Crime & Violence

The Mexican government scored a major coup this week with the capture of Miguel Angel "Z-40" Trevino Morales, the head of the powerful Zetas cartel. But will it stem the violence or the flow of drugs? One observer thinks not.

Legal cannabis in the Caucausus? It could happen if some politicians in Georgia have their way.

The fledgling adminstration of Mexican President Pena Nieto is moving to strengthen its control over US law enforcement and intelligence agencies operating there, a change of course from the policies of his predecessor.

The discussion about legalizing marijuana commerce and cultivation is about to get underway in Uruguay. The president wanted to legalize it last fall, but backed off in the face of public opposition. Now, there will be an educational process to win support.

Former New Zealand prime minister and current head of the UN Development Program Helen Clark has toughly criticized the reliance on criminal justice approaches in the global drug war.

In some ways, 2012 has been a year of dramatic, exciting change in drug policy, as the edifice of global drug prohibition appears to crumble before our eyes. In other ways it's still business as usual in the drug war. Here, we look at the biggest drug policy stories of the year.

With a new president taking over, Mexico has a chance to rethink its disastrous war on the cartels. Two new books on the Mexican drug wars have a few thoughts about where it's been and where it should go next.

Even as Uruguay moves to create a system of state-regulated marijuana commerce, legislators from across the political spectrum are calling for the legalization of all drugs in a bid to blunt the threat from the drug trade.

A Mexican lawmaker has just introduced a marijuana legalization bill. It's unlikely to pass, but will provide an opportunity for debate on drug policy and is yet another response to last week's legalization victories here in the US.

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica's bill to start state-operated or -regulated marijuana cultivation and distribution was presented to Congress Wednesday, and it includes home grow and "smoking club" cultivation provisions.