News Brief

A smoking ban in bars, restaurants, and yes, coffee shops, goes into effect in Holland on July 1. But the law only targets tobacco, so marijuana-smoking can continue in the coffee shops, at least as long as it's not those tobacco-laced Euro-style joints.

New York Gov. David Paterson admitted to using cocaine and marijuana in the 1970s, and for the most part, the silence has been reassuring. A few ardent prohibitionists complained, though.

Idaho legislators want to increase funding for drug treatment and prevention, but the governor vetoed their funding line-items. Now, the state Senate has overridden one veto, and it's time for the House to step up to the plate.

As the Czech parliament moves to decriminalize small-time marijuana possession and up to three plants, medical marijuana activists are calling for the legalization of the weed for medical purposes.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether police need a search warrant to enter a residence after an informant has gone in and made a drug buy. Some federal courts have held that by allowing the informant in, the resident has consented to a police search.

The New Hampshire House Tuesday approved a bill that would decriminalize the possession of up to a quarter ounce of marijuana. But Senate leaders say it is dead on arrival, and the governor is vowing to veto it if it passes.

The Czech Republic is set to decriminalize the possession of up to 20 joints and the growing of up three marijuana plants. The move comes as an adjustment to the penal code.

The drug czar's office may be pushing the random drug testing of high school students, but it isn't going to happen in Washington state. The state Supreme Court last week ruled such testing unconstitutional.

The black community in Lima, Ohio, cried for justice after a SWAT team member killed Tarika Wilson and wounded her infant son during a raid in January. Those cries are unlikely to be quieted now as local authorities charged the police shooter with a pair of misdemeanors for the killing. He faces a maximum of eight months in jail.

For the first time, Brazilian authorities have found coca plantations and a cocaine lab on national territory, and they are worried there could be more.