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Gunmen kill 17 people at a drug rehab in Mexico (Sept. 3, 2009)
"Authorities had no immediate suspects or information on the victims. Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, is Mexico's most violent city, with at least 1,400 people killed this year alone. Most of the homicides are tied to drug gang violence, which has taken a heavy toll across Mexico. Earlier the same day, gunmen ambushed and killed a senior security official in the home state of President Felipe Calderon."

Burma's Opium Production Back on Rise (Sept. 2, 2009)
"A Feb. 2 report by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime found that the price of opium in Burma, also known as Myanmar, increased by 15% last year. As a result, Burmese land dedicated to poppy cultivation actually expanded in 2008, despite promises by the country's ruling junta to combat its reputation as one of the world's most notorious narco-states."

Is the Taliban Stockpiling Opium? And If So, Why? (Sept. 2, 2009)
"If international drug- and law-enforcement officials are right, the Taliban might be hiding up to $3.2 billion worth of opium inside Afghanistan, potentially causing huge complications for NATO's decision this month to attack Afghanistan's opium laboratories and smuggling networks. If it exists, the drug stockpile would also have a major bearing on Afghan officials' tentative peace talks with the Taliban, which are favored by U.S. Central Command chief General David Petraeus and both U.S. presidential candidates."

Report: Afghanistan's Opium Boom May Be Over (Sept. 2, 2009)
"But there is a twist. Afghan poppy crops are now high-yield, say U.N. officials, thanks to better irrigation methods and especially good rains over the past year. While acreage devoted to the flowers fell, production of opium itself dropped only 10% in Afghanistan last year, to about 6,900 tons. Each hectare of poppies yielded about 123 lb. (56 kg) of opium — 15% more than last year."

Mexico is safer than in the past, minister says (August 25, 2009)
"Mexico decriminalized the use of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin [Friday, August 21, 2009]. The move will help focus on major traffickers, officials said."

AP Source: Michael Jackson's death ruled homicide (August 25, 2009)
"While the finding does not necessarily mean a crime was committed, it means more likely that criminal charges will be filed against Dr. Conrad Murray, the Las Vegas cardiologist who was caring for Jackson when he died June 25 in a rented Los Angeles mansion."

Marines assault Taliban town in Afghanistan (August 12, 2009)
"Marines said they killed between seven and 10 militants in Wednesday's push and seized about 66 pounds (30 kilograms) of opium, which the militants use to finance their insurgency. Troops hope to restore control of the town so that residents can vote in the election."

U.S. Military Base Plan Puts Colombia in Hot Water (August 12, 2009)
"As one of the few surviving pro-U.S. conservative heads of state in a continent that has swung left, Colombia's President, Alvaro Uribe, is used to being at odds with his neighbors. But accustomed though he may be to swimming against Latin America's political tide, Uribe is scrambling to explain his less-than-transparent decision to allow the U.S. military to use air bases on Colombian soil to track drug traffickers and even rebels."s

Phony Stats on Cocaine Prices Hide Truth About War on Drugs (July 22, 2009)
"John Walters had some data he wanted to make public, but he also had a credibility problem. Just two years earlier, in 2005, Walters, the country’s drug czar, had cited a hike in the price of cocaine as a battlefield victory in the war on drugs—only to see the price fall just as he was touting the increase. He was ridiculed in some quarters of the press; others decided to stop listening to him. This time around, in the summer of 2007, Walters went looking for the most receptive audience he could find. So he zipped down New York Avenue to the headquarters of The Washington Times, the conservative daily based in the outskirts of Washington, D.C. Walters, according to a staffer present at the briefing, came with a small staff and a stack of glossy pages making the case that the United States had turned a corner in the war on drugs. Prices for cocaine, he said, were rising fast. And that, he explained, can only mean a decline in supply. The Times wouldn’t bite. The data were suspiciously thin."

Foreign Policy Magazine Exposes Folly of Marijuana Ban (July 22, 2009)
"The reason why the editor of Foreign Policy magazine Moises Naim's recent column is significant is because for far too long the foreign policy community has been a willing conduit for exporting America's wrongheaded and failed cannabis prohibition around the globe. But, the American dominance of the drug policy debate has started to wane over the last 8-10 years in quarters like the United Nations, and columns like Mr. Naim's underscore the myriad reasons why America's elected policymakers need to adopt a reform mindset--notably under an Obama administration--not status quo retrenchment into an unyielding, prohibition-centric cannabis policy."

Drug czar: Feds won't support legalized pot (July 22, 2009)
"The federal government is not going to pull back on its efforts to curtail marijuana farming operations, Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, said Wednesday in Fresno. The nation's drug czar, who viewed a foothill marijuana farm on U.S. Forest Service land with state and local officials earlier Wednesday, said the federal government will not support legalizing marijuana. 'Legalization is not in the president's vocabulary, and it's not in mine,' he said. Kerlikowske said he can understand why legislators are talking about taxing marijuana cultivation to help cash-strapped government agencies in California. But the federal government views marijuana as a harmful and addictive drug, he said. 'Marijuana is dangerous and has no medicinal benefit,' Kerlikowske said in downtown Fresno while discussing Operation SOS -- Save Our Sierra -- a multiagency effort to eradicate marijuana in eastern Fresno County."

Who Are the Drug Lords? (July 21, 2009)
"Who are the drug lords? They are every politician who lives and breathes war, drugs, terror or otherwise. They are the corrupt corporate heads, malicious media barons, venomous judges and cretinous cops, who, knowing full well the truth, choose to follow their nose to riches, to embrace a lie, to feed their evil cornucopia with the lives of their fellow man."

Something Is Happening Down There (July 21, 2009)
"The battle against the drug gangs is a complicated one. A lot of money is involved, and the drug lords are pretty smart. They now keep a lot of their processing (opium into morphine or heroin) labs mobile. The vehicles travel with armed guards, but force is a last resort. The security detachment is also armed with a lot of cash, and the first weapon to be deployed is a bribe. That usually works. But the U.S. intelligence troops are after the drug gangs now, and this makes concealment more difficult. The U.S. military isn't releasing any play-by-play of these operations, lest they provide useful information to the enemy. It won't be until the end of August that an initial assessment is possible, and not until the end of the year until one can check the trends in wholesale and retail prices for heroin. As Afghanistan heroin production grew since the 1990s, the world supply has doubled, and prices have come down by about 50 percent. More people are using, and dying from, heroin. And now we can add many of the victims of the fighting in southern Afghanistan to that toll."

Worldwide production of heroin and cocaine falling, says UN drug chief (July 20, 2009)
"Drug use should be treated more as an illness than a crime, the head of the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime said today as the body's annual report announced a worldwide decline in the production of cocaine and heroin. The report for 2009 called for traffickers to be targeted rather than users and announced that there was a worldwide growth in synthetic drugs.""

Chavez Attacks US Report Naming Venezuela a ‘Narcotics State’ (July 20, 2009)
This is a great way of making one's unliked leftist darker-skinned President of a South American country look bad to the US public while simutaneously helping justify the spending of US tax money to maybe, just maybe, do things like, say, destabilize Venezuala, the country Chavez currnetly heads? Chavez has long been a very irritating thorn in the Us' side. How long he will remain as President, well, let's all wish him the best.

Revolutionary Latin America and Today's Nexus of Terror (July 20, 2009)
"The irony of the narcotics scourge alone is how the massive accrued wealth of the narco-terrorist’s hierarchy is at the expense of the citizenry and the victims, as a nation must struggle with the overwhelming massive resources needed to defend their homeland. It has been reported that Mexican drug syndicates “generate more revenue than at least 40% of Fortune 500 companies.” And let’s face it – Mexico remains under siege.

Marijuana Legalization: CBS News Poll Has Support at 41% Nationwide (July 19, 2009)
"A CBS News poll conducted over the weekend has found that 41% of Americans support marijuana legalization, while 52% oppose, and 7% are undecided. The figure matches that of a January CBS News poll. Support dropped to 31% in an April CBS News poll before rebounding this month."

Most ‘Trusted Man In America’, Also Supported Marijuana Law Reform (July 19, 2009)
"RIP Walter Cronkite! In the summer 1992, I was told by an assistant that I had a phone call, and that 'unless the person on the phone was kidding, that it was someone claiming to be Walter Cronkite.'..."Drug war is a war on families By Walter Cronkite Article Published: Sunday, August 08, 2004"
" In the midst of the soaring rhetoric of the recent Democratic National Convention, more than one speaker quoted Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address, invoking 'the better angels of our nature.' Well, there is an especially appropriate task awaiting those heavenly creatures - a long-overdue reform of our disastrous war on drugs. We should begin by recognizing its costly and inhumane dimensions."

State helps ease drug offenders’ release (July 19, 2009)
"NEW YORK STATE — In the fall, low-level drug offenders will begin trickling out of state prisons and into treatment programs under the landmark state drug law reforms passed earlier this year. Legislation dismantling most of the state’s strict Rockefeller drug laws was signed into law in April by Gov. David Paterson. The bill repealed many of the state’s mandatory minimum prison sentences for lower-level drug offenders."

World drugs in graphics (July 19, 2009)
"A UN agency has published a comprehensive report on the worldwide illicit drugs market, the World Drug Report 2009. The graphs and maps below show the extent of the problem and measures to tackle it."

DEA boosts its war in Afghanistan (July 19, 2009)
"The move is seen as a recognition that the war in Afghanistan cannot be won with military force alone. Until near the end of its eight years in office, the Bush administration failed to link the drug traffickers in Afghanistan with the rising insurgency, basing its anti-drug campaign primarily on an effort to destroy the vast fields of poppy that produce more than 90 percent of the world's heroin....After Sept. 11, the Bush administration's focus on counterterrorism and, later, the war in Iraq, extensively depleted U.S. global counternarcotics efforts, especially in South Asia, they say. The DEA also suffered from hiring freezes, budget cuts and a lack of political support despite its intelligence showing ever-closer links between drug traffickers and terrorist groups."

La Familia cartel kills 12 federal agents in Mexico drug war attack (Jully 19, 2009)
"A powerful Mexican drug cartel has unleashed a killing spree against the authorities in a challenge to the leadership of the President in his home state....The perception that the war against drugs is being lost is pervasive. A poll published in Milenio said that only 28 per cent of Mexicans believed that the Government was winning, and more than half thought that it was losing."

Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories (July 17, 2009)
"It's a corrupt cops twofer for New Jersey, another twofer for Indiana, a two-for-one special on Texas deputies, and a lone prison guard in Florida. Let's get to it...."

Heroin is "Good for Your Health": Occupation Forces support Afghan Narcotics Trade (May 10, 2007)
"The occupation forces in Afghanistan are supporting the drug trade, which brings between 120 and 194 billion dollars of revenues to organized crime, intelligence agencies and Western financial institutions."

U.S., allies seen as losing drug war (May 7, 2007)
"The United States and its Latin American allies are losing a major battle in the war on drugs, according to indicators that show cocaine prices dipped for most of 2006 and U.S. users were getting more bang for their buck."

101-year-old Zambian man nabbed over cannabis cultivation, trafficking (May 3, 2007)
"DEC spokesperson Rosten Chulu confirmed the arrest of Timothy Chilekwa, a peasant farmer of Namembo village in Southern province who was born in 1906. Chulu said the old man was nabbed for alleged unlawful cultivation of cannabis weighing 1.2 tons. He was also found trafficking two sacks of cannabis weighing 6. 95 kg, Chulu said. The spokesperson said the 101-year-old would appear in court soon."

Was Timothy Leary Right? (May 3, 2007)
"Are psychedelics good for you? It's such a hippie relic of a question that it's almost embarrassing to ask. But a quiet psychedelic renaissance is beginning at the highest levels of American science, including the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Harvard, which is conducting what is thought to be its first research into therapeutic uses of psychedelics (in this case, Ecstasy) since the university fired Timothy Leary in 1963. But should we be prying open the doors of perception again? Wasn't the whole thing a disaster the first time? The answer to both questions is yes."

The Farce of the War on Drugs (May 1, 2007)
"My brother Howard Wooldridge served as a decorated police officer and detective in Lansing, Michigan for 18 years. During that time, he collared killers, drunk drivers, child molesters, rapists, wife beaters and drug dealers. What he learned launched him on a crusade to stop the federal government’s useless 35 year 'War on Drugs.'"

