Drug War Chronicle #565 - December 19, 2008

The National Drug Intelligence Center is out with its National Drug Threat Assessment 2009. If the authors would read their own words, they would realize they are making a strong argument for ending drug prohibition.

A New Jersey Senate committee Monday approved a medical marijuana bill, sending it to the Senate for a floor vote.

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Two cops are headed for prison in New Mexico, and one in California.

The Buckeye State is on the verge of becoming the latest to ban salvia divinorum.

The ACLU's Northern California affiliate has filed a lawsuit challenging the Shasta County school district's newly-expanded student drug testing policy.

One of Holland's largest banks is washing its hands of the marijuana business, saying it will close down the accounts of coffee shop owners because that's the responsible thing to do.

Plans are afoot in the British Isles to push "problem drug users" into treatment and onto the job market, but the government is going to have to do more, a new report says.

Thanks to some widely publicized busts, despite miniscule use levels, marijuana is sparking concern in Japan. The rhetoric will be familiar, and it provokes the question: Is it time for Nippon NORML?

A new administration in Washington could mean better relations with Venezuela, including renewed cooperation with the DEA, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez said Sunday. But cooperation is a two-way street...

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

Help build the movement and inform the public by running a StoptheDrugWar.org banner on your web site.

"Am I a Hippie Who Doesn't Understand Politics?," "The Profit Motive for Arresting Marijuana Users," "Vienna UN Drug Treatment Meeting Day Two: The Clockwork Orange Brainwashing Day," "Shooting Down Innocent People in Airplanes Won't Win the Drug War," "Day One at the UN Drug Treatment Meeting -- Slightly More Interesting Than Predicted," "When it Comes to Marijuana Laws, Obama's Website Should be Called Same.gov," "High School Seniors Are Using Lots of LSD This Year," "More on the Ryan Frederick Case," "New Jersey Medical Marijuana Bill Gets Favorable Committee Vote," "Why Should You or Anyone Care About This Week's UN Anti-Drug Meeting?," "The Real Reason Obama Won't Support Marijuana Legalization," "Asserting Your Rights Doesn't Mean You're Getting Away With Something."

StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) is seeking volunteers in the DC area to help with our membership drive; and from anywhere to help with a writing-based project on which work has already begun.

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