Drug War Chronicle #638 - June 25, 2010

The demise of Jamaican drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke, following weeks of fighting that claimed dozens of lives, is just the latest predictable stage in a self-defeating global cycle of failing drug prohibition.

The UNODC, the European Commission and its member states, as well as Japan and the US all contribute to overseas anti-drug law enforcment programs that result in people being sentenced to death for drug offenses, the International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) said in a report this week. It needs to stop, and IHRA has some concrete recommendations on how to do that.

Arizona voters in 1996 and 1998 approved medical marijuana, only to see their efforts thwarted by flawed language. Now, backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, Arizona activists have qualified an initiative for the ballot and look to be sitting pretty -- at least for now.

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Dr. Stephen Schneider and his wife Linda ran a pain management clinic in Haysville, Kansas. Now they are most likely headed for long stints in federal prison for their efforts after being found guilty of illegal prescribing and related offenses by a federal jury in Wichita.

California half-way decriminalized simple pot possession back in the 1970s, setting a maximum $100 fine, but leaving offenders with a misdemeanor criminal record. Now, a bill that has already passed the Senate and is moving in the Assembly would complete the process by downgrading the offense to a civil citation.

There is no end in sight to the prohibition-related violence plaguing Mexico, and now, the cartels have started making threats aimed at law enforcement on the US side of the border.

A Virginia sheriff is under investigation for dipping into asset forfeiture funds, a Dallas-area narc's credibility is under question, a small-town Missouri cop gets caught buying coke to replace coke he pilfered, and, of course, two more jail or prison guards get busted.

As the rising conservative clamor to "secure the border" -- whatever that means -- grows louder, the Obama administration is moving fast to pay for more border guards, customs and immigration agents, DEA agents, FBI task forces, and even a couple of unmanned drones -- about $600 million total of "emergency appropriations."

Who knew the Kentucky legislature could be so progressive? A state maternal health law passed in 1992 protects women from being prosecuted as child-endangerers for drug use while pregnant, and last week the state's Supreme Court told prosecutors to obey the law.

In a bid to reduce public nuisance complaints aimed at Amsterdam's famous cannabis coffee shops, the city government is about to embark on an experiment: to-go-only coffee shops and on-premises-consumption-only coffee shops.

In a classic example of the balloon effect, coca production has gone down in Colombia, according to the UNODC, only to be replaced by increasing production in Peru.

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

"John Stossel Debates Drug Laws with Sean Hannity," "Sarah Palin and the Marijuana Legalization Debate," "Supporting Harsh Drug Laws is Political Suicide in NY," "Ethan Nadelmann Destroys Bill O'Reilly in Drug War Debate," "Radley Balko Discusses Botched Drug Raids on FOX," "Government-Sponsored Murder in the Name of Prohibition," "Police Kill Grandmother's Dog in Botched Drug Raid," "Reminder: Marijuana Already Exists."

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