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Controversial herbicide glyphosate Checked and undesirable

As of: 23.06.2021 12:55 p.m.

A test report commissioned by the EU does not consider the weed killer glyphosate to be carcinogenic or dangerous to the genetic makeup. Nevertheless, the drug will probably disappear from the market in Europe.

From Michael Heussen, WDR

The specialist authorities from France, Sweden, Hungary and the Netherlands come to terms with glyphosate to a clear result : The pesticide is not carcinogenic, it does not damage the genetic material and it is neither dangerous for human organs nor for the hormonal balance. The four national authorities had assessed the safety of glyphosate on behalf of the European Commission on the basis of existing study results. You confirm the findings of test authorities around the world.

Nevertheless, it can be assumed that the drug will disappear from the market sooner or later. “Glyphosate is socially dead,” said a farmer official in the run-up to the farmers’ day in Berlin. The public had long since made its judgment – even with solid scientific arguments, the majority of consumers could not be convinced of the harmlessness of the substance. Since 2015, the judgment of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which belongs to the World Health Organization (WHO), has been hovering over the evaluation process like a sword of Damocles: Glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic”.

“Very low probability”

It is hardly surprising that the glyphosate producer Bayer sees it differently and welcomes the positive study results that have now been published. The chemical giant, which with the US-American Monsanto group also took over its glyphosate-containing bestseller Roundup, also rejects another argument – that the herbicide threatens biodiversity.

“Evaluated scientific studies as well as publicly available research reports show only a very low probability that the proper use of glyphosate-containing pesticides has indirect effects on the biodiversity of most food chains,” says the company. For example, the effects on microorganisms living in the soil, worms, birds, pollinating insects such as honey bees, frogs and other amphibians as well as fish have been investigated, according to a Bayer spokesman. So could it happen that glyphosate may also be used in the European Union beyond the approval period that expires at the end of 2022? Much speaks against it.

The Bayer Group sees itself confirmed by the current audit at EU level. Image: dpa

Federal government expects glyphosate to be phased out by 2024

The Federal Environment Ministry, led by Svenja Schulze (SPD), firmly expects that no more glyphosate-containing pesticides may be used from January 1, 2024 at the latest after the end of the one-year transition period. “In agreement with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, we continue to assume that the Federal Government (…) has decided to phase out glyphosate use in accordance with EU law,” it says WDR -Inquiry . About the corresponding amending regulation the Federal Council will decide next Friday. Until the end of the transition period, the application “may only take place if there are no alternative options, for example in the case of weeds that are difficult to control or areas at risk of erosion” – so it is in the voting proposal. Its use on areas that serve the general public, as well as in house and allotment gardens, is completely forbidden.

No further approval expected at EU level

Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner (CDU) has also emphasized several times, a spokeswoman for her ministry told the WDR “It cannot be assumed that there will still be a majority after 2022 in favor of an extension of the glyphosate approval at EU level”.

In 2017, the dispute over glyphosate between the ministries almost led to a coalition crisis in Berlin. Because the former Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt (CSU) voted “yes” in the responsible EU committee in Brussels , although the then Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks (SPD) strictly against an extension of the approval for glyphosate was. The different evaluations of the current incumbents are not so obvious. But in the letters of reply to the questions of the WDR There are differences: “Glyphosate-containing pesticides are important for soil-conserving and water-saving cultivation of arable land, especially in areas prone to erosion,” writes the Klöckner spokeswoman. Schulze’s spokesman, on the other hand, emphasizes the dangers for biodiversity: “As a total herbicide, glyphosate destroys all plants indiscriminately and thus destroys the food and livelihood for many insect species such as butterflies and, indirectly, for field birds such as the skylark.”

EU assessment expected in 2022

At the European level, the European Food Safety Authority EFSA and the European Chemicals Agency ECHA will start public participation at the beginning of September – results are expected in one year.

Bayer AG continues to rely on the controversial herbicide. Europe does not play a major role as a sales market. The agricultural countries in North and South America are more important. In the USA around ten billion euros have to be paid in the context of a settlement to 96,000 plaintiffs who blame glyphosate for their cancer, and billions more will be due for future plaintiffs . Bayer therefore wants to limit its use for private customers – but Roundup should continue to be used in large-scale agriculture. Only the warning notices should be made clearly more visible. glyphosate The weed killer glyphosate was developed by Bayer subsidiary Monsanto and marketed under the brand name Roundup. The herbicide is also manufactured by other companies, as the patent has expired for years. Bayer is faced with around 9,300 plaintiffs because of the weed killer in the United States, as glyphosate is suspected of being carcinogenic. This is based on the assessment of the International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC), which classified the active ingredient as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015. The Bayer Group always emphasizes that glyphosate is safe when used properly and relies on a large number of scientific studies.

At the end of 2017, the EU Commission extended the approval of glyphosate by five years and now has to make a new decision. A first round of talks is to take place in September and then the EU member states will be involved. Against this background, the EU Commission commissioned the assessment group for glyphosate (consisting of the testing authorities in France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden) to prepare a draft of the risk assessment. This 11,000-page draft was submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in mid-June 2021. A final recommendation from EFSA can be expected in the second half of 2022 after the submission has been examined

In fact, drug delivery is also a very important issue in the chain of new drug development. Especially when we use drugs developed using advanced molecular biology strategies, such as macromolecular drugs, gene therapy drugs, etc., safe and efficient delivery is considered essential.

Moreover, according to NIH data, both large-molecule drugs and small-molecule drugs may have serious side effects due to their interaction with non-target targets. Such side effects caused by off-target severely limit the development of drugs, especially the development of the best therapeutic drugs for cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and infectious diseases.

Therefore, the research needs of drug delivery are urgent and will definitely attract more and more attention. Already, AI biotechnology companies have begun to deploy in this field.

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Solving the problem of drug delivery requires AI technology

At present, the research on drug delivery systems can be divided into four main directions: ①The way of delivery; ②The carrier of delivery; ③The loaded drug; ③The means of targeting.

Among them, the delivery vehicle is an important research direction. More and more clinical studies, and even drugs that have been approved for marketing use viral vectors such as adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentivirus, or lipid nanoparticle (LNP) vectors. For example, the mRNA vaccine for the new coronavirus uses the LNP vector, and the gene therapy drug Zolgensma for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy uses the AAV vector. However, issues such as the safety of the carrier, immunogenicity, and the ability to load drugs still need to be solved urgently.

Targeting means is another important research direction. For example, how to successfully transport drugs across the blood-brain barrier to the brain is critical to the treatment of brain diseases such as brain tumors, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, the target requirements of delivery will become more and more refined, not only targeting to various organs (heart, lung, brain), reaching tissue types (muscles, nerves), reaching disease-specific cells, and even targeting The correct structure inside the cell. Such research means that it is possible to accurately deliver chemotherapeutic drugs to tumor cells, which will greatly reduce the side effects of traditional drugs.

