News Brief

The looming pullout of Western forces from Afghanistan could lead to an economic collapse and the strengthening of the country's opium economy, the UN anti-drug chief warned Wednesday.

A Florida police department has a fine drug war racket, plus more cops with pain pill issues, a Texas deputy goes down for slinging cocaine, a former Milwaukee cop gets slapped for putting his hands in the wrong place, and an ex-Chicago cop goes away for ripping off drug couriers. Just another week of drug-related police corruption.

The feds back off in some Southern California asset forfeiture cases, an Iowa newspaper tells local authorities to back off from prosecuting a cancer patient, and several states move forward with implementing their medical marijuana laws.

The US Supreme Court has smothered the last breath of life left in the third effort to reschedule marijuana out of Schedule I. But a fourth effort is already in progress.

Romania has become the latest European nation to approve medical marijuana.

The Venezuelan government is threatening to shoot suspected drug-running planes out of the sky. Brazil and Peru already do that.

Florida and Maryland are just the latest states to report poll results sure to please marijuana law reformers.

As of this week, getting caught with a small amount of marijuana in Switzerland will get you no more than a fine.

Lone Star state voters are ready to legalize marijuana, legalize medical marijuana, and/or decriminalize marijuana, according to a new poll. The times they are a-changing.

A Houston SWAT team's dawn drug raid ends with an armed homeowner shot dead.