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Drug War Chronicle

Comprehensive coverage of the War on Drugs since 1997

  • coca plant (UNODC)
    coca plant (UNODC)

    Colombian Coca Cultivation Ticks Upward

    Coca production in Colombia ticked upward last year after four straight years of declines, the UNODC said in a new report. It's still way down from its peak, though.
  • MMJ leaf and stethoscope KY ODCP_42.jpg
    MMJ leaf and stethoscope KY ODCP_42.jpg

    Medical Marijuana Update

    Harborside fights for its life, LA bans dispensaries, and Oregon transplant hospitals are lightening up on medical marijuana patients. Those are the big stories this week, but there's plenty more, too.
  • Do_Not_Cross,_Crime_Scene_17.jpg
    Do_Not_Cross,_Crime_Scene_17.jpg

    Two More US Drug War Deaths

    One man is dead after swallowing drugs and being hit with a stun gun in Indianapolis as he tried to flee an arrest. Another is dead in Massachusetts after he was shot trying to flee an arrest in his car.
  • pile-of-cash_75.jpg
    pile-of-cash_75.jpg

    This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

    Bad cop, no donut for a Miami sergeant, two more TSA screeners cop pleas in LA, and a Phoenix cop couldn't keep his paws off the evidence room goodies.
  • 00new approach.jpg
    00new approach.jpg

    Washington Marijuana Initiative Has Good Week

    Washington state's I-502 marijuana legalization initiative did well in polling this week and even better in fundraising. This thing could win, and it has the money to help make that happen.
  • signs in business reflect community support (all photos by Drug War Chronicle)
    signs in business reflect community support (all photos by Drug War Chronicle)

    Oakland to President Obama: Change Your Ways! [FEATURE]

    In one of the largest medical marijuana demonstrations in years, as many as a thousand people came out in Oakland Monday to let President Obama know he needs to end the federal crackdown on dispensaries.
  • Campos, Kilmer, Campbell, and Rosenthal at Oaksterdam (photos by Drug War Chronicle)
    Campos, Kilmer, Campbell, and Rosenthal at Oaksterdam (photos by Drug War Chronicle)

    Marijuana Book Authors Talk at Oaksterdam [FEATURE]

    There was some interesting and well-informed discussion at Oaksterdam University Saturday night as the authors of four recent books on marijuana sat down to talk and think out loud.
  • marijuana-plants_0_30.jpg
    marijuana-plants_0_30.jpg

    Montana Marijuana Initiative Comes Up Short

    A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana in Montana has failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, but voters in Big Sky County will still have the chance to vote on medical marijuana.
  • Parliament in Belmopan (wikimedia.org)
    Parliament in Belmopan (wikimedia.org)

    Belize Ponders Marijuana Decriminalization

    The English speaking Central American nation of Belize has undertaken a review of whether to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.