(FOX40.COM) — California Highway Patrol officers arrested a man after a traffic stop led to the discovery of over 500 grams of fentanyl, 150 grams of meth, 50 grams of heroin, 50 grams of Xanax, and 20 grams worth of “unknown pills.”
According to the agency, the man, 35, was driving west in a silver Honda on Interstate 80 near San Francisco when CHP officers initiated the stop. The stop was for a mechanical violation, CHP added.
A K9 helped CHP officers uncover a massive drug bust in Northern California on Monday (Credit: CHP)
Upon contacting the driver, CHP learned that the man was unlicensed and detained him before a K9 searched the vehicle.
As the K9 searched, officers located “a large amount” of packaged narcotics, which revealed the following:
511 grams of fentanyl
158 grams of meth
73 grams of heroin
80 grams of “suspected Xanax”
20 grams of “unknown pills”
CHP said a loaded gun was also discovered in their search. The driver, a San Lorenzo resident, was booked into a Northern California jail for multiple felony drug-related charges.
Have you ever grabbed a bottle of Tylenol from your medicine cabinet, discovered that it expired two years ago and wondered whether you can still take it?
You really shouldn’t, cautioned Robert Frankil, a pharmacist and executive director of the Philadelphia Association of Retail Druggists, which represents about 250 independently-owned pharmacies in Pennsylvania.
“At that expiration date, it’s expected to be 100% or nearly 100% potent, and after that expiration date, it will begin to lose its potency slowly,” Frankil said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring drug companies to put expiration dates on over-the-counter and prescription medications in 1979. Pharmaceutical companies must conduct comprehensive testing on how a drug breaks down over time and in different environments to establish a medication’s shelf life. Medications can be “less effective or risky due to a change in chemical composition or a decrease in strength” past their expiration dates, according to the FDA.
Frankil advised people not to take over-the-counter medications after their expiration dates, because the medications do not hold their “stability,” Frankil said. “They don’t become dangerous. They just become less effective after the expiration date.”
With prescription drugs, such as antidepressants, it is especially important to observe expiration dates, Frankil said.
“If you’re talking about something like depression, you want to make sure your medication is potent, so I would never mess around with a drug that’s treating a chronic ailment – if it was past its expiration date,” Frankil said.
Some research, including a 2019 systematic review of studies, has found that many medications can be used beyond their expiration dates. “It was not uncommon that the actual shelf-life exceeded the manufacturer assigned one by three- or four-fold,” the 2019 literature review concluded.
But Frankil said he, personally, would not take any medication past its expiration date.
However, he said that “… if it’s either that or nothing, and you wake up at two in the morning with a bad headache,” taking a common analgesic like Tylenol that is less than a year past its expiration date would be OK.
Frankil recommended grinding up unused, expired medications and throwing them out with the garbage, rather than flushing them down the toilet, which can pollute water and unintentionally expose people to medications. Burying medications in containers of coffee grounds before dumping them in the trash is another option. Also, some pharmacies have medication disposal packages, which also are available on Amazon.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has a locator for collection sites where people may dispose of certain drugs, such as opioids.
In order to address the increasing number of overdose deaths related to prescription opioids and illicit drugs, Orange County has engaged with the Centers for Disease Control and recently was awarded a grant funded by the CDC to implement its Stop Overdose campaigns locally.
The series of campaigns focuses on four key areas: the dangers of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, the risks and consequences of mixing drugs (polysubstance use), the lifesaving power of naloxone, and the importance of reducing stigma around recovery and treatment options. The messaging highlights drug-use trends and encourages harm-reduction practices.
“We worked with CDC staff to determine the best messages for our community, and they helped us identify our priorities,” explained Dr. Thomas Hall, director, Orange County Drug-Free Coalition. “The campaigns are based on best-practice marketing strategies, and the messages are simple and direct. Each message has an action associated with the information presented.”
The connecting feature of the campaigns is the Stop Overdose website, which was launched as a resource library for people who use drugs and their loved ones. Each subpage on the website features campaign messaging, support data and resources for the intended audience – those who use drugs between the ages of 18-34.
“There’s a big stigma attached to addiction, so we need to get specific messages out to people who use illicit drugs, including that the community offers access to free medicine that reverses opioid overdoses and free treatment,” asserted Megan Giddens, senior program manager, Orange County Drug-Free Office. “This campaign really helps get these messages to its intended audience.”
Three hundred people die of a drug overdose every day in this country, and the availability of illicit fentanyl significantly increases the likelihood of opioid overdoses and overdose deaths. In our community and across the nation, deaths related to mixing fentanyl with other drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamines, are most prominent.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration reported 7 out of every 10 pills seized by the agency contain a lethal dose of fentanyl, yet drug users may not know the risk of fentanyl being present,” said Dr. Hall. “Raising awareness of these risks is a priority for Orange County, and the Drug-Free Coalition is committed to expanding harm reduction strategies to reduce drug-related deaths in our community.”
Giddens agreed the priority is saving lives. “We have high overdose rates in this region, so Stop Overdose is a critical education piece,” she said. “We want to be proactive, and this represents an effective preventive measure.”
PISCATAWAY, N.J., May 7, 2024 (Newswire.com)
– Teenagers are less likely to drink, smoke or use drugs when their parents keep tabs on their activities–but not necessarily because kids are more likely to be punished for substance use, suggests a new study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
Researchers found that, contrary to common belief, parents’ “monitoring” does not seem to boost the odds of catching kids using substances. However, when kids simply are aware their parents are monitoring behavior, they avoid trying alcohol or drugs in the first place.
It is the fear of being caught, rather than actually being punished.
Many studies have found that adolescents are less likely to use substances when they have parents who monitor–meaning that parents are aware of their kids’ activities, know their friends and know their whereabouts when they are not at home.
