Executive Branch

The US Sentencing Commission has ordered that sentence cuts for federal crack cocaine offenders be retroactive, but Attorney General Mukasey is now urging Congress to undo that.

Even as law enforcement and its allies fight a rear-guard effort to restore lost 2008 funding for the grant program that funds state and local drug task forces, the Bush administration is proposing to cut it again in the 2009 budget.

The feds arrested a Kansas pain doctor and his wife last month, charging them with improperly prescribing narcotic pain relievers. While they claim to be protecting the public, the doctor's patients beg to differ.

US Attorney General lashed out against early release for federal crack cocaine offenders twice last week, resorting to demagogic claims and warning he may try to block it.

When Congress passed the omnibus appropriations bill a few weeks ago, it slashed funding for the federal grant program that funds local anti-drug task forces. Now the task forces are howling, and they and their allies are plotting a bid to get that money back.

The arrest and prosecution of a Kansas pain management physician and his nurse wife have prompted a leading pain advocacy group to file a lawsuit challenging the application of the Controlled Substance Act when it comes to doctors and patients.

Both the US Sentencing Commission and the US Supreme Court acted this week to reduce the harsh sentences for federal crack cocaine offenders. But because of congressionally imposed mandatory minimum sentences, Congress must act to further reduce the injustice.

One year after he took office, Mexican President Felipe Calderon says the war on drugs remains his highest priority. Some 24,000 troops are in the field, but the traffic and the violence appear to continue unabated.

Facing strong opposition from the Afghan government, European allies, and even elements of the US government, the State Department announced Wednesday it had given up on an aerial spraying program designed to eradicate Afghan opium poppies -- at least for now.

New, less harsh federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses went into effect this week, potentially affecting 4,000 federal cases a year. But will the US Sentencing Commission make those changes retroactive, bringing hope to nearly 20,000 currently imprisoned federal crack offenders? Stay tuned.