£200k cannabis farm "like something from a James Bond film'

11:23 £200k cannabis farm 0 Comments

Police have described a drugs factory as "like something from a James Bond film" following a raid in which they seized cannabis plants valued at more than £200,000. Officers said they were stunned when they found almost half the plants hidden behind a door which had been made to look like a bookcase. A sophisticated set up across six farm buildings hid around 600 plants in various stages of growth, police said. In a joint operation by Wiltshire Police and Avon and Somerset Police four men were arrested during the raid at two locations. Three men were arrested at Fairfield Piggeries, in Bradford Leigh, Wiltshire, while another man was arrested in Stoke St Michael, in Somerset, as part of the sting. Sergeant Scott Hargreave, of Wiltshire Police said: "There was quite a sophisticated set-up on the farm to hide the plants. "They had a door mocked up as a bookcase, which looked like something from a James Bond film. There were some metal cabinets against the wall, there were some shelves on the wall, and there was a book case and then a couple of coats on the wall next to this bookcase.

Men arrested over £280,000 drugs

09:09 000 drugs , Men arrested over £280 0 Comments

Drugs worth £280,000 have been seized and a man arrested following a raid, police said. Officers from Strathclyde Police searched a house in Silvertonhill Avenue, Hamilton, with a warrant at 8am on Saturday and seized a crop of cannabis plants. A 42-year-old man was arrested in connection with the seizure of the drugs that police said have an estimated street value of £280,000. A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal and the man is due to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Monday.

Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs, flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale

22:47 Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs , flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale 0 Comments

Canada has joined Colombia as a leading exporter of synthetic or designer drugs, flooding the global market on an almost unprecedented scale, police say. The RCMP have seized tonnes of illicit synthetic drugs that include Ecstasy and methamphetamine being shipped abroad after being “cooked” in make-shift labs in apartments, homes and businesses in the GTA. Police are now seizing more chemicals and synthetic drugs, which they say is favoured by young people, at Canadian border checks rather than the traditional cocaine, heroin or hashish that officers call drugs of “a last generation.” Most of the Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), meth or ketamine, a hallucinogenic used in “drug cocktails,” are smuggled from Canada by trucks, air cargo, human couriers or courier services to a network of traffickers. The U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan are the world-wide targets of these highly organised criminal syndicates, the Mounties said. Two Japanese students were arrested at Vancouver International Airport in 2009 after 47,000 Ecstasy pills with the “Chanel” logo were seized from their luggage. And, in November that year 400,000 tablets and 45 kgs of pot were seized in Michigan as it was being transferred from a small Canadian aircraft to a vehicle. The RCMP is working to stamp out the problem and have created a Chemical Diversion Unit (CDU) to target “rogue chemical brokers” who import and sell chemicals to organized crime cells to “bake” synthetic drugs for export. The force also created a Synthetic Drug Operations (SDO) whose members target clandestine drug labs in the GTA that are operated by crime cells and traffickers. “We execute search warrants once we locate a clandestine lab,” said SDO Sgt. Doug Culver. “These labs are dangerous with toxic chemicals and our members are specially trained to handle them.” His officers use hazardous material suits to enter a suspicious lab to ensure it is safe from corrosive chemicals before uniformed officers can enter. Police said an Ecstasy tablet, that usually features a harmless-looking logo, is sold for up to $15 each at Toronto nightclubs and the potency can last for about 10 hours. The tablets used to sell on the street for about $40 each two years ago. Supt. Rick Penney, who is in charge of an RCMP-GTA Drug Squad, said tonnes of chemicals and synthetic drugs are being seized by his officers. “We are talking tonnes and not kilograms,” Penney said. “This is becoming a matter of routine for us and it concerns me.” Penney said Canadian-made Ecstasy and meth are popular in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the U.S. and some European countries. “Canada is a player on the global market,” he said. “We see a lot of synthetic chemicals passing through the Canadian border or going out of province.” He said some of the chemicals are purchased by criminals on the Internet from suppliers in China or India. “The majority of the drugs we seize in Ontario are for export,” Penney said. “This is a global problem and Canada is a big player.” The drug officers said Canada exports as much Ecstasy and chemical drugs as Colombia ships out cocaine. Police said synthetic drugs are the choice of young people because it is cheap, with a pill being made for 50-cents and sold for up to $15; lasts a long time; can be easily hidden and a tablet appears relatively harmless with a “cute” imprinted logo. Sgt. Brent Hill, of the Chemical Diversion Unit, said rogue brokers use fake names, companies or addresses to import the chemicals into Canada. Some use the name of legitimate companies and give fake delivery addresses, he said. He said the imported chemicals are resold by rogue brokers at exorbitant profits to organized crime groups originating from China, Vietnam and India, including criminal bike gangs in Canada. The chemicals are “cooked” into synthetic drugs. The CDU monitors more than 100 chemicals entering the country. Some are for legitimate industrial uses ranging from industrial cleaners to pharmaceutical products. Others are strictly for “baking” drugs. Hill shows a make-shift laboratory that was seized in a 2007 Scarborough bust in which three people were arrested. Officers seized two million units of Ecstasy and bags of chemicals at a residence on Pipers Green Ave., in the Brimley Rd. and Finch Ave. E. area. Jian Yao Quan, 24, and Yan Shi, 46, both of Scarborough, and Wan Shun Ling, 55, of Brooklyn, New York, were convicted of drug-related offences and will be sentenced on Feb. 14. A warrant has been issued for Wei Quan Ma, 43, of Toronto, who’s believed to have fled to China. During that raid, police found a 22-litre round-bottom heating mantle filled with chemicals being baked as vapors flowed through a hose taped at the top of the container to a large can filled with cat litter, that helps to absorb toxic gases to avoid leaving smells behind, police said. Hill said the mixture leaves a cloud of corrosive chemical hanging over the area that is harmful to people and is the reason why officers wear haz-mat suits to enter drug houses. “These labs pose a serious threat to the safety of the public and emergency first responders such as police, fire and ambulance workers,” Hill said. “Most chemicals in a clandestine drug lab are highly toxic, corrosive, explosive or flammable “ He said some unsafe labs can cause a fire or explosion that can lead to environmental pollution. Police said its common to find an Ecstasy pill containing a combination of controlled substances including methamphetamine or other controlled or non-regulated psychoactive substances. Some doses can be lethal and kill users. Officers point to the deaths of five B.C. young people since last August from Ecstasy laced PMMA, the same lethal chemical linked to deaths in the Calgary area. There have been about 18 Ecstasy-related deaths in B.C. in two years. “Some of these drugs are dangerous cocktails,” Hill said. “Crime groups are putting more addictive chemicals in some of the mixtures to get kids coming back for more. “These brokers are aggressively targeting the legitimate chemical industry. They continue to expand in a highly-lucrative market selling legal chemicals, regulated precursors and non-regulated psychoactive substances.” Officers said some unscrupulous brokers establish fake front companies, or claim to be legitimate companies to import chemicals into Canada. They fill out paperwork required by the Canada Border Services Agency but usually provide false information, police said. “The acquisition of chemicals is the choke point,” Hill said. “We are fully engaged with the legitimate Canadian chemical industry and monitor suspicious chemical transactions.” He said its a crime under Bill C-475 to possess, produce, sell or import “anything” if the person involved knows it will be used to produce methamphetamine or Ecstasy. “Crime groups with links to south-east Asia continue to dominate chemical-brokering operations,” the Mounties said. “There are criminal enterprises including individual operators and semi-legitimate companies that are brokering or procuring chemicals for synthetic drug production.” Police said some chemical shipments imported into Canada for industrial use are stolen by crime gangs to produce drugs. “Global demand for Ecstasy remains high,” Hill said. “Ecstasy continues to be the most sought-after and widely available controlled synthetic drug in the Canadian illicit market.”

