Illegal Drugs | featured news

Michael Jackson's fingerprints were not on any of the syringes, vials or other medical paraphernalia that littered the scene of his death, attorneys said in court Thursday, undercutting the defense theory that the singer had given himself the drug that killed him.

Inmates pay to get narcotics and other contraband through deputies. Baca says guards' financial hardships are usually involved. Los Angeles County jail inmates have used corrupt guards to penetrate tight security at lockups, helping fuel a lucrative drug trade behind bars, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Times.

The gruesome images showing a man packed with 72 bags of cocaine  caused many to wonder how it was even humanly possible.

A routine Colorado traffic stop led to the discovery of 220 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $10 million in the rental car of a California couple, police said on Monday.

Google Inc will pay $500 million to settle government charges that it showed ads for pharmacies that operate illegally, regulators are expected to announce on Wednesday, according to a report in the New York Times.

Toxicology tests have found that "no illegal substances" were in singer Amy Winehouse's system at the time of her death last month, her family said Tuesday.

Ventura County Sheriff's officials announced Monday they had found the largest single seizure of marijuana plants in their jurisdiction from an outdoor grow operation in the Pine Mountain area of Los Padres National Forest.

Marijuana has been approved by California, many other states and the nation's capital to treat a range of illnesses, but in a decision announced Friday the federal government ruled that it has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a dangerous drug like heroin.

The authors say their study is one of the first to show the prevalence of drug use among fatally injured drivers.

Dwarfed by surrounding reporters and with her head bowed to avoid the television cameras, the slender 16-year-old hesitated slightly before she answered the question. "I'm a hitwoman," she said.