Coca Growers Shake the Andes Once Again (April 27, 2007)
"During the last few days, coca growers, especially in Peru and Colombia, have been in the news again, as their actions have given the media something to talk about."

LSD as Therapy? Write about It, Get Barred from US (April 27, 2007)
"BC psychotherapist denied entry after border guard googled his work."

No Jail for Willie Nelson on Drug Charge (April 25, 2007)
While the editor of DrugWar.com applauds this decision by the judge, I can't help but wonder how hard the judge would have thrown the book at me for the exact same offense.

The War on Salvia Divinorum Heats Up (April 14, 2007)
"Middlebury, Vermont, this week declared a public health emergency to prevent a local business from selling it. It's already illegal in five states -- Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Delaware -- and a number of towns and cities across the country, and now politicians in at least seven other states have filed bills to make it illegal there. For the DEA, it is a 'drug of concern.'"

Book Offer: Lies, Damn Lies, and Drug War Statistics (April 14, 2007)
"Normally when we publish a book review in our Drug War Chronicle newsletter, it gets readers but is not among the top stories visited on the site. Recently we saw a big exception to that rule when more than 2,700 of you read our review of the new book Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics: A Critical Analysis of Claims Made by the Office of National Drug Control Policy."

Plant growers served search warrant (April 11, 2007)
"Three WSU students were surprised when a plant they were growing in their closet was mistaken for marijuana."

California in bid to impose 7.25% sales tax on cannabis (April 10, 2007)
"For decades, smoking marijuana has been an illicit affair, a key anti-establishment ritual for America's counter-culture underground. But the legalisation of the drug for medicinal purposes in California has presented its advocates with a dilemma: to remain firmly on the wrong side of the law or accept a demand to pay taxes on its sale."

The Other War: Democratic Candidates are Deafeningly Silent on the Drug War (April 9, 2007)
"There is a major disconnect in the 2008 Democratic race for the White House. While all the top candidates are vying for the black and Latino vote, they are completely ignoring one of the most pressing issues affecting those constituencies: the failed War on Drugs, a war that has morphed into a war on people of color."

Ex-officer likens drug war to Prohibition (April 8, 2007)
"Retired police officer Peter Christ on Tuesday compared the contemporary war on drugs to National Prohibition of the 1920s."

Minnesota drug laws: Are they too harsh? (April 8, 2007)
Momentum gathers for review of sentencing rules

Drug Czar Blasted for Lack of Leadership (April 8, 2007)
"During the course of research for this series, it became apparent that many prominent players in the war on drugs don't have many compliments for the current drug czar, John Walters."

Is the Drug War Nearing an End? (April 8, 2007)
"Little by little by little there is some hope that the "war" on drugs is becoming a political issue - the first step in undoing a set of policies that make little sense no matter how you look at them."

Law Enforcement Group Visits Maine To Advocate For Legalization Of Drugs (April 8, 2007)
"LEAP, or Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, says it has 5,000 members, made up mostly of retired and active law enforcement professionals. The group tours the country speaking to various civic groups about what they call a $60 billion failed war on drugs."

Afghans pin hopes on a new economy (April 8, 2007)
"As a competitive economy awakens in one of the world's poorest countries, the residents of Kabul are jockeying to get ahead in a city flush with cash from US soldiers, foreign aid workers, new investors, parliamentarians, and drug traffickers."

Salvadoran Murders in Guatemala (April 8, 2007)
"If the trip to Guatemala was a fiasco, Colombia was no better, Bush's arrival in Bogotá couldn't have happened at a worse time as every moment ticked off another scandal, some of them leading in the direction ofo President Uribe's office, and nothing that Bush or Uribe president could say concealed the fact that the Colombia phase of the U.S. anti-drug war was more dead than alive, which was even more certain when it came to extraditing Colombian suspected felons to the U.S."

Analysis: U.S. anti-drug war in Afghanistan (April 8, 2007)
"In a bluntly worded letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the lawmakers said inter-agency rivalry and U.S. policy failures in Afghanistan risked allowing it to slide back into chaos."

Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories (April 7, 2007)
"A Georgia fire captain gets caught peddling coke, a pair of New Haven narcs lose their jobs, a former Mississippi police chief cops a plea, and a former Ohio cop goes back to prison. Let's get to it...."

Methamphetamine: Feds Make First Cold Medicine Bust Under Combat Meth Act (April 7, 2007)
"An Ontario, New York, man last Friday won the dubious distinction of being the first person arrested under the 2005 Combat Meth Epidemic Act. According to a DEA press release, William Fousse was arrested for purchasing cold tablets containing more than nine grams of pseudoephedrine within a one month period."

Harm Reduction: New Mexico Governor Signs Overdose Death Reduction Measure (April 7, 2007)
"New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) Wednesday signed innovative legislation that would protect friends or family members who seek medical attention for drug overdose victims. The law is the first of its kind in the country."

Pot-Growing Takes Root in the Suburbs (April 1, 2007)
"In Coldwater Creek, a middle-class housing development outside Atlanta, the neighbors mind their own business and respect each other's privacy - ideal conditions, it turns out, for growing marijuana in the suburbs."

Bob Barr Flip-Flops on Pot (March 28, 2007)
"Bob Barr, who as a Georgia congressman authored a successful amendment that blocked D.C. from implementing a medical marijuana initiative, has switched sides and become a lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project."

What the heck is Sibel Edmonds' Case about? And why should I care? (March 28, 2007)
"Essentially, there is only one investigation – a very big one, an all-inclusive one... But I can tell you there are a lot of people involved, a lot of ranking officials, and a lot of illegal activities that include multi-billion-dollar drug-smuggling operations, black-market nuclear sales to terrorists and unsavory regimes, you name it... You can start from the AIPAC angle. You can start from the Plame case. You can start from my case. They all end up going to the same place, and they revolve around the same nucleus of people."

Mexican Envoy Highly Critical of U.S. Role in Anti-Drug Effort (March 23, 2007)
"The United States has contributed 'zilch' to Mexico's efforts to combat the nations' joint problem with criminal narcotics gangs, Mexico's new ambassador to Washington said yesterday."

Colorado Has Song in Its Heart, and Not Drugs on Its Mind (March 14, 2007- Free NYTimes registration required)
"The Colorado General Assembly wants to be quite clear on this point: When the singer-songwriter John Denver praised the joys of Colorado and sang about 'friends around the campfire, and everybody’s high,' in 1972, he was not referring to illicit drugs. Definitely not. Don’t even think it. The high in question, lawmakers say, is really about nature and the great outdoors — the tingly feeling you get after a nice hike, perhaps."

U.S. faults friends, foes in drug war (March 5, 2007)
"The United States said top anti-terror allies Afghanistan, Pakistan and Colombia had fallen short in the war on drugs despite enhanced counter-narcotics efforts and it criticized perennial foes Iran, North Korea and Venezuela for not cooperating."

Cuba’s War on Drugs (March 5, 2007)
"A review of the main results of the Cuban efforts against illegal drug trafficking as well as prevention during 2006, shows a marked reduction in the presence of drugs on the island, with 1.7 tons of narcotics seized, the lowest figure of the past 11 years and almost four times less than the amount detected in 2003."

Drug War Corrupting Cops In Hawaii and Elsewhere (March 5, 2007)
"Claiming to be the 'world’s leading drug policy newsletter,' the Drug War Chronicle publishes a regular online feature called, 'This Week’s Corrupt Cops Stories.' The typical Hawaii newspaper reader probably comes across these cops-gone-bad stories pretty rarely. But, when hundreds of reports compiled over the past year from around the nation are read at one sitting, they add up to a hidden cost of America’s ill-fated drug war -- widespread corruption inside local police departments, prisons and jails."

Drug war rips apart Mexico (March 5, 2007)
"More than 250 people were executed last year in Acapulco as the sweltering Pacific resort became the latest battleground between rival cartels battling for supremacy of the multibillion-dollar drug trade."

In Guatemala, officers' killings echo dirty war (March 5, 2007)
"The two sets of brazen killings set off a vicious diplomatic conflict between Guatemala and El Salvador — heightened by news reports suggesting that the congressmen were indeed drug dealers — and ignited a political scandal here. It shed light on how corrupt the National Police has become, and raised questions about links between drug dealers and high-level police officials, as well as whether the government can contain drug trafficking without international help."

Collision Course: Bolivia's "Coca, Si; Cocaine, No" Policy Runs Afoul of the International Drug Control Board and, Probably, the United States (March 1, 2007)
"A confrontation is brewing over Bolivian President Evo Morales' effort to rationalize coca production in his country and expand markets for coca-based products....Now, the Morales government is also pushing for expanded legal markets for coca products and, in a joint venture with the Venezuelan government, is preparing to begin coca product exports to that country."

Ga. Reconsiders No - Knock Warrant Rules (March 1, 2007)
"A group of lawmakers wants to make it harder for police to use ''no-knock'' warrants in the wake of a shootout that left an elderly woman dead after plainclothes officers stormed her home unannounced in a search for drugs."

Here we go again (Feb. 22, 2007)
"We're happy we could help with that, Mr. Vice President, but Colombian cocaine is still readily available in U.S. cities, so we have a difficult time thinking we got a good deal for our $4 billion. In fact, we don't believe Americans are getting their money's worth for any of the cash the government has thrown into the bottomless pit of the drug war. Court dockets are packed and prisons are overcrowded, yet illicit drugs are still readily available to anyone who wants them."

Latin America: Mexico Moves to Decriminalize Drug Possession -- So It Can Concentrate on Drug Traffickers (Feb. 22, 2007)
"Legislators from Mexican President Felipe's Calderon's National Action Party (PAN -- Partido de Accion Nacional) have introduced a bill in the Mexican Senate that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs for 'addicts.'"

DPS officials were told of lax lab security (Feb. 22, 2007)
"Texas Department of Public Safety officials were aware of security breaches in the handling of their drug evidence as recently as 2006 and as far back as at least 2003 — problems such as failure to log evidence out of storage, containers of marijuana left open and the lack of a monitoring system for a high-security drug vault — according to the agency's internal audits."

'Safest city' now has drug war (Feb. 22, 2007)
"From the shopping malls and the fashionable clothes of its residents, this could be any affluent U.S. suburb. Residents pride themselves on their prosperity. But in recent weeks, drug-related violence has shattered the tranquillity."

Mexican president gives soldiers pay hike as drug war intensifies (Feb. 22, 2007)
"Soldiers waging a nationwide offensive against drug traffickers will get a pay hike of nearly 50 percent this year in a bid to insulate them from corruption, Mexican President Felipe Calderon announced Monday."

New Federal Study Shows Methamphetamine Use Decreased Between 2002 and 2005 (Jan. 31, 2007)
"A new analysis of data from The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) shows that past-year use of methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant, declined between 2002 and 2005 among persons age 12 or older....The study also shows that the number of persons who used methamphetamine for the first time in the 12 months before the survey remained stable between 2002 and 2004 but decreased between 2004 and 2005."

Tell Governor Spitzer to Support Rockefeller Drug Law Reform (Jan. 31, 2007)
"The Rockefeller Drug Laws require extremely harsh prison terms for the possession or sale of relatively small amounts of drugs. Most of the people incarcerated under these laws are convicted of low-level, nonviolent offenses, and many of them have no prior criminal records. Today 14,139 people are locked up for drug offenses in NY State prisons, comprising nearly 38% of the prison population. This costs New Yorkers over half a billion dollars a year. Send a message to Governor Spitzer now, urging him to support real reform."

Mexico eyes Colombian experience in drug battle (Jan. 27, 2007)
"Mexico's top prosecutor on Thursday looked to Colombia's experience in counter-narcotics and conflict for lessons to help his government battle drug cartels whose violence has engulfed parts of the country."

Rio gang kills seven as drug war spreads (Jan. 27, 2007)
"The mutilated bodies of seven youths, some with their heads and legs chopped off, have been found in an abandoned car in a notorious Rio de Janeiro slum. They appeared to be the latest victims of a long-running drug war that has made Rio, which depends heavily on tourism, one of the most violent cities in the world."

Drug Policy Reform Group to Partner with State of New Mexico in Federally-Funded Meth Prevention Education Program (Jan. 27, 2007)
"In a first for drug reform organizations, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) New Mexico office has been designated to create a statewide methamphetamine education and prevention program directed at high school students, thanks to a $500,000 grant obtained by US Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) as part of a Justice Department appropriations bill. The grant is the result of years of close collaboration between DPA and New Mexico state and local officials dating back to the administration of former Gov. Gary Johnson (R), a prominent voice for drug law reform."

