2023-12-08 04:00:07
This drug thirty times more powerful than heroin kills one person every seven minutes in the United States. In this podcast, Bertrand Monnet, professor at Edhec and specialist in the economics of crime, recounts his dive into trafficking that brings billions to Mexican cartels.
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#Fentanyl #lucrative #business #deadly #drug
Tag:
drug
Operation Star: Belgium’s Drug Busts and International Trafficking
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
2023-12-05 17:18:00
Of these, 113 were in possession of drugs and 27 were under the influence. Twenty-one offenders were ultimately arrested and 23 vehicles seized, out of the 2,023 checked.
Here are the 20 drug lords showing off in Dubai while Belgium hunts them down in vain: “El Presidente”, “Dikke Nordin”, “Piwi”…
No significant quantity of drugs was seized in Belgium, but the federal police point out the diversity of the products discovered. Thus, no less than 10 types of narcotics (marijuana, hashish, cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, ketamine, ecstasy, 4MMC, 2MMC and Bromazolam) were found, in varying quantities.
Furthermore, the action, called “Operation Star”, made it possible to intercept 52 weapons and 44,014 euros in cash in Belgium, the majority of which (30,050 euros) was discovered in a cache set up in a vehicle registered in France.
The biggest raid was carried out by French customs who arrested two Dutch people transporting 6.6 kg of ecstasy in their vehicle.
He knocks down a pedestrian under the influence of drugs: the case is closed!
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#Vast #antidrug #operation #Belgium #people #checked #arrests
2023-11-24 10:02:53
Chemical submission has been at the heart of the news since the start of the Joël Guerriau affair. The senator from Loire-Atlantique is suspected of having administered a drug to Modem MP Sandrine Josso with a view to sexual assault. This modus operandi, which consists of drugging a person without their knowledge to commit a crime or misdemeanor, in particular rape, sexual assault or theft, is common. And it is not limited to GHB slipped into the drink of a stranger in a nightclub, but can also be used by a loved one in the friendly, family or professional sphere.
What are the first signs of chemical submission and the reflexes to adopt in the event that you become a victim? 20 Minutes asked several experts.
An abolition of control
While GHB is often cited as the “rapist drug,” many other substances are used to chemically subjugate a person. Drugs, first of all, such as GBL, ecstasy or MDMA, but also drugs widely prescribed in France such as antihistamines or benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Lexomil, etc.).
Although the effects differ between each product, they all have one thing in common: loss of control. And most, except ecstasy and MDMA, have sedative properties. “What is sought is the abolition of control and therefore of resistance,” summarizes Hervé Martini, addictologist and president of the Addictions France association. With benzodiazepines, we find ourselves in a state of drowsiness, of derealization, or even an ambivalent state of euphoria. »
Balance problem, extreme fatigue and micro-hallucinations
When in doubt regarding a drink or food ingested, it is important to ask the right questions. Do I have good balance? Am I reasonably sleepy? Is my alertness normal? Do I have a loss of bearings, with micro-hallucinations? If the answers are positive, it is very likely that you were drugged without your knowledge. And these are not the only clues. Some drugs, like ecstasy or MDMA, are strong in taste. “As soon as the drink tastes weird, you put your glass down straight away,” says addiction psychiatrist Philippe Batel. However, the substances used are often odorless and can go completely unnoticed when mixed into a drink.
Other effects may also be felt. “Coke and ecstasy create a feeling of loss of control over one’s impulses and strong excitement,” explains Michaël Bisch, addictologist psychiatrist and vice-president of the French Federation of Addictology. If GHB also increases libido tenfold, it also causes amnesia. “The mixture of alcohol and benzodiazepines can also cause memory loss,” continues Philippe Batel. And the effects of each product are increased tenfold if they are combined with alcohol consumption.
Take the suspect bottle as evidence
So if you have just realized that you are a victim of chemical submission, what should you do? The first thing is to get safe. Flee, if possible. Alert emergency services by calling 15 or 17 and notify relatives. Obviously, stop drinking or eating the questionable content immediately, and do not let anyone close to you taste it to see if it is really suspicious. If possible, taking the bottle or dish in question with you may be wise, in order to have proof of the chemical submission.