Therefore, drug delivery is not only to connect the inherent characteristics of drugs, but also to face the complex problems of multiple variables in different microenvironments of the human body. AI technology has natural advantages in managing big data, analyzing or interpreting complex data. With the development of machine learning, especially neural network algorithms, it is natural for artificial intelligence to participate in research in the field of drug delivery.

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Introduction of domestic and foreign startups

1. Dyno therapeutics

Dyno was established in 2018, focusing on the use of AI technology to develop AAV vectors for gene therapy. In May of this year, Dyno announced that it had completed a $100 million Series A financing. Natural AAV is easily recognized by the immune system, and it does not have specific cell and tissue targeting, so it must be modified before treatment. The traditional modification method is “directed evolution”. Synthetic biologists randomly mutate a certain amino acid on the capsid protein that is in direct contact with the target cell, and then evaluate whether this change is helpful for AAV targeting the target tissue. Repeated iterations Such a cycle of mutation-evaluation-superimposed mutation-re-evaluation. In view of the large sequence space of the capsid protein, this project is arduous and lengthy, the screening ability is far from keeping up with the market demand, the speed of discovery is slow, and the output is also limited. Therefore, as soon as Dyno appeared, it attracted the attention of many gene therapy companies. Novartis and Dyno signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop a new type of AAV vector for gene therapy of severe eye diseases; Sarepta and Dyno signed a cooperation agreement to jointly develop a new type of AAV vector for gene therapy of muscle diseases; Roche’s Spark also signed a cooperation agreement with Dyno to jointly Develop new AAV vectors for gene therapy of central nervous system diseases and targeted liver delivery. These cooperations are expected to bring a total of more than $3.8 billion in funding for Dyno. Figure 1 The technical process of Dyno therapeutics (source: the company’s official website, compiled by Fengshuo Ventures) As shown in the figure above, Dyno’s technology platform combines machine learning algorithms with biological experiments. First design a batch of AAV capsid sequences, and build a DNA-encoded capsid database after synthesis; through next-generation sequencing methods, the capsid mutations in the library can be tracked and identified; experimentally measured parameters that are critical to successful treatment, such as delivery The five parameters of efficiency, specificity to the target, immune system response, packaging size and manufacturing characteristics; based on these experimental data, train machine learning models to predict the function of the new sequence, and construct a panoramic map of the different properties of the AAV capsid . Continuously looping this process, the panoramic map outlined by machine learning will become more and more detailed. In the end, it can be achieved that for a certain disease, a certain potential treatment method, Dyno inputs the required parameters, and the machine learning algorithm can output the predicted capsid sequence. This is the AAV vector that is expected to achieve the best therapeutic effect. 2. Jitai Medicine Jitai Pharmaceutical was established in 2020 and was incubated by Jingtai Technology, an AI drug crystal form research and development company. As the first AI-driven pharmaceutical formulation development start-up company in China, the company completed a Pre-A round of financing of tens of millions of dollars in December 2020. Jitai Pharmaceutical focuses on drug delivery and formulation research and development, and is committed to using AI technology to solve specific problems in the development of new drug preclinical formulations and drug delivery design to the entire chain of process amplification. It has reached strategic cooperation agreements with Huahai Pharmaceutical and Boten Pharmaceutical . From the establishment of Jitai Pharmaceutical, it can clearly reflect the guiding role of domestic pharmaceutical policies on the market. Centralized procurement with a large amount reduces the profit margins of domestic generic drugs, forcing relevant pharmaceutical companies to find innovative ways, or to develop independent innovation drug research and development with high risk and investment, which may take 10-15 years; or to carry out the second category of preparations Research on new drugs, such as cooperation with Jitai, may only take 3-5 years to enter the market at a lower cost. Therefore, at present, Jitai Pharmaceutical will mainly use AI technology and quantum chemistry calculation methods to complete the development of customized complex formulations for traditional pharmaceutical companies. At the same time, the AI ​​design platform of the LNP carrier was built, with a view to providing carrier services for many domestic nucleic acid drug research and development companies. Concluding remarks At present, there have been relatively many studies on the delivery of traditional drugs in the body using machine learning. In the future, more research needs will focus on new drugs and precision treatments. Nowadays, gene therapy is still subject to the biggest bottleneck-the “vector”. The situation is no different from decades ago. Dr. Jim Wilson, the pioneer of gene therapy, feels “embarrassed” about the entire viral vector research. Maybe it’s because we don’t understand enough knowledge? Maybe it’s because we are not getting knowledge fast enough? And AI technology can bring us more and more effective information from a perspective different from human thinking, improve our knowledge base, promote the development of drug delivery technology, and help all kinds of new therapeutic drugs to achieve their due Good treatment effect. Disclaimer: The above content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, center, is extradited to the US in 2017. Photo: AP Insider reports that the Mexican government has just announced that it will hold a “super lottery” on September 15 with 22 prizes with a total value of up to 12.5 million USD, including foreclosed villas. revenue from the two drug lords mentioned above. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the proceeds from the lottery program will be used to buy COVID-19 vaccines, medicines and award some scholarships. According to Indep, the villa of Carrillo Fuentes – leader of the Juarez drug cartel – located in the Jardines del Pedregal area near the capital Mexico City is valued at nearly $ 4 million. Foreclosed on more than 20 years ago, the property measures nearly 10,000 square feet and has an indoor swimming pool, nine bedrooms, several saunas, a wine cellar and a banquet hall. According to Indep, the mansion of the late boss Fuentes is still fully furnished. Meanwhile, the mansion of the “dwarf” Joaqín Guzmán, who was once in charge of the notorious Sinaloa cartel, is located in the city of Culiacán, capital of the state of Sinaloa on the West Coast of Mexico. This is where Guzmán escaped from the police in February 2014 by running through a secret tunnel hidden under the bathtub. Joaqín Guzmán’s house has two bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a garage and a front garden. It is valued at $200,000, which is quite a bit higher than the real estate market in Sinaloa. In the previous sale of Indep, no one bought the two houses mentioned above. Estadio Azteca Stadium. Photo: Reuters This COVID-19 vaccine fundraiser also includes a luxury football room at the Estadio Azteca stadium in the capital. This room can accommodate 20 people, one bathroom and four parking spaces. In 1986, this is where then President Miguel de la Madrid presented the World Cup trophy to Diego Maradona. This room is valued at 1 million USD, valid until 2065. In 2019, Mexico once put up six other Guzmán homes for sale, but only three were sold for a total of $227,844. One of them is the steel-reinforced house where Guzmán took refuge after his first escape in 2001. The Mexican government once held a similar lottery in September 2020 with the top prize being the presidential jet. However, there were no buyers for this $130 million Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The luxury houses of drug lords Joaqín Guzmán is one of the most prominent drug lords in Mexico. He was extradited in 2017 and convicted by a US federal court in 2019 on 10 counts. Guzmán is serving a life sentence in a super-security prison in the US. In 2009, Forbes magazine ranked Guzmán at number 701 on its list of the world’s billionaires, with a net worth of $1 billion. In the city of Culiacan alone, Guzmán owns six houses. Most of them are real estate for the middle class and have in common that there is an underground passage under the bathtub for him to escape. A Mexican soldier inspects the tunnel connecting Guzmán’s home bath to the city’s sewer system in Culiacan. Photo: Reuters “El Chapo” is also the owner of an apartment on the most famous beach in Sinaloa. He also built a picturesque farmhouse for his mother, Consuelo Loera, in the town of Badiraguato in the mountains of Sinaloa. This farmhouse has four bedrooms, a large kitchen and a small chapel in the back. After a revenge attack between rival gangs in 2016, Ms. Loera left this abandoned ranch. The name Carrillo Fuentes is also known as “The Lord of the Sky” because of the way he used planes to smuggle tons of drugs into the US territory. He died in 1997 while undergoing facial transformation surgery.

