The Pentagon on Friday ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier strike group to counter drug-trafficking organizations in Latin America. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/25/world/politics/trump-aircraft-carrier-latin-america/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #us #latinamerica #southamerica #venezuela #colombia #donaldtrump #usmilitary #aircraftcarriers #drugs
The U.S. sanctioned Gustavo Petro over accusations that the Colombian president has refused to stop the flow of cocaine into the United States. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/25/world/politics/trump-petro-sanctions-colombia-drugs/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #us #colombia #gustavopetro #donaldtrump #southamerica #drugs
Rather than hurting Latin America's drug trade, U.S. strikes on vessels Washington claims are ferrying drugs to American soil might be benefiting drug lords by causing a supply crunch. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/24/world/crime-legal/us-drug-strikes-explainer/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #crimelegal #us #donaldtrump #venezuela #colombia #drugs #gangs #trade
U.S. President Donald Trump said "the land is going to be next” in his campaign to stop the flow of drugs into the country from Venezuela. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/24/world/trump-venezuela-land-strikes/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #us #venezuela #drugs #gangs #donaldtrump #nicolasmaduro
Charles U. Farley
and 1 other
boosted
Is Your Medication Made in a Contaminated Factory? The FDA Won’t Tell You.
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The agency’s decision to conceal drug names on inspection reports has prevented doctors, pharmacists and patients from knowing whether medications made overseas are tainted by manufacturing failures that could make them ineffective or unsafe.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-hides-drug-names-contaminated-factories?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Is Your Medication Made in a Contaminated Factory? The FDA Won’t Tell You.
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The agency’s decision to conceal drug names on inspection reports has prevented doctors, pharmacists and patients from knowing whether medications made overseas are tainted by manufacturing failures that could make them ineffective or unsafe.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-hides-drug-names-contaminated-factories?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Here’s What Happened When ProPublica Reporters Tried to Find Out Where a Popular Prescription Drug Was Made
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We wanted to know something simple: Where a widely used prescription drug that treats high cholesterol was made, and whether that factory had quality problems. Instead, we found ourselves navigating a labyrinth of company names and databases that few consumers would even know exist.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-transparency-atorvastatin-prescription-explainer?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Health #FDA #Drugs #Safety #Manufacturing #Journalism
U.S. President Donald Trump's threat this week to slap Colombia with tariffs over its drug policy marked an escalation in his feud with a country that has long been one of Washington's closest Latin American allies. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/22/world/politics/trump-colombia-tariffs-us-policy/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #colombia #gustavopetro #southamerica #latinamerica #us #donaldtrump #trade #tariffs #republicans #drugs #caribbean
Legal experts aren't surprised the U.S. government chose not to use the term "prisoners of war" to describe two survivors of an attack on a vessel last week by the U.S. military. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/21/world/crime-legal/trump-drug-war-prisoners-legal/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #crimelegal #drugs #caribbean #organizedcrime #smuggling #venezuela #southamerica #latinamerica #us #donaldtrump #republicans #humanrights
For three decades, Mako Nishimura was one of Japan's few female yakuza. These days, she helps other retired gangsters reintegrate into society. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/21/japan/society/yakuza-woman-redemption/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #yakuza #gangs #japanesepolice #gifu #drugs
U.S. President Donald Trump has accused his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, of being an "illegal drug leader” and said the U.S. would halt all aid to the country. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/20/world/politics/trump-us-aid-colombia-petro/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #politics #colombia #gustavopetro #us #donaldtrump #drugs #smuggling #aid
In a first, Japan has approved the over-the-counter sale of emergency contraceptive pill Norlevo. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/20/japan/science-health/japan-morning-after-pill-otc-sale-approval/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #sciencehealth #mhlw #pregnancy #birthcontrol #drugs #health
As tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela escalate, a U.S. military strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean has left survivors, a U.S. official has said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/17/world/us-drug-vessel-strike-survivors/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #us #venezuela #drugs #gangs
Benjamin Sonntag-King
boosted
Using the Fediverse is like using cannabis. It's not addictive, and you'll often meet kind, creative people who use it. You can relax and enjoy good conversations while scrolling through #Fedicats or #Fedidogs, or even try out new recipes (perhaps during your munchies).
