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Action, Not More Study, on Medical Marijuana in Maryland (Opinion)

Barry Considine, a writer and polio survivor who advocates for (and uses) medical marijuana, opines that it is time to allow patients in Maryland to use marijuana for medicinal purposes without fear of arrest and prosecution under Maryland law. He says we must move forward based on the best anecdotal evidence that is available as the DEA and National Institute on Drug Abuse have consistently blocked the efforts of researchers and scientists to study medical marijuana and provide empirical evidence of its efficacy.
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Blogging Break

In anticipation of a busy Spring season, I've taken the opportunity to spend some time in Europe with my girlfriend during the final, miserable weeks of Winter in D.C. We've just arrived in Barcelona, and I'm guessing I won't be getting much blogging done for the next week or so. Alas, you'll have to go get your drug war news from Pete Guither, who I'm reasonably sure is not presently traveling in Spain, and who would probably still find time to blog even if he were. As for me, I shall return triumphantly by the end of next week I hope.

Chronicle
California Rep. Ammiano during legislative hearings on his legalization bill, January 2010, Sacramento
California Rep. Ammiano during legislative hearings on his legalization bill, January 2010, Sacramento

Marijuana Reform Bills Move in the States [FEATURE]

Marijuana decriminalization has become a hot topic in state legislatures, and legalization is rearing its head, too.
Chronicle
vigil outside Albuquerque Convention Center, 2009 drug policy reform conference
vigil outside Albuquerque Convention Center, 2009 drug policy reform conference

Save the Date for the 2011 International Drug Policy Reform Conference

The biennial International Drug Policy Reform Conference will convene this fall in Los Angeles. Session proposals are accepted until March 18, and registration and scholarship applications for the conference will open soon.
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Kentucky Voices: Desperate Compromise on Bad Anti-Meth Bill (Opinion)

Jim Waters, vice president of policy and communications for the Bluegrass Institute, opines that, unable to secure the votes to pass the original proposal, which makes cold, allergy and sinus products containing pseudoephedrine controlled substances requiring a prescription for purchase, supporters of Kentucky's Senate Bill 45 are now floating what they label a compromise: exempt gel caps. Waters says this new tactic by logically challenged politicians reveals the same intellectual denseness demonstrated all along in this fight. He says that this will do nothing to curb meth production in Kentucky, and that it could even do less by giving citizens a false sense of security that something effective was being done to stop the meth problem.
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Latest News

Why Mexico's Losing Its Drug War (Opinion)

Benny Avni opines that Felipe Calderon's war on the drug trafficking organizations created by prohibition is costing a lot in American money and Mexican blood -- and he's losing. Avni says the ultimate solution is legalization, which would lower profits and take violence out of the drug trade -- just as the end of Prohibition reduced America's gang problem. But, instead, Washington muddles on with an expensive and extremely deadly conceit -- pretending that all we need to do is pour some money on the problem, and Mexico's federal government will somehow eventually prevail.
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This Week in History

Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
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Washington State Medical Marijuana User Dies Without Transplant

Timothy Garon, a musician who was denied a liver transplant because he used marijuana with medical approval under Washington state law to ease the symptoms of advanced hepatitis C, died. Dr. Brad Roter, the physician who authorized Garon to use medical marijuana to alleviate for nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite, said he did not know it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant.
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Texas Legislature Considers Marijuana-Friendly Bills

A Texas House Committee heard testimony on a proposed bill that seeks to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. House Bill 548 would lower the penalties for possession to the level of a traffic ticket. Another bill under consideration is HB 1491, which deals with medical marijuana. The bill is designed to protect doctors who recommend medical marijuana as a possible treatment to their patients and gives both parties an affirmative defense in court should law enforcement get involved.
Chronicle
Prohibition's filthy lucre is hard for some to resist. (Image via Wikimedia)
Prohibition's filthy lucre is hard for some to resist. (Image via Wikimedia)

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Michigan gives us two spectacularly egregious cases of corrupt policing, one of which included prosecutors and a judge -- and we throw in the obligatory greedy jail guards.
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Minnesota Head Shop Owner Says Fake Marijuana Ban Won't Work

Jim Carlson, the owner of a head shop, says a new federal ban on the sale of five chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana won't make much difference - he'll just stock brands that use other, still-legal substances. Carlson said that with about 210 similar chemicals available, the manufacturers will try to keep one step ahead of the government. "Unfortunately he is correct," said Barbara Carreno, a DEA spokeswoman in Washington, who confirmed Tuesday that many suppliers are offering retailers products with new chemicals. "There are many of these substances and we chose five common ones because we don't have the resources to study all of them."
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New Hampshire Bill Would Legalize Medical Marijuana

A panel of New Hampshire lawmakers is considering a bill to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Under the bill, possessing two ounces or less of medical marijuana would not be a crime. New Hampshire's legislature passed a medical marijuana bill two years ago, but Gov. John Lynch vetoed it.
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Drug Prohibition Murders Affect Half of Mexican Cities

Half of the cities in Mexico have registered at least one drug prohibition murder since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006. Of the country’s 2,456 municipalities, 1,147 registered at least one murder committed by drug trafficking organizations between December 2006 and the end of 2010. A total of 15,273 people died in prohibition violence in Mexico last year, and more than 34,000 people have died since Calderon declared war on the country’s drug trafficking organizations shortly after taking office.
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DEA Finally Admits Marijuana is Medicine

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If you thought they were going to issue a formal apology after decades of flagrant dishonesty, you would be mistaken. But the DEA is at long last conceding marijuana's incredible medical value…by giving pharmaceutical companies exclusive permission to make pills out of it.

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Former Mexican Governor Admits Past Presidents Controlled Drug Trade

The Mexican political world was sent reeling after a former PRI politician admitted his party had exercised strong control over Mexico's drug trafficking routes. Former Nuevo Leon governor Socrates Rizzo said that previous PRI presidents had formalized agreements with drug trafficking organization leaders to coordinate and protect Mexico's lucrative drug trade. Rizzo argued that presidential control over smuggling prevented the widespread violence that has been commonplace since 2000.
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Synthetic Marijuana Widely Used at Naval Academy, Some Midshipmen Say

A synthetic form of marijuana is widely used at the U.S. Naval Academy because it cannot be detected in routine drug tests, according to several former midshipmen. Since its introduction at the academy last year, synthetic marijuana has become popular among rank-and-file midshipmen and on the football and wrestling teams. Some isolated corners of the historic Annapolis campus have become well-known gathering spots for smoking it.
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White House Requests Meeting with Seattle Times to Bully Against Pro-Marijuana Editorials

Immediately after the Seattle Times ran an editorial last week supporting a bill to tax and regulate marijuana, the newspaper got a phone call from Washington, D.C. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy director Gil Kerlikowske wanted to fly to Seattle to speak personally with the paper's full editorial board. The meeting is apparently an attempt by the federal government to pressure the state's largest newspaper to oppose marijuana legalization. Or at least turn down the volume on its new-found bullhorn to legalize it.
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Marijuana Debate Reignites in Bay State

A bill to legalize marijuana was quietly introduced last week. Sponsored by Amherst Democrat Ellen Story, the bill could reap thousands of dollars for the state in tax revenue. "Reps come up to me and say thank you so much for doing this Ellen. I support you, but I can't be public about it. Legislators are afraid of being seen as soft on drugs," Story says.
Chronicle
No legal highs for you, silly Americans! (Image via Wikimedia)
No legal highs for you, silly Americans! (Image via Wikimedia)

DEA Bans Synthetic Marijuana

Synthetic marijuana has been banned by the DEA in an emergency action. This time, they mean it.