaigns for drug users to get help.
"Our first message is 'don't use.' Then if you do use, get into treatment. And if you are using and there are signs of overdose, get to the emergency room," he said.
"It could be the same prevalence of drug use, with more emergency room, health-seeking behaviors."
Traditionally, Seattle has ranked high in increasing heroin visits. But last year, those visits inched up only slightly to 2,522. Coupled with the decline in local heroin overdoses, Plough said the data may show "incremental headway."
He said the survey's data on marijuana conflicts with local school surveys that show a decline in marijuana use. And he said the data on meth visits reinforces other indicators that the drug's rise is continuing. "Our metro area of 3 million has the same kind of problems as Baltimore, Los Angeles and New York," he said. "Just like those other cities, we need to continue to rally for access to treatment."
At Harborview Medical Center, Chris Martin, administrative director of emergency services, said drug abuse cuts through all demographic groups. In particular, she is alarmed at the rise in ecstasy use at raves by younger drug abusers.
"When there's a rave, we get inundated here," she said. "The kids are totally dehydrated, and medics can't manage them at the scene."
Overall, the annual report recorded 601,776 emergency room trips related to drugs in 2000, up from 554,932 a year earlier and the highest since the statistics first were collected in the mid-1980s.
"This report shows again that we face serious gaps in preventing and treating substance abuse, especially with club drugs," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
"Our first line of defense against substance abuse must be prevention. We need to reach out to people before they become statistics in emergency departments -- or worse, in the morgue," he said in a statement.
Nationally, the study found a 15 percent rise in emergency room visits related to heroin and morphine, jumping from 84,409 in 1999 to 97,287 last year.
And the increase for ecstasy was 58 percent, from 2,850 to 4,511.
Boston and Los Angeles ranked second and third among cities reporting increases in overall drug-related emergency room trips.
Other findings of the report:
Cocaine-related visits constituted 29 percent -- 174,896 -- of all drug-related emergency room visits in 2000, more than any other illicit substance measured.
Marijuana-hashish visits increased in Seattle, Boston, Miami, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Denver and Chicago.
Emergency department mentions of prescription drugs containing oxycodone increased 68 percent from 6,429 to 10,825. One brand of oxycodone, OxyContin, has been blamed in several deaths, though it is not the only drug containing oxycodone.
http://www.seattlepi.com/
UK: Shadow minister to propose drug-driving bill – September Shadow minister to propose drug-driving bill
By The Guardian - Thursday September 5 2002
Copyright: The Guardian
A new offence of "drug driving" could be on the statue books by the end of next year if a new bill gets government backing when MPs return in the autumn.
Shadow Home Office minister Nick Hawkins today announced he would bring in a bill in the next parliamentary session to recognise a separate offence of drug-driving in a bid to clamp down on tens of thousands of motorists who are believed to drive under the influence of narcotics.
Last month Mr Hawkins called on the government to carry out a "proper investigation" on the effect of drugtaking on road accidents, but today he accused the Home Office of continuing to "bury their heads in the sand" on the issue.
"There is a potentially huge problem which is being ignored," he said.
"When people drive under the influence of drugs they are not simply endangering themselves, but they are putting other road users' and pedestrians' lives in danger.
"It is the government's responsibility to do all it can to protect law-abiding citizens, but on the issue it is failing to do so."
Mr Hawkins said that after the summer recess he would seek to amend section 4 of the Road Traffic Act to introduce the separate offence of drug-driving.
This would require the police to identify when a driver is under the influence of drugs, rather than alcohol.
The law currently states that "a person who, when driving a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, is unfit to drive through drink or drugs is guilty of an offence".
A Home Office spokeswoman said it was the government's intention under its road safety strategy to force drivers to undergo tests for drugs as they currently do for alcohol.
At present, the police do not have the power to carry out roadside drug tests.
The spokeswoman said: "Driving while impaired by drugs is a serious criminal offence, which we recognised in the government's recent road safety strategy.
"In 2000 there were around 1,800 convictions for drug-driving in England and Wales.
"We're aware of the need to improve the way drug-driving is identified so that existing laws can be made more effective".
It is estimated that about 88,000 drivers a year escape prosecution for drug-driving because of the absence of roadside testing.
Experts believe that at least 4,500 deaths and 135,000 serious injuries are caused in Europe each year by drug-driving.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
World: Thai forces kill ECSTASY smugglers at the border – September 2002 Thai forces kill smugglers at the border
By The Star Online - Thursday September 5 2002
Copyright: The Star Online
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP): Thai security forces shot and killed at least six suspected drug traffickers from Myanmar near the border between the two countries Thursday and seized about 900,000 amphetamine tablets, police said.
A Thai border patrol police official said the dead men were believed to be members of the United Wa State Army -- a powerful ethnic army allied to Myanmar's military regime.
Thai army and border police fought a 30-minute gunbattle with about 20 suspected drug traffickers in a forest in the Maetaeng district of Chiang Mai province, about 580 kilometers (360 miles) north of Bangkok, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Afterward, police found six bullet-riddled bodies and about 900,000 amphetamine pills the traffickers were carrying in backpacks. The other members of the group escaped, the official said.
