Vicewire, 3/16/2005
- posted by Ryan @ 2:14 PM

1) Here is a story about a West Texas District Attorney who had a vehement stance on drug abuse, but was arrested for possession of methamphetamines and cocaine.

2) A United Nations official has commented that he believes the prices of illegal drugs should rise next year due to the United States' new crusade against cocaine in Colombia.

3) Here is a story about the hallowed American tradition of betting on the NCAA tournament, and the continually greater amounts of money being bet-- approximately 1 in 10 will partake. Some say this year more money will be bet on the tournament than on the Super Bowl for the first time.

4) Here is an updated story on the ban on revealing clothing in a northern Malaysian state.

5) And a man has been arrested for DUI after his vanity license plate reading "TIPSY" gave police a clue as to his high Blood Alcohol Content.

Labels: UN, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 3/12/2005
- posted by Ryan @ 8:41 PM

1) A recent survey shows parents are more likely to be forgiving with their kids experimenting with drugs.

2) Four Canadian Mounted Police were tragically killed in a raid on a marijuana-growing operation in Alberta last week.

3) An anti-smoking drug? It's on the way.

4) Here's a plan one New Jersey lawmaker wants to help gambling addicts fight their addiction: have the highly lucrative cable gambling shows from ESPN or Bravo contribute to treatment centers.

5) And finally, slot machines could be on the way to South Florida.

Labels: drugs, gambling, Vicewire

 
Vicewire 10/12/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 10:53 PM

1) Congress is attempting to push across increased fines for indecency. On related notes, Fox is looking at fines for indecency following a "whipped cream incident" on the television show "Married by America". Also, Howard Stern is moving to satellite radio in 2006.

2) Israel has found a novel solution for easing trauma among its soldiers: marijuana.

3) A 17-year-old may be facing 30 days in jail after using profanity around a teacher.

Labels: indecency, marijuana, teens, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 9/22/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 1:01 AM

1) Guess who's controversial again: Joe Camel. The article deals with a case related to the broader problem of using the first amendment to market cigarettes to children.

2) Here's an interesting story about challenges to DWI arrests in North Carolina, including an officer's negligence in asking the driver to remove his false teeth and a woman's inability to perform the "line test" effectively due to wearing stiletto heels. Defense attorney Bill Thomas had this to say: "I know that DWI is a hot political issue. But the public has to understand one important thing: The constitutional protections that follow us in our daily lives also apply to DWI cases. These protections are part of the fabric of our country. They are constitutional guarantees that ensure justice and freedom."

3) Unsurprisingly to regular Vice Squad readers, a new wave of Colombian drug lords is emerging. More surprising, perhaps, is a news story proclaiming this.

4) From the "other" Chicago paper is Mayor Daley's controversial new plan to ticket people caught with small amounts of marijuana, rather than court dates. The article is chock full of interesting data and statements...for brevity's sake I list two things that caught my eye.
- If a Chicago cop makes a bust for less than 30 grams of marijuana -- a misdemeanor under state law -- the case is usually prosecuted by an assistant state's attorney. ..Most of the cases are dismissed because an officer does not appear in court to testify about the arrest or a lab technician fails to show up to verify that the seized grassy substance was, in fact, marijuana, sources say.

Federal prosecutors rarely take such cases to court in Chicago...But prosecutors rarely take a case involving less than 100 kilograms -- 100,000 grams -- of marijuana.

- Donegan estimated Chicago could have collected at least $5 million in fines last year under his proposal...
"Most misdemeanor assistant state's attorneys have a difficult time justifying requiring a police officer and a lab tech to appear in court for the better part of an afternoon for $12 worth of weed. It just doesn't make sense," said one former misdemeanor prosecutor.

Labels: alcohol, Chicago, driving, drugs, marijuana, marketing, teens, tobacco, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 9/20/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 10:22 AM

1) Check out Mark Kleiman's excellent post on drug policy.

2) A New York judge has ruled it is ok to be drunk or high while performing jury duty. She cited the 1987 Supreme Court case that ruled mind-altering substances could not be considered outside influences on jurors.

3) Rockport, MA (dry since 1856!) is considering lifting its ban on alcohol.

4) California is being sued by in-state racetrack owners, who say that the government gave special treatment to American Indian reservations in allowing more slot machines to be built there in exchange for $1 billion a year.

5) In Colombia, the largest pharmacy chain was shut down by police, who say that it was funded by money from drug traffickers. It entailed taking over 400 stores in 28 cities.

