More than 200 organizations have signed on to a letter to President Obama urging him to take a strong stance for reform at the UNGASS on Drugs next month.
Chronicle
UNGASS on Drugs is now just five weeks away. (Creative Commons)
A South Dakota GOP lawmaker tells the parents of sick kids they should move to another state if they want to use CBD cannabis oil, Maine legalizers are suing over disqualified signatures, the Senate passes a major bill dealing with heroin and opiates, but without funding, and mor
In the run-up to UNGASS, the US is signalling some flexibility if other countries want to decriminalize drugs, the Senate is poised to pass a bill to deal with heroin and prescription opiate use, crackdowns could be coming for unpermitted dispensaries in Los Angeles and San Diego, and more.
A Florida medical marijuana bill goes to the governor, a Utah medical marijuana bill gets killed, Los Angeles supervisors want to crack down on unpermitted dispensaries, so do San Diego licensed dispensaries, and more
Chronicle
Britain's third political party calls for marijuana legalization.
Massachusetts lawmakers have problems with pot legalization, a Utah medical marijuana bill gets gutted, a Florida medical marijuana bill goes to the governor, groundbreaking harm reduction bills get a hearing in Maryland, Britain's Liberal Democrats call for pot legalization, and more.
Chronicle
Iran is preparing to hang a hundred drug prisoners. (iranhr.net)
Iran is reportedly about to execute a hundred drug offenders, Florida's Volusia County becomes the latest locale to decriminalize pot in the Sunshine State, Oregon's governor signs pot bills into law, New Mexico's governor signs a naloxone (Narcan) bill into law, and more.
The Maine marijuana legalization campaign will fight to get its signatures counted, Tampa takes a first vote to decriminalize pot possession, an Idaho medical marijuana initiative gets pulled, a West Virginia welfare drug testing bill gets a hostile reception, and more.
Chronicle
"Strike Dead" brand heroin. (New Jersey State Police)
The Utah (!) legislature has passed a resolution calling for marijuana rescheduling, there will be no pot drive-throughs in Oregon's largest city, Senate Republicans kill $600 million in emergency funding to fight heroin and opioid abuse, and more.
A pair of Louisiana deputies on a DEA task force are accused of moonlighting as drug dealers, a sticky-fingered Miami narc goes down, and more. Let's get to it:
Chronicle
INCB head Werner Sipp: "The conventions never called for a war on drugs." (incb.org)
The International Narcotics Control Board takes a surprising stand, Maine's pot legalization initiative hits an unexpected roadblock, Denver NORML files a pot social club initiative, a Florida needle exchange bill heads to the governor's desk, and more.
Fed by poverty and social inequality and fueled by the drug war and the profits to be made, novel forms of criminality are emerging in Latin America. Two reporters and a novelist try to understand.
Puerto Rico's governor says legalize it, Wyoming's effort to felonize marijuana edibles dies, MPP rolls out its Ohio medical marijuana initiative, and more.
Chronicle
"Baby Bou Bou" before and after a Georgia SWAT team raided his home. (Family photos)
Justice at last for Baby Bou Bou, Minneapolis decriminalizes, Ohio lawmakers resort to more drug war, Iran executes all the males in a village for drugs, Australian harm reductionists pledge to open a pill testing center at festivals despite government opposition, and more.
Chronicle
Opinion polls suggest marijuana is pretty well normalized in California. (Darrin Harris/Drug Policy Alliance)
Pot shops will come to Alaska this fall, a new poll suggest legalization will come to California this fall, a medical marijuana bill advances in Utah, the Montana Supreme Court puts the hurt on medical marijuana sales, and more.
Chronicle
Legalization advances at the statehouse in Montpelier. (Wikimedia Commons)
The Vermont Senate pases marijuana legalization, DC enjoys the benfits of legalization, Pennsylvania will finally get a vote on medical marijuana, and more.