Huge Latham drug bust

IrishPete Desoxyn is medical methamphetamine. Not used in Australia but used occasionally and with caution in other countries.

I’d rather see addicts and disco rebels lining up at Centrelink for Desoxyn than getting it off Dave and he says this batch is pretty good compared to last week.

dungfungus said :

Legal, boring but still deadly.
My neighbour’s kids were smoking pot a few weeks ago and the smell coming over the fence was disgusting. I confronted them and asked them if they were aware that pot could lead them to try more lethal drugs and the outcome could be tears to their parents and friends.
They answered “nahh, we’re smoking the synthetic pot and it’s not illegal so it won’t kill us”
Martlark is right – we have lost the battle.

You confronted them? Really? Did they tell you to mind your own bloody business? I think you should look into the idea that cannabis is a ‘gateway’ drug because it’s been widely discredited. It is in fact tobacco that is statistically the ‘gateway’ into heavier drug-use.

Martlark said :

Last year more drugs were seized than ever before,yet, the price remained the same. That shows all this effort to prevent use has been a failure. It Has not stopped anyone getting drugs if they want them. A better approach is to treat drugs like smokes, legal but boring.

Legal, boring but still deadly.
My neighbour’s kids were smoking pot a few weeks ago and the smell coming over the fence was disgusting. I confronted them and asked them if they were aware that pot could lead them to try more lethal drugs and the outcome could be tears to their parents and friends.
They answered “nahh, we’re smoking the synthetic pot and it’s not illegal so it won’t kill us”
Martlark is right – we have lost the battle.

Last year more drugs were seized than ever before,yet, the price remained the same. That shows all this effort to prevent use has been a failure. It Has not stopped anyone getting drugs if they want them. A better approach is to treat drugs like smokes, legal but boring.

@ irish pete you are 100% right!!! Legalise and control.

obamabinladen said :

Crack cocaine definately is in oz but not that popular due to the high price of cocaine. cocaine which is then purified by heating with water and bicarb soda to make crack cocaine. Irishpete are you anti decriminalising drugs? You just said you’ve seen people in the act region come unstuck from not knowing the strength of what they were injecting. You simply just have to look at mexico and the drug cartel wars where thousands of people are murdered every year. If drugs were legalised and regulated and controlled all the profits going to sardistic cartels would stop.

Lets face it the answer to fixing the drug problem is far more complex than simply sweeping it under the carpet and just making it illegal. Its been done and failed horrifically. A new approach needs to be taken one with real thought, real action, and an open mind.

Legalise and control. We’ve tried everything else and failed, so it’s time to try something different. There is no logical argument against (just religious arguments).

IP

Crack cocaine definately is in oz but not that popular due to the high price of cocaine. cocaine which is then purified by heating with water and bicarb soda to make crack cocaine. Irishpete are you anti decriminalising drugs? You just said you’ve seen people in the act region come unstuck from not knowing the strength of what they were injecting. You simply just have to look at mexico and the drug cartel wars where thousands of people are murdered every year. If drugs were legalised and regulated and controlled all the profits going to sardistic cartels would stop.

Lets face it the answer to fixing the drug problem is far more complex than simply sweeping it under the carpet and just making it illegal. Its been done and failed horrifically. A new approach needs to be taken one with real thought, real action, and an open mind.

obamabinladen said :

@ irish pete, America has a huge problem with crack cocaine and methamphetamine i wouldn’t say there’s a huge cocaine problem… Just because a lot of people in the US use cocaine doesn’t mean its a problem. Is coffee a problem? Is pizza a problem?

Seeing the average American I think pizza is a problem.

Coke in the USA is a problem mainly for the industry it creates. I’ve never had a problem with Coke. Just the price! And it does make me a little aggressive. And that was 10+ years ago.

Speed is similar to coke – it’s not a huge problem per se, it’s making it into Ice (the equivalent of Crack) which makes it much worse. And/or injecting it, which Australians tend to do – I don’t know if Americans inject Cocaine or Crack. I’ve seen people here (ACT region) come really unstuck because they were sold something as Speed which was much purer than they were expecting, and they injected it.

I know Meth is a problem n the USA (I’ve watched every episode of Breaking Bad, set in a city about the size of Canberra) but just think what it would be like if there wasn’t the competition from Crack, which is unheard of in Oz! Last I heard Crack was a big problem in the UK, but have heard much less about Ice/Meth there.