Recession causes 2,000 heart attack deaths

15:41 000 heart attack deaths , Recession causes 2 0 Comments

Since 2002 the number of people dying from heart attacks in England has dropped by half, the study conducted by Oxford University found. But within that, regional data revealed there was a 'blip' in London that corresponded to the financial crash in 2008 and continued through 2009. Heart attack deaths have dropped due to better prevention of heart attacks in the first place with fewer people smoking and improvements in diet through lower consumption of saturated fat. The treatment of people who do suffer a heart attack has also improved leading to fewer deaths with faster ambulance response times, new procedures to clear blocked arteries and wider use of drugs such as statins and aspirin. The research published in the British Medical Journal showed around 80,000 lives have been saved between 2002 and 2008 as deaths from heart attacks declined.

Demi Moore -- Red Bull Addiction for Years

06:23 Demi Moore -- Red Bull Addiction for Years 0 Comments

Demi Moore was obsessively drinking Red Bull in weeks preceding her 911 emergency, but we've learned her addiction to Red Bull is a decade old. Moore -- a recovering addict -- had cases and cases of Red Bull delivered to her home as early as 2002. Sources connected with Red Bull North America tell us ... Demi was so dependent on the energy drink, the company used her to market the product.  Sources from the Red Bull company tell us ... the delivery schedule was frequent enough to ensure Demi was never without Red Bull. The Sun published a story today reporting ... in the months before Demi was hospitalized ... she was using Red Bull in place of food.   Our sources say ... two weeks before Demi was hospitalized, she went to a Hollywood party and consumed a massive amount of Red Bull ... but never touched alcohol.

I know I’m a sex addict, but I can’t face getting professional help

14:34 but I can’t face getting professional help , I know I’m a sex addict 0 Comments

People don’t usually associate sex addiction with women,” says retail manager Crystal, 42. “We’re normally the ones accused of making excuses before the lights go off but with me it’s different. I think about sex all day.”

Crystal, who lives in Brighton, was born in a Somerset town. Her parents split up when she was five and she puts her chronic addiction down to witnessing the breakdown of their marriage.

Relationships Crystal had in her 20s and 30s didn't last

“Looking back it was watching all this when I was very young that has made me the way I am,” she says. “I see the pain relationships cause.”

Crystal lost her virginity at 15 with a school friend, and believes she became an addict straight away. “I felt empowered after I lost my virginity,” she says. “I loved the feeling of being wanted so badly by the boy I lost it to.”

She was soon having sex with boys her age and bedding someone new every other month. By the time she was 17 she had slept with 40 people. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time,” she says.“I thought all the girls in my village were experimenting, too.

“I didn’t know 40 men was more than most women sleep with in a lifetime. All I knew was that I felt good about myself when I was having sex.”

Crystal claims she has always practised safe sex. She isn’t able to have children but ensures she doesn’t contract any STIs.

Between 17 and 20, Crystal began going to local pubs and clubs where she had plenty of chances to fuel her addiction.

And despite most of the men she slept with disappearing off into the night, she admits there have been times they’d want more than physical intimacy.

“I didn’t understand why they couldn’t just enjoy the sex and walk away,” she says. Like any addiction, if Crystal doesn’t get what she wants she feels moody and frustrated.

“I’d begin to feel hungry for sex,” she says. “I’d go on the prowl for men on my lunch breaks. If I didn’t manage to have sex I’d be unproductive all afternoon.

“At the weekends, I’d leave the house in the middle of the day to find men at pubs or coffee shops to pick up and take home. The feeling of satisfaction is almost instant.

“If I go without for a few days I start to feel desperately low, depressed and lack energy. I begin to see men as sexual objects. Walking along the street my mind races with thoughts of sex, especially with younger men.”

In her early 20s, Crystal assumed she simply had a high sex drive.

“Looking back I should have realised I had an addiction,” she says. “People call me easy, or assume I’m a slut not realising that it’s not something I can control.”

While she’s notched up more than 1,000 lovers, Crystal has managed to hold down relationships with some of the men she’s slept with. Her first came at 22 with Mark, then 19.

“We met in a club and slept together that night,” she says. “I told him about my high sex drive and he smiled like all his Christmases had come at once. For a while he kept up. I needed it at least five times a day. But when I started waking him in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning, he started to resist. I was so angry when he told me he couldn’t give me what I wanted, so after two years I went elsewhere.

“I got back one night and told him I’d slept with someone else because he couldn’t satisfy me.”

Inevitably they split and Crystal’s need for constant sex worsened. “Without a boyfriend, I became even more reliant on sex,” she says. “My life got out of control.

“On a bad day I’d have sex with seven different guys in 24 hours, sometimes a few at a time. It was difficult to fit it all in the day. I would sleep with a man in the morning, one at lunch and then as many as possible in the evening.”

Crystal moved to Brighton at 24 and met second boyfriend Dave, who was 21 when she was 26.

Crystal with one of her conquests

“We got talking at a friend’s house and he asked me out for a drink,” she says. “I wasn’t used to dates, but I liked him and agreed. I spent the whole evening wanting to leave so we could have sex, but enjoyed getting to know him and we were soon an item.

“We’d have sex five times a day, no problem. He’d meet me at work and we’d sneak into the stockroom.

“Things were going great for the first year until I found out he’d cheated on me.

“It was a shock. I’d found a guy who could satisfy me sexually, but the shoe was suddenly on the other foot.” Crystal retaliated. Angry and needing to know that men still found her attractive, she slept with as many men as she could. It continued for around seven years, during which time Crystal slept with around 400 more men.

As she hit 35, Crystal began to realise most of her friends were settling down, getting married and having families.

“Watching them was strange for me,” she says. “I still craved going out and meeting men, so I ditched them and made new, younger friends so I could carry on clubbing and going to pubs.

“I didn’t want to go to dinner parties and talk about current affairs. I wanted sex. And I wasn’t going to get it there.

She adds: “I never have a problem approaching guys. But every now and then I get ‘I’m not that sort of guy’, or ‘I have a girlfriend’.”

The clubbing scene is where she met her third, and last boyfriend, Mike. “I was 35 and Mike was 25,” she says. “I couldn’t keep my hands off him. I’d slept with 1,000 men, but sex with Mike was mind-blowing.”

Open from the start about her high sex drive, Mike embraced it.

“For four years I thought I’d finally found the man who could provide for me sexually,” she says. But, inevitably, it ran its course.

“I loved Mike, but my cravings for someone new returned with a vengeance. I began sleeping with other men in secret and this went undiscovered for nearly a year.

“I felt guilty because I loved Mike, and I didn’t care about the men I was sleeping with, but it was the only thing that stopped the urge.”

Mike eventually found out about Crystal’s infidelity and she was devastated.

When she turned to her best friend for support, Crystal was shocked when even she turned her back on her.

