Budgets/Taxes/Economics

The Dutch government implemented its "weed pass" plan barring foreigners from buying marijuana at its cannabis coffee shops in three southern provinces Tuesday, but the coffee shops are not giving in without a fight.

Bills to drug test people seeking public benefits have been all the rage at the statehouse this year, but they're having a surprisingly hard time passing. We have some reasons why.

4/20 in Oakland was aimed squarely at the Obama administration and its attacks on medical marijuana distribution. Obama is alienating his base, protestors said, as they delivered a message to his local campaign headquarters.

The 2012 National Drug Control Strategy is out. It looks much like the 2010 strategy or the 2005 strategy or the 2000 strategy. There are a few new wrinkles, but nothing much has changed.

Washington's I-502 legalization initiative has picked up the support of the state's Democratic Party.

If grand jury indictments earlier this month are any indication, there's not enough real crime in Pitt County, North Carolina, to keep cops and prosecutors busy. The most common grand jury charge: possessing marijuana with intent.

The new national drug strategy is out and it looks very much like the old national drug strategy, retaining the seemingly eternal 60:40 split between law enforcement and interdiction on one hand and treatment and prevention on the other.

Monday's federal raid on Oaksterdam University in Oakland has ignited a firestorm of criticism of heavy-handed federal efforts to clamp down on medical marijuana distribution. Meanwhile, battles continue to be fought from Washington, DC, to local city halls.

The feds hit the iconic Oaksterdam University and associated businesses in a Monday morning raid. No word yet on any arrests. Patients are mobilizing. An already scheduled protest set for Tuesday in San Francisco should be even more energized now.

A bill pending in California would make misdemeanors out of drug possession offenses that are currently felonies. An impressive coalition is growing in support of it, but law enforcement is skeptical.