"Twelve years ago, Portugal eliminated criminal penalties for drug users. Since then, those caught with small amounts of marijuana, cocaine or heroin go unindicted and possession is a misdemeanor on par with illegal parking. Experts are pleased with the results." [more inside]
posted by vidur on Mar 27, 2013 - 125 comments

"The Mexican drug cartels are at war... with Mormons. VICE founder Shane Smith went down to Ciudad Juárez, near the US border, to investigate this story ... filled with guns, drugs, murder, and Romneys." [more inside]
posted by empath on Sep 25, 2012 - 33 comments

The Uncannily Accurate Depiction of the Meth Trade in “Breaking Bad”
posted by reenum on Jul 16, 2012 - 58 comments

With the election of Pena Nieto to the presidency, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) ends a twelve-year absence from the seat. [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns on Jul 3, 2012 - 29 comments

"Alex White, Professional Snitch: What do you do when the cops you work for are dirtier than you are?" Metafilter previously on Kathryn Johnston.
posted by andoatnp on Jun 29, 2012 - 13 comments

If I Die Young: Struggling with Addiction and Recovery. "Last year, 249 people died of prescription drug overdoses in Pinellas County, FL. Just about everybody who knew Stacy Nicholson figured she was next. Then an empathetic judge gave her a choice: recovery, or the coffin." [more inside]
posted by zarq on Dec 17, 2011 - 86 comments

The media portrayed it as a fight between good cops and evil drug dealers. According to that point of view...
posted by Fiasco da Gama on Oct 21, 2011 - 14 comments

Before his death, Mickey Mantle spoke to Sports Illustrated about the effect that alcoholism had on his life and career. [more inside]
posted by reenum on May 25, 2011 - 25 comments

An oldie but a goodie: Don Reese, then of the San Diego Chargers, talks about his own problems with cocaine and the widespread drug use in the NFL at the time. [more inside]
posted by reenum on May 24, 2011 - 9 comments

Bartolo Colon, now of the New York Yankees, underwent a controversial stem-cell treatment in the Dominican Republic to regain his old form.
posted by reenum on May 12, 2011 - 23 comments

Billy Ray Bates, in his words, was "an average player who can do fantastic things. After flaming out in the NBA, he became a legend in Phillippine Basketball Association. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Jun 21, 2010 - 11 comments

A medical marijuana provider in California is mounting a novel defense after his marijuana farm was raided by Federal agents. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Dec 31, 2009 - 69 comments

Nice people take drugs
posted by PeterMcDermott on Jun 24, 2009 - 83 comments

What is the best way to respond to your son's drug addiction?
Write a book? No!
Write two books? Yes?

Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction
Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines [more inside]
posted by andoatnp on May 11, 2009 - 35 comments

Illegal drugs. They can do strange things to people. For decades, public service announcements have warned us of their dangers. We've been lectured by Robocop! Whitney! Cavemen! Cops! TMNT! Pee Wee! Reagans! Legos! Sonny Bono! Even screaming hot dogs! Don't let drugs ruin the Now Generation. Whatever you do, don't listen to bad people and take the easy way out. 'Cuz seriously... drugs can make you really, really ugly. Mmmkay?
posted by miss lynnster on May 1, 2007 - 57 comments

How not to do MDMA.
posted by loquacious on Apr 4, 2006 - 91 comments

"Well, a lot of people have said DEA is in the dark on these issues, but that is a little bit much." (.doc; long) Despite a power outage, an FDA-lead panel discusses how to manage abuse of the infamous opiod painkiller OxyContin. Purdue Pharma, its sole manufacturer, had tried to bring its more powerful successor Palladone (.pdf) to the market, before "dosage jump" issues lead to the drug being pulled by the FDA. Meanwhile, trucks loaded with $3mil dollars of "oxys" continue to get hijacked for a $15mil street turnover, despite GPS tracking and other high-tech security measures used for cigarette distribution. Doctors invariably shuffle pills sideways despite tamper-proof presciption pads (long). Purdue only stops selling more profitable and addictive double-doses of OxyContin after government pressure. On the level of the street, addicts who find themselves too tolerant to the drug find their needs more than adequately met when they can buy many more hits of heroin for the same cost. Philadelphia-based writer Jeff Deeney outlines some of these fascinating issues and more as he looks into how race, cost, manufacturing and distribution factors in OxyContin abuse invariably drive the addict to cheaper and more easily accessible heroin.
posted by Rothko on Feb 2, 2006 - 72 comments

What does the DEA say about drugs in your state? (Some states take a very hard line against gateway drugs...)
posted by dilettante on Aug 13, 2005 - 36 comments

Who says drugs have to be legalized to collect taxes? 'Kansas law requires all dealers of illegal drugs to buy the stamps and attach them to their product. They almost never comply.' What a shock! However, this article will let you know how to comply with the law, and where you can buy the tax stamps for your own business needs. (Courtesy of Indigo, who is having trouble posting.)
posted by jennaratrix on Jun 6, 2001 - 13 comments