September
The end of addiction? Scientists are re-engineering our brains
New gene therapies could hold the key to freeing addicts from their abusive cycles – but will altering their receptors change their personalities as well?
- David Cox
July
Cocaine growers in Colombia give up as crop price plunges 75pc
The price of coca, the key commodity used to make cocaine, has plunged this year in Colombia thanks to oversupply and the growth of production in other countries.
- Oliver Griffin
Who took cocaine into the White House?
President Joe Biden and his family were away at Camp David when a uniformed Secret Service agent found the substance during a patrol of the West Wing.
- Katie Rogers
January
How the marijuana ‘green rush’ fell apart
Supply is now flooding the market in several US states, economists say, depressing prices and decimating already-thin margins.
- Updated
- Rachel Lerman
Why the golden age of cocaine is happening right now
The drug is reaching corners of the planet that have never seen it before, thanks to a massive growth in acreage as well as higher productivity on coca farms.
- Matthew Bristow
December 2022
Wait, is my dog stoned?
We thought our pet was having a stroke. She was high. Vets say that’s getting increasingly common these days.
- Susan Coll
September 2022
NSW pins hopes on ‘two strikes’ policy against drugs
The state government ruled out accepting a recommendation to decriminalise the drug ice.
- Samantha Hutchinson
August 2022
Medical MDMA focus for Forrest’s new $250m health tech fund
Andrew Forrest’s new venture capital fund sees potential to patent variations of psychedelic drug MDMA for the treatment of mental health problems.
- Brad Thompson
July 2022
Peter Hunt’s psychedelic riposte to Four Corners
Things have been getting foggy at Mind Medicine Australia after an ABC investigation.
- Michael Roddan
June 2022
Weed wonderland: pot smokers rejoice as Thailand legalises marijuana
It’s like a dream come true for an ageing generation of pot smokers who recall the kick the legendary Thai Stick variety delivered.
- Grant Peck and Tassanee Vejpongsa
February 2022
‘I am not the story’: publicist dodges CEO drug scandal
A publicist who represented former Lark Distilling CEO Geoff Bainbridge refused to explain why he allegedly lied in a media interview about his drug use.
- Aaron Patrick
Can MDMA save a marriage?
For some couples on the brink of divorce, taking the illegal psychedelic drug was a last resort – but it ended up being the only thing that worked.
- Christina Caron
Ex-Lark CEO appears to have misled journalists
Geoff Bainbridge said a compromising video used to extort him was shot in Asia. But it looks like it was filmed in his Melbourne home.
- Aaron Patrick
He spiked his dad’s tea to access $561k in crypto. His dad survived.
Liam Ghershony, 24, gave his father benzodiazepine powder, so he could transfer his bitcoin to his own account. Two days later his father was still unconscious.
- Dan Morse
January 2022
She don’t lie: How cocaine sums up the supply chain crisis
The pandemic lockdowns across Sydney and Melbourne that hurt legal trade also exacerbated a shortage of illegal drugs at the same time as demand soared.
- Updated
- Richard Henderson
How Oklahoma smoked California as the marijuana boom state
It’s not even legalised in the conservative state, but it now boasts more retail cannabis stores than Colorado, Oregon and Washington combined.
- Simon Romero
November 2021
US overdose deaths topped 100,000 in one year
The top drivers of overdose deaths are the growing prevalence of deadly fentanyl in the illicit drug supply and the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Mike Stobbe
June 2021
Johnson & Johnson pays over $300m to settle opioid case
The agreement came just days before opening arguments in a sweeping trial targeting big pharmaceutical companies.
- Sarah Maslin Nir
April 2021
CEO of $2.6b start-up ousted for taking LSD at work
Marketing company Iterable’s sacked chief, Justin Zhu, said he was experimenting by taking a limited amount of the drug, or microdosing, to boost his focus.
- Sarah McBride
Drug dealer paid $1.45m for a racehorse that’s now worthless
The Sydney racehorse owner’s drug importation business has raised questions over the use of racehorse breeding to launder illicit cash.
- Aaron Patrick
