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Happy 4/20

It has been one hell of a year since we last celebrated the increasingly official holiday of the cannabis community. It's been a bumpy ride for marijuana reform, but no one said this struggle was supposed to be easy. The challenges of 2012 are also an opportunity to build a bigger and better movement, and that's exactly what we'll do.

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Drug war spending continues to exceed treatment and prevention spending (ONDCP)
Drug war spending continues to exceed treatment and prevention spending (ONDCP)

Obama's 2012 Drug Strategy: The Same Old Same Old [FEATURE]

The 2012 National Drug Control Strategy is out. It looks much like the 2010 strategy or the 2005 strategy or the 2000 strategy. There are a few new wrinkles, but nothing much has changed.
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drugtest2_11.jpg
drugtest2_11.jpg

Georgia Welfare Drug Testing Bill Signed Into Law

Georgia has now followed Florida's lead in passing a bill requiring that welfare applicants undergo mandatory, suspicionless drug testing. Florida's law has been stymied by a legal challenge, and one is coming in Georgia, too.
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federal_drug_control_spending_2012.jpg
federal_drug_control_spending_2012.jpg

Obama Releases 2012 National Drug Control Strategy

The new national drug strategy is out and it looks very much like the old national drug strategy, retaining the seemingly eternal 60:40 split between law enforcement and interdiction on one hand and treatment and prevention on the other.
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parthenon_73.gif
parthenon_73.gif

This Week in History

Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
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MMJ leaf and stethoscope KY ODCP_28.jpg
MMJ leaf and stethoscope KY ODCP_28.jpg

Medical Marijuana Update

It's taken ever so long, but it now looks like dispensaries will soon be operating in New Jersey and Washington, DC. Meanwhile, the battles over medical marijuana continue across the country.
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pile-of-cash_63.jpg
pile-of-cash_63.jpg

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

This week, we have a grab bag of crooked law enforcement types, including a big city cop, a probation officer, a prosecutor, and a TSA agent.
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Clouds of smoke hover over the crowd estimated at 10,000 at last year's rally. (NORML)
Clouds of smoke hover over the crowd estimated at 10,000 at last year's rally. (NORML)

UC-Boulder Moves to Quash 4/20 Marijuana Rally

University of Colorado Boulder officials are pulling out all the stops in a bid to squash the school's unofficial annual 4/20 rally. The ACLU is objecting, and the performer the school hired to divert students with a concert says pot ought to be legalized.
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Can Obama Win Votes by Waging War on Medical Marijuana? I Don't Think So.

I have a piece at Huffington Post today reminding everyone that Obama isn't making any friends with his escalating war on medical marijuana. It amazes me that it's still necessary to point out that republicans don't support this madness either. Anyone who wants to excuse the Obama Administration's horrible handling of this issue will have to do better than claiming that voters want to see stuff like this. The hell they do. Anyway, check it out. 

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City Hall, Greenville (wikimedia.org)
City Hall, Greenville (wikimedia.org)

Most of North Carolina Grand Jury's Cases Are Drugs

If grand jury indictments earlier this month are any indication, there's not enough real crime in Pitt County, North Carolina, to keep cops and prosecutors busy. The most common grand jury charge: possessing marijuana with intent.
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Pres. Obama with Colombian Pres. Juan Manuel Santos, Brazilian Pres. Dilma Rouseff, and MSNBC's Chris Matthews (whitehouse.gov)
Pres. Obama with Colombian Pres. Juan Manuel Santos, Brazilian Pres. Dilma Rouseff, and MSNBC's Chris Matthews (whitehouse.gov)

Obama Addresses Drug Legalization at Cartagena Summit [FEATURE]

The Cartagena summit saw an historic discussion of drug legalization this weekend, with President Obama conceding that the topic is a legitimate one even as he reiterated US opposition to legalization.
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Some cocaine is still more equal than other under a Missouri bill, but there is less of a sentencing disparity. (wikimedia.org)
Some cocaine is still more equal than other under a Missouri bill, but there is less of a sentencing disparity. (wikimedia.org)

Missouri House Approves Crack Cocaine Sentencing Reform

Missouri has the most extreme crack vs. powder cocaine sentencing disparity in the nation, but a bill that passed the House Thursday would reduce it. The bill still has to get through the Senate.
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Greenland, NH, Police Chief Michael Maloney (Greenland PD)
Greenland, NH, Police Chief Michael Maloney (Greenland PD)

New Hampshire Police Chief Killed in Drug Raid

A drug raid gone bad has left a New Hampshire police chief dead, four other members of a drug task force wounded, and, early Friday morning, the suspect still holed up in his home with a woman, surrounded by a SWAT team.
Chronicle
Chronicle
MMJ leaf and stethoscope KY ODCP_27.jpg
MMJ leaf and stethoscope KY ODCP_27.jpg

Medical Marijuana Update

The federal offensive against dispensaries in California and Colorado continues, even as more state legislatures take up medical marijuana.