News Brief

What are asset forfeiture laws and practices like where you live? A scathing new report on "Policing for Profit" will help you find out.

The illegal drug supply is increasing, and Mexican narcos are public enemy #1, according to the Justice Department's primary drug intelligence unit. There's no end in sight, the unit concludes.

Things that make you go hmmm... In one incident in Mexico this week, gunmen attacked a convoy carrying two prisoners. In the aftermath, the two prisoners were turned over to the Mexican Marines. Next thing you know, one of them turns up dead on the side of a road and the other has gone missing. Hmmm.

In a guest piece for the Chronicle, law professor John Calvin Jones dissects the case of a New Jersey man who ended up headed for prison for growing marijuana after police were called because he and his girlfriend were too loud during sex. He has some useful tips for people who want to know how to exercise their rights and avoid ending up like this guy.

Dutch marijuana laws only allow coffee shops to have 500 grams on hand at any given time. When you're selling that much pot in an hour, the law becomes a hindrance and a nuisance. But a court ruling Thursday strongly suggests to coffee shop owners that they better heed the law.

Will Rhode Island be the next state to decriminalize marijuana possession? It just took a big step in that direction this week, as a special legislative commission endorsed the idea.

New York City is about to pay big time -- again! -- for forcing people accused of minor crimes, including public marijuana possession, to undergo humiliating strip-searches. This is the third time in nine years the city has had to pay out for this practice. Will NYC ever learn?

New Jersey MS patient John Ray Wilson was convicted of growing marijuana in December. The state legalized medical marijuana in January. But Wilson was still sentenced to five years in prison last week.

Canadians who support marijuana decriminalization outnumber opponents by 20 percentage points, according to a new poll. 20% aren't sure.

An Atlanta cop gets nailed, a Tarheel State two-fer, and the de rigeuer dope-smuggling jail guard.