Many of Carrillo Fuentes’ assets suffered the same fate as Guzmán’s today. Fuentes’ more luxurious residences – including a 2,000-square-foot apartment and 6,000-acre ranch – are located in Argentina, where he lived for a year before his death. In 2018, Argentina sold three of his properties for a total of $14 million. He still has several other properties in Mexico, including an Arab-style mansion in Hermosillo and a luxury mansion in the state of Jalisco.

At noon on June 17, a serious car accident occurred on Hanoi Highway, the section through Tan Phu Ward, Thu Duc City (HCMC) between a container truck and a Range Rover. At the scene, the Range Rover car was crushed body, mirror, wheel, shell … and many other parts were broken. According to witnesses, a Range Rover car with a license plate of Ho Chi Minh City was moving in the direction of the Saigon Bridge to Dong Nai. When about 100 meters from the overpass of Station 2, this car collided with a container truck carrying the Binh Duong control plate running in the same direction. The Range Rover car was dented, fortunately the driver was not injured. The container truck pressed the Range Rover, causing it to break many parts, completely deforming the body due to the high concrete ledge on the side of the lane. Fortunately, the driver of the car was not injured. Range Rover cars are luxury cars, with a market value of about 3-4 billion VND each. Immediately after, the Rach Chiec Traffic Police Team and Thu Duc City authorities came to handle the scene and investigate the cause of the incident. Crashed a parked car, a young man riding a motorbike died The incident happened at about 8:15 am at Km 64+985 National Highway 18, the section through Dong Trieu Town, Quang Ninh Province. The victim is Mr. Pham Phu N (38 years old, residing in Hai Phong city) driving a motorbike BKS16K6-828x in the direction of Dong Trieu – Hanoi, because he could not control the speed and crashed into another vehicle parked on the side. the road in the same direction. As a result, the impact was too strong, causing Mr. N to die, both vehicles were damaged. As soon as the incident happened, Traffic Police Team No. 1, Traffic Police Department of Quang Ninh Provincial Police was promptly present at the scene to coordinate with Dong Trieu Town Police to ensure traffic order; organize the handover of the victim’s body to the family. The initial cause of the accident was determined to be because Mr. N was riding a motorbike fast, did not control the steering wheel, and caused the accident himself. Currently, the case is being investigated and clarified by the Dong Trieu Town Police. The driver who tested positive for drugs forced the traffic police car to run away 30km On June 17, information from the Traffic Police Department said that the Traffic Police Department, Binh Duong Provincial Police had just handled a driver who used meth and drove against the traffic police while working. mission. Specifically, at about 5:45 pm on June 16, the Traffic Police Team of the Binh Duong Provincial Police Department, led by Major Luu Van Vi, was on duty to regulate traffic and handle violations of traffic order and safety. At the intersection of Road 22/12 intersecting National Highway 13 in Thuan Giao ward, Thuan An city, a passenger car brand INNOVA, BKS 60LD-028.91 was found violating the error “Not obeying the orders and instructions of the sea. signal.” The traffic police team gave the order to stop the car to check and control, but the driver did not obey the signal but increased the gas and ran towards the intersection of 5 An Phu. Seeing doubts, Comrade Tran Trung Kien drove a special motorcycle carrying comrade Hoang Anh Van and comrade Nguyen Quyet Thang drove other special motorcycles to follow. When coming to the road near the intersection of 5 An Phu, comrade Hoang Anh Van continued to give the order to stop the vehicle, the driver did not comply and even forced the special motor vehicle driven by comrade Tran Trung Kien. Then the car turned around and ran in the opposite direction of the intersection on 22/12. The subject continued to run away through the stop of the Traffic Police Team, hit the motorbike of the traffic police force, causing comrade Nguyen Quyet Thang to injure his right leg and severely damaged the motorcycle. Subject was restrained at the scene. When running to the railway overpass on the My Phuoc Tan Van line (in Dong Tan neighborhood, Tan Dong Hiep ward, Di An city), the traffic police team stopped the vehicle after chasing about 30km. The traffic police team coordinated with the Tan Dong Hiep ward police station to bring people and vehicles to the ward police headquarters. At the police station, the driver’s name was identified as Tran Van Thuy (SN 1990, residing in Tho Minh commune, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province), the accompanying person was Vu Van Tuan (SN 1992, residing in Dinh Khai, Yen Dinh, Thanh Hoa). Conducted a quick test, the driver tested positive for meth and had a previous conviction for drug trafficking and use. The traffic police team made a record for the driver with errors of not obeying the signals and instructions of the signboard; did not obey the orders of the traffic controller and handed over the people and vehicles to the Binh Duong Provincial Police Department for further handling in accordance with the law.

Mr. Goosdeel affirmed that this situation shows that in order to be able to deal with future disasters, it is necessary to quickly change the perception that drugs are not a problem of only one person, but that it is affecting people. community at large in more ways. In the report, EMCDDA warned that drug addicts now have access to a wider range of drugs, with higher purity. In 2020 alone, 46 new drugs were discovered in the European Union (EU). In the context of many countries imposing restrictive measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic, whereby, discos and bars must close at night, reducing the drugs used on special occasions. parties such as ecstasy, consumption of some has increased significantly, especially the purchase and sale of the compound benzodiazepine, often prescribed for sedation. In addition, the EMCDDA report also noted that the authorities had seized a record amount of cocaine in 2019, with 213 tons, much higher than 177 tons in 2018, and the number of people who had to detox for the first time as well. Strongly increasing.