The assumption has been that monitoring works because parents are more likely to catch substance use and make sure there are consequences–grounding their kids or taking away their smartphones, for example, said William Pelham, lead researcher on the study. That, in turn, might keep kids from making the same mistake twice.
But it appears that assumption is wrong, said Pelham, an assistant adjunct professor of psychiatry at UCSD.
Instead, he explained, the new findings suggest that monitoring teenagers can reduce their chances of using alcohol or drugs simply by making them think twice, whether or not parents succeed in catching them.
The results are based on survey responses from over 4,500 11- to 15-year-olds from 21 communities across the United States. Participants were asked about their substance use in the past month, including whether their parents found out about it. They also completed a standard questionnaire on parental monitoring (how often their parents knew their whereabouts or asked about their plans for the day, for instance).
Overall, 3.6% of kids said they had used alcohol or drugs in the past month, and there was no evidence that parents’ monitoring increased their likelihood of finding out about those instances.
In contrast, some kids said there were times in the past month that they planned or had the chance to drink or use drugs, but they chose not to out of fear their parents would find out. If not for those second thoughts, Pelham’s team found, substance use would have been 40% higher in the study group as a whole.
Understanding why monitoring works is important, Pelham said, in order to give parents more specific advice on how to do it. These findings suggest that it might not be necessary to catch kids in the act of substance use: If they know their parents are keeping track of them, that might be enough.
However, that may not always apply, Pelham pointed out. This study focused on younger adolescents who were not heavy substance users. When kids have serious substance use issues, negative consequences might become more important.
Cannabis advocates in Colorado cheered the Biden Administration’s reported move to reclassify marijuana and said the decision likely would reduce businesses’ tax burden significantly.
Industry leaders cautioned that such a move — if finalized — would not resolve some major challenges facing the industry, such as limited access to banking. But they pointed to the symbolic importance of preparations by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to downgrade the substance’s drug classification.
A man pours cannabis into rolling papers as he prepares to roll a joint the Mile High 420 Festival in Civic Center Park in Denver, April 20, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Mohatt/Special to The Denver Post)
After months of talks within the agency, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is finally moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, according to a report from The Associated Press. The proposal still needs to be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, but it would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge that it has less potential for abuse compared with the country’s most dangerous drugs…
SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – On Tuesday, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma announced the results of a six-month investigation dubbed “Operation Black Ice.”
During a news conference, Lemma discussed the operation, which targeted drug trafficking activities in and near Seminole County.
According to the sheriff’s office, the investigation involved undercover agents who purchased drugs and firearms from two-time convicted felon Floyd Aikens and his associates.
Floyd Aikens, 23 (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
Deputies said that agents managed to buy over $160,000 worth of illicit items, including:
4 pounds of fentanyl
3 pounds of heroin
5 pounds of methamphetamine
4.5 pounds of “Molly”
200 grams of marijuana
10 firearms
In addition, the investigation prevented a potential “murder-for-hire plot” against an inmate by working with prison officials, and a drone operation aimed at smuggling contraband into a correctional facility was intercepted, a release from the SCSO says.
The SCSO announced that a drone operation was intercepted while trying to smuggle contraband into a correctional facility. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
The release also shows that a UPS distribution manager was arrested. He is accused of intercepting packages filled with drugs that were marked with fake addresses before personally delivering the parcels to those involved in the investigation.
On Tuesday, six search warrants were executed at homes in Seminole and Orange counties, ending with six further arrests, deputies said.
Of the 33 identified suspects in this case, 20 have now been apprehended thanks to the operation, according to the sheriff’s office.
List of 20 suspects in custody (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)List of wanted suspects (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
“This scale of this investigation exemplifies the importance of collaboration among law enforcement agencies and underscores our commitment to tackling illicit narcotics on our streets, especially fentanyl and the associated organized crime,” Lemma stated.
Public health officials are warning about the dangers of counterfeit botox products, which have been circulating and causing individuals to fall ill in several U.S. states.
As of Friday, April 18, 22 people across California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, have reported adverse reactions to a counterfeit version of Botox (botulinum toxin). All of the individuals are female, ranging in age from 25 to 59.
Symptoms of the fake botox include blurred or double vision, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, constipation, incontinence, shortness of breath, weakness and difficulty lifting one’s head following the injection of these products. The symptoms are similar to those seen when botulism, a rare and serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves and spreads to other parts of the body.
Eleven of the individuals affected have been hospitalized, and six were treated with botulism antitoxin due to concern that the counterfeit botulinum toxin had spread beyond the injection site. All but one of the individuals received the treatment for cosmetic purposes, and all victims reported receiving these injections from unlicensed or untrained individuals or in non-healthcare settings.
The issue is twofold, says Scot Bradley Glasberg, President of The Plastic Surgery Foundation— low cost products produced in the counterfeit market lack regulation and oversight, and often end up in the hands of individuals who are not properly trained to administer it. “This is not isolated to a product like Botox,” Glasberg tells TIME.
He adds that many counterfeit drugs are made abroad and smuggled into the U.S., an issue the Federal Drug Administration is working to counteract. (The CDC, FDA and several state and local health departments are investigating the source of the counterfeit Botox, but say that they appear to have been purchased from unlicensed sources, and may be “misbranded, adulterated, counterfeit, contaminated, improperly stored and transported, ineffective and/or unsafe.”)
“This is a healthcare issue. Because the cost of drugs has gone up, there’s a natural tendency to try to get them cheaper, and the way to get them cheaper is to get them from abroad,” Glasberg says.
The reported illnesses underscore the need to treat getting botox as seriously as any other medical procedure, and ensure you’re working with a trusted provider.
