Drug War Chronicle

Proposition 19 is getting some last-minute cash infusions from some famous folks -- not enough for a statewide TV campaign, but enough to spur get out the vote efforts. That could make a difference in this close race.

Proposition 19 has picked up the support of the California chapter of one of the country's most prominent Latino organizations.

New Jersey's medical marijuana law was written as the most restrictive in the nation, and proposed state regulations released last week go even further than the spirit -- and sometimes the letter -- of the law. This fight is far from over.

It's less than a month before California votes on legalizing marijuana. The battle lines are drawn, but there are a few surprises. Stoners Against Prop 19? Say what?

Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.

California's Prop 19, the "tax and regulate" initiative to legalize marijuana, is ahead in the polls. But turnout is going to be key in this very close election. Please sign up to do get out the vote volunteering by phone -- you don't have to live in California, you just need a phone and an Internet connection -- or do other work to help put Prop 19 over the top.

Some 288 people were killed in prohibition-related violence in Ciudad Juarez last month, and the pace is continuing this month.

California Gov. Schwarzenegger could have made syringe sales to adults legal throughout the state in a bid to reduce the transmission of HIV and Hep C. Instead, he chose to extend a program leaving it up to cities and counties.

Whew! Sex, drugs, strippers, and a federal judge, oh, my! Plus a murder-plotting meth-head trooper, another crooked border inspector, more Philly cops trying to rip off drug dealers, and an Oklahoma narc helping send guns down Mexico way.

There have been a baker's dozen polls on Prop 19, and while they have varied, the cumulative result is starting to smell like legal marijuana in California. But a poor turnout could turn all of that around, and as saying goes, there's only one poll that counts.