drugs

Is snorting coke an art form?

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:06:07 +0100

Renowned Cuban artist Tania Bruguera surprised a Bogota audience in September when she lined up three people directly involved in the Colombian conflict for a chat. The real performance however, started when a waitress emerged with a tray of neatly organised lines of cocaine, and began offering them to members of the audience.

The guests on stage are a former guerrilla, a former paramilitary, and a victim of displacement.

Extract of a video posted on YouTube by "jepenuala".

In Colorado, cannabis grows in parks

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:40:32 +0200

When a rancher from northwest Denver went looking for lost cattle a couple of weeks ago, he stumbled upon what appeared to be a mass of weeds in the middle of a state forest. In fact, it was a mass of weed - over 5,100 plants, weighing in at over a ton.

The discovery in state park Golden Gate Canyon, is the fourth outdoor cannabis plantation in the US to be seized since the start of the summer. This most recent harvest would have raked in almost a million dollars (€670,000) in street sales. Not bad, but far from the park's record find - in August, police removed and destroyed a plantation of 14,500 plants, or 2.5 million dollars (€1.6m) of potential earnings.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office called on West Metro Task Force, an agency of forest guards specialised in the prevention of drug trafficking, to dispose of the goods. A Black Hawk helicopter was even called in to transport the load, which was then turned to embers. Proud of his treasure trove find, the Sheriff's Office even sent photos of the farm to the local newspaper (see below), and described the tent, equipped with sleeping bag, clothes, and food, which was found on the site.

Possession of cannabis in small quantities is not penalised in the state of Colorado. A plantation however, is not looked upon so kindly.

UPDATE (09.10.19 - 1pm): the US Justice Department has announced that federal drug agents will no longer pursue pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers in states that allow medical marijuana, under new legal guidelines to be issued by the Obama administration today. Read more here.

'Skins' parties, even trashier than Woodstock? Really?

Team Observers — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:55:46 +0200

Photo: scene from the teen series "Skins"

If you've never heard of "Skins" Parties, chances are you're a dinosaur of 25 or over. Directly inspired by the British teen drama "Skins", the parties have been described as the craziest thing in French nightlife, where girls are loose and drugs roam free. But are they really all they are made up to be, or have they turned into commercialized gigs?

A Facebook page for an upcoming "Skins" party in Paris promises a "No Limits" bash, where anything goes. In the series, wild parties were a way for the teenage protagonists to escape their boring, frustrating lives. In the trashed homes and deserted warehouses imagined by the show's creators, lascivious tongues trade ecstasy pills, clothes come off and alcohol flows.

Online clips of the fictitious orgies inevitably prompted expressions of envy from teenage fans. Youths — first in Britain, then in France — began recreating the show's atmosphere in their own parties.

At closer inspection, however, the so-called "Skins" parties taking place in France today are a far cry from the uncontrolled and under-age get-togethers in the series. Although some die-hard "Skins" fans still organize romps at home when their parents aren't around, most larger events have merged into tightly supervised blow-outs that require months of organisation.

Sponsors work hard to keep up an underground feel (a "Skins" party organiser contacted by FRANCE 24 refused to answer our questions because we didn't fit their desired "image"), yet the series' initial influence seems to be fading.

Guinea-Bissau leaderless after gangland killing

Team Observers — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:57:44 +0100

The presidential palace in Bissau. Posted on Flickr by Xavier Hinnekint.

Guinea-Bissau awoke on Monday morning without a president. Head of State Joao Bernando Vieira was gunned down as he tried to escape from a group of soldiers who attacked his home. Our Observers from Guinea-Bissau speak about the tragic events of the day.

President Vieira, nicknamed "Nino", had governed the country for 23 years. In 2005 he was re-elected as president of this tiny West African country, nine years after a military coup left him stranded and running for safety. For the past two days, an eerie atmosphere of gangland killing had reigned over the capital city of Bissau. The night before Vieira's assassination, the army's chief of staff - and long-time rival of President Vieira - General Tagme Na Waie, was killed in a bomb attack.

