More and more people are now mixing heroin and other street drugs with an extremely potent drug normally used for tranquilizing elephants. The drug, carfentanil, is reportedly 10,000 times stronger than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl. At least 19 deaths have been linked to this lethal cocktail in the Detroit area only since July, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. What’s even worse is that the drug has no antidote. District Judge Linda B. Davis told the Detroit Free Press to Detroit Free Press:

This is really scary. We know there have been some instances in Port Huron and New Haven where this has been suspected […] It makes it more deadly than heroin already is… This is really deadly. It is devastating communities.

Carfentanil was first created in 1974 for veterinary use and has not been approved for human use. As it is sometimes sold in pill form, users face great risk of accidental overdose. And the effects start only minutes after taking it–disorientation, coughing, sedation, respiratory distress, or cardiac arrest and death. “This stuff is so deadly, you could die before you can get high,” said Lloyd Jackson, spokesman for the Wayne County medical examiner’s office.

The Associated Press found that it is particularly easy to buy carfentanil online from producers in China, even though the U.S. government is urging the country to blacklist the drug. Over there, it is legal and out in the open, though its qualities have been compared to nerve gas. A Chinese worker at a lab that makes carfentanil told the AP that she thinks it should be controlled in China, but that there are so many labs and so much of the product, that she doesn’t know how the government could ever control it.

Apart from tranquilizing animals, it has also been studied for use as a chemical weapon by the U.S., U.K., Russia, China, and a few other countries. The drug’s potency can be demonstrated by the time when Chechen rebels held over 800 people hostage at a theater in Moscow in 2002. Russian forces used a related drug, fentanyl, to get the rebels to surrender by spraying it into the theater. It worked–but the effects also killed 120 of the hostages.

“Countries that we are concerned about were interested in using it for offensive purposes. We are also concerned that groups like ISIS could order it commercially,” said Andrew Weber, former assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, to the AP.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the amount of fentanyl seized by authorities has increased from 8.1 pounds in 2014 to 295 pounds only from July 2016 until today. But DEA officials have said that they have experienced an unexpectedly high level of cooperation rate from Chinese officials in their efforts to stop the production and smuggling of carfentanil, noting that both countries are looking at it very closely.

“Shining sunlight on this black market activity should encourage Chinese authorities to shut it down,” Weber told the AP.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post 19 Dead In Michigan From Mixing Drugs With Elephant Tranquilizer appeared first on Law Street.

In this week’s edition of “people suck” I’d like to introduce you to Martin Shkreli.

Shkreli is a 32-year-old former hedge fund manager and the founder of Turing Pharmaceuticals AG. He’s also the pharmaceutical industry’s public enemy number one. Why? Because Shkreli quickly skyrocketed to internet fame after he purchased the rights to a 62-year-old lifesaving drug used for fighting parasitic infections, and then raised its price overnight by more than 5,500 percent.

How to stop guys like Martin Shkreli from jacking up the price of a life-saving drugs http://t.co/5tVOXV7ZCP pic.twitter.com/Vw1YXfcHNQ

— Slate (@Slate) September 23, 2015

According to the New York Times, Turing acquired the drug Daraprim in August and quickly raised its price from $13.50 a tablet to $750 a tablet. Daraprim is mainly used to treat toxoplasmosis, which is a parasitic infection that can cause life-threatening problems for people with compromised immune systems, like AIDS patients and certain cancer patients. So by drastically inflated the drug’s price, Shkreli and his company greedily price gouged these patients by raising their cost of treatment to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the immortal words of Kanye West: “how could you be so heartless?”

After news got out about the price hike, Shkreli went on CNBC to defend his business move, claiming that the increase was needed to fund development for a better version of the AIDS drug. However, reporter Meg Tirrell fired back saying that experts have said that reformulating the drug is completely unnecessary.

Shkreli said,

At this price, Daraprim is still on the low end of what drugs costs. And we’re certainly not the first company to raise drug prices.

Turing is a very small company, it’s a new company and we’re not a profitable company. So for us to try to exist and maintain a profit, I think is pretty reasonable.

Tirrell concluded the interview by asking Shkreli if he would consider lowing the price in response to the negative media attention and many “doctors and patients saying that they can’t access this drug.”

Shkreli responded with a simple, “no.” But his resolve didn’t last long.

