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Drug War Chronicle

Comprehensive coverage of the War on Drugs since 1997

  • All the drug busts in Mexico don't seem to make a difference. (image via Wikimedia)
    All the drug busts in Mexico don't seem to make a difference. (image via Wikimedia)

    Mexico Drug War Update

    You know things are messed up when the federal police are shooting at the head of the Ciudad Juarez police. Oh, and 216 more people were killed there in the drug wars last month.
  • If the legislature won't make medical marijuana happen, the voters might do it for them. (image via Wikimedia)
    If the legislature won't make medical marijuana happen, the voters might do it for them. (image via Wikimedia)

    Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Initiative Filed

    Massachusetts activists have taken the first formal step toward putting a medical marijuana initiative before the voters next year.
  • pile-of-cash_28.jpg
    pile-of-cash_28.jpg

    This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

    Cops cutting corners to make arrests, a cop caught providing protection for a load of cocaine, and a police force fired for its misbehavior make this week's rogues' gallery.
  • Synthetic cannabinoids like Spice will be banned in Kiwiland this week. (image via Wikimedia)
    Synthetic cannabinoids like Spice will be banned in Kiwiland this week. (image via Wikimedia)

    New Zealand to Ban Synthetic Marijuana This Week

    Stymied by drug laws that make the government actually prove something is harmful before banning it, New Zealand is instituting an emergency ban on synthetic cannabinoids while it figures out what to do.
  • toni-preckwinkle.jpg
    toni-preckwinkle.jpg

    Chicago to Stop Jailing Marijuana Users?

    The Cook County Board president wants police to quit wasting time jailing small-time marijuana offenders, and the police may just take a half-step in that direction.
  • Cultivating coca in the Chapare. (photo by the author)
    Cultivating coca in the Chapare. (photo by the author)

    Bolivia to Buy Up Excess Coca Production

    The Bolivian government is laying plans to buy some legally produced coca -- up to a certain point -- if there is not sufficient licit use for it.
  • The federal courthouse in Orlando, where a judge threw out Florida's drug law. (image via Wikimedia)
    The federal courthouse in Orlando, where a judge threw out Florida's drug law. (image via Wikimedia)

    Federal Judge Throws Out Florida's Drug Law

    Florida's drug law has been found unconstitutional because it did not require proof of criminal intent. Tens or hundreds of thousands of cases could be affected.
  • Two different initiative efforts are underway in Ohio, and there's pending legislation, too. (image via Wikimedia)
    Two different initiative efforts are underway in Ohio, and there's pending legislation, too. (image via Wikimedia)

    Medical Marijuana on the Move in Ohio [FEATURE]

    Ohio medical marijuana patients are growing increasingly tired of waiting for the legislature to act, so they are now planning two different initiative campaigns aimed at November 2012.
  • Black market drug money buys lots of guns in Mexico. (image via wikimedia.org)
    Black market drug money buys lots of guns in Mexico. (image via wikimedia.org)

    Mexico Drug War Update

    The violence rages unabated in Mexico...