“She was angry with me because I was constantly trying to find younger men,” she says. “It was hard to hear, but forced me to acknowledge how my addiction was ruining not only my relationships, but also my friendships.”

At 40, Crystal finally confronted her addiction.

“I know I’m a sex addict, but I can’t face getting professional help,” she says. “Sex is the only thing that makes me feel good about myself. I’m a member of online dating website CougarLife.com, which helps me find men who can keep up with my high sex drive.

“I guess when the men start saying no, I’ll stop having sex. I know some people must think I’m a terrible person, but believe me I’m not proud of myself.”

Crystal lost her virginity at 15 with a school friend, and believes she became an addict straight away. “I felt empowered after I lost my virginity,” she says. “I loved the feeling of being wanted so badly by the boy I lost it to.”

14:25 I wanted sex. 0 Comments

People don’t usually associate sex addiction with women,” says retail manager Crystal, 42. “We’re normally the ones accused of making excuses before the lights go off but with me it’s different. I think about sex all day.”

Crystal, who lives in Brighton, was born in a Somerset town. Her parents split up when she was five and she puts her chronic addiction down to witnessing the breakdown of their marriage.

Relationships Crystal had in her 20s and 30s didn't last

“Looking back it was watching all this when I was very young that has made me the way I am,” she says. “I see the pain relationships cause.”

Crystal lost her virginity at 15 with a school friend, and believes she became an addict straight away. “I felt empowered after I lost my virginity,” she says. “I loved the feeling of being wanted so badly by the boy I lost it to.”

She was soon having sex with boys her age and bedding someone new every other month. By the time she was 17 she had slept with 40 people. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time,” she says.“I thought all the girls in my village were experimenting, too.

“I didn’t know 40 men was more than most women sleep with in a lifetime. All I knew was that I felt good about myself when I was having sex.”

Crystal claims she has always practised safe sex. She isn’t able to have children but ensures she doesn’t contract any STIs.

Between 17 and 20, Crystal began going to local pubs and clubs where she had plenty of chances to fuel her addiction.

And despite most of the men she slept with disappearing off into the night, she admits there have been times they’d want more than physical intimacy.

“I didn’t understand why they couldn’t just enjoy the sex and walk away,” she says. Like any addiction, if Crystal doesn’t get what she wants she feels moody and frustrated.

“I’d begin to feel hungry for sex,” she says. “I’d go on the prowl for men on my lunch breaks. If I didn’t manage to have sex I’d be unproductive all afternoon.

“At the weekends, I’d leave the house in the middle of the day to find men at pubs or coffee shops to pick up and take home. The feeling of satisfaction is almost instant.

“If I go without for a few days I start to feel desperately low, depressed and lack energy. I begin to see men as sexual objects. Walking along the street my mind races with thoughts of sex, especially with younger men.”

In her early 20s, Crystal assumed she simply had a high sex drive.

“Looking back I should have realised I had an addiction,” she says. “People call me easy, or assume I’m a slut not realising that it’s not something I can control.”

While she’s notched up more than 1,000 lovers, Crystal has managed to hold down relationships with some of the men she’s slept with. Her first came at 22 with Mark, then 19.

“We met in a club and slept together that night,” she says. “I told him about my high sex drive and he smiled like all his Christmases had come at once. For a while he kept up. I needed it at least five times a day. But when I started waking him in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning, he started to resist. I was so angry when he told me he couldn’t give me what I wanted, so after two years I went elsewhere.

“I got back one night and told him I’d slept with someone else because he couldn’t satisfy me.”

Inevitably they split and Crystal’s need for constant sex worsened. “Without a boyfriend, I became even more reliant on sex,” she says. “My life got out of control.

“On a bad day I’d have sex with seven different guys in 24 hours, sometimes a few at a time. It was difficult to fit it all in the day. I would sleep with a man in the morning, one at lunch and then as many as possible in the evening.”

Crystal moved to Brighton at 24 and met second boyfriend Dave, who was 21 when she was 26.

Crystal with one of her conquests

“We got talking at a friend’s house and he asked me out for a drink,” she says. “I wasn’t used to dates, but I liked him and agreed. I spent the whole evening wanting to leave so we could have sex, but enjoyed getting to know him and we were soon an item.

“We’d have sex five times a day, no problem. He’d meet me at work and we’d sneak into the stockroom.

“Things were going great for the first year until I found out he’d cheated on me.

“It was a shock. I’d found a guy who could satisfy me sexually, but the shoe was suddenly on the other foot.” Crystal retaliated. Angry and needing to know that men still found her attractive, she slept with as many men as she could. It continued for around seven years, during which time Crystal slept with around 400 more men.

As she hit 35, Crystal began to realise most of her friends were settling down, getting married and having families.

“Watching them was strange for me,” she says. “I still craved going out and meeting men, so I ditched them and made new, younger friends so I could carry on clubbing and going to pubs.

“I didn’t want to go to dinner parties and talk about current affairs. I wanted sex. And I wasn’t going to get it there.

She adds: “I never have a problem approaching guys. But every now and then I get ‘I’m not that sort of guy’, or ‘I have a girlfriend’.”

The clubbing scene is where she met her third, and last boyfriend, Mike. “I was 35 and Mike was 25,” she says. “I couldn’t keep my hands off him. I’d slept with 1,000 men, but sex with Mike was mind-blowing.”

Open from the start about her high sex drive, Mike embraced it.

“For four years I thought I’d finally found the man who could provide for me sexually,” she says. But, inevitably, it ran its course.

“I loved Mike, but my cravings for someone new returned with a vengeance. I began sleeping with other men in secret and this went undiscovered for nearly a year.

“I felt guilty because I loved Mike, and I didn’t care about the men I was sleeping with, but it was the only thing that stopped the urge.”

Mike eventually found out about Crystal’s infidelity and she was devastated.

When she turned to her best friend for support, Crystal was shocked when even she turned her back on her.

“She was angry with me because I was constantly trying to find younger men,” she says. “It was hard to hear, but forced me to acknowledge how my addiction was ruining not only my relationships, but also my friendships.”

At 40, Crystal finally confronted her addiction.

“I know I’m a sex addict, but I can’t face getting professional help,” she says. “Sex is the only thing that makes me feel good about myself. I’m a member of online dating website CougarLife.com, which helps me find men who can keep up with my high sex drive.

“I guess when the men start saying no, I’ll stop having sex. I know some people must think I’m a terrible person, but believe me I’m not proud of myself.”

Demi Moore lying in hospital as carefree Ashton Kutcher was at Florence and the Machine in Brazil

23:03 Demi Moore lying in hospital as carefree Ashton Kutcher was at Florence and the Machine in Brazil 0 Comments

Just one night after his estranged wife Demi Moore was rushed into hospital Ashton Kutcher was living it up partying in Sao Paulo. The 33-year-old actor looked like he didn’t have a care in the world as he jumped up and down to a performance by Florence and The Machine on Tuesday night. Ashton was seen with a female companion as he celebrated at the Summer Soul Festival at Anhembi Arena in Brazil.

