DEA

After more than two decades of the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity and all its racially pernicious effects, pressure is mounting to eliminate it. And now, for the first time, it is the position of the US Justice Department that that should be the case.

Is Mexico ready to decriminalize marijuana possession? The Mexican Congress devoted a three-day forum to the notion this week, even as Presidents Obama and Calderón met to plot a better drug war on the border.

The Justice Department will/will not raid medical marijuana providers in states where it's legal. Who knows? Attorney General Holder said last week the DEA would only go after dispensaries violating state law, but this week, the DEA hit a San Francisco dispensary that appears to be operating legally. Confusion and concern abound.

As Mexicos's plague of prohibition-related violence continues unabated, Washington is moving to beef up the border and the Mexican repressive apparatus. But for the first time, US officials are openly admitting that some of it is our fault, possibly opening the way for the discussion of drug legalization to move in from the margins.

California medical marijuana dispensary operator Charles Lynch was supposed to be sentenced to federal prison Monday. It didn't happen, and Lynch can thank Attorney General Holder for signaling a change of federal policy toward such prosecutions.

Congress wants the Obama administration to "do something" about the prohibition-related violence ravaging Mexico. But that "something" just looks like more drug war.

For the second time in three weeks, Attorney General Holder has said there will be no more DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in states where it is legal -- as long as they are operating under state laws. But that still leaves some wiggle room.

The Obama administration may have signaled an end to the federal war against medical marijuana in California, but there is unfinished business from the Bush era crusades. A tragic case in point is that of Morro Bay dispensary operator Charles Lynch, who faces years in federal prison when he is sentenced Monday.

Salvia divinorum must be some pretty potent stuff. It's driving legislators loco all across the country as they insist on banning it simply because somebody, somewhere might get high on it.

US Attorney General Eric Holder announced Wednesday that there would be no more DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in states where it is legal. That is a huge victory, but the victory will not be complete as long as a single person remains in or threatened with federal prison for helping sick patients.