18-year-old youth growing marijuana to soak alcohol: On June 8, the Bac Kan City Police Task Force discovered 13 cannabis plants, with a height of 80 to 120 cm, planted in an open field near Trieu’s house. Dinh Dung. At the police station, Dung said that because he wanted to soak alcohol, he ordered cannabis seeds on social networks to grow and take care of. The police made a record of the incident and confiscated all the cannabis plants. Foreigners growing cannabis on the Red River bank: On June 5, the police of Ngoc Thuy ward (Long Bien district, Hanoi) identified Tiberghien Frederec (SN 1966, French nationality, temporarily residing in Yen Bai). commit violations, grow cannabis plants and illegally store narcotics (dry cannabis) in the middle of the Red River. The inspection seized 115 fresh cannabis plants with a weight of 34kg and 40,268g of dried cannabis. Growing cannabis on the roof: On May 13, the Ha Dong District Police (Hanoi) made a report and confiscated many cannabis plants planted by Le Dinh Tuan (23 years old, residing in Ha Dong) on ​​his balcony. roof. At the time of inspection, there were 26 cannabis plants, 30 to 40cm tall, planted in small pots. Tuan claimed to grow this cannabis from March 2021 to soak alcohol. Planting hundreds of cannabis plants to feed the chickens: On April 28, a working group of the Krong Nang District Police, Dak Lak discovered in the garden of Mr. Mai Nam’s house (born in 1968, residing in Quyet Tam village, Ea Tan commune) grows 275 fresh cannabis plants, about 15-25cm in height and 54 dried cannabis stumps. Mr. Nam said, while traveling in a passenger car, a stranger gave cannabis seeds to plant to cure diseases of poultry. Growing cannabis to drink to prevent insomnia: On April 28, the police of Hoi An city, Quang Nam province checked a house in Cam Ha commune, Hoi An city led by Nguyen Thi V. (SN 1983, resident in Ha city). Noi) and her husband rented to live. Through the tally, there were 17 cannabis plants. V. confessed that while living here, she often suffered from insomnia, so she researched online to buy cannabis seeds to plant, then used to drink to treat insomnia. A Canadian man planted nearly 500 cannabis plants at his wife’s house: On April 7, the police of Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan province administratively inspected the house of Mrs. Hoang My Hanh (31 years old, Thien Son hamlet, Thien Nghiep commune). Currently, her husband, Mr. Glen Jeffrey Evans (54 years old, Canadian nationality) grows cannabis on the property. Through the tally, there were 476 cannabis plants, the tallest about 2m, the lowest about 20cm. Mr. Glen Jeffrey Evans claimed to grow the above cannabis for the purpose of “treatment”. Growing cannabis to… soak alcohol and raise fighting cocks: On April 13, Ngoc Lam Border Guard Station discovered that the object of Bui Van Dai’s home garden (30 years old, residing in Phuc Thang commune, Nghia Hung district, Nam Dinh) was illegally planted. 18 cannabis plants. Through the struggle to exploit Bui Van Dai, the Ngoc Lam Border Guard station discovered two other subjects who also planted a total of 24 cannabis plants in their home garden. The subjects cultivated cannabis to soak in alcohol and raise game chickens. Planting hundreds of cannabis plants, feeding chickens to fight diseases: On March 3, the police of Ea Tan commune (Krong Nang district, Dak Lak province) checked and discovered in the coffee garden of Mrs. Vo Thi Nga’s family (44). age, living in Ea Tan commune) has grown a large number of cannabis plants. There are a total of 375 cannabis plants, ranging in height from 30cm to 1.6m. Nga declares that the plant is planted to feed chickens and prevent disease. Growing thousands of square meters of cannabis plants to raise pigs: On December 24, 2020, the police of Dak G’long district, Dak Nong district checked and caught Tran The Dai and Pham Van Son in the act of growing and tending. squirrel illegal cannabis plants in the upland area of ​​Quang Son commune. Police discovered 1,263 cannabis plants, grown on an area of ​​nearly 1,000 square meters, in the swidden area and 215 young cannabis plants being nursed in plastic bags and a number of related items. The subjects admitted, the purpose was to “serve the treatment of livestock diseases, feed pigs and chickens to grow quickly”…. Watch more videos: An Giang: Detecting households growing illegal cannabis plants. Source: Dong Thap Television Station.

An officer of the People’s Committee of Ha Dinh ward (Thanh Xuan district) advises drug users on community-based addiction treatment (the person on the right) in the area. Still complicated Recently, many cases of illegal drug trafficking and use of complex nature in Hanoi have been discovered, dismantled, and brought before the law. It was a case of illegal trading and possession of large quantities of narcotics, related to inpatient psychiatric patients at the Central Psychiatric Hospital I, Thuong Tin district discovered at the end of March 2021. led by Nguyen Xuan Quy (residing in Thanh Tri district). In early May, Phuc Tho district police prosecuted the case and prosecuted defendant Nguyen Xuan Hai (born in 1971, residing in Vong Xuyen commune, Phuc Tho district) for the crime of “illegal trading in narcotics”. … Notably, drug traffickers often use many ways to entice and entice young people to use drugs. According to the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital), from the beginning of 2021 until now, this unit has received many underage cases of drug-related stimulant poisoning, including marijuana. sa, synthetic drugs mixed in e-cigarettes. The toxicity of drugs causes young people to have mental disorders, paranoia, cardiac arrhythmias, etc. While the situation of illegal drug trafficking and use is becoming more and more complicated, the number of drug addicts has not decreased, and treatment for addiction has not achieved the desired results. Statistics from the Hanoi Department of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs show that the city currently manages nearly 13,000 drug users. From 2016 up to now, the city has provided financial support for more than 10,000 turns of voluntary detoxification; sending more than 4,000 people to compulsory detoxification. In addition, units and localities expand the treatment model of replacing opiates with Methadone; maintaining the club model for post-drug addicts (B93), helping post-detoxifiers have a place to socialize and live healthy activities… However, in reality, the number of people who have ever given up drugs Quitting drugs is a very small percentage. The main reason is that addicts and drug users do not have enough courage, will and determination to stay away from the wrong path; while some families do not voluntarily declare and register for detoxification, do not cooperate with the authorities, so it is difficult to organize treatment for drug users. On the other hand, there are still people who do not have the right perception of drug prevention and control, leading to improper behavior. Deploy multiple solutions In order to gradually push back drugs, in 2021, Hanoi aims to discover and handle 2,300 drug-related crime cases, of which 50% of the cases are of the nature of illegal trading, transportation and production. narcotics; eliminate 100% of existing drug-related complexities; actively review to promptly detect points and dens that are at risk of arising in order to focus on fighting and eradicating. With the treatment of addiction, it is expected that this year, the authorities will make 900 dossiers to request the People’s Courts of districts, towns to issue decisions to handle administrative violations of sending drug addicts. drugs into compulsory detoxification establishments; actively mobilized addicts and illegal users of narcotics to undergo voluntary detoxification at drug detoxication establishments; organize the implementation of drug addiction treatment in the family and the community. Along with that, units and localities continue to maintain Methadone/Buprenorphine replacement therapy for nearly 5,000 patients at Methadone treatment facilities; deploying and expanding Methadone supply and distribution facilities in communes, wards and townships… In order to achieve the above goals, Mr. Phung Quang Thuc, Director of the Sub-Department of Social Evils Prevention and Control (Hanoi Department of Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs) said that in 2021 and the following years , the competent authorities focused on improving the effectiveness of addiction treatment and management after drug addiction treatment. In this direction, in addition to the implemented solutions, localities mobilize and encourage addicts and their families to voluntarily declare their drug addiction, voluntarily participate in appropriate forms of detoxification; at the same time, to integrate the organization of detoxification and post-detoxification management with vocational training and job creation programs. In particular, some localities maintain the pilot implementation of “The model of counseling, care and support for addiction treatment in the community”, “The model of supporting legal and social counseling for people with disabilities”. Participating in drug addiction treatment”… Contributing to raising social awareness on drug prevention and control, localities build voluntary social work teams; to step up the propagation, dissemination and education of the law on drug prevention and control as well as the harmful effects of drugs; organized many practical activities in response to “Action Month on Drug Prevention and Control” and “All People’s Day on Drug Prevention and Control” (June 26). In addition, the city police take professional measures to detect and fight fiercely with drug crimes; deal with areas, dens, complex drug-related places, establishments that harbor and organize illegal use of drugs… The police force also checks and makes statistics on drug users to manage drug users. management, monitoring and prevention; coordinate with the People’s Procuracy and the People’s Court of the same level to investigate and bring drug crime cases to point trial, to mobile trial…