Ex-Navy man detained in U.S. for alleged drug smuggling in Japan

23:00 Ex-Navy man detained in U.S. for alleged drug smuggling in Japan 0 Comments

former U.S. Navy serviceman has been detained in the United States after Japanese police issued an arrest warrant for him on suspicion of leading a group that smuggled drugs into Japan in 2004 through the military mail service, Japanese investigative sources said Wednesday. Tokyo has been seeking his extradition, and a U.S. court has been deliberating whether to transfer him based on a bilateral extradition treaty, they said. The former sailor left Japan for the United States on Aug. 6, 2004, one day after police arrested two civilian men who worked at the U.S. Naval base in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on suspicion of being involved in drug smuggling, according to police. The three are suspected of shipping some 50,000 tablets of synthetic drugs, including ecstasy, from Canada to a post office box at the base using the military mail service in July 2004. The man sought by Japanese police was dishonorably discharged in 2003 for a separate drug offense committed on the base. His whereabouts in the United States were confirmed in 2009, the sources said.

mother's collapse has just been linked to a seizure following a laughing gas binge

10:56 Demi Moore's sudden hospitalisation 0 Comments

Her mother's collapse has just been linked to a seizure following a laughing gas binge, it has been claimed. And the strain of Demi Moore's sudden hospitalisation seemed to be getting to Rumer Willis as she attended her bedside. The 23-year-old actress looked distraught as she was photographed talking on her mobile phone outside the Los Angeles hospital. No laughing matter: Rumer Willis looked distressed yesterday outside the Los Angeles hospital her mother Demi Moore was rushed to after collapsing following an alleged nitrous oxide binge Her appearance yesterday followed the Ghost star's shock collapse at home on Monday night. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics attended her mansion for around half an hour following  a 911 call just before 11pm.   More... Did Demi Moore collapse after getting high from inhaling laughing gas? In a rush, were we? Rumer Willis leaves spa wearing next to nothing and missing a bra The finally decided she should be taken for hospital for further emergency care. Actress Rumer, 23, attended the hospital again on Wednesday, and this time attempted to put on a brave face. Putting on a brave face: But Rumer appeared to be wiping away a tear as she attended hospital again today However she hid her eyes behind sunglasses and at one point appeared to reach up to wipe away a tear from her face.. Rumer Willis, Demi Moore Cinema For Peace Event Benefitting J/P Haitian Relief held at The Montage Hotel Beverly Hills, California - 14.01.12 Mandatory Credit: FayesVision/WENN.com No doubt the claims her mother suffered a seizure due to a laughing gas binge will be weighing heavily on the young starlet. According to TMZ, the Striptease favourite inhaled nitrous oxide from a small metal canister usually used for recharging whipping cream cans in restaurants. A source told the website the actress started to show symptoms of a seizure after ingesting large amounts of the substance.And a female friend with the actress while she was inhaling the gas allegedly told hospital staff she became distressed when Demi had a reaction and was rendered semi-unconscious Prescription medication is also reported to have played a part in her hospitalization and that her consistent use was one of the causes of her marriage collapse to Two and a Half Men star Ashton Kutcher. Rumer is said to have been concerned for her mother's well being in recent weeks and has even reached out to Ashton, who is currently in Brazil. A source told Hollywoodlife.com: 'Rumer is devastated. She worries day and night about her mother and has been watching her mom fall apart. Rumer actually reached out to Ashton on several occasions and he just blew her off. He either wouldn’t answer or he’d say he’d help but nothing would happen.' Demi and Rumer are said to have spent plenty of time together and Willis is said to have been concerned about her mother's behaviour. Speaking about a trip to Turks and Caicos a source said: 'Demi was dancing like crazy, she wasn’t acting like a mom … it was wild. She was dancing and Rumer looked mortified and completely embarrassed. It was really shocking.' Earlier this month Demi and Rumer spent an evening at The Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. Reaching out: Rumer is said to have been so concerned about her mother she has tried to contact Ashton, the actor is currently in Sao Paulo A source told People: 'When [Moore] first arrived, she kept to herself ... but she started loosening up and getting into party mode. She seemed really happy to be out with her daughter's friends. The magazine also claims the actress was flirting with 90210 star Ryan Rottman. '[Moore] found ways to touch him all night, and at one point when he was in front of her, she was grinding on his butt,' the source told People, 'His shirt came unbuttoned, and she started tickling his bare chest playfully.' Moore has appeared increasingly frail in recent months, following allegations in September that Kutcher had a hotel tryst with 22-year-old Sara Leal on the same night as the couple's sixth wedding anniversary. In November, Moore announced that she would be ending their marriage.

The UK could become a hub for smuggling the herbal stimulant khat,

08:40 The UK could become a hub for smuggling the herbal stimulant khat 0 Comments

European police and politicians have warned. The Netherlands is the latest country to outlaw the sale of the plant, which is now banned in sixteen EU member states and Norway. Khat is freely sold in the UK and observers say the UK's isolated stance could make it the main base for Europe's khat trade. The British government has commissioned a new review of khat use. Until announcing its ban earlier this month, the Netherlands was similar in its stance to the UK where the East African plant is legally imported, sold and consumed. In 2005 the UK Home Office commissioned a report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) which concluded that "the evidence of harm resulting from khat use is not sufficient to recommend its control." In the UK, the drug is mainly consumed by people of Somali and Yemeni origin and the ACMD report concluded there was "no evidence of its spread to the general population." 'Social harm' Gerd Leers, Immigration and Integration Minister in the Netherlands, says he already has enough evidence of social harm caused by the drug to support a ban, which will come into force from June this year. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote Those who argue against a ban don't know about the community and they can't see all the damage it is doing to families and individuals” Muna Hassan Sister of khat user Mark Lancaster, MP for Milton Keynes North, argued that khat should be outlawed in Britain in a speech he made in Parliament earlier this month. But others say that making khat a controlled drug could lead to further problems. "What worries me about the Netherlands is that once these legal Somali traders are criminalised and have their livelihood taken away from them - what are they going to do next?" says Axel Klein, an expert witness for the ACMD's 2005 report. "They have contacts, trading skills, financial acumen so it is very possible that they will start trafficking the khat and then diversify into harder drugs. "This is our main concern when looking at the UK as well. "Do we really want to create the opportunity for an organised crime syndicate to start-up from nowhere with long term consequences by banning khat?" Continue reading the main story Find out more Hear more on The Report on Radio 4 on Thursday, 26 January at 20:00 GMT. You can listen again on the Radio 4 website or by downloading the podcast Listen to The Report on the Radio 4 website Download The Report podcast Explore The Report archive Mr Klein argues that khat is chewed mainly by older men in the Somali diaspora and the practice will die out - rather like snuff has done in the UK. But British-Somali Muna Hassan is not so sure. She blames khat use for inducing her younger brother's paranoid schizophrenia. He has lived in the UK since the age of five and had a bright future ahead of him, studying at university, when he then started chewing khat. "The Somali community has a unified voice on this," she told Radio 4's The Report. "Those who argue against a ban don't know about the community and they can't see all the damage it is doing to families and individuals. We know," she says. 'Dangerous' drug Eleni Palazidou, a psychiatrist who has worked with the Somali community in east London, agrees. "For me it is a drug - no two ways about it. "Every patient that I have seen who chews khat, I have seen them worsening and it is impossible to get their condition under control. Continue reading the main story What is khat? Khat refers to the leaves and shoots of the Catha edulis - a flowering shrub native to the Horn of Africa and Arabian peninsula Khat has many names including 'qat' (Yemen), 'jad' or 'chad' (Ethiopia, Somalia), 'miraa' (Kenya) or 'marungi' (Uganda, Rwanda). Khat leaves are chewed and contain stimulant substances that have amphetamine-like properties. Khat contains cathine and cathinone which, as isolated substances, are banned in the UK, but in khat leaves are not. It is chewed mainly by men in khat houses known as Mafrishes, though there is anecdotal evidence of growing use by teenagers and women. In the UK it is an informal, legal trade so it is impossible to know exactly how much is imported. Estimates range from 10 to 60 tonnes a week. "What khat does to the brain is similar to amphetamines. I think heavy, regular use is dangerous. I have no doubt that khat has a major adverse effect on people's mental health and does cause psychological problems," she told The Report. The Netherlands' ban has been welcomed by Dutch citizens like Dagmar Oudshoorn, mayor of the village of Uithoorn, near Schipol, who says the khat trade has been a blight on her community. "Four times a week 200 cars arrive with people who want to buy khat and they fight - we had stabbing incidents - and they leave rubbish everywhere. "We want to refurbish our business area but because of the bad environment we lose investors and customers," she told the BBC. Neighbouring states, where the drug has long been illegal, have also put pressure on the Dutch government in The Hague because they have seen a sharp increase in khat trafficking from Holland. For Europe's Nordic countries, much of the khat arrives by truck across the Oresund bridge between Denmark and southern Sweden. Swedish police estimate that 200 tonnes is smuggled into the country each year, with a street value of 150 euros (£125/$190) a kilo. Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote With the Eurotunnel you can get from London to Malmo in 15 hours. Britain will become the new hub in Europe that is for certain” Detective Stefan Kalman Swedish police After years of lobbying, Swedish MEP Olle Schmidt admits he was pleasantly surprised by the Dutch move to ban khat. "There is a shift in the Netherlands. They no longer want to be seen as a liberal country where tourists can come to smoke pot and buy drugs. "Now, of course, khat will come more extensively to the London airports and then be smuggled to the rest of Europe, because you can earn a lot of money with this drug," warns Mr Schmidt. Stefan Kalman, a senior detective in the Swedish drug squad, says customs officers catch smugglers on the border several times a week. "The couriers often have accidents because they drive so fast", he says. "Sometimes they shoot past the border controls without stopping because they are nervous - khat is quite bulky and you cannot conceal it like other drugs." They are also in a rush because the drug has to be consumed when it is fresh. Cathinone, one of the psychoactive agents in khat leaves, is highly unstable and loses its potency within three days of harvesting. With the door slammed shut in Holland, smugglers will turn to the UK despite the longer distances says Detective Kalman. "With the Eurotunnel you can get from London to Malmo in 15 hours. Britain will become the new hub in Europe that is for certain." The British government has commissioned a new review of khat use - the date of its publication is still to be confirmed.