Politicians quickly began denouncing his actions, while Democratic presidential candidates responded by tailoring their health care platforms around the issue of the rising costs of prescription drugs.

Clinton tweeted:

Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous. Tomorrow I’ll lay out a plan to take it on. -H https://t.co/9Z0Aw7aI6h — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 21, 2015

Shortly after she sent out the tweet, stock plummeted for Turing. And shortly after that, Clinton rolled out a new drug plan that would prevent insurers from offering health plans that charge patients more than $250 a month in co-payments for drugs.

All of this seemed to give Shkreli a change of heart, because on Tuesday he announced that he would be lowing the cost of the medication. There’s no word yet on how much the drug will now cost or when we can expect the price change to take effect, but one thing is certain–he’s still a douche.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post People Suck: Ex-Hedge Funder Buys AIDS Drug, Increases Price 5,000% appeared first on Law Street.

Fast food restaurants are many people’s go-to place for a quick and inexpensive meal. Despite widespread concerns about the healthiness of the food they serve, these franchises still receive an enormous amount of customers daily. But recent news has just exposed a few fast food restaurants and have shown us that some may be giving out more than just food–particularly a couple recent cases of drugs being produced or found in different establishments.

Early Tuesday morning around 4:42 AM, Cedar Rapid’s police received a call about suspicious activity going on outside a Taco Bell. When the officers arrived they found two men standing outside, one of whom was a Taco Bell employee. Police then called the restaurant’s manager to the scene and went inside with him to check it out. To their surprise, they found materials identified as equipment for the production of methamphetamine in the utility area.

@tacobell do you have meth infused queso? Asking for a friend….. https://t.co/lO0gVEiI6o

— Patrick O’Leary (@ughsoawkward) August 5, 2015

The parking lot was taped off Tuesday morning while officers examined the materials, and it is still unclear if meth was actually cooked inside the restaurant. The two men were identified as 31-year-old Christopher Adam Matous and 56-year-old Kent Jerome Duby. Matous faces charges of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of sodium hydroxide and petroleum distillates. Two of the charges are felonies. Duby faces a felony charge of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Taco Bell stated,

We understand that two people, one an employee, entered our franchisee’s restaurant illegally, allegedly possessing suspicious items. Both we and our franchisee find this completely unacceptable. Our franchisee has been cooperating with Cedar Rapids Police to investigate this isolated incident. Although the suspicious items found in the restaurant were not used in the kitchen, the employee has been terminated and our franchisee is considering pressing criminal charges. The restaurant will reopen after it has been sanitized and inspected by the Health Department.

The Taco Bell will have to remove any traces of hazardous chemicals from the building and then the health department must perform an inspection before the restaurant is allowed to re-open. Police don’t think that customers or employees at this Taco Bell were ever in danger, but are still investigating the situation. This is not the first time in recent history that a fast food restaurant has had an incident involving drugs. Just last week on July 29, a lawsuit was filed against an In-N-Out Burger in Los Angeles, California when a customer, Fred Maldonado, became sick after drinking a milkshake that allegedly contained two methamphetamine capsules. Maldonado visited In-N-Out during March of 2014 and ordered a burger and milkshake. It wasn’t until the next morning that he noticed two capsules wrapped in a napkin at the bottom of his cup. He then returned to the restaurant and complained to the manager who only apologized and offered him a free burger.

A California Man Is Suing In-n-Out Burger After Allegedly Finding Meth In Drink -NBC pic.twitter.com/lG0FuaNFDD

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 2, 2015

The suit Maldonado filed states, “Plaintiff did not initially know what the two capsules were, but later testing revealed that they were methamphetamine and that it appeared that they may have been illicitly manufactured.” Maldonado also claims that he suffered severe nausea and mental distress after drinking the milkshake. Maldonado filed the lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging negligence and strict liability. In-N-Out has denied the charges and stated:

At In-N-Out Burger, we have always served the freshest, highest quality burgers, fries, and drinks and customer safety is one of our highest priorities.

In-N-Out Burger executive vice president Arnie Wensinger told City News Service.

We will vigorously defend these baseless claims. Due to the fact that this matter involves ongoing litigation, we will unfortunately not be able to comment any further.

