Drug War Chronicle #573 - February 20, 2009

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) has released its latest annual report on the global drug situation. It calls for increased efforts against marijuana, warns of an increasingly violent drug trade, and worries about the Internet. Critics charge the agency is stuck in the last century.

"Dope Menace" is a visually stunning, very well-informed journey to the heart of America's mid-century obsession with pulp paperbacks, especially those with drug themes. If you have an interest in drugs and popular culture, you're going to want to check this one out.

There is majority support for legal marijuana on the West Coast, according to a new Zogby poll. The East Coast isn't far behind.

Uniformed cops, jail guards, narcs, and assistant police chiefs -- all gone bad this week.

The economic stimulus bill will be stimulating the drug war, too. There's more than $3 billion in there for law enforcement, and much of that is destined for enforcing drug prohibition.

When a Maryland SWAT team raided an innocent mayor's house and killed his dogs, the outrage was palpable. Now, some Maryland legislators have filed a bill that would begin to hold SWAT teams accountable.

Is New Jersey poised to become the next medical marijuana state? The state Senate will vote on it on Monday.

A marijuana decriminalization bill in Washington state was approved by a Senate committee Wednesday, but there has to be similar action in the state House by next week, or it's dead for the session.

The federal budget deficit is reaching astronomical proportions, and the DEA administrator took a $123,000 plane ride to Colombia?!?!

Does meth use equal child abuse? The New Mexico House thinks so.

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

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Bush administration holdovers are ordering raids on state-authorized medical marijuana clinics, despite President Obama's pledge to stop them. Please ask the new president and attorney general to take corrective actions sooner rather than later.

"Study: Marijuana Users Less Likely to Get Injured Than Non-Users," "Police Raid Innocent Couple Because Their Son Had a Misdemeanor Marijuana Charge," "Maryland Legislation Seeks to Address Out-of-Control SWAT Raids," "Drug War Protestors Block Traffic Along Mexican Border," "Legalizing Marijuana Doesn't Mean We Have to Legalize Horrible Crimes," "Drug War Logic 101," "Sheriff Lott Gives up on Charging Michael Phelps," "A Failed Drug Strategy Isn't the Only Way DEA Wastes our Money," "Ryan Frederick Update," "Increasing Violence in Mexico is Not a Sign of Progress in the Drug War."

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