Tag Archives: Drugs & Vice

U.S. ex-DEA agent in unlikely new role with pot investment firm

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“In a decade with the DEA, Patrick Moen rose to supervise a team of agents busting methamphetamine and heroin rings in Oregon – before giving it all up to join the nascent legal marijuana industry in nearby Washington state.  In November, the former federal drug agent quit his post to work for a marijuana industry investment firm, and says he relishes getting in on the ground floor of a burgeoning industry he was once sworn to annihilate.  As managing director of compliance and senior counsel for Seattle-based Privateer Holdings, Moen has added his name to a small but growing list of individuals with unlikely backgrounds who have joined state-sanctioned marijuana enterprises.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/20/us-usa-dea-marijuana-idUSBREA0J0PM20140120

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A Secret Deal Between The DEA And Mexico’s Sinaloa Drug Cartel?

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“An investigation by a major Mexican newspaper, El Universal, has concluded that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency entered into agreements—dating back to 2000 and continuing through 2012—with Mexico’s largest drug trafficking gang, the Sinaloa Cartel.  According to Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, a highly placed member of the Sinaloa cartel and the son of top Sinaloa leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the deal involved the cartel providing information about rival Mexican drug gangs to the DEA in exchange for the U.S. government agreeing not to interfere with Sinaloa shipments into the United States and the dismissal of criminal charges against cartel participants.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2014/01/14/was-operation-fast-and-furious-really-part-of-a-secret-deal-between-the-dea-and-mexicos-sinaloa-drug-cartel/

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Bitcoin and Poker: Zynga’s Best Friends

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“Adding a new method of buying what amounts to little more than different colored pixels on a screen won’t likely add much revenue or bottom line profits, unless of course, the colored pixels are in the shape of poker chips. Last year Zynga added ZyngaPlusCasino and ZyngaPlusPoker to its lineup of games.  As more states bet that online gambling can help solve their budget woes, the opportunity for Zynga increases. The recent addition of New Jersey could prove to be a tipping point for other states looking to cash in.  Bitcoin removes the pesky credit card approval issues for both user and merchant and eliminates credit card fraud and disputed charges.”

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12251187/1/bitcoin-and-poker-zyngas-best-friends.html

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Oklahoma: Marijuana Legalization Measure Introduced

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“State Senator Constance Johnson (D-District 48) has introduced Senate Bill 2116, which aims to legalize the possession, cultivation, and retail sale of cannabis to adults. The proposed legislation removes all criminal and civil penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and the personal cultivation of up to 5 marijuana plants by those over the age of 21. The bill would also create a system of retail cannabis outlets, cultivation facilities, and marijuana product manufacturers.  According to a 2013 ACLU report, Oklahoma arrests over 10,000 individuals for simple marijuana possession every year, at the cost of nearly 30 million dollars.”

http://norml.org/news/2014/01/21/oklahoma-marijuana-legalization

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Cigar Industry Receives Bitcoin Boost

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“Australia’s largest premium cigar retailer, Brisbane-based Fine Cigars Australia began accepting the currency.  The company’s general manager, Matthew Mroczek, said he and the company were already comfortable with bitcoin by that stage. ‘We have been using it for several months now to pay some of our suppliers in places like Mexico and Nicaragua because it is simply a far more efficient method of payment,’ he said.  ‘To go through normal banking channels it would take two days for them to get the money, which delayed the delivery to our customers. Not to mention the problem with currency movements over such a time period.'”

http://www.coindesk.com/cigar-industry-receives-bitcoin-boost/

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A Massage Parlour Owner Explains How Bitcoin Will Help Attract Clients

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“Ellie Young, owns Sensuous London, a Mayfair-based company that provides a ‘sensual, tantric massage experience’ to customers from nearby hotels and residences—previously, they only accepted cash. I spoke to Young about why her massage parlour has become among the first of its kind to accept payment in cryptocurrency.  It’s a better arrangement for both parties. The clients no longer need to dream up Kafkaesque excuses for what embarrassing strings of xxx’s are doing on their credit card bill, while masseuses are free to set about doing what they do best without fear of being ripped off.”

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/a-massage-parlour-owner-explains-how-bitcoin-will-help-attract-clients

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Will buying porn turn out to be bitcoin’s killer app?

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“Porn.com has seen sales increase by nearly a quarter since it started accepting payments in bitcoin, leading the site to claim that porn could be the currency’s ‘killer app’. Now the site’s owners are offering the domain for sale to anyone who will pay $50m in the digital currency.  Porn.com started taking bitcoin for its premium services in December, and the currency rapidly came to account for 10% of its sales. But in early January, a post on Reddit’s Bitcoin subforum took the news viral, and after a spike where the currency accounted for 50% of its sales, the bitcoin trade settled down at 25%.”

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/16/will-porn-com-bitcoin-app

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NYPD Seized an Innocent Man’s Cash, Used It to Pad Their Pensions

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“Without a warrant, the New York Police Department (NYPD) burst into the home of Gerald Bryan in a nighttime raid in March of 2012. Police punched through walls, tore out light fixtures and seized $4,800 in cash. Gerald was suspected of distributing drugs and taken into custody. One year later, the case against him was dropped. But when Gerald tried to get his money back, he found that it had been deposited into the pension fund for the NYPD.  According to Steven Kessler, the former head of the Bronx District Attorney’s forfeiture unit, property owners are not charged with a crime in 85 percent of the forfeiture cases pursued by the NYPD.”

http://www.ij.org/nypd-seized-an-innocent-s-man-cash-used-it-to-pad-their-pensions

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New Hampshire General Assembly Approves Marijuana Legalization

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“After a heated and lengthy debate on the floor of the New Hampshire General Assembly, the lower chamber of New Hampshire’s legislature today voted 170 to 162 in favor of House Bill 492, which seeks to legalize under state law the personal use and home cultivation of marijuana by persons 21 years of age or older and establish regulations for the retail production and sale of cannabis.  The historic vote makes the New Hampshire House the first state legislative chamber to ever vote in favor of regulating cannabis.”

http://blog.norml.org/2014/01/15/after-lengthy-floor-debate-new-hampshire-general-assembly-approves-marijuana-legalization/

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Student Jailed For Buying Common Grocery Item Is Now Suing

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“Her purchase? A case of water.  No less than six plainclothes ABC agents surrounded Elizabeth Daly and two of her sorority sisters in a shopping mall parking lot, according to the Daily Progress. One officer drew his gun and allegedly tried to break a window of the SUV as the panicked girls sat inside. According to the legal filing, at least one officer jumped onto the hook of the vehicle, as well. The college students were understandably afraid and thought they were being attacked by criminals.  The young woman was ultimately arrested on three felony charges. The counts levied against her included eluding police and assaulting law enforcement officers. She spent nearly 24 hours in jail.”

http://www.offthegridnews.com/2014/01/15/student-arrested-for-buying-common-grocery-item-is-now-suing/

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