Drug War Chronicle

Cops continue to have problems keeping their hands off the drugs they come across. And they're developing problems with prescription pills, too.

A pair of bills introduced in Florida ask the legislature to okay a referendum on marijuana in November. Activists are petitioning the governor, too.

The mania for drug testing people on welfare, unemployment, or Medicaid continues this year. A Mississippi solon wants to drug test anyone receiving public benefits, and other states are moving ahead, too.

The city of Tallahassee has agreed to a $2.6 million settlement in the killing of Rachel Hoffman, a collegiate drug scenester whom police sent to snitch on hardened criminals after a small-time drug bust. A similar case has just popped up in Detroit, too.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up the question of having a drug dog sniff the front door of one's home without a warrant is an unconstitutional search.

A new poll shows Washington voters almost evenly split on the general question of marijuana legalization, but a November poll that asked about specifics of a pending initiative had more positive results.

A man with "mental difficulties" who was apparently growing marijuana to self-medicate with, opened fire when a police drug task force entered his Ogden, Utah, home Wednesday night. Six police were shot; one is dead.

There has been no holiday break in Mexico's prohibition-related mayhem, but it's now looking like 2011's death toll is going to be down from last year.

A lawsuit filed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to block implementation of the state's voter-approved medical marijuana dispensary program was dismissed in federal court Wednesday.

Here's the latest from the busy world of medical marijuana.