Thailand blames the Wa army for producing huge quantities of amphetamine pills and smuggling them to Southeast Asia and beyond through Thailand. The Wa army, which reached a cease-fire with the Myanmar regime in 1989, enjoys virtual autonomy in Myanmar's Shan state.
The United Nations drug control agency says that the Myanmar government's progress in controlling the production of opium, the raw material of heroin, has been offset by a boom in amphetamines.
According to the Thai government, more than 600 million amphetamine tablets have been smuggled into Thailand from neighboring nations -- principally Myanmar and Laos -- during the past eight months.
http://thestar.com.my/
UK: ECSTASY – Is the party over? – August 2002 Ecstasy: Is the party over?
By BBC News - Monday, July 29, 2002
Copyright: BBC News
Ecstasy has been one of the most dominant drugs in the UK club scene since rave culture took off in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
But there are signs that the trends in its use are changing.
Earlier this week it emerged that the average price of the drug has fallen to a record low of £3-a-pill.
And figures suggest there were at least 40 deaths related to the drug in England and Wales in 2001 - more than double than the whole of 2000.
But while the average ecstasy-user is getting younger, clubbers are increasingly turning to other drugs like cocaine as the e-inspired club culture of a decade ago undergoes a slow metamorphosis.
Hugh Garry, a DJ and a club promoter for Garlands in Liverpool which burnt down earlier this month, said the public's clubbing and drug tastes had changed.
"People are looking for other ways of entertaining themselves such as bars with late licenses that have their own DJs and cocaine use is on the up," he said.
Mr Garry, producer of Radio 1 Online's dance section, said: "In the old days, people used to spend their hard earned cash on some ecstasy as their weekend treat. Now, coke is more affordable and people choose to take that.
"Club culture has been up and down over the years. In 1998. Mixmag said clubland was dead but in that year Radio 1's roadshow in Ibiza was its most successful ever.
"Tastes change and dance music has changed but it's still popular. Ecstasy just isn't such an integral part of it anymore."
Only last week, Liverpool's famous dance night Cream announced it was to close its doors for the summer.
It is to hold a 30-day review to assess its future prompted by the shift in dance culture from clubbing nights to festivals and arena tours.
One organisation which has some claim to have its finger on the drugs and club pulse is Scotland's Crew 2000 - a drugs information project which goes out to clubbers and festivals-goers on their own territory.
'Cleaner drug'
Spokesman Mike Cadger said as far as Scotland was concerned ecstasy use had plateaued.
"Ten years ago people started taking ecstasy at the age of about 17, 18 and 19.
"These days ecstasy is being accessed much younger - 15 or 16. The price has declined due to saturation in the market."
Mr Cadger said the mid-teens were buying ecstasy until they could afford to buy other class A drugs such as cocaine which were perceived as being more sophisticated.
He said: "Four years ago in Edinburgh a gram of coke would cost £100, now it's £35. It's affordable."
Mr Cadger said recreational drug users were turning to cocaine because it was considered "cleaner" and the recovery period was much quicker.
He said: ¿There are also very few cocaine fatalities and when you think an estimated 500,000 ecstasy tablets are taken every weekend, 56 deaths a year is very low.
"More people die from peanut allergies."
'Ecstasy use stable'
St George's Hospital in London, blames the rise in ecstasy deaths on the increasing strength of many tablets taken by clubbers.
"The rise comes at the same time as ecstasy becomes cheaper and is used more recreationally in the dance culture by people who wouldn't normally take it," added a spokesman.
DrugScope's Cara MacDowall is not sure the answer is quiet so simple.
"As the record low price of ecstasy shows, the numerous seizures and ecstasy's current grading as a class A drug have had a minimal impact on availability and price.
"As ecstasy use is relatively stable, it is obvious that levels of use are affected by more than price or legal classification.
"It may also be that people are choosing to use cocaine rather than ecstasy as research shows that cocaine use has risen over recent years."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Lawmakers Targeting the ECSTASY of Raves Lawmakers Targeting the Ecstasy of Raves
Dawn was approaching when the underground wizard stepped center stage at the State Palace Theatre to survey his electronic wonderland. Laser lights strafed the grand old chandeliers overhead, and deafening machine music rattled the opera boxes. The floor was packed with young, sweaty dancers.
"Great crowd," J. Donnie Estopinal said. And then, with a boyish smile, he added: "I wonder which ones are the cops."
The gangly 32-year-old hefted a chugging smoke machine and aimed it toward the audience of more than 3,300. If there were any undercover drug agents in the Canal Street theater--and there almost certainly were--Estopinal was suddenly gone before their eyes, vanished in a billowing white cloud. It was a rare moment of low visibility for the promoter whose parties have been ground zero for a federal excursion into the rave world.
The newest front in that campaign is a U.S. Senate bill that has wide support on Capitol Hill. The legislation has a catchy name--the RAVE Act, which stands for "Reducing America's Vulnerability to Ecstasy."
Yahoo!
World: Bombs and Speed Kill in Afghanistan – August 2002 Bombs and Speed Kill in Afghanistan
By alternet.org - August 7, 2002
Copyright: alternet.org
Here's one anti-drug advertising campaign you'll never see:
Scene One -- Bombs exploding on the mountainsides of Afghanistan. Narrator: "This is the bombing of Afghanistan."
