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Mexico Drug War Update
We present two weeks worth of Mexican drug war mayhem, and we review the death toll year by year since Calderon sent in the troops in 2007. The total has passed 35,000.
Latest
Chronicle
Latest News
Mexican Mayor Accuses Police Over Bodyguard's Death
The mayor of Ciudad Juárez has accused federal police of killing one of his bodyguards in an incident that underlines the growing tension between the different authorities in Mexico's drug prohibition war capital. "My bodyguard, accompanied by another, identified himself, raised his hands and was shot in the head," Héctor MurguÃa Lardizábal told reporters. "That's a murder." The mayor said that when he went to the federal police base in a nearby hotel to demand an explanation, he received a volley of insults an had a gun pointed at him.
Blog
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If You Have Drugs, Don't Agree to a Police Search
It seems like such a simple concept, but for some irrational reason, a lot of people still don't get it. Here's another example of what happens when you give police permission to search your house for drugs:
Chronicle
synthetic marijuana -- gone in some states, going in others? (image via Wikimedia)
Retailers Fight Efforts to Ban "Fake Marijuana" [FEATURE]
The DEA's federal emergency ban on synthetic cannabinoids may be stalled, but bills are moving in a half-dozen states. Retailers are beginning to organize to fight back.
Blog
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Anti-Pot Legislator in Trouble for Faking Illness to Get Medical Marijuana Card
Opponents of drug policy reform like to portray themselves as defenders of law and order, and yet you can't always count on them to obey the law themselves.
Latest News
Sensible Washington Files New Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Despite Plea to Hold Off
Undeterred by last year's failure to pass a marijuana legalization initiative, and a plea by national advocacy groups to hold off until next year for another effort, Sensible Washington is filing a new initiative with the Secretary of State.
Latest News
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne Recommends State Tax on Medical Marijuana
Attorney General Tom Horne announced a plan for Arizona to tax medical marijuana. Horne added that the Department of Revenue informed his office that they plan to take the advice and tax the sales. The taxes could yield revenues for the state in the approximate amount of $40 million per year, according to a report.
Latest News
Iowa Lawmaker Says He Lied to Get a Medical Marijuana Recommendation in California
A medical marijuana supporter says he'll file an ethics complaint against an Iowa lawmaker who says he obtained a medical marijuana prescription in California under false pretenses to show the flaws in such a program. The Des Moines Register says Mike Pesce told a House subcommittee that Rep. Clel Baudler, of Greenfield, should be investigated.
Latest News
Delaware House Committee Approves Rewrite of Drug Laws
A House committee has approved a sweeping revision of Delaware's drug laws that supporters say will bring more consistency and fairness to the criminal justice system.
Latest News
International Day of Action in Defense of Coca Chewing Underway
Coca growers from the Chapare (Cochabamba) and the Yungas (La Paz) â Boliviaâs two coca-growing regions â have travelled to Boliviaâs nine departmental capitals today to publicly chew the traditional leaf and to support the Bolivian government campaign to end the UN prohibition on coca chewing.
In The Trenches
Just Say Now: Obama and Marijuana (Action Alert)
Friends,
Marijuana reform is dominating the list of questions President Obama will be answering as part of his continued State of the Union address tomorrow night. Pot is already in the top questions - can you make sure the top questions for Obama are about marijuana?
This is an incredible opportunity to hear Obama's views on drug policy. Our friends at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) have a great question at the top of the list, and we're asking supporters to help keep it there for Obama to see.
Retired Deputy Sheriff and LEAP speaker MacKenzie Allen asks:
"As a police officer, I saw how waging the war on drugs has cost a trillion dollars and thousands of lives but does nothing to reduce drug use. Should we discuss legalizing marijuana and other drugs, which would eliminate the violent criminal market?"
It's an important question that we think Obama should answer. Can you help us make sure he does by giving LEAP's question a 'thumbs up'?
President Obama will begin answering questions from his YouTube page tomorrow, January, 26th, so time is running out. We want to hear what Obama has to say about the war on drugs, and this is the perfect forum for him to do so.
Thank you so much for your continued support.
Brian Sonenstein
JustSayNow.com
Chronicle
By prescription only? Maybe in Kentucky, Nevada, and Tennessee.
