Drug War Chronicle #569 - January 23, 2009

In one of the few actions that won it kudos from drug reformers and civil rights groups, the Bush administration tried for years to zero out the Byrne grant program, which funds multi-jurisdictional anti-drug task forces. Now, as part of the economic stimulus bill, Congress wants to give it more money than ever.

Massachusetts voters approved a decriminalization initiative by a two-to-one margin in November. Now, decrim foes are fighting back with local ordinances banning public consumption, but they are finding that once again they have a battle on their hands.

The incoming Obama administration has made its agenda available online. When it comes to drug policy, there's some good, some bad, and some things missing.

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

No crooked jail guards this week, but we do have a nice variety of law enforcement and prosecutorial misbehavior.

The DEA raided another California dispensary Thursday, marking the first raid on President Obama's watch. Obama vowed during the campaign to end them, and activists are hoping it's just Bush administration holdovers at work. What is Obama going to do?

With the number of medical marijuana states growing at the rate of one a year, and with Michigan last November becoming the first state in the Midwest to embrace therapeutic cannabis, two Upper Midwest state legislatures are about to grapple with the issue -- again.

One Montana legislator wants to make medical marijuana patients who get into a traffic accident or get pulled over for a violation to have to automatically submit to a drug test. It doesn't appear to be a popular idea.

Activists in Kalamazoo, Michigan, are laying the groundwork for making it the next town or city to pass an ordinance making adult marijuana possession offenses the lowest law enforcement priority.

Is it okay for middle school authorities to strip-search a girl in search of a couple of Ibuprofen tablets? The Supreme Court will decide.

A Harris County, Texas, judge began a lonely crusade two years ago to get the legislature to reduce drug possession penalties. Now, it's not so lonely as some of his colleagues sign on.

Ever eager to charge at windmills in the name of the war on drugs, two US senators have reintroduced a bill that addresses a non-existent menace and threatens to increase prison sentences for people who aren't the intended target.

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

"CNBC's Marijuana, Inc: Propaganda, Pot Porn, or Both?," "DEA's Medical Marijuana Raids Continue Under Obama Administration," "Drug Smuggling Robots are the Future," "Marijuana, Inc. Tonight on CNBC," "Drug Policy at WhiteHouse.gov," "Barack Obama is the President."

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union is now accepting submissions for "Unintended Consequences -- Global Drug War Poster and Video Contest," part of a campaign to raise awareness of the UN's ten-year review of global drug control efforts.