Scene Two -- U.S. bombs hitting several Afghan villages. Dead men, women and children litter the streets. Narrator: "This is the bombing of Afghanistan, on drugs."
Have you wondered why there have been so many botched bombing missions in Afghanistan, resulting in an, as of yet, undetermined number of civilian casualties? Were you surprised when a U.S. Air Force pilot dropped a 500-lb laser-guided bomb and killed four Canadian members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in mid April? Are you aware that bombing continues?
Two recent reports from the Vancouver Sun and the Toronto Star may shed some light on these questions.
In early June, the Vancouver Sun reported: "Pilots from the U.S. fighter squadron that mistakenly bombed Canadian troops in Afghanistan had told their commanders shortly before the fatal accident that they were exhausted and needed more rest between missions."
At least one F-16 pilot "complained that requirements for crew rest were not being observed and that many of the pilots were overtired." He was told that "further questions about crew rest would not be looked on favorably by the wing command." Instead of complaining, "pilots were advised to speak to a flight surgeon about so-called 'go/no pills'-amphetamines used to help stay awake on long missions, and sedatives to help sleep."
No magic carpet ride
In a more detailed early-August piece in the Toronto Star, William Walker reported that "U.S. jet fighter pilots, responsible for at least 10 deadly 'friendly fire' accidents in the Afghanistan war, have regularly been given amphetamines to fly longer hours." Walker reports that after the extended missions, pilots return to base and are given "sedatives by air force doctors to help them sleep." Then, "often less than 12 hours later," they are sent on their next mission
The Toronto Star found the names of the "exact drugs pilots are given and how they're taken" in a 24-page document produced by the Top Gun fighter training school and the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Florida. According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force Surgeon-General's Office in Washington, "pilots are given the stimulant Dexedrine, generically known as dextroamphetamine, to stay alert during combat missions in Afghanistan."
"Pilots refer to Dexedrine as 'go-pills.' The sleeping pills they are given, called Ambien (zolpidem) and Restoril (temazepam), are referred to as 'no-go pills.' "When fatigue could be expected to degrade air crew performance, they are given Dexedrine in 10 mg doses," air force spokeswoman Betty-Anne Mauger told The Star.
According to the Star, "medical literature indicates that amphetamines can have severe side effects. The worst is called 'amphetamine psychosis.' It causes hallucinations as well as paranoid delusions. 'Dexedrine also leads a person to build a tolerance level for the drug and when higher doses are offered, anything at that level develops addictive tendencies among those who continue to use it regularly,' said Dr. Joyce A. Walsleben, director of the Sleep Disorder Centre at the New York University School of Medicine. 'The threat of abuse and addiction is definitely higher with Dexedrine.'"
More on the side effects of amphetamine use comes from Drugwar.com which sites a note from Russ Kick's website, the Memory Hole: "Although this Naval publication repeatedly lists the side effects of amphetamine use, it never mentions tremor, nervousness, anxiety, and dizziness (listed at WebMD) or overstimulation, dysphoria, tics, diarrhea, and Tourette's syndrome (listed at RxList), not to mention the rare occurrences of psychosis and hallucinations. In fact, WebMD warns: 'Use caution when driving, operating machinery, or performing other hazardous activities. Dextroamphetamine may cause dizziness, blurred vision, or restlessness, and it may hide the symptoms of extreme tiredness.'"
Was this potentially addicting combination of uppers and downers in part responsible for the faulty judgment that may have led to the deaths of the Canadians? "Better bombing through chemistry," was the way John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a Washington-area defense policy think-tank, phrased it for the Toronto Star. "This was certainly one of my first thoughts after the Canadian "friendly"-fire accident. The initial depiction made it seem as if the pilot was behaving in an unusually aggressive fashion."
Pilots in the sky with ...
According to the Star, Illinois Air National Guard Maj. Harry Schmidt was piloting the F-16 supersonic fighter that dropped the bomb. Maj. William Umbach was flying with him in another F-16 that night. "I don't know the answer," Schmidt's lawyer, Charles Gittins, told the Star, when asked whether Dexedrine was involved. "I never asked my pilot if he was medicated. But it's quite common. He's on vacation now, so I'll check with him about it when he gets back."
How widespread is drug use in the Air Force? Is it officially sanctioned? According to Pike, "The aviation community and the Air Force community certainly don't like to talk about so-called 'performance enhancing' drugs," he said. The Toronto Star: "There have been reports that Schmidt and his fellow pilots-originally deployed to patrol the U.S.-enforced no-fly zone over southern Iraq from an American base in Kuwait-had complained of fatigue since they were also ordered to fly combat missions over Afghanistan. Gittins said he was not aware of such complaints.
They "had to fly for three hours to arrive at the combat zone. An F-16 mission to Afghanistan from Kuwait routinely takes nine hours including three hours over the target area plus the trip back. Pilots also attend pre-flight briefings and debriefings after they return."
Mauger, the Air Force spokeswoman, said that "Dexedrine is commonly used by pilots on missions of more than eight hours' duration, or when pilots get less than the recommended 12 hours' rest between missions, as was the case for the pilots on double duty from the Kuwait air base.
The Top Gun document, entitled "Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations," reports that "in an anonymous survey among pilots who flew in Desert Storm, the 1991 Persian Gulf War, 60 percent said they used Dexedrine. In units that saw the most frequent combat missions, usage was as high as 96 percent." During the Persian Gulf War pills were 5mg each (in contrast to today's 10mg pills).
