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Congress: Budget Deal Includes Series of Drug Reform Victories

Congressional budget negotiators have approved a conference committee bill that ends the ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs, ends the ban on the District of Columbia funding of needle exchange programs, and ends the ban on the District enacting a medical marijuana law approved by voters a decade ago. Oh, and it also slashes funding for the drug czar's ineffective youth anti-drug media campaign.

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Good Stuff to Read

An Alternet story about the DEA's continuing failure to update their website in accordance with the AMA's new position on medical marijuana seems to have gotten results. DEA made another update here, noting the new position and replacing bad info.Â Â

Also at Alternet, 10 Signs the Failed Drug War Is Finally Ending by Tony Newman. This has been an incredible year for drug policy reform and Tony's piece was published before this week's incredible news on Capitol Hill.

An outrageous medical marijuana prosecution in New Jersey. It's really time to get this legislation passed.

A new poll finds 53% support for legalizing marijuana. Other interesting stuff in there too.

The worst anti-marijuana editorial I've seen in awhile. The dude even mixes up North and South Korea.

Drug war robots! I've been warning about this for years now. It's just a matter of time before the cartels build robots too (if they haven't already).Â

And finally, Prisoner dupes guards, grows pot in cell. Seriously. He told them it was tomatoes. And he only got busted because another inmate ratted him out. Although I suppose it would have caught up with him eventually, because at some point the guards might notice that he doesnât ever seem to have any tomatoes.

Chronicle

At the Statehouse: Sentencing, Drug Testing, Good Samaritan, Hemp, and SWAT Bills

In the final installment in our series on drug reform legislative activity, we look at sentencing, Good Samaritan laws, drug testing, and a couple of odds and ends.

Chronicle

Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

More problems in the NYPD, "Starsky and Hutch" are being investigated in Camden, and a Florida cop heads to prison for tipping off drug traffickers.

Chronicle

Public Opinion: Majority Support for Marijuana Legalization Nationwide, Poll Finds

Woo-hoo! The end times are upon us. For the second time this year, a national public opinion poll reports majority support for legalizing marijuana.

Chronicle

Europe: Mayor of Amsterdam Says Cities Need Different Coffee Shop Policy From Border Towns

The Dutch government is pondering a further tightening of the screws on Holland's famous cannabis coffee shops, but Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen doesn't want a one-size-fits-all policy based on problems with border town "drug tourism."

Chronicle

Latin America: Top Honduran Anti-Drug Official Assassinated

Honduras' top anti-drug official Monday held a press conference urging the public to join the fight against drug traffickers. A day later, he was dead--gunned down in an ambush by assailants who escaped.

Chronicle

Europe: Czech Government Decriminalizes Up To Five Marijuana Plants, 15 Grams

Last year, the Czech parliament voted to decriminalize the possession of "small amounts" of drugs. Now, as the clock ticks toward January 1, when the new penal code takes effect, the cabinet is finally determining just what "small amounts" are.

Chronicle

Medical Marijuana: Los Angeles City Council Approves Measure to Cap Dispensaries at 70

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to slash the number of medical marijuana dispensaries operating in the city by nearly 90%. Under the measure approved, the number of dispensaries would be limited to 70.

Chronicle

Appeal: Did You Know That We Are WINNING?

Unprecedented developments have us more optimistic than ever before at the prospects for significant change in drug policy.

Chronicle

Weekly: This Week in History

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

Chronicle

Alert: Tell Congress to Repeal Unjust Crack Cocaine Sentences

A rare window of opportunity has opened for addressing one of the drug war's most glaring injustices.

Chronicle

Prosecution: No More Crack Pipe Felonies for Houston

Finally, some sanity in Houston! The Harris County District Attorney has announced that beginning January 1, people caught with trace amounts of drugs or drug paraphernalia with drug traces will no longer be charged with felonies.

Chronicle

Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) and Help Stop the Drug War!

Apply for an internship at DRCNet and you could spend a semester fighting the good fight!

Chronicle

Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy

"Good Stuff to Read," "Washington Post Writer Gets Tricked by the Drug Czar, Refuses to Accept Responsibility," "10 Rules for Dealing With Police (Film Preview)," "Deputy Drug Czar: I hate This job'," "No Marijuana Smoking at the Dog-Sled Races," "A Magical Day in Mexico," "No Drug Bust is Worth the Life of a Good Cop."

Chronicle

Latin America: Mexico Drug War Update

Amnesty International accuses the Mexican military of human rights violations in the drug war -- a problem for US funding. Meanwhile, this year's south of the border prohibition-related death toll passed 7,000 this week.

Chronicle

Feature: With Passage of Medical Marijuana Bill Pending, New Jersey Patient Faces 20 Years for Growing His Medicine

If advocates for medical marijuana in New Jersey needed a poster boy, they've found him in John Ray Wilson. The broke, unemployed, MS patient goes on trial next week for growing his own medicine. He's looking at 20 years in prison for something that might not even be a crime next month.

Chronicle

Latin America: Mexico Drug War Update

The Mexican government scored a victory this week with the killing of Beltran Leyva cartel head Arturo Beltran Leyva, but will it turn out to be a pyrrhic victory? Knocking off cartel heads in the past has typically led to renewed infighting as rivals vie to replace them.

Grand Rapids official: Allowing medical marijuana sales from homes preferable to stand-alone marijuana dispensaries

In The Trenches

Congress Does Good - At Last

You Can Make a Difference

Dear friends,

Tell the drug czar to get rid of drug policies that don't work.Â

Sign the Petition

Wow.Â Because of your hard work, Congress is on the verge of ending two disastrous drug war policies that weâve been fighting for years.

In the next few weeks, Congress will likely repeal restrictions preventing Washington, DC from implementing a medical marijuana law that we helped pass.Â Legislators are also close to eliminating the federal syringe funding ban, a policy responsible for tens of thousands of Americans contracting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C.

Letâs keep up this momentum and call for an end to more failed policies!

These changes come at a time when President Obamaâs drug czar is finishing his blueprint for U.S. drug policy.Â You've endorsed our first two recommendations for drug czar Gil Kerlikowske to create an exit strategy for the war on drugs.

Join me in sharing one last big idea with the drug czar:

Eliminate drug policies that are proven failures.

You know the ones.Â Those stupid government anti-marijuana ads. DARE drug education built on scare tactics. Crop spraying in Colombia that hurts farmers and harms the environment but does nothing to reduce cocaine exports.

It's clear from your overwhelming endorsement of the first two recommendations that you and I agree: We need to get the federal government out of the way so states can try new policies, and we need to stop using the criminal justice system to deal with drug issues.

By adding your signature to this third recommendation, you can make sure the drug czar has the information he needs to create smarter, more effective drug policies.

Sincerely,

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance Network