Bogus bananas used to ship cocaine (May 30, 2005)
"Customs agents inspecting a shipment of plantains thought some of the green bananas seemed unusually hard and cut them open, finding more than 750 pounds of cocaine stuffed inside what turned out to be phony fruit."

The Poppies of Afghanistan (May 27, 2005-Free NYTimes registration required)
"It requires breathtaking audacity for United States officials to complain that efforts to curb opium poppy production in Afghanistan have been lagging because President Hamid Karzai "has been unwilling to assert strong leadership." Washington waited almost two and a half years to heed Mr. Karzai's calls for help on this problem."

The Spoils of War: Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Heroin Trade (May 24, 2005)
"Washington's Hidden Agenda: Restore the Drug Trade."

The 9/11 Commission Report: A 571-Page Lie (May 24, 2005)
What? Another government report merely a whitewash of the real facts? A coverup of outrageous proportions? What a surprise. Still, it's extremely worthwhile reading the questions that Dr. David Ray Griffin discusses in this report.

Powder mix-up fools sniffer dogs (May 22, 2005)
"A team of Australian drug sniffer dogs has been sent back for retraining, after it was found they could only track talcum powder, not cocaine. Melbourne police found that the white powder used to hone the dogs' nostrils was not in fact an illegal substance."

Free Speech: NJ Weedman Arrested at Statehouse Over Pot Leaf T-Shirt (May 21, 2005)
"Forchion, who is running for governor as head of the Legalize Marijuana Party of South Jersey, was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan "Legalize Cannabis," and that was apparently too much for State Trooper Robert Rasinsky, who, according to Forchion, "took offense" at the shirt, told him he could not enter the building, then arrested him when he insisted he could."

Binge Drinking Urge Suppressed by Taking the Herb Kudzu (May 20, 2005)
"Researchers have found that the herb, kudzu, reduces one's desire and urge to binge drink. Two groups of young adult drinkers, all volunteers, were observed while they watched TV for an hour-and-a-half. They had an unlimited supply of beer."

Coke-addicted cop should keep job, appeal panel rules (May 17, 2005)
"A Toronto Police officer who says his cocaine addiction resulted from undercover work should be allowed to keep his job, a review board said Monday."

Oxi: A New Drug in the Amazon (May 17, 2005)
"Oxy, or OxyContin, is a medicine produced by the U.S. company Perdue Pharma, with its principal ingredient the synthetic opiate oxycodon. It is used for pain relief and sold in the U.S. with a doctor’s prescription – which hasn’t avoided its use as a recreational drug, causing a major problem with its high potential for addiction. It has nothing to do with the Brazilian oxi, manufactured from cocaine byproducts. Surely, someone in the White House was overjoyed to read that the cause of the Oxy problem in the United States was appearing in Peru; they could blame the South American Indians again. But this time it didn’t turn out that way."

America's drug plan collapses in chaos (May 17, 2005)
But what they meant to report was that while Plan Colombia collapses, the Andian Initiative gets underway, in even more countries of the region.

Drug Czar Blasted Over Pot Story (May 13, 2005)
These two parents, along with the backing of the ONDCP, are blaming their son's pot use for his suicide, not the fact they felt love consisted of putting their son through weekly, humiliating drug testing, and sent him to a shrinkn who tol dthe parents that it as true that pot was contributing to the son's depressive nature- which would cause me more depression, my pot use or my parents being utter assholes? Hmmm. I feel for their loss, but am much more upset by how they are reacting- blame something other than themselves, anything at all to remove any blame from their own actions towards their son and explain their son's suicide without having to acknowlege they may very well have contributed way more than any of his pot use did to his depression.

FBI Nabs Troops, Officers in Drug Sting (May 13, 2005)
"FBI Agents Nab 16 Current, Former U.S. Soldiers, Law Enforcement Personnel in Cocaine Sting."

Lawless Iraq is 'key drug route' (May 13, 2005)
Yet another country where US troops moved in and the drug trade prospereth.

