Congress never met a new drug it didn't want to ban. (image via Wikimedia)
New Drugs Get Same Old Response on Capitol Hill [FEATURE]
Confronted with new synthetic drugs, Congress is poised to do what it always does: ban them. But there is a better way, say advocates.
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Chronicle Book Review: Drugs and Drug Policy
A trio of academic experts have come up with a drug policy book you're going to want to read, even if only to argue with it. Especially to argue with it.
The federal courthouse in Orlando, where a judge threw out Florida's drug law. (image via Wikimedia)
Federal Judge Throws Out Florida's Drug Law
Florida's drug law has been found unconstitutional because it did not require proof of criminal intent. Tens or hundreds of thousands of cases could be affected.
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Chicago to Stop Jailing Marijuana Users?
The Cook County Board president wants police to quit wasting time jailing small-time marijuana offenders, and the police may just take a half-step in that direction.
If the legislature won't make medical marijuana happen, the voters might do it for them. (image via Wikimedia)
Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Initiative Filed
Massachusetts activists have taken the first formal step toward putting a medical marijuana initiative before the voters next year.
All the drug busts in Mexico don't seem to make a difference. (image via Wikimedia)
Mexico Drug War Update
You know things are messed up when the federal police are shooting at the head of the Ciudad Juarez police. Oh, and 216 more people were killed there in the drug wars last month.
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This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
Cops cutting corners to make arrests, a cop caught providing protection for a load of cocaine, and a police force fired for its misbehavior make this week's rogues' gallery.
Cultivating coca in the Chapare. (photo by the author)
Bolivia to Buy Up Excess Coca Production
The Bolivian government is laying plans to buy some legally produced coca -- up to a certain point -- if there is not sufficient licit use for it.
Synthetic cannabinoids like Spice will be banned in Kiwiland this week. (image via Wikimedia)
New Zealand to Ban Synthetic Marijuana This Week
Stymied by drug laws that make the government actually prove something is harmful before banning it, New Zealand is instituting an emergency ban on synthetic cannabinoids while it figures out what to do.
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This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.