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This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
Cops cutting corners to make arrests, a cop caught providing protection for a load of cocaine, and a police force fired for its misbehavior make this week's rogues' gallery.
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Chronicle Stories: New Zealand "Spice" Ban, Chicago to Stop Jailing Marijuana Users?
[image:1 align:left]Phil has two new stories in the Chronicle since last update.
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Synthetic cannabinoids like Spice will be banned in Kiwiland this week. (image via Wikimedia)
New Zealand to Ban Synthetic Marijuana This Week
Stymied by drug laws that make the government actually prove something is harmful before banning it, New Zealand is instituting an emergency ban on synthetic cannabinoids while it figures out what to do.
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Chicago to Stop Jailing Marijuana Users?
The Cook County Board president wants police to quit wasting time jailing small-time marijuana offenders, and the police may just take a half-step in that direction.
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lime powder container (used traditionally in coca chewing), 1st-7th-century, Colombia (Quimbaya), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
Going Through the Motions
[image:1 align:left caption:true]Bolivia's government has announced it plans to allow "excess
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Cultivating coca in the Chapare. (photo by the author)
Bolivia to Buy Up Excess Coca Production
The Bolivian government is laying plans to buy some legally produced coca -- up to a certain point -- if there is not sufficient licit use for it.
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What Were Florida's Legislators, Prosecutors and Judges Thinking?
[image:1 align:right caption:true]A federal judge in Orlando, Florida, did something good and important this week.
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The federal courthouse in Orlando, where a judge threw out Florida's drug law. (image via Wikimedia)
Federal Judge Throws Out Florida's Drug Law
Florida's drug law has been found unconstitutional because it did not require proof of criminal intent. Tens or hundreds of thousands of cases could be affected.
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Obama Says Drug Users Must Be Treated as Criminals
No, those weren't his exact words, but his exact words don't sound much better. My latest piece at Huffington Post explores the inherent contradictions that spring forth from the president's most recent contribution to the drug policy debate. Check it out.
Chronicle
Two different initiative efforts are underway in Ohio, and there's pending legislation, too. (image via Wikimedia)
Medical Marijuana on the Move in Ohio [FEATURE]
Ohio medical marijuana patients are growing increasingly tired of waiting for the legislature to act, so they are now planning two different initiative campaigns aimed at November 2012.
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Black market drug money buys lots of guns in Mexico. (image via wikimedia.org)
Mexico Drug War Update
The violence rages unabated in Mexico...
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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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Chronicle Book Review: At The Devil's Table
With "At the Devil's Table," investigative journalist William Rempel takes the reader on a ride to the dark heart of the Cali cartel. And what a ride it is!
Chronicle
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This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A sheriff whose alleged theft from the evidence room might be excused, a prison guard who also heads a violent biker gang, another prison guard with dope and an eye for the ladies, a pill peddling suburban cop, and a bribe-taking small town cop all make the rogues' gallery this week.
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screening of "10 Rules for Dealing with Police," NAACP national conference, July 2010
NAACP Calls for End to War on Drugs
In a historic step, the nation's largest and oldest black advocacy group has formally come out against the war on drugs.
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You could grow 25 of these tax-free under a new California initiative. (image courtesy the author)
California Marijuana Legalization Initiative Approved for Petitioning
The first horse is out of the gate in the California 2012 marijuana legalization initiative sweepstakes.
Chronicle
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Medical Marijuana Group Appeals DEA Rescheduling Decision
Americans for Safe Access is appealing in the federal courts the DEA's decision to keep marijuana Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act.
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Canada Marijuana Arrests Jump Dramatically
Marijuana arrests jumped in Canada last year, and activists want to know why.
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National Poll Finds Support for Welfare Drug Testing
Americans feel pretty strongly that welfare applicants and recipients should be subject to drug testing, according to a new poll, but the findings could be skewed.
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has signed a bill designed to reduce drug overdose fatalities. (image via wikimedia.org)
Cuomo Signs NY Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Bill
Faced with rising drug overdose deaths, New York is the latest -- and largest -- state to pass a 911 Good Samaritan law allowing people to seek help without fear of prosecution.