Politics Outside US

Hardly a day goes by without another body being found in Mexico's prohibition-related violence, and the Mexican government is under increasing fire as the death toll rises. Now, thanks to upcoming journalist Bernd Debusmann Jr., the Chronicle will be watching and summarizing events on a weekly basis.

Somebody opened fire on Colombian soldiers and coca eradicators Monday, leaving of a toll of dead, wounded, and missing. There are plenty of suspects.

The US war on opium poppy production in Afghanistan turned literal Tuesday when US war planes attacked and destroyed a giant pile of poppy seeds in Helmand province. That'll show those seeds!

You've heard of medical marijuana vending machines in Los Angeles, right? Well, the UK one-ups LA with methadone vending machines in its prisons.

America's drug war in Latin America is a bipartisan affair. The Obama administration is negotiating with the Colombian government to create a major anti-drug base there to replace the one in Manta, Ecuador. Oh, and it also has nice force projection capabilities.

When 136 people died after drinking illicit alcohol in India's Gujarat state, critics were quick to call for an end to alcohol prohibition there. The state government isn't listening to them.

Mexico's prohibition-related violence is very ugly, and it's not just the narcos committing atrocities. The Mexican military has been accused of more than 2,000 human rights abuses, ranging from theft and robbery to rape, torture, and murder as it wages war on the so-called cartels.

Since cannabis went back to being a Class B drug in England, London police have been ticketing and fining marijuana users like crazy. But funny thing -- they aren't bothering to pay the fines.

The Danish government cracked down on the Christiania enclave's famous "Pusher Street" six years ago. But now, with the hash trade spreading across the city and fomenting gang violence, "Pusher Street" doesn't seem so bad in retrospect, and Copenhagen officials are pondering whether to open Amsterdam-style coffee shops.

The future of Holland's pragmatically tolerant approach to cannabis sales is up for debate this year. A government commission has recommended making the coffee shops "members only," but also legalizing the supply of cannabis to the coffee shops. Neither is likely to fly within the broader European Union context.