Abuse of methamphetamine, club drugs, prescription drugs growing
The U.S. government is plotting a new strategy to target the growing abuse of synthetic drugs, such as prescription medicines, club drugs and methamphetamine, according to an October 25 announcement from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).
The plan comes in response to a sharp increase in the abuse of these substances in recent years. The number of Americans estimated to abuse prescription drugs leapt from 1.6 million in 2000 to 6.3 million in 2003. Emergency room visits in the aftermath of abuse of these drugs has increased more than 160 percent, the ONDCP reports in a press release.
State Department, White House officials reject Chicago Tribune editorial
U.S. officials reject a Chicago Tribune editorial that they say paints an inaccurate picture of the situation in Colombia and makes false claims that U.S. help for the Andean nation is not working. Marc Grossman, the State Department's under secretary for political affairs, dismisses the paper's analysis that U.S. support for Colombia represents a "failing exercise," while Rafael Lemaitre, deputy press secretary for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, says the newspaper's editorial "ignores overwhelming evidence of Plan Colombia's success." (complete text)
83 people arrested in case involving money laundering
By Eric Green Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States has broken up a Mexican money-laundering and drug-trafficking organization in a case which resulted in the arrests of 83 people, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
In an October 19 statement, the DEA said the Mexican drug organization allegedly laundered nearly $200 million sent from various locations in the United States to Mexican targets over the course of about two years. The DEA said its investigation, code-named "Operation Money Clip," established that the drug ring distributed about 500 kilograms of cocaine, 200 pounds of methamphetamine, 20 kilograms of heroin, and 10,000 pounds of marijuana per month in that two-year period.
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