This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske with President Obama
Drug Czars Past and Present Oppose Prop 19 Marijuana Init
Now, here's a shocker -- not. Drug czars oppose pot legalization. Take a look at their arguments, then read the critics.
60,000+ Waiting for Medical Marijuana Licenses
According to Ron Hyman of the Colorado Department of Health, there is a backlog of 60,000 to 70,000 applications for state-issued medical marijuana licenses waiting for approval. The delay is costly -- there is more than $5 million in application fees waiting to be processed.
Google to Run Marijuana Ads That Facebook Wouldn't
Facebook may think it's "inappropriate" to run ads depicting marijuana leaves, but apparently Google doesn't.
A Failed "War on Drugs" Prompts Rethinking on HIV Infections Among Injection Drug Users
Drug policy has focused on a policing approach of prohibition and incarceration, which has contributed to spreading HIV within the injection-drug community. Comprehensive drug reform policies are showing better results. Despite massive investments in drug law enforcement in the past three decades, with much of the international interdiction effort paid for by the U.S. government through assistance to national military and police forces, there is "a general pattern of falling drug prices and increasing drug purity" throughout the world, according to the Vienna Declaration.
Mexican Troops Find Dozens of Drug Prohibition Victims' Bodies
Mexican marines have found 72 corpses at a ranch after a shoot-out with drug traffickers that left one soldier and three gunmen dead near the town of San Fernando in Tamaulipas. It appears to be the largest dumping ground for the victims of drug prohibition violence found in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon began a stunningly unsuccessful offensive against traffickers in late 2006.
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Facebook Censors Marijuana Legalization Ad
Facebook may be the nation's hottest social networking site, but the company is no friend to the nation's hottest political issue. A marijuana legalization ad from the Just Say Now campaign has been banned for its use of a pot leaf image, stirring controversy among Facebook's massive population of marijuana reform activists.
Feb. '09 drug policy forum held by<br>Mexico's Grupo Parlamentario Alternativa
Mexico Talking But Not Moving on Drug Legalization [FEATURE]
Faced with a mounting death toll, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has called for a debate on legalizing drugs, but it doesn't look like it's going anywhere just yet.
Latino Voters League, National Black Police Officers Latest Groups to Endorse California Marijuana Legalization Measure
Representatives from the Latino Voters League (LVL) and the National Black Police Association have given formal endorsements of Proposition 19, The Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Initiative of 2010. If passed, the measure would legalize the private adult possession and cultivation of marijuana, and allow local government the option to regulate the plantâs commercial production and sale.
Gov. Bill Ritter Turns to Medical Marijuana Fund to Help Balance Colorado Budget
The plan Ritter announced to bridge a nearly $60 million shortfall in the current budget year relies on $9 million from the state's Medical Marijuana Program Cash Fund, financed by fees on patients who get cards to use medical marijuana. With the number of applicants for medical marijuana cards expected to double to 150,000 this year, there will still be about $1 million left in the fund even after $9 million is swept from it.