President Barack Obama insulted -- albeit inadvertently -- the folks at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration by mentioning the FBI instead of their agency in remarks about the war on drugs. Over the years, the DEA has often felt neglected -- or at least has been in the shadow of the FBI. To boot, there have been occasional rumors over the years about the DEA being folded into the FBI, which also investigates drug cases.

Texas Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw issued a travel warning advising Texans that nobody should head to Mexico at this point. McCraw stressed the advisory due to the increased drug prohibition violence and threat from drug trafficking organizations.

A Mexican drug trafficking organization already raking in hefty profits trafficking drugs to the United States under drug prohibition has discovered a new business in the western state of Michoacan -- illegal mining.

Arizonans appear to be ready to approve medical marijuana for the third time. A new statewide poll shows 52 percent of likely voters in support of Proposition 203. Only 33 percent are opposed, with the balance undecided.

Ten years ago, Portugal became the first Western nation to pass full-scale, nationwide drug decriminalization. That law, passed October 1, 2000, abolished criminal sanctions for all narcotics — not just marijuana but also “hard drugs” like heroin and cocaine. By any metric, Portugal’s drug decriminalization scheme has been a resounding success.

A survey shows that some 80 percent of Pennsylvanians are in favor of making marijuana legal for medical purposes. The survey, by two Franklin & Marshall College staff members, also showed that 33 percent of the state’s voters favor the outright legalization of marijuana.

The American Civil Liberties Union is representing a western Pennsylvania woman who says her newborn baby was seized by county welfare workers after she failed a drug test because she ate a poppy seed bagel.