News Brief

Kenneth Rau of Bismarck, North Dakota, the first man in the US arrested for possession of salvia divinorum, caught something of a break last week when prosecutors dropped the most serious charge against him. But he still faces five years in prison for $32 worth of salvia leaves he bought on eBay.

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr uses the raid on the home of the mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, to issue a broader critique of drug law enforcement.

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader unveils a strong drug policy platform and suggests the government should target corporate criminals instead of drug offenders.

French police are cracking down on drugged drivers, and they unveiled a new tool in their kits this week: saliva testing.

The people who managed to overturn Mendocino County's groundbreaking Measure G, which barred prosecution of anyone growing fewer than 25 plants, are feeling emboldened. Now, they have hatched a new scheme to further tighten the screws.

In a bid to regularize the situation of coca growers, one Peruvian department earlier this year moved to legalize the crop. This week, the country's highest constitutional court overturned that move, saying only the national government can set drug policy.

A Boston cop goes to prison for being muscle for drug dealers, and a Miami-area cop and two prison guards get caught up in a massive Oxycontin and health fraud scandal.

A Lima, Ohio, police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed woman and wounded her infant son during a SWAT raid was acquitted on all counts this week. He only faced eight months, anyway. But this story isn't over -- relatives have now filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and the shooter.

Drug user activists handed out brochures called for the legalization of drug use in some of Jakarta's most notorious dope-dealing hot-spots this week. It was the second user demonstration this summer in Indonesia.

The Arizona Court of Appeals has rejected a religious defense for marijuana use and possession.