“Everybody thinks Botox is this easy procedure, but everything has some risks. You want to know that you’re in the proper hands,” he says.
Even Botox injections done by a professional—and with the proper drug—have their risks.
“Just injecting Botox in the wrong place has complications associated with it as well,” says Glasberg, who notes that complications can include paralysis of muscles if the Botox is injected in the wrong place.
The CDC recommends that individuals considering Botox injections confirm that a provider is licensed and trained to administer the injection and that the product was approved by FDA and obtained from a reliable source. The American Academy of Dermatology has a search tool to help patients find a board-certified provider near them.
“You shouldn’t just go to anybody you see an ad for online,” says Glasberg.
He adds that deals that seem too good to be true, just might be that. “[If] you want to skimp a little bit and save money on your car, or something like that, that’s fine, but this is your life. This is your body. It’s not an area to try to save a lot of money.”
The following arrests were made recently by local police departments. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Massachusetts’ privacy law prevents police from releasing information involving domestic and sexual violence arrests with the goal to protect the alleged victims.
LOWELL
• Leslie Carneiro, 32, homeless; warrants (failure to appear for possession of Class A drug, and receiving stolen property).
• Joshua McDermott, 41, 365 East St., Apt. D4, Tewksbury; warrant (failure to appear for vandalizing property).
• Isaac Lombardi, 44, 701 Hickory Lane, Louisville, Ky.; warrants (larceny under $1,200, conspiracy).
NASHUA, N.H.
• Erica Carmen Ramos, 40, 29 Temple St., Nashua; nonappearance in court.
• Steven Coburn, 64, 31 Yarmouth Drive, Nashua; out of town warrants.
• Kevin Gray, 32, 100 Ridgecrest Drive, Cheshire, Conn.; nonappearance in court.
• Hilario Alejandro Campos, 23, 85 Langholm Drive, Nashua; suspension of vehicle registration, driving motor vehicle after revocation/suspension.
• Oscar Verde Reyes, 34, 29 New Dunstable Road, Nashua; operation of motor vehicle without valid license, uninspected motor vehicle.
• John Meadows, 34, 21 South St., Concord, N.H.; criminal trespass.
• Brandon Paul Lavoie, 23, 60 Prescott St., Nashua; nonappearance in court.
• John Peter Wilcox, 52, no fixed address; disorderly conduct.
• Jerry Summers, 41, 46 Spring St., Apt. 14, Nashua; three counts of simple assault, criminal mischief.
• Jonathon Rogers, 36, 27 Newcastle Drive, Apt. 4, Nashua; driving motor vehicle after license revocation/suspension, driving motor vehicle without giving proof.
• Sean Buckley, 41, 10 Barker Ave., Nashua; driving under influence (second offense), disobeying an officer, operating motor vehicle with suspended/revoked license for driving while intoxicated, traffic control device violation.
• Taher Bashir, 18, 356 Laurel St., Apt. 1, Manchester, N.H.; theft by unauthorized taking ($1,001-$1,500), theft by deception ($0-$1,000), receiving stolen property, theft by unauthorized taking ($0-$1,000).
• Connor Gorman, 22, 7 Alex Circle, Nashua; two counts of simple assault.
• Larry Thompson, 43, 18 Fifield St., Nashua; violation of protection order, stalking, second-degree assault.
• Luis Antonio Fernandez Feliciano, 46, 39 Kinsley St., Apt. A, Nashua; operation of motor vehicle without valid license.
(FOX40.COM) — An 18-year-old man from Tracy and two others were recently arrested by the Tracy Police Department after the driver was found to have over 100 grams of marijuana and an unserialized gun in his possession.
Police said the man’s arrest came about after the department received a Flock Safety Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) alert for a vehicle wanted for a commercial burglary case from the San Jose Police Department.
On Thursday, around 3:45 p.m., Tracy police officers found the vehicle mentioned in the ALPR alert near the area of Parker Avenue and Lowell Avenue and conducted a “high-risk” traffic stop.
During the stop, police detained three people in the vehicle and began a search.
The vehicle search revealed 106 grams of marijuana and a “polymer non-serialized gun,” sometimes referred to as a “ghost gun.”
“After SJPD was notified, the vehicle was impounded for evidence and the 18-year-old was arrested without incident for various gun and drug-related charges, and booked into San Joaquin County Jail,” the Tracy Police Department said.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the man and woman were also discovered to have felony warrants out of Placer County and were booked into a Sacramento County jail. Video Above: Sentence handed down in Placer County fentanyl-related death
On Wednesday, deputies said two people gave them fake identities after contacting them during a “call for service.”
Two people were arrested on Wednesday and were found to have multiple drugs, drug paraphernalia, and guns in their possession. (Credit: Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office)
“Upon further investigation, a records check revealed that both the man and woman had felony warrants out of Placer County,” the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies later searched a motor home belonging to the two people where they found the guns and fentanyl.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office also posted a photo to social media that shows multiple phones, cash, and drug paraphernalia that seemed to indicate the intention of selling the fentanyl. All items were seized by deputies along with the guns and fentanyl.
According to the California Department of Public Health, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.
The state department adds that fentanyl-laced drugs are “extremely dangerous” because it is nearly impossible to tell if other drugs have been laced with the substance and can’t be detected through sight, smell, or taste.
Two Oakland residents originally from Honduras were handed multiyear prison sentences on Friday for selling fentanyl and methamphetamines in the San Francisco Tenderloin and other parts of the Bay Area, according to a Department of Justice news release published Friday.
One of the defendants, Marcos Carcamo, 25, was given a 48-month federal sentence for fentanyl and cocaine trafficking charges. At sentencing, Carcamo acknowledged that he possessed almost four pounds of fentanyl, along with a lesser amount of cocaine, which he planned to sell before he was arrested in San Francisco on Aug. 9.
