News Brief

Utah is getting organized for marijuana law reform, the NAACP is supporting a "states' rights" federal marijuana bill, attention turns to the drug war south of the border in Washington, and more.

Portland's police chief demonstrates why local initiatives are only a start, a new Urban Institute report has ideas for reducing the federal prison population, the Irish parliament rejects marijuana legalization on its first go round, and more.

A Newark, New Jersey, man is dead at the hands of drug police after they said he approached them with a loaded weapon (how did they know?), but angry neighbors had a different version of events.

Marijuana reform conference in KC, MO this Saturday.

Former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso called for global drug decriminalization and other reforms in an op-ed published on CNN.com today.

Marijuana policy reform questions are on the ballot in Colorado, a trio of Michigan localities, and Portland, Maine, tomorrow.

We took a week off from the Corrupt Cops stories, but the corrupt cops sure didn't. Here's a rather lengthy list of backlogged law enforcement miscreants.

Portland, Maine, has become the first East Coast city to vote to legalize marijuana possession, and it did so overwhelmingly.

Voters in Colorado and Michigan approve marijuana measures (and so do voters in Portland, Maine--see our news brief), another New Mexico anal drug search victim emerges and the Mexican military moves into Lazaro Cardenas.

An especially egregious drug war excess in New Mexico makes the news, the mayor of Toronto 'fesses up to smoking crack, Morocco gets ready to talk marijuana legalization, and more.