Drug War Chronicle #571 - February 6, 2009

1. Feature: DEA Raids More California Medical Marijuana Dispensaries, Prompting Obama Administration to Reiterate Pledge to Stop Them

On the campaign trail, President Obama pledged repeatedly to end the DEA raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in California. The DEA hit four more in the LA area Tuesday, and the administration responded in the media Wednesday night.

2. Feature: Is This the Year New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws Will Be Repealed?

With a budget crisis and a change in New York leadership, a politically perfect storm for reform of the state's draconian drug laws seems to be brewing. With the Rockefeller drug laws finally be repealed, after 35 years?

3. Alert: Keep the Promise, President Obama -- Stop the Medical Marijuana Raids!

Bush administration holdovers are ordering raids on state-authorized medical marijuana clinics, despite President Obama's pledge to stop them. Please ask the new president and attorney general to take corrective actions sooner rather than later.

4. Drug Raids: Virginia Man Found Guilty of Manslaughter in Shooting of Police Officer Battering His Door Down

As violent intruders were battering down his door one night last January, Ryan Frederick picked up his rifle and shot through it, killing one. Now he's most likely going to prison for 10 years. Another misbegotten SWAT-style drug raid gone bad -- for everybody.

5. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

It's jail guards gone wild this week, plus a very sleazy Texas sheriff, some entrepreneurial Fresno narcs, and the latest problems with the evidence room in Galveston.

6. Medical Marijuana: South Dakota Bill Killed, House Votes to Ban Salvia Divinorum for Good Measure

The South Dakota legislature has killed a medical marijuana bill, while the House has passed a bill to ban salvia divinorum.

7. Pain Relief: FDA Panel Urges Ban on Darvon, Related Drugs

An FDA panel has advised removing Darvon and its generic relatives from the market, citing safety and effectiveness issues. But banning the widely used opioid pain reliever could cause more problems than it solves.

8. Marijuana: New Hampshire Legislator Introduces Decriminalization Bill

The New Hampshire legislature will once again decide on marijuana decriminalization. Last year, it passed in the House, but died in the Senate.

9. Marijuana: Vermont Legislators Introduce Decriminalization Bill

Marijuana decriminalization will be on the Vermont legislature's agenda this session. A bill was filed Tuesday.

10. Southwest Asia: US NATO Commander in Afghanistan Backs Down on Order to Kill Any Drug Traffickers

Last week, the US NATO commander in Afghanistan wanted to go after any and all drug traffickers as if they were enemy combatants. Now, faced with a rebellion by his commanders, he has had to back down.

11. Canada: BC Judge Rules Medical Marijuana Restrictions Unconstitutional

Canada's medical marijuana laws have been declared unconstitutional in part, and now Health Canada has one year to get it right, a British Columbia judge has ruled.

12. East Asia: Tokyo Metro Government Annoyed but Helpless Over Pro-Marijuana Mag

A Tokyo magazine publisher keeps putting out issues that seem to tell people how to grow marijuana, and local authorities there are grumbling. The tempest comes as Japanese pot arrests are at an all-time high.

13. Weekly: This Week in History

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

14. Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy

"The Drug Czar's Blog Should be Used for Good Instead of Evil," "White House Says Medical Marijuana Raids Will End," "Michael Phelps Faces Possible Prosecution for Bong Hit," "Ryan Frederick Found Guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter," "The Killing of Cheye Calvo's Dogs is a Story That Won't Go Away," "Ryan Frederick Trial Goes to the Jury," "Medical Marijuana Raids Continue, Time for Action from Obama," "Support for Marijuana Legalization is Growing in America," "The Bong Hit Heard Around the World," "Joe Biden's Drug Policy Record -- a Review," "Medical Marijuana Research Has Taken a New Direction This Century," "Gwinnett County Georgia SWAT Team Blowing It Big Time," "The Drug War's Dangerous Distortion of Medical Standards," "What Happened to the Drug Czar's Blog?"

15. Feedback: Do You Read Drug War Chronicle?

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16. Students: Intern at DRCNet and Help Stop the Drug War!

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

17. Job Opportunity: Executive Director, Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, Providence

The Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC), a grassroots medical marijuana community of patients, caregivers, and advocates, is seeking an executive director to head its office in Providence.