Officers searched Carcamo’s Oakland home and seized methamphetamine, heroin, a firearm, ammo, a pill press for making drugs, and $59,000 in cash.
The other defendant, Raul Alexander Guisa-Ortega, 25, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for meth trafficking charges after being caught selling drugs, including fentanyl and meth, to an undercover officer on three separate occasions. When arrested Aug. 31, Guisa-Ortega admitted that knew the fentanyl he sold could be deadly, according to the release. Police found more drugs in his car and home after his arrest.
After completing their prison sentences, both men were also ordered to serve probation for an additional 3 years.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin spoke about the fentanyl crisis in a March 7 media call ahead of the State of the Union, alongside the Waukesha police chief, who attended President Joe Biden’s speech with Baldwin.
Fentanyl is an extremely powerful synthetic opioid, known for its ability to kill in small doses. The drug is commonly mixed into drugs such as heroin and cocaine, but can also be found in pressed pills and even in marijuana, police say.
PolitiFact has looked at claims regarding fentanyl and accidental overdoses before, when envelopes containing unknown substances were sent to elections officials in 2023.
According to a Nov. 10, 2023, fact-check, although fentanyl is dangerous, and it can be lethal in small doses, it must enter the bloodstream to have an effect. The drug isn’t absorbed well by the skin, meaning it must be snorted through the nose, ingested or injected with a needle.
People also cannot get sick by being in a room with powdered fentanyl, because it doesn’t easily vaporize. A source in the fact check said to cause toxicity from breathing it in, “You would probably have to be in a wind tunnel with dunes of fentanyl around you.”
But people can get sick if they touch the drug and then touch their mouth, nose or eyes.
In 2022, there were over 1,400 opioid-related deaths in Wisconsin, many of them tied to fentanyl, according to a February 2024 PolitiFact.
During the call, Baldwin made a claim that initially had us — and probably others — scratching our heads:
“We’re facing situations these days where you have to have two officers in the evidence room in case there’s an accidental (fentanyl) exposure. We are facing situations where first responders have been exposed to fentanyl at the crime scene and that is scary and we need to provide the support, the tools, the test strips, and all the training necessary to keep our first responders safe so that they can keep all of us safe.”
Why would two officers need to be present to test a drug?
Is it a safety precaution or something else?
Many agencies have policies to have two officers present during drug analysis
When we asked Baldwin’s team about the claim, press secretary Alanna Conley pointed us toward the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department, which recently shared its policies with Baldwin.
Sheriff Cory Roeseler said in an email to PolitiFact Wisconsin that several years ago someone was exposed during testing of a suspected narcotic, which ended up having fentanyl in it.
“As a result our testing procedure changed. First we started using two officers, one in the room where the drugs are being tested and one outside the room in the event that there was an exposure,” he said.
“Second we purchased a specific chamber to use to test the drugs so that it might limit any potential exposure and this chamber is vented/filtered. Lastly, we have Narcan readily available in our testing area in the event that there was an exposure where it might be needed.”
He said there have been exposures for at least one deputy, who was transporting a drug in to be processed, and another for a corrections officer, who was exposed during booking and had to be hospitalized.
The Sheboygan sheriff’s department isn’t the only agency that uses two people when narcotics are being handled.
Jim Palmer, a member of the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group, said in an email that “the practice of having two individuals work in an evidence room as a safety precaution has become increasingly common.”
He said that a second person can be used in handling certain types of dangerous evidence, according to standards created by the group. The standards also recommend the use of gloves, a respirator, a fume hood and having naloxone available.
Palmer pointed to the Madison Police Department, whose guidance takes the standards into account.
According to the department’s document on handling evidence and contraband, “the best practice is to be paired up with at least one other officer.”
“The second ‘safety officer’ will not be directly involved in the testing, handling or packaging of the drug, but can perform other support functions such as computer entries.”
Waukesha Police Capt. Dan Baumann said his department handles drugs similarly, given that so many different substances can be cut with fentanyl.
There is the evidence room, and within that, there is a smaller processing room about the size of an office bathroom. In that smaller room, there’s a hood providing a gentle amount of filtered air.
“An officer that would stand outside the room, and then an officer that stands on the inside of the room that’s actually collecting and packaging the evidence, testing it, weighing it and all that fun stuff,” Baumann said in a phone call with PolitiFact Wisconsin.
There is also Narcan on hand, in case there is a large enough exposure.
“Somebody with medical training is going to be present with you, just in case something were to happen,” he said. “We’re going to take all precautionary measures.”
“The ‘buddy system’ shall always be used when testing suspected controlled substances, regardless of the type or quantity. Two members shall be present, one to test and one to witness,” the procedures document says.
Our ruling
Baldwin said police are “facing situations these days where you have to have two officers in the evidence room in case there’s an accidental (fentanyl) exposure.”
In Wisconsin, there is guidance from the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group to have two officers present, and several agencies have guidance calling for one officer inside the room where drugs are being handled and tested, and another stands outside to ensure the other is safe.
WITH two bodyguards on patrol permanently outside his office, chief prosecutor Kreshnik Ajazi sums up why the Albanian drug gangs he targets are so ruthless.
In 2018, a shipment of 50 kilos of cocaine went missing in EnglandCredit: Alamy
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The theft triggered a string of revenge attacks back in Albania, including three men being gunned down in their Range Rover with AK-47sCredit: Chris Eades
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This month, Bajram Luli, 27, was stabbed to death in Greenford, West London, after having just moved to the UKCredit: LNP
A trail of tit-for-tat killings between warring gangs battling to control the UK drugs market shows he knows what he is talking about.
