Drug War Chronicle #744 - July 26, 2012

In one of the largest medical marijuana demonstrations in years, as many as a thousand people came out in Oakland Monday to let President Obama know he needs to end the federal crackdown on dispensaries.

There was some interesting and well-informed discussion at Oaksterdam University Saturday night as the authors of four recent books on marijuana sat down to talk and think out loud.

Washington state's I-502 marijuana legalization initiative did well in polling this week and even better in fundraising. This thing could win, and it has the money to help make that happen.

A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana in Montana has failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, but voters in Big Sky County will still have the chance to vote on medical marijuana.

Harborside fights for its life, LA bans dispensaries, and Oregon transplant hospitals are lightening up on medical marijuana patients. Those are the big stories this week, but there's plenty more, too.

The English speaking Central American nation of Belize has undertaken a review of whether to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

It's almost time for the hash harvest in Lebanon, and farmers are taking up arms to protect their cash crop from eradicators.

One man is dead after swallowing drugs and being hit with a stun gun in Indianapolis as he tried to flee an arrest. Another is dead in Massachusetts after he was shot trying to flee an arrest in his car.

Bad cop, no donut for a Miami sergeant, two more TSA screeners cop pleas in LA, and a Phoenix cop couldn't keep his paws off the evidence room goodies.