Daily Drug War Digest -- September 14, 2026

The US military has blasted another "drug boat" out of the water, Mexico's Supreme Court rules that adults can make and consume their own marijuana edibles, and more. 

Mexico's Supreme Court says adults can make and consume their own marijuana edibles. (Kayse1/Flickr)

Another Lethal Boat Strike in the Caribbean. The US Southern Command reported last Wednesday that it had struck another suspected drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, leaving three dead. The total number killed in the campaign that began a year ago has reached at least 230 in more than 70 attacks. 

"Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes," US Southern Command wrote in a news release. The command said the boat was actively involved in drug trafficking, according to "confirmed intelligence."

The Trump administration has claimed that the strikes are lawful attacks against designated "narcoterrorist" groups, but experts on US law, international law, and the law of the sea nearly universally consider them to be unlawful killings. 

In a recent wrinkle in the campaign, late last month and early this month, the US military boarded and sank six alleged drug boats off the Ecuadorian coast. The crews were not killed but were instead detained and handed over to Ecuadorian authorities.

International

Commission on Narcotic Drugs Expert Panel Invites Contributions to Independent Review of UN Drug Policy. "The Expert Panel established pursuant to Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) resolution 68/6 is pleased to invite written contributions from stakeholders in support of its work," the CND announced.

"The Expert Panel was established by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs
to provide clear, specific and actionable recommendations to
strengthen the implementation of the three international drug control
conventions, other relevant international instruments and
international drug policy commitments, in accordance with its mandate
contained in CND resolution 68/6 (annexed). The Panel is expected to
complete its work and present its final recommendations to the
Commission in 2027.

"In carrying out its work, the Panel seeks to benefit from the
knowledge, experience and expertise of a broad range of stakeholders,
including those engaged in the development, implementation, evaluation
or study of drug policies.

"Stakeholders are therefore invited to submit written contributions addressing matters that they consider relevant to the Panel's mandate (CND resolution 68/6). Contributors may wish to describe their role, expertise or experience relevant to the Panel’s mandate; challenges, barriers or opportunities they have identified in the implementation of the international drug control conventions, other relevant international instruments and international drug policy commitments; examples of policies, practices or approaches that they consider having been effective or ineffective, in the implementation of the international drug control conventions, other relevant international instruments and international drug policy commitments; and practical, evidence-informed and actionable recommendations that the Expert Panel may wish to take into account when considering its
recommendations to strengthen the implementation of the international
drug control conventions, other relevant international instruments and
international drug policy commitments.

"Contributors are encouraged to focus on issues that fall within the mandate of the Expert Panel, while remaining free to identify those aspects of implementation that they consider most relevant based on their knowledge and experience."

Submissions should be in English or accompanied by an English translation and should not exceed 1500 words. They must be submitted to [email protected] by 15 November 2026 at the latest.

Colombia Coca Aerial Fumigation Pilot Program Blocked by Judge. Just days after the government of President Abelardo de la Espriella announced the resumption of aerial spraying of coca crops with a pilot program using an herbicide other than glyphosate, a judge in southern Putumayo province ordered the program suspended. The judge called for more information that would allow "a sufficiently informed decision on the merits."

De la Espriella's National Narcotics Council (CNE) had ordered the National Police to once again begin the aerial spraying of coca crops "as a controlled, limited, temporary, and evaluable experimental phase, the implementation of a pilot plan for the eradication of illicit crops through aerial spraying using a manned aircraft and the formulated product Glufosinate Ammonium 200 SL."

The National Police then said the pilot program's target plot was in Putumayo. The CNE and the National Police announcements prompted a Putumayo-based foundation to sue, arguing that the plans violated a 2015 ban on aerial fumigation and threatened both the health of the local population and the wider environment. 

The judge agreed, writing: "The potential implementation of the pilot plan before gathering and analyzing the studies, documents, and technical evidence cited by the administration itself as the basis for the decision could render the requested constitutional protection ineffective and jeopardize the possibility of reaching a sufficiently informed decision on the merits; Indeed, the combination of the announced imminence of the measure, the current lack of essential information needed to understand its territorial, social, and environmental scope, and the particular ecological sensitivity of the department of Putumayo necessitates preventive action aimed at preserving the effectiveness of this constitutional action."

Mexico Supreme Court Rules Adults Can Make, Consume Marijuana Edibles. The Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) ruled last week that adult marijuana consumers are allowed to make marijuana-infused edibles for their own use. But it did not extend that logic to making edibles for commercial purposes. 

"Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that authorized recreational cannabis self-consumption may include the preparation of cannabis-infused foods for personal use. The decision clarifies the scope of existing cannabis regulations while maintaining restrictions on the commercialization, distribution, and supply of these products to third parties," reported Mexico Business News.

"By a vote of seven to two, the SCJN ultimately ordered the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) to authorize the preparation of cannabis exclusively in prepared and semi-prepared foods intended solely for personal consumption," the outlet added. "The Court found that incorporating cannabis into food intended exclusively for personal consumption constitutes an ordinary culinary activity and does not amount to manufacturing a product subject to a specialized sanitary regime."

The SCJN ruled in 2018 that marijuana prohibition was unconstitutional when it came to personal adult use and ordered lawmakers to pass legislation to implement its decision. But that has not happened yet. 

National adult-use cannabis legalization measures have been adopted by lawmakers in Uruguay, Canada, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, South Africa, and the Czech Republic. Court decisions in other countries, including in Mexico, have provided adult cannabis consumers with some protections, albeit not ones approved by national lawmakers.