The theft of 50 kilos of cocaine in England triggered a string of revenge attacks back in Albania, including three men being gunned down in their Range Rover with AK-47s.
And a dealer convicted of murdering a rival in Southampton has been shot dead inside an Albanian top-security prison in a sophisticated revenge hit that cost a million euros to arrange.
As the Met probes yet another killing of an Albanian man in London, The Sun travelled to the former Communist country to investigate the criminal gangs that have such a foothold in the UK.
Mr Ajazi, a stylish 40-year-old who wears shirts monogrammed with his initials on the cuffs, has devoted his life to dismantling these gangs — but it comes with a heavy price.
Hitting where it hurts
Threats to his life mean the armed guards never leave his side, 28 security cameras are trained on the outside of his office building in the city of Elbasan, and his wife wonders when he will take a job prosecuting “normal criminals”.
But he is too busy to worry, with many of the attacks he deals with stemming from bloody fall-outs that begin in Britain.
The lawyer said: “These disputes between gangs are created in England but the revenge takes place in our city. When I became the chief prosecutor, my aim was to challenge those gangs, which we have done.
“That means I am now escorted every single minute of my life by a special escort from the state police, which tells you what sort of danger I am in.
“But it has been worth it.”
Turkish and Albanian drug gangs are joining forces to wreak havoc on London amid UK migrant crisis
Thanks to his and the state police’s work, the local gang-related murder rate has dropped from 15 a year to zero.
The UK government is just as determined to take on the Albanian organised crime gangs.
The National Crime Agency last month signed an agreement with Albanian police to challenge criminals who control the UK cannabis market as well as enjoying a healthy slice of the £4billion cocaine trade.
Around 1,700 gang members are thought to be at large in the UK and there are more Albanians in our jails than any other foreign nationality, even though Albania has a population of just 2.8million.
As well as trying to lock up gang leaders, the police are hitting them where it hurts — in their pockets.
A British-registered £200,000 Lamborghini — with a number plate that partly reads 14MBO (Lambo) — was recently seized from a suspected criminal, along with a hotel he owned. And the cops now plan to use it as a patrol car.
A spokesman for Albania’s Agency Of Seized And Confiscated Assets said: “We will send a message that what has been earned from criminal activities in the UK and Europe will be confiscated.”
The problem is that in Albania revenge is a tradition so we cannot predict what is going to happen
Mr Ajazi
When the police Lamborghini rolls past, it will raise a smile from law-abiding Albanian migrants. But other cases the police have to deal with are no laughing matter.
Organised crime gangs are similar to the Mafia in that they are structured around families. That means they take disputes personally.
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In 2013, drug dealer Arben Lleshi, 27, who killed a rival in Southampton was extradited to Peqin Prison in Albania and in 2023 his victim’s gang spent a million euros organising a hit to kill him in jailCredit: Handout
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Endrit Alibej, 34, was also killedCredit: YouTube
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Alibej’s family wasted no time in taking revenge and the killings continued for two years, claiming a total of eight livesCredit: Chris Eades
In 2018, a shipment of 50 kilos of cocaine — with a potential market value of tens of millions of pounds — went missing in England.
The gang waiting for its delivery suspected the courier so they beat him up and dumped him in a remote location, reckoning that whoever he had tipped off to steal the drugs would come to his aid.
They kept watch to see who would collect him — and once they knew which family was behind the theft, the killings began.
Soon after, Endrit Alibej, 34, was driving away from a family dinner in Elbasan with his uncle Arben Dylgjeri, 56, and a Turkish associate.
As they slowed to negotiate a roundabout, a gunman armed with an AK-47 struck, spraying the vehicle and killing all three men.
Setting body on fire
Alibej’s family wasted no time in taking revenge and the killings continued for two years, eventually claiming a total of eight lives.
Mr Ajazi said the to-and-fro attacks related to that particular dispute have ended — for now.
He added: “Let’s say they are currently on standby.
“The problem is that in Albania revenge is a tradition so we cannot predict what is going to happen.”
Another case Mr Ajazi is involved in shocked the Albanian justice system because it exposed the full extent of corruption in prisons.
In 2013, Albanian drug dealer Arben Lleshi, 27, was jailed for life at Winchester Crown Court for killing a rival in Southampton and setting his body on fire.
He was extradited to serve his sentence in the top-security Peqin Prison, 40 miles south of capital Tirana.
Late last year, his victim’s gang began plotting their revenge.
They spent an estimated one million euros bribing prison officials to smuggle a 9mm Smith and Wesson into the jail and to pay a hitman.
The gun was passed to the killer in the middle of November and he kept it concealed for three weeks before going to Lleshi’s cell ten days before Christmas.
Mr Ajazi said: “He invited that man to talk. He said, ‘Can we have a conversation?’
“And at this moment, he took out the gun and shot and killed him.”
The jail’s entire command structure has been arrested — 12 officers in total — on suspicion of taking bribes and turning a blind eye.
Back in Britain, an Albanian man was stabbed to death in North London last month, with one of his countrymen being charged with the murder.
And the Met are now investigating yet another killing of an Albanian.
These disputes between gangs are created in England but the revenge takes place in our city
Lawyer
At around 5.30pm on Monday, March 11, a white Kia car was seen reversing down a road in Greenford, West London, before one of the occupants leapt out and fled.
Moments later Bajram Luli, 27, staggered out of the car with a serious stab wound to his stomach.
Cops and paramedics were called but they could not save him.
A man has now been charged in connection with the alleged murder and will stand trial later.
Bajram had only just moved to the UK from Albania. The motive for his killing has not been revealed and there is no suggestion he was involved in any criminality.
But the police back in Albania — and chief prosecutor Mr Ajazi — will be hoping these two recent cases are not the start of yet more blood feuds.
