News Brief

A bill that would allow families to petition courts for the involuntary commitment for drug treatment of their "drug dependent" family members has been filed in Pennsylvania. It is unlikely to go anywhere, but it is such a creepy example of drug war totalitarianism that it's worth noting.

With its prisons stuffed to the gills with drug offenders thanks to years of legislative "tough on drugs" initiatives, Idaho is now beginning to look for alternatives. One comes in a bill that would allow judges to divert "addicts" convicted of drug sales to treatment instead of giving them mandatory prison time.

The city of Tel Aviv has proposed a pilot heroin maintenance program for recalcitrant older users. Now it is seeking approval from the Israeli Ministry of Health.

Medical marijuana vending machines, oh my! The International Narcotics Control Board expresses its "concern."

Indiana's methadone clinics and patients are under attack in the Indiana legislature -- again. This time, pols want to make clinic patients have designated drivers and test them for marijuana. At least a proposal to bar them from bringing their children to the clinic has died -- for now.

What are you going to do if they ban smoking and strippers? Some Cleveland-area residents have an idea.

Spurred by the state's narcs, the Kansas legislature is considering a bill that would make ecstasy possession a felony. It's all about the kids, proponents argue, but opponents wonder how saddling them with felony records will help.

One man gets a death sentence for drinking in Iran, another for selling hash in India, and Saudi Arabia keeps up the pace, executing two traffickers last week.

The Philippines may no longer execute drug offenders, but it is still handing out horrendous sentences. This week, a man was sentenced to life in prison for selling less than two grams of marijuana.

The US Sentencing Commission has ordered that sentence cuts for federal crack cocaine offenders be retroactive, but Attorney General Mukasey is now urging Congress to undo that.