Eradication

They may be smoking more pot in Washington state than anyone thought, the Florida medical marijuana signature-gathering campaign is going down to the wire, opium production is up in the Golden Triangle, and aerial eradication is paused in Colombia (after planes get blown out of the sky). And more.

It looks like Washington state medical marijuana patients will continue to be able to grow their own, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes wants to welcome pot tourists, the Michigan Senate takes aim at welfare drug users, Indian Maoists are profiting from prohibition, and more.

Uruguay's marijuana legalization bill passes another hurdle, a Berlin borough wants cannabis cafes, Chicago proposes tough medical marijuana regulations, Kentucky officials hound the DEA about hemp, and more.

Movement toward legal marijuana commerce continues in Washington, movement toward dispensaries continues in Massachusetts, medical marijuana polls very well in Florida, and more.

Repress it in one place, it pops up in another. Peru has regained its place as the world's leading coca producer as a decade of eradication and fumigation takes its toll on the Colombian crop.

A California man volunteering to help with marijuana eradication in the state's national forests died Thursday when he fell out of a helicopter. That's the 29th drug war death so far this year.

Indian police plan on spraying marijuana crops belonging to Maoist rebels. No word on what herbicidal agent they plan on using.

There will be no meaningful effort to eradicate Lebanese marijuana fields this year. The security situation is too tense, financial compensation for last year hasn't appeared, and the farmers are too angry. Hash heads from Cairo to Ankara to Berlin are smiling.

Afghan farmers are cultivating more opium than last year, officials said Monday.

Coca production is up in Peru for the sixth year in a row, responding to thriving demand from Brazil and Europe. Colombia is barely holding on to first place now.