Finally, it is recommended to remain in a semi-sitting position to avoid falling. If the victim is unconscious, he must be placed in a sideways safety position so that he does not choke on his vomit. “Witnesses or relatives must stay by her side throughout to talk to her and keep her vigilant,” adds Hervé Martini.
No need to make yourself vomit or drink a lot of water
Although it may seem like a good solution, making yourself vomit is completely unnecessary. “Trying to regurgitate a tablet is futile because the capsules used are crushed and the drugs are in liquid or powder form,” warns Michaël Bisch. It is all the more useless because if you feel the effects, it is because the product is already in the blood and the brain. » No need to drink or eat in large quantities either to try to reduce the effects of the drug. “Contrary to what we believe with alcohol, drinking a lot of water does not eliminate the substance more quickly,” insists the doctor.
It is then advisable to immediately go to the emergency room, to a forensic unit, in order to carry out toxicological analyses. “Most substances only stay a few hours in the blood, a few days in the urine and a few weeks in the hair,” recalls Michaël Bisch. And GHB is no longer detectable following just twelve hours. Hence the interest in being taken care of as quickly as possible.
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#victim
The Effectiveness of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for Depression: Research Results and Evaluation Scales
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
2023-11-21 20:30:00
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which is attracting attention as a non-invasive treatment for depression, is emerging as a major option as evidence continues to build.
As real-world data continues to accumulate, it is becoming a major treatment strategy. However, experts believe that a variety of evaluation scales should be used as the treatment effect may vary depending on the evaluation scale.
Research results have shown that in order to confirm the exact treatment effect of TMS, various evaluation scales must be applied.
On the 21st local time, the results of a comparative study between the clinical effectiveness of TMS and evaluation scales were published in the international journal Psychiatry Research (10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115608).
TMS, also called transcranial magnetic stimulation, is a device that produces a therapeutic effect by non-invasively stimulating nerve cells in the brain by generating a magnetic field.
Starting with depression, the indications have now expanded to include Parkinson’s disease and are now being added as a major option for brain diseases.
In particular, recent studies have shown that TMS is very effective in patients who do not respond to antidepressants, and its use is increasing.
This is also the background to the follow-up study conducted by researchers led by UCLA professor Michael K. Leuchter.
This is to check how effective TMS is in patients who do not respond to antidepressants, as well as whether there are differences in each evaluation scale.
Accordingly, the researchers analyzed the treatment results of 708 people who received TMS treatment for an average of 6 weeks using four depression rating scales.
As a result, it was confirmed that the effects of TMS were applied faster than in past studies. The treatment effect began to appear within a week just by receiving TMS for 20 to 30 minutes every day for 5 days a week.
The treatment effect was also similar. Unlike past studies that reported treatment effectiveness in the 30-40% range, 54% of patients showed a clinical response with improvement in depression.
In particular, given that these results are the result of applying a total of four evaluation scales, it is evaluated that the reliability of the treatment effect of TMS has increased.
Most past studies used only the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) or Depression Rating Scale (IDS).
Professor Michael Reuter said, “Through this study, we found that TMS was effective very quickly compared to past research results and showed a clinical response of up to 54% in various evaluation scales. This is important evidence supporting the usefulness of TMS. “He explained.
However, the researchers explain that caution is needed in that the treatment effect of TMS may differ to some extent depending on the evaluation scale.
If only one evaluation scale is used, as in the past, the treatment effect may appear to be inflated or reduced compared to what it actually is.
In fact, when the researchers applied the Depression Inventory Scale (IDS), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), Mood Rating (POMS), and Depression Symptom Scale (HDRS) to patients, the degree of clinical response showed a large difference, ranging from 30% to 50%.
Additionally, the clinical remission rate differed by at least 20 to 24%. Because of this, when only a single scale is used for the clinical outcome of TMS, excluding other factors, the risk of not detecting a response or remission that may occur with other scales was analyzed to be up to 36%.
Professor Michael Reuter said, “The treatment effect of TMS on various aspects of depression can be closely analyzed by using a variety of evaluation scales rather than a single scale.” device,” he said.
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#TMS #emerges #major #option #depression #Complex #rating #scales