Drug War Chronicle #540 - June 20, 2008

In a historic US Congress Joint Economic Committee hearing Thursday, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) opened up discussion on the Hill of the economic costs of US drug policy.

A former Navy officer and drug fighter turned drug reformer is running for the state House of Representatives in Connecticut. He's calling for safe injection sites, opiate maintenance, and taxed and regulated marijuana sales, and he could use your help.

A Chicago SWAT raid of a social club and the killing of a homeowner in a Florida SWAT raid that netted less than an ounce of marijuana are the latest incidents to put heavy-handed police tactics in the spotlight.

Apply for an internship at DRCNet for this fall (or spring), and you could spend the semester fighting the good fight!

Drug War Chronicle is seeking information on serious police misconduct or misjudgments in the treatment of informants. Confidentiality will be protected.

Trouble in the Hoosier State this week, with some Indy cops busted for ripping off pot dealers and selling their wares and a Muncie drug task force being investigated over its asset forfeiture practices. Also, a Wyoming jailer steals his cop father's drug dog pot stash, and a Massachusetts cop cops a plea.

For the second year in a row, the New York Assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill. But the state Senate must act by Monday, when the legislature recesses, or the effort to enact a medical marijuana law in the Empire State will be dead for this year.

A Massachusetts man has gotten a medical marijuana distribution initiative on the ballot in Ferndale, Michigan. Is he positioning himself to cash in when (and if) voters approve a statewide medical marijuana initiative in November?

Opponents of medical marijuana sometimes argue that allowing it will encourage kids to smoke pot. But new report coauthored by SUNY Albany researcher Dr. Mitch Earleywine has found that teen marijuana use has actually declined in states that have medical marijuana laws, and more markedly than national averages.

A Dutch ban on tobacco smoking in public venues has Amsterdam's coffee shop owners worried. Smoking marijuana remains okay, but those Euro-style tobacco-laced joints will be forbidden.

Coca production in the Andes was up last year, the UN reported this week. The biggest percentage increase was in Colombia, where years of US-funded herbicide spraying have failed to stop farmers.

The Law, Constitution, and Justice Committee of Israel's Knesset (parliament) has approved a measure that would ban the sale of bongs, or water pipes often used to smoke marijuana. It has two more readings to go and then a floor vote to become law.

The Mexican army undertook Operation Join Together Chihuahua in March, as thousands of troops poured into the Mexican border state. As has been the case elsewhere in Mexico, the arrival of the troops has been followed by a growing chorus of human rights complaints.

Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.

"Dutch Smoking Ban Could Improve Marijuana Quality," "Drug Cops Shouldn't be Paid With Confiscated Drug Money, But They Are," "Increased Pot Potency Just Proves That Marijuana Laws Have Failed," "Why You Shouldn't Try to Eat Your Marijuana if You're Pulled Over," "U.S. Government Stopped Research After Finding That Marijuana Slowed Cancer Growth," "Mexican Drug War Analysis: It's Not Going Well."

The Marijuana Policy Project is seeking a seasoned professional to fill the position of Director of State Policies in MPP's headquarters in Washington, DC. The Director of State Policies manages MPP's grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in all state legislatures.

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