Spot in brain may control smoking urge (Jan. 27, 2007)
"Damage to a silver dollar-sized spot deep in the brain seems to wipe out the urge to smoke, a surprising discovery that may shed important new light on addiction. The research was inspired by a stroke survivor who claimed he simply forgot his two-pack-a-day addiction - no cravings, no nicotine patches, not even a conscious desire to quit."

Case highlights medical-pot dilemma (Jan. 23, 2007)
"'If they didn't arrest me with 1,500, it's not likely they're going to come back and arrest me for 50,' said Sarich, whose advocacy group, CannaCare, says it has provided marijuana plants for 1,200 patients all over the state. Some of his new plants, delivered by patients in Longview, Federal Way and Vancouver, Wash., are descendants of the plants he lost."

Alleged cartel members extradited to Texas (Jan. 23, 2007)
"A suspected Mexican drug lord whose cartel allegedly smuggled more than 4 tons of cocaine a month over the U.S. border will stand trial in Texas. Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, the alleged kingpin of the Gulf Cartel, and three other alleged drug lords appeared in a Houston court Monday. Mexican authorities delivered Cardenas-Guillen and 14 other alleged Mexican drug dealers and criminals to Houston late Friday and early Saturday, the Drug Enforcement Administration said."

Burdened U.S. military cuts role in drug war (Jan. 22, 2007)
"Stretched thin from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military has sharply reduced its role in the war on drugs, leaving significant gaps in the nation's narcotics interdiction efforts."

S.F. area is No. 1 for regular drug use, study says (Jan. 21, 2007)
"The San Francisco metropolitan area has a higher percentage of people who are regular drug users than any other major metropolitan area in the USA, a study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found."

Executive Order 13420 -- Dismantling the DEA (Jan. 21, 2007)
"This is the order I will sign after delivering my inaugural address," says Steve Kubby, who is again running for office this time seeking the nomination from the Libertarian Party as their Presidential candidate.

Cocaine found on 99.9% of UK banknotes (Jan. 21, 2007)
"Pretty well every banknote in the UK shows traces of cocaine, forensic scientists have claimed. According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, 99.9 per cent of the two billion notes currently in circulation have come into contact with Bolivian marching powder."

A Legacy of Torture: From Cointelpro to the Patriot Act (Jan. 21, 2007)
"In today's world, the US government's use of torture and complicity in its clients' use of it is part of the headlines on a regular basis. Yet very few US citizens believe that methods like waterboarding, beating, and electrical shocks could be -- and have been -- used on US citizens." But the fact that torture is used profusely in US jails and prisons is unsurprising to those who've been inside the US "justice" system.

Reefer Madness (Jan. 21, 2007)
"I was never an activist until I got busted [noted Tommy Chong]. But it ’s not so much my efforts as the substance itself. Pot lives and dies on its own reputation....Years ago, people would do booze jokes. Then they start dying of cirrhosis of the liver and all these alcohol-related car accidents. Alcohol started out as a fun thing and ended up as this evil thing that kills people. Pot is the opposite...."

In the Costly War on Drugs, Who's To Say What Is Right? (Jan. 21, 2007)
"It seems like you lack a certain enthusiasm for the war on drugs, I said. I do lack enthusiasm for the war on drugs, he said. I asked about legalization. He shrugged. 'Monday, Wednesday and Friday I think they should be legalized. Tuesdays and Thursdays I think they should be illegal. I don't like drugs. I strongly disapprove of them. The costs are great. But it's expensive to incarcerate somebody. The costs are enormous either way. I don't know what's right.'"

Democracy and Plan Colombia (Jan. 21, 2007)
Just what effects are the massive spraying in anti-cocaine and poppy efforts that are one of the main tenents of Plan Colombia, not to mention all the arms and training given to the Colombian military and governments to combat Colombian peasents...errr, I mean, dastardly narco-terrorists? No major advancement of democracy it appears.

Drug mafia, CIA blamed for sacking of Afghan governor (Jan. 21, 2007)
"As The Washington Post has plainly summarized, 'corruption and alliances formed by Washington and the Afghan government with anti-Taliban tribal chieftains, some of whom are believed to be deeply involved in the trade, [have] undercut the [counter-narcotics] effort.'"

PAST NEWS ARCHIVE

 

US buys up Iraqi oil to stave off crisis (Jan. 31, 2003)
"The trade, though bizarre given current Pentagon plans to launch around 300 cruise missiles a day on Iraq, is legal under the terms of UN's oil for food programme." What in the heck is this? Is everyone on drugs? The US is beating the drums of war against Iraq, yet buying their oil at the same time? Will things never change?

The Gateway Theory: New Study, Fresh Debate (Jan. 31, 2003)
"Certainly supporters of marijuana prohibition will cite this new study by Michael Lynskey and colleagues. How accurately they will cite the study's findings and discussion of the results is another matter."

Court Order for Marijuana Now Online (Jan. 31, 2003)
"Crown Counsel Don Fairweather and Steve Kubby both signed off on an order today that requires the RCMP to return Mr. Kubby's marijuana and grow equipment."

Prohibition = Terrorism (Jan. 31, 2003)
"Drugs and violence. They go together like a horse and carriage, right? But ONDCP doesn't want you to ask the next question: why? Let's consider a bit of history. Murder rates appear to rise and fall in the United States in very telling lockstep with drug and alcohol prohibitions over the course of the 20th century."

I Love Getting Really Smashed . . . and Twins! (Jan. 31, 2003)
"The rest of the Super Bowl brought numerous beer ads featuring young dudes partying with hot babes. The babes gyrated and sucked their lower lips. The guys grinned and slapped each other on the back. There were sexy twins in bikinis. There was revelry. And the message was: Buy our beer. You'll have fun with our beer. You'll get really hammered and meet twins who will leer at you seductively."

Student Wins Battle To Allow Pot Project in Fair (Jan. 31, 2003)
"School officials have decided to allow a Belmont eighth-grader to enter a project on medical marijuana in her school's science fair, nearly two weeks after it was banned."

Smash the State of the Union (Jan. 31, 2003)
"It may be necessary for the UN to step in and facilitate a regime change and install a coalition of Preschool teachers as an interim government until stability is restored. In time it is hoped that the populace will develop skills necessary for maintaining an responsible democracy."

Free Ed Rosenthal Protests Planned (Jan. 30, 2003)
Protests are planned at US Embassies in many countries' capitals. Join them.

Judge takes swing at war on drugs (Jan. 30, 2003)
"America's war on drugs is costly, ignorant and doesn't work, a federal judge said Tuesday. Denver U.S. District Judge John Kane Jr., who has been speaking and writing against the nation's drug policy for about five years, won a standing ovation from a packed City Club luncheon at the Brown Palace Hotel."

Group to weed out the campus drug concern (Jan. 30, 2003)
"Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a new group at USC, is trying to gain support for the legalization of marijuana by working to get the information out to people on campus."

DA unveils expansive medical pot policy (Jan. 30, 2003)
"Humboldt County medical marijuana patients would be allowed to grow substantially more pot under District Attorney Paul Gallegos' new proposed marijuana prosecution guidelines."

U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup Trade in Chemical Arms Allowed Despite Their Use on Iranians, Kurds (Jan. 30, 2003)
"Declassified documents show that Rumsfeld traveled to Baghdad at a time when Iraq was using chemical weapons on an 'almost daily' basis in defiance of international conventions."

Medical marijuana bill breathes new life in Annapolis (Jan. 30, 2003)
"Controversial legislation that would allow marijuana use for the critically ill may have more than a fighting chance of passage in the General Assembly this session now that the initiative appears to have increased backing among key leaders in Annapolis."

Conference hears of disturbing use of marijuana, ecstasy (Jan. 30, 2003)
"An international medical conference in Adelaide has been told of a growing and dangerous trend among young people of taking cannabis to offset the depressive after-effects of ecstacy."

DEA Moves to Schedule Two More "Hallucinogens" (Jan. 30, 2003)
"Yesterday the Drug Enforcement Administration moved to place two more 'hallucinogens' into Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act. The two substances are Alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT) and 5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT)."

Iran-Contra Success Stories (Jan. 30, 2003)
Breaking US laws by illegally and secretly selling missiles to countries that support terrorism is an extremely profitable business for some people, like these current and past members of the US government, "success" stories all. Many of these traitors are serving in the current Bush administration.

Cross Purposes (Jan. 30, 2003)
"Federally Funded Missionaries Threaten a Southeast Asian Culture." Matt McDaniel gets a write-up in the Village Voice.

'What would Jesus do?' An unanswerable question (Jan. 29, 2003)
"The latest mischief is the contention that Jesus was a drug user. 'Was there a whiff of cannabis about Jesus?' asks the normally sedate Sunday Times of London in a four-column headline, along with 'Was Jesus a user?' Carl Ruck, professor of classics at Boston University, speculates that he was, going so far as to suggest that 'his very name - Christ - derives from being anointed with cannabis-enriched oil.'"

Belmont teen fights ban of her pot project (Jan. 29, 2003)
"A Belmont teenager refused to back down Tuesday on her fight to get her project on medicinal marijuana entered in the school science fair this week."

Policeman on 21 drug charges (Jan. 29, 2003)
"A Senior Victoria Police drug squad officer will stand trial on drug trafficking charges. Suspended Det-Sgt Malcolm Rosenes, 48, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court yesterday on 24 charges, including 21-drug related offences."

Green Leaf disappointed, but waiting for morning (Jan. 29, 2003)
"There was great disappointment Tuesday night at campaign headquarters of the Green Leaf (Alei Yarok) party, which advocates the legalization of cannabis."

Joint Venture (Jan. 29, 2003)
"On July 1st, when cannabis laws are relaxed, Kevin Williamson of Rebel Inc will open a cannabis coffee shop in Edinburgh. He talks to Amy Liptrot about his vision."

Class War on the Streets of Oakland After the Superbowl (Jan. 29, 2003)
This is certainly a different perspective of what happened in Oakland after the Superbowl game than what the corporate press is reporting.

Drug czar won't respond to Nevada campaign law complaint (Jan. 29, 2003)
US Drug Czar John Walters apparently thinks he is above the law. This is the sort of people driving prohibition ever onwards, claiming some sort of moral high-ground over drugs. To editorialize, this guy is not only evil, he is extremely dangerous.

It's not just religion that hampers scientific progress... (Jan. 29, 2003)
"In a knee-jerk reaction against anything drug-related, 13-year-old student Veronica Mouser had her science fair project banned from the science fair because she concluded that marijuana has legitimate medical uses." School bans pupil's medical marijuana project is another view of this story: "'I think they just didn't like what I had to say, or talking about it, so they block it out, and that's not science,' Veronica said."

Drug Czar Defies Nevada Election Officials Refuses to Disclose Money Spent Against Marijuana Initiative (Jan. 29, 2003)
The Marijuana Policy Project is insisting that Drug Czar John Walters be held to the very same laws that govern both federal officials, and the rest of us too.

Home-grown marijuana operations taking off in suburbs (Jan. 29, 2003)
"A complaint long made by police is now on the lips of public-utility managers, real-estate agents and landlords: Canada's bungalows and subdivisions are increasingly serving as smokescreens for illegal marijuana factories."

 

Marijuana initiative backers sue to get on state ballot (Jan. 29, 2003)
"Backers of a drive to legalize marijuana sued the state Tuesday, claiming the Division of Elections unconstitutionally denied residents the right to get their initiative on the ballot."

Nobel laureates denounce a US attack on Iraq (Jan. 29, 2003)
"Forty-two US Nobel Prize winners have signed a declaration denouncing any unilateral, pre-emptive strike by the US against Iraq."

Dekker's helicopter crashed on way to showdown over Huffman Aviation (Jan. 29, 2003)
Weird goings-on and happenings with the Florida trainers of some of the September 11 terrorist hijackers.

Neb. Bill Would Raise Penalties for Marijuana (Jan. 29, 2003)
"A bill introduced in the Nebraska legislature would make the fine for marijuana possession the same as for alcohol, the Lincoln Journal Star reported Jan. 23."

Granny is a Junky (Jan. 28, 2003)
"When court personnel interviewed her about drug use yesterday, Shusterman - who sported a helmet of gray hair - told them she didn't use coke or smack, and they deemed her ineligible for a program, Muré said." She is addicted to Dilaudid though, also known as hydromorphone, a strong opiate painkiller.