To have drugs around or being manufactured where people eat is completely unacceptable–both the Taco Bell and In-N-Out Burger cases are very concerning. Careless actions like this can can put customers like Maldonado in serious danger. Even though they appear to  be isolated incidents, restaurants need to pay close attention to their employees and what’s happening inside their buildings.

Taelor Bentley

Taelor is a member of the Hampton University Class of 2017 and was a Law Street Media Fellow for the Summer of 2015. Contact Taelor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Drugs on the Side? Fast Food Restaurants Under Fire for Possible Drug Violations appeared first on Law Street.

“Cops pretend to be 11th graders, then arrest 25 students.” This is an actual headline. This is not an advertisement for 21 Jump Street. This is not a promo for a funny cop procedural, or an SNL skit. This actually happened.

In Southern California, two undercover cops have been posing as students for the entirety of this semester, trying to weed out drug dealers, pun not intended. I didn’t really know that this was a thing that happened in real life. So I did some research. And it turns out that it’s not an isolated incident. Cops all over the country are infiltrating high schools to weed out teen drug dealers.

Let’s look at the story of Deputy Donna Rogan, from Carter County, TN. At 22, she posed as a 17 year old high school student for ten months. She did her school work, attended a full course load, and made friends. The police department called her assignment “Operation Jump Street,” referencing the 1980s hit tv show and 2012 movie about cops who go undercover in a local high school to track down drug dealers. Eventually, Deputy Regan’s investigation led to the arrest of nine students and five adults. Drugs, guns, and a couple cars were eventually confiscated. The types of drugs found included marijuana and some prescription drugs.

A similar story came out of Southern California last week. Between Perris High School and Pomona Valley High School, 25 students were arrested for selling drugs by two cops posing as 17-year-olds. They found marijuana, cocaine, crack, hashish, and prescription drugs being sold around the two secondary schools.

You can find story after story after story of young undercover cops targeting teenage drug dealers. Consider Officer Alex Salinas, who pretended to be in high school for eight months last year in Central California or this unidentified officer who infiltrated a school near Tampa Bay. And, remember, these are just the operations that were successful and publicized.

It’s good that we’re cracking down on drugs in schools. Drugs are bad. Teenagers should not be doing them. But…is this really the best way to do so?

There are a lot of inherent problems with sending cops undercover to infiltrate high schools. First, does it actually work? Well, no one is really sure. A 2007 DOJ report on undercover drug stints reported that while such operations can sometimes track down drug users and low-level dealers, they usually force the real mastermind or supplier underground. The report states that stings have not conclusively resulted in success.

Then there’s the ethical side of things. Most of the kids who are busted are buying or selling relatively small amounts of the drug. In a state like California, where it’s pretty easy to get medical marijuana, the amounts being sold are relatively inconsequential. I’m not saying that their behavior is ok but I think there’s a greater ‘good’ argument to be made here. These undercover cops, who are adults my age and a bit older are going into high school to interact with 14 to18-year-olds. While 4 or so years may not seem that much, I can assure there’s a huge difference in the maturity of a 17-year-old and a 22-year-old. And so the cops go in and gain the teen’s trust then manipulate them and eventually turn around to arrest the young person with whom they’ve spent the past few months building a rapport.

In weighing the costs, is harming the trust of a kid over a little bit of weed worth it? Maybe. But there’s a lot of potential for harm. For example, an 18-year-old student named Justin in Palm Beach fell in love with a 25-year-old woman, who was posing as an undercover cop. She asked him to get her marijuana, he said he didn’t smoke, but that he would help her find some. After she asked him many times, the kid helped track down some for his new “girlfriend” and gave it to her. She arrested him.

The Snodgrass family of Temecula, CA is filing a lawsuit against an undercover cop, who they allege tricked their autistic son into buying marijuana for him. They claim that the ordeal indicated negligence, and resulted in emotional distress. The boy was befriended by an undercover deputy, which thrilled his parents because he had a hard time making friends. The deputy hounded Snodgrass to buy pot for him, and he eventually did, leading to his arrest.

Quite frankly, I think this is ridiculous. Regardless of the good short term effects in getting some drugs out of schools, I think the effect it can have on high school students is much worse. If we want our young people to be law-abiding and trustful citizens, is this really the best way to introduce them to the justice system?

—

Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Ivy Dawned via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Cops Are Pretending to be High Schoolers…Obligatory 21 Jump Street Reference? appeared first on Law Street.