IP

@ irish pete, America has a huge problem with crack cocaine and methamphetamine i wouldn’t say there’s a huge cocaine problem… Just because a lot of people in the US use cocaine doesn’t mean its a problem. Is coffee a problem? Is pizza a problem?

Zoloft and Xanax are very different – one is an antidepressant, the other an extremely fast- and short-acting anti-anxiety medication. For a perspective on Xanax listen to ABC AM this morning http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3764456.htm

Dexamphetamine prescribed for ADHD is very different from Ice which is backroom-engineered for a strong and fast hit. Dex is abused by some people, injecting it for example, to try to get the same effect as Ice or Speed. But if taken in pill form in the recommended dose, its effect isn’t in the same league as Ice or Speed.

(And bear in mind Australia’s love affair with Ice and Speed is the direct equivalent of the USA’s with Crack and Cocaine respectively.)

Of course one important difference between drugs produced by Big Pharma and drugs produced in a bathtub by a Big Bikie is purity and safety. The former may not be as safe as they claim, but at least you know what’s in them. If it says Horse Tranquiliser on the packet, it probably is – “May contain nuts” instead of “May make you nuts”.

IP

BimboGeek said :

bundah said :

Apparently one in ten who use ice suffer from ice psychosis and become extremely violent.It’s bad enough that we’ve got state sanctioned alcohol fuelled violence so legally adding ice into the mix is not my idea of fun.

In other countries it’s a medicine for ADD and a diet pill.
It’s just an amphetamine.
Amphetamine psychosis is a thing but the doctors handing it out to teenagers like it’s candy don’t seem to be all that concerned about it.
I’d rather see people get a guaranteed dose and a pure, safe product than the dreck you get on the street. It would cause us all a lot less trouble.

There’s a huge difference between being prescribed a prescription medication for a particular mental health issue and taking shitloads of methamphetamine for the express purpose of getting your rocks off.

obamabinladen said :

So we can drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes but we can’t take other drugs why not??? If ice and heroin were legal i wouldn’t touch the shit. I barely drink and never smoke even though i can. Point is legalise all drugs, people are going to get high if its legal or illegal may aswell regulate it collect tax profits ensure clean product to users and you’d be killing the back pocket of organised crime!

I wouldn’t quite phrase it like obama, but I concur that controlling the hell out of drugs through legalisation, regulation, taxing and other measures could only be beneficial. The government would make the money, rather than the Mexican cartels who appear to have started cutting the heads off Australians they don’t like. The drugs would be chemically pure, resulting in a reduction in deaths due to erratic strength or the ingestion of toxic cutting agents. The cost would be reduced, so that addicts (hopefully) wouldn’t need to break into my house and steal my sons new guitar to fund their habits. This may change if John Hewson’s plan to double GST is adopted. 🙂

And this is just my gut feel, but I reckon that making it all boring and dull and legal and regulated would take away a lot of the “I’m a badass drug-doer” vibe and make it all less popular. My friends who got into drugs when I was young all furiously agreed with each other that they were the coolest things on earth because they were stickin’ it to the man by smoking, snorting and shooting up rat poison and talcum powder mixed with a little dope. It would all be less cool if they had to queue up at Centrelink to get their daily packet of pills.

bundah said :

Apparently one in ten who use ice suffer from ice psychosis and become extremely violent.It’s bad enough that we’ve got state sanctioned alcohol fuelled violence so legally adding ice into the mix is not my idea of fun.

In other countries it’s a medicine for ADD and a diet pill.
It’s just an amphetamine.
Amphetamine psychosis is a thing but the doctors handing it out to teenagers like it’s candy don’t seem to be all that concerned about it.
I’d rather see people get a guaranteed dose and a pure, safe product than the dreck you get on the street. It would cause us all a lot less trouble.

I don’t agree with the idea of allowing ice or heroin to be bought through a retail outlet.