Defense attorney facing drug charges (Jan. 28, 2003)
"The defense attorney police suspect of bringing cocaine to court now faces more legal trouble after police say they found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his car."

Police Announce Operation X-Out To Fight Ecstasy Use (Jan. 28, 2003)
"Several law enforcement agencies are stepping up the fight against ecstasy. A panel including agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency, local activists, and Kansas City, Mo., police announced Operation X-Out Monday."

Debate On Recreational Drug Web Sites (Jan. 28, 2003)
"Erowid.org is just one of a growing group of Web sites devoted to recreational drugs. There are links to everything, from how to make GHB to how to test ecstasy for purity."

Witness steps down after six days on stand (Jan. 28, 2003)
"After six days of testifying, an investigator in the probe of LSD trafficking linked to a converted missile silo at Wamego finally stepped out of the witness box Monday."

Pot Measure on Ballot in Columbia, Mo. (Jan. 28, 2003)
"Voters in this college town will go to the polls in April to decide a ballot measure that would legalize medical marijuana and greatly reduce penalties for possession of small quantities of the drug."

Leave them laughing (Jan. 28, 2003)
"If comedy was the new rock 'n' roll, Bill Hicks was your archetypal live-hard, die young, enemy of the state. As two new albums of his work are released, William Cook looks back at his all too brief career."

Donald Rumsfeld Disparages Just About Everyone, Including the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Jan. 27, 2003)
Not that the editor of DrugWar.com finds anything inherently wrong with opium production per se, still BuzzFlash has a point when it suggests there might not be reason to trust the Bush administration on a varity of issues: "Shouldn't such trust be based on an administration that is reducing opium production in Afghanistan rather than allowing it to thrive in order not to upset the war lords that continue to rule the nation?"

Appeal to reform the UN Conventions on Drugs (Jan. 27, 2003)
Let the UN know how you feel about prohibtion by signing your name to this petition calling for serious reform.

Australia- Most drug arrests in NT cannabis related: ABS (Jan. 27, 2003)
"A Northern Territory drug researcher says she is surprised the proportion of drug arrests for amphetamines is not higher. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed 78 per cent of drug arrests in the Northern Territory in the year to June 2001 were cannabis related."

Medical Marijuana Motive For Beating, Say Police (Jan. 27, 2003)
Even the medical-marijuana using victim is saying he doesn't think the suspect now in police custody committed the beating.

Police mistake Nativity hay for marijuana (Jan. 27, 2003)
"Marijuana seized by police in Chicago last month turned out to be hay from a church Nativity scene."

Utahn's Roots Help in Job With Drug Czar (Jan. 27, 2003)
"There were some longtime associates of Burns who wondered whether he himself had holes in his head when he left his comfortable life and practice in southwestern Utah last May for a new job with White House drug czar John Walters in the nation's capital."

Homicide reveals risks in marijuana trade (Jan. 27, 2003)
Although the killing may be rare, [the first pot-trade related killing in the area in 9 years] they say it illustrates the violence that shadows drugs and money in crimes police don't often hear about.

Gates to invest in world health Research for poor to get $200 million (Jan. 27, 2003)
Gates does something constructively positive with some of his riches.

Destroying the Village to Save Weapons Manufacturers (Jan. 27, 2003)
The US uses weapons of mass destruction to destroy weapons of mass destruction.

Iowa Lawyer Bagged by Feds With Pot at Cedar Rapids Airport; Walks, Pays Fine, No Jail (Jan. 27, 2003)
"A Cedar Rapids lawyer whose airline luggage contained nearly a half-ounce of marijuana has been fined $2,500 but will not serve jail time."

More than once were warriors out of their tiny minds (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Yep, the same stuff [speed] that fuelled British music culture from the Mods to the Northern Soul Rebels, and prompted hysterical tales of lawless drug-crazed youth gangs, has been keeping the US war machine aloft for half a century. All of which puts a peculiarly ironic gloss on the rhetoric about the War on Drugs. Every US military engagement since Pearl Harbour, it seems, has been a war on drugs."

Colombia defends austerity package amid protests (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Austerity measures designed to clamp down on Colombia's budget deficit are essential as the government pursues its war on drugs and tries to rebuild international confidence, President Alvaro Uribe said on Friday." In other words it's more important to wage a War on Some Drugs and Users than it is to use taxmoney to take care of the tax-paying citizenry.

Addicted and Corrupted (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Drug trade infects eastern Kentucky from living room to courtroom."

SUV's and drugs not tied to terrorism (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Although many find campaign ads offensive, at least they are paid for by private money. These drug spots are slickly produced, issue-focused partisan propaganda paid for by the federal government. They represent an abomination of democracy, the use of public funds in an attempt to sway public opinion and distorted politics."

Military mind-set (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Armstrong says following orders, marching, and saluting teachers are means to increase graduation by decreasing interest in drugs and alcohol and other negative distractions."

NZ eccentric goes from riches to rags and ecstasy (Jan. 26, 2003)
"At 47, Lyon faces a raft of other charges relating to drugs, weapons, driving, assault and even the theft of a magazine from a convenience store."

White House Launches Super Bowl Anti-Drug Ads (Jan. 26, 2003)
"But the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said Walter's office is just blowing smoke. It labeled the ads as 'another super bust' and "a colossal waste of taxpayer's dollars" and said it is a high irony that ONDCP would launch its ad campaign during 'one of the biggest drinking festivals' in the nation."

U.S. judge questions marijuana indictment (Jan. 26, 2003)
"The face-off in the Whiteaker case is the latest development in a years-long legal feud over Placer County Sheriff's Deputy Tracy Grant's aggressive efforts to eradicate indoor marijuana cultivation. His tactics have led to civil rights suits against Placer County on behalf of a number of targeted individuals." A judge has ruled this indictment arose out of vindictiveness on the part of prohibitionist law enforcers.

Marijuana Returned to Calif. Asthmatic (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Clutching a big brown bag of marijuana, an asthma sufferer who said he uses the drug as medicine walked out of a sheriff's station after being allowed to reclaim 15 plants seized from his backyard last year."

Is It Time to Move to Canada?- The Degeneration of the Liberals (Jan. 26, 2003)
"The government has been conducting an unprecedented campaign of psychological warfare against Americans. One understandable response to this barrage of terror is to become numb, hide within our shells. But this is a luxury that will not be afforded to us for long. Make the decision for yourself, pre-empt their plans for you, before it happens to you and it's too late."

The Guilt-Free Soldier (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Pills like those won't be available to the troops heading off for possible war with Iraq, but the prospect of a soul absolved by meds remains very real."

Store clerk suspected in selling large amounts of meth-making m(sic) (Jan. 26, 2003)
"The ongoing war against drugs took an unusual turn Tuesday with the arrest of a convenience store clerk accused of selling large amounts of over-the-counter asthma and cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine."

Washington escalates military buildup in Latin America (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Citing terrorism, drug and arms trafficking, organized crime and other 'new transnational threats,' Rumsfeld told the Latin American defence ministers that it was necessary to 'strengthen the operational and planning capabilities of partner nations, upgrade national command-and-control systems, and improve regional information-sharing.'"

Chopper Collision Kills 4 SD-Based Marines (Jan. 26, 2003)
"The fiery collision has prompted suspension of the Marines' participation in an anti-drug patrol at the Texas-Mexico border."

Reporters Fear Losing Immunity in Colombia War (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Colombia is one of the most dangerous places on the globe for reporters, with at least eight murdered last year."

The double standard on perjury (Jan. 26, 2003)
"On Sept. 23, 1999, [Officer] Bini lied under oath when he obtained a search warrant. His lie sent a police SWAT team to storm the wrong house in a no- knock drug raid. No drugs were found, but a resident of the house, Ismael Mena, was killed by police bullets. This does illustrate that the 'War on Drugs' is truly a war, since it produces collateral damage, like the death of an innocent man."

Rogue cop gets life (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Drug ring leader called betrayer of society, honest police."

War on Drugs- Use of oral fluid drug tests on the rise (Jan. 26, 2003)
"In 2001, the Richmond-based drug-testing firm helped 80 small businesses around the state establish drug-free workplaces, free of charge, with a federal grant from Small Business Administration."

How Can We Get Parents to Behave More Responsibly for Kids' Sake? (Jan. 26, 2003)
"The model for all this is in our history books with the dismal failure of Prohibition. I am not suggesting that drugs such as meth be available in corner convenience stores, but the amount of money the government has been throwing at the 'war on drugs' is obscene."

Drug trial begins for the Ann Landers of pot (Jan. 26, 2003)
"The author of a dozen cannabis self-help books and a magazine advice column, 'Ask Ed,' Rosenthal is the pothead's answer to Ann Landers, Judge Judy, Martha Stewart and the Burpee Garden Wizard all in one." Now the feds are trying to put him in prison, maybe for the rest of his life, for growing plants.

Iraqis trace surge in cancer to US bombings (Jan. 26, 2003)
"While Western researchers have not proven any link, Iraqi doctors attribute the rise in cancer to the depleted uranium in American bombs dropped during the 1991 conflict."

Oakland's Police 'Riders' on Trial (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Officers Lauded for Drug Busts Are Accused of Brutality by Ex-Colleague."

Baltimore City's New Top Cop To Fight Drug War (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Mayor O'Malley believes Commissioner-nominee Kevin Clark is the man to drive the drugs off of Baltimore city streets. Chosen for his strong track record as narcotics police officer in New York, O'malley takes his Clark to the city council on Monday."

Drug 'war' needs new plan (Jan. 26, 2003)
"Common sense tells us that our war on drugs policies should substantially reduce our youths' use of drugs like marijuana. But it doesn't. Actually our drug war and drug prohibition policies have increased our youths' desire for recreational drugs, not diminished them."

Marijuana activist to re-enter early release program (Jan. 26, 2003)
"A federal court judge yesterday ordered the 'New Jersey Weedman' be freed from jail and returned to the early release program from which he was booted last year for advocating changes in the state's marijuana laws."

Ed Rosenthal Interview Now Online (Jan. 26, 2003)
Cultural Baggage host Dean Becker and Buford Terrell, Professor of law at South Texas College of Law interviewed noted author and activist Ed Rosenthal about his ongoing federal trial for growing medical marijuana. The low bandwidth RealAudio file of the KPFT radio show is now on line."

US regulators warn on Glaxo asthma drug (Jan. 25, 2003)
"US drugs industry regulators yesterday said they would slap warning labels on one of GlaxoSmithKline's most established asthma treatments after about 45 African-American patients suffered severe attacks, some causing death, during a 28-week routine test."

Electronic attack causes global internet slowdown (Jan. 25, 2003)
"Traffic on the many parts of the Internet slowed dramatically early today, the apparent effects of a fast-spreading, virus-like infection interfering with Web browsing and delivery of email."

President presides as Ridge sworn in (Jan. 25, 2003)
"Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania, was sworn in at the White House yesterday as the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security as part of the largest government reorganization in more than a half-century." The times, they are a changing.

Fossil Offers Clues to Origin of Flight, Chinese Scientists Say (Jan. 25, 2003)
A really early way to get high, though not having anything at all to do with drugs or the war.

Cannabis and Canada: Year 2002 in Review- Focus on the Media (Jan. 25, 2003)
"While some articles recognized the most harm done to society is the direct result of prohibition and not so much the substances in question, and that children and adults are more at risk when substances are prohibited; there is very little acknowledgement that prohibition is directly responsible for deaths, police corruption, flourishing grow houses, the emerging police state in our schools, the continuing war on the sick, and the mixed messages that abound."

Standing on the Dead (Jan. 25, 2003)
Official US Government documented Bush family connections to the Nazi war machine of WWII are discussed here.

Senate limits Pentagon 'snooping' plan (Jan. 25, 2003)
"The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted unanimously to slap restrictions on a controversial Pentagon data-mining program that critics say would amount to a domestic spying apparatus."

Designer glasses cost city $38,500 (Jan. 25, 2003)
"The Detroit City Council unanimously approved a $38,500 lawsuit settlement Wednesday in which a couple sued a police officer whom they accused of stealing a pair of Cartier glasses from the woman's glove compartment during a drug raid in May 2000." This cop started wearing the stolen glasses to the trial of the guy whose car he stole them from.

11th Circuit Court reverses lower court on "Probable Cause" for seizure (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Carrying a large amount of cash can indicate criminal activity. But it is not illegal to transport money this way. A large amount of cash does not -- alone -- satisfy the Government's burden to show probable cause."