More than 1.2 million black transactions over 2 years The work started in mid-2010, Ross Ulbricht, born in 1984, obtained a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, majoring in Computer Science but passionate about free economic theory. In February 2011, Ross and his two friends Jones and Smedley gave birth to the Silk Road website with the statement: “I create a model so that everyone can experience firsthand what we have. trading rights… ”. However, the things Ross sold for sale on the Silk Road site are murderous things. It includes heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, amphetamine, meth, marijuana, ecstasy … Customers who want to log into this website are required to buy an account and pay a monthly fee. After buying, Silk Road will provide them with a software that hides all information each time they log in to avoid the tracking of authorities such as the FBI, the US Drug Prevention Agency ( DEA). The average person who goes to the Silk Road site will only see it advertising about 10,000 products such as clothes, art works, books, cigarettes, jewelry … with public terms, such as “no sale or purchase. anything that has a malicious or deceptive purpose, including child pornography, stolen credit cards, weapons … ”but in fact, 70% of all goods sold online are drugs. Grouped with titles: Stimulants, hallucinogenic drugs, drug precursors, meth, opium, ecstasy, psychotropic drugs and steroids. Besides, there is also a fake driver’s license, but only members with access can access this “market”. Also to avoid being tracked, Silk Road’s server was located in Reykjavík, Iceland, while Ross took his alias (nickname) as Dread Pirate Roberts. All transactions on the Silk Road site are made with Bitcoin virtual currency, not cash. Ross Ulbricht, the owner of Silk Road. In June 2011, information about Silk Road began to appear in the press, making it famous, leading to increasing traffic. In this situation, an American senator, Mr. Charles Schumer, asked the FBI and DEA to close it. The collapse of Silk Road began in February 2013, when an Australian national cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy) dealer became the first person to be convicted for crimes directly related to Silk Road. While searching the man’s home, the police discovered files on his laptop that proved he bought drugs from Silk Road. In December 2013, Australian police cooperated with DEA ​​to arrest another New Zealander when he had just received 15 grams of methamphetamine purchased on Silk Road. The FBI obtained 11.02 Bitcoins – equivalent to $ 814 at the time. According to the FBI and DEA, based on collected data, from February 3, 2012 to July 24, 2012, an estimated $ 15 million in transactions were made on Silk Road. “A significant increase in volume from $ 30 million to $ 45 million in a short period of time won’t do,” Nicolas Christin, a Silk Road researcher, said in an interview with the Global Economic news site. I am surprised. The buyer and seller make all transactions in the virtual currency Bitcoin in the form of Mr. A, for example, placing an order for Bitcoin at an investment channel – of course it is legal. Then, Mr. A sold to Mr. B – it is also legal but in fact, the Bitcoin A sold to B is the amount to pay to buy drugs. Silk Road holds A’s Bitcoins through B’s account until A receives the goods. However, by the time A transfers Bitcoin to B, Silk Road will activate a hedging mechanism that allows B to retain the value of Bitcoin relative to the USD. Any change in Bitcoin price that occurs in the process of not being delivered to A, Silk Road is not responsible ”. According to the FBI and DEA, from February 6, 2011 to July 23, 2013, there were 1,229,465 completed transactions on the Silk Road website with the participation of 146,946 people, of which 30% came from the United States. followed by UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, Sweden, France, Russia, Italy and the Netherlands. The rest about 27% did not declare their address. Also during the 60-day period from May 24 to July 23, 1,217,218 messages were sent through Silk Road’s own system. The ecstasy sells on Silk Road for 0.69 Bitcoin 1 gram, but requires an account to log in. Make billions of dollars by selling drugs through the web At 3:15 p.m. on October 2, 2013, Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, was arrested while in the Glen Park library, San Francisco city, California on charges of buying, selling, transporting narcotics, money laundering, illegally entering computer networks. Initially, the FBI seized 26,000 Bitcoins from Silk Road accounts, equivalent to $ 36 million (as of 2013). Near the end of October, the FBI collected an additional 144,342 Bitcoins, worth $ 87 million. The capture of Ross is also not easy because Silk Road operates on the hidden operating system, The Onion Router. First, FBI computer experts discovered Ross’s email address on the Gmail website. In those emails, a number of files were sent to a person named Altoid. From there the FBI knew that Altoid had once posted an article on a forum about the virtual currency Bitcoin, asking experts in the field to email him at an address. Following that address, the FBI found it linked to multiple Gmail accounts. Youtube and Linkedin all share the same destination, Silk Road. And because every time online, Ross uses the VPN protocol to conceal his location, so the FBI has to apply for a court order, requiring the internet provider to publish Ross’s VPN. It leads to an internet cafe in San Francisco and eventually a library in the Glen Park neighborhood, where Ross was arrested. Ross’ trial began on January 13, 2015 in Manhattan Federal Court. During the interrogation, Ross admitted he had founded the Silk Road website but he said that he transferred the admin rights to someone else shortly after Silk Road was born. In defense of Ross, the lawyers assumed that the nickname Dread Pirate Roberts was actually Mark Karpeles, and Karpeles used Ross to commit illegal acts. However, Judge Katherine B. Forrestra ruled, dismissing all of these excuses During the second week of the trial, the prosecutor presented documents and chat logs from Ross’s computer, proving he directly managed Silk Road using BitTorren software to conceal all manipulations. on the Silk Road site for both drug dealers and buyers. When the FBI arrested Ross, his personal computer was still running the software. Silk Road drugs sent to buyers by mail were seized by the FBI. On February 4, 2015, a jury convicted Ross of seven offenses, including “continuous participation in a criminal business, drug trafficking, intentional concealment of income, money laundering and trespassing. illegal computer entry ”. Ross was sentenced to life in prison without parole. It is worth noting that during the trial, Judge Forrest received death threats multiple times. On a website called The Hidden Wiki, someone posted Judge Forrest’s personal information, including his home address and social security number. Ross’s attorney Joshua Dratel stated that he and his client “strongly condemned anonymous posts concerning Judge Forrest”. “Ross has nothing to do with the site, and his The Hidden Wiki posts do not reflect his opinion,” Dratel said. In a letter to Judge Forrest prior to his sentencing, Ross said his actions through Silk Road were an expression of liberal economicism, and: “Silk Road was created to give everyone the right to their own choices, “but Ross also admitted” made a terrible mistake, ruined a lifetime. ” On May 29, 2015, a jury of the Manhattan Federal Court ruled that Ross had to serve 5 sentences, including 2 life sentences without parole, Ross was also confiscated $ 183 million. On May 31, 2017, the Court of Appeal rejected Ross’s appeal and the Supreme Court also refused to review Ross’ case. Parallel to the Ross trial, the court also brought to the trial two federal agents who secretly investigated Silk Road. One of these two is Carl Mark, a DEA employee, and the other is agent Shaun Bridges. Both took Ross’ money for falsely reporting Silk Road activities. Among the more than 130 suspects arrested by the FBI for drug trafficking and money laundering, there is Dutch drug dealer Cornelis Jan “Maikel” Slomp, 23, who was accused of buying and selling drugs on a large scale through the site. web Silk Road and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Another, Steven Sadler, was sentenced to five years in prison. In addition, there are two Silk Road administrators Andrew Michael Jones and Gary Davis with the nicknames “Inigo” and “Libertas”, both of which were also sentenced to prison. Shortly after Silk Road collapsed, on the Internet, there suddenly appeared a website Silk Road 2.0, operated by the nickname “Defcon”. On February 13, 2014, Defcon announced that $ 2.7 million in Silk Road 2.0’s escrow accounts had been stolen, but he promised to return the full amount to the account holders. On November 6, 2014, the FBI arrested Blake Benthall, who ran Silk Road 2.0 under the name “Defcon” with an Englishman, Thomas White, who started the website Silk Road 2.0 but information about the arrest. only announced by the FBI in 2019. Yet, in order to “follow” the Silk Road brand, in January 2015, Diabolus Market launched the Silk Road Reloaded website with features similar to Ross’ Silk Road. but it was also taken down by the FBI. On November 3, 2020, FBI agents specialized in currency tracking discovered 2 transactions with a total of 69,370 Bitcoins, worth about $ 1 billion at that time, made from a related address. Silk Road website. Investigation results showed that this Bitcoin belongs to an individual with the nickname “X”. who bought Bitcoin from Silk Road before it collapsed. According to the FBI, they are still investigating this address to see if it is a new generation Silk Road, or just the remaining issues of Silk Road.

