Drug War Chronicle

It was a relatively quiet week on the crooked cop front -- not including officers who've gone astray but haven't been caught -- but we've still got us a trio of law enforcement miscreants.

Long Island cops moved in to make a small-time drug bust, the suspect apparently swallowed the drugs, and now he's dead. That makes 21 dead in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

An Illinois medical marijuana bill is heading for a House floor vote. Last year, it passed the Senate, only to fail in the House. Let's hope we get a better outcome this year.

A member of a Southern California drug task force shot and killed a man armed with a shotgun during a Friday morning drug raid. That makes 20 dead in the US drug war so far this year.

ProCon.org is a series of in-depth web sites presenting information and views on controversial issues, several of which relate to drug policy. The Chronicle is running a six-part series of info items from ProCon.org, and we encourage you to check it out.

A bill that would allow medical marijuana patients to present an affirmative defense in court has passed the Maryland Senate.

Add Kentucky to the short list of states that have banned the synthetic stimulant mephedrone, typically marketed as "bath salts."

Medical marijuana is a big business and only getting bigger, according to a new study produced by a financial analysis firm.

The US ambassador to Mexico resigns over Wikileaks, Mexico acknowledges allowing unmanned US surveillance drones over Mexico, a prominent trafficker is killed, a well-known musician is wounded. And of course, the threats and the carnage that have become usual since Calderon intensified the Mexican drug war continue unabated.

Bills that would allow state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries are moving in Washington, which already has a medical marijuana law, and Delaware, which doesn't.