News Brief

It's not a done deal yet in the Arizona medical marijuana vote, the California attorney general vote, and a Washington state representative race of interest to drug reformers. Also, some election odds and ends.

A sticky-fingered sheriff leads this week's list of law enforcement miscreants.

A post-election poll strongly suggest that marijuana legalization could win in California in 2012.

The battle over New Jersey medical marijuana regulations continues, with both Assembly and Senate committees passing resolutions saying the regs are inconsistent with the law and demanding they be rewritten.

The federal persecution of California medical marijuana providers continues. Now, upon losing an appeal, Dr. Mollie Fry and partner Dale Schafer are most likely headed for federal prison.

The acceptance of medical marijuana in Israel has taken another step forward, with a health ministry committee recommending it be considered as a medicine and made available in pharmacies.

They're starting to crawl out of the woodwork. A prominent force in the movement to overturn gay marriage in California now has Prop 19 in his sights.

Two statewide medical marijuana initiatives lost on Tuesday. A third is trailing very slightly, but with uncounted mail-in ballots making it still too close to call.

The controversial Professor David Nutt is at it again, this time with a study ranking drugs, legal and illegal, by the harm they cause users and society. There are some surprises there.

Last month was the bloodiest in Ciudad Juarez history with 352 people killed in prohibition-related violence. Four US citizens were among the dead. Hoping to stop the violence, Mexico's former president weighed in supporting California's Prop 19 legalization initiative.