Labels: alcohol, Kleiman, slot machine, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 9/15/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 3:37 PM

1) The last part of Nevada's first legal brothel was air-lifted out of its original location, taking its new place in the Wild Horse Adult Spa and Resort. [Update, September 20: Here's a previous Vice Squad post on the relocation of the Mustang physical plant. -- JL]

2) Paypal, the company that handles much of the online payments for eBay, is fining customers who use its service to purchase items related to gambling, pornography, or illegal prescription drugs. Such payments are already prohibited, but now a $500 fine is included.

3) A new study shows that elderly people who gamble are healthier than those who don't. Yale epidemiologist Rani Desai said this: "There's this whole concept of healthy aging - that folks who continue to remain engaged in activity, especially in the community and in social activities, stay healthier longer, so I think this is a reflection of that. It's not that gambling makes you healthy, it's that gamblers are healthier".

4) Here's a great story about how 2 underage Norwegians took advantage of expired beer to make a boatload of money off a local store. In other beer news, a study has shown that beer may be helpful for fighting heart disease and cancer, though it was funded by Guinness and Labatt.

Labels: alcohol, gambling, Nevada, Norway, prostitution, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 9/12/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 8:23 PM

1) A gunfight in Mexico killed the head of a drug cartel and 2 others, while 5 of his attackers were killed by police officers.

2) Another case of crackdown on underage drinking- 42 teens associated with a Texas high school football team were apparently drinking in a teacher's house. They were fined $65 each. Now they are going after the adults, the police chief explained, to determine if they provided the alcohol to the teens.

3) Here is a story about a lawsuit against the in-car sobriety measurers. The man passed out after blowing into his ignition interlock and crashed his car.

4) And finally, a new story on one of Vice Squad's favorite historical curiosities: the Prohibtion Party. Only now there is a controversy over the present presidential candidate, and whether he is more interested in the goal of alcohol prohibtion or the goal of making really cool looking buttons. So the party has split, and Colorado will have 2 different Prohibtion candidates, the old guard and the young party upstarts. In 2000, the Prohibtion Party candidate, the same one since 1984 and who is running again this year, received 208 votes. There is a nice historical reprise of the ups and downs of the party, as well as some interesting rhetoric from party dissident Gene Amondson. "I'd rather have 100 Al Capones in every city than alcohol sold in every grocery store," he said. "During the 13 years of Prohibition the budget was balanced, prisons were emptied, mental institutions emptied and cirrhosis of the liver declined." For more, search Vice Squad archives for posts on Prohibition and the Anti-Saloon League.

Labels: alcohol, drugs, interlocks, Prohibition, teens, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 9/8/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 10:48 PM

1) Gulp! A new book and TV series about U.N. peacekeeper vice is on the way.

2) Here's a story on a new college class being offered at various institutions: Gambling 101.

3) Colombia has plans on building a museum dedicated to illustrating the evils of drug trafficking.

4) A pint of beer for a pint of blood? Its true.

Labels: alcohol, drugs, gambling, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 9/4/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 8:26 PM

1) Here is an article from the Washington Post about the stepping up of enforcement on Labor Day weekend drunk driving by using checkpoints.

2) Also from the Post is a story on the "DWI King" and his remarkable record at tracking down DWI offenders.

3) CBS faces a $550,000 indecency fine for the Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction", the largest fine ever handed down by the Federal Communications Commission.

4) An Alabama obstetrician has started "Mothers Against Meth", a group to fight growing methamphetamine use across Appalachia. She also cites the increased effectiveness she has found in religious drug treatment centers, as opposed to secular ones.

5) Bad news for narcotic police: "super" coca plants that "are bigger, faster-growing, and produce more of the compund that gives cocaine its kick" may be appearing in Colombia. It is also more resistant to herbicide, if it exists, that is. [The super coca was covered last week by D'Alliance and others -- JL.] An interview with drug czar John Walters is cited where he notes that the price of cocaine is remainging constant, meaning that efforts to control tbe supply from Colombia seem to be failing. The AP story on the interview is here. Walters insists on "staying the course" on Operation Colombia and thanks narcotics agents: "You are making lives better for people who you will never meet."

Labels: alcohol, driving, drugs, FCC, indecency, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 8/31/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 8:22 PM

1) A new study shows that 52% of European smokers who suffer from a serious heart attack, surgery, or other major heart illnesses are still smoking a year later. The American Heart Association says the numbers are similar in the United States. This is in spite of large-scale anti-tobacco advertising and doctor's advice.

2) A ski resort in Rumford, Maine has completely banned tobacco products. "What we're trying to focus on is creating healthier communities in the state," said the president of the Maine Winter Sports Center. Smoking is already banned in Maine bars and restaurants.

3) Following the merger of Harrah's and Caesar's Entertainment Incs., four casinos are being sold by the new company, in order to avoid antitrust legislation. The Wall Street Journal cited the deal as worth about $1.26 billion.