According to the Top Gun report, "pilots are allowed to 'self-regulate' the amounts of Dexedrine they take. They carry the pills in the single-person cockpit of their F-16s and take them as they wish. As one unidentified Desert Storm squadron commander said of his pilots in the document: 'You must give them guidelines and then let them self-regulate. If you can't trust them with the medication then you can't trust them with a 50 million dollar airplane to try and go kill someone.'"
Retired Col. Richard Graham of Plano, Texas, who logged 4,600 hours of flight time in the U.S. Air Force, including 210 combat missions in Vietnam, said pilots in that war routinely took Dexedrine. The Air Force approved its use in 1960. "We would be tested for uppers and downers and if we tolerated them okay, we went forward," he said in an interview. As long as nobody is abusing it, I think it's okay. "I'm not a big fan of anybody taking medication in the flight business, but sometimes situations call for it in combat. I never had any bad effects from it and it served me well."
This is the president's "war on terrorism." This is the president's "war on terrorism" on drugs!
http://www.alternet.org/
US: Military looks to drugs for battle readiness – August 2002 Military looks to drugs for battle readiness
By CSM - August 09, 2002
Copyright: CSM
When Navy fighter pilot "Maverick" and his sidekick "Goose" declare "I feel the need – the need for speed!" in the box-office hit "Top Gun," they're speaking about the capabilities of their fast and furious F-14 Tomcat.
In the air war over Afghanistan, "the need for speed" may have taken on quite a different meaning.
"Speed" is the well-known nickname for amphetamines, the controversial and potentially harmful drug some American pilots are taking in order to enhance their performance. Despite the possibility of addiction and potential side effects that include hypertension and depression, such drugs are needed, military officials believe, in order to stay alert and focused – especially on long-range bombing missions. Such flights can mean nine hours or more alone in expensive, high-performance aircraft. Their lethal weapons are aimed at an elusive enemy that can be (and has been) confused with civilians or friendly troops.
According to military sources, the use of such drugs (commonly Dexedrine) is part of a cycle that includes the amphetamines to fight fatigue, and then sedatives to induce sleep between missions. Pilots call them "go pills" and "no-go pills." For most Air Force pilots in the Gulf War (and nearly all pilots in some squadrons), this was the pattern as well.
The drugs are legal, and pilots are not required to take them – although their careers may suffer if they refuse.
Amphetamines follow a pattern that goes back at least 40 years to the early days of the Vietnam War – further back if one counts strong military coffee as a stimulant. But they're also part of a new trend that foresees "performance enhancements" designed to produce "iron bodied and iron willed personnel," as outlined in one document of the US Special Operations Command, which oversees the elite special-operations troops that are part of all the military services.
Indeed, the ability to keep fighting for days at a time without normal periods of rest, to perform in ways that may seem almost superhuman (at least well beyond the level of most people in today's armed services), is seen by military officials as the key to success in future conflicts.
"The capability to resist the mental and physiological effects of sleep deprivation will fundamentally change current military concepts of 'operational tempo' and contemporary orders of battle for the military services," states a document from the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). "In short, the capability to operate effectively, without sleep, is no less than a 21st Century revolution in military affairs that results in operational dominance across the whole range of potential U.S. military employments."
A 'radical approach'
What's called for, according to DARPA, is a "radical approach" to achieve "continuous assisted performance" for up to seven days. This would actually involve much more than the "linear, incremental and ... limited" approaches of stimulants like caffeine and amphetamines.
"Futurists say that if anything's going to happen in the way of leaps in technology, it'll be in the field of medicine," says retired Rear Adm. Stephen Baker, the Navy's former chief of operational testing and evaluation, who is now at the Center for Defense Information in Washington. "This 'better warrior through chemistry' field is being looked at very closely," says Admiral Baker, whose career includes more than 1,000 aircraft-carrier landings as a naval aviator. "It's part of the research going on that is very aggressive and wide open."
In a memo outlining technology objectives, the US Special Operations Command notes that the special-forces "operator" of the future can expect to rely on "ergogenic substances" (such as drugs used by some athletes) "to manage environmental and mentally induced stress and to enhance the strength and aerobic endurance of the operator."
The memo continues: "Other physiological enhancements might include ways to overcome sleep deprivation, ways to adjust the circadian rhythms to reduce jet lag, as well as ways to significantly reduce high altitude/under water acclimatization time by the use of blood doping or other methods."
Although the Air Force Surgeon General's office recently acknowledged that "prescribed drugs are sometimes made available to counter the effects of fatigue," it is not publicly known how widespread the practice is or whether special-operations forces on the ground in Afghanistan are taking such drugs.
But it is certainly widely talked about among combat veterans and military experts.
"Given the extent of recreational drug use within the military, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs among athletes, it is very easy to imagine that warriors would consider using any manner of drug they thought would increase their chance of returning home alive," says John Pike, a defense expert with GlobalSecurity.org in Alexandria, Va.
During the Gulf War, according to one military study, "pilots quickly learned the characteristics of the stimulant [Dexedrine] and used it efficiently." Pilots were issued the pills and took them if and when they felt the need.
