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

Drug War Chronicle #757 - November 1, 2012

1. November 6: An Election to Stop the Drug War [FEATURE]

It's less than a week to Election Day. Here's what we're watching and our analysis of what's likely to happen.

2. Dr. Shaygan's Saga: Prosecutorial Misconduct in the War on Pain Docs [FEATURE]

When the war on pain docs meets prosecutorial misconduct, watch out. A Florida case potentially headed to the Supreme Court seeks to make prosecutors pay for their misdeeds.

3. ALERT: Make Phone Calls to Pass Marijuana Legalization Now!

The news cycle is awash with polls and news about the close race for president. But the most important votes happening next month may be historic initiatives to legalize and regulate marijuana -- and these are also going to be close. That is why your help is needed these next several days.

4. FBI Reports More Than 1.5 Million Drug Arrests Last Year

There were more than 1.53 million drug arrests in the US last year, nearly half of them for marijuana. The good news is that the numbers are down slightly from the year before.

5. Medical Marijuana Update

A California appeals court has made a landmark ruling, the DEA keeps on raiding, and a Montana medical marijuana provider refuses a post-conviction plea bargain, and those are just the top stories.

6. Marijuana Legalization Polls Highest Support Yet

A new YouGov poll has support for marijuana legalization at a whopping 59% nationwide, with a +/- 4.2% margin of error.

7. Colorado Marijuana Measure Hits 53% in New Poll

Colorado's Amendment 64 appears to be gaining support in the campaign's final days. It's over 50% again in the latest poll.

8. Oregon Marijuana Measure Still Trails in Late Poll

Oregon's Measure 80 is in an uphill battle as the campaign enters its final days.

9. Please Support StoptheDrugWar.org Today! (And Get Free Books and a Video Too)

With marijuana legalization initiatives heading to the ballot, some with a good chance of passage, and with growing international support for a real debate on prohibition, people are talking about drug policy like they never have before. Our new book offers will help you be part of that conversation, while our new video offer will remind you why we should be angry too.

10. Dutch Government Nixes Plan to Bar Foreigners from Coffee Shops

Ding, dong, the weed pass is dead! In order to form a coalition government with Labor, Dutch conservatives had to give up their restrictive marijuana policy.

11. Texas Trooper Fires on Fleeing Truck, "Drug Load," Two Dead

In an incident that is raising questions about Texas use of force policies, a state trooper in a helicopter fired on a fleeing vehicle suspected of carrying drugs Thursday. It was not carrying drugs, but undocumented immigrants, two of whom were shot and killed.

12. Two More Drug War Deaths Last Week

A 31-year-old Louisville woman was killed when her car was hit during a high-speed pursuit in a drug investigation, and a St. Paul man was shot and killed by police as he tried to evade arrest with his vehicle.

13. This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Cops, including a pair of former police chiefs, have been getting arrested on drug-related charges all over the place this past week and, of course, a jail guard, too.
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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Criminal JusticeAsset Forfeiture, Collateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Court Rulings, Drug Courts, Due Process, Felony Disenfranchisement, Incarceration, Policing (2011 Drug War Killings, 2012 Drug War Killings, 2013 Drug War Killings, 2014 Drug War Killings, 2015 Drug War Killings, 2016 Drug War Killings, 2017 Drug War Killings, Arrests, Eradication, Informants, Interdiction, Lowest Priority Policies, Police Corruption, Police Raids, Profiling, Search and Seizure, SWAT/Paramilitarization, Task Forces, Undercover Work), Probation or Parole, Prosecution, Reentry/Rehabilitation, Sentencing (Alternatives to Incarceration, Clemency and Pardon, Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparity, Death Penalty, Decriminalization, Defelonization, Drug Free Zones, Mandatory Minimums, Rockefeller Drug Laws, Sentencing Guidelines)CultureArt, Celebrities, Counter-Culture, Music, Poetry/Literature, Television, TheaterDrug UseParaphernalia, Vaping, ViolenceIntersecting IssuesCollateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Violence, Border, Budgets/Taxes/Economics, Business, Civil Rights, Driving, Economics, Education (College Aid), Employment, Environment, Families, Free Speech, Gun Policy, Human Rights, Immigration, Militarization, Money Laundering, Pregnancy, Privacy (Search and Seizure, Drug Testing), Race, Religion, Science, Sports, Women's IssuesMarijuana PolicyGateway Theory, Hemp, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Marijuana Industry, Medical MarijuanaMedicineMedical Marijuana, Science of Drugs, Under-treatment of PainPublic HealthAddiction, Addiction Treatment (Science of Drugs), Drug Education, Drug Prevention, Drug-Related AIDS/HIV or Hepatitis C, Harm Reduction (Methadone & Other Opiate Maintenance, Needle Exchange, Overdose Prevention, Pill Testing, Safer Injection Sites)Source and Transit CountriesAndean Drug War, Coca, Hashish, Mexican Drug War, Opium ProductionSpecific DrugsAlcohol, Ayahuasca, Cocaine (Crack Cocaine), Ecstasy, Heroin, Ibogaine, ketamine, Khat, Kratom, Marijuana (Gateway Theory, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Medical Marijuana, Hashish), Methamphetamine, New Synthetic Drugs (Synthetic Cannabinoids, Synthetic Stimulants), Nicotine, Prescription Opiates (Fentanyl, Oxycontin), Psilocybin / Magic Mushrooms, Psychedelics (LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Salvia Divinorum)YouthGrade School, Post-Secondary School, Raves, Secondary School