News Brief

Rhode Island approved adding a dispensary system to its medical marijuana program this spring, and now the state Department of Health has promulgated proposed rules to regulate it. But even if all goes well -- and non-controversially -- it could be another year before a dispensary actually starts dispensing.

Move over NAOMI, here comes SALOME. Just in time for the Winter Olympics, a new heroin maintenance trial is set to get underway early next year in Vancouver.

The Mexican military killed a major drug lord last week, but that doesn't seem to have changed anything. The violence continues...

A quiet week -- perhaps it's the holidays -- yields a Carolina two-fer of corrupt cops.

New Jersey medical marijuana patient John Ray Wilson was found guilty of marijuana manufacture yesterday, but the jury refused to convict him on the most serious charge. The verdict came after the trial judge partially reversed himself and allowed Wilson to utter one sentence to the jury about his illness and his use of medical marijuana. Supporters are seeking a pardon from outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine.

The Mexican government scored a victory this week with the killing of Beltran Leyva cartel head Arturo Beltran Leyva, but will it turn out to be a pyrrhic victory? Knocking off cartel heads in the past has typically led to renewed infighting as rivals vie to replace them.

On New Year's Day, the Czech Republic will join Portugal among European countries that have decriminalized drug possession for personal use. The Czech cabinet Monday approved quantity limits on the amounts that will be decriminalized.

The Ohio Supreme Court has taken a stab at a largely yet-to-be-adjudicated area of Fourth Amendment law. In a ruling Tuesday, it held that police must obtain a search warrant to search an arrestee's cell phone.

And then there were 14! The last congressional obstacle to the District of Columbia actually being able to implement its medical marijuana law has fallen. Now, DC bureaucrats and would-be medical marijuana entrepreneurs are scrambling.

The Wisconsin medical marijuana bill was only introduced last month, but Tuesday it got a joint hearing from the Assembly and Senate Health Committees. The Democratic legislative leadership and the Democratic governor are all on board, so it could move quickly.