Drug War Chronicle

President Obama issued the first pardons of his presidency, including four for drug offenders. But he issued no commutations for people still doing time.

The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved the nomination of Michele Leonhart to head the DEA, but one senator has vowed to place a hold on it on the Senate floor over the issue of pain relief for seniors.

Last week we wrote you to explain some of the reasons we at StoptheDrugWar.org believe a brighter future beyond prohibition is ahead of us. But we need your help to make that brighter future happen. Donate and you can receive up to three new membership premiums we are offering that reflect the optimism of this special time.

Will Ciudad Juarez reach a death toll of 3,000 this year? It will if December is like November was.

Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.

Sticky-fingered law enforcement seems to be the theme this week.

Chomping at the bit to get into the medical marijuana business in Arizona? There's a forum in Phoenix you might want to attend.

Portugal's policy of decriminalizing the use and possession of all drugs is winning well-deserved praise, but decriminalization is only a halfway step to ending drug prohibition, not the end of the road for reform, European activists say.

We review a memorial tribute edition of "Jack Herer is the Emperor of Hemp" that includes never seen interviews with Herer and the entire 1943 USDA film "Hemp for Victory." It is most worthy.

Half of all Canadians continue to want to free the weed, but strangely enough, almost two-thirds favor mandatory minimums for growing as few as five pot plants. That last finding may be an artifact, though.