Tag: the war on (some) drugs

Trump signs bill cracking down on fentanyl, strengthening drug penalties

President Donald Trump has signed legislation designed to strengthen penalties for offenses involving fentanyl and its related analogs.

At a White House ceremony, Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act alongside politicians and families whose loved ones have since perished as a result of fentanyl.

Trump described the bill signing as a “historic step toward justice for every family touched by the fentanyl scourge as we signed the HALT Fentanyl Act into law.”

“We’ll be getting the drug dealers, pushers, and peddlers off our street, and we will not rest until we have ended the drug overdose epidemic,” Trump said. “And it’s been getting a little bit better, but it’s horrible.”

The Act targets unauthorized fentanyl analogs, not the FDA-approved fentanyl used in hospitals for anesthesia and pain management. That medical-grade fentanyl remains classified as Schedule II, meaning it’s highly regulated but still legal for medical use. The reclassification simply closes loopholes that previously allowed underground chemists to tweak fentanyl’s molecular structure and evade federal law.

“The bill also makes several other changes to registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances, including:

  • Permitting a single registration for related research sites in certain circumstances,
  • Waiving the requirement for a new inspection in certain situations, and
  • Allowing a registered researcher to perform certain manufacturing activities with small quantities of a substance without obtaining a manufacturing registration,” the legislation’s webpage states.

The legislation, which received bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, permanently places all fentanyl-related substances, including synthetic variants of the opioid, on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. The bill also offers law enforcement more ability to combat the spread of the substance and imposes harsher punishments for anybody convicted of possessing or distributing it.

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‘Their Rubber Stamp Is Reckless’: After AAP Endorses Weight-Loss Drugs for Kids, Prescriptions Soar

Prescriptions for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for kids and teens grew substantially after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2023 recommended them for childhood obesity, according to a new study published in the AAP’s flagship journal Pediatrics.

GLP-1 drugs, typically used to treat obesity or diabetes, include the blockbuster drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Saxenda. Of those, only Wegovy and Saxenda are approved for children. However, several lesser-known GLP-1 drugs can be prescribed off-label for children.

Researchers with the health data and analytics company Truveta analyzed more than 310,000 health records. They found that prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs for children and teens ages 8-17 increased 65% immediately following AAP’s recommendation and another 5% per month after that, Axios reported.

The researchers found that before the AAP recommendation, the diabetes drug metformin was by far the most prescribed medication for weight loss in kids. However, after the new guidelines, prescriptions for semaglutide — the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic — surged, and prescriptions for metformin dropped.

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Congressional Committee Moves To Block Marijuana Rescheduling

A GOP-controlled House committee has unveiled a new spending bill that contains provisions to block the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana. The legislation would also maintain a separate longstanding rider protecting state medical cannabis programs from federal interference—though with new language authorizing enhanced penalties for sales near schools and parks.

On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee released the text of the spending measure covering Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS). For the second time now, the base legislation contains language hostile to marijuana rescheduling efforts that remain ongoing.

Specifically, the bill would block the Justice Department from using its funds to reschedule or deschedule marijuana. Under the Biden administration, DOJ recommended moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), but that process has been delayed for months amid challenges from witnesses in the administrative hearings.

Here’s the text of the provision: 

“SEC. 607. None of the funds appropriated or other wise made available by this Act may be used to reschedule marijuana (as such term is defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) or to remove marijuana from the schedules established under section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812).”

The language cleared committee as part of the last CJR spending bill, but it was not ultimately enacted into law. The new measure is scheduled for subcommittee action on Tuesday.

GOP senators have separately tried to block the administration from rescheduling cannabis as part of a standalone bill filed in 2023, but that proposal did not receive a hearing or vote.

Meanwhile, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently notified an agency judge that the marijuana rescheduling process remains stalled under the Trump administration.

It’s been over six months since DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney temporarily paused hearings on a proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III. And in a joint report to the judge submitted earlier this month, DEA attorneys and rescheduling proponents said they’re still at an impasse.

To the relief of advocates, the latest CJS bill does continue to preserve a longstanding rider to prevent DOJ from using its funds to interfere in the implementation of state medical marijuana programs that has been part of federal law since 2014.

However, it stipulates that the Justice Department can still enforce a section of U.S. code that calls for increased penalties for distributing cannabis within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, vocational school, college, playground or public housing unit. That language was first included in the last version of the appropriations legislation.

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Nerve pain medication gabapentin possibly tied to dementia, study says

A drug used to treat seizures, nerve pain and restless leg syndrome might be linked with increased risk of dementia, a new study says.