Cannabis taxation: a win-win all round, Richard Branson tells MPs

23:52 Cannabis taxation: a win-win all round , Richard Branson tells MPs 0 Comments

The market for cannabis in Britain should be regulated and taxed, and responsibility for drug policy moved from the Home Office to the health department, Sir Richard Branson has told MPs. The Virgin Group head said the 20% of police time and £200m spent on giving criminal sentences to 70,000 young people for possession of illegal drugs in Britain each year would be better spent going after the criminal gangs at the centre of the drugs trade. "It's win-win all round,'' he told the Commons home affairs select committee. Asked about his personal history of drug use, Branson replied: "I would say 50% of my generation has smoked cannabis. I would say 75% of my children's generation has smoked cannabis … If I was smoking cigarettes, I would be very worried." He said that in his own Virgin companies he did not think staff who were found to be taking drugs should be dismissed but instead treated as having a problem, and helped. "There are many people in companies with drink problems or smoking problems," he said. Branson was part of a global commission on drug policy, which includes five ex-presidents and Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general. The body concluded last year that the war on drugs had failed and called for experiments in decriminalisation. He was the first witness at the Commons home affairs inquiry into drug policy. Branson argued that the policy of switching responsibilty for drug policy from the Home Office to the health department had worked in Portugal, where nobody had been jailed for using or possessing drugs in the last 10 years. Portugal was the only country that had decriminalised all drugs. As a result of treating drug users rather than imprisoning them, he said, heroin use and heroin-related deaths had fallen by more than 50%. In Britain, 100,000 young people a year were arrested for drug offences, and 75,000 of them were given criminal records, which meant they had problems in later life in travelling to some countries, he said. "If next year those 100,000 people are not prosecuted for taking drugs, but they are helped, I think the commission would welcome Britain doing that." He said if the sale of cannabis and other drugs were regulated and taxed, then the quality of what was being taken could be controlled. He contrasted the lack of deaths in Portugal with the recent deaths of three teenagers in Britain from taking tablets they wrongly thought were ecstasy, citing the fatalities as an example of the consequences of failing to regulate the illegal market. The Virgin chief admitted he had not read the UK Home Office drug policy statement, which emphasises diverting drug users from prison, but said the 100,000 arrests each year were evidence the policy was not working in practice. Pressed by some Conservative MPs on the committee to come down on one side or the other in the debate over methadone maintenance versus abstinence, Branson said he was no expert, and it was for the MPs to establish what worked best.

Nepal: Drugs smuggled into US inside prayer wheels

09:18 Nepal: Drugs smuggled into US inside prayer wheels 0 Comments

Police in Nepal have arrested a U.S. man who allegedly was in a ring that smuggled illegal drugs into the United States by concealing them in Buddhist prayer wheels and metal bowls and sending them via Federal Express. Police narcotics official Navraj Silwal says Kristian Peter Stiegler, 45, was detained while trying to send 2.5 pounds (1.14 kilograms) of hashish and 2 pounds (900 grams) of suspected opium. If tests confirm the opium, Stiegler could face up to 20 years in prison. However, Silwal says Stiegler will likely get a lighter sentence because he is cooperating in the investigation into the alleged drug ring. Silwal says Stiegler has lived in Nepal and India for three years and is suspected of sending several drug shipments.