However, I do think there is some merit in allowing people who are diagnosed addicts to access their drug through some sort of clinic/treatment facility. It would reduce the risk of overdose from dodgy drugs cut with who knows what, would enable them to access treatment for their addiction if they so wanted irt, would reduce property crime, etc associated with their addiction as they would no longer be paying hugely marked up street prices, and most importantly would seriously disrupt the business model of drug pushers – why push ice or heroin onto someone if getting them addicted is not going to land you a repeat customer? Exactly how this idea would operate is obviously something that would require a fair bit of thought, but continuing on with the current prohibition model is just ridiculous – the model has failed in every possible respect. It is pure stubborn idiocy to persist with it. Countries that have decriminalised drug use have seen the rates of addiction fall. Decriminalisation or legalisation does not not autmoatically mean usage rates would sky-rocket. The evidence actually suggests they will fall.

This drug bust is being lauded as some type of victory for the police. Why? Those drugs will be replaced by some other enterprising criminal within the week. If there is a short-term shortage of drugs in Canberra, all that will happen is prices will go up and the profit incentive will draw new players into the trade. Nothing will be solved.

As for cannabis and ecstasy – all scientific evidence points to the fact that these drugs are far less harmful than tobacco or alcohol. A legalised and regulated market would at least hand back to government and society some sort of control over these products.

Is the second picture sandwiches and powder?! That shit would be all gritty to eat!

No i totally agree with you that ice and heroin are bad but no worse than say oxycontin or anti-depressant drugs like zoloft or xanax. If a kid wants to score some ice or heroin they just need the money and can get it at school or if they live in richardson probably off one of their neighbours scoring hard drugs is easy atm with regulations obviously come rules like ID checks shooting galleries, etc the idea of legalising and regulating makes access easier to control.

Lets face it the approach we’ve taken to the so called “war on drugs” is not working. We need to take a new approach one that gets to the very core of the problem. Attitudes need to change people need to change.

Agh…I saw a couple of cars being loaded up onto tow trucks last night & then a commodore (cop car?) leaving around 9pm. That’s a bit of a worry to know that’s been going on in my street 🙁

I must say, the guy driving the cars up on to the truck must have been going for some kind of speed record.

obamabinladen said :

So we can drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes but we can’t take other drugs why not??? If ice and heroin were legal i wouldn’t touch the shit. I barely drink and never smoke even though i can. Point is legalise all drugs, people are going to get high if its legal or illegal may aswell regulate it collect tax profits ensure clean product to users and you’d be killing the back pocket of organised crime!

This is crazy dude.

In the case of pot, which has less personal, familial and social effects than alcohol – yeah, it’s ridiculous that it’s illegal, and that it’s not being taxed and regulated.

But in the case of ice? F*** that man. Given how one must source it now, you have to work pretty hard to try it the first time – but if we make it available to anyone?

You don’t think this would lead into a massive increase in violent meth-heads trying to break into your house to fund their habit?

Amphetamines are dangerous, they’re personally and socially harmful – and after a recent spate of weed busts, I congratulate the AFP to finally catching one of the real, scumbag drug dealers.

Like it or not the fact of the matter is people like taking drugs so whether its legal or illegal it makes no difference! Better to keep drug profits in this country rather than going overseas to criminal organisations.

Anyway, the really important question is what this means:

“three vehicles valued at approximately $100 000 suspected to be used in the sale of illicit drugs” –

vans with external speakers playing The Shamen http://vimeo.com/45523181 and “stop me and buy one” signwriting?

IP

obamabinladen said :

Why wouldn’t it be helpful? Explain why? People will do drugs whether its legal or illegal but who are they hurting? If drugs were legal the government could create a whole new industry worth billions of dollars to the country. Organised crime syndicates like the triads or mexican cartels who have infiltrated australia would lose their foot hold and instead of billions of dollars being filtered out of our country and into the hands of organised crime we could keep the money here. Tourism would improve dramatically and the flow on is unimaginable.

Each to there own I suppose…….

obamabinladen said :

Ok bundah i hear ya i dislike seeing an ice addict picking his scabs just as much as anyone however you prove my point 1in 10. Thats like saying just because you get aggressive when your drunk alcohol should be illegal or when you eat sugar you put on weight so sugar should be illegal.

The consequences of making things illegal and force people to be healthy would far out weigh any benefit.

chewy14 said :

dungfungus said :

obamabinladen said :

So we can drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes but we can’t take other drugs why not??? If ice and heroin were legal i wouldn’t touch the shit. I barely drink and never smoke even though i can. Point is legalise all drugs, people are going to get high if its legal or illegal may aswell regulate it collect tax profits ensure clean product to users and you’d be killing the back pocket of organised crime!

