Topic: DRUGS - on October 23, 2013 at 4:18:00 PM CEST
Top Silk Road Drug Dealer Was Flipped By Feds
One of the top narcotics dealers on Silk Road, the recently shuttered online drug bazaar, secretly began cooperating with federal agents after his Seattle-area home was raided in late-July, The Smoking Gun has learned.
The disclosure that Steven Sadler, known online as “Nod,” was flipped will likely cause significant distress for his large Silk Road customer base, which included retail and wholesale buyers of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Additionally, suppliers for Sadler, 40, will likely also be concerned that they have been exposed to law enforcement scrutiny.
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 22, 2013 at 4:50:00 PM CEST
How FBI brought down cyber-underworld site Silk Road
A behind-the-scenes look at the federal agents' digital detective work
Criminals who prowl the cyber-underworld's "darknet" thought law enforcement couldn't crack their anonymous trade in illegal drugs, guns and porn. But a series of arrests this month, including the bust of the black market site Silk Road, shows the G-men have infiltrated the Internet's back alley.
Computer experts suspect the government simply beat the cyber-pirates at their own game: hacking.
The Silk Road website, which has a customer-friendly electronic storefront that displayed bricks of cocaine as deftly as Amazon displays books, was the cyber-underworld's largest black market, with $1.2 billion in sales and nearly a million customers.
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 22, 2013 at 4:36:00 PM CEST
Studie: Mehr Einnahmen durch Sucht als Kosten
Einnahmen höher als volkswirtschaftlicher Schaden - Staat hält 1,5 Milliarden Euro für Suchtforschung zurück
Die Sucht nach Alkohol, Nikotin und harten Drogen verursacht in Österreich pro Jahr einen volkswirtschaftlichen Schaden von 777 Millionen Euro. Die staatlichen Einnahmen aus dem Verkauf von Alkohol und Zigaretten sowie den Abgaben auf Glücksspiel sollen die Kosten aber bei weitem übersteigen. Sie belaufen sich laut einer aktuellen Studie auf 2,2 Milliarden Euro.
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 22, 2013 at 3:10:00 PM CEST
Slovakia to Drop Marijuana Seeds from Drug List
The seeds of cannabis sativa should be dropped from the list of narcotics in Slovakia as of March 2014, the government decided October 16. The decision must still be confirmed by parliament and the president, but it is considered to be only a formality, given that the parliament is dominated by the ruling Smer party and President Ivan Gašparovič is widely viewed as a Smer ally, the TASR newswire wrote.
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 21, 2013 at 3:29:00 PM CEST
Where You Can Get High in the Netherlands - Dutch Coffeeshop Tourist Tolerance Map
The laws about smoking cannabis in the Netherlands can be quite hard to understand. Cannabis is actually illegal in the country however possession of less than 5 grams of cannabis is decriminalized. A recent smoking ban also means it is illegal to smoke in public places.
Coffeeshops however were able to negotiate an exemption to the smoking ban so, as the situation stands, you can't smoke a cigarette in a cafe but you can smoke a joint in a coffeeshop. At least you can if you are Dutch. If you aren't Dutch things aren't that simple.
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 21, 2013 at 3:00:00 PM CEST
Uruguay to legalize, harvest and sell Marijuana at one dollar per gram
The government of Uruguay sets to one dollar the price of a gram of marijuana, which the state will harvest and sell when parliament passes a law promoted by the government of Jose Mujica. This law seeks to combat drug trafficking in the country.
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 21, 2013 at 2:59:00 PM CEST
Seattle thrift store finds 2.5 pounds of marijuana in donation bin
Despite the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington, Seattle police want to remind everyone that thrift stores can't resell donated bags of pot.
The department released a lighthearted press release on Friday to remind the public of the rules after employees at a thrift store in North Seattle found a large bag of marijuana in the donation bin.
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 18, 2013 at 3:04:00 PM CEST
Europol sieht Gefahr in Teams aus Hackern und Schmugglern
Mindestens seit Juni 2011 beauftragten holländische Drogenschmuggler professionelle Hacker, um Computersysteme im Antwerpener Hafen auszuspionieren. Mit Hilfe der ausgespähten Daten verschob die Bande mutmaßlich Drogen im Wert von mehreren Hundert Millionen Euro. Rob Wainwright, Chef von Europol, sieht in dieser Kooperation eine neue Art von Kriminalität und hofft auf mehr Technikwissen bei der Polizei. Regierungen und Parlamente sollten aber zusätzlich Gesetze erlassen, mit denen die "Ausnutzung des Internets" bekämpft werden könne, berichtet die BBC.
heise.de Hafen von Antwerpen: Hacker halfen Drogenschmugglern beim Containerklau
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 18, 2013 at 3:01:00 PM CEST
Why Oreos Are As Addictive As Cocaine To Your Brain
A small new study suggests the brain responds to Oreo cookies quite like it responds to actual drugs – at least if you’re a rat. The “pleasure center” of the brain, the nucleus accumbens, apparently gets just as activated in response to Oreos as it does to cocaine and morphine, which could actually have some major public health implications. While the study was done in rats, the authors say it’s likely relevant to humans as well, and could explain why people have such a hard time resisting eating an entire sleeve of the cookies. The study, which will be presented at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual conference next month, also made another discovery: Rats, like humans, like to eat Oreo’s creamy center first.
forbes.com Student-faculty research shows Oreos are just as addictive as drugs in lab rats
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 17, 2013 at 4:23:00 PM CEST
Silk Road: Will cybercrime evolve in wake of takedown?
Silk Road, the infamous online marketplace for drugs and other illegal goods, was closed down by the FBI earlier this month. Since then its alleged founder, Ross Ulbricht - who denies being the site's operator known as Dread Pirate Roberts - has been taken into custody, and police forces around the world have been making arrests.
It is a blow to the sale and distribution of harmful substances, including cocaine and heroin, as well as disrupting other criminal activities arranged online, such as the sale of weapons and hitmen for hire.
But for how long will society have been made safer?
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 16, 2013 at 5:04:00 PM CEST
The Dalai Lama Supports Medical Marijuana Use
The Dalai Lama isn't that keen on recreational marijuana use, but the spiritual leader told supporters in Mexico on Tuesday that he supports legal, medicinal marijuana when the drug has been shown to have value. The comments, in the middle of a debate on the drug in the country as Mexico City considers legislation to legalize pot, came at an event hosted by former president Vicente Fox. Fox supports the legalization of pot for a different reason: because it could cut off a valuable stream of revenue for the country's drug cartels.
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Topic: DRUGS - on October 16, 2013 at 4:51:00 PM CEST
Panel to vote on rules for Washington pot industry
After nearly a year of research, planning and public hearings, Washington state is poised to approve the rules for its new legal marijuana industry.
The rules will dictate everything from the security at and size of licensed marijuana gardens, to how many pot stores can open in cities across the state.
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