Rise in juvenile drug use seen over past 10 years (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Joanna Burton of the New Castle County Police Department wants to know why children in fourth and fifth grade think drugs are cool. 'Fourth and fifth graders are packaging baking soda, taking it out to recess and playing drug dealer,' Burton says with disgust. 'Who are their role models? Who are they looking up to?'" Perhaps we should ask the ONDCP and the makers of the National Anti-Drug Media Campaign, since they've spent billions targeting US youth yet use continues to rise.

Report from the Evaluation of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (Jan. 24, 2003)
It's a failure in terms of youthful pot use apparently, according to the Executive Summary. "There is little evidence of direct favorable Campaign effects on youth," and the evaluators have even found "some evidence for an increase in use from 2000 to 2001. Nor are there improvements in beliefs and attitudes about marijuana use between 2000 and the first half of 2002. Contrarily, there are some unfavorable trends in youth anti-marijuana beliefs."

We're with you, John (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Gov. Bill Richardson took the opportunity Wednesday to distance himself from his predecessor's controversial efforts to soften illegal drug laws. 'The main message here to the director is that this governor is against legalizing drugs and marijuana,' Richardson said after a 45-minute meeting with John Walters, head of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy."

National Drug Czar Pays Visit To Governor's Office (Jan. 24, 2003)
"The last time a top-level federal drug official came to New Mexico, it was to debate then-Gov. Gary Johnson about legalizing marijuana. But when John Walters, the director of National Drug Control Policy came to the governor's office Wednesday, it was 'a symbolic meeting to show we support the director's mission,' the new governor, Bill Richardson, said Wednesday."

Be wary of INS laws, former detainee says (Jan. 24, 2003)
"The basis for Calero's deportation, he said, was from a conviction in 1988 for selling marijuana to an undercover police officer, although it was a 14-year-old case and he has been a U.S. resident for 17 years."

Drug bust earns county $816,000 (Jan. 24, 2003)
As long as police departments and federal prohibitionist can claim these kinds of funds, the war will continue. Force them to give this money to schools for real education, or to pay for the health costs accrued by some illegal drug abuse, and the war will be over.

Sufferers plead for medical pot (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Since 1997, there has been legislation in the Democrat-controlled Assembly that would legalize the possession, sale, delivery and distribution of marijuana for medical use to certified patients. And technically, the state already has a medical marijuana law on the books. Since 1980, in fact, New York has doled out some 6,000 government-supplied joints to patients."

Doctors want better marijuana for study (Jan. 24, 2003)
"The study leaders also want to allow more sick people to participate, but are stymied by stringent eligibility requirements."

Former Football Star Advocates Legalization (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Stepnoski said he smoked marijuana throughout his 13-year career in the NFL, even though marijuana is on the NFL's banned-substances list."

Pot Rx doc loses DEA recognition (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Marion Fry, MD, can no longer help patients obtain medical marijuana and might be out of business completely after the Drug Enforcement Administration recently revoked her privileges."

Canada- Reminder from chief: Pot laws haven't changed (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Owen Sound police chief Tom Kaye has a warning for pot smokers – the law hasn’t changed."

Proposal to ease marijuana penalties to be on Columbia ballot (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Ready for a shocker from College Town, U.S.A.? A University of Missouri-Columbia student group wants the city to relax penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana."

Coaltition for Medical Marijuana- Stop The Federal Assault On Patients, Clinics & Providers! (Jan. 24, 2003)
Check out the new anti-Anti-Marijuana campaign. "As federal prosecutions against medical marijuana patients and providers escalate, a coalition of patients, care givers, doctors and public officials have united behind the 8-year-old daughter of a federal prisoner to launch an outdoor advertising campaign throughout California."

Let the Inspections Work: Super Bowl Ad (Jan. 24, 2003)
A Superbowl Ad that doesn't discuss scary, anti-drug propaganda, but rather, promotes the ideas of peace and real security by being scary.

Lt. Gov. Stops Alaskan Decriminalizing Effort (Jan. 24, 2003)
"Tim Hinterberger of Anchorage, one of three primary sponsors of the initiative to decriminalize marijuana, said Leman's ruling was 'more than anticipated.' As a state legislator, Leman has tried to overturn Alaska's medical-marijuana laws."

US Embassy hosts pro-marijuana party (Jan. 23, 2003- Free Jerusalem Post subscription required)
"The Green Leaf Party leadership was hosted by the US Embassy on Thursday to enable the embassy political staff to get to know the party's ideas and plans if it is elected to the Knesset."

Science is the new drug antidote (Jan. 23, 2003)
"Both [US Drug Czar John] Walters and Gov. Janet Napolitano told the students that buying drugs funds terrorist activities."

New Maryland Gov. Supports Medical Marijuana (Jan. 23, 2003)
"The new Republican governor said he has long supported medical marijuana and would sign a bill into law if it 'makes sense.'"

Advocates for the ill ask lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana (Jan. 23, 2003)
"Doctors, nurses and patients urged a state Assembly hearing Wednesday to make medical use of marijuana legal for the terminally ill as an option for relieving severe nausea, spasms and pain."

Medical marijuana groups posting roadside billboards (Jan. 23, 2003)
"The 30 billboards, which began appearing Wednesday in San Francisco and across the state, feature an 8-year-old Chico girl whose father, Bryan Epis, is serving 10 years on federal marijuana cultivation charges."

The Right Not To Be In Pain- The Feds vs. Ed Rosenthal (Jan. 22, 2003)
"Since the bottom line here is terrible physical pain, let's start with someone who has spent most of her life in that condition. There are millions like her."

Bongs are wrong, art teacher says (Jan. 22, 2003)
"Students at a high school say they see nothing wrong with making drug-smoking paraphernalia in ceramics class and are upset a teacher has destroyed their work."

Police target pubs in drug raids (Jan. 22, 2003)
"Police drug patrols are targeting pubs all over Coventry with sniffer dogs which can detect someone who has smoked cannabis more than an hour earlier."

2nd Annual Drug War Vigil Film Festival (Jan. 22, 2003)
"The Drug War Vigil Memorial Group is a social justice think tank that was founded in the fall of 2000. We are five medical cannabis users, dedicated to ending the War on Drugs."

Drugs supergrass hands over £69,840 (Jan. 22, 2003)
"A Supergrass [someone who rats out others, in this case working for him] from Radlett who made almost £58 million from drug smuggling and money laundering was ordered to hand over just £69,840 of his ill-gotten gains on Friday, January 17."

Marijuana's link to hard drug use not genetic (Jan. 22, 2003)
This is yet another report trying to prove a gateway theory for marijuana use, missing or ignoring the point that millions of people around the world have regularly used pot in a variety of ways without ever going on to hard drug use or addiction, as evidenced by prohibitionist statistics themselves.

Lawyers for Marijuana Activist Want Charges Dropped (Jan. 22, 2003)
"McWilliams' attorney, David Zugman, contends that any prosecution of medical marijuana growers infringes on states' rights."

Holland Reconsidering Cannabis Coffee Shops? Sure...(Jan. 22, 2003)
"So a minion in the Drug Czar's office says in a letter that Holland is reconsidering its policies."

Fired up (Jan. 22, 2003)
"During his 13-year stint in the NFL, Mark Stepnoski smoked marijuana. Not very often. Not in Snoop Dogg-shaming quantities. But enough to know the real thing from oregano and enough to claim he never suffered a single deleterious side effect."

E-Legal: A Monster Surveillance Society? (Jan. 21, 2003)
"In a report entitled 'Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains, The Growth of an American Surveillance Society,' by Jay Stanley and Barry Steinhardt of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program, a stark present-day reality is painted in which the privacy and liberty of ordinary American citizens are compromised. Whether you agree with the authors’ perspectives or not, the report certainly provides food for thought."

Mouse model links alcohol intake to marijuana-like brain compounds (Jan. 21, 2003)
"In studies conducted with a strain of mice known to have a high preference for alcohol, the scientists found greatly reduced alcohol intake in mice specially bred to lack CB1, the brain receptor for innate marijuana-like substances known as endocannabinoids."

Students force marijuana vote (Jan. 21, 2003)
"A group of students at the University of Missouri-Columbia have gathered enough signatures to force a vote in the city on legalizing marijuana for medical use."

Medical Marijuana Clash Puts a Grower in Court (Jan. 21, 2003- free New York Times registration required)
The public debate over medical marijuana and the War on Some Drugs and Users in general is beginning to receive corporate press attention, in this instance over the on-going federal prosecution of Ed Rosenthal, who was growing medical marijuana with the OK of the authorities of the city of Oakland, California. The federal judge has ruled that Rosenthal's defense cannot mention as part of his defense the Compassionate Use Act, better known as Prop. 215, which legalized in the state of California the use of medical marijuana.

Clean and Sober, Downey Croons at Sundance With 'Singing Detective' (Jan. 21, 2003)
This article is not exactly from a prohibitionist slant, despite the title. Robert Downey Jr. deserves much credit for persevering through all his drug abuse turmoils and strife, some brought about by his drug use and abuse, some brought about by prohibitionist outrage over his drug abuses.

A New Opposition Front in the Drug War (Jan. 21, 2003)
Criminalizing peaceful people who use psychoactive drugs to deepen their spiritual life is criminal itself, some groups are arguing.

The Mexican Legalization Movement (Jan. 21, 2003)
"Drug Policy Reform Goes Mainstream South of the Border."

'Peace over profits' (Jan. 20, 2003)
"Alcohol sales - which make up a third of the store's business - aren't linked to the crimes outside his store, Mr. Orabi says; drugs and guns are. And that's why he is not likely to honor a grassroots coalition's request to refrain from selling alcohol on Martin Luther King Day on Monday."

Torturously Secretive (Jan. 20, 2003)
"If this idiocy is allowed to stand, people arrested for public drunkenness or on marijuana charges could be similarly "disappeared," on the grounds that they had "joined the enemy" in America's war on drugs."

Drug investigation at Eielson expands (Jaqn. 20, 2003)
"The number of people at Eielson Air Force Base suspected of using illegal drugs has grown to include 25 people, base officials say."

Ottawa battles to regain control of Reefer Madness (Jan. 20, 2003)
"We can all be forgiven for not knowing the state of Canada's marijuana law. Even the courts seem confused."

Ecstasy bust called one of county's largest (Jan. 20, 2003)
"However, the K-9 unit was also called in to search the apartment Thursday morning. And the find they made then quadrupled in one day the value of drugs seized by the Bureau in all of last year."

Engler rightfully gives drug convict a second chance (Jan. 20, 2003)
"Pearson was among three inmates whose sentences were commuted by Gov. John Engler in December in one of his last deeds as governor. It was an act of benevolence that shows that sometimes, the system does the right thing for its own sake."

Treatment for heroin addiction may be coming to island soon (Jan. 20, 2003)
"New drug said to be effective in weaning newer addicts off the drug."

Most of the Heroin in Europe Passes Through Turkey (Jan. 20, 2003)
"About 80% of the heroin in Europe passes through Turkey, while according to reliable figures, it is estimated that a total of 4-6 tons of heroin pass through that country to end up in Europe on a monthly basis."

MASD teachers learn warning signs of heroin use (Jan. 20, 2003)
Seriously un-educated prohibitionist drek about "new" forms of heroin.

Authorities seeing more heroin use in northern Michigan (Jan. 20, 2003)
"The use and availability of heroin appears to be on the rise in some northern Michigan communities, police and drug treatment counselors say."

Peace rally planned Monday to honor civil rights leader (Jan. 20, 2003)
"'He wouldn't be pleased, I am sure, that we are planning to go to war,' said Charlie Mae, president of the Martin Luther King, Jr. March and Rally Committee.

Cannabis doctor in new drug hope (Jan. 20, 2003)
"The first cannabis-based medicines to treat patients with chronic pain could hit the market by the end of this year, according to the Norfolk doctor who carried out pioneering trials of the drug."

Police to target cross-border cannabis (Jan. 20, 2003)
"Police say they will target the transport of cannabis across the border into South Australia as a result of new powers given to New South Wales police."

Is State Police campaign weeding out pot growers? (Jan. 20, 2003)
"State Police say a snitch can be a law-enforcement officer's best friend when it comes to catching marijuana growers, particularly in the remote areas of southern New Jersey, where their manpower is slim and farmland is plentiful."

