Feine Eiskristalle versetzen uns dieser Tage in Weihnachtsstimmung - In der Arbeitswelt erfreut sich psychoaktiver „Schnee" immer größerer Beliebtheit

In der Welt der Drogen genießt Kokain einen besonderen Ruf. Wird das weiße Gold doch nicht mit Elend und Verwahrlosung in Verbindung gebracht, sondern vielmehr mit Glamour und Partylaune. Geschnupft wird heute in bester Gesellschaft. Börsenmakler, Künstler, Spitzenmanager und Ärzte ziehen sich Koks, zu fein säuberlichen Linien präpariert durch gerollte Euro-Noten hinein in ihre Nasen. Und nicht nur Bestverdiener, auch für die bürgerliche Mittelschicht ist das Kokain zu einem leistbaren Vergnügen geworden.

derstandard.at

Four men have faced court charged with conspiring to import more than half-a-tonne of cocaine into Australia.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the men in Sydney yesterday.

It says they were trying to import 690 kilograms of the illicit drug in two quantities.

abc.net.au

The South American drug-smuggling business is becoming increasingly sophisticated as Colombian gangs use home-made submarines to get cocaine to Mexico. The crews have to put up with incredible heat, insanitary conditions and a lack of space. One former submersible captain told SPIEGEL about his experiences.

The day Gustavo Alonso's life as a drug courier ended began with the muffled roar of a helicopter. It was flying directly overhead, and Alonso could hear it approaching rapidly. Suddenly the helicopter came to a stop and began hovering in the air above.

Alonso, three other crew members and a guard from the Colombian drug mafia were crammed together in a space of about 15 square meters (161 square feet) in the hold of a semi-submersible 600 nautical miles off the Mexican coast. The vessel was also carrying 3.5 tons of cocaine, with a wholesale price of about $8 million (€6.1 million), worth more than $60 million on the streets of Miami or Washington.

spiegel.de

A secret U.S. Embassy cable sent from Buenos Aires a year ago bluntly describes Argentina as becoming awash in drug money due to lax prosecution of organized crime. The dispatch said the problem started with the president herself, who "stands to lose" by going after money launderers.

The unvarnished language in the Dec. 1, 2009 cable _ one of hundreds of documents exposed by the WikiLeaks website this week _ made for banner headlines in Argentina's opposition newspapers Thursday.

Other leaked U.S. diplomatic cables also have shown Argentina's leaders in an unflattering light, including one dated Dec. 31, 2009, in which the Embassy was asked to find out if President Cristina Fernandez was taking medicine to control her mental health. Another, from Sept. 10, 2009, shared unsubstantiated allegations that her Cabinet chief had ties to drug traffickers.

thesouthern.com

The US has lost confidence in the Mexican army's ability to win the country's drugs war, branding it slow, clumsy and no match for "sophisticated" narco-traffickers.

Classified diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks also reveal a growing sense of alarm within Mexico's government that time is running out in the battle against organised crime and that it could "lose" entire regions.

guardian.co.uk
newser.com
gazettetimes.com

These are The Breaks: Hip-Hop pioneer Kurtis Blow was busted with less than an ounce of marijuana at LAX after one of those invasive new TSA body scanners detected "an anomaly" in his pants.

Celebrity gossip sites are reporting that the legendary rapper received a misdemeanor citation and had his weed confiscated after attempting to board a plane leaving Los Angeles.

mog.com
latimes.com
bellinghamherald.com

A club which allows its members to smoke marijuana has opened in Paracuellos de Jarama, in Madrid, on the premise that consumption of marijuana is legally allowed in Spain if it is in private. The ‘Private Cannabis Club’, which opened last month, is run by a private association and is only open to its members. No members of the general public are allowed to enter the premises.

typicallyspanish.com

Unüberlegter Rückzug: Auf der Flucht vor der Polizei ist ein Marihuana-Konsument in Berlin auf ein U-Bahn-Gleis gesprungen. Nur mit Mühe konnten die Beamten den Mann davon überzeugen, die gefährlichen Schienen zu verlassen.

spiegel.de