State Drug Warriors Want Prescription Requirement for Sudafed [FEATURE]
In a bid to repress the home manufacture of methamphetamine, a number of states are moving to require prescriptions for over-the-counter cold and allergy medications containing psuedoephedrine. Cold sufferers, take heed!
Latest News
Where's the Outrage Over 'Wrong-Door' Drug Raid? (Opinion)
Bob Goldberg opines on the surprise early morning raid by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Spring Valley police which terrorized an innocent Spring Valley family asleep in their home.
Event
1st Annual Cannabis Convention at UBC
The International Hempology 101 Society announces the 1st Annual Cannabis Convention at UBC.
Hosted by the brand new University of British Columbia Hempology 101 Club and the Social Justice Center, this premier event features several prominent anti-prohibitionists from the US and Canada.
This gathering will give students, activists, medical patients and interested members of the public a chance to interact while learning about some of the latest developments in cannabis law, science and archaeology. Admission is free and open to the public.
Author Chris Bennett will begin the convention with comments on his latest publication, Cannabis and the Soma Solution.
He will be followed by Joanna McKee, a veteran Washington State activist who will provide an overview of the changes she has seen since that state passed medical cannabis laws in 1996.
Dr. Paul Hornby will follow with a discussion of his research on cannabinoids, extractions, fertilizers and genetics.
Also coming from the Seattle area is lawyer Jim Doherty from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, who will attack the ideals of the War On Drugs from the perspective of someone who has seen the futility of its practice.
Finally, local lawyer John Conroy, counsel in many important drug related cases including In-Site, will wrap things up with closing arguments.
This event is modeled upon the 11 Cannabis Conventions hosted by the UVSS Hempology 101 Club at the University of Victoria. Now the largest student club on campus every year, the UVSS Hempology 101 Club also provides a free, non-credit lecture series which is available live on-line and recorded on YouTube. All live broadcasts and YouTube links can be found at hempology.ca.
With student clubs at the University of Victoria, Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, and now UBC, Hempology 101 plans upon spreading to more post-secondary schools in the near future.
The event will be available live on-line. For more information contact Ted Smith at [email protected].
Latest News
In Russia, a Glut of Heroin and Denial
Twenty one percent of the 375 tons of heroin produced from Afghanistan's opium fields now finds its way through central Asia into Russia, according to the United Nations. Unlike most countries around the world, Russia refuses to finance harm reduction programs such as needle exchanges, or to legalize methadone. Over the past few months, Moscow has decided to discontinue the work of foreign donors and NGOs with heroin addicts. Critics go as far as to accuse Moscow of willfully neglecting its citizens and thereby fueling what the World Health Organization says is one of the fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemics in the world.
Event
Seminar on Medical Marijuana Tax Issues
In an effort to get more owners of medical marijuana businesses to properly remit sales and use taxes, the city of Boulder, Colorado is hosting an informational seminar on marijuana taxes.
The seminar will focus on the city's tax rules as they pertain to medical marijuana businesses, and will include topics such as audits and tax returns.
The event requires reservations. To reserve a spot, call 303-441-4017.
Blog
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Will Obama Discuss Drug Legalization on Thursday?
Well, he sure as hell didn't go there during the State of the Union, but the President will have a good opportunity to comment on the drug war this Thursday when he takes questions from the public in a live interview on YouTube. If he's classy enough to answer the question that got the most votes, then we'll soon find out what he has to say about this:
Blog
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More FOX Coverage of Botched Drug Raid Killings
Radley Balko was on Freedom Watch last night for the second time this month, discussing the SWAT killing of Todd Blair that went viral last week.
Latest News
Mexico's Business Capital Fears for Future Amid Drug Prohibition Violence
Monterrey, Mexico's business capital and third-largest city, is being pushed to the breaking point by a drug prohibition war that has left about 80 people, including 14 police officers, dead this year alone and pushed authorities to the limit. The city, home to more than 50,000 corporations, including some of the largest multinational businesses in Mexico, fears for its future if the prohibition-caused violence is not stopped. "This is a very difficult time, perhaps the most difficult in the recent history of Nuevo Leon" state, Gov. Rodrigo Medina said.
Chronicle
Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson
Marijuana Legalization Bills Filed in Massachusetts, Washington
Which state on which coast will be the first to legalize marijuana? There are now bills filed in Massachusetts and Washington.