More jail guards gone bad, evidence has gone missing in Alaska, a Georgia cop sells pot from his patrol car, a North Carolina detective working prescription pill diversion diverts some his way, and more.
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The new opioid pain reliever Zohydro is again under attack.
No April Fools' stories here -- the mayor of Washington really did sign a decriminalization bill, the Kentucky legislature really did pass a CBD medical marijuana bill, the US government won't help Honduras shoot down drug planes, and more.
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This much heroin could get you a two-year mandatory minimum sentence under a bill being considered in Lousiana (wikimedia.org)
Garden State municipal prosecutors say legalize it, an Arizona sheriff has to give back medical marijuana seized rom a patient, Colorado wants to crack down on high plant-count patients, Louisiana takes a resolutely last century approach to heroin, Uruguay is going to seriously track its legal weed, and more.
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Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) declares a public health emergency to deal with opiate use. (mass.gov)
Medical marijuana and CBD bills continue moving in state legislatures, Northeastern governors respond to opiates, the Department of Agriculture wants to buy Ukrainian hemp seed, and more.
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Coat of arms for the Russian Federal Drug Control Service. It's getting the cold shoulder from the US these days. (kremlin.ru)
No marijuana legalization in New Hampshire this year, neurologists recommend cannabis oil for MS, New Mexico pharmacists will start prescribing naloxone, Russian-US drug cooperation is at risk over the Crimea crisis, and more.
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Oberleitungsbusbahnhof in Simferopol (user Cmapm via Wikimedia)
The folding of Crimea back into Russia has some ominous implications for hard drug users there, and the other shoe is already beginning to drop for them.
A Tulsa, Oklahoma, man has died after being shot by police officers during at drug raid at his home. The as-yet-unnamed man becomes the 12th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.
Whew! Busy, busy, busy at the statehouse, with both traditional medical marijuana bills and newfangled CBD medical marijuana bills getting lots of attention.
Legalization initiatives get ready to advance in Oregon and Washington, DC, decrim bills move in Illinois and are filed in Pennsylvania, as do medical marijuana bills in Illinois and Maryland, another mass drug sweep in Detroit, and a world ayahuasca conference is set for the fall, and more.
More jail guards gone wild! Smuggling dope, smuggling meth, cooking marijuana butter. Plus, a Customs officer winks at semis full of weed blowing through his lane, a crooked Chicagoland cop agrees to rat out his buddies, and more.
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Richard Branson speaks out again on drug policy reform (David Shankbone/wikimedia)
Richard Branson speaks out on California drug policy reforms, a leading anti-drug group gives up the ghost on fighting marijuana legalization, the Canadian government is under attack from a couple of directions, and more.
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Cannabis oil is a hot item in traditionally unfriendly legislatures (wikimedia.org/Stephen Charles Thompson)
Medical marijuana dominates the drug policy news today, plus a legalization bill is filed in New Jersey, welfare drug testing advances in a pair of states, the Russians halt anti-drug cooperation with the US, and more.
A federal agency has given the okay for researchers to buy marijuana from NIDA for a PTSD study, which is a first, those CBD medical marijuana bills keep moving in heretofore medical marijuana-unfriendly states, an effort to fold Washington state's medical marijuana system into its general legalization scheme has failed, and more.
Fewer people are getting arrested for marijuana possession in Washington state after legalization -- imagine that! -- Kansas legislators want to drug test teachers, a New Jersey heroin and opiates panel has recommendations, Russell Brand goes to Vienna, and more.
Oregon looks like one of the likeliest places to legalize marijuana this year. There are two sets of initiative campaigns, and they both look well-positioned to make the ballot.
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Declining federal drug prosecutions could have an impact here. (supremecourt.gov)
Federal drug prosecutions are declining, marijuana legalization moves forward in the Northeast, Pennsylvania counties pay for taking babies away from mothers over false positive drug tests, and more.
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Getting down to business at the CND in Vienna (unodc.org)
The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs held its high-level session in Vienna over the weekend. Behind a bland joint memorandum, though, signs of discord abound as criticism of the global prohibition regime grows louder.
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What will keep this Rasta smiling? Jamaican ganja farmers have some ideas. (wikimedia.org)
Alaska state agencies complain that legalization will cost money (and they want some of it), Vermont cops complain the governor is soft on pot, federal prosecutors complain about reforming mandatory minimums, and more.