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Feature: Amsterdam, Connecticut? Drug Reformer With Bold Vision Seeks State Office, Radical Change

A former Navy officer and drug fighter turned drug reformer is running for the state House of Representatives in Connecticut. He's calling for safe injection sites, opiate maintenance, and taxed and regulated marijuana sales, and he could use your help.

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Latin America: Human Rights a Casualty in Chihuahua's Drug War

The Mexican army undertook Operation Join Together Chihuahua in March, as thousands of troops poured into the Mexican border state. As has been the case elsewhere in Mexico, the arrival of the troops has been followed by a growing chorus of human rights complaints.

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Latin America: Coca Production Up Last Year, UN Reports

Coca production in the Andes was up last year, the UN reported this week. The biggest percentage increase was in Colombia, where years of US-funded herbicide spraying have failed to stop farmers.

Chronicle

Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

Trouble in the Hoosier State this week, with some Indy cops busted for ripping off pot dealers and selling their wares and a Muncie drug task force being investigated over its asset forfeiture practices. Also, a Wyoming jailer steals his cop father's drug dog pot stash, and a Massachusetts cop cops a plea.

Chronicle

Middle East: Israel to Ban Bong Sales?

The Law, Constitution, and Justice Committee of Israel's Knesset (parliament) has approved a measure that would ban the sale of bongs, or water pipes often used to smoke marijuana. It has two more readings to go and then a floor vote to become law.

Chronicle

Law Enforcement: SWAT Run Amok

A Chicago SWAT raid of a social club and the killing of a homeowner in a Florida SWAT raid that netted less than an ounce of marijuana are the latest incidents to put heavy-handed police tactics in the spotlight.

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Europe: Amsterdam's Coffee Shops Brace for Tobacco Smoking Ban

A Dutch ban on tobacco smoking in public venues has Amsterdam's coffee shop owners worried. Smoking marijuana remains okay, but those Euro-style tobacco-laced joints will be forbidden.

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Resource: Reformer's Calendar Accessible Through DRCNet Web Site

Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to the events coming up the soonest, and more.

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Resource: DRCNet Web Site Offers Wide Array of RSS Feeds for Your Reader

A new way for you to receive DRCNet articles -- Drug War Chronicle and more -- is now available.

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Webmasters: Help the Movement by Running DRCNet Syndication Feeds on Your Web Site!

Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!

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Feedback: Do You Read Drug War Chronicle?

Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to funders. We need donations too.

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Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy

"Dutch Smoking Ban Could Improve Marijuana Quality," "Drug Cops Shouldn't be Paid With Confiscated Drug Money, But They Are," "Increased Pot Potency Just Proves That Marijuana Laws Have Failed," "Why You Shouldn't Try to Eat Your Marijuana if You're Pulled Over," "U.S. Government Stopped Research After Finding That Marijuana Slowed Cancer Growth," "Mexican Drug War Analysis: It's Not Going Well."

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Help Needed: Drug War Chronicle Seeking Cases of Informant Abuse

Drug War Chronicle is seeking information on serious police misconduct or misjudgments in the treatment of informants. Confidentiality will be protected.

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Students: Intern at DRCNet and Help Stop the Drug War!

Apply for an internship at DRCNet for this fall (or spring), and you could spend the semester fighting the good fight!

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Feature: US Drug Policies Flawed and Failed, Experts Tell Congressional Committee

In a historic US Congress Joint Economic Committee hearing Thursday, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) opened up discussion on the Hill of the economic costs of US drug policy.

Chronicle

Job Opportunity: Director of State Policies, Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, DC

The Marijuana Policy Project is seeking a seasoned professional to fill the position of Director of State Policies in MPP's headquarters in Washington, DC. The Director of State Policies manages MPP's grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in all state legislatures.

Chronicle

Medical Marijuana: Bill Passes New York Assembly, Senate Must Act By Monday

For the second year in a row, the New York Assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill. But the state Senate must act by Monday, when the legislature recesses, or the effort to enact a medical marijuana law in the Empire State will be dead for this year.

Chronicle

Press Release: New Report Finds Teen Marijuana Use Down in States With Medical Marijuana Laws

Opponents of medical marijuana sometimes argue that allowing it will encourage kids to smoke pot. But new report coauthored by SUNY Albany researcher Dr. Mitch Earleywine has found that teen marijuana use has actually declined in states that have medical marijuana laws, and more markedly than national averages.

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Some Items of Interest

A Canadian man has been acquitted after killing a police officer whom he mistook for a burglar during a botched drug raid. Looks like the right verdict was reached for the right reasons. Meanwhile, here in the states, Cory Maye sits in prison and Ryan Frederick awaits a capital murder trail for doing essentially the same thing under the same circumstances.
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Speaking of Ryan Frederick, new evidence points towards a cover up by police. A bullet hole was found in his home and "primer residue" was found on the hands of the officers who conducted the botched raid on his home. Looks like they've been lying about not firing a weapon during the raid. This new evidence casts further doubt on the prosecution's theory that Frederick fired on police while they were still in his front yard. Bottom line, Ryan Frederick wasn't growing marijuana. He'd been burglarized days before. When he fired on the intruders, he thought he was defending his home. This whole murder trial is a sham and the more we learn, the clearer that fact becomes.
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John Stossel says Legalize Every Drug in The New York Sun. It's nice to see someone in the mainstream media who gets the issue â the whole damn thing â not just bits and pieces. Of course, anyone familiar with Stossel knows that he's been on the right page about this for a long time.
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Paul Armentano at NORML is really super exhausted from spending the whole week debunking the potent pot propaganda parade, but he summoned the energy to produce a final post on the topic. Paul calls our attention to a disgraceful CNN report falsely crediting increased potency for increased marijuana treatment, as though skyrocketing marijuana arrests and subsequent treatment referrals had nothing to do with that.
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Pete Guither has a thorough account of Senator Jim Webb's hearing this morning on the economic impact of the war on drugs. It was an important event that I was unfortunately unable to attend. I donât think Pete was there either because he lives in Illinois, but he's got the story, so that's awesome and you guys should go read about it. This post about drug free zones is good too.

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