Supporters of President "Nino" in Guinea-Bissau. Photo Xavier Hinnekint posted on Flickr.

Guinea-Bissau is a small country of 1.7 million inhabitants. A former Portuguese colony that gained its independence in 1974, it remains very poor and heavily in debt. The country is also suspected of acting as a crossroads for drug traffic from South America. Yet, the country appeared to be on course for a transition towards democracy. Indeed, European Union observers deemed that the 2005 elections, which re-instated President Vieira, were "free" and "fair".

A "deadly game" on the streets of Dhaka

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:34:09 +0100

As antiretroviral treatments continue to make progress, the AIDS scare is finally calming down in the West. On the other side of the world however, the virus continues to kill. In Bangladesh, it's drug users who are falling prey to this devastating disease. Our Observer in Dhaka sent us these arresting images.

Ever since the first case of HIV was reported back in 1989, AIDS has been a quietly growing but deadly problem in Bangladesh - and in particular in Dhaka. Although the country as a whole is deemed by the UN to be "low-risk", the disease is spreading at a worrying rate among one section of society: intravenous drug addicts who reuse dirty needles in the urban slums of the capital. According to UNAIDS statistics, the number of HIV-positive drug users more than doubled between 2001 and 2005. Health experts warn that the risk of an epidemic is increased by that fact that many of the addicts also admit paying for sex - and only 10 percent say they always use a condom. Our Observer in Bangladesh has been documenting the plight of these people for the past three years. Here is what he found: a "deadly game" on the streets of Dhaka.

£1m campaign to stop British teens from taking coke

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:04:44 +0100

The UK government has launched a £1m hard-hitting campaign in the hope of warning British teenagers off cocaine. But a 16-year-old in the country tells us it won't stop her from using the drug.

Five percent of 16 - 24-year-olds use cocaine in the UK, and overall, the numbers of people taking the drug have doubled in the past decade according to British Crime Survey. In an attempt to stop teenagers from looking up to icons like Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty, the British Home Office has launched a £1 million (€1.15m) campaign fronted by a dead dog. A drugs mule brought back to life, "Pablo" goes on a gruesome mission to find out the truth about cocaine. A few heart seizure, personality disorders and bloody noses later, Pablo comes to the conclusion that cocaine is not a good idea. But will he manage to convince 15-year-old Brits the same thing?

Cannabis: the best cure for a headache?

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:57:34 +0200

Posted on Flickr by "Marylanders 4 Safe Access", an association that defends therapeutic cannabis use in Maryland.

Cannabis is already used as a pain-reliever in several countries, but only for people undergoing treatment for serious illnesses. Now, a British researcher has proved that the drug is also an efficient solution for chronic pain like arthritis. The news has reignited the debate over whether to legalise cannabis for therapeutic means.

Cannabis as a curative solution is tolerated in various American states, in Canada and in Australia. In 2003 Holland was the first country to authorise marijuana-based medicines. This "medical cannabis", sold on prescription, alleviates the side effects of chemotherapy - for example, it creates an appetite. But for the first time, it's been proved in a study published in the Pain review that cannabis can also be used to ease chronic pain, or long-term pain which doesn't react to usual treatment.

The newspaper ready to take on the traffickers

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:14:08 +0200

One of our Observers in Colombia reacts to the return of El Espectador, an independent newspaper which, according to him, is capable of criticising Colombia's political and social elites and is not afraid of exposing their links to the drugs trade. The paper's return is a welcome relief for the daily Colombian press, which until now has bowed under pressure from the nation's powerful narco industry.

A users’ guide to making cocaine

Julien — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:56:33 +0200

If you're trekking across the Colombian mountains we'd strongly recommend a visit to a "lab" - or a shed - where for a few pesos, farmers will tell you how to make cocaine.

A bit of hash with your Viagra sergeant?

Julien — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:42:54 +0100

An insight into the daily life of American soldiers in Iraq. In this video, filmed from the top of an army vehicle, backstreet vendors try to peddle Viagra and hashish to the soldiers.