Regular gabapentin use appeared to increase risk of dementia by 29% and mild cognitive impairment by 85%, researchers reported Thursday in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.

What’s more, the risk was more than doubled in people normally considered too young to suffer from brain aging, those 18 to 64, results show.

“The findings of this study support the need for close monitoring in adult patients prescribed gabapentin to assess for potential cognitive decline,” wrote the research team led by Nafis Eghrari, a medical student at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

“Moreover, this provides a foundation to further research whether gabapentin plays a causal role in the development of dementia and cognitive decline,” the researchers added.

Gabapentin has become increasingly popular for the treatment of chronic pain because it’s not nearly as addictive as opioids, researchers said in background notes.

But concerns have been growing that gabapentin might contribute to cognitive decline, since it works by suppressing communication between nerve cells, researchers said.

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Psychedelic Retreats ‘Significantly Improved’ Mental Health For Military Veterans With PTSD And Depression, Study Finds

A new study of military veterans who attended psychedelics retreats finds that psilocybin and ayahuasca both yielded significant improvements in participants’ mental health, including reductions in symptoms of PTSD, depression and anxiety as well as improved sleep, quality of life and post-deployment reintegration.

The report, published in the journal Brain and Behavior, describes the research as “the first study to investigate psychedelic retreats as a holistic therapy for veterans’ mental health alongside community reintegration.”

“Psilocybin and ayahuasca retreats significantly improved veterans’ mental well-being, quality of life, PTSD, anxiety, depression, sleep, concussion, and post-deployment reintegration,” it says, adding that the retreats “could provide a treatment framework to aid veterans’ recovery by addressing psychological well-being, communal factors, and reintegration into civilian life.”

The study followed 55 veterans who self-enrolled in psychedelic retreats using psilocybin or ayahuasca following a program by Heroic Hearts Project, a nonprofit that connects veterans with psychedelic therapy in jurisdictions where it’s legal.

“For psilocybin, the substance was taken as a tea brewed from dried psilocybin mushrooms with individualized doses determined by the retreat staff between 1.5 and 3.5 g for Session 1 and between 3 and 5 g for Session 2,” the report says. “One gram boosters of psilocybin were offered one hour from the initial dose.”

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THERE IT IS: Cannabis Farm Raided by ICE Donated LOTS of Money to CA Dems Including Gavin Newsom

The President of Glass House Farms, the cannabis farm that federal immigration authorities raided in California on Thursday despite protests, has donated thousands to Democrats in California.

Co-founder, president, and board director Graham Farrar, who self-identifies on social media as residing in Santa Barbara, California, has made numerous political donations to the Santa Barbara County Democratic Central Committee’s federal political action committee and Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., according to Federal Election Commission records.

According to California public campaign finance records, he also donated $10,000 to California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2018, and his most recent public political donation was to California Democratic Assemblymember Gregg Hart in July 2023.

Incredible stuff.

While Gavin Newsom pretends to be righteously indignant about these raids, he’s really just mad one of his campaign donors got busted.

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El Salvador Recalls Ambassador To Mexico Over Drug Plane Allegations

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said on July 9 that he was recalling El Salvador’s ambassador to Mexico for consultations after Mexico’s security chief claimed that a plane allegedly carrying cocaine had originated in El Salvador.

In a social media post, Bukele called the accusation false and urged Mexico to clarify and correct comments by Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch, who said during a press conference that the July 3 flight had come from El Salvador before it was intercepted in Colima, Mexico.

Bukele shared an image of the flight path and said tracking data showed the plane never entered Salvadoran airspace.

The president said Costa Rica reported a suspicious radar trace northwest of its territory on July 3.

“It was Costa Rica that activated the regional alert through APAN, a Central American air security network,” Bukele said.

“According to its own report, the aircraft’s trace entered Costa Rican airspace, briefly disappeared from radar, and then reappeared as it exited toward the Pacific. Our radars did not register any aerial contact within our airspace … Their report is clear: the aircraft flew over the Pacific Ocean and never entered Salvadoran territory.”

Bukele also criticized the Mexican government for not making public that three Mexican men were arrested over the flight.

“El Salvador does not shield criminals nor tolerate drug trafficking. We didn’t before, and we won’t now,” he said. “Nor will we allow attempts to involve us in operations that are neither our responsibility nor within our jurisdiction.”

Mexican authorities previously said three people were onboard the flight. They were arrested in Colima after 940 lb (427 kg) of cocaine was allegedly seized from the plane after landing.

Within hours of the post, Garcia Harfuch responded to Bukele on the social media platform X, saying that Mexican authorities first detected the plane about 200 km (120 miles) south of San Salvador, after which it ordered the military to intercept the suspicious flight. The map he posted also showed the plane’s route, although incomplete, over the Pacific Ocean.

