Drug War Chronicle #699 - September 8, 2011

The new Florida law require welfare applicants to pass a drug test has now been challenged in federal court.

A shocking new report from Human Rights Watch details how Vietnamese "drug treatment centers" don't provide treatment, but do provide abuse, torture and virtual slave labor for private companies to exploit.

Please tell your members of Congress there are better options than prohibition for reducing the potential a substance may have to do harm.

Every two years drug policy reformers from across the United States and around the world come to the International Drug Policy Reform Conference to listen, learn, network and strategize together for change. This year the conference is in Los Angeles, in November, and StoptheDrugWar.org is a partner.

Getting back in step with other Latin American countries, the Colombian Supreme Court has undone former Pres. Uribe's amendment recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use.

It ain't decriminalization, but Arkansas is moving in the right direction when it comes to pot penalties.

The Mexican president gave his annual state of the union speech last week, but that had no impact on the killing.

We've got two weeks worth of law enforcement bad apples this week. The barrel is getting pretty full of them.

A New York saw an acquaintance being accosted on the street, went in to help, and was shot dead by an undercover NYPD officer trying to arrest the acquaintance.

A Kentucky man is this year's 33rd US drug war fatality. He was shot and killed by police after allegedly pointing a gun at them as they raided his home.

A Minnesota women is dead after a routine traffic stop escalated into a potential drug bust and attempted escape that endangered a trooper.

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