Some people have defended that practice. "If you can't trust them with the medication, then you can't trust them with a $50 million airplane to try and kill someone," says one squadron commander whose unit had the fewest pilots but flew more hours and shot down more Iraqi MIGs than any other squadron.
But military officials, as well as medical experts, warn that the use of amphetamines can clearly have its bad side.
The flight surgeon's guide to "Performance Maintenance During Continuous Flight Operations" (written by the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Fla.) mentions such possible side effects as euphoria, depression, hypertension, and addiction. There's also the possibility of "idiosyncratic reactions" (amphetamines can be associated with feelings of aggression and paranoia) as well as getting hooked on the "cyclic use of a stimulant/sedative combination."
"The risk of drug accumulation from repetitive dosing warrants serious consideration," the guide notes. The "informed consent" form that military pilots must sign notes that "the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of Dexedrine to manage fatigue."
Amnesia on the job?
It's not just the "go pills" that can cause problems in certain individuals. "No-go pills," used to induce sleep, can have dangerous side effects as well – including the possibility of what's called "anterograde amnesia ... amnesia of events during the time the medication has an effect."
"For the military aviator, this raises the possibility of taking the medication, going to a brief, taking off, and then not remembering what he was told to do," according to the lab's report.
But researchers say suchsymptoms "are primarily dose related and are not expected with 5-10 mgs of dextro-amphetamine (Dexedrine)" – the amounts given to pilots in the Gulf War and in Afghanistan.
For the most part, the issue of prescribed drug use by US pilots has gone unreported in the United States. But in England and Canada, it has been raised recently – especially in a possible connection with errant bombings.
In April, four Canadian soldiers were killed and another eight injured when an American F-16 pilot on a long-range mission, thinking he was under attack, dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on an allied military exercise.
"The initial version of the Canadian incident portrayed the pilot as behaving with inexplicable aggression tinged with paranoia, and my first thought was that the poor guy had been eating too much speed," says Mr. Pike of GlobalSecurity.org. Officials are still investigating that accident, and the pilot has been questioned, among other things, about the possibility of drug use.
More recently, concerns have been raised about aggression and violence among soldiers returning from Afghanistan. In three of four cases in which men killed their wives, the accused husbands were in special-forces units based at Fort Bragg, N.C.
"It is quite obvious that someone needs to pose this question in the context of the business at Fort Bragg," says Pike. "This sort of hyper-aggressive behavior is just what one would associate with excessive use of such drugs or from withdrawal from using them."
As the US moves into an era in which national security is likely to mean wars fought from the air – using attack aircraft and small, specially trained units flown long distances to the battlefield – the issue of performance-enhancing drug use by US military personnel is likely to escalate. "The real story here is the ever-extending reach of air power," says Daniel Goure, a military specialist at the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. "We were flying F-15s out of Lakeheath [a Royal Air Force base] in the United Kingdom during Kosovo. Why? Because we had used up the available landing space everywhere else."
"As asymmetric threats such as ballistic missiles become more available to our adversaries, we are going to stand even farther back," adds Dr. Goure. "That means that this problem [i.e., the need to combat pilot fatigue] can only grow."
http://www.csmonitor.com/
World: Israeli ECSTASY smugglers caught – August 2002 Two Israelis extradited to U.S. on ecstasy smuggling charges
By reuters - Monday, July 29, 2002
Copyright: reuters
MIAMI - Two Israelis described as major smugglers of the party drug ecstasy have been extradited by Israel to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges, U.S. officials said on Friday.
Meir Ben David and Josef Levi were indicted in October 2000 on charges of possession and conspiracy to import MDMA, or ecstasy, into the United States. U.S. officials said it was the first time Israeli citizens had been extradited to the United States to face drug charges.
Officials said the two were part of an Israeli-organized crime syndicate that used couriers to smuggle large quantities of ecstasy from Europe to the United States from early 1998 until mid-1999.
U.S. agents seized about 200,000 ecstasy tablets and $400,000 in cash during the investigation in which 40 people were indicted, officials said.
"Ben David and Levi are textbook examples of the type of major international drug traffickers the DEA targets worldwide," U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Thomas Raffanello said in a written statement.
Ecstasy is an amphetamine that has stimulant and hallucinogenic effects and is popular with teen-agers and young adults at dance clubs, parties and rock concerts.
Officials alleged Ben David coordinated shipments of ecstasy from Europe to the United States, and Levi helped distribute the drug at nightclubs in south Florida.
The two, who were arrested in Israel last August, were expected to arrive in Florida this weekend and appear in a federal court in Miami on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/
World: Drug `paradise’ riles councilors – July 2002 Drug `paradise' riles councilors
By The Taipei Times Online - June 24, 2002
Copyright: The Taipei Times Online
While two DPP politicians claimed that expats were using Ecstasy at a party in the Huashan Arts District, two participants dismissed their accusations
Two DPP city councilors said that Taipei City's Huashan Arts District is becoming a popular site for the city's expatriates to hold outdoor Ecstasy rave parties.
DPP city councilors Wang Shih-chien and Yen Shen-kuan announced their concerns at a press conference yesterday in response to a tip concerning an event held at the Huashan Arts District on Saturday night.
Two participants at the event, however, contradicted the councilors' accusations.
