Drug War Chronicle

Marc Emery, Canada's "Prince of Pot," announced this week that he has accepted a plea deal with US federal prosecutors that will spare his associates jail time but will see him do at least five years in prison -- mostly in Canada -- for selling marijuana seeds to customers in the US. The trio had faced mandatory minimums of 10 years and the possibility of life.

Caught in the middle of Iraq's simmering violence, Iraqi farmers are turning to the opium poppy to make a living. Militias and warlords are behind it, says British journalist Patrick Cockburn.

Police deaths in the line of duty were up last year, and so was the number of cops killed by gunfire. But only handful died enforcing the drug laws, and policing remains safer than a good number of other professions.

Joining a handful of other states, Illinois made salvia divinorum illegal as of January 1. Now, Virginia wants to be next. A bill to ban it has already passed the House of Delegates and is headed to the state Senate.

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

The Open Society Institute is hiring a Deputy Director for its International Harm Reduction Development Program.

Blue Mountain Heart to Heart, a nonprofit HIV/AIDS education, harm reduction and case work organization for Washington’s Walla Walla valley, is seeking applications for Executive Director.