Drugs mule sentences cut in new sentencing guidelines

09:02 Drugs mule sentences cut in new sentencing guidelines 0 Comments

People who smuggle drugs will face more lenient sentences if they have been exploited, under new guidelines. The change in approach on "drug mules" is in the first comprehensive rules on drugs offences from the Sentencing Council for England and Wales. The council said judges should distinguish between those who have been exploited by gangs and criminals heavily involved in the drugs trade. But it said large-scale drugs producers should expect longer jail terms. The council's role is to provide judges and magistrates with a set of broad guidelines so that sentencing is more consistent across England and Wales. Last year the council carried out research into 12 women convicted of drug mule offences, all of whom received sentences of between 15 months and 15 years. The majority of the women said they did not know that they had been carrying drugs when they arrived in the UK, although some admitted being suspicious. In most cases they had carried the drugs for someone they trusted or feared what would happen if they did not do so. Continue reading the main story DRUGS SUPPLY SCENARIOS Guidelines on sentencing for supply vary due to circumstances Example one: Student club-goer guilty of supply of 20 ecstasy tablets to himself and a friend. He buys off a regular dealer recreation and there is no financial gain. Sentencing starting point is 18 months - but can be as low as a community order or as high as three years. Example two: Police stop man in a car who is carrying cocaine worth up to £6,500. They find more drugs trade evidence at home and incriminating messages on a mobile phone. Suspect is involved in commercial-scale selling for profit. Sentencing starting point is eight and a half years. Under the new guideline, which comes into force on 27 February, the starting point for sentencing drug mules guilty of carrying crack, heroin and cocaine will be six years, before judges take into account aggravating and mitigating factors. Those found guilty of a much higher level of involvement in the drugs trade will face longer sentences. Those coerced into smuggling small amounts of Class C drugs, such as ketamine, could be given a community order. The councils said there would be no change in sentences for the key offences of possession and supply, but dealers who provide drugs to under-18s should receive longer sentences. Class A drug street dealers should expect a starting point of four and a half years. Lord Justice Hughes, deputy chairman of the Sentencing Council, said: "Drug offending has to be taken seriously. Drug abuse underlies a huge volume of acquisitive and violent crime and dealing can blight communities. "Offending and offenders vary widely so we have developed this guideline to ensure there is effective guidance for sentencers and clear information for victims, witnesses and the public on how drug offenders are sentenced. "This guideline reinforces current sentencing practice. Drug dealers can expect substantial jail sentences." The guidelines, which applies to magistrates and the crown courts, covers the most common drugs offences - importing, production, supply, possession and allowing a premises to be used for these offences. Chief Constable Tim Hollis, in charge of drugs policy for the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "The Council has clearly given a good deal of consideration to the new guidelines and has produced a document which provides the police and our criminal justice partners with consistent guidance yet still provides the courts with flexibility to deal with each case on its own merits where appropriate." Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust campaign group, said in the light of the guidelines it "calls on the government to review the sentences of all those who have been trafficked into acting as drug mules and are currently languishing for long years in British jails".

Caught with six kilos of cannabis and you could still avoid jail

08:58 Caught with six kilos of cannabis and you could still avoid jail 0 Comments

Sentencing guidelines issued today say that offenders who play a “limited” role in gangs could face community orders for intent to supply Class A drugs. Dealers caught with 6kg of cannabis, valued at £17,000 and enough to fill 30,000 joints or keep an average user in supply for 17 years, could also avoid prison. The sentences on drug “mules” will be cut substantially, while workers in small cannabis “farms” could escape custody. Courts will be told for the first time to reduce sentences for cannabis possession if it is being used for medicinal purposes. The guidelines maintain tough sentences for gang leaders and those who sell directly to the public, especially to children.

Drug Users Could Avoid Jail Under New Guidelines Published By The Sentencing Council For Judges

05:24 Drug Users Could Avoid Jail Under New Guidelines Published By The Sentencing Council For Judges 0 Comments

Friends socially sharing drugs and those using cannabis for medicinal purposes could escape jail under new guidelines for judges. Drug runners and small-time dealers caught with heroin, cocaine or thousands of pounds worth of cannabis could also avoid prison. Instead, low-level operatives caught with 6kg of cannabis, 20 ecstasy tablets, or five grams of heroin or cocaine are likely to receive a community sentence. The guidelines, which come into force on February 27, are expected to be met with mixed reaction. They state a prison sentence may not be necessary for people who supply small amounts of narcotics to share with their friends for no personal gain. They also urge judges for the first time to reduce sentences for cannabis possession if it is being used "to help with a diagnosed medical condition". It is the first time all courts in England and Wales have been given a comprehensive guideline setting out how the role of the offender and the quantity of drugs should influence sentencing. So-called drug "mules", often women forced or tricked into the crime, could face a starting point of six years if deemed to be playing a "lesser role" in bringing up to 1kg of heroin or cocaine into the country. This is compared to the 11-year starting point if the offender was one of the leading figures. Those caught with small amounts of cannabis could avoid jail But the Sentencing Council said offenders who were employed by someone else to import or export drugs regularly for profit would still face tough sentences of up to life in prison. It said tougher sentences could also be handed down to key players guilty of producing drugs on a large scale. Offenders in a leading role in the production or cultivation of 11lb (5kg) of heroin or cocaine or tens of thousands of ecstasy tablets could face up to 16 years in prison. Those producing industrial quantities of cannabis for commercial purposes could also face up to 10 years in jail. Anyone dealing to those aged under 18 would also face tougher penalties. Under the guidelines, street dealers will still face jail, with those playing a key role in selling class A drugs facing a starting point of four and a half years, with up to 16 years for a single incident, depending on the quantity of drugs involved. 

Studying Abroad In Spain Is Filled With Options And Adventure

14:13 Studying Abroad In Spain Is Filled With Options And Adventure 0 Comments

Students who are keen on exploring the world should consider studying abroad in The country. Spain is a beautiful country that offers a ton of study abroad programs. If you dream of to be able to experience a foreign culture, choosing to study in Spain is a good option. There are a myriad of academic programs available with Spain. Students can decide on programs that are situated Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Valencia, and a lot of other cities across Southern spain. Students can opt to adopt classes in humanities, terminology, liberal arts, social sciences, and many other subjects. Choosing to study in Spain gives you the opportunity to take in its history and beautiful scenery. Here you can find . Two of the most popular Spanish cities to study in are Madrid together with Barcelona. Madrid's natives describe their own city as having a little bit of everything. Madrid is known for its amazing art scene and utilizes eating as an art. It is not unusual to enjoy upwards of three hours on lunch and dinner. Madrid plays host to various concerts and plays on a daily basis as well. Madrid is the Las vegas of Spain since that it is also known as the city that for no reason sleeps. If you don't head encountering a traffic jam at three every day on a Friday, Madrid may be the place for you. Barcelona is just as popular as Madrid for students who wish to study abroad. Barcelona is known for at the forefront in fashion and offering visitors a great experience. If you is a fan of art, Barcelona can be a must see. You can purchase artistic pieces from Gaudi, Dali, and Picasso plus all kinds of other artists. Barcelona offers individuals a specialized Spanish experience. Students that are looking to spend their summer abroad may also do so in Spain. There are many different alternatives for students who want to spend a couple of weeks to a couple of months through the summer. Spain offers many intensive language courses through the summer, where you can immerse yourself in the language while enjoying Spain's hot summer and visiting their own gorgeous beaches. This is a fantastic way to learn the spanish language in a shortened time frame. If you're looking to complete an internship implementingwithin your college program, why don't you choose to complete it the country of Spain? Students can apply for a number of different internships through that Academic Programs International, Forum-Nexus Examine Abroad, and InterSchool Southern spain, just to name several. Most internships qualify with regard to college credit and supply you with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience that you can take with you for a lifetime. Individuals who ? re interested in traveling in foreign countries, but don't want to take college level courses can enroll into a volunteer program that will take you to the country of Spain. You will take in the beautiful architecture, beaches, and culture while working to help others. One well-known volunteer program is COINED World, where students can volunteer in Barcelona with little ones, elderly, or the community as a whole.