According to Wang, he received a midnight call from an informer Saturday, who told him that people attending a rave party in the Huashan Arts District were using Ecstasy and marijuana.
"[The informer], who was at the scene, said that there were about 200 to 300 people there, mostly Taipei expatriates," Wang said. "[The informer] told me that one could smell marijuana in the air and that scattered Ecstasy pills were seen on the ground."
To support his remarks, Wang showed video footage during the press conference supplied by his informer. The footage depicted scenes of people, some topless, dancing by a fire and others allegedly smoking marijuana.
Wang said that an "original arts group," which applied to use the space, was supposed to finish its performance by 10pm Saturday night, "yet, somehow a rave party took over and lasted till around 7 am [yesterday] morning."
"We don't want the arts district to become a Taipei expatriates' Ecstasy paradise," Wang said. "We demand that the police and relevant departments behave responsibly and do what they are supposed to do, regardless of the fact that the party might involve some of the city's expatriates."
"What's more, we also want to call on the people in the arts district to be alert so they can prevent people from throwing such parties in the name of the arts," he said.
However, Lin Hung-chang, who represented the performing group at the press conference, denied the presence of Ecstasy or marijuana at the scene and questioned the motives of the two DPP councilors.
In response to Wang's remarks, Lin Shon-chia, deputy director of the police station whose jurisdiction oversees the arts district, said the police would work harder to crack down on drugs.
"It's not that we are neglecting such action, but we are limited by the size of our police force," Lin said.
A foreigner, who took part in the party Saturday night and asked not to be named, told the Taipei Times yesterday that what was reported by a local evening paper was mostly wrong.
"The paper said most of the participants were foreigners. That was incorrect. Out of about 200 participants at the event, only about one quarter were foreigners," he said.
"In addition, police did come to the site between 10 and 11pm, and no drugs were found. There weren't any drugs," he said.
The Huashan Arts District is an abandoned brewery in the heart of Taipei's former industrial area, which has been turned into a "creative cultural park" by the government.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/news
World: Cracking Mexico’s drug cartels – June 2002 Cracking Mexico's drug cartels
By BBC News - Saturday, 15 June, 2002
Copyright: BBC News
One of the many knock-on effects since the attacks on the United States last September has been the dramatic increase in drugs seizures on the Mexico/US border.
Tightened US security to fight terrorism along the 3,000km frontier has made it harder for smugglers to transport cocaine and other drugs.
But US authorities are not the only ones turning the screws. In Mexico, long seen as home to corrupt drugs officers, efforts have been stepped up against the traffickers.
A greater trust between the two nations has led to unprecedented co-operation in the fight against drugs.
Nowhere is that new trust more evident or more important than around the town of Tijuana on the US border below San Diego. The area is home to some of Mexico's most notorious drugs cartels.
Half of all the cocaine entering the United States, possibly as much as 80 tonnes a year, crosses at hundreds of points along the border in the desert stretching out to the east of the city.
Flying over the area in a government helicopter it is easy to see the daunting nature of the task. The border follows high mountains, far from any major cities.
"We know that we can't intercept all the drugs that make it across," Captain Andrez Ruiz, from Mexico's federal police drugs unit, tells me as we fly low over the border fence.
"But this year alone we have intercepted three tonnes of cocaine, twice as much as last year."
Police corruption
Down on the ground, we make our way past a boarded-up ranch that until two months ago was the site of a major tunnel. This was the direct entry point for up to two tonnes of cocaine into the United States every year.
It was discovered in a joint operation between US and Mexican anti-drugs agents.
Information in the past would never have been shared because of corruption among Mexican officers.
"We would call our cooperation with the Mexicans unprecedented," says US deputy ambassador to Mexico John Dickson.
Relations were extremely bad in the 1980s after a US undercover drug enforcement agent was tortured and killed, after being set-up by his Mexican colleagues.
"It took us a long time to get over that, now the era of mutual recriminations and finger pointing is over," Mr Dickson says.
It certainly seems to be something of a new beginning for cross-border drugs cooperation. For years the Mexican police have been plagued with corrupt officers. That is now changing.
The process started in the mid-1990s while the Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI, which ruled Mexico for 70 years, was still in power.
But the clean-up has been accelerated since Vicente Fox came to power two years ago.
Dawn raids
"In the past we would fire corrupt officers, but we didn't prosecute them and they often ended as officers in other parts of the country," says Victor de la Torre, hyperactive head of special operations for the federal police in Mexico.
"Now the bad cops go to trial and never work as officers again. That's one of the reasons why the US is taking us more seriously."
As the dawn breaks over the dusty town of Tijuana his squad prepare for another raid.
This time they are acting on information from the United States Drug Enforcement Agency that there is a ranch being used as a crack cocaine laboratory linked to distributors in the US.
This time the spoils are meagre. The squad turns up nothing but a few grammes of the drug, but the police do turn up information that could help them in the future.
Certainly there have been failings on both sides of the border to combat the huge illegal drugs.
But, with the US and Mexican authorities working more effectively together rather than at cross purposes, both governments will be hoping to cut even deeper into the cartels' multi billion dollar profits.
With demand for drugs at record levels north of the border that will be seen as welcome news by the US electorate.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
US: ECSTASY Bill Given Approval US Ecstasy bill given approval
Saturday, June 1, 2002
A Southern California legislator is carrying a bill to make the party drug Ecstasy a controlled substance under California law.
