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Bolivian President Evo Morales (wikimedia.org)

Morales Defends Coca-Chewing at UN Anti-Drug Meeting

Bolivian President Evo Morales told the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs Monday that Bolivians have the right to chew coca leaves. Bolivia wants the leaf removed from the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and has rejoined the treaty only with a reservation that it recognizes traditional coca use.

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla (wikimedia.org)

Costa Rica Joins Call for Drug Legalization Debate

Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla has joined Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina in calling for serious discussion of drug legalization.

statues of coca leaves adorn a small town plaza in Peru (photo by author)

Peru Fires Reformist Drug Czar

Peru's drug czar has been fired for being insufficiently enthusiastic about eradicating coca crops.

hemp field at sunrise (votehemp.com)

Brown Vetoes California Hemp Bill, Criticizes Federal Ban

California Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a hemp bill, calling the federal ban on hemp production "absurd" as he did so. But that didn't mollify industry groups.

Cultivating coca in the Chapare. (photo by the author)

Bolivia to Buy Up Excess Coca Production

The Bolivian government is laying plans to buy some legally produced coca -- up to a certain point -- if there is not sufficient licit use for it.

at-the-devils-table-200px.jpg

Chronicle Book Review: At The Devil's Table

With "At the Devil's Table," investigative journalist William Rempel takes the reader on a ride to the dark heart of the Cali cartel. And what a ride it is!

lime powder container (used traditionally in coca chewing), 1st-7th-century, Colombia (Quimbaya), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Bolivia to Quit United Nations Drug Convention Over Coca

We may be about to see the first defection from the legal backbone of global drug prohibition, the 1961 UN Convention on Single Drugs. Bolivia is ready to dump it, at least temporarily, over its classification of coca as an illicit drug.

The Supreme Court says "cocaine base" means more than just crack. (Image via Wikimedia.org)

Supreme Court Holds Crack Penalties Apply to "Cocaine Base"

The US Supreme Court has ruled that the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act means exactly what it says when it comes to "cocaine base."

Drug Submarines and the Futile Fight Against Colombian Smuggling

Yet another lessen in the futility of drug prohibition: Drug smugglers in Colombia have a low-cost way to transport cocaine -- narco-submarines. Authorities are struggling to keep up, and the technology keeps improving. Jay Bergman, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration's Andean division, said it's a whole new challenge. "Without question, it has us all going back to the textbooks and the drawing boards and figuring out what are we going to do about this." Bergman pointed out that so far, no drug submarines have been detected under the sea. But seizures of semi-submersibles have dropped dramatically in the past two years. That could mean that traffickers have already made the switch to submarines â and that they're eluding detection.

Venezuelan Drug Trafficker, Walid Makled, Says ChÃ¡vez Government Officials Tied to Cocaine Trade

Walid Makled says he had top Venezuelan generals and government officials on his payroll. He says that five or six plane-loads of cocaine take off everyday from San Fernandeo de Apure, in south-western Venezuela, bound for the US, via Honduras and Mexico. "Itâs an everyday thing. Not every other day, itâs every day. Between FARC and the Venezuelan Army, weâre talking about four or five planes leaving Apure every day."

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