Oscar Arriola Marquez has pleaded not guilty to charges that include money laundering and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance

11:58 Oscar Arriola Marquez has pleaded not guilty to charges that include money laundering and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance 0 Comments

Oscar Arriola Marquez has pleaded not guilty to charges that include money laundering and conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities say Arriola Marquez used a remote ranch in Peyton, Colo., to help ship 440 pounds of cocaine a week for distribution to Chicago and New York City. Arriola Marquez was in federal court Tuesday in Denver for a detention hearing. A tentative trial date has been set for May.He faces 10 year to life in prison if convicted. He was arrested in Mexico in 2006 and extradited to Colorado this month.

Canadian researchers have discovered the genes responsible for crucial steps in the manufacture of morphine by poppies

18:50 Canadian researchers have discovered the genes responsible for crucial steps in the manufacture of morphine by poppies 0 Comments

Canadian researchers have discovered the genes responsible for crucial steps in the manufacture of morphine by poppies, raising the possibility of plants that produce medically-useful codine but cannot be used for heroin.

Jillian Hagel and Peter Facchini, of the University of Calgary, report in Nature Chemical Biology that they have identified the enzymes responsible for two of the three chemical steps that convert the amino acid tyrosine to morphine. They also identified the genes that produce these enzymes.

“The enzymes encoded by these two genes have eluded plant biochemists for a half-century,” says Facchini (press release). “In finding not only the enzymes but also the genes, we've made a major step forward. It’s equivalent in finding a gene involved in cancer or other genetic disorders.”

Shutting down the production of morphine at the right point could mean that plants produced only codine – a widely used painkiller – and not morphine, which is used to make heroin. As Facchini and Hagel note in their paper, cultivation of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is the sole commercial source for codine and derivatives such as oxycodone.

A poppy which could produce codine but not heroin would be useful in places like Afghanistan, where production for illicit use is prevalent and attempts to encourage cultivation for medical purposes are often stymied by concerns about heroin production

Mathew Stokes will face the Geelong Magistrates' Court today on cocaine trafficking and possession charges.

14:29 Mathew Stokes will face the Geelong Magistrates' Court today on cocaine trafficking and possession charges. 0 Comments

The 25-year-old Cats star, who played in the team's 2007 premiership-winning side, was charged along with five other men in a police operation in Geelong last month.
He allegedly told police at the time that he bought one gram of cocaine for $500 from a nightclub bouncer for a friend visiting from Darwin.If convicted of trafficking, Stokes faces a lifetime ban from football under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code, to which the AFL is a signatory.There is no allegation that Stokes took the cocaine himself, police said.Stokes was charged after raids on several Geelong homes in which police seized more than $3,000 in cash and drugs worth an estimated value of $50,000.Stokes' name came up in telephone intercepts during the operation, detectives said at the time.He will appear for a committal mention hearing, along with co-accused Wassam Solieman, 34, of Hamlyn Heights, in the Geelong Magistrates' Court.
Stokes began playing for Geelong in 2006. He has played 71 games and kicked 108 goals.The club has announced a range of in-house penalties for Stokes.It has suspended him until round eight of the AFL season, fined him $5,000 and demanded he finds full-time work until round four of the season.

Natalie Mejia, a member of pop group Girlicious, was arrested in a Los Angeles suburb on Tuesday night after police reportedly found more than a dozen

14:08 a member of pop group Girlicious , Natalie Mejia , was arrested in a Los Angeles suburb on Tuesday night after police reportedly found more than a dozen plastic bags of cocaine 0 Comments

Natalie Mejia, a member of pop group Girlicious, was arrested in a Los Angeles suburb on Tuesday night after police reportedly found more than a dozen plastic bags of cocaine in her Gucci purse. KTLA reports that Mejia was stopped by police for speeding. After searching the car, police arrested and booked the singer on suspicion of possessing cocaine for sale. According to jail records, she spent the night in jail and was released on $30,000 bail.Her driver, Peter Asencio, was also arrested, and it was later discovered that Asencio was driving with a suspended license.
Mejia is scheduled to appear in court on April 15.Girlicious was founded by Pussycat Dolls creator Robin Antin, who featured the group on the CW's reality competition 'Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious.' Their songs include 'Stupid S***' and 'Baby Doll,' both released from their 2008 self-titled album.