Drug War Chronicle #837 - June 5, 2014

Here is Douglas Greene with a first-hand account of an ibogaine conference in Durban, South Africa. Read about the challenges facing the plant and the cutting edge science behind its use in opiate addiction treatment.

Operation Gideon, in which the ATF,and sometimes, the DEA, set up fake drug stash house robbery stings, is raising questions about entrapment and racially-targeted law enforcement. Here's part one of a series on it from Clarence Walker.

Advocates of drug testing people poor people lost another battle today as the USDA told Georgia its law mandating drug tests for some food stamp recipients violates federal policy and cannot be implemented.

Just hours after CBP Commissioner Gil Kerlikowkse announced new use of deadly force policies aimed at reducing killings by agents, a Border Patrol agent shot and killed a fleeing marijuana smuggler.

In an historic vote, the House tells the DEA and Justice Department to butt out of medical marijuana states, limited CBD medical marijuana bills are signed into law in Iowa and South Carolina, Minnesota becomes the 22nd medical marijuana state, one bill to regulate medical marijuana in California is still alive, and more.

A 29-year-old Tampa man was shot and killed by a police SWAT team as it raided his home after undercover officers made marijuana purchases there. The cops said he pointed a gun at them.

More cops with prescription pill problems, more jail guards tempting fate. Just another week in drug war police corruption.

Minnesota becomes the 22nd medical marijuana state, the California Senate passes a medical marijuana regulation bill and a bill equalizing crack and powder cocaine offenses, a new study reports on who current heroin users are, there are a series of votes set for today to rein in the DEA, a Canadian court allows heroin-assisted treatment trials to move forward, and more.

Yesterday was a bad day for the DEA as the House thrice voted to slap its hands, an anti-marijuana initiative in Montana gets okayed for signature-gathering, the New York Senate releases a report on heroin and opiate addiction and calls for more drug war, marijuana legalization supporters rally in Tel Aviv, and more

A Nevada marijuana legalization initiative picks up a key endorsement, Iowa joins the ranks of the CBD medical marijuana states, Tennessee's governor gets ready to roll out a new plan to address prescription drug use, thousands march for legalization in Santiago, Chile, the Peruvian president backs away from forced coca eradication, and more.

That Georgia drug raid last week that left a toddler seriously burned and in a medically-induced coma continues to spark outrage, the DC pot possession and cultivation legalization initiative is half-way there, New York's governor signs a deal for CBD medical marijuana trials that critics say isn't nearly enough, a former Brooklyn DA is in hot water of misusing seized drug money, and more.

Legendary chemist Alexander Shulgin has died, the fight for medical marijuana in New York continues, Chicago sues Big Pharma over prescription opiates, Britain's black police association wants a look at legalization in the US, pot politics continues to get big play in Bermuda, and more