Officials Charge Man With Helping to Operate Silk Road Website

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January 21st, 2015/

Federal agents arrested a man Tuesday who told them he was a top assistant to the operator of Silk Road 2.0, a widely used online criminal marketplace. The site allowed anonymous users to buy and sell illegal drugs, weapons and other illegal items.

Brian Richard Farrell, 26, who was known as “DoctorClu,” was one of a small staff of online administrators and forum moderators who helped run the website, according to ABC News. Farrell, who lived in Washington state, was arrested after a yearlong investigation. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years and a maximum punishment of life in prison.

Silk Road 2.0 emerged as a copycat site a month after the founder of the original Silk Road site was arrested in October 2013, the article notes.

“The arrest of Mr. Farrell is proof that federal law enforcement continues its efforts to root out those who subvert the Internet to set up black markets for illegal goods,” Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes said in a news release.

The original Silk Road could only be accessed by using encryption software called Tor, which shields computers’ IP addresses, allowing people to make purchases anonymously. Silk Road facilitated more than $30 million in sales annually. It had been online since February 2011.

The website also sold other illegal items, such as forged documents and untaxed cigarettes. The site did not use credit cards, instead relying on “Bitcoins,” an untraceable digital currency that is available through online currency exchange services. The website told sellers to make shipments using vacuum-sealed bags so that drug-sniffing dogs would not detect the packages.

According to the Digital Citizens Alliance, Silk Road 2.0 was designed to look and operate much like the original website, but with better security.

Sleep-Deprived Teens at Higher Risk of Developing Problems with Alcohol

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January 21st, 2015/

Teenagers who don’t get enough sleep are at higher risk of developing problems with alcohol compared with their peers who don’t drink, a new study suggests.

The study used data collected from 6,500 teens who were part of a larger study on adolescent health, NPR reports. The researchers found teens ages 14 to 16 who had trouble falling or staying asleep were 47 percent more likely to engage in binge drinking than their peers who didn’t have sleep problems.

Teens with sleep problems at the beginning of the study were 14 percent more likely to drive drunk and 11 percent more likely to have interpersonal issues related to alcohol one year later. After five years, those who had sleep issues in their teen years were 10 percent more likely to drive drunk.

Teens are advised to get eight to 10 hours of sleep per night. About 45 percent of teens don’t get enough sleep, the article notes.

The findings are published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

“This study shows that sleep issues can actually precede and even predict alcohol use later on,” said lead researcher Maria Wong of Idaho State University. She noted the study found each extra hour of sleep the teens got corresponded with a 10 percent drop in binge drinking.

Dr. Maida Chen, Director of the Pediatrics Sleep Disorders Center at Seattle Children’s Hospital, told NPR it isn’t easy for parents to ensure their teens are getting enough sleep. “Because of their biology, simply saying to teens, ‘Go to sleep earlier’ is not a plausible solution,” says Chen, who wasn’t involved in the study. Teens may have difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m. or midnight because of their body’s circadian rhythms, she explained.

Maine Law Requires Drug Testing for Some Welfare Recipients

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January 21st, 2015/

Under a new law, Maine will require drug testing for welfare recipients with a prior drug conviction within the past 20 years who indicate a potential for drug dependency.

People who test positive for drugs, or who refuse to take a drug test, will have to enter a rehabilitation program in order to continue receiving aid, Time reports.

“[Governor Paul LePage] is respecting the wishes of hardworking taxpayers who want to know that the hand up they provide is being used appropriately,” said Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew in a statement.

The law was approved in 2011, but the state delayed implementing it while the state attorney general considered how to minimize lawsuits against it. Attorney General Janet Mills approved a modified version of the law earlier this month.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, at least 12 states have passed legislation regarding drug testing or screening for public assistance applicants or recipients (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.) Some of the laws apply to all applicants, while others include specific language that there is a reason to believe the person is engaging in illegal drug activity or has a substance use disorder. Some state laws require a specific screening process.

In December, a federal appeals court struck down a Florida law that required welfare applicants to undergo drug tests. The court ruled the law was an “unreasonable search.” The law, passed in 2011, required drug tests for welfare applicants even if they were not suspected of using drugs. The court ruled Florida officials failed to show a substantial need to test all welfare applicants. Under the law, applicants had to submit to urine tests.

