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If we can't keep drugs out of the prisons, how can we keep them out of the country?
If we can't keep drugs out of the prisons, how can we keep them out of the country?

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

A small-town jail guard, a big city cop, and a US Border Patrol agent all go down this week.

Hemp: Good Stuff, Bad Rap

Hemp has omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, contains 33 percent protein, is a good source of vitamin E and is low in saturated fat. It's an environmentally friendly crop that grows fast and requires few pesticides. But it is also a controversial food source because of its relationship with its cousin, marijuana.

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ban Finds Disfavor in Laguna

Medical marijuana dispensaries remain illegal in the city despite a state agency's vote to reject the ban. The Coastal Commission asked Laguna Beach to go back to the drawing board and find a way to regulate marijuana dispensaries instead of opting for a city-wide ban.

Medical Marijuana Ads Help Sagging Media Profits

Medical marijuana advertising is taking off, propping up the fortunes of ailing media companies that have seen income from other business sectors plummet in the recession. Advertisements offering free edibles for new patients and products such as "super silver haze" are helping to keep the San Francisco Bay Guardian, SF Weekly and East Bay Express in business. Similar ads have even started cropping up — tentatively — in more staid publications, such as the San Francisco Chronicle.

British Columbia Man Shot After Being Caught in Mexican Drug Prohibition War Crossfire

A Penticton, B.C., man vacationing in Mexico is recovering in hospital from a gunshot wound after being caught in a bloody crossfire that left one man dead in yet another round of drug prohibition violence in the troubled country. The man, in his 60s, was leaving a Mazatlan pharmacy with his wife on Sunday when gunmen opened fire, spraying their intended target with bullets and striking the man in the leg below the knee, according to family members.
Bolivian coca leaf chewer (image courtesy of the author)
Bolivian coca leaf chewer (image courtesy of the author)

US Says No to Lifting UN Coca Leaf Ban

Bolivia wants to undo a treaty clause that has outlawed the traditional practice of coca chewing for the last 50 years, but the US and others stand ready to block that effort.