Lawmakers Consider Medical Marijuana (Jan. 20, 2003)
"The issue of medical marijuana has come back to life at the statehouse. Senators are getting ready to craft a bill to help ease the pain of critically ill patients."

The Trial of Marijuana Activist Ed Rosenthal (Jan. 20, 2003)
"A federal judge in San Francisco is blocking a jury from hearing evidence that could exculpate an outspoken medical marijuana activist. Ed Rosenthal, who is facing 20 years in prison on federal drug charges, believed himself to be immune from prosecution when he was deputized by the nearby city of Oakland in 1998 to cultivate cannabis for chronically ill patients."

Pro-Marijuana Group Responds To US Drug Policy (Jan. 20, 2003)
"The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) started its new "Marijuana Truth" campaign by posting on its website a document entitled, 'Your Government Is Lying To You (Again) About Marijuana: A Refutation of the Drug Czar's Open Letter to America's Prosecutors.'"

Military voices of dissent (Jan. 20, 2003)
"Opposition to a possible war in Iraq has come from an unlikely source - the US military itself."

Forced Relocation of Ban Bah Kaew Akha Village At the Hot Springs Chiangrai (Jan. 20, 2003)
Disturbing photos of forced relocation of indigenous people on-going now, today.

Attorney says test did not detect any marijuana in Evans' system (Jan. 20, 2003)
"Attorney Charles Giesen said Thursday he has consequently submitted a motion seeking to have statements Evans made that night to be suppressed."

Write a Letter for Ed Rosenthal (Jan. 19, 2003)
Premier cannabis growing expert and target of federal prohibitionists, Ed Rosenthal needs your help.

The Week Online With DRCNet, Issue #272 (Jan. 19, 2003)
Mexican corruption, the Road to Merida interviews, Bolivian coca protest suppression, Ed Rosenthal in trouble, this stories and lots more are included in this week's issue, plus the useful and informative reformers' calendar.

A new blend: Cotton, rayon and heroin (Jan. 19, 2003)
"According to investigators, increasingly large quantities of drugs have been slipping past inspectors, concealed in seemingly ordinary clothing -- only these clothes have been specially prepared and impregnated with liquid heroin that can be extracted once the clothes arrive in the United States."

Quietly U.S. Special Forces Enter Colombia to Train Troops (Jan. 19, 2003)
"Some 60 U.S. Special Forces members have quietly flown into a lawless Colombian region to train local troops to protect a key oil pipeline from Marxist rebels, U.S. and Colombian officials said on Friday."

Senators Try to Stop Pentagon's Data Dragnet (Jan. 19, 2003)
"Critics are not reassured by the fact that Poindexter, a retired admiral who was convicted of deceiving Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal, is directing the project. His conviction was set aside on the grounds his immunized congressional testimony had been used against him. "

Eagerly testing the limits of sobriety (Jan. 19, 2003)
"The B.C. Premier set a standard, after all, in his now infamous Maui police encounter, blowing 0.149 on a breath test about three hours after he says he stopped drinking, and after consuming a mere six drinks in an evening." Bringing a classic WKRP in Cincinnati episode to life, this is a very funny look at just how drunk the Premier of Canada's B.C., (home of the famous and often tasty BC Bud) really was when pulled over for drunk driving.

The state in the pot dens of the nation (Jan. 19, 2003)
"Next week Justice Minister Martin Cauchon returns from Europe, determined to introduce legislation decriminalizing marijuana possession. It now seems likely that he'll succeed."

U.S. may 'decertify' Guatemala (Jan. 19, 2003)
US prohibitionists are claiming Guatemala is not bowing to US pressures in enthusiastic enough fashion.

Thai-Myanmar ties: Drug lords cash in (Jan. 19, 2003)
"About half of the Wa army is used by the Myanmese army as a border security force along much of the 850-kilometer frontier with Thailand. Shan sources estimate the Wa control 80 percent of the opium-heroin trade and all the methamphetamine laboratories, which produce the easy-to-smuggle pills."

US considers new bioweapon attack (Jan. 19, 2003)
"Hostile intentions toward the people of another country. Deployment of chemical weapons and biological agents. Pursuit of a scorched earth policy. Sound like Saddam's Iraq? Think again. This neatly summarises US President George Bush's administration's depredations in Colombia, all under the shady banner of the 'war on drugs'."

Ireland- Government goes down under in drugs war (Jan. 19, 2003)
"A new drugs watch programme, launched by the Revenue Commissioners, draws heavily on the Australian experience, thanks to the introduction of a similar system by the customs authorities there about 20 years ago."

Rich Police? (Jan. 19, 2003)
"The writer parses the pay of Capt. Richard Conklin, who is head of the department's narcotics and organized crime unit. Capt. Conklin made $85,000 in base pay, $44,000 in overtime, $76,000 in extra-duty pay, and $1,420 in overtime paid by the Board of Education." Crime does pay really well, and not just for the narcotics cops either.

Thousands in U.S. Rally Against Iraq War (Jan. 19, 2003)
"Tens of thousands rallied in the capital Saturday in an emphatic dissent against preparations for war in Iraq, voicing a cry — 'No blood for oil' — heard in demonstrations around the world."

Women Bare All in the Name of Peace (Jan. 19, 2003)
"Donna Sheehan wants to stop what she believes is the U.S. military's naked aggression in Iraq by taking off her clothes and getting women across the world to do the same."

‘Go pills’: A war on drugs? (Jan. 19, 2003)
"In conflict after conflict, whenever one of its most deadly enemies rears its head, the U.S. military employs a potent weapon: a little orange pill."

Opium's rising value hits drugs war (Jan. 18, 2003)
"The executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says that the price of Afghan opium has recently risen to around $600 per kilogram, making it more difficult to offer attractive incentives for farmers to grow legal crops."

Protest- As American as Apple Pie (Jan. 18, 2003)
"But the anti-war movement gained steam when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out against the war during a sermon at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. 'I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today -- my own government,' King said on April 30, 1967."

The Coming Canadian Drug Revolution (Jan. 18, 2003)
"While Latin America Rises, U.S. Policy Losing Northern Front."

Another Iraqi Warhead Found [Warning: explicit anti-war graphic] (Jan. 18, 2003)
There's a horrific photo here, as well as an article about the huge number of prisoners executed in Texas.

Press Under Fire (Jan. 18, 2003)
Colombia, where US troops are combining the War on Drugs with the War on Terror, is the most dangerous place on the planet to be a journalist.

The Temptation of Dr. Weed (Jan. 18, 2003)
"But even Sands admits there’s not much money in noxious weeds. The war on drugs, on the other hand, is fed by a seemingly endless flow of government cash. Masterson, Hammond and other critics are convinced that Sands will have his mind changed by the almighty dollar if Burns ever secures funding. Then again, Jeremy Bigwood isn’t convinced that Sands’ Ag/Bio Con isn’t being funded right now, with money from Bush’s 'black budget,' which remains secret for national security reasons."

United Arab Emirates- Drug Addiction: Battling system to win drug war (Jan. 18, 2003)
"Drug addiction is growing alarmingly despite the government's multi-pronged attack on the problem. Police say that the good work done on the one hand is undone by loopholes in the system and the lure of money."

Residents publish anti-war sentiment (Jan. 18, 2003)
"Skibo is concerned President Bush's war on terrorism already resembles the nation's long-standing war on drugs. 'It's perpetual and it's unwinnable in a lot of senses,' Skibo said. 'But, as a result, we give up civil rights and sacrifice American lives and the lives of innocent people (in foreign lands.) This war could go on for generations.'"

Nevada Files Complaint Against White House Drug Czar's Campaigning (Jan. 18, 2003)
"Far worse, U.S. News & World Report, Parade, USA Weekend and three other major magazines split $4.9 million in similar federal credits for publishing anti-drug news articles. McCaffrey's office even helped choose writers for two anti-drug pieces in The Sporting News."

Lummi war on drugs: Tribe reloads for balanced fight (Jan. 18, 2003)
"Looking back on a year of iron-fisted anti-drug policies, tribal chairman Darrell Hillaire said he's learned that the Lummi people prefer treatment to jail time for drug dealers and users. Nobody likes to see their brothers and mothers serving long federal prison terms, no matter how bad they were." Just ask the Bush family about locking up family members for drug abuses.

An unexpected casualty in Balto. Co.'s war on drugs (Jan. 18, 2003)
After more than 30 years of a War on Some Drugs and Users, this community is realizing the problems have only gotten worse.

TV talk from house arrest (Jan. 18, 2003)
This Peruvian talk-show host has been linked to corrupt drug-running, arms-dealing CIA-lackey Vladimiro Montesinos.

FBI used elaborate hoax in police corruption case (Jan. 18, 2003)
"In a strange, unexpected and so far unexplained twist, one of the targets of the sting - Officer Edwin A. 'Tony' Bradley - took a room next door to the feds. He set up his own surveillance of the car after getting a "tip'' from an undercover FBI agent who reported seeing what appeared to be a drug transaction involving the Mazda."

Nogales tunnel opens into grave (Jan. 18, 2003)
"When Mexican investigators went through a suspected drug tunnel this week, they found themselves on the other side of the grave." Take a photo trip through the tunnel here.

Fox cracks down hard on drug corruption (Jan. 18, 2003)
"Mexican soldiers have raided and shut down the offices of a federal drug force in a major crackdown on agents who work for or protect the country's notorious drug traffickers."

Troops raid Coca-Cola plant; Chavez says opponents are coup plotters and terrorists (Jan. 18, 2003)
"Fighting their way through protesters, Venezuelan troops raided a Coca-Cola bottling plant and seized soda, bottled water and other drinks to stave off shortages caused by a 47-day-old general strike."

Anti-war protests go global (Jan. 18, 2003)
"New protests by Iraqi journalists greeted UN arms experts on Saturday, the 50th day of inspections, as the US deployed more troops to the Gulf, fuelling anti-war demonstrations across the globe."

No rush to judgment (Jan. 18, 2003)
"With President George Bush's complaint that he is 'sick and tired of games and deception' ringing in his ears, Mr Blix must know the hour of crisis is approaching."

Pro-cannabis song earns MP £13,000 royalties (Jan. 17, 2003)
"A German MP is to receive £13,000 in royalties after one of his speeches was sampled in a pro-cannabis pop song."

Medical marijuana gets nod of Ehrlich (Jan. 17, 2003)
"Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announced yesterday that he would likely back decriminalizing marijuana for terminally ill patients, a stance that is expected to give momentum to the issue this year in the General Assembly."

'Big Brother' Is No Longer a Fiction, ACLU Warns in Report (Jan. 17, 2003)
"The report argues that even as surveillance capacity grows like a 'monster' in our midst, the legal 'chains' needed to restrain that monster are being weakened."

The right to not be in pain Feds target Ed Rosenthal in medical marijuana showdown (Jan. 17, 2003)
Why is the federal government so insistent that it has the right to sentence innocent US citizens to a life-time of pain without adequate relief they sometimes find using pot?

The Corporations That Supplied Iraq's Weapons Program (Jan. 17, 2003)
So US troops may face Us weapons, what a surprise.

MPP to release TV ads in early February (Jan. 17, 2003)
Challenging Drug Czar and ONDCP lies about marijuana, the Marijuana Policy Project is about to unleash their own anti-Drug War media campaign. Marijuana group says feds broke Nevada campaign law.

You Government Is Lying to You (Again) About Marijuana (Jan. 17, 2003)
NORML has outlined succinctly the latest lies told by Drug Czar John Walters and the ONDCP about marijuana.

Youth Illicit Drug Use Prevention: DARE Long-Term Evaluations and Federal Efforts to Identify Effective Programs. GAO-03-172R, January 15. (Jan. 17, 2002- Need Adobe Reader)
Does DARE work? Apparently not so well.

Jury Seated in Federal Medical Marijuana Trial of Ed Rosenthal (Jan. 16, 2003)
"Potential jurors also took the opportunity to denounce the federal laws on marijuana as "grotesque," to question the imposition of jail time for marijuana offences, and to suggest that the medicinal use of marijuana was a matter for science not the courts."

U.S. Attorney ‘Sending a Message’ to Those Who Leak Information (Jan. 16, 2003)
"DEA employee gets prison term for providing information to reporter."

Pot Refugees Portrayed on Canadian TV (Jan. 16, 2003)
"A top Canadian dramatic series, The Eleventh Hour, presents a realistic and compelling look at America's Reefer Madness Refugees and the Canadian response to their plight."

