Drug War Chronicle #660 - November 24, 2010

Issue #660, Phillip S. Smith, Editor - David Borden, Executive Director

1. Donate Today for a Brighter Future Beyond Prohibition

We in the drug reform movement are filled with optimism after a historic year and campaign, and we are getting the anti-prohibitionist message out to more and more people than ever. But your help is needed to allow it to continue.

2. Federal and State Police Conduct Marijuana Terrorism Drill [FEATURE]

You've got to be kidding! A terrorism training exercise at Shasta Dam in Northern California this month featured pot growers as the terrorists.

3. Cannabis Gets a Trade Association [FEATURE]

The marijuana movement is starting to organize to protect its economic interests, and now, the cannabis movement has a Washington lobbyist.

4. National Call-In Alert: The National Criminal Justice Commission Act

Sen. Jim Webb's bill to create a bipartisan National Criminal Justice Commission has passed the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee. Your phone calls to US Senators could be what passes the bill this year and gets the top-to-bottom review of the criminal justice system started.

5. This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

What, no crooked jail guards? How about a federal judge? We've got one this week, as well as a couple of dirty narcs, and a sticky-fingered police captain.

6. New Jersey Medical Marijuana Regulation Reform Bill Stalled

The effort to roll back overly restrictive medical marijuana regulations in New Jersey hit a bump in the state Senate Monday, but it's not dead yet.

7. Mexico Drug War Update

An ex-governor is assassinated, and Ciudad Juarez sees its 130th police officer killed this year. Just another week in the prohibition-related violence plaguing Mexico.

8. Calderon's Drug War Agenda Stymied By Politics

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has said money laundering and police reforms are key to winning victory over the drug cartels. But with the jockeying already beginning for the 2012 elections, their prospects are fading.

9. Heroin Drought Causing Problems in England

A fungus that blighted the Afghan opium crop this year is being blamed for heroin shortages in England that are leading to adulterated smack and even fake smack, and that's sending some users to the hospital.

10. Dutch Want to Ban Foreigners From Marijuana Coffee Shops

The election of a rightist governing coalition in the Netherlands will result in the banning of foreigners from the country's famous coffee shops. Are windmills and tulips enough to get you to go?

11. Northern Marianas Islands Senate Kills Marijuana Legalization Bill

A pot legalization bill passed the House in the US territory of the Northern Marianas Islands a couple of weeks ago, but now it has been killed in the Senate.

12. Psychedelic Pioneer Alexander Shulgin Suffers Stroke

Pioneering psychedelic pharmacologist Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin has suffered a stroke, but is expected to recover.

Permission to Reprint: This issue of Drug War Chronicle is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.