Mainstream social media, on the other hand, is more like sugar, alcohol, or tobacco: it’s designed to create dependence. The dopamine hits keep users hooked, and the outrage fuels engagement. These platforms profit from anxiety and aggression just as other industries profit from addiction. Think about the overdose of bad news and hate speech that keeps us glued to our phones.
Meanwhile, healthier, slower, community-based ways of connecting, both online and offline, are still considered odd or niche, like cannabis once was.
How do we break these taboos and help more people find a better high?
Using the Fediverse is like using cannabis. It's not addictive, and you'll often meet kind, creative people who use it. You can relax and enjoy good conversations while scrolling through #Fedicats or #Fedidogs, or even try out new recipes (perhaps during your munchies).
Mainstream social media, on the other hand, is more like sugar, alcohol, or tobacco: it’s designed to create dependence. The dopamine hits keep users hooked, and the outrage fuels engagement. These platforms profit from anxiety and aggression just as other industries profit from addiction. Think about the overdose of bad news and hate speech that keeps us glued to our phones.
Meanwhile, healthier, slower, community-based ways of connecting, both online and offline, are still considered odd or niche, like cannabis once was.
How do we break these taboos and help more people find a better high?
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he directed a military strike on another vessel ferrying drugs from Venezuela, killing four. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/04/world/us-venezuela-drug-boat/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #us #venezuela #drugs #donaldtrump
Alex Akselrod
boosted
New rabbit hole: There's apparently been a full-blown panic among law enforcement and corrections officers about fentanyl exposure for the past 3 or more years. Large numbers of LEOs believe that merely touching fentanyl is fatal. There are multiple online videos of officers touching something confiscated in an arrest and then collapsing. There are reports of dozens of correctional officers being rushed to the ER after reportedly touching fentanyl soaked into envelopes in the mail room--one even died last year (summer 2024).
Meanwhile, there are MDs and substance use experts on record saying that literally cannot happen: nobody even gets a buzz from fentanyl by just touching it, let alone dying. There is now scholarly research documenting the widespread false beliefs about fentanyl in LEO circles, and at least one suggesting that all the incidents represent a "culture bound syndrome" in law enforcement; essentially a mass delusion, which triggers panic attacks and perhaps some hypnosis-like states of consciousness.
I haven't verified this point, yet, but I saw one online document alleging that in none of the alleged single-contact exposure reactions to fentanyl (or amphetamines, which are cited in many other incidents) has there ever been an investigation finding any drugs on the mail items, or finding that the officer's reaction really was from the drug they apparently touched. In almost all cases there is apparently no investigation at all, beyond interviewing the officers about their beliefs of what happened.
Anyway, these incidents are also being used by corrections and LE officers to justify #censorship and #torture of #prisoners.
https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/worker-dies-at-california-prison-amid-fentanyl-exposure-concerns-13173
New rabbit hole: There's apparently been a full-blown panic among law enforcement and corrections officers about fentanyl exposure for the past 3 or more years. Large numbers of LEOs believe that merely touching fentanyl is fatal. There are multiple online videos of officers touching something confiscated in an arrest and then collapsing. There are reports of dozens of correctional officers being rushed to the ER after reportedly touching fentanyl soaked into envelopes in the mail room--one even died last year (summer 2024).
Meanwhile, there are MDs and substance use experts on record saying that literally cannot happen: nobody even gets a buzz from fentanyl by just touching it, let alone dying. There is now scholarly research documenting the widespread false beliefs about fentanyl in LEO circles, and at least one suggesting that all the incidents represent a "culture bound syndrome" in law enforcement; essentially a mass delusion, which triggers panic attacks and perhaps some hypnosis-like states of consciousness.
I haven't verified this point, yet, but I saw one online document alleging that in none of the alleged single-contact exposure reactions to fentanyl (or amphetamines, which are cited in many other incidents) has there ever been an investigation finding any drugs on the mail items, or finding that the officer's reaction really was from the drug they apparently touched. In almost all cases there is apparently no investigation at all, beyond interviewing the officers about their beliefs of what happened.
Anyway, these incidents are also being used by corrections and LE officers to justify #censorship and #torture of #prisoners.
https://evrimagaci.org/tpg/worker-dies-at-california-prison-amid-fentanyl-exposure-concerns-13173
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a state of "armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, further justifying recent strikes against alleged drug-runners from Venezuela. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/03/world/us-venezuela-drug-cartel-conflict/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #worldnews #us #donaldtrump #venezuela #drugs #gangs
