DolaMight
01-10-2007, 02:56 PM
<p>I wonder what % greenbacks would rate at...</p><p> </p><p><font size="2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="416"><tbody><tr><td valign="bottom"><div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By James Helm </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> BBC News, Dublin </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" height="1" /><br /> </font> <!-- E IBYL --> </p><p> <!-- S IIMA --> <font size="2"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="203" align="right"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42436000/jpg/_42436383_euros_ap203b.jpg" border="0" alt="Euro banknotes - file photo" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" height="152" /> <div class="cap">Ireland's cocaine users seem to favour 20 and 50 euro notes</div> </div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --> <strong>One hundred percent of banknotes in the Republic of Ireland carry traces of cocaine, a new study has found. </strong> </font></p><p> <font size="2">Researchers used the latest forensic techniques that would detect even the tiniest fragments to study a batch of 45 used banknotes. </font></p><p> <font size="2">The scientists at Dublin's City University said they were "surprised by their findings". </font></p><p> <font size="2">Some of the notes had such high levels of cocaine on them that it is thought they were used to snort the drug. <!-- E SF --> </font></p><p> <font size="2">Others had much lower traces and may have been cross-contaminated, perhaps in the wallets or pockets of users. </font></p><p> <font size="2"><strong>Growing cocaine use</strong> </font></p><p> <font size="2">The results fit with scientific findings from other countries such as the UK and Spain where cocaine has also been found on a high proportion of notes. </font></p><p> <font size="2">Cocaine particles stick to the cotton that is contained within the notes. </font></p><p> <font size="2">Cocaine use is thought to be growing in Ireland. Professor Brett Paul, whose paper was published in a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK, said it demonstrated how widespread the use of cocaine is. </font></p><p> <font size="2">The study also found that higher value banknotes, such as 20 and 50 euros, were more likely to contain greater traces of the drug. </font></p><p> <font size="2">In recent weeks there has been fresh focus in Ireland on the use of drugs in society. </font></p><p> <font size="2">Dublin has seen a number of murders that have been linked to drugs gangs and Ireland's justice minister has said that those who buy cocaine are helping to finance such groups. </font></p><p> <font size="2">One newspaper editorial said that the trend of cocaine use showed that there is something rotten at the heart of Ireland's economic boom.</font></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>source</p><p>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6250189.stm </p><p> </p>