Feature: Snitching in the Spotlight -- House Committee Holds Hearing on Informant Abuses
When Atlanta narcotics officers shot and killed 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston last November after falsely telling a magistrate an informant had named her address as a drug hot-spot, they opened a window on a very shady part of the American criminal justice system. Now, Congress has taken a look and some key members are ready to rein in the snitch system.
Feature: Colombia Annouces Shift to Manual Eradication of Coca Crops
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has announced that his government will deemphasize aerial spraying of coca crops and emphasize manual eradication. The move comes as Congress ponders ways to cut funding for the drug war in Colombia.
Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
This week we have a pair from the US-Mexico border, where temptation is always close at hand, and a pair from Florida, where corruption seems to thrive in the steamy atmosphere.
Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy
Reader Blogs picking up, all sorts of marijuana stuff, Clinton & Obama on needle exchange, drug policy softball team scores top spot in league, more...
Law Enforcement: FBI Lowers Bar on Past Marijuana Use by Would-Be Agents
Looking to be an FBI agent? The rules on disqualifying applicants based on past drug use, especially marijuana use, just got a little more lax.
Search and Seizure: Arizona Supreme Court Limits Vehicle Searches
The Arizona Supreme Court has limited the ability of police to search the vehicles of people they have arrested outside the vehicle.
Search and Seizure: California Supreme Court Just Says No to Seizures of Drug Buyers' Cars
For the last decade, some California cities have seized the vehicles of people caught trying to buy drugs. Those days have come to an end, thanks to a California Supreme Court decision.
Marijuana: Yesterday Marked 70 Years of Federal Pot Prohibition
This week, we mark the 70th anniversary of federal marijuana prohibition. We would much rather be writing its obituary.
Southwest Asia: State Department Says US Afghanistan Drug Policy Will Shift, But Not Much
A high-level State Department official said last week that the US will shift its opium eradication policy in Afghanistan, but there is less there than meets the eye.
Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
Feedback: Do You Read Drug War Chronicle?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to funders. We need donations too.
Announcement: DRCNet Content Syndication Feeds Now Available for YOUR Web Site!
Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!
Announcement: DRCNet RSS Feeds Now Available
A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War Chronicle and more -- is now available.
Announcement: New Format for the Reformer's Calendar
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to the events coming up the soonest, and more.
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.