AB 2300 by Assemblywoman Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Nigel, cleared the Assembly this week and is on its way to the Senate.
"Unfortunately, it has taken the deaths of two young women - one in Northern California and one in Southern California - to heighten the danger of this drug," said Trent Smith, Bates' chief of staff.
Yuba City High School student Nicole Crowder died April 27. Cathy Isford, a Santa Ana high school student, died last month after her senior prom.
The deaths "provided a little momentum" for the bill, Smith said, "but we still have a pretty uphill battle."
Bates initially wanted Ecstasy listed as a Schedule I controlled substance, but had to settle for a Schedule II listing to get the bill out of an Assembly committee, Smith said.
There's no difference in criminal penalties: up to three years in prison for unlawful possession or possession for sale, or up to four years in prison for sale.
A Schedule I drug under California law has a "high potential for abuse" with no medically approved use.
A Schedule II drug also has the high potential for abuse but may have an accepted medical use.
Ecstasy, formally known as 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA, has been on the federal controlled substances list since 1988.
"Given ongoing interest in pursuing clinical trials to determine if there is an acceptable medical usage, placing MDMA on Schedule I may discourage potential medical application," according to a bill analysis prepared for the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
The drug was patented in 1914 and was intended as a weight-loss aid. It was never marketed due to its side effects, which include overheating, cardiac arrest and brain damage.
It's now a popular drug in "rave" or "techno" parties.
"Many suburban communities are also experiencing an increased use of MDMA within smaller party environments," the bill analysis said. "It has become increasingly available through high school drug networks."
Designating Ecstasy a Schedule II drug "sends a signal to young people that it's a dangerous drug," Smith said.
More importantly, listing Ecstasy as a controlled substance under state law would make it easier for district attorneys to prosecute cases, Smith said.
"Right now, a DA or prosecutor, the first part of their case would have to be explaining the chemistry and prove it has a link to a drug that is scheduled," Smith said. "It usually involves some chemistry discussion and sometimes it gets confusing with juries and courts."
The California District Attorneys Association supported AB 2300 when it proposed a Schedule I listing for Ecstasy, but took a neutral stand when Bates amended the bill to give Ecstasy a Schedule II listing, Smith said.
"We were in a very difficult position," he said. "We wanted to keep the bill moving and live to fight another day."
In the Senate Public Safety Committee, the bill faces a "big hurdle," Smith said. Legislation making Ecstasy a Schedule I drug died in the committee last year.
Homepage : Appeal-Democrat
UK: Drugs report at-a-glance – June 2002 Drugs report at-a-glance
By BBC News - 22 May, 2002
Copyright: BBC News
The Commons home affairs select committee has called for a major shake-up of Britain's drugs laws. Here are the key recommendations in its report.
Cannabis should be reclassified as a class C drug.
Ecstasy should be downgraded to become a class B drug.
Drugs policy should focus on the 250,000 "problem" users, mainly heroin addicts, who spend an average of £13,000 a year in crime money to feed their habit.
Harm reduction, not retribution, should be the main focus of drugs policy - something the government is taking "tentative" steps towards.
A supervised programme of carefully supervised heroin prescription, as happens in the Netherlands and Switzerland, should go on trial.
Safe injection rooms, designed to keep chronic heroin addicts off the streets, should be piloted.
A new offence of "supply for gain" should be created to reflect in penalties the difference between dealing and supplying drugs to friends for their personal use.
Decriminalising possession of drugs for personal use would send out the wrong message.
One day the balance may tip in favour of legalising some currently illegal drugs but the committee does not recommend that move now.
Cocaine should stay as a class A drug but more treatment places must be created.
Government should "substantially" increase its funding for treatment of heroin addicts.
Prescribing diamorphine, rather than methodone, for treating heroin addiction should be properly assessed.
The government should urgently review the laws on how community chemists dispense controlled drugs, like methodone, because of fears of outdated rules.
The last 30 years shows policies wholly or mainly based on enforcing drugs laws are "destined to fail".
Education programmes should be realistic and preferably delivered by someone with "street credibility", such as recovered addict.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
UK: Drugs law overhaul urged by MPs – June 2002 Drugs law overhaul urged by MPs
By BBC News - 22 May, 2002
Copyright: BBC News
A radical overhaul of Britain's drug laws should be implemented including a downgrading of the dance drug ecstasy, according to an influential committee of MPs.
But Home Secretary David Blunkett has already said the downgrading of ecstasy from class A to class B is not on the government's agenda.
In their report, MPs from the Home Affairs committee backed Mr Blunkett's moves to make cannabis a class C drug.
They also recommended trials of heroin prescription programmes for addicts and the provision of safe injecting rooms for heroin users.
Although the home secretary rejected the proposal for so-called 'shooting galleries' for drug injectors.
The committee says the last 30 years show policies based mainly on enforcement are bound to fail.
But they stop short of pressing for any illegal drugs to be legalised or decriminalised.
Drug differences
They said such a move would inevitability result in a "significant increase in the number of users, especially among the very young".
Committee chairman Chris Mullin urged the government to "follow the science" when it came to their drug policies.
