Drug War Chronicle

The Dutch government implemented its "weed pass" plan barring foreigners from buying marijuana at its cannabis coffee shops in three southern provinces Tuesday, but the coffee shops are not giving in without a fight.

A South Carolina man was arrested for selling cocaine to undercover officers, then died in the police car. The suggestion is that he may have swallowed drugs, causing an overdose, but we have to wait on the toxicology report for that.

Former New Mexico Republican Gov. Gary Johnson has selected Judge Jim Gray as his vice presidential nod in his Libertarian Party presidential nominee campaign. That's a pretty strong anti-prohibitionist ticket.

Eight British Columbia mayors, including the mayor Vancouver, have signed a letter calling for marijuana legalization, taxation, and regulation. They are only the latest in a growing chorus of BC public figures ready to free the weed.

A Dutch court has upheld a looming ban on foreigners in southern border province cannabis cafes, but coffee shop owners are appealing to the European Court of Human Rights. The battle over the ban, set to go nationwide next year, is far from over.

Police in Chesapeake, Virginia, are claiming they can smell marijuana in a passing vehicle while they are in their moving cruisers with the windows rolled up. So far, they're getting away with it.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott campaign to force drug tests on state workers got slapped down by a federal judge Wednesday, on fourth amendment grounds.

Bills to drug test people seeking public benefits have been all the rage at the statehouse this year, but they're having a surprisingly hard time passing. We have some reasons why.

ProCon.org is a series of in-depth web sites presenting information and views from on current issues, several with relevance to drug policy. The Chronicle is running a series of info items from ProCon.org over the next several weeks -- this first one from medicalmarijuana.procon.org -- and we encourage you to check it out.

Saying that West Virginia employers can't find enough workers who aren't doped up, Gov. Tomblin has issued an executive order mandating drug tests for participants in the state's job training program. He already successfully championed drug testing for miners in the legislature.