More about this topic

Health news

Olympic athletes are using CBD. Here's why it's controversial

US footballer Megan Rapinoe promotes CBD products as part of her training regime. At the same time, Sha’Carri Richardson was barred from Tokyo 2020 after testing positive for marijuana.

31/07/2021

Tech News

Euroviews. Cannabis, nicotine and psychedelics could be key to healthcare

In this Rethink piece, Shane MacGuill, Nicotine & Cannabis global lead at Euromonitor International argues that illegal drugs including psychedelics could open the doors to more effective healthcare treatments.

15/07/2021

France

US rapper Lil Baby released and fined for carrying drugs in Paris

NBA star James Harden was also stopped and searched by Paris police but was not detained.

09/07/2021

Germany

Hundreds arrested in Germany after encrypted chat data bust

German security officials have arrested more than 750 people and seized large amounts of drugs after gaining access to encrypted mobile phone data.

06/07/2021

USA

J&J agrees to pay $230M to settle New York opioid claim

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $230 million (€192.6 million) to New York state to settle claims that the pharmaceutical giant helped fuel the opioid crisis.

27/06/2021

Philippines

ICC prosecutor seeks to probe Philippines' crackdown on drug crime

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said a preliminary probe "determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed" in the Philippines.

15/06/2021

World News

Encrypted messaging app leads to 800 arrests in organised crime groups

Police accessed 27 million messages over 18 months using an encrypted messaging app. The evidence led to more than 800 arrests in global sting against organised crime

08/06/2021

Brazil

Brazil: Rio's deadly police shootout prompts claims of abuse

25 people died in a massive police raid against drug traffickers in a Brazilian favela.

07/05/2021

Tech News

High flier: Silicon Valley CEO Justin Zhu fired for taking LSD at work

Justin Zhu, CEO of Iterable, said he took small amounts of the illegal psychedelic drug in 2019 to improve his focus and creativity.

29/04/2021

Greece

Four tonnes of cannabis found in cupcake-making machines

The street value of the drugs is estimated at around €33 million.

23/04/2021

Australia

Former Olympian guilty of plotting to smuggle €130 million of cocaine

Nathan Baggaley, a three-time world champion canoeist, was found guilty alongside his brother of trying to smuggle 650 kilos of cocaine into Australia in 2018.

02/04/2021

Spain

Police seize drug 'submarine' designed to smuggle narcotics into Spain

Similar drug-smuggling vessels have in the past been discovered at sea, especially near Central and South America.

12/03/2021

World News

Dozens held after Belgian-Dutch investigators crack coded network

The vast police operations followed a two-year investigation which broke up an encrypted communications network popular with criminals.

10/03/2021

World News

Scottish and English drinkers most frequently drunk, study suggests

The findings were part of the Global Drug Survey 2020, which included data from 110,000 people from 25 countries.

25/01/2021

No Comment

Police in Peru carry out drug-related arrest in Santa and elf disguise

Members the National Police of Peru disguised themselves as Santa Claus and an elf during a police operation in Lima.

17/12/2020

United Kingdom

Men arrested after accidentally showing police video of cannabis farm

One of the men went to open Google Translate on his phone to help him communicate with the officers but ended up showing them a video of a cannabis farm instead.

15/12/2020

USA

US House of Representatives votes to decriminalise marijuana

Fifteen states already authorise recreational marijuana use and 36 allow it for medical use, but federal laws banning the drug make it difficult for companies to trade

05/12/2020

World News

45 arrested in Europe, Brazil with 'record haul' of cocaine seized

Authorities also seized luxury cars, dozens of aircraft and properties worth millions of euros.

27/11/2020

Romania

Romania's oldest fugitive is a cannabis-smuggling 82-year-old woman

Gran-abis! An 82-year-old woman smuggled drugs into a prison for her grandson. She's now the oldest person on Romania's wanted list but police discovered she's gone to Australia.

12/11/2020

Europe News

COVID and drugs: Lockdown dealing, party pills decline and over-50s OD

Between 2012 and 2018 the number of drug overdose deaths among the 50-plus age group increased by 75%.

22/09/2020