Arrests

In a guest piece for the Chronicle, law professor John Calvin Jones dissects the case of a New Jersey man who ended up headed for prison for growing marijuana after police were called because he and his girlfriend were too loud during sex. He has some useful tips for people who want to know how to exercise their rights and avoid ending up like this guy.

While elected officials on both sides of the board dismiss legalization of the drug trade, Mexico continues to pay the price. Another 137 people were killed in prohibition-related violence there this week.

Both city and federal officials cracked down on the thriving LA medical marijuana scene Thursday, employing raids and civil enforcement actions.

Heads not attached to bodies keep popping up in unexpected places in Mexico. Yet another gruesome reminder of the prohibition-related savagery wracking the country.

Kenneth How rolled up to a Massachusetts sobriety checkpoint sitting in the passenger seat and smoking a joint. Shortly later, he was dead. The medical examiner has called his death a homicide. Now, his family has filed a federal lawsuit alleging police beat him to death.

Cambodia's "drug treatment" centers are the scene of torture, rape, and abuse, said Human Rights Watch in a scathing report Monday calling for them to be shut down. Oh, and they don't do much drug treatment, either.

It was a relatively quiet week in Mexico's drug wars this week. Only about 15 people a day were killed.

Will 2010 be the year the first state legalizes marijuana? If California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and Washington Representative Roger Goodman have their way, two states will do so.

A Worcester, Massachusetts, resident tried to snuff out an ill-timed joint and fasten his seat belt as the vehicle he was in rolled up to a police sobriety checkpoint last week. He was dead within minutes, and his family's attorney claims he was beaten by police. Police have a different version of events.

The carnage continues. This week an American citizen is among the casualties, but it looks like she was the victim of a soldier's inadvertent discharge.