Addicts die after smoking pain-relief patches

22:14 Addicts die after smoking pain-relief patches 0 Comments

”This is not acceptable. We have to put a stop to these deaths considering the fact that these patches are in circulation. All of society has to lend a hand,” said Ingmar Nilja of the Halland police to Sveriges Radio (SR). The patches are manufactured to be used by cancer patients suffering from chronic pain. They are made to give off the right dose of fentanyl every hour. The addicts, however, get the full dose in one go by eating or – more often - smoking the patch through a bong pipe. According to experts, the incorrect use of the patch is extremely dangerous, giving users a dose that can be a hundred times more potent than heroin. “Many who use this stuff, use it instead of heroin. But it is not a substitute, it is much stronger. And it doesn't give a buzz either, it doesn't relax the user like heroin does. It is simply toying with death,” Kaj Knudsen, specialist and drugs expert at the Gothenburg Sahlgrenska hospital, told daily Dagens Nyheter (DN) earlier this year. Six people in Halland County died in 2011 from using the drug and several others have been admitted at the hospital in Gothenburg after suffering from side effects caused by smoking or eating the patches. Since the beginning of January, police in Halland have received two more reports of fentanyl-related deaths. According to police, one of the victims had a legal prescription for the drug. The use of fentanyl by addicts seems to still be limited to southern parts of the country and the west coast, according to Stewe Alm, analyst at the National Bureau of Investigation (Rikskriminalen). “From our perspective it is important to see what can be done to stop the handful of doctors who prescribe these and other narcotic-classified products too generously,” Alm told news agency TT. Police in southern Sweden are now classifying fentanyl use as the currently most serious drug problem in the area. “Most of the eight that we suspect died because of the fentanyl patches had a history of drug problems. That is a common denominator,” said Nilja to SR.

A grisly event in South East Asia highlights the region's developing meth-driven drug war

04:09 A grisly event in South East Asia highlights the region's developing meth-driven drug war 0 Comments

The Mekong River in Thailand Photo via By Jed Bickman 10/11/11 | Share Uppers Rock the World New Life for Asia’s Golden Triangle China Unveils Radical New Approach to Drug Treatment Vietnam's Rehab Gulag Revealed Spinning to Cambodia! In one of the grisliest incidents of the drug war in South East Asia in recent memory, the corpses of thirteen Chinese sailors have been found by Thai authorities on the Mekong River. The victims, including two female cooks, were blindfolded, bound, and shot dead. They're believed to be the crew members of two Chinese cargo ships that were hijacked last week by Thai drug gangs—the boats were recaptured in a firefight with Thai police and 950,000 methamphetamine pills were discovered on board. It's unclear whether the meth was loaded onto the boats by the Thai gangs, or whether it was already being shipped from China. Thai military officials blame a drug trafficking ring led by 40-year-old kingpin Nor Kham—who operates out of northeast Burma and is a wanted man in both Burma and Thailand—for the attacks. Authorities speculate that the Chinese ships neglected to hand over protection money and paid the price. The Chinese government has reacted defensively, suspending cargo and passenger trips along the Mekong river. The region along the border of Burma, Laos, and Thailand—known as the “golden triangle”—is the center of methamphetamine production in Asia, although China has also produced vast amounts of meth since the 1990s. Ephedrine, the base of methamphetamine, is derived from a native Chinese herb—“mao,” AKA "yaba"—which has an important role in Chinese medicine. The UN estimates there are between 3.5 million and 20 million methamphetamine users in South East Asia: such a broad range only serves to illustrate how badly understood the problem is. In 2009, countries in South East Asia collectively reported a 250% jump in methamphetamine arrests, as well as an increasing trend of injecting methamphetamine, which leads to a corresponding jump in HIV and other diseases among users.

Doctors may strike over cuts to their pension pots

23:41 Doctors may strike over cuts to their pension pots 0 Comments

The British Medical Association, which represents 130,000 doctors and medical students, said two thirds of its members support industrial action which could cripple hospitals and GP surgeries throughout the country. The association rejected cuts to doctor’s pensions despite warning that some hospitals are so financially stretched that patient safety can no longer be guaranteed and that “accidents will happen”. Senior government figures said the reductions in their pensions were “modest” and in line with other public sector staff. A government source said: “It seems a bit rich for doctors to be complaining about cuts and patient care when they leave the NHS as millionaires.” Over the past decade, the average consultant has seen their pay rise by 54 per cent, with less qualified doctors enjoying a rise of 30 per cent. Their pay has recently been frozen, with the average GP now earning about £110,000.

Meat causes cancer. It’s been said so many times that you’d have to be an idiot not to believe it, right?

17:32 Meat causes cancer. It’s been said so many times that you’d have to be an idiot not to believe it , right? 0 Comments

 The latest confirmation of this apparent common sense was a report published last week in the British Journal of Cancer Research. The authors, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, brought together 11 studies - published between 1993 and 2011 - that assessed the risk of pancreatic cancer from eating red meat and ‘processed’ meat. From this meta-analysis, the authors found that red meat increased the risk of pancreatic cancer for men, but not for women, and that the risk of pancreatic cancer rose by 19 per cent for every 50 grams of processed meat consumed. The simple claim that ‘processed meat causes cancer’ was widely reported after the study was published. However, it would be wrong to assume that such claims about risk are all they are cracked up to be. First, there is the question of whether the association claimed is real. Epidemiological studies like the ones brought together by the Swedish researchers will typically find out what participants ate for a day or a week using a questionnaire or a food diary. Then, the participants will be checked some years later to see who has succumbed to the disease in question. Did people correctly remember what they ate? And did they accurately recall how much they consumed? It would be unusual for anyone to have weighed the food, so the amounts could be inaccurate, too. What else did the participants eat? Did they change their eating habits in subsequent months or years? And what the hell is ‘processed’ meat, anyway? Unless you slaughter your own animals, your meat will have been processed to one degree or another. At what point does meat that has been processed become ‘processed meat’? There are so many ways in which the crude tools of epidemiology could screw up the result of studies like this that it is normal for fairly small risks - like the 19 per cent increase in this case - to be treated with a massive pinch of salt. The authors of this study even note: ‘All studies controlled for age and smoking, but only a few studies adjusted for other potential confounders such as body mass index and history of diabetes.’ Secondly, even if the association is not simply a product of the way in which the study was designed, we still don’t know if correlation equals causation. The best we could say is that the kind of people who like to eat processed meat are a bit more likely to get pancreatic cancer than the kind of people who don’t eat meat at all. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist - or a professor of epidemiology - to realise that vegetarians live, on average, quite different lifestyles from people who tuck into burgers and kebabs. Thirdly, even if this study has somehow managed to be supremely accurate and found a real risk, we have to ask if such an increase is of any practical significance in the real world. Cancer Research UK gives the following statistics on pancreatic cancer: for the UK, the age-standardised rate is 9.3 cases per 100,000 people per year - roughly one person in every 10,000. So even those people who really like processed meat and eat 150g per day would have about a 50 per cent increased risk - or about 15 cases per 100,000. To express that in terms of odds, instead of it being 10,000-to-one that these kebab-and-burger lovers develop pancreatic cancer in any particular year, it would be 6,667-to-one. So, to sum up: the association between processed meat and pancreatic cancer is so weak it might well be a mirage; the increased risk might not be caused by the processed meat itself; and even if it is, the risk is so low that it’s really not worth bothering about. Yet still we are advised to consider cutting down on our red meat and processed meat consumption. Life is, frankly, too short to miss out on such tasty foods on the slim chance that we might lose a few years of life in old age. Still, that won’t stop people being harangued anyway. A particularly unsavoury example of this appeared in Sunday’s Observer. Illiberal Liberal of the Week contender, columnist Barbara Ellen, declared that the bovine attitude of recent governments towards smokers and drinkers should apply to meat-eaters, too. Now that a precedent has been set - that people should be harangued for doing things that are legal but disapproved of by Those Who Know Better - Ellen is simply following through this logic by attacking those who like sausages, bacon and pies. Here’s the argument: people (like smokers and drinkers) who deliberately do things that are bad for them, despite being told time and again that they should not, are now lectured, restricted and even have their basic rights taken away; eating meat - and particularly ‘processed’ meat - increases your risk of getting cancer and is bad for you; therefore, people who eat meat should now be lectured, restricted and even have their basic rights taken away. This is a shocking but perfectly logical argument, if you accept the petty-authoritarian mindset that flourished under New Labour and is still going strong under the Lib-Con coalition (and, indeed, around the world). Given the tone of Ellen’s piece, you might hope that she would end by saying: ‘Of course, telling people not to eat meat is stupid - every bit as stupid as telling them not to drink or smoke or telling them not to be fat. The government should just butt out.’ Sadly, there is no note of irony anywhere. She really does want to stick it to meat-eaters. So, of the supposed risks of eating meat, Ellen declares: ‘This information has popped up regularly for years in all forms of popular media. Indeed, in this era of info overload, if you’ve never come across the “burgers and kebabs are unhealthy” revelation, one would have to presume you’ve been lying in a coma. With this in mind, isn’t it time to ask, exactly how thick, how hard to educate, are meat-eaters and why aren’t they held accountable in the same way everyone else is?’ She continues: ‘Sympathy is in short supply these days. You can’t move for people being blamed for their own miserable situations: smokers who “burden” the NHS; alcoholics who don’t “deserve” liver transplants; obese people who “should” pay more for flights. Even those poor terrified women with the faulty breast implants are said to have “brought it on themselves”. By this logic, people who’ve been regularly informed of the dangers of meat, particularly the cheap processed variety, but who continue to wolf it down should be held just as accountable.’ Now that the precedent has been set for the government to lambast those who engage in unapproved habits, it’s open season on any habit that a campaigner or columnist disapproves of. Ban it! Tax it! Make them get a prescription for it! Deny them medical care! Ellen’s article is objectionable but it only follows the remorseless logic of so many others. There is another lesson from the meat-and-cancer story: at a time when all sorts of dubious claims are made based on junk science and dodgy statistics, only some panics get wide publicity; others just pop up and disappear again in a matter of hours. The difference is that some play to an existing political or media agenda and some do not. The idea that meat causes cancer appeals to health busybodies, politicians scrabbling around for a sense of purpose, vegetarians who can’t win a moral argument about animal rights, and environmentalists who have failed to convince us that increasing the ‘human footprint’ - by wanting to eat more meat, for example - is killing the planet. It’s not quite possessed of the same force as religious fervour - do the ‘right thing’ or live in agony for eternity - but the idea that if you do something naughty like enjoy bacon then you might die in agony before your time, is the best that many such claims-makers have got going for them right now. The only proper response to this junkscience-based illiberalism is to be extremely sceptical of any such claims and to defend everyone’s right to indulge in these petty vices.

