Tag: Drug Travel View All Tags

Just How Dangerous Is Mexico?

October 18, 2008 at 11:15 AM | 1 Comment

When Robert Rodriguez released "Desperado" in 1995, he couldn't have known that a decade later Mexico would be locked in a horrifying drug war responsible for thousands of corpses. But that's the case, at least according to the US State Department which recently released an update to its travel alert for the country:

Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have taken on the characteristics of small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and, on occasion, grenades. Firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico but particularly in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez.

A number of areas along the border are experiencing rapid growth in the rates of many types of crime. More than 1,600 cars were reportedly stolen in Ciudad Juarez in the month of July 2008, and bank robberies there are up dramatically. Rates for robberies, homicides, petty thefts and carjackings have all increased over the last year across Mexico generally, with notable spikes in Tijuana and northern Baja California.

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Green Travel: Pot Plants Polluting Parks

October 14, 2008 at 12:30 PM | 0 Comments

Just when you thought national parks were the ideal places for a trouble-free vacation comes news that some parks have unwanted visitors. Over the past 10 years, more than 150 marijuana gardens have been found in Sequoia National Park alone.

To protect their cash crops, the, uh, gardeners often use harsh bug sprays, miles of PVC pipes for irrigation and even rat poison to keep animals away from the plants. Obviously these chemicals don't do wonders for the surrounding plants and animals.

Volunteers are the primary force when it comes to cleaning up the parks. The High Sierra Trail Crew is planning to take about 30 volunteers into the Sequoia National Park to remove debris, pesticides and all the other garbage left behind from these illegal farmers. But if you're thinking about bringing home a souvenir, just remember what one state official says:

You ain't just smoking pot, bud. You're smoking some heavy-duty pesticides from Mexico.

Related Stories:
· Illegal Marijuana Growing Pollutes US National Parks [CNN]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: stinkie pinkie]

Tijuana Tourism Struggles as Violence Intensifies

October 5, 2008 at 2:12 PM | 0 Comments

There was a time not long ago when a visit to Tijuana was a rite of passage for Southern California youngsters, who'd flock to "TJ" for cheap tequila and an anything-goes attitude that made for so many great stories back home. Unfortunately for Tijuana's tourism industry, however, more and more prospective visitors are choosing different destinations these days, put off by reports of an explosion of murders and kidnappings in the once charmingly-seedy border town. Just over the past week, nearly fifty people were murdered in a spate of drug-related violence, and the grisly nature of the killings - including decapitation and the removal of tongues - suggests that further retaliations are all but assured.

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Drug War Travel: Enjoy the Beach while Ducking RPGs in Mexico

September 30, 2008 at 2:31 PM | 1 Comment

The government of Mexico hopes to create yet another heavily developed strip of sand for tourists interested in golf courses, hotels and condos, and President Felipe Calderon has gone so far to say it'll be the country's most important tourism project in a quarter century. But there's one catch: It'll be in Sinaloa, the notorious home to the Mexican drug traffickers known as the Pacific Cartel.

True, the beach-town-turned-resort of Mazatlán is in Sinaloa, and it's established itself as a (relatively for Mexico) off-the-radar place to be. But while there haven't been any grenade attacks there, it has seen some gunplay.

We've already told you about the military-grade weaponry being used by gangs and the shrines to traffickers in Sinaloa's capital of Culiacán. How likely it is that tourists will be lining up to fly down to check out the beach in the middle of a drug-fueled war?

Related Stories:
· US State Department Travel Alert for Mexico [Official Site]
· Mexico Announces New Tourist Resort [AP, via]
· Drug Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo Google Maps]

German "Chocolate" Travel: What Exactly Is in These Sweets?

September 16, 2008 at 11:00 AM | 0 Comments

Is Berlin the new Amsterdam? Well, hipster enclave Prenzlauer Berg might be.

German cops have shut down a candy store in the notorious neighborhood in Berlin after discovering the 23-year-old owner was peddling chocolates and lollipops laced with magic mushrooms and marijuana.

"In the shop we found 120 pieces of magic mushroom chocolate and countless cannabis lollipops," said police, who confiscated around 70 sachets containing various drugs, about 20 marijuana joints, a range of pills and some jars of drug-laced honey

Sorry, we still haven't been able to dig up the address of the shuttered sweets shop!

Related Stories:
· Hallucinogenic Chocolates Doom Berlin Sweets Shop [Reuters]
· Drug Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: EuroMagic]

Dangerous Travel: Watch for Caimans in Rio

September 4, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

Police making what a local newspaper called a "mega-operation" on the Rio favela of Coréia discovered two caimans, which they say drug traffickers used to intimidate enemies--and dispose of bodies. Says one cop:

The caimans are a symbol of power of the traffickers. When they catch a rival, they kill him and give him to the caimans.