Pentagon database plan hits snag on Hill (Jan. 16, 2003)
"A Pentagon antiterrorism plan to link databases of credit card companies, health insurers and others--creating what critics call a 'domestic surveillance apparatus'--is encountering growing opposition on Capitol Hill."

War on drugs challenged at Furman forum (Jan. 16, 2003)
"The professionals argued at a lively Furman University forum Wednesday night that one way to win the nation's losing war on illegal drugs is to decriminalize the substances and declare victory."

Drug-free Thailand deadline criticized (Jan. 16, 2003)
"An ambitious plan by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to banish drugs from "every square inch" of his country within four months is being criticized by the country's former police chief."

YC parents, students meet drug-sniffing canines (Jan. 16, 2003)
"On Jan. 28, the school board is expected to consider approving the dogs on campuses with sixth- through 12th-graders. The dogs would make random visits each month at about $20,000 a year, funded through state safety grants."

Canada- Potheads doubt drug law reform (Jan. 16, 2003)
"'In my opinion legalizing marijuana would force the U.S. to do virtually the same thing within a year or two,' says [Marc] Emery. 'Millions of Americans would come up here and buy pot and find its a wonderful environment. That's what the American government really fears.'"

New rules of engagement (Jan. 16, 2003)
"This month, as many as 100 US Army Special Forces will arrive in Colombia to provide counterinsurgency training to Colombian troops. The US soldiers are being dispatched as part of a US$94 million counterterrorism aid package intended to protect an oil pipeline used by Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum."

US Bans Aid to Colombian Air Force Unit (Jan. 16, 2003)
"The United States is banning aid to an elite Colombian air force unit that is under investigation in that country for a bombing incident in 1998 that killed 18 civilians. The State Department says the slow pace of the investigation raises questions about the commitment of Colombia's air force to find the facts in the case."

U.S. fails to achieve anti-drug goal in Colombia (Jan. 16, 2003)
"The State Department has failed to meet its 2002 goal of eradicating more than 11,000 acres of Colombian opium poppy fields at a time when heroin from that South American country is flooding into cities all along the East Coast."

Colombia moots drug lords' offer (Jan. 16, 2003)
"If the top bosses of the Norte del Valle do surrender, it will be the latest in a long line of victories against high-profile drug cartels. However, up until now this has only led to new criminal gangs taking their place and Colombia continuing to produce as much cocaine as ever - around 80 per cent of the global supply."

Lt. Governor rejects marijuana initiative (Jan. 16, 2003)
"Lieutenant Governor Loren Leman says backers of a marijuana initiative will have to start over if they want to get the question before voters by 2004."

17 indicted in E. Kentucky marijuana roundup (Jan. 16, 2003)
"U.S. Attorney Greg Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky said the joint federal, state and local investigations announced yesterday show authorities are serious about cracking down on the 'most widely used illicit drug in America.'''

Davis wants new death row at San Quentin (Jan. 16, 2003)
"Despite $35 billion deficit, governor says bigger facility needed to house more inmates."

6 year old brings Marijuana to school (Jan. 16, 2003)
"It's not what you'd ever expect a six year old to bring to school, a bag of marijuana, a pipe to smoke it in, and a lighter. But police say a first grader at Yucca Valley Elementary had all three of these things on campus, showing them off to his young classmates."

Arms Deals Criticized as Corporate US Welfare (Jan. 15, 2003)
"Consider this private air show a kind of customer perk, which the Pentagon confirmed was paid for by the US government at the end of a long marketing campaign by Lockheed. The US government also provided a $3.8 billion loan to Poland, on very favorable terms, to finance the purchase of 48 F-16s, which are manufactured in President Bush's home state of Texas...Industry watchdogs like Eland and Hartung said the Polish arms deal shows how US taxpayers often end up subsidizing these sales, while arms manufacturers walk away with huge profits."

Pills Cited in U.S. Bombing That Killed Canadians in Afghanistan (Jan. 15, 2003)
"Two U.S. pilots who mistakenly dropped a bomb that killed four Canadians in Afghanistan had been issued amphetamines before the mission to stay awake, a defense lawyer argued Tuesday at the opening of a military hearing to determine whether they should be court-martialed."

Down to the Wire for Ed "NJWeedman" Forchion (Jan.15, 2003)
Forchion gets his hearing Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003. Let the court know what you think of the ISP's blatantly unconstitutional actions againts this politicial prisoner.

Iranian Teen Gets Death Sentence for Drinking (Jan. 15, 2003)
"A 19-year-old Iranian man was sentenced to death by hanging after he was convicted of drinking alcohol, Reuters reported Jan. 11."

2002: The Year in Marijuana (Jan. 15, 2003)
"International policies on the use and possession of marijuana underwent some major reforms in 2002."

Testimony opposes pot fine increase (Jan. 15, 2003)
"Eugene and Springfield citizens opposing a new city ordinance aimed at increasing the fine for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana voiced their concerns Monday night before the Eugene City Council."

Teen drug use, smoking declines as pro-marijuana group goes on offensive (Jan. 15, 2003)
"The declines are being reported at a time when the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has announced a new offensive against the Bush administration's anti-drug policy."

Ex-Sublime Drummer Arrested, Possibly For Marijuana (Jan. 15, 2003)
"Though Reno police wouldn't confirm the charges, Reno NBC affiliate KRNV-TV reported that Gaugh was arrested for possession of marijuana."

Alaska- Leman disqualifies marijuana petition (Jan. 15, 2003)
"Lt. Gov. Loren Leman stopped an initiative drive seeking to decriminalize marijuana, ruling Tuesday that hundreds of signatures collected were not valid."

National Medical Marijuana Awareness Week Begins 2/15 (Jan. 15, 2003)
"Outreach: Medical Marijuana Week National Medical Marijuana Awareness Week is February 15-22. February 15, or 215, was chosen to celebrate Proposition 215 which made Medical Marijuana legal in the state of California. Americans for Safe Access invites you to spread awareness of the increasing need to protect patients' rights under California law."

Ottawa's marijuana maven puts brakes on distribution proposal: documents (Jan. 15, 2003)
"A newly released document shows that Cindy Cripps-Prawak has been fighting a proposed policy shift that would deliver government-certified marijuana to chronically ill Canadians."

Judge Excuses Half the Jury Pool in Federal Trial of Ed Rosenthal (Jan. 15, 2003)
Half the jury pool dismissed, and motions denied, Ed Rosenthal is facing the battle of his life.

Police seize $1 million of marijuana (Jan. 15, 2003)
"Police seized 200 pounds of marijuana with a street value of almost $1 million on Chicago's Northwest Side Tuesday."

Moon Shadow- The Rev, Bush & North Korea (Jan. 15, 2003)
"Moon's own background, which reportedly includes links to both the Korean CIA and its American counterpart, parallels that of other ethically-tainted individuals who have once again found sanctuary in a Bush administration: Elliott Abrams, John Poindexter, Otto Reich, and John Negroponte, all of Iran-contra infamy."

The United States of America has gone mad (Jan. 15, 2003)
"America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs and in the long term potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War," writes John Le Carre.

Antiwar Activists From Across U.S. Preparing for Weekend of Protests (Jan. 14, 2003)
Many thousands of protestors are expected in Washington DC this weekend, particularly on Martin Luthor King Day.

Peace groups primed for big anti-war push (Jan. 14, 2003)
"In a series of rallies organisers hope will dwarf the widespread anti-nuclear marches of the 1980s, peace activists are planning to fill cities across Europe and the United States under a "Don't attack Iraq" banner." There will be other protests against warring on Iraq on many other continents as well. Peace Activists Bring War Protests to Baghdad as well, not content to stay at home and not be listened to by the current US administration.

The grass is always greener (Jan. 14, 2003)
"Green Leaf, the pro-legalization party, looks likely to win two seats in the upcoming Knesset elections - and it could be as high as eight."

Where the gun rules and the innocent go in fear (Jan. 14, 2003)
"In Birchfield Road, locals have no doubt about what causes the violence. Fergie, 20, told The Observer: 'It is all about drugs here. Cannabis, heroine and E, you name it, you can buy it from the back of a shop. We knew it was coming, dealers come from everywhere and start doing business here.'" No lessons were learned from the US experiment from alcohol prohibition, as the gang violence prohibition engenders continues today as drug gangs battle for turf, in all countries that have imported the US-model of waging a War on some drugs and users.

Only for approved uses (Jan. 14, 2003)
"The hypocrisy of the War on Drugs just became even more evident with the acknowledgement that the U.S. armed services encourage pilots to take amphetamines to stay alert on long missions...." This letter to the editors of the Oregonian is about the go-pills and slow-pills US pilots have been taking as part of official Pentagon policy.

Curiouser and curiouser (Jan. 14, 2003)
"Just when you think you've got the world figured out, along comes another discovery, a repudiation, a conundrum. But this time it's real. These recent developments can't be laughed off as fiction or satire." Truth, fiction and current events are discussed in a lively fashion here by Debby Morse.

FSU 'radicals' strive for social change (Jan. 14, 2003)
"'Ours is an event to educate the public about issues they may not know,' said Kelly Bohlander, director of the Center for Participant Education, which offers a variety of free classes to the public."

Arizona Park "Most Dangerous" in U.S. (Jan. 14, 2003)
A picturesque description of the "war" along the Mexican-Arizona border in Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument park.

Fight Terrorism—Grow Your Own Pot! (Jan. 14, 2003)
While at first decriding the new anti-SUV ads put together by Arianna Huffington and friends, Cathy Young does see the positive side of their spoofing the ONDCP anti-drug commercials equating drug use with support of terrorism. Buying gas and oil supports terror, in more than one way for that matter, no doubt about it, so Young's derisive brushing off of the anti-SUV ads seems to miss their main point.

Oregon medical marijuana grower sues US over bust (Jan. 14, 2003)
"A quadriplegic Vietnam War veteran sued the U.S. government on Monday, saying the Drug Enforcement Administration illegally seized medical use marijuana he grew under a license from the state of Oregon."

How Did Dick Cheney Avoid Military Service? ... and other questions from our Year in Politics Quiz (Jan. 14, 2003)
A disturbing yet hilarious little quiz.

Canada: Pot Case Tossed -Second Ontario judge says no law was broken- (Jan. 13, 2003)
"A second Ontario judge has 'pounded another stake in the heart' of Canada's pot law, finding there is nothing on the books forbidding the possession of small amounts of dope."

Medical marijuana decision reversed (Jan. 13, 2003)
"The only medical-marijuana case to end in conviction in Long Beach Superior Court has been overturned on appeal, and prosecutors have not yet decided whether to retry the case."

New research regarding marijuana use (Jan. 13, 2003)
"'Marijuana is a gateway drug.' A phrase almost as recognizable as 'Just Say No.' But a study by the private, nonprofit RAND drug policy research center may be underpinning many US anti-drug policies and educational campaigns."

Marijuana: DA's May Take Hard Line (Jan. 13, 2003)
"In recent letters sent to every prosecutor in the United States, NDAA president Dan Alsobrooks and the drug czar's Deputy Director for State and Local Affairs, Scott Burns, hoisted the battle flag against pot, signaling prosecutors that they should make the prosecution of marijuana crimes a high priority and urging them to fight efforts to reform the drug laws."

American thinking fuzzy on marijuana (Jan. 13, 2003)
"But as much as I respect Americans, and as much as I like to take the repercussions of their irritation into account, I have to say that there are certain subjects that Americans are just a little bit nutty about. And marijuana is one of them."

Pardon lets moonshiner go hunting again (Jan. 13, 2003)
Bush pardoned this moonshiner, so he can now own firearms legally, even applying for a concealed carry permit.

Cigarettes on black market (Jan. 13, 2003)
"Usually a black market develops when an illegal substance is in demand but cannot be obtained through legitimate avenues -- this is what happened with alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. It is the reason illegal drug traffic is flourishing -- crack, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, amphetamines, Ecstasy and others. But cigarettes -- a legal substance that can be purchased at any corner market?"

Scrapping Late Favors In Homeland Law (Jan. 13, 2003)
"Republicans said Friday they would reverse several favors to special interests in the Homeland Security law, including a much-criticized provision to limit lawsuits against vaccine makers."

Millions of Ecstasy Uses: Deaths Still Extremely Rare (Jan. 13, 2003)
"There were 81 deaths related to ecstasy between July 1st, 1997 and June 30th, 2000 in England and Wales. Two million tablets of ecstasy are taken each weekend in Britain. There are about one million UK ecstasy users each weekend using those tablets."

