Inspired by the legendary botanical gardens in Padua where the Medicis plotted the untimely, frothing ends of their enemies, an English duchess created this garden, dedicating it entirely to flora which are deadly and/or narcotic. Behind big black gates, the carefully curated garden contains about 100 legendary killers like Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), Strychnos nux-vomica (strychnine), and Conium maculatum (hemlock). Guides explain their deadly properties while keeping ne'er-do-wells and curious children away from the plants, warning them: "Do not touch any of the plants, don't even smell them. There are plants here that can kill you."

atlasobscura.com
alnwickgarden.com
thepoisongarden.co.uk

A suspected drugs mule has not gone to the toilet for more than a month - to hang on to cocaine parcels thought to be hidden in his stomach.

Police think the 49-year-old British man swallowed the packages before getting on a flight home from Columbia. But he refuses to have an X- ray - and police say he is eating as little as possible to prevent nature from taking its course.

newsoftheworld.co.uk

The effort to win over Afghans on former Taliban turf in Marja has put American and NATO commanders in the unusual position of arguing against opium eradication, pitting them against some Afghan officials who are pushing to destroy the harvest.

nytimes.com
blueridgenow.com

Jahrelang haben die US-Truppen in Afghanistan jene Mohnfelder, die den Großteil des weltweiten Opiums bereitstellen, zerstört. Doch nun sehen die USA weg und wollen die Felder nicht mehr umackern. Die Bevölkerung zu gewinnen ist dem US-Militär jetzt wichtiger als der Kampf gegen den Drogenhandel. Es wurde sogar überlegt, den Bauern das Opium abzukaufen. Der Zeitpunkt, den Afghanen den Anbau von Weizen statt Mohn schmackhaft zu machen, ist jedenfalls so günstig wie nie zuvor.

orf.at

SCHOOLCHILDREN in Britain are being taught how cocaine production in South America is destroying the rainforest and driving a rare bird to extinction.

Colombia’s leaders hope that highlighting the problem will not only encourage youngsters to turn their backs on the drug but force the criminals out of business too.

The country’s campaigning vice president Francisco Santos met Government ministers last week to launch a drive that will link the drug and its effects on the environment.

express.co.uk

von Cannabis ist ebenso wie eine Umsetzung desselben zum eigenen (medizinischen) Gebrauch strafbar. Diese eindringliche Warnung verbreitet die Drogenbeauftragte Mechthild Dyckmans, FDP, unter abgeordnetenwatch.de

Sie rät dort dem Schmerzpatienten und Cannabismedizin-Erlaubnisinhaber Christian Gruß zu Therapie-Alternativen mit zugelassenen Arzneimitteln, sofern dieser sich Apotheken-Cannabis aus finanziellen Gründen nicht leisten könne. Mit diesem wenig hilfreichen Rat“schlag“ ignoriert Frau Dyckmans allerdings die gesetzliche Bestimmung, dass medizinischer Cannabisgebrauch bereits die letzte Option möglicher Behandlungsformen darstellt. Bedingung für die Erteilung einer BfArM-Ausnahmegenehmigung ist nämlich das vorherige Scheitern von Behandlungsversuchen mit zugelassenen Arzneimitteln!

selbsthilfenetzwerk-cannabis-medizin.de

4:20 statt Spice

Griggs also told deputies he used his Oldsmobile to meet people to sell them the drug.

When deputies searched Griggs’ home and his car they found ten guns and more than four pounds of marijuana.

wftv.com

Yeah, Anderson, it had to be the buzzer… Did Anderson mention at the end that he was playing for “Friends Indeed”? You know what they say about friends in need… Oh, it’s “Friends In Deed“. Gotcha.

If only Cheech could have said, “Why are you so surprised, Anderson? Carl Sagan was a daily cannabis consumer and it didn’t seem to affect his brain very much.”

norml.org