Drug War Chronicle

The Mexico Drug War Update was on vacation last week, but now it's back. Weirdly enough, 420 people were killed in prohibition-related violence there in the past two weeks. Nothing to celebrate about that.

Legal needle exchanges may be coming to Colorado -- if a bill before the state Senate passes. But injection drug users in Boulder already benefit from an exemption allowing exchanges, and drug users in Denver can take advantage of an underground exchange.

In the violent and volatile world of Mexican drug cartels, no alliance is forever. Now, the Zetas have grown too threatening, and the other cartels are joining forces against them. Meanwhile, Chapo Guzman and his Sinaloa cartel have taken Ciudad Juarez.

An initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Arizona is poised to make the November ballot. If it does, and if it is approved, it will mean medical marijuana is the law of the land from the Pacific Coast to the Texas border.

The drug czar was in the hot seat at a Wednesday congressional hearing, and activists and academics got a chance to weigh in on the flaws of US drug policy as well.

Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy has spent years trudging through the poppy fields of Asia on his way to becoming one of the world's leading experts on the opium trade. With the publication of "Opium: Uncovering the Politics of the Poppy," the fruits of his labors are now available in English, and we should be thankful for that.

Bermuda has long taken a hard-line on marijuana possession, but now members of the ruling party are suggesting it's time for a change.

"Michelle Obama's Awesome Plan for Winning the Drug War," "Drug Cartel Assassins Caught on Camera," "The Government is Still Trying (and Failing) to Prove That Marijuana is Dangerous," "The Best Argument Ever for Legalizing and Taxing Marijuana," "Teachers for Marijuana Legalization," "Dr. Drew Endorses Planting Evidence on Drug Users to Get Them Locked Up," "Mike Huckabee Compares Using Drugs to Committing Incest," "Eating Your Stash Won't Keep You Out of Jail."

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Millions of people have viewed -- and benefited from -- the film "Busted: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters." The new Flex Your Rights film, "10 Rules for Dealing with Police," has taken things to the next level, in more ways than one.