Drug War Chronicle

The White House issues its annual drug control strategy, the Brooklyn DA announces an end to most small-time marijuana possession arrests, a suburban Maryland county adopts a marijuana reform resolution, the first medical cannabis oil permits are issued in Utah, Lebanese hash farmers vow to fight to protect their crops, and more.

A Tampa man was shot and killed by a police SWAT team over marijuana sales totaling less than $200. In an unusual twist, the local newspaper actually did an in-depth investigation of the incident, and the results aren't pretty.

We present a trio of law enforcement miscreants, including a Houston deputy who was ripping off dealers and selling their wares, a North Carolina cop with a pill problem, and a Baltimore schools cop who was flipping rocks on the side.

There are now two states where marijuana can be legally sold to adults, Marc Emery's time in America's drug war gulag comes to an end, two senators file the REDEEM Act for ex-offenders, there may be magic in those mushrooms, and more.

An initiative that would legalize the possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana appears poised to qualify for the ballot after organizers handed in more than twice the needed number of signatures.

This fall's drug policy initiative picture is beginning to clear up, with DC and Oregon seemingly on the way to voting on marijuana legalization in November, the first retailer sales licenses for marijuana in Washington state were issued today, with the signature of Gov. Cuomo, New York becomes the 23rd medical marijuana state, and more.

A Denver SWAT team member shot and killed the target of an undercover drug investigation when he pulled a weapon as uniformed cops moved in for an arrest.

The Afghan poppy trade is spilling over into Central Asia, legal marijuana goes on sale in Washington state on Tuesday, Georgia holds off on welfare drug testing, a California sentencing reform bill is now one vote away from passage, and more.

An Arizona researcher gets fired for apparently political reasons, new medical marijuana-related laws come into effect in several states, California dispensary conflicts continue as the Assembly grapples with a statewide regulation bill, and more.

There seem to a lot of cops with pain pill problems these days, but we also have more old-fashioned drug war corruption, such as stealing and reselling drug evidence and tipping off dope dealers.