There was "no point in pretending that ecstasy is as harmful as heroin" and to suggest it was would undermine the credibility of drugs advice handed out to children.
Although Mr Mullin - a former Labour minister - insisted that no-one was suggesting ecstasy could not be dangerous and that class B drugs still carried stiff penalties for dealers and users.
"All drug taking is bad for you and should be discouraged but we need to get real and focus on the 200 to 250,000 or so problematic drug users ... who mainly use heroin," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The committee's recommendation that ecstasy should become a class B drug would put it on the same level as the current classification for cannabis and amphetamines.
"The harm caused by illegal drugs varies immensely from one drug to another and - since most users and potential users know this - there is no point pretending otherwise," the report says.
'Totally misinformed'
"To those who suggest that to reclassify ecstasy is somehow to condone its use, we emphatically reject this."
The reclassification would reduce the maximum sentence for those found carrying ecstasy from seven years to five.
Those supplying or making the drug would be jailed for 14 years at most rather than facing the current possible life prison term.
The report prompted Janet Betts, whose daughter Leah died after taking ecstasy, to accuse the committee of being "totally misinformed".
Mrs Betts urged Prime Minister Tony Blair to "have the balls" to stick by his pledge not to downgrade the drug.
Mr Blunkett did just that in his response to the MPs' report.
"Ecstasy can, and does, kill unpredictably and there is no such thing as a safe dose," said the home secretary.
"I believe it should remain class A. Reclassification of ecstasy is not on the government's agenda."
Mr Blunkett did, however, welcome the report as "thought provoking" and said it was right to urge a new focus on reducing the harm caused by drugs.
'Shooting galleries'
The home secretary wants more heroin made available on prescription.
But he urged caution on how far this should be extended - the MPs want trials of carefully supervised prescription, as happens in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
That idea is part of the committee's drive to focus on Britain's 250,000 "problem" drug users, who need £13,000 a year from crime to feed their habit.
The MPs also want a new offence of "supply for gain" to be introduced to draw a new distinction between dealers and those who give drugs to friends for personal use.
The report has been welcomed by civil rights groups and some drugs charities.
Roger Howard, chief executive of charity DrugScope, said it represented the next steps for UK drugs laws.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/
ECSTASY: The Health Dangers Ecstasy: The health dangers
MPs have recommended that ecstasy should be downgraded to rank it alongside amphetamines and barbiturates rather than heroin and cocaine.
The Home Affairs Committee claims that for many people the drug is no more than a passing phase, that rarely results in any long term harm.
However, the drug can damage health, and, for the unlucky few, it can kill. BBC News Online presents the evidence.
The case of Lorna Spinks, a sociology undergraduate at Anglia Polytechnic University, who collapsed and died after taking ecstasy pills graphically illustrates the dangers of taking the drug.
It is clear that the drug has the potential to kill.
Most deaths have been caused by dehydration. Ecstasy affects body temperature, and when combined with dancing for long periods in a hot place there is a risk of dangerous over-heating.
However, the medical profession is still unclear as to the exact danger that the drug poses to health.
Part of the problem is that many tablets sold as ecstasy are not what purchasers think they are.
The amount of ecstasy in a tablet can vary greatly.
Tablets have been analysed and some contained no ecstasy but other drugs such as amphetamine or ketamine.
Others have been found to contain some ecstasy but mixed with other drugs or a range of adulterants. Some tablets have even been found to be fish tank cleaners or dog worming tablets.
Stimulant
Ecstasy is a stimulant and increases brain activity.
It is often taken by clubbers, who say that it induces a sense of euphoria, followed by a feeling of calm.
They claim it makes them feel more sociable and increases their awareness of their surroundings.
However, large doses of the drug can cause anxiety, panic and confusion.
Evidence is also mounting that regular use of the drug may cause long-term brain changes which may be linked to an increased risk of mental health problems, including chronic depression.
Studies have already suggested that the drug is toxic to the neurones in the brain, and that it may kill cells which produce a vital mood chemical called seratonin.
An autopsy of a 26-year-old long-term heavy user of Ecstasy revealed that he had up to 80% less serotonin in his brain than normal.
Research from University College London has also shown that that former ecstasy users may suffer memory impairment - even a year or more after giving up the drug.
Serotonin carries messages between nerves and is thought to play a role in regulating sleep patterns in humans as well as their mood, memory, perception of pain, appetite and libido.
Liver damage
Research on long-time users suggests it may cause liver and kidney problems in later life.
People with problems such as epilepsy, high blood pressure and depression are thought to be more likely to suffer side effects from ecstasy use.
Ecstasy is not thought to lead to addiction and there are no specific withdrawal symptoms.
However, immediate side effects can include nausea, a dry mouth, raised blood pressure and depression.
Dispute
A recent article published in New Scientist magazine claimed that scientific research showing that ecstasy damages the brain is fundamentally flawed.
Experts told the magazine that there were serious question marks over the validity of brain scans which researchers have said show that ecstasy damages production of a vital brain chemical called serotonin.
The scans purportedly provided evidence that the drug destroyed nerve cells that specialise in serotonin production.
But two independent experts told New Scientist there was a key flaw - the way brains reacted to this kind of scan, known as PET, varied enormously with or without ecstasy.
BBC NEWS | News Front Page
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