Drug War Chronicle #652 - October 7, 2010

California's Prop 19, the "tax and regulate" initiative to legalize marijuana, is ahead in the polls. But turnout is going to be key in this very close election. Please sign up to do get out the vote volunteering by phone -- you don't have to live in California, you just need a phone and an Internet connection -- or do other work to help put Prop 19 over the top.

It's less than a month before California votes on legalizing marijuana. The battle lines are drawn, but there are a few surprises. Stoners Against Prop 19? Say what?

There have been a baker's dozen polls on Prop 19, and while they have varied, the cumulative result is starting to smell like legal marijuana in California. But a poor turnout could turn all of that around, and as saying goes, there's only one poll that counts.

Some 288 people were killed in prohibition-related violence in Ciudad Juarez last month, and the pace is continuing this month.

Whew! Sex, drugs, strippers, and a federal judge, oh, my! Plus a murder-plotting meth-head trooper, another crooked border inspector, more Philly cops trying to rip off drug dealers, and an Oklahoma narc helping send guns down Mexico way.

As election day draws near, California's marijuana legalization initiative appears to be picking up voter support. It's now at 52% in one poll.

While getting busted for pot possession in California is only a $100 fine, it is still a misdemeanor. Or at least it was. Now it's going to be true decriminalization.

California Gov. Schwarzenegger could have made syringe sales to adults legal throughout the state in a bid to reduce the transmission of HIV and Hep C. Instead, he chose to extend a program leaving it up to cities and counties.

Colorado is drafting regulations for its growing medical marijuana industry, but some advocates think they're going overboard with the surveillance.

Plant disease -- not eradication -- reduced the supply of Afghan opium this year, but rising prices mean more farmers will plant next year, the UN warns.

In a bizarre denunciation of drug legalization, Peruvian President Alain Garcia warned legalizing pot would lead to euthanasia of the elderly and fascist barbarism.

The Polish government is cracking down on new synthetic drugs and wants the power to pull from the shelves any product that could be harmful to health or life. It didn't mention Polish vodka, though.

Opponents of Prop 19 heckled Richard Lee last weekend at a debate on the measure's merits. Surely we can do better than that.

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