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Drug War Chronicle #697 - August 18, 2011

Phillip S. Smith, Editor - David Borden, Executive Director
border security conference.jpg
border security conference.jpg

Plan Merida Focus to Shift to Border Region [FEATURE]

The University of Texas-El Paso Border Security Conference saw a shift announced in Plan Merida priorities and a lot of happy talk about defeating the cartels, but little discussion of ending the drug war.
Athens Cycle Tour (cityofathens.gr)
Athens Cycle Tour (cityofathens.gr)

Greek Government Proposes Drug Decriminalization

The Greek government has submitted a bill that would decriminalize drug possession in most circumstances and provide for drug treatment instead of jail for addicts.
Jose Guerena survived tours of duty in Iran and Afghanistan, but not his encounter with a Tucson, AZ SWAT team.
Jose Guerena survived tours of duty in Iran and Afghanistan, but not his encounter with a Tucson, AZ SWAT team.

Victims of Deadly Tucson SWAT Raid Begin Legal Action

The family of Jose Guerena, the former Marine gunned down in his own home by an invading Arizona SWAT team, is laying the legal groundwork for a massive lawsuit.
Rick Perry wants drones to overfly the US-Mexico border to surveil the drug traffic, but they already are. (image via Wikimedia)
Rick Perry wants drones to overfly the US-Mexico border to surveil the drug traffic, but they already are. (image via Wikimedia)

Perry, Romney Burnish Drug Warrior Credentials

Two of the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination had comments related to drug policy this week, and it wasn't pretty.
Poor Alabamians who use drugs would be ineligible for Medicaid under a proposed law. (image via Wikimedia)
Poor Alabamians who use drugs would be ineligible for Medicaid under a proposed law. (image via Wikimedia)

Alabama Bill Would Drug Test Medicaid Recipients

A proposed Alabama law would require Medicaid beneficiaries to take random suspicionless drug tests -- and pay for them -- and would throw them off the rolls for at least a year if they test positive.
No school in Glaston, Illinois, this week. Teachers struck rather than submit to random drug tests. (Image: IBSD 327)
No school in Glaston, Illinois, this week. Teachers struck rather than submit to random drug tests. (Image: IBSD 327)

IL School District Teachers Strike Over Drug Testing

An Illinois school board demands that teachers submit to mandatory random drug testing even as it concedes there is no need for it. As a result, instead of teachers welcoming students to school this week, they're hitting the picket line.
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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.