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A Miami police investigation of a possible grow house turned into a half-hour-long gun battle with three men, two of whom are now dead. They become the 4th and 5th persons to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

A North Carolina narc gets canned, and so does a Florida patrol officer, and an Ohio evidence room supervisor gets busted after drugs walk away.

Most of the action was at statehouses this week, but there was also news from the Harborside Health Center battle in California and an announcement that the nation's capital will soon have its first dispensary.

In the latest example of the drug testing fever sweeping Charleston, a West Virginia delegate has introduced a bill requiring teens to pass not one but three drug tests before being granted full drivers' licenses.

There is majority support for legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana in Britain, a new poll has found. And two-thirds also want to see a comprehensive review of British drug policy.

A police drug dog's training or certification records are sufficient indicators of its reliability to establish probable cause for a vehicle search, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

With the introduction of medical marijuana and hemp bills this week, along with marijuana legalization legislation introduced earlier this month, Congress has a full-blown marijuana agenda before it this session. And now, it has an emerging cannabis caucus.

After the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that dispensaries are illegal, a conservative lawmker is introducing a bill that would allow them by local option.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that police will no longer hold people arrested for small-time marijuana busts, but will instead merely have them make a desk appearance and then be released.

An Arizona appeals court has ruled that even the presence of inactive THC metabolites from as long as a month after toking is sufficient to earn a driving under the influence conviction.

Opponents of marijuana legalization are organizing and fighting back, most recently with a letter to Attorney General Holder and a position statement from the drug court people. They are self-interested, but potentially dangerous.

What? Nothing happened in California? It's a rare week, but the quiet in the Golden State is being made up for by action in state legislatures around the land. And more.

A marijuana legalization bill has died in Hawaii after a head count found it would come up short in the House.

South Dakota lawmakers once again refuse the opportunity to reform the state's marijuana laws.

We are pleased to launch a new gift offer -- and continue several older but good ones -- for StoptheDrugWar.org supporters donating $15 or more.

A major police corruption bust in the Atlanta metro area, an Alabama deputy keeps the goodies he got doing drug buys, and an Ohio officer cops to helping launder money for a marijuana ring.

Marijuana decriminalization is dead in Indiana this year after a Republican committee chair blocked it. But it will be back.

A Pennsylvania state senator announced Monday that he will be introducing a marijuana legalization bill in the near future. Bills have already been filed in Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and are also expected soon in Maine and Vermont.

Iran continues to execute drug offenders at a torrid pace. Around 500 went to the gallows in 2011, hundreds more last year, and 24 more so far this year.

MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org, part of the ProCon.org family, is an in-depth web site presenting information and views from a variety of perspectives on the medical marijuana issue. The Chronicle is running a six-part series of info items from ProCon.org, of which this week's is the final.