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This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
From the Rio Grande Valley to New York City, it's more cops gone wild this week.
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Chronicle
Latest News
Drug Trafficking Organization's Bandits Stealing Oil to Fuel Mexican Drug Prohibition War Kill 27
A breeched oil pipeline caused a massive blast in the Mexican town of San Martin Texmelucan. Rivers of fire coursed through the streets, killing at least 27 people and damaging 115 houses.
Chronicle
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Mexico Drug War Update
More than 12,000 dead in Mexico's prohibition-related violence as of November 30, according to the Mexican attorney general, and more than 30,000 since Calderon called out the troops in December 2006.
Blog
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Drug War Defenders Beg Obama to Help Prevent Pot Legalization
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This Christian Science Monitor editorial positively reeks of desperation. You've got to give the prohibitionists at CSM some credit for seeing the writing on the wall, but their silver-bullet strategy for beating back the movement for marijuana legalization is a little less than intimidating:
Blog
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Angry Jurors Refuse to Convict in Marijuana Case
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As Americans grow increasingly disgusted by the waste and injustice of the War on Drugs, it seems inevitable that we'll reach a point at which the public no longer accepts the embarrassing excesses of prohibition. That's exactly what just happened in Montana, and it's a story that ought to terrify the drug war establishment.
Chronicle
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Please Make a Year-End Gift for Our 2011 Campaigns
Help bring about the brighter future that awaits us beyond prohibition, by making a tax-deductible educational donation or a non-deductible lobbying donation before year's end.
Chronicle
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Patients Protest Israel's First Medical Marijuana Raid
An Israeli police raid on a medical marijuana dispensary has sparked protests in Tel Aviv.
Chronicle
(image courtesy Sensible Washington)
Marijuana Legalization Billboard Goes Up on I-5 Near Seattle
Now, there's a sight for sore eyes! A huge pot legalization billboard has gone up on I-5 outside Seattle.
Chronicle
Bob Ainsworth breaks ranks with drug prohibition. (image courtesy Wikimedia)
Former British Drug Czar Says Legalize It All
The debate over British drug policy heats up again as a Labor stalwart who served as drug czar and defense minister calls for legalization.
Chronicle
not business as usual at the courthouse in Missoula (image courtesy Wikimedia)
Montana Marijuana Prosecution Runs into Jury Pool "Mutiny"
You've heard of jury nullification? How about jury pool nullification? That's basically what happened to a small-time marijuana charge in Montana last week.
Latest News
Missoula District Court: Jury Pool in Marijuana Case Stages 'Mutiny'
A funny thing happened on the way to a trial in Missoula County District Court. Jurors â well, potential jurors â staged a revolt. They took the law into their own hands, as it were, and made it clear they werenât about to convict anybody for having a couple of buds of marijuana.
Chronicle
Can windmills and the Rijksmuseum pack 'em in like the coffee shops? (wikimedia.org)
EU Court Okays Dutch Coffee Shop Ban for Foreigners
A ruling by the European Court of Justice paves the way for the Netherlands to ban foreigners from buying weed in the country's famous coffee shops. Is Amsterdam about to become Amsterdone?
Chronicle
The New Orleans City Council just made life a bit easier in the Big Easy.
Marijuana Bust No Longer Automatic Arrest in New Orleans
The Big Easy just got a little bit easier. Get busted for smoking a joint in New Orleans now and you just get a summons, not a trip to the slammer.
Latest News
Mexican Drug Prohibition War Claims Over 12,000 Lives This Year Alone
More than 12,000 people have died this year as a result of Mexico's drug prohibition war, although officials said the number could be higher. Through November 30, 12,456 people were killed, making 2010 the deadliest year since Mexican President Felipe Calderon began a government crackdown against traffickers in 2006. In a recent survey, 59 percent of respondents said organized crime groups are winning the drug prohibition war against federal forces; a different poll said 80 of the respondents believe there is more violence in Mexico than a year ago.
Latest News
Why We Need an Impact Assessment of Drug Policy (Opinion)
UK Labour MP and former minister Bob Ainsworth has come out out strongly against drug prohibition. He proposed an âImpact Assessment of the Misuse of Drugs Actâ, an âindependent, evidence-based review, exploring all policy optionsâ which was welcomed by Lib Dem MP Tom Brake. Adam Corlett, acting vice-chair of Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform, explores the matter.
Latest News
Draft of Arizona Medical Marijuana Rules Released
The first draft of the rules that could govern medical marijuana use in Arizona are now online. The rules are laid out in a 47 page document on the Arizona Department of Health Services website. The rules cover everything from who can qualify to use medical marijuana, how dispensaries will be regulated and the role doctors need to play in the process.
Latest News
Chronic Christians: Did Jesus Heal with Pot?
A rising tide of Christians not only smoke pot, but think Jesus used it. They're gaining mainstream legitimacy, challenging religious and political dogma, and sometimes going to jail for their faith in unprecedented numbers. According to pot historian Chris Bennett's chapter on "Early/Ancient History" in Dr. Julie Holland's The Pot Book, Jesus didn't smoke pot, he rubbed it on people in the form of medicinal holy oil. Bennett says a pot doctor Jesus makes more sense than a deity Jesus. The Son of God does pull a lot of lightweight miracles like treating skin lesions, stomach problems, menstrual issues, eye problems, epilepsy and asthma, all of which respond to the cannabis therapies.
Latest News
Medical Pot Sales in Oakland Reach $35 million This Year
The economy is still tanking, but Oaklandâs medical cannabis industry is banking. The cityâs finance wizards are projecting that Oaklandâs three dispensaries will sell between $35 million and $38 million worth in medical cannabis this year. The industry will bring in $1.5 million in taxes this year to the city.
In The Trenches
Last Chance for Prison Reform (Action Alert)
Tell Congress to pass the National Criminal Justice Commission Act! |
Dear Friends,
With the current session of Congress winding down, there isn't much time left to reform our broken criminal justice system. So we've got to act now if we hope to achieve prison reform any time soon.
Senate Bill 714 will establish a National Criminal Justice Commission to "undertake a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system ... and make reform recommendations for the President."
I think we can all agree that such an evaluation is sorely needed. The United States has the highest reported incarceration rate in the world, imprisoning a higher percentage of its population than any other country. Our incarceration rate is five times the world's average incarceration rate, with a total of 2,380,000 people locked up.
Please take time today to urge your senators to support Senate Bill 714. For your convenience, a prewritten letter will be e-mailed to your member of Congress when you take action through this page.
Your calls & letters to Congress have gotten us this far! Please keep pushing!
Sincerely,
Aaron Houston
Executive Director, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
P.S.Appreciate our work? Take a moment to support SSDP with a tax deductible end-of-the-year gift today.
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Latest News
The Largest Prison Strike In US History Rages On
The sharp increase in the incarceration rate largely due to the drug war and mandatory minimum sentencing have led to the United States becoming the worldâs largest jailer. On December 9th, the largest prison strike in US history began in multiple facilities in Georgia. Thousands of those inside have united in a self-imposed lockdown to demand various human rights demands ranging from an end to slave labor, access to health care and education, communication from their families, and an end to cruel and unusual punishment. Despite a harsh crackdown, the strike has been raging on for the last week, and shows no signs of ending.