4) Here's a story about police in England adopting the French scheme of offering designated drivers free entry to nightclubs.

Labels: alcohol, casino, driving, smoking, tobacco, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 829/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 9:06 PM

1) 19 workers for the British government have been fired for viewing pornography at work, and another 200 have been sternly reprimanded. London paper The Sun reported the charges and brought to the reader's attention that one scurrilous employee viewed over 103,000 "hardcore" images.

2) A student was taken out of school for wearing a shirt that said "Hempstead, NY". Unfortunately for our poor law enforcement officers, it was the name of his former town in, yes, New York, rather than an attempt to gratify the use of weed.

3) Here's a story about searching for a drug to cure cocaine and other drug addictions that may already have some other use.

4) In a real surprise, apparently the head of the Haitian national police was involved in drug smuggling.

5) Drunken driving deaths declined in 2003 by 3 percent, the first decline since 1999.

6) And finally, China has launched a national campaign against drugs in the entertainment sector.

Labels: alcohol, Britain, China, driving, hemp, pornography, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 8/24/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 10:53 AM

Blogger trouble prevented this post from being completed on time:

1) Just for fun, here is a link to a story about the new hippie dictionary that incorporates plenty of new lingo for some standard vice engagements, (such as the tern "swacked").

2) A large ringleader in Mexican-U.S. drug trafficking has been arrested.

3) Here's another case of a naughty policeman, who allegedly agreed to supply 2 ounces of cocaine to an inmate.

4) A man rode his wheelchair 3,000 miles from Moscow to Madrid to protest illicit drug use. [Update: Link corrected -- JL]

5) And finally, a new Califronia undercover operation led to 184 drug arrests and plenty of amphetamines and marijuana.

Labels: drugs, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 8/22/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 8:49 PM

1) A man is being charged with murder after a fire that started with wires and lamps used to grow his marijuana plants killed two firefighters.

2) Governor Schwarzenegger has given his okay for thousands more slot machines to open across the state of California. 25% of the profits will go to the state government, an estimated $200 million a year.

3) And the indictment for the University of Colorado has been handed down for those accused of using prostitutes to lure potential football players.

Labels: California, marijuana, prostitution, slot machine, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 8/20/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 10:56 PM

1) A recent study shows that teenage girls that associate with older boys are more likely to smoke, drink, and do drugs.

2) In a survey on the connections between drugs and other vice topics, findings show "teens who say at least half their friends are having sex are more likely to report having tried marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes." Only 10% said that engaging in these activities was seen as "cool".

3) The first of five major air bases to prevent drug running both ways across the Canadian border was dedicated today. Unfortunately for this effort, and perhaps aware of the impending inability to completely police the border, only 8 hours a day will be spent patrolling. The greatest asset of the base? "They don't know when we're going to be operating." Oops, bad Vicewire. Bad!

4) Another pyrrhic victory: 52 arrested and $500,000 worth of cocaine in a bust in Tampa.

5) And a man's insurance does not cover a girl who died in 1998 from overdosing on heroin he gave to her, according to a Pennsylvania court, since it was by his own careless actions. This quote from a judge is slightly disheartening: "If the explicit criminalization of use or possession or sale of drugs that have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in the United States, and lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision does not manifest convincing proof of public interest, what would?"

Labels: Vicewire

 
The return of Vicewire, 8/17/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 11:16 PM

Vicewire has returned after an extended vacation, now 3 times a week!

1) Here's a story about the top party schools being announced this week, with rankings taking into account the amount of marijuana consumed and the amount of hard liquor and beer drunken.

2) Atlantic City casinos have been expanding their activities into "beach bars" and other activities to lure potential profits from gamblers.

3) A new study shows that rats can be addicted to cocaine, much the same way humans can be. This could be useful in analyzing addiction and discovering effective treatments.

4) Here's more on the difficult fight against opium production in Afghanistan, which is expected to reach a record high this year.

5) And a judge in Nevada has reanimated the battle to legalize up to one ounce of marijuana by declaring requirements to get on the ballot unconstiutional. A lawyer is quoted as saying there is a "decent likelihood" of qualifying the potential amendment to the Nevada constitution, though it would not take effect until at least 2006.

Labels: Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 8/3/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 10:43 PM

1) A new study by the NIAAA shows that 9% of all Americans abuse alcohol and 2% abuse drugs.

2) Here's an interesting FindLaw piece concerning trial lawyer attempts to wreak havoc upon the alcohol industry, much like it did with big tobacco.

3) A drug dog died from amphetamine overdose earlier this week.

4) Here's a story about the first drug approved for combatting alcohol abuse: Campral.