Pictures from Chris Eades, in Albania
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This British-registered £200,000 Lamborghini was seized in Albania by police… who aim to use it as a patrol carCredit: Chris Eades
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Arben Dylgjeri, 56, also diedCredit: YouTube
BRITISH POLICE LINK-UP
A BRITISH bobby’s helmet takes pride of place on a shelf in the grand governmental office of Albania’s Interior Minister, Taulant Balla.
The gift from a visiting UK police delegation shows the commitment of both countries to forging closer links to fight organised crime.
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A British bobby’s helmet takes pride of place on a shelf in the grand governmental office of Albania’s Interior Minister, Taulant BallaCredit: Chris Eades
Mr Balla has had a series of meetings with UK ministers to thrash out ideas on how best to stop trafficking gangs.
One success has been the 90 per cent drop in the number of Albanians crossing the Channel in small boats.
And the no-nonsense politician – popular in Albania for an anti-drugs drive outside schools which has seen more than 800 dealers convicted – is confident of a similar result against the narco gangs.
Mr Balla said: “We have had good results in the fight against organised crime.
“We are working closely with Britain’s National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police, and we have some joint operations ongoing.
“I’m very happy that from the British side we are receiving a lot of expertise and are exchanging important data that is needed in bringing people to justice.
“Also, the work in seizing criminal assets is going very well.
“Houses and hotels we seize are being used for good purposes. And the Lamborghini that was seized will be used by our traffic police.
“My message to the organised crime gangs is – impunity time is finished. We are having a campaign against the fugitives.”
As he spoke, his mobile phone pinged with more good news – a message revealing the date that a wanted killer who had been on the run abroad would finally arrive home to face justice.
Albania’s fight against crime is a long, difficult one. But with the help of British police, they are finally reaping rewards.
Last summer, the survival of Canopy Growth was in doubt. This week, the Canadian cannabis company watched its stock rise by about 114%.
On Friday, Germany passed a measure decriminalizing possession and home cultivation of cannabis, starting on April 1. The measure won final passage in the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of Germany’s parliament, after some uncertainty.
“The removal of narcotic status for cannabis is expected to accelerate growth of the German medical cannabis market,” the company said in a statement.
Canopy, whose stock rose nearly 36% on Friday upon the news, owns the Germany-based vaporizer firm Storz & Bickel, giving it exposure to Europe’s largest economy. It also offers medical cannabis products through its Canopy Medical unit.
The Friday rally added to an earlier one sparked by U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7, in which he mentioned the rescheduling of cannabis. Vice President Kamala Harris followed up by saying marijuana’s “absurd” Schedule I classification—which includes heroin and LSD—should be rescheduled “as soon as possible.”
Other cannabis firms, including Tilray Brands and Cronos, also jumped after the news from Germany.
Low times
Last summer, things looked far bleaker for Canopy. In late June, Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey slashed the price target on the company to zero, saying it “may not be able to continue operations and meet its financial obligations.” At the time, Canopy shares had fallen 78% for the year, and the company had acknowledged a going concern risk in its annual report.
Benchmark wasn’t alone in warning about Canopy’s prospects. CIBC Capital Markets analyst John Zamparo wrote that the company was “burning cash despite multiple cost-cutting programs,” adding that even the U.S. legalizing marijuana, if it happened, would be “no savior.”
In February last year, Canopy cut its workforce by 60%. CEO David Klein cited competition from Canada’s black market, which he estimated accounted for 40% of the nation’s cannabis sales.
“Today, there are two very different cannabis markets in Canada,” he said at the time. “One that’s legal, highly taxed and regulated, and one that’s thriving and illicit.”
Canada legalized the use of recreational marijuana in 2018, the same year that beer-and-wine giant Constellation spent $3.8 billion for a 38% stake in Canopy. That deal sent Canopy’s market valuation soaring, putting it in the same league as plane maker Bombardier Inc.
Disappointment and uncertainty followed, but Canopy appears to be on steadier ground now.
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In a twist of irony, a powerful drug that battles lung cancer might be delivered safer via inhalation versus surgery, injection, and other invasive methods, a new study suggests.
Researchers associated with Columbia University observed rat models and determined that a new inhalable lung cancer treatment is capable of delivering localized immunotherapy to difficult-to-treat tumors.
Lately researchers have been looking for a safe and non-invasive alternative to current approaches to tackling cancerous tumors that require direct injection of immunomodulators into the tumors. But when cancer is found in the lungs, it is typically hard to reach and treat with drugs by direct injection.
Researchers believe that a potent drug that fights cancer might be better delivered via inhalation in order to battle lung cancer. The study was published recently in Nature Nanotechnology and online Jan. 11, showing how nanobubbles containing a powerful drug could be administered via inhalation to provide a safer delivery route.
Medscapereports that researchers demonstrated that nanobubbles can deliver potent immunotherapy directly to tough-to-treat lung cancer tumors via inhalation. Researchers suspect that exosomes, also known as extracellular vesicles (EVs), could be the key to the next step in lung cancer treatment.
“Exosomes work like text messages between cells , sending and receiving information,” said lead researcher Ke Cheng, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia, who has been working with stem cells and exosomes for over 15 years. “The significance of this study is that exosomes can bring mRNA-based treatment to lung cancer cells locally, unlike systemic chemotherapy that can have side effects throughout the body. And inhalation is totally noninvasive. You don’t need a nurse to use an IV needle to pierce your skin.”
The study could help move research forward by allowing for the therapeutic uses of exosomes, inhalable treatments for lung conditions, and the safe delivery of powerful interleukin-12 (IL-12) immunotherapy.
