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Drug War Chronicle #742 - July 12, 2012

Phillip S. Smith, Editor - David Borden, Executive Director
Narcotics deputies went above and beyond in their efforts to bust indoor marijuana grows (wikimedia.org)
Narcotics deputies went above and beyond in their efforts to bust indoor marijuana grows (wikimedia.org)

Narc Scandal Front and Center in Florida Sheriff Race [FEATURE]

Scandal in the Pinellas County, Florida, Sheriff's Office over its efforts to bust indoor marijuana growers is providing plenty of fodder for the sheriff's challengers this campaign season.
Bye-bye Spice, hello...? (wikimedia.org)
Bye-bye Spice, hello...? (wikimedia.org)

Obama Signs Synthetic Drug Ban Bill

"Bath salts" and "fake weed" are now banned on federal law after President Obama signed into law the FDA safety bill to which the bans were attached.
Singapore (wikimedia.org)
Singapore (wikimedia.org)

Singapore to Relax Death Penalty for Some Drug Traffickers

Hard-line Singapore has announced it is modifying its mandatory death sentence for drug traffickers. It's just a small change, but it may save a few lives, and serve as a signal for other drug death penalty states.
MMJ leaf and stethoscope KY ODCP_40.jpg
MMJ leaf and stethoscope KY ODCP_40.jpg

Medical Marijuana Update

Last week's middle of the week holiday made things fairly quiet on the medical marijuana front, but it looks like Massachusetts voters will have a chance to join the ranks of the medical marijuana states in November, and other efforts are underway in some surprising places.
octa.gif
octa.gif

Oregon Marijuana Initiative Hands in Final Signatures

Oregon's OCTA marijuana legalization initiative has handed in a final 57,000 signatures. It needs 32,000 of them to be valid to make the November ballot. But election officials invalidated almost half of earlier signatures, so it's still nail-biting time for proponents.
Gabe, an Arkansas HIV patient who benefits from medical marijuana and would like his medicine to be legal (arcompassion.org)
Gabe, an Arkansas HIV patient who benefits from medical marijuana and would like his medicine to be legal (arcompassion.org)

Arkansas Medical Marijuana Signatures Handed In

Arkansas proponents for a medical marijuana initiative met a critical deadline last week, but still have thousands of signatures to gather if they're going to make the November ballot.
drugtest2_15.jpg
drugtest2_15.jpg

Georgia Governor Puts Welfare Drug Testing on Hold

Georgia's governor was quick to sign a welfare drug testing bill into law, but now he wants to wait for a legal challenge to a similar law in Florida before implementing that law that was supposed to go into effect July 1.
Ocean City boardwalk (wikimedia.org)
Ocean City boardwalk (wikimedia.org)

Drug War Snapshot: Ocean City, Maryland

The police in Ocean City, Maryland, are on a mission to maximize marijuana arrests, and they're doing quite well at it. Factor that in to your vacation plans.
Volusia County Courthouse (volusia.org)
Volusia County Courthouse (volusia.org)

Drug War Snapshot: Volusia County, Florida

The criminal justice system in Volusia County, Florida, is running largely on the drug war if last Friday's jail bookings are any indication.
pile-of-cash_73.jpg
pile-of-cash_73.jpg

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

A former Missouri sheriff heads to federal prison, a former Kansas City cop is headed there, too, and a former South Carolina deputy is looking at drug charges.
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.