Drug War Chronicle #825 - March 13, 2014

Attorney General Holder's remarks on combating heroin overdoses Monday contain some steps in the right direction, but don't go far enough, drug reformers said.

On Thursday, Michelle Alexander, author of the best-selling and galvanizing "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" sat down with poet/activist Asha Bandele of the Drug Policy Alliance to discuss the book's impact and where we go from here. It's a discussion worth reading.

The District of Columbia Board of Elections announced this morning that it had approved a marijuana legalization initiative for signature-gathering. That means voters in the nation's capital could vote to free the weed in November.

Marijuana and epilepsy are in the news, Sanjay Gupta strikes again, and state houses across the country are grappling with medical marijuana and CBD bills.

An Indianpolis SWAT team drug raid left one man dead and four police officers injured, and the police chief promises more.

More prison guards gone bad, another Philadelphia cop gets in trouble, a Kentucky narc has problems, and a DC-area cop gets her hand slapped.

Oregon's medical marijuana dispensary regulation bill has gone back to the Senate with compromise language allowing only temporary local bans, a GOP US Senate candidate there says legalize it, Chuck Schumer fights heroin, Canada's Tories look to be going soft on pot law enforcement, and more.

Oregon's medical marijuana dispensary regulation bill has passed the legislature with only temporary local bans allowed, more CBD medical marijuana bills are moving, an Indiana hemp bill has passed the legislature, and more.

California's Democrats endorse marijuana legalization, Caricom gets ready to talk marijuana, Attorney General Holder calls for expanded access to naloxone to prevent overdose deaths, legislatures in the Pacific Northwest make moves on medical marijuana, and more.

The District of Columbia could legalize marijuana at the ballot box this year, Dr. Sanjay Gupta doubles down on his support for medical marijuana with a new CNN special tonight, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs meeting this week in Vienna is attracting a lot of attention, and more.

Medical marijuana is keeping state legislators busy, Maine's governor has a 20th Century approach to drug problems, New Mexico's governor cuts funds to a diversion program, Indonesia shifts its stance on drug users, and more.