Researchers have known about IL-12’s abilities to fight cancer for decades, but early human trials lead to serious side effects and several deaths. Researchers are now trying new delivery methods that target tumor cells without affecting healthy tissue. The research team’s new approach involves inserting mRNA for IL-12 into exosomes.
“One of the advantages of exosomes is that they are naturally secreted by the body or cultured cells,” he noted. “They have low toxicity and have multiple ways of getting their message into cells.”
The scientists borrowed an approach that captured public attention during the pandemic: Using messenger RNA, which directs cells to make proteins for tasks — including boosting immune response.
In the study, researchers developed inhalable extracellular vesicles loaded with IL-12 mRNA to battle lung cancer and bolster systemic immunity in mice with tumors. IL-12 mRNA was loaded into human embryonic kidney cell-derived exosomes (HEK-Exo) through electroporation, yielding IL-12 mRNA-loaded exosomes (IL-12-Exo).
When inhaled by mice with lung tumors, IL-12-Exo outperformed IL-12 mRNA-loaded liposomes (IL-12-Lipo)n and minimized systemic toxicity. These inhaled IL-12-Exo promoted
immune activation, systemic immunity, and immune memory, culminating in lung tumor suppression and heightened resistance against tumor recurrences.
Lung Cancer and Smoking
Human trials could launch within five years, and help put an end to the devastation that lung cancer causes each year.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death overall and among both men and women. (The second leading cause of cancer death is prostate for men and breast for women.) In 2021, 134,592 people died from lung cancer, or 22% of all cancer deaths. In the United States, cigarette smoking is linked to about 80% to 90% of lung cancer deaths.
However, even the Lung Cancer Society notes that while it is not risk-free as it involves combustion, cannabis smoke is not as carcinogenic as tobacco smoke. NORML explains this very well: THC and CBD, the two most popular cannabis active ingredients, are non-carcinogenic and demonstrate anticancer properties in vivo and in vitro. Nicotine—in stark contrast—promotes the development of cancer cells and their blood supply. In addition, cannabinoids stimulate other biological activities and responses that may mitigate the carcinogenic effects of smoke.
People who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to develop lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who do not smoke. Even smoking a few cigarettes a day or on occasion increases the risk of lung cancer.
Even if you don’t smoke anything, or only vape, you’re still not off the hook, depending on how hazardous areas are that you live in.
People also get lung cancer from radon, and they usually have no control over the undetectable radioactive gas caused by the natural decay of traces in uranium in rocks and the soil. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that radon causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year.
Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound are already extremely popular: by 2030, about 10% of the U.S. population will be on one of these drugs and the category’s sales will surpass $100 billion, according to some projections. On March 18, they got another major cultural boost from Oprah Winfrey, who shared her own experience with—and support for—these medications in an ABC special called “Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution.”
During the special, Winfrey talked about how using one of these weight-loss drugs (she did not say which) changed her life and opened her eyes to the reality that obesity is a disease, rather than a choice. “All these years, I thought all of the people who never had to diet were just using their willpower, and they were for some reason stronger than me,” Winfrey said.
After taking medication, however, she realized that she thought about food differently than people who had no trouble keeping weight off. Her brain was working against her. “You weren’t thinking about the food! You weren’t obsessing about it!” she said. “That is the big thing I learned.”
The special, which will be available on Hulu starting March 19, spotlights a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, which mimic a hormone that suppresses appetite and controls blood sugar, helping some patients lose roughly 20% of their body weight. These medications include Ozempic and Mounjaro (which are approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, but are also used off-label for weight loss) and Wegovy and Zepbound (which are approved as anti-obesity medications).
About three-quarters of Americans say they’re familiar with these drugs, recent polling data from Pew Research Center show, and that number will likely rise even more after Winfrey’s special. At times, that felt like the program’s whole aim. Winfrey interviewed people who have lost large amounts of weight on GLP-1 drugs, along with executives and paid medical consultants from the pharmaceutical companies that make them. (Ozempic and Wegovy are made by Novo Nordisk, while Mounjaro and Zepbound are made by Eli Lilly.)
Making a television special about these drugs was so important to Winfrey that in February, she announced she would leave WeightWatchers’ board and donate her company stock to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, in part to “eliminate any perceived conflict of interest” since WeightWatchers now embraces anti-obesity medications and even started a program to prescribe them. The company’s CEO, Sima Sistani, was interviewed about that shift on Winfrey’s special. “We are the most clinically tested, evidence-based, science-backed behavior-change program, but we were missing the third prong, which was biology,” Sistani said.
Even as drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound soar in popularity, however, skepticism remains about their widespread use, particularly among people who just want to drop a few pounds. In the February Pew poll, 62% of respondents said these medications are not good options for those who do not have a weight-related health problem—a view shared by some physicians, who argue weight loss is not always medically necessary.
On Winfrey’s special, Dr. Amanda Velazquez, a weight-loss specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a paid consultant for pharmaceutical companies that make weight-loss medications, called side effects “over-hyped,” noting that they’re “mild to moderate in the research studies.” But other research suggests GLP-1 side effects are bad enough that a significant portion of patients stop using them, which typically results in gaining back much of the weight they lost. In the special, Velazquez acknowledged that people will likely have to take these drugs their entire lives to maintain their weight loss.
As she closed her special, Winfrey said weight-loss drugs are not for everyone, and that some people may choose not to lose weight or to do so with diet and exercise. But “for the people who think that this could be the relief and support and freedom…that you’ve been looking for your whole life,” she said, “bless you.”
Officers found the marijuana wrapped in bed sheets in her suitcase in 50 vacuum-sealed bags.
Lewis was charged with felony possession with intent to distribute, transportation and narcotics conspiracy charges, according to the release.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers said that the amount of marijuana found has a street value of about $250,000 in the U.S., but “could fetch two to three times more in Paris.”
