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"Legal Marijuana: It's Coming, Whether You Like it or Not," "The Difference Between Drug War Violence and 'Drug-Related' Violence," "The Staggering Incoherence of Drug Warrior Charles Grassley," "Cory Maye: Drug War Victim Gets a New Trial," "Will Foster is Free! He Walked Out of Prison in Oklahoma Today."
A sticky-fingered North Carolina deputy gets busted, so does a Florida sheriff's evidence tech, and a home-invading, drug dealer-robbing Philly cop gets sent away for a long, long time.
Chakib El Khayari runs a human rights group in Morocco's Rif Mountains, where marijuana cultivation is a way of life. He has run afoul of the Moroccan government for criticizing its policies toward the poor pot farmers, and an appeals court has just ruled he should stay in a jail. Human rights and drug reform groups consider him a prisoner of conscience.
Under United Kingdom drug laws, simple pot possession can cost you two years in gaol. But that's rarely the case, and now the Scottish government is hinting that a small fine may be a more reasonable response -- and one that saves a lot of policing time.
The Vancouver NAOMI study showed that heroin maintenance worked for some hard-core addicts not amenable to methadone or other forms of drug treatment. But now, plans to build on NAOMI with further research in Vancouver and Montreal have hit a snag, with the Quebec provincial government refusing to pay its share.
The Los Angeles City Council spent seven hours Tuesday trying to thrash out agreement on an ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. It didn't quite get there, but it made some progress.
The carnage continues. This week an American citizen is among the casualties, but it looks like she was the victim of a soldier's inadvertent discharge.