This is the work with the most unique architecture of Ha Giang province, ranked by the State as a national architectural monument. This has made many tourists curious and determined once to come to Ha Giang to explore. “The King’s House”, the name Ha Giang people still used to call Vuong Chi Sinh mansion area Entering the mansion, the first impression is the tall, straight rows of sandwood trees that are hundreds of years old. The stone gate of the palace appeared superficially carved subtly. The gate is curved, winding with bat wings – the symbol for the word “blessing”. The wooden gate roof is exquisitely carved, with many patterns. The palace is nearly 100 years old, King Meo has hired many excellent Chinese and Mongolian craftsmen and thousands of workers, built the mansion day and night and built within 8 years to complete, the total area is up Up to 1,120 square meters, the owner of the house had to spend 15,000 dong Dong Duong white silver to build, equivalent to 150 billion Vietnamese Dong at that time. The mansion architecture simulates the citadel architecture of Qing China, combined with Mongolian patterns and selected with French architecture such as fireplaces, bunkers … The Vuong Dynasty is the residence and fortress of the Vuong family, the Mong ethnic group in Dong Van district. The palace has 3 palaces, middle and queen, with 64 rooms, large and small, can accommodate about 100 people. Between the rows of closed 2-storey bungalows is a large, light courtyard. Surrounding the house is a garden with many types of trees: safflower, cinnamon, peach, pear, flowers … The unique feature of the mansion lies in the structure and layout of the rooms. The mansion is like a solid fortress, with thick walls, built of green stone, terracotta tiles and wooden furniture in the rows of stone pine. The owner of the house is Mr. Vuong Chinh Duc (1865 – 1947). More than a century ago, with the profession of growing and trading opium, the Vuong family dominated the entire vast highlands and was called the Meo King by local people. The opium warehouse in the Meo King mansion. The palace has 2 basements for defense, with a storage of assets, an arsenal, opium warehouse, and the layout of the rooms is like a miniature citadel. The house was built of eternal green stone, very hard rocky mountain pine and was very resistant to termites. Tile green gray yin and yang can resist heavy hail The “cat” symbol is engraved on the stone column. At the time of building the mansion, there were no tools to help, the roads were extremely dangerous. Therefore, the mansion is completely handcrafted by the Mong people. All stone materials are carved by the local people by hand and then transported from 7 km away to build houses. Another highlight of the palace is the sculpture art in parts of the house, bearing the imprint of the royal family, the mark of opium trade. Many stone details of the building are elaborately carved, cleverly bearing symbols for wealth and prosperity. Many stone details of the building are elaborately carved, cleverly bearing the symbols of wealth, longevity, prosperity. This residence is recognized by the State as a National Monument in 1993. All wood of the previous house is made from stone pine. Since it became the property of the State, the wood materials of the house have been altered about 60% by ironwood and crushed wood. The pillars are carved into the shape of a large jar-like poppy stalk, which resembles every detail, and is polished in white silver. The stair piers are also precious stone sculptures, bearing the silhouette of poppy flowers. The eye-catching, opium-shaped motifs on the rafters, left houses, doors and windows.

On April 15, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced that it would impose administrative penalties on Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical”) for implementing a monopoly agreement, with a total fine of 764 million yuan.

According to investigations, from 2015 to 2019, Yangtze River Pharmaceuticals reached a fixed agreement with downstream companies such as drug wholesalers and retail pharmacies by signing cooperation agreements, issuing price adjustment letters, and oral notices across the country (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions). The agreement on drug resale prices and the minimum resale price of drugs, and measures such as formulating implementation rules, strengthening assessment and supervision, penalizing low-price sales dealers, and entrusting intermediary agencies to monitor online drug prices to ensure the implementation of the agreement.

The State Administration of Market Supervision stated that the above-mentioned actions of Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group ruled out and restricted competition, harmed the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and the public interest, and violated the relevant provisions of the Anti-Monopoly Law.