This is an increasing trend at airports recently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
“Marijuana remains illegal federally,” said Marc E. Calixte, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of D.C. “Travelers who gamble with their freedom by smuggling bulk amounts of marijuana for a little extra cash may find themselves on the losing end of that proposition. Customs and Border Protection officers are hard to bet against, and our officers will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that drug smugglers are held accountable.”
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Pretty much everyone has heard of sleepwalking – and some of us even do it from time to time. But sleep cooking and sleep driving?
Engaging in such activities while not awake – a phenomenon known as complex sleep behaviors – can result from taking prescription insomnia medications, also commonly referred to as Z drugs. These medications include eszopiclone (Lunesta), zaleplon (Sonata) and zolpidem (Ambien, Edluar, and Zolpimist).
Z drugs can improve the quality, though not necessarily the duration, of sleep, according to research. But they can also pose serious risks by leading to bizarre complex sleep behaviors, including driving, cooking and eating while sleeping, the Food and Drug Administration warns.
The FDA has even had reports of people accidentally overdosing on other medications or shooting themselves while taking Z drugs.
Upon waking, people may or may not recall their complex sleep behaviors.
The FDA cautions that people could find themselves enacting complex sleep behaviors even on lower doses or after their first use, and that Z drugs could impair your ability to drive or operate machinery even the next morning.
The FDA recommends:
• Discussing the risks of taking a Z drug with your health-care provider • Reading the patient medication guide as soon as you fill a prescription for a Z drug • Carefully following dosing instructions from your health-care professional • Not taking Z drugs with other sleep drugs, including those available over-the-counter • Abstaining from alcohol use before and while using Z drugs since together they may be more likely to cause side effects.
Millions more Americans are now eligible for obesity drugs. But the injections remain maddeningly hard to find.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.
The irony undergirding the new wave of obesity drugs is that they initially weren’t created for obesity at all. The weight loss spurred by Ozempic, a diabetes drug in the class of so-called GLP-1 agonists, gave way to Wegovy—the same drug, repackaged for obesity. Zepbound, another medication, soon followed. Now these drugs have a new purpose: heart health.
On Friday, the FDA approved the use of Wegovy for reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death in adults who are overweight and have cardiovascular disease. The move had been anticipated since the publication of a landmark trial in the fall, which showed the drug’s profound effects on cardiovascular health. The decision could usher in a new era where GLP-1 drugs become mainstream, opening up access to millions of Americans who previously didn’t qualify for Wegovy.
Some of the obstacles stopping people from getting the drug may also begin to crumble. Insurance companies commonly deny coverage of Wegovy because obesity is seen as a cosmetic concern rather than a medical one, but that argument may not hold up for cardiovascular disease. “This new FDA indication is HUGE,” Katherine Saunders, an obesity-medicine physician at Weill Cornell Medicine, told me in an email. Wegovy may soon be within reach for many more Americans—that is, if they can find it.
In practice, Wegovy is maddeningly hard to get hold of. Shortages of injectable semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, have been ongoing since March 2022; currently, most doses of Wegovy are in limited supply. As the popularity of semaglutide has skyrocketed, demand has completely outstripped the capacity of its manufacturer, Novo Nordisk. The drug comes in injection pens containing a glass vial; “these are not easy products to make,” Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, the CEO of Novo Nordisk, said in August. In response to the shortages, the company withheld its supply of lower Wegovy doses last year. Because treatment on the medication must begin in low doses, this meant that new patients who wanted to start on Wegovy functionally couldn’t. In January, the company began “more than doubling the amount of the lower-dose strengths” of the drug, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson told me, and it plans to gradually increase overall supply throughout the rest of the year.
The ongoing shortages have left providers and patients feeling stuck. “It is devastating to prescribe a lifesaving medication for a patient and then find out it’s not covered or we can’t locate supply,” Saunders said. Doctors are scrambling to make do with what’s available. Ivania Rizo, an endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center, told me she has had to turn to older GLP-1 drugs such as Saxenda to “bridge” patients to higher doses of Wegovy, although now that is in shortage too. Patients can spend each day calling pharmacy after pharmacy in search of one with Wegovy in stock, Rizo said. In desperation, some have turned to versions of the drug that are custom-made by compounding pharmacies with little oversight, despite the FDA expressing concerns about them. The shots are supposed to be taken weekly, but others have attempted to stretch their doses beyond that.
That the new FDA approval could very mainstream obesity drugs may create long-needed pressure to help resolve these shortages. It makes clear that Wegovy is a lifesaving medication not only for people with obesity but also for those with cardiovascular disease—the leading cause of death in the U.S.—putting the impetus on Novo Nordisk to ramp up production. But in the short term, the access issues may persist. “The new approval is very likely to worsen shortages, because the demand for Wegovy will continue to climb—now at an even faster pace,” Saunders said.
If patients think they’re stuck now, they’re about to feel entrenched. Wegovy is the only obesity drug that has been approved to reduce the risk of heart attacks, but none of its competitors is easily available either. Supplies of certain dosages of Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, a diabetes drug whose active ingredient is sold for obesity as Zepbound, are limited, and shortages are expected later this year. “We need supply to increase dramatically,” Saunders said. Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have invested heavily in expanding production capacity, but some of the new plants won’t open until 2029.
For all of its advantages, the FDA approval has a sobering effect on the unrelenting hype around GLP-1s. So much of the excitement around obesity drugs has focused on the future, as dozens of pharmaceutical companies develop more powerful drugs, and commentators imagine a world without obesity. In the process, the issues of the present have gone overlooked. More drugs won’t make much of a difference if the drugs themselves are out of reach.
