narcotics

An Ecuadorean flag and a bouquet of flowers are seen on the railings of the sports complex where Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated on the eve, in Quito on August 10, 2023.

World News

After the assassination of a candidate who took on drug cartels, Ecuador is in shock

1:00pm August 11, 2023

by Simeon Tegel

Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, a fierce critic of cartels and corruption, was shot on Wednesday. "There is no precedent for this in our country's recent history," one analyst says.

A Mexican soldier piles poppies for incineration near the town of Tlacotepec, in Guerrero state, Mexico. The army says it slashes and burns poppy when fields are too difficult to access by helicopter or when they want to protect fruits and vegetables grow

World News

On The Hunt For Poppies In Mexico — America's Biggest Heroin Supplier

5:02pm January 14, 2018

by James Fredrick

The Mexican army gave NPR a firsthand look at its efforts to eradicate the flowering crop that's made into heroin.

Crime
News

Triad-Wide Drug Bust Yields 'Unprecedented' Amount Of Heroin

5:15pm January 03, 2018

by Eddie Garcia

Law enforcement officials say they've seized an unprecedented amount of heroin in the Triad. Multiple agencies across the region collaborated on the bust.

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Crime

Poppy Plant Bust In Catawba County

4:51pm May 23, 2017

by Eddie Garcia

In Catawba County, law enforcement officers are seizing an acre of poppies, the plant used in making drugs like heroin.

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Addiction counselor John Fisher says prescriptions for medicines to help people wean themselves from opioid drugs are part of the appeal of the clinic he operates in Blountville, Tenn.

When Drug Treatment For Narcotic Addiction Never Ends

8:12pm November 20, 2015

Medicines that help users wean themselves from opioid drugs can be prescribed in a doctor's office or clinic. But some clients question whether the clinics always have their best interests at heart.

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A man carries a bag with coca leaves in December 2013 in a rural area of Corinto, department of Cauca, Colombia. The Colombian government and the FARC are attempting address the issue of "illicit cultivation" as the third point of their ongoing peace talk

World News

Colombia's Coca Farmers Face Uncertain Future As FARC Negotiates Peace

7:39pm January 20, 2015

As part of talks, the leftist revolutionary group is offering to help end Colombia's cocaine trade, but previous attempts to encourage coca farmers to grow something else have been disastrous.

Tina Wolf demonstrates the use of naloxone to community members in Lindenhurst, N.Y., during an overdose prevention training. Georgia Dolan-Reilly (left) of the Suffolk County Prevention Resource Center helped with the training.

Teaching Friends And Family How To Reverse A Drug Overdose

10:05am December 30, 2014

by Laura Starecheski

Quick treatment with Narcan can save a life after an overdose of heroin or opioid pain pills. The year 2014 saw more police, drug users and their families carrying Narcan "rescue kits."

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