It takes pains to limit the price of medicines, and consumers will pay for it in the end

Specifically, Yangzi Pharmaceutical restricts the prices of drugs sold in retail pharmacies and distributors, including many best-selling products such as Lanqin Oral Liquid, Bailemian Capsules, and Astragalus Extract. These drugs are well-known and popular in people’s lives. Measured by sales revenue in 2019, Lanqin Oral Liquid ranked first in throat drugs, Astragalus extract ranked third in tonic drugs, and Bailemian Capsules ranked fourth in stabilized sleep drugs. These best-selling drugs are precisely the focus of Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical’s focus on price-fixing.

In order to supervise the sales staff and distributors to strictly implement the fixed and limited price policy, Yang Zijiang Pharmaceutical has taken great pains. Yang Zijiang Pharmaceutical has formulated a detailed price control system and dispatched sales personnel from various places to pharmacies to inspect and secretly visit drug prices. For drugs on Taobao, Tmall, and JD online platforms, Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical has hired a third-party intermediary company to supervise five key drugs (Lanqin Oral Liquid, Bailemian Capsules, Astragalus Extract, Epalrestat Tablets, Suhuang Cough tablets) online retail prices, and regularly submit online merchants’ price information monitoring and processing results to Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical.

If distributors at all levels, retail pharmacies, etc. do not comply, Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical will implement penalties such as deduction of bonuses, internal fines, out of stock, and suspension of reimbursement. At the same time, distributors and retail pharmacies have a certain degree of dependence on these best-selling products, and they have insufficient bargaining power for the fixed and limited price behavior of Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical.

Yang Zijiang Pharmaceutical’s fixed and limited price behavior seems to be divided from the interests of distributors and pharmacies at all levels, but in fact it raises the price of medicines, and consumers eventually pay for it. The economic analysis takes Shanghai as a sample and simulates the competitive retail prices of some drugs from Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical in 2018 and 2019, and compares them with the actual retail prices and hospital purchase prices in the same period. The results show that this behavior has caused significant drug prices. rise. Statistical analysis shows that the retail channel ex-factory price of Lanqin oral liquid (10ml*6 bottles) from 2015 to 2019 and the average terminal retail price from 2018 to 2020 have shown an upward trend year by year.

However, patients always follow the doctor’s advice or follow the pharmacist’s recommendation when purchasing medicines, so they are not sensitive to the price of medicines and often lose their interests without knowing it.

Anti-monopoly incidents occur frequently in the pharmaceutical field, and national law enforcement and supervision continue to be stricter

Due to the particularity of the pharmaceutical industry, it is difficult to form sufficient market competition from the production and supply of raw materials, the production of pharmaceutical companies and the marketing of pharmaceuticals. A small number of manufacturing companies control the production and supply of APIs. These companies take advantage of market dominance to obtain price dominance, and thus may form a monopoly. At the same time, the current pharmaceutical industry has formed a highly concentrated market pattern, and many pharmaceutical companies secretly manipulate market prices through monopoly agreements, leading to price increases or shortages of drugs.

Fortunately, in recent years, the anti-monopoly law enforcement supervision in the pharmaceutical field has continued to tighten, and news that pharmaceutical companies have been punished due to monopoly has been reported frequently in the industry. In April 2020, the State Administration of Market Supervision imposed administrative penalties on three calcium gluconate API distributors, Shandong Kanghui Pharmaceutical, Weifang Taiyangshen Pharmaceutical, and Weifang Puyunhui Pharmaceutical, for their monopolistic activities, with a total fine of 325.5 million yuan. In January 2021, Simcere Pharmaceutical abused its dominant position in the sales market of China’s Batroxobin concentrate API, and refused to conduct transactions with counterparties without justifiable reasons, ruled out market competition, and was fined 100.7 million yuan. Yuan Renminbi. In April of the same year, Tianyao Co., Ltd. divided the sales market of fluocinolone acetate raw materials in the form of agreement, and changed and fixed the price of fluocinolone acetate raw materials to eliminate competition that restricted the sales of fluocinolone acetate raw materials, and was fined 44,022,600 yuan. .

At the same time, the state has successively introduced a series of measures to strengthen supervision and increase penalties. In 2017, my country issued the “Guidelines for the Price Behavior of Short Drugs and API Operators”, which became the first price monopoly guide for the pharmaceutical industry since the implementation of China’s anti-monopoly law. Subsequently, the “Opinions on Further Doing a Good Job in Maintaining Supply and Stabilizing Prices of Drugs in Shortage”, “Antitrust Guidelines in the Field of APIs (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)”, etc. In January of this year, the China Chemical Pharmaceutical Industry Association (CPIA) released the latest “Regulations for Compliance Management in the Pharmaceutical Industry”, with anti-monopoly being the focus of it.

It is reported that Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical, which was heavily fined this time, is a leading domestic pharmaceutical company. The “2019 China Pharmaceutical Industry Top 100 List” released by the China Pharmaceutical Industry Information Center shows that Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical ranked first in China’s top 100 pharmaceutical industry that year. Has been ranked first for 6 consecutive years. It is foreseeable that heavy penalties for industry leaders will have a huge deterrent effect on industry monopoly behavior.

It is worth mentioning that, according to Jiemian News, Yangtze River Pharmaceuticals previously reported to the court that four companies, Guangzhou Hairui Pharmaceuticals, Hefei Medical Engineering and Pharmaceuticals, Hefei Enruit Pharmaceuticals, and Nanjing Haichen Pharmaceuticals, were suspected of monopoly of APIs. Prosecute. In April 2020, the first instance of the case was concluded, and Yangzijiang Pharmaceutical was awarded nearly 70 million in compensation. And a year later, Yangtze River Pharmaceutical lost more than ten times the money it had earned by suing others for its monopoly because of its own monopoly.

At the press conference, comrade Pham Thanh Ha announced the President’s Order on the announcement of the Law on Drug Prevention and Combat. Senior Lieutenant General Le Quy Vuong introduced the basic contents of the Law on Drug Prevention and Combat.

The law consists of 8 chapters and 55 articles, specifying drug prevention policies, which emphasize “giving priority to drug prevention and control resources for ethnic minorities and mountainous, remote and isolated areas. islands, border areas and drug-complex areas ”,“ officers and soldiers of agencies specialized in drug-related crime prevention and control, drug addicts in drug treatment facilities Public drug addicts are entitled to preferential regimes and policies suitable to the nature of their tasks and areas of operation according to the Government’s regulations ”.

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong introduced the basic contents of the Law on Drug Prevention and Control

Additional regulations on a number of prohibited acts such as “illegal research, testing and verification of narcotic substances, precursors, addictive drugs, psychotropic drugs, precursors, medicinal ingredients that are narcotic substances. , psychotropic substances, drug precursors, veterinary drugs that contain narcotic substances or precursors “,” oppose or obstruct drug testing in the body, determine drug addiction status, manage Illegal drug users, drug addiction treatment, post-detoxification management “,” instruction for production, illegal use of drugs, marketing of narcotics “,” discrimination against users illegal drugs, drug addicts, drug addicts “.