Police find Vikings' Smith with kit to circumvent drug tests (May 11, 2005)
Another NFL star who apparently uses marijuana, yet "rushed for 579 yards as a rookie and led the Vikings last season with 544 yards."

Taiwanese tradition of pot and pregnancy (May 11, 2005)
"A small but significant percentage of pregnant women suffer from a debilitating, sometimes fatal condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). Described as morning sickness times a million, the only pharmaceutical attempt to combat it – Thalidomide – resulted in a rash of babies born with shrunken limbs. Cannabis Culture's Reverend Damuzi interviews HG sufferer Wennifer Curry, the inheritress of an unbroken line of Taiwanese goddess-worshipping midwife-shamans and a former compassion club operator living in the US. Curry discovered pot's effictiveness in treating HG as part of a journey of self-discovery that ultimately involved her cultural heritage and traditions."

Congress Rekindles Battle on Mandatory Sentences (May 11, 2005-Free NYTimes registration required)
"Just months after the Supreme Court struck down federal sentencing formulas, the House is moving to institute new mandatory minimum sentences, beginning with a sweeping bill to fight street gangs."

Colombia: The American Military's Little Traffickings (May 9, 2005)
"Drug traffickers, pornographers, but also hit and run drivers, and now, arms dealers to death squads ... Lately, American soldiers on mission in Colombia have shown up in the most sordid affairs. And, to widespread public indignation, the scenario never varies: protected by diplomatic immunity from any trial, they systematically escape this country's justice system."

US anti-drug effort in Colombia draws mounting criticism (May 9, 2005)
"Resilient rebels. Rebounding drug crops. Rogue US soldiers snared in plots to smuggle cocaine and funnel stolen ammunition to paramilitary death squads."

Hitler's Drugged Soldiers (May 6, 2005)
"The Nazis preached abstinence in the name of promoting national health. But when it came to fighting their Blitzkrieg, they had no qualms about pumping their soldiers full of drugs and alcohol. Speed was the drug of choice, but many others became addicted to morphine and alcohol."

The secret Downing Street memo (May 5, 2005)
The UK and US government lied, and manufactured what scant "intelligence" and "evidence" they could to lead us into a war that is costing both countries billions of dollars and thousands of lives- not to mention all those poor Iraqis dying under bombs and from bullets our taxes bought and paid for, while many of us here in the US have no health care. What bullshit is this? How are "they" getting away with the scam? The above link leads right to the damning evidence, and the second link lead to a report by Ray McGovern about said damning evidence of the UK and US governments' lies.

Marijuana advocates play it straight in D.C. 'Pothead' stigma makes lawmakers wary, lobbyists know (May 5, 2005)
"Hundreds of suit-and-tie-clad marijuana advocates feasted on chicken Kiev and Petite Sirah on Capitol Hill on Wednesday night in what may have been the most button-down gathering of pot enthusiasts in history."

AIDS trials put kids at risk (May 5, 2005)
"Drug tests over past two decades exposed foster children to side effects."

The snitch (May 4, 2005)
"Tales from the underside of the local underworld."

Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War (May 4, 2005)
"The focus of the drug war in the United States has shifted significantly over the past decade from hard drugs to marijuana, which now accounts for nearly half of all drug arrests nationwide, according to an analysis of federal crime statistics released yesterday."

Rush Limbaugh: Talent On Loan from Drugs (May 3, 2005)
If Limbaugh hadn't repeatedly decried behavior in other people and called for the worst pentalties to be leveled against them, I'd be extremely sympathetic to his situation- but because he is such a blatant hypocrite, I cannot feel too sorry for him now. But still, even as hypocritical as he is, no one should be prosecuted merely for using and obtaining the drugs they need to get through their days.

Hansen: Human suffering gets lost in medical marijuana debate (May 3, 2005)
"When it comes to drugs, emotion often trumps reason: We're finally cracking down on meth, and now we want to let up on grass? What kind of message does that send the kids? But Republican or Deadhead, it's a debate worth having."