News Brief

Drug testing in chess? You've got to be kidding. That's what the players think, but the chess federation is dead serious, and now it finds itself in something of a pickle.

A former Border Patrol agent cops a plea, another jail guard gets busted, a mystery is solved in Alabama, and one remains in Minnesota.

The Arizona Supreme Court will decide whether there is a religious right to use and possess marijuana.

Ohio becomes the latest state to criminalize salvia divinorum (and its users). The ban goes into effect in 90 days.

The Peruvian government managed to defeat the bloody Shining Path insurgency in the early 1990s. Now, the profits from prohibition are helping to bring it back to life.

The herbal drug "Spice" is becoming popular with recreational users seeking a high, but authorities in various countries are moving to ban it, claiming it contains a dangerous synthetic cannabinoid.

It's been a little more than six months since social pot dealer Rachel Hoffman was intimidated into becoming a snitch and sent off to buy cocaine and guns from men who killed her. Now, her family is suing the Tallahassee Police Department and seeking legislation to protect other young victims of predatory policing.

New year, same old same old. Another jailer gone bad, another deputy with problems, and a murky tale from Tennessee involving cops, docs, guns, and pills.

Don Christen has jousted with Maine authorities over marijuana for years. Now, he's just won a major victory in court.

Under existing jurisprudence and guidelines, people in Holland can grow up to five marijuana plants without fear of prosecution. Now, a court has ruled that no matter how big the harvest, if you grow five or less, you're safe.