Our weekly Mexico Drug War Update was not ready by press time but will be posted Thursday on our web site. The Mexico Drug War Update is also available by RSS (with occasional additional items relating to Mexico's drug war).
Medical marijuana -- coming soon to the Garden State (image via wikimedia.org)
NJ Governor Gives Okay to Medical Marijuana Program [FEATURE]
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie today shrugged off federal threats and promised to move ahead "immediately" with the state's long-delayed medical marijuana program.
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Chronicle Book Review: To Die in Mexico
We review John Gibler's To Die in Mexico: Dispatches from Inside the Drug War and find it very powerful and disturbing indeed.
Drug prohibition's filthy lucre tempts law enforcement (image via wikimedia.org}
This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
We've got sticky-fingered SWAT cops, we've got perverted probation officers, we've got smack-slinging uniformed police officers, we've got strung out, pill-stealing cops, and, of course, we've got crooked jail guards.
Ecstasy tablets. A federal judge has ruled that Ecstasy offenses are punished too harshly. (Image: Wikimedia.org)
Federal Judge Rejects Ecstasy Sentencing Guidelines
The federal sentencing guidelines for Ecstasy offenses are too harsh and not supported by the scientific evidence, a federal district judge has ruled.
At least one Michigan legislator wants to know how often SWAT teams are deployed. (image via wikimedia.org)
SWAT Reporting Bill Filed In Michigan
At least one Michigan legislator wants an idea of what SWAT teams in the state are up to.
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NYPD Narc Shoots, Kills Armed Bronx Teen
A Bronx teenager was shot dead by an NYPD undercover narc as he allegedly tried to rob the officer during a crack cocaine sale.
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La Crosse, Wisconsin, Decriminalizes Marijuana Possession
The possession of up to a quarter ounce of marijuana is now decriminalized in La Crosse, Wisconsin. But police can still charge you with a criminal misdemeanor under state law, if they so choose.
Hawaii teachers won't have to provide these to keep their jobs. (image via wikimedia.org)
Hawaii Teachers Fend Off Random Drug Testing
After more than three years of controversy and challenges, the state of Hawaii has given up on trying to impose random, suspicionless drug testing on teachers.
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Western Australia Toughens Marijuana Laws
Marijuana law reform is headed in the wrong direction in Western Australia under the leadership of the "tough on drugs" Liberal-National Party government.
Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom would rather go to war with the narcos then legalize drugs. (Image: World Economic Forum)
Guatemala President Wants "NATO-Style" Force to Battle Narcos
Weak Central American states are hard-pressed to go up against the Mexican cartels, and now, Guatemala's president wants to build a NATO-style regional military force to go up against them. And for the US to pay for it.
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This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.