Drug War Chronicle

On New Year's Day, the Czech Republic will join Portugal among European countries that have decriminalized drug possession for personal use. The Czech cabinet Monday approved quantity limits on the amounts that will be decriminalized.

And then there were 14! The last congressional obstacle to the District of Columbia actually being able to implement its medical marijuana law has fallen. Now, DC bureaucrats and would-be medical marijuana entrepreneurs are scrambling.

The Wisconsin medical marijuana bill was only introduced last month, but Tuesday it got a joint hearing from the Assembly and Senate Health Committees. The Democratic legislative leadership and the Democratic governor are all on board, so it could move quickly.

It has been eight years since Jamaica's National Commission on Ganja recommended decriminalization. Now, a leading lawmaker is trying to reactivate the debate.

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"NJ Medical Marijuana Patient Not Guilty on First-Degree Felony Charges," "There's No Economic Crisis for the Drug Cartels," "Another Crazy Medical Marijuana Lie from the Drug Czar," "NJ Medical Marijuana Trial Takes an Interesting Turn," "'No One Threw Bong Water At Me, But It Came Pretty Close'," "Latest Drug War Lie: Debating Medical Marijuana Causes More Kids to Smoke Pot," "Man Gets Tased and Dies After Trying to Swallow Marijuana During Police Encounter."

The war in Afghanistan, the rising tide of drug reform in Latin America, and battles over drug policies in European countries are among the dominant international drug policy stories of 2009. (Next issue we'll review the top domestic stories.)

Will 2010 be the year the first state legalizes marijuana? If California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and Washington Representative Roger Goodman have their way, two states will do so.

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