Drug War Chronicle

Investigatory panels looking into 2,500 drug war killings in Thailand in the spring of 2003 have determined that more than half of those killed had nothing to do with drugs. Meanwhile, at least one Thai politician wants to return to the tough drug policies that led to those mass killings.

A high police official in Edinburgh has broached the notion of not arresting small-time drug offenders in the city center, but the idea has attracted a lot of heat, and now the police are backpedaling.

Bad cops cost cases in one Georgia county, a bad cop gets popped in another Georgia county, a bad cop gets several breaks from his colleagues in Michigan, and a bad cop goes to prison in Texas.

New Jersey's first legal needle exchange opened for business Tuesday. The move comes nearly a year after the legislature finally approved a pilot program for up to six cities. Look for more exchanges to come in Camden, Newark, and Paterson.

Facing strong opposition from the Afghan government, European allies, and even elements of the US government, the State Department announced Wednesday it had given up on an aerial spraying program designed to eradicate Afghan opium poppies -- at least for now.

The use of the death penalty against drug offenders continues apace in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Iran executes six, Vietnam upholds one death sentence, and Vietnamese prosecutors seek 11 more.

Going home from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally should have been a pleasant ride for Nebraskan Eric Sage. It didn't turn out that way--for him or his friends.

Last week, Canada's Conservative government introduced legislation to create mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenses, including marijuana cultivation. Now, opposition is emerging, but will it be able to block Canada's lurch toward a US-style drug war?

Law enforcement agencies which cannot seem to grasp that medical marijuana is legal in their states got their hands slapped by courts in Colorado and California this week. In both states, judges ruled that police must return medical marijuana unlawfully seized from legal patients or providers.