California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to help balance the budget by cutting out almost all Medi-Cal funding for more than 35,000 methadone maintenance patients. The nicest thing opponents can say about that idea is that it's penny wise but pound foolish, and the legislature seems to agree. But the Governator can still wield the line-item veto, so the fight isn't over yet.

A coalition of organizations -- StoptheDrugWar.org is a partner in it -- is presenting the first full-day conference on drug policy reform on Capitol Hill. And it's free.

Arizona voters have already approved medical marijuana twice, only to have it taken away by the legislature in 1996 and shot down by bad drafting language in 1998. Now, they have a third shot at it, and organizers say they've gotten everything right.

For years, the annual Bureau of Justice Statistics jail population report has had the same bottom line: The jail population is up again. Not this year.

Detroit led the way in approving medical marijuana in Michigan. Now, it's poised to lead the way in legalizing the possession of up to an ounce by adults.

This week we have three cops whose drug habits got them into trouble. It is Chronicle policy not to include police officers whose only offense is drug possession in this column. Dope-snorting cops may be hypocrites -- depending on whether they personally do drug possession arrests -- but that doesn't make them corrupt. But in all three cases below, officers who used drugs also did something crooked.

You know times are tough when even GOP-dominated legislatures in the Deep South are passing sentencing reform bills. It's not so much bleeding hearts as bleeding wallets.

A signature gathering campaign underway in Washington state to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot should get a boost from a new poll. It uses the same language as the initiative and finds 52% of registered voters say "Legalize it!"

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

A ballot initiative needs 50% plus one vote to win, and California's "Tax Cannabis" measure isn't there yet. But the latest poll shows it eight points ahead, meaning only one out of five undecided voters needs to go for it to push it over the top.