Drug War Chronicle

Chakib El Khayari runs a human rights group in Morocco's Rif Mountains, where marijuana cultivation is a way of life. He has run afoul of the Moroccan government for criticizing its policies toward the poor pot farmers, and an appeals court has just ruled he should stay in a jail. Human rights and drug reform groups consider him a prisoner of conscience.

A sticky-fingered North Carolina deputy gets busted, so does a Florida sheriff's evidence tech, and a home-invading, drug dealer-robbing Philly cop gets sent away for a long, long time.

"Legal Marijuana: It's Coming, Whether You Like it or Not," "The Difference Between Drug War Violence and 'Drug-Related' Violence," "The Staggering Incoherence of Drug Warrior Charles Grassley," "Cory Maye: Drug War Victim Gets a New Trial," "Will Foster is Free! He Walked Out of Prison in Oklahoma Today."

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As 2009 winds down, we are taking a look at all the legislation related to drug policy around the country. Two weeks ago we looked at federal legislation, and last week at medical marijuana bills in the states. This week it's state marijuana decriminalization and legalization bills -- if we missed any, let us know.

At a conference last week, former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda bluntly accused the Mexican military of murdering members of the so-called drug cartels to avenge its own losses in the country's bloody wave of prohibition-related violence.

Getting medical marijuana bills passed in state legislatures is a long, hard slog. So far this year, only one bill has passed into law, the Rhode Island dispensary bill, which builds on an existing medical marijuana law. Two states' legislatures, Minnesota and New Hampshire, passed bills, only to have them vetoed. But there's still hope in a few places. Here's a rundown of medical marijuana at the statehouse this year.

If the British government thought it could shut up David Nutt, the head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, by firing him, it thought wrong. Now, the newly liberated drug expert is calling for a Royal Commission to examine decriminalizing marijuana.

The era of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses has come to an end in Rhode Island. But that's just a start -- you can still get up to 50 years for 10 pounds of pot.

"Tommy Chong's Prosecutor Says He Should Have Gotten More Jail Time," "Cheech and Chong vs. Bill O'Reilly: Worst Interview Ever," "'Buy American Pot!' Says American Marijuana Growers Association," "Drug Czar's Website Still Wrong About AMA's Medical Marijuana Stance," "DEA Website STILL Wrong About AMA's Medical Marijuana Stance," "Colorado Announces Plan to Tax Medical Marijuana," "As Long as the Drug War Continues, So Will the Corruption," "Marijuana is Practically Legal (But Only for Aging White People Who Live in the Suburbs)," "If You Care About Ending the Drug War, Watch This," "Will Foster is Almost Free. You Can Help Open That Prison Door By Acting Now," "Nice People Take Drugs."