News Brief

It's time for the India's Shiva worshippers to go on a pilgrimage to a holy site. Along the way, some of them like to puff ganja. Local dealers are making money, and local police are looking the other way.

A new police chief in Austin has opened a criminal investigation into the way the department spent money it seized in asset forfeiture operations. Among the items: More than $600 for coffee cops and nearly $1,900 for a race clock, whatever that is.

When New Mexico passed its medical marijuana law this year, it was unique in mandating that the state would oversee the production and distribution of the medicine. But citing fear of federal prosecution, the state Health Department now says "no way."

A federal grand jury looking into marijuana sales by growers hiding behind medical marijuana laws has issued subpoenas for the medical records of 17 Oregon patients. That's a first, and patients and advocates are determined to squash it.

One of California's top narcs gets busted for peddling Cialis, another Florida cop goes to prison, and a pair of Florida prison guards gets popped for the usual.

Sativex, the THC-based sublingual spray, has been approved for use in cancer pain by Health Canada.

Now, "smart shops" selling magic mushrooms abound in Holland, but perhaps not for long. Driven by a handful of unfortunate incidents, a move to ban the phantastical fungus is under government consideration.

In 2003, then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to eliminate drugs in his country. He didn't, but his police managed to eliminate 2,500 drug "suspects" by gunning them down without trial. Now that Thaksin has been overthrown, investigations into the mass killings are getting underway.

The executioner's ax fell on three more drug war unfortunates in Saudi Arabia this week.

Kansas passed a law in 2005 requiring law enforcement agencies to report on racial profiling complaints, but only about one-third of agencies are complying.