Arrests

Drug possession has been legal in Colombia since 1994. But now, a teetotaling President Uribe wants to go back to the bad old days.

A Michigan cop shot college student Derek Copp in the chest during a drug raid last month in which police seized only a small amount of marijuana (at least according to Copp's lawyer; the cops aren't talking). Now they're coming after him with drug possession charges.

By some measures, drug courts are a success. They reduce recidivism and drive down criminal justice system costs, most observers agree. But when it comes to whether they are a desirable response to drug use, that's a different story.

Ohio's law criminalizing salvia divinorum went into effect Tuesday, but the first arrest under it came Monday. Go figure.

Police say that aggressive drug raids are good at protecting police, but two dramatic officer deaths that were caused by those tactics suggest the opposite. So do the statistics -- only three law enforcement officers died conducting drug raids last year. At least that many citizens were killed, and who knows how many dogs.

People suffering drug overdoses sometimes die because their companions either delay seeking medical assistance or fail to act at all for fear of getting arrested themselves. New Mexico has a law providing limited immunity for people in those circumstances. Now, a Washington legislator hopes to make his state the second to pass such a law.

Like the Grateful Dead before it, the jam band Phish has legions of loyal fans, many of whom enjoy their music with a little herbal or chemical alteration. It was a field day for cops as the band played a three-night show in Virginia.

Observers of the drug war have long known about its racial disparities, but a new report from Human Rights Watch makes them glaringly obvious.

The Michael Phelps bong photo story has taken on a life of its own. It has garnered huge media coverage, much of it openly critical of the marijuana laws and official attitudes toward pot smokers. Now, drug reformers, sensing an opportunity to advance the cause, have organized a boycott of Kellogg cereals for refusing to renew his endorsement contract.

The National Drug Intelligence Center is out with its National Drug Threat Assessment 2009. If the authors would read their own words, they would realize they are making a strong argument for ending drug prohibition.