5) Sports figures Marcus Vick and Ricky Williams are in the news, both for their apparent shaky history in resisting marijuana. Marcus is suspended from the Virginia Tech Hokies college football team and Ricky Williams acknowledged that his marijuana troubles had something to do with his surprise retirement from the NFL.

6) Scott Peterson, on trial for possibly murdering his wife, apparently ordered Playboy Television after his wife had been missing for a while. The article is littered with implicit criticism of people who view pornography, with one being this important exchange:
[Defense lawyer Mark] Geragos noted that the satellite company characterizes the programming as "adult content," not "pornography".
"You like to call that adult programming, right?" Geragos asked.
"Well, that's what it is," [satellite TV manager] Toy said.
Before Toy took the stand, Geragos argued to keep his testimony from jurors, claiming it had no relevance and would "assassinate (Peterson's) character" and "enflame (the jury's) passion."
Prosecutor Rick Distaso argued that it showed Peterson's state of mind while the search for his wife ensued.
"It's not just the Playboy Channel," Distaso said, adding that Peterson later ordered what he described as "two hardcore channels."

Labels: alcohol, marijuana, pornography, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 7/27/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 4:17 PM

1) Probably the top offbeat story of the day: a girl claims she found a marijuana joint in her McDonalds parfait.

2) Local Chicago news: apparently yet another drug sting is resolutely under way in the city.

3) An 80 year old Italian granny responsible for a good amount of drug dealing has finally been apprehended.

4) Friend of Vice Squad George Byrd sends word of a plan to prevent future drug addiction in children: anti-drug immunizations. A descriptive article is here. [Update: Mark Kleiman speaks some sense on this story: the probability of any government mandating for children any of the existing "immunizations" is virtually zero -- JL] [Further update!: Last One Speaks has more, and it is troubling; now I don't know whether or not to be concerned. I'll try to read the report (52 page pdf) to learn more -- JL]

5) New data about the number of people incarcerated: drug violations cover 25% of probationists.

6) And finally, this story seems to have slipped through the cracks: a Pennsylvania judge has apparently been letting minor marijuana possession cases go without prosecution! The decisions have been reversed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and the Attorney General is quoted as saying: "It has been and remains illegal for juveniles to possess marijuana." Strong words.

Labels: drugs, marijuana, Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 7/20/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 10:39 PM

1) Here's more on the Iraqi fundamentalist restriction of vice, particularly alcohol.

2) Scientists are suing the government for being unable to research the effects of marijuana effectively under our prohibitory regime.

3) Larry Flynt is expanding his pornography business to South Florida, by opening an upper scale sex shop in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (egads, that's my hometown!).

4) Four inmates in a Tennessee prison went on a beer run, purchasing more than two cases of beer while on the lam. They were promptly chastised upon their return to prison(!)

5) And finally, this Sunday I, a strapping lad 21 years of age, was forbidden from purchasing an alcoholic beverage at Wrigley Field. For whatever reason? Well, my driver license still contained the "Under 21 until" bar, though that day had long passed. Thus by a Wrigley Field rule, I could not purchase a good I wished to consume. Oh well.

Labels: Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 7/18/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 11:15 PM

1) Earlier this week, there was a march and rally in Glasgow calling for the legalization of cannabis.

2) Courtney Love's troubles continue, as a sentencing arrangement has been worked out for 24 hours after her release from a New York hospital. Her charges include being under the influence of drugs and possessing drugs, as well as assault, and the sentence will likely include a drug rehab program.

3) More brothel news: the United Kingdom is attempting to reform prostitution by possibly decriminalizing brothels and protecting those within the sex trade.

4) More on summer laws in parts of Britain preventing people under 21 from drinking on the weekend. In a related story, this effort to crack down on alcohol related violence has been heralded as a success, though the only successes mentioned in the article is the prevention of the sale of alcohol to minors.

Labels: Vicewire

 
Vicewire, 7/11/2004
- posted by Ryan @ 8:59 PM

1) Another pilot has been arrested for operating a plane under the influence of alcohol. Earlier this week, two other pilots who were accused of being drunk in the cockpit were indicted.

2) A cocaine kingpin from a Colombian drug cartel has been captured after attempting to get to Mexico. He was responsible for around $10 billion worth of cocaine entering the United States.

3) More air news: the foudner of Peru's largest airline, Aero Continente, has been accused of drug trafficking, and prosecuters are seeking 15 years penalty.

4) A new ad campaign links pirating DVDs to terrorism and drug dealing.

5) Little victory: the island of Sark has lifted a ban on gambling on its annual sheep race Saturday.

6) Bad celebrities: Ja Rule, Judakiss, Marty Stuart, a Belgian cyclist named Christophe Brandt (found with methadone, by the way), Scott Weiland...that's enough for now.

Labels: alcohol, cocaine, gambling, Vicewire