The crocodile-like reptiles aren't exactly big, but we still wouldn't want to get near 'em--or the drug lords that put the critters to work. Still, a two-foot-long caiman has got to be less intimidating than a ninja gangster.

Related Stories:
· Police Seize Caimans, Weapons and Drugs in Rio Slum [O Globo, in Portuguese]
· Brazil: Police Seize Gang's Reptiles [NYT]
· Oh Rio! Dead Baby Penguins Make Us Sad [Jaunted]

[Photo: O Globo]

Smoking Ban Switching up the Crowd at Amsterdam Coffee Shops

August 18, 2008 at 2:05 PM | 1 Comment

Guidebook guru and pot promoter Rick Steves just left the Netherlands, and he's got a substantial update on the marijuana scene in Amsterdam. First things first: Don't bother calling an ambulance after smoking too much because the EMTs will just tell you to walk it off!

But the big news is what's changed thanks to a new smoking ban--that prohibits indoor tobacco smoking but gives marijuana puffers a pass:

The Dutch, like the rest of Europe, mix their marijuana with tobacco. It might seem strange to an American, but if a coffeeshop is busted--it's busted for tobacco. Shops are mixing a kind of herb tea as a tobacco substitute for joints. Coffeeshops with a few outdoor seats have a huge advantage as their local customers can light up outside....

Many local smokers would rather get their pot to go than smoke it without tobacco at their neighborhood coffeeshop.

Thank heavens for American vice tourists then!

Related Stories:
· Lessons Learned in an Amsterdam Coffee Shop [Rick Steves]
· No Impulse Buying Magic Mushrooms [Jaunted]
· Drug Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: jlantzy]

Mexican Drug Wars Not Getting Any Quieter

July 17, 2008 at 12:35 PM | 0 Comments

Back in May, we told you about scenic Sinaloa, one of the epicenter's of Mexico's current drug war, where "mafia clothes" are on sale and shrines to coke traffickers are high on the tourist agenda. And while much of the country is still peaceful, violence is on-going around the US-Mexico border--and spreading.

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Flying High: Potentially Great News for Snoop, Potheads

June 24, 2008 at 3:15 PM | 0 Comments

Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation is a Colorado-based group that says marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. And what better time to get that message out there than after a boozed-up passenger got thrown off her JetBlue flight at DIA.

Says SAFER Excutive Director Mason Tvert:

Adults should be allowed another option for relaxing and dealing with their anxiety when they fly. It is irrational and potentially dangerous policy to continue allowing passengers to get drunk before and during flights while prohibiting them from simply making the safer choice to use marijuana prior to boarding.

We can think of at least one travel guru would probably get behind this effort: Rick Steves. And come to think of it, SFO already has one pre-boarding pot lounge. Book those flights now, Snoop!

Related Stories:
· SAFER [Official Site]
· Group Calls for Airport Marijuana Lounges [KUSA]
· Nicotine Fiend Flips out on JetBlue [Jaunted]

[Photo of Snoop's 2006 arrest at BUR: US Weekly]

British Woman Arrested with Coke-Filled Wig, Isn't Amy Winehouse

June 19, 2008 at 2:00 PM | 0 Comments

A British woman, who amazingly isn't Amy Winehouse, was arrested at Trondheim Airport in Norway wearing a large wig:

Concealing 2.2 pounds of cocaine glued to her head.

The bewigged coke carrier was coming off a flight from Copenhagen and had the drugs glued so firmly to her head that she had to be hospitalized to de-stick the contraband from her real hair, a local newspaper said.

Before Amy and others with outrageous dos get too excited about the coke-cloaking potential of their beehives, they should take note that this drug mule's downfall came directly as a result of her unusual hair. According to the AP, customs agents stopped the woman because they "suspected that she was wearing a wig."

Related Stories:
· Norway Arrests Woman for Carrying Cocaine in Wig [AP]
· Drug Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Original photo: The Superficial]

Rio Slums Overrun with Ninja Gangsters

June 13, 2008 at 3:45 PM | 0 Comments

The Brazillian government is cracking down on masked militias after an incident last month where several journalists were tortured for more than six hours by a gang of armed thugs wearing ninja hoods. The reporters had gone undercover in one of Rio de Janeiro's infamous favelas to investigate the "illegal economy" in the notorious slums.

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Drug Travel: Welcome to Escobarland!

June 4, 2008 at 5:00 PM | 0 Comments

Before he was gunned down by Colombian troops working with the US government, the infamous cocaine baron Pablo Escobar built Hacienda Napoles, a headquarters near his hometown of Medellin.

According to the BBC, Escobar's massive estate was

A fantasy land with concrete dinosaurs, a bullfighting ring and a private zoo that would have made Michael Jackson jealous, with giraffes, elephants, kangaroos and hippopotamuses.

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