Author: VICE News
Lebanon could rake in $1 billion a year from the illegal trade. Subscribe to VICE News here: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News Check out VICE News for more: http://vicenews.com Follow VICE News here: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vicenews Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicenews Tumblr: http://vicenews.tumblr.com/ Instagram: http://instagram.com/vicenews More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideo #VICENews #News source
Over the past 20 years, Franco Loja and Arjan Roskam, known as the “Kings of Cannabis,” have made millions of dollars scouring the world for unique strains of weed to breed and then sell. Now, they’ve turned their sights on Equatorial Africa, specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as their next gold mine — and a way to revolutionize the cannabis industry. “Equatorial Africa is one the best preserved because of the wars, the lack of infrastructure, political unrest. All these situations created isolation there,” Loja explained. “So that’s where we’re going.” Loja and Roskam built their global powerhouse…
The first-ever shooting competition exclusively for home-assembled firearms—or so-called “ghost guns”—was held in late June at a Florida gun range. These are guns with no serial numbers and thus no easy way for authorities to track down the owner or manufacturer. The shooting contest was organized by a digital gun building collective called Are We Cool Yet? or AWCY, a group that has been pushing the envelope of what’s possible with 3D-printed arms, including a full-auto submachine gun, a “battle rifle,” and some designs that are totally unique. Today’s 3D-printed “ghost guns” can look, feel, and shoot like factory-made weapons.…
Despite the Trump administration’s recent push to solve an opioid crisis that’s now killing more people than AIDS did at its peak, the U.S. has come close to banning the leaves of a Southeast Asian tree that’s known to fight addiction. The leaves, crushed to form a substance called Kratom, are available in the U.S. for just a dollar or two per dose. People in Southeast Asia have used it to treat opiate addiction for centuries. But Kratom is also unregulated, often adulterated, and has been linked to several fatalities. A few states have made the substance illegal, and last…
It seems like a paradox: Most doctors and scientists agree that the best way to treat opioid addiction is with other opioids. That’s because opioids are so powerful that they change the brain chemistry of the people who use them. That’s why quitting opioids cold turkey rarely works, and why more and more people are looking to medication-assisted treatment for help. The three approved medications for opioid addiction — methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone — regulate brain chemistry. Each medication interacts with the same receptors as opioids like heroin or oxycodone. But these meds are carefully dosed, so people who take…
Until very recently, smoking weed was completely illegal in Jamaica. But in 2015, the law changed, and individuals are now allowed to have a small amount of ganja for personal use. Medical sales are allowed, and permits for larger farming operations are also being granted – slowly. The ganja industry will undoubtedly generate a lot of money – especially from tourists, who will be looking to partake in a bit of authentic Jamaican weed. But this raises the question: who is going to profit from this? Jamaicans, or somebody else? Since 2015, Jamaica has become the site of a ganja…
Ed “NJWeedMan” Forchion is a local New Jersey cannabis legend. His shop, NJWeedMan’s Joint, located directly across the street from City Hall, has been operating as a cannabis marketplace since 2015 – before legalization. NJ has been clear about the distinction between marijuana and cannabis; marijuana, street-cannabis, will still be illegal, but cannabis, corporate regulation, won’t be. NJ’s anti-corporatization beliefs were rooted in his on-and-off relationship with the New Jersey legal system. In 2016, months after its establishment, NJWeedMan’s Joint was raided by police. He served more than 400 days in prison. Now, since recreational legalization, he’s making sure the…
California voters approved recreational marijuana five years ago, joining a club that has now grown to 18 states and Washington, D.C. The hope was legalization would eventually put illicit operations out of business. But instead, the opposite is happening: The underground market is booming, causing some to warn the regulated system is teetering toward collapse. Business owners face steep taxes and costly red tape, and consumers are finding that better deals can be had outside of licensed stores. We embedded with law enforcement during raids of outlaw operations and spoke with illegal growers and dealers about the market realities in…