Drug War Chronicle

California's Prop 19 marijuana legalization initiative picked up two important endorsements this week, while the powerful state prison guard union says it is neutral.

The leading cause of deportation under the US government's criminal alien removal program is drug offenses, the Department of Homeland Security reports. Anything from being a cocaine kingpin to smoking a joint can get you deported.

The coroner's inquest for Trevon Cole is over and his killer has been cleared. Now, the attorney for Cole's family is getting ready to file a wrongful death, civil rights, and maybe even a RICO lawsuit.

A California appeals court Wednesday held that federal law did not preempt California laws allowing medical marijuana dispensaries, but did not decide the bottom line issue: Can cities or counties ban dispensaries?

Two extreme cases from Texas demonstrate why legislation to protect medical marijuana patients there is badly needed.

The death toll in Ciudad Juarez this year is over 1,800 so far, meaning 2010 is on pace to be another record year for murder there. And that's just Juarez.

Hey, cops: Don't give crack to hookers' boyfriends, don't rip people off and traffic dope, don't seize dope without turning it in, and don't get wasted on meth you stole and crash your cruiser. If only this week's crew had followed those simple instructions.

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

Just over two months ago, a Las Vegas narc killed Trevon Cole in a drug raid in his own apartment. The official story grows smellier and smellier, and the cop has shot people controversially before. But observers are still predicting the police shooter will be cleared this week.

The just-retired head of the Royal College of Physicians has joined a growing decriminalization chorus in Britain.