News Brief

Stymied by drug laws that make the government actually prove something is harmful before banning it, New Zealand is instituting an emergency ban on synthetic cannabinoids while it figures out what to do.

The Cook County Board president wants police to quit wasting time jailing small-time marijuana offenders, and the police may just take a half-step in that direction.

You know things are messed up when the federal police are shooting at the head of the Ciudad Juarez police. Oh, and 216 more people were killed there in the drug wars last month.

Cops cutting corners to make arrests, a cop caught providing protection for a load of cocaine, and a police force fired for its misbehavior make this week's rogues' gallery.

The Bolivian government is laying plans to buy some legally produced coca -- up to a certain point -- if there is not sufficient licit use for it.

Florida's drug law has been found unconstitutional because it did not require proof of criminal intent. Tens or hundreds of thousands of cases could be affected.

Marijuana arrests jumped in Canada last year, and activists want to know why.

The first horse is out of the gate in the California 2012 marijuana legalization initiative sweepstakes.

Faced with rising drug overdose deaths, New York is the latest -- and largest -- state to pass a 911 Good Samaritan law allowing people to seek help without fear of prosecution.

A sheriff whose alleged theft from the evidence room might be excused, a prison guard who also heads a violent biker gang, another prison guard with dope and an eye for the ladies, a pill peddling suburban cop, and a bribe-taking small town cop all make the rogues' gallery this week.