You make a valid point and while the drugs of alcohol and tobacco is regulated it would not be helpful to extend regulation to the type of drugs that have been seized.
The decision to partake in the use of any of the aforementioned drugs is one of choice. In the light of all the medical advice available, anyone who continues to smoke cigarettes, take narcotics and other illegal drugs has poor judgement and weak character. Alcohol should only be consumed with food.

In light of the medical advice about thousands of other things such as various food stuffs, cars , car exhausts, wood heaters, sports etc etc etc, anyone who continues to do anything has poor judgement and weak character.

Or possibly they could be functional adults with the ability to weigh up differing factors and take responsibility for their decisions and the consequences of those decisions, which only directly affect themselves.

Unfortunately, decisions made by functional adults to use the substances referred to in comment #1 sometimes affect other people adversely.
Examples are cost to the taxpayer for medical treatment of diseases caused by smoking and alcohol abuse, hepatitus and medical staff being assulted by drunk and drug crazed patients etc.
Even a drug user fatally overdosing by self-injection does not only directly affect that single person; there is the eternal grief suffered by his/her family that follows.

Ok bundah i hear ya i dislike seeing an ice addict picking his scabs just as much as anyone however you prove my point 1in 10. Thats like saying just because you get aggressive when your drunk alcohol should be illegal or when you eat sugar you put on weight so sugar should be illegal.

dungfungus said :

obamabinladen said :

So we can drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes but we can’t take other drugs why not??? If ice and heroin were legal i wouldn’t touch the shit. I barely drink and never smoke even though i can. Point is legalise all drugs, people are going to get high if its legal or illegal may aswell regulate it collect tax profits ensure clean product to users and you’d be killing the back pocket of organised crime!

You make a valid point and while the drugs of alcohol and tobacco is regulated it would not be helpful to extend regulation to the type of drugs that have been seized.
The decision to partake in the use of any of the aforementioned drugs is one of choice. In the light of all the medical advice available, anyone who continues to smoke cigarettes, take narcotics and other illegal drugs has poor judgement and weak character. Alcohol should only be consumed with food.

In light of the medical advice about thousands of other things such as various food stuffs, cars , car exhausts, wood heaters, sports etc etc etc, anyone who continues to do anything has poor judgement and weak character.

Or possibly they could be functional adults with the ability to weigh up differing factors and take responsibility for their decisions and the consequences of those decisions, which only directly affect themselves.

Apparently one in ten who use ice suffer from ice psychosis and become extremely violent.It’s bad enough that we’ve got state sanctioned alcohol fuelled violence so legally adding ice into the mix is not my idea of fun.

Why wouldn’t it be helpful? Explain why? People will do drugs whether its legal or illegal but who are they hurting? If drugs were legal the government could create a whole new industry worth billions of dollars to the country. Organised crime syndicates like the triads or mexican cartels who have infiltrated australia would lose their foot hold and instead of billions of dollars being filtered out of our country and into the hands of organised crime we could keep the money here. Tourism would improve dramatically and the flow on is unimaginable.

obamabinladen said :

So we can drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes but we can’t take other drugs why not??? If ice and heroin were legal i wouldn’t touch the shit. I barely drink and never smoke even though i can. Point is legalise all drugs, people are going to get high if its legal or illegal may aswell regulate it collect tax profits ensure clean product to users and you’d be killing the back pocket of organised crime!

You make a valid point and while the drugs of alcohol and tobacco is regulated it would not be helpful to extend regulation to the type of drugs that have been seized.
The decision to partake in the use of any of the aforementioned drugs is one of choice. In the light of all the medical advice available, anyone who continues to smoke cigarettes, take narcotics and other illegal drugs has poor judgement and weak character. Alcohol should only be consumed with food.

So we can drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes but we can’t take other drugs why not??? If ice and heroin were legal i wouldn’t touch the shit. I barely drink and never smoke even though i can. Point is legalise all drugs, people are going to get high if its legal or illegal may aswell regulate it collect tax profits ensure clean product to users and you’d be killing the back pocket of organised crime!