Breaking News:Dangerous Delays: What Washington State (Re)Teaches Us About Cash and Cannabis Store Robberies [REPORT]

Drug War Chronicle #726 - March 22, 2012

1. Fight Is On to Make Drug Possession a Misdemeanor in California [FEATURE]

A bill pending in California would make misdemeanors out of drug possession offenses that are currently felonies. An impressive coalition is growing in support of it, but law enforcement is skeptical.

2. Battle for Restored Needle Exchange Funding Heats Up [FEATURE]

The fight-back to restore federal needle exchange funding stripped out of last year's budget has begun in earnest, with a congressional call-in, actions in a dozen cities, and civil disobedience and dozens of arrests on Capitol Hill.

3. Book Offer: "The Marijuana Conviction: A History of Marijuana Prohibition in the United States"

We continue our newest offer for donating members, the drug policy classic reprint: "The Marijuana Conviction: A History of Marijuana Prohibition in the United States." This is one is available for donations of just $22 or more.

4. Mexico Presidential Candidate Vows to End Drug War

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, presidential pre-candidate for Mexico's left-leaning Democratic Revolutionary Party, says he will end the drug war if elected. Meanwhile, the rightist PAN's nominee takes a drug test.

5. UN Anti-Drug Body Supports Overdose Prevention Measures

Delegates to the UN's Commission on Narcotic Drugs have voted unanimously to endorse overdose prevention measures, including the use of the overdose reversal drug naloxone.

6. Greece to Hand out Needles, Condoms in AIDS Fight

With the Greek health system shaken by the economic crisis, new HIV cases are spiking, and the government is preparing harm reduction measures, including handing out needles and condoms, to halt the rise.

7. Florida Governor Signs State Worker Drug Test Bill

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) has quietly signed into law a controversial bill that mandates drug testing for state employees. Florida becomes the first state in the nation to do so.

8. Federal Court Blocks DEA Effort to Close Florida Pharmacies

The DEA went a step too far when it tried to shut down a pair of Florida CVS pharmacies, a federal appeals court has ruled. The ruling is only temporary, though, so stay tuned.

9. Medical Marijuana Update

From California to the nation's capital, medical marijuana keeps making news. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly.

10. Fresno Cops Kill Armed Man Fleeing Meth Bust

A Sanger, California, man is dead after being shot by police as he first pulled a weapons, then tried to flee in an undercover drug bust gone bad.

11. This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Here's a hint for deputies: Don't go to buy heroin in uniform while the joint is under surveillance in a drug investigation. There are more lessons to be learned this week, too.

12. This Week in History

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

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