Feature: Obama's First National Drug Strategy -- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Over the weekend, Newsweek published a leaked draft of the 2010 National Drug Control Strategy. No one is sure why it was leaked, or by whom. A pair of leading observers of federal drug policy dissect it for us.
Feature: The Global Marijuana Marches, Part One
Saturday saw the planet's cannabis nation hit the streets for part one of this year's bifurcated Global Marijuana Marches. Here's a report, with more to come next week.
Medical Marijuana: DC City Council Approves Bill, Advocates Criticize Restrictions
The nation's capital will soon join the ranks of jurisdictions allowing medical marijuana use after the DC City Council approved regulations this week. But according to advocates, the measure is lacking.
Appeal: 2010 is Important in Drug Policy -- And So Are You
2010 is a critical year in the effort to end prohibition and the war on drugs. The StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) "Changing Minds, Changing Laws, Changing Lives" campaign is asking for you to pitch in -- your support is more important now than it has ever been before!
Law Enforcement: Video of SWAT Team Killing Dogs in Front of Child During Pot Raid Stirs Outrage
Another SWAT raid over pot, another dead dog, another traumatized family. But this one was caught on videotape, and now the outrage is spreading across the land.
Latin America: Mexico Drug War Update
Calderon's war on drugs is closing in on the 20,000 dead figure, according to a running tally by the Mexico City newspaper El Universal. And the prohibition-related killing continues unabated.
Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A South Carolina sheriff gets busted for cocaine trafficking, and so does a Texas border town cop. And, as always, we have a couple of misbehaving jail guards, too.
Marijuana: Detroit Possession Legalization Initiative Hands in Signatures
Organizers of an initiative that would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of pot have handed in far more than the required number of signatures required to make the November ballot in Detroit.
Marijuana: Weed War Breaks Out Among Philly Politicos
Hard-line former Philadelphia DA Lynne Abraham is taking pot shots her successor, DA Seth Williams, over his policy of treating marijuana possession offenders more leniently. Williams and his crew are hitting back.
Drug Testing: Louisiana House Committee Passes Voluntary Drug Tests for Officials Bill
It must be silly season already in Baton Rouge. A House committee there has deliberated on and passed a bill that would allow legislators and state officials to take voluntary drug tests and mental health evaluations and post the results on the Internet.
Canada: Tories Reintroduce Mandatory Minimum Marijuana Bill
Bent on flexing their "tough on crime" muscles and impervious to polls showing a majority of Canadians want to legalize pot, Canada's Conservatives have reintroduced a bill creating mandatory minimum prison sentences for growing as few as 6 pot plants or making any amount of hash. That's so last century, Ottawa!
Europe: European Court of Justice Hears Case That Could Ban Foreigners from Dutch Cannabis Cafes
Can the Dutch ban foreigners from going to their famous cannabis cafes? The city of Maastricht tried it, and now the European Court of Justice will decide whether the move conflicts with the European Union's laws regarding free trade.
Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy
"Is Medical Marijuana a Step Towards Full Legalization?," "A Small Bag of Marijuana = Police Shooting Your Dogs in Front of Your Child," "Cop Accidentally Argues for Marijuana Legalization," "'This Administration Firmly Opposes the Legalization of Marijuana'," "Weird Drama at the Drug Czar's Office."
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