Drug War Chronicle #722 - February 23, 2012

A severe lack of funding could prevent any of the California marijuana reform initiatives from making the ballot. "Anyone got a spare $2 million?" the campaigns asked plaintively at a Mill Valley public meeting Tuesday night.

Faced with GOP demands to drug test people seeking unemployment benefits, the Democrats first fought them off, then accepted some testing as a compromise to get the payroll tax extension passed.

Sen. Rand Paul is placing a giant stop sign in front of the Senate as it rushes to enact new bans on new drugs.

A Colorado marijuana legalization initiative looks almost assured of making the November ballot after organizers handed in a final 12,000 signatures. They only need 2,400 valid ones.

A California initiative to reform the state's Three Strikes law is financially well-placed to make the ballot after George Soros kicked in half a million bucks.

Even though the governor, the public safety commissioner, and the public all want decriminalization, Vermont's House speaker is blocking it, citing law enforcement concerns.

From Alabama to Washington, medical marijuana continues to be a burning issue.

Cannabis coffee shop owners in the Dutch city of Haarlem are organizing to fight back against the Dutch government's pending Weed Pass plan that would bar foreigners and require Dutch citizens to join "members only" coffee houses if they want to buy weed legally.

A Florida sheriff's narcotics detective has been shot dead after trying to force his way into a residence. The suspected meth dealer who shot him was shot and killed, too.

A Texas man is dead after allegedly running away from, then pulling a gun on, members of Texas combined task force doing a drug investigation.

More asset forfeiture problems in Texas, plus a typical weekly rogues' gallery of dirty cops.

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