News Brief

The possession of up to a quarter ounce of marijuana is now decriminalized in La Crosse, Wisconsin. But police can still charge you with a criminal misdemeanor under state law, if they so choose.

Marijuana initiative fever is breaking out all over! Now you can add Missouri to the list.

An initiative that would legalize possession of up to an ounce of pot (or the harvest of up to six plants) and tax and regulate commercial sales is now gathering signatures in Colorado.

At an absolute minimum, at least 74 people were killed in prohibition-related violence in Mexico in the last week. Sad to say, there's nothing unusual about the death toll.

Miami Beach could become the first city in Florida to decriminalize pot possession after campaigners handed in more than double the number of voter signatures they needed to put a measure on the ballot.

Marc Emery smoked pot for years without any health problems, but has now come down with the antibiotic-resistant MRSA superbug while imprisoned in the US.

A former Border Patrol agent goes to prison, a former deputy police chief cops a plea, a sticky-fingered former cop gets sent away, too, and a deputy and three jail guards get busted.

One Washington state marijuana legalization initiative is dead, but another, less radical, one is just getting underway.

In a through-the-looking-glass move, the DEA has denied a petition to reschedule marijuana, arguing it has no accepted medical use.

The Obama Justice Department's "clarification" of its approach to medical marijuana is causing reactions ranging from dismay and disgust to confusion among advocates. Battle lines are being drawn.