Garcia Harfuch acknowledged that the men were Mexican and said they were facing criminal charges.

“We reiterate our respect and appreciation for the people of El Salvador,” he added.

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7 Chinese nationals charged in MASSIVE money laundering, human smuggling, drug trafficking operation

Seven Chinese nationals have been charged in connection to a conspiracy to cultivate as well as distribute marijuana in the Northeastern United States. They undertook this operation by using a network of single-family houses in Massachusetts as well as Maine, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).  

A press release from the DOJ on the charges stated that Jianxiong Chen, 39; Yuxiong Wu, 36; Dinghui Li, 38; Dechao Ma, 35; Peng Lian Zhu, 35; Hongbin Wu, 35; and Yanrong Zhu, 47 were all charged in connection to the network distributing the drugs around the Northeast. Six of the defendants were taken into custody earlier this week, with Yanrong Zhu still on the run as a fugitive.  

Most of the Chinese nationals have been charged with money laundering as well as conspiracy, and some were also charged with bringing assisting with bringing foreign nationals to the US illegally.

US Attorney Leah B. Foley said of the charges, “This case pulls back the curtain on a sprawling criminal enterprise that exploited our immigration system and our communities for personal gain. These defendants allegedly turned quiet homes across the Northeast into hubs for a criminal enterprise – building a multi-million-dollar black-market operation off the backs of an illegal workforce and using our neighborhoods as cover. That ends today.” 

The DOJ further stated, “According to the charging documents, from in or about January 2020, the defendants allegedly owned, operated or partnered with a network of interconnected grow houses in Massachusetts and Maine to cultivate and distribute kilogram-sized quantities of marijuana in bulk. Specifically, the enterprise allegedly operated grow houses in Braintree, Mass.; Melrose, Mass.; and Greenfield, Mass., among other locations in Massachusetts, Maine and elsewhere.” 

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Newsom Protests ICE Raid on Marijuana Farm Allegedly Found Using Child Labor

California Gov. Gavin Newsom protested against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on a marijuana farm in his state this week that was allegedly found to have been using child labor.

Newsom reposted a video of the raid, calling President Donald Trump the “real scum” for enforcing the law.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott alleged that the farm had been found employing not only illegal aliens, but also “juveniles.”

Newsom was, in effect, trying to protect child labor.

The governor returned Thursday from a two-day swing to South Carolina, where he is testing the waters for a presidential run in three years’ time by introducing himself to voters in rural counties.

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Psychedelic Drug May Slow Aging

Could magic mushrooms hold the key to slowing down aging? New research from Georgia’s Emory University suggests they just might.

A new study has found that psilocin—a compound produced in the body after consuming psilocybin, the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms—extended the lifespan of human skin and lung cells in the lab by more than 50 percent.

The researchers also found that mice treated with psilocybin lived 30 percent longer—not to mention more healthily—than their peers.

“This study provides strong preclinical evidence that psilocybin may contribute to healthier aging—not just a longer lifespan, but a better quality of life in later years,” Dr. Ali John Zarrabi, Director of Psychedelic Research at Emory University’s Department of Psychiatry said in a statement.

“As a palliative care physician-scientist, one of my biggest concerns is prolonging life at the cost of dignity and function. But these mice weren’t just surviving longer—they experienced better aging,” added Zarrabi, who co-led the study.

As part of their study, the researchers ran the first long-term assessment of psilocybin’s systemic effects in living animals.

They treated aged, 19-month-old mice—which is something like 60–65 in human years—with an initially low psilocybin dose of 5 mg, followed by a high dose of 15 mg every month for 10 months.

The team found that psilocybin-treated mice survived around 30 percent longer than their untreated peers. Moreover, the treated mice also looked healthier for it, with better fur quality, fewer white hairs and even hair regrowth.

While psilocybin is usually studied for its mental health benefits, the findings suggest that the compound may also tackle key drivers of aging.

According to the team, the psilocybin treatments reduced oxidative stress, improved the cells’ ability to repair DNA and helped preserve the length of telomeres—the protective caps on chromosomes that guard against damage leading to diseases like cancer, neurodegeneration and heart disease.

“Most cells in the body express serotonin receptors, and this study opens a new frontier for how psilocybin could influence systemic aging processes, particularly when administered later in life,” said senior author and former Emory professor Louise Hecker in a statement.

Though psilocybin may be best known for its hallucinogenic effects on the brain, most cells in the body have serotonin receptors, suggesting it could have much wider impacts.

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