The Law specifies the responsibilities of agencies, organizations, individuals, families and communities in drug prevention and fight; specifying agencies in charge of drug-related crime prevention and combat and principles of coordination of agencies specialized in drug-related crime prevention and control.

Additional Law regulates control of drug precursors, medicinal ingredients that are narcotic active ingredients, psychotropic active ingredients, drug precursors, and veterinary drugs containing narcotic substances or precursors; additional control over activities of temporary import for re-export, temporary export for re-import of narcotic substances, precursors, narcotic drugs, psychotropic drugs, precursors, medicinal ingredients that are narcotic active ingredients, or pharmaceuticals psychotropic substances, drug precursors and veterinary drugs that contain narcotic substances and precursors to enhance the management of legal drug-related activities, contributing to improving the capacity to detect and prevent crime of illegal production of narcotics.

The management of illegal users of narcotics is a new provision of the Law compared to the 2000 Law on Drug Prevention and Control, amended and supplemented in 2008. The Law has specified specific cases of drug testing in muscle. (Article 22) for the authorities to have an objective basis to determine the person committing illegal drug use and to monitor the person who has the illegal use of narcotics.

Illegal drug users are listed and managed, monitored and supported right from the first detection of illegal drug use and this is not a measure to handle administrative violations. (Article 23).

The law specifies cases of drug addiction identification in order to facilitate the classification and management of subjects and the application of appropriate management and detoxification measures (Article 27). The detoxification measures include: voluntary drug addiction treatment is carried out in families, communities or at drug addiction establishments; Compulsory drug addiction treatment is done at public drug addiction establishments. The law does not prescribe compulsory detoxification measures in the community.

Drug addicts aged 18 years or older who do not register, do not conduct or voluntarily terminate voluntary drug addiction, treat addiction to opioid substances with substitute drugs; continuing to illegally use narcotics during voluntary drug detoxification, terminating treatment of opioid addiction with substitution drugs due to violation of regulations on addiction treatment; during post-drug detoxification and relapse management, apply administrative handling measures to sending to compulsory detoxification establishments (Article 32).

The law specifies the preparation of dossiers of application for consignment to compulsory detoxification establishments for drug addicts aged between full 12 years and under 18 years (Article 34), specifying the subjects and the later management duration. detoxification at residence (Article 40) and no regulations on post-detoxification management at detoxification establishments; regulations on drug addiction treatment for Vietnamese expelled by foreign countries for illegal use of narcotics or drug addiction; foreign drug addicts living in Vietnam (Article 37).

The law takes effect from January 1, 2022.

Analysis conducted on Roche’s pharmacovigilance database showed 99 cases of serious adverse skin reactions, including 36 cases confirmed by histopathology or according to a specialist’s diagnosis. , in patients taking atezolizumab. About 23,654 patients who were treated in clinical trials and 106,316 after the drug was licensed for circulation in the market were exposed to atezolizumab as of May 17, 2020.

The incidence of serious adverse skin reactions based on laboratory clinical trials with atezolizumab as monotherapy and combination was 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively. A death from toxic epidermal necrolysis has been reported in a 77-year-old patient treated with atezolizumab as monotherapy.

Concerned about the above serious adverse reactions that may occur when taking the drug, Roche Company recommends: If serious adverse skin reactions are suspected, the patient should be referred to a specialist. to be diagnosed and handled appropriately. Treatment with atezolizumab should be discontinued if Stevens-Johnson syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis is suspected. Treatment with atezolizumab should be permanently discontinued if Stevens-Johnson syndrome or toxic epidermal necrolysis is confirmed, as well as any adverse skin reactions or severe rash at grade 4. Atezolizumab should be used. Caution is given to patients with a history of serious or life-threatening adverse skin reactions during previous treatment with another immunostimulating anticancer drug.

MSc. DS. Chu Thanh Hang

((According to ansm, 4/2021))

This article by Dermatology Professor Duong Hy Xuyen (China) recommends the skin whitening forms that are common among Asian women today.

Professor, Doctor of Dermatology Duong Hy Xuyen

For Asian women, skin whitening seems endless.

Everyone has tried a number of skin whitening products, skin care methods or beauty treatments, … in more or less different levels.

Some may be effective, and more may be ineffective.

Today, I will tell you about 4 common “pits” on women’s skin whitening path, which are not only ineffective in improving skin tone, but they can even cause skin whitening. Harmful to your whole body and health.

1, The safety of the skin whitening injection is still in doubt

The main ingredients of these injectable whitening drugs are usually vitamin C, tranexamic acid, glutathione, … and the price is generally not high. Some people may become whiter after the injection, but it doesn’t give a good effect in terms of what we actually see.

More importantly, there are not enough research data to support the safety and long-term effects of the large amounts of these ingredients delivered into the body.

In addition, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a special warning that injectable skin whitening products have not been approved. The whitening injection products may contain substances of unknown origin, related to a safety concern. Frequent non-routine injections can also cause infectious diseases.

2, Oral whitening pills and whitening liquids are not necessarily safe

Oral medications or skin whitening solutions often contain vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin E, glutathione or other more complex substances.

In theory, these ingredients may have a certain whitening effect, but the biggest problem with whitening pills is safety.

Currently, there is not enough data to prove the safety of these ingredients when taken orally, the amount we need to take for effective skin whitening, and whether long-term use causes side effects.

These are areas that need to be studied further in the medical field, rather than simply stacking theoretical whitening ingredients together and combining different whitening drugs.

The main ingredient of some skin whitening drugs is tranexamic acid

Tranexamic acid is commonly used to treat fungal scalp disease and other skin problems, but as a prescription drug, it has many contraindications to its use and can also potentially cause an adverse reaction. Harmful application.

Even when indicated, the recommended oral dosage of many such skin-whitening drugs is much higher than the one recommended by your doctor, and taking it on your own would pose a great risk of unsafety.

3, Be wary of advertising products with fast and good whitening effect

Normal skin whitening products need to be used for 2 to 3 months to have a certain effect.

For some products that claim to have noticeable changes in skin color within 1 to 2 weeks of use, we should be wary of any addition of illegal substances without know.

For example, mercury is an element that is often illegally added to whitening products. It has a good whitening effect in a short time but is very toxic; Mercury salts in illegal skin care products are easily absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream, causing damage to the body, such as causing brain or liver damage.

4, Wash your face with milk, rice water or vinegar can not whiten your face

Milk and rice water contain certain nutrients, so many people think that washing your face with rice water will bring nutrients to your skin. However, in fact, there is no other benefit besides speeding up the reproduction of bacteria on the skin.

Vinegar is an acidic and very irritating substance, washing your face with vinegar can burn your face and your skin barrier will also be destroyed.

After reading the above content, you should know that the skin whitening methods introduced by many people are not sure to be reliable, and do not be easy to believe, you only see temporary whitening but cannot see side effects afterwards.

The correct skin bleaching method needs to be confirmed to be effective under the premise of science. Do not arbitrarily whiten without understanding the harmful effects behind.

* According to The Paper, Weixin