Eradication

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.

With The Lebanese Connection, global drug trade scholar Jonathan Marshall has made an important contribution to the literature -- not only of the drug trade, but also of the Middle East, terrorism, covert operations, and failed states.

If you're interested in Colombia, coca and cocaine, and leftist guerrilla armies, we have a book for you.