'Neurology time bomb' on the cards for NHS

12:45 'Neurology time bomb' on the cards for NHS 0 Comments

The NHS could find itself facing a "neurology time bomb" as more people develop conditions such as motor neurone disease and Parkinson's disease. According to the Neurological Alliance, which represents 70 groups and charities, the rising number of cases is being compounded by the poor quality of services. The alliance's criticisms follow a report by the National Audit Office, which questioned the level of care on offer, bringing particular attention to delays in diagnosis and muddled follow-up care. In response, the government has acknowledged that more needs to be done. Steve Ford, chair of the alliance and chief executive of Parkinson's UK, said: "The situation can only get worse. A crisis is looming but the government has its head in the sand. "When it comes to helping vulnerable people with a neurological condition, the government is floundering around in a fog of its own making." It is estimated that more than 200,000 people in the UK have long-term progressive neurological conditions, according to the BBC.

An unflinching look at drugs

08:52 An unflinching look at drugs 0 Comments

From the farm fields and jungle labs where drugs such as crack cocaine, ecstasy and hashish get their start to the front-door steps where recreational users and addicts alike have their drugs delivered, National Geographic Channel (channel 260) explores the world of Drugs Inc. The series premieres on the channel at 9pm today and includes eight unflinching new episodes that examine the business of illegal narcotics production. Drugs Inc goes inside the world of producers, traffickers, dealers, users, doctors and cops with first-person perspectives on what keeps this business in motion. It also investigates relative newcomers such as ketamine and oxycontin – designer drugs for the 21st century – and the covert industry of grand theft auto, which provides cartels with stolen vehicles customised for smuggling. Worth an estimated R1.28 trillion, the business of Drugs Inc fuels crime and violence like no other substance on the planet, turning cartel leaders into billionaires. The illegal drug industry also provides vital income to hundreds of thousands of poor workers across the globe. While some users sacrifice their lives to an addiction they can’t escape, others find drugs to be their only saving grace from physical or emotional pain almost impossible to overcome. Where should the lines be drawn in this hugely lucrative industry? The series looks at hallucinogens, once hailed as a panacea. Psychedelic drugs are at the centre of an underground movement experimenting with mind-altering substances as they explore a possible new medical frontier. Deep in the Amazon, Rob, a Wall Street broker-turned-healer, has created a free clinic of sorts, administering a highly potent narcotic known as ayahuasca to patients desperate to escape powerful trauma. Taking on others’ stress releases Rob’s own demons and a shaman must step in as Rob’s trip spirals dangerously out of control. Dimitri, a former heroin addict, helps drug users to overcome addiction by using a controversial hallucinogen called ibogaine, and encounters dangerous side effects in the process. Turning to the power of mushrooms, one family man suffering from cluster headaches contemplated suicide before finding relief in this psychedelic trip, and a Swiss physician uses LSD to help ease terminal patients’ fear of death. The deadly and addictive drug crack cocaine is the subject of another episode in which users will do anything to get their hands on it. Addicts Jeff and Alexis are desperate for its intense high – turning to burglary, drug dealing and even prostitution. Smuggling hashish from the remote Moroccan Riff Mountains to the streets of Europe is a dirty, dangerous and deadly business. A former British gangster serves as guide into this illicit underworld, visiting a secret hash-making location nestled in the mountains. The smugglers use everything from hidden car compartments to donkeys, skis and drug mules. Their aim is to be as inconspicuous as possible – and to make it out alive. Facing off at the front line of Europe’s war on drugs, customs agents near Gibraltar seize 100kg of hashish, but the huge haul barely scratches the surface. From Spain, smugglers like “Billy” strap blocks of hash to their bodies and board flights to London and European cities. While smugglers take great risks, for some users, getting the drugs is as easy as walking into a coffee shop. But despite this easy access, users still pay a heavy price – as seen at a local youth psychiatric clinic in Holland. Ecstasy marks another trail. Dubbed as Christmas morning in a pill and penicillin for the soul, ecstasy’s euphoric high is said to come with major lows. Ravers have died from it and organised crime gangs will kill for it. One of the biggest ecstasy traffickers shares how he dominated the ecstasy smuggling world, and a high-level ecstasy distributor in California outlines smuggling strategies for the 21st century. Drugs Inc joins all the dots in this fascinating and disturbing network.