Some Amateur Hash Oil Makers in Colorado Are Accidentally Blowing Up Their Homes

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January 20th, 2015/ 0

A spate of home explosions caused by amateur hash oil makers is an unexpected consequence of legal marijuana in Colorado, The New York Times reports.

People attempting to make hash oil, a marijuana concentrate, use flammable chemicals that can cause an explosion. They pump butane fuel through a tube containing raw marijuana plants, in order to draw out THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Volatile butane vapors can fill the room, and be ignited by a flame or spark.

While these accidents have occurred around the country, they are causing a special problem for courts and lawmakers in Colorado, the article notes. Criminal defense lawyers argue making hash oil can no longer be considered illegal now that the state has made it legal to grow, smoke, process and sell marijuana. The state attorney general has said marijuana legalization does not apply to butane extraction.

In 2014 there were 32 hash-oil explosions in Colorado, up from 12 the previous year. Dozens of people have been injured, including 17 who were treated for severe burns.

“This is uncharted territory,” State Representative Mike Foote told the newspaper. “These things come up for the first time, and no one’s dealt with them before.”

In Grand Junction, the Fire Department responded to four hash oil explosions last year. “They get enough vapors inside the building and it goes off, and it’ll bulge out the walls,” said Fire Marshall Chuck Mathis. “They always have a different story: ‘Nothing happened’ or ‘I was cooking food, and all of a sudden there was an explosion.’ They always try to blame it on something else.”

Study Warns Some Gay Men Using Dangerous Form of Club Drug “Poppers”

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January 20th, 2015/

A new, more dangerous form of the club drug known as “poppers” is being marketed toward and used by some gay men, a new study concludes. Poppers are inhaled drugs. The new forms can contain harmful solvents and propellants.

Traditional poppers have been used by some gay men to enhance sex. They give a mild high and relax smooth muscle, HealthDay reports. They contain amyl nitrite, which is medically used to treat angina. They are sold in small glass bottles under a variety of brand names including “Rush” and “Jungle Juice,” the researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles report in the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health.

The new drugs being sold as poppers are actually huffing solvents that can cause a potentially deadly heart rhythm disorder called “sudden sniffing death.” Other risks include short-term delirium, memory and thinking problems and nerve damage.

According to lead researcher Timothy Hall, gay men can be introduced to these products by sexual partners without being aware of the dangers. He says doctors need to understand the dangers of these new poppers and alert their patients. Huffing solvents and propellants carry a much greater risk for death and long-term damage to the brain and nervous system than traditional poppers, he wrote.

Many Adults Who Drink Also Use Medications That Interact With Alcohol: Study

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January 20th, 2015/

Almost 42 percent of American adults who drink also use medications that can interact dangerously with alcohol, according to a new study. Among adults 65 and older, the rate rises to almost 78 percent.

About 71 percent of American adults drink alcohol, Fox News reports.

Researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism studied 26,657 adults who provided information on their use of alcohol and prescription drugs. The most common medications taken include drugs for diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, as well as sleeping pills and painkillers.

Older adults are more likely to be taking multiple medications to treat a variety of health problems, which adds to the risk of dangerous side effects if they also drink alcohol, says lead author Dr. Rosalind Breslow.

“As we age, our ability to metabolize alcohol decreases. So alcohol might remain in our systems longer to interact with medications,” she said. “Furthermore, the metabolism of several medications that interact with alcohol slows as we get older, creating a larger window for potential alcohol/medication interactions.”

Co-author Aaron White noted mixing prescription drugs and alcohol can have a variety of life-threatening effects. “Mixing alcohol and other sedatives, like sleeping pills, narcotic pain medications or muscle relaxers, can compound these problems and potentially cause injuries and death,” he said. “They can cause sleepiness, problems with coordination and potentially suppress brain stem areas tasked with controlling vital reflexes like breathing, heart rate, and gagging to clear the airway.”

The findings appear in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

“We suggest that people talk to their doctor or pharmacist about whether they should avoid alcohol while taking their prescribed medications,” Dr. Breslow noted in a news release