Democrats and Medical Marijuana: It's Time (Jan. 13, 2003)
"In the United States, tobacco and alcohol, while terribly costly in terms of health and lives are perfectly legal for adults, yet the possession of other drugs, including marijuana, can get a citizen up to life in prison...Minorities and the poor bear the brunt of Prohibition II, the sequel."

Viagra Deaths Explained By New Understanding Of Platelet Clumping (Jan. 13, 2003)
Viagra is good even though it kills some users and is not used for anything but sexual gratification, but smoking pot, which has never killeed a single documented person, is bad and can ruin your life if cops catch you at it.

Who is the Greatest Threat to World Peace (Jan. 13, 2003)
Who is it, North Korea, Iraq, or the United States that poses the greatest threat to us all? Check out this poll and vote today.

S-11 Redux (Jan. 13, 2003)
From one of DrugWar.com editor's favorite websites, Guerilla News Network, comes this extremely disturbing compilation of news clips about the current War on Terror.

The Unseen Gulf War (Jan. 13, 2003)
Here are a lot of photos of the results of modern warfare, taken by Peter Turnley at the end of the war in 1991.

Studies pose more questions (Jan. 13, 2003)
More thoughts on a recent study alleging that frequent drinking of alcohol is good for the heart.

Judge says sheriff's strip search policy unconstitutional (Jan. 13, 2003)
"Inmates arrested on minor charges who were strip-searched at the Sacramento County Jail are entitled to $1,000 in damages because the sheriff's department policy is unconstitutional, a judge ruled Friday."

Tobacco and Mortality in the US: What's the Truth? (Jan. 12, 2003)
"Why are there 726,000 arrests each year in the US for marijuana offenses? There is no known death from occasional marijuana use. Meanwhile, cigarette smokers die by the hundreds of thousands according to the CDC."

Melton's sweeps creating concern (Jan. 12, 2003)
"Melton said he believes he is within the law to conduct the sweeps. The sweeps, based on intelligence reports, were conducted 'specifically to check for drugs and methamphetamines,' Melton said, noting that chemicals needed to manufacture the drug are highly explosive."

Canada- NDP leadership candidates favour legalizing pot (Jan. 12, 2003)
"Several front-runners in the New Democratic Party leadership race admitted in a nationally televised debate last night to smoking pot at some point in their lives. The question was raised in connection with the candidates' position on decriminalizing marijuana."

Sweep targets small-time drug dealers (Jan. 12, 2003)
Collecting the flesh and blood lowest-level fodder in the War on Drug Users.

Hutchinson Satisfied With Legacy (Jan. 12, 2003)
What legacy is that?

Teenage heroin use threatens a generation (Jan. 12, 2003)
Harry J. Anslinger would be proud of this piece.

Enough is enough! 'Yardies', cocaine, violence behind visa imposition? (Jan. 12, 2003)
"Persistent failure of the British Government to stem the flow of cocaine from Jamaica into their country, coupled with the number of brutal slayings on their soil recently, may have been the straw which broke the camel's back in the United Kingdom visa issue."

South Korea- Drug Seizures Increase By 10 Times Last Year (Jan. 12, 2003)
"A total of 152 kg of drugs were uncovered last year, 10.5 times more than the previous year¡¯s 13.5 kg. The drugs are estimated to be worth 48.7 billion won ($41 million), up 50.7 percent from 2001."

Marijuana laws take another pounding in Ontario (Jan. 12, 2003)
"Canada's marijuana laws absorbed another punishing blow yesterday when a Toronto judge concluded that the law is invalid and acquitted a man of possession."

A new team in the drug wars (Jan. 12, 2003)
Screw privacy darn it, there's illegal drugs around, despite decades of expensive bloody war.

Appeal to reform the UN Conventions on Drugs (Jan. 11, 2003)
This is a reminder, to alert readers interested in Drug Laws reform of this petition to be presented to the UN in Vienna this coming April.

The Week Online with DRCNet, issue #271 (Jan. 11, 2003)
Corrupt cops, local anti-Salvia ordinances proposed, New Jersey fights anti-asset forfeiture ruling, on the road to the Latin American anti-prohibitions conference in Merdia, Yucatan, Mexico, these stories and more can be found in this week's issue, plus that ever useful Reformers' Calendar.

Seize recreational drugs and users go on the hard stuff - booze (Jan. 11, 2003)
"As the former police commissioner, Peter Ryan, famously admitted one New Year's Eve: even the police are grateful for ecstasy use because happy people are far less likely to engage in violent acts and disrupt crowds."

Drug-trafficking status sought for southern Ohio (Jan. 11, 2003)
"U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine wants southern Ohio designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area to help law officers in the region fight the war on drugs." This way, local prohibitionists can qualify for federal assistance, coming out of every US citizens' tax dollars.

Drug use bill draws debate (Jan. 11, 2003)
"Before submitting the bill at the request of a constituent, Paul Durost, a private investigator from Mount Desert Island, Damon said he talked with police, prosecutors and defense attorneys. He said he was surprised by the number of people who didn't realize that while it is illegal to possess, grow or transport drugs, it is not illegal to use them."

Nick and Norm: How The Drug War Commercial Should Read (Jan. 11, 2003)
"So, if it's a war on both drugs and terrorists, they can use the military for stateside ops too. Heck, the cops look and act too much like soldiers already. And then they can call the guy down the street growing buds or smoking a joint a TERRORIST."

Riding in SUVs with bin Laden (Jan. 11, 2003)
"Few people complained when the anti-drug commercials came out. After all, illegal drugs don't fund quite as many political campaigns as the American auto and oil companies. A healthy auto industry is a symbol of American prosperity; it's a key economic indicator and people want to drive what they want to drive with no guilt trips."

Plan: Tap Iraq’s Oil (Jan. 11, 2003)
"Bush administration officials are seriously considering proposals that the United States tap Iraq's oil to help pay the cost of a military occupation, a move that likely would prove highly inflammatory in an Arab world already suspicious of U.S. motives in Iraq."

Video: As family shrieks, police kill dog (Jan. 11, 2003)
The editor of DrugWar.com would write, "what a pig" about these cops, particularly the one who blasted the tail-wagging family pet, but real pigs wouldn't do this.

A Drug War Carol (Jaqn. 11, 2003)
This is a brilliant use of art and storytelling, portraying the history of the War on Drug Users through the classic Charles Dickens tale.

Happy Imbeciles At War (Jan. 11, 2003)
"This is a Mack truck versus a Pinto. This is an F-16 versus a paper airplane, a Tomahawk missile versus a spit wad. There is no contest. "War" is exactly the wrong term. The U.S. attack on Iraq will be, of course, a massacre. Go team."

Peyote On the Brain (Jan. 11, 2003)
"Is the Secret to Alcoholism and Other Addictions Locked Up in the Hallucinogenic Drugs?"

Drug Control: Coca Cultivation and Eradication Estimates in Colombia (Jan. 11, 2003)
You'll need Adobe Reader to access this page, but it's worth it if you are interested in finding out just how useless the US/Colombian spraying of coca crops has really been, what an utter waste of US taxdolalrs and Colombian lives.

Did speed kill our soldiers? (Jan. 11, 2003)
"From Hitler to Kennedy, use of the powerful drugs has peppered history: U.S. HEARING WILL FOCUS ON PILOTS' AMPHETAMINE USE"

Anti-war train drivers refuse to move arms freight (Jan. 11, 2003)
Go train drivers. Or don't go, as the case may be.

Is Frequent Drinking Really Good for the Heart? (Jan. 10, 2003)
"Classic Confusion of Correlation with Causation"

Afghan drug crops up despite curbs (Jan. 10, 2003)
"Opium production in Afghanistan has risen twentyfold over the past two years to levels similar to peak production under the terrorist-tied Taliban regime, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said yesterday." There's been a Sharp Rise in Afghan Poppy Grow[ing] since US troops moved into Afghanistan.

Tobacco Control Laws in Your State (Jan. 10, 2003)
Map of all states and their laws governing tobacco.

Alternatives for Afghanistan (Jan. 10, 2003)
"On September 11 2001, Afghans weren't thinking about the twin towers, Osama bin Laden or al-Qaida. Many were thinking about how to get their next meal." So now many are growing poppies, for which they can get 20 to 40 times the money they can for growing wheat.

Pro-Pot Group Challenges Bush Marijuana Policy (Jan. 10, 2003)
"A group that wants to see marijuana legalized is angry with the Bush administration because they say the government is being too critical of pot. The issue all started with a letter from Scott Burns, the deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control. In the letter, Burns told district attorneys across the country that they must better educate the public about marijuana use."

US Marijuana Arrests 315 Times Total World Terrorist Detentions (Jan. 10, 2003)
New like this leads some reformers to curse out loud.

Ontario court strikes down Ottawa's pot laws (Jan. 10, 2003)
Another Canadian judge has told the federal government their anti-pot laws are not valid. Ontario court gives Ottawa six months to fix medical-marijuana regulations.

Soldier Pursues Robber For Stealing Her Marijuana (Jan. 10, 2003)
"An armed man entered a soldier's Fayetteville home and stole one pound of marijuana Wednesday night. The soldier, her roommate, and a friend followed the suspect's vehicle and called 911 during their pursuit."

Ryan to pardon 4 on Death Row (Jan. 10, 2003)
Chicago police run amok, torturing false confessions out of suspects.

Come Witness Ed "NJWeedman" Forchion's Hearing Jan. 17, 2003 (Jan. 10, 2003)
Let the state of New Jersey know that people are watching them and support Ed "NJWeedman" Forchion.

Join other Drug Reform Activists near you! (Jan. 10, 2003)
"Drug Reform MEETUPs can happen in up to 545 cities worldwide on the same day. Enter your location to find the one near you." sign your name today.

US threatens lawsuit over 'immoral' GM food stance (Jan. 10, 2003)
Hemp is bad, genetically modified foods are good, at least according to the US government.

Scorsese, DiCaprio take swipe at US war machine (Jan. 10, 2003)
Two more artists come out against US warmongering for oil.

Disinformation- The Interviews (Jan. 9, 2003)
Richard Metzger interviews some of the freakier magical types in this book, chock full of amazing color plates and utter weirdness.

There Are No Addicts, Only People in Pain (Jan. 9, 2003)
A series of links to interesting articles about pain enforcement, soldiers, pot, heroin, and more.

Americans for Safe Access/Students for Sensible Drug Policy Action Training Weekends (Jan. 9, 2003)
Beginning this Jan. 11, there will be 4 free training classes given in different cities around the US.

What's The ANSIR? (Jan. 9, 2003)
"FBI Warns Corporate Leaders Of Possible Attacks By Antiwar Activists"

Rumsfeld 'offered help to Saddam' (Jan. 9, 2003)
"Declassified papers leave the White House hawk exposed over his role during the Iran-Iraq war." Unfortunately, the U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup.

Detroit officer severs woman's finger (Jan. 9, 2003)
"Cop says he was cutting coat to cuff her."

Medical Marijuana Resources in the United States (Jan. 9, 2003)
A state by state map.

Stop the DEA's War on Americans- Keep Medical marijuana Safe- Nationwide Direct Action Febuary 18, 2003 (Jan. 9, 2003)
Make your voices heard.

Invitation To Cannabis News Special Chat with Dr. Ethan Russo (Jan. 9, 2003)
"Ethan Russo, MD, is a board-certified child and adult neurologist in Missoula, MT, and researcher in migraine, ethnobotany, medicinal plants, cannabis and cannabinoids in pain management, and the therapeutic applications of Schedule I plants and chemicals."

Judge who smoked marijuana again presides over criminal cases (Jan. 9, 2003)
"It's almost business as usual for a northern Michigan judge who admitted puffing marijuana at a Rolling Stones concert."

Women accused of running booming marijuana growing business out of their basements (Jan. 9, 2003)
Another case of smelly money getting pot smokers and growers busted. This gives an entirely new meaning to laundering drug money.

Canadians Split on Decriminalizing Marijuana (Jan. 9, 2003)
"A new poll shows that 50 percent of Canadians support the federal government's proposal to decriminalize possession of marijuana, the Ottawa Citizen reported Jan. 2."

Canada- Marijuana cafe proposed for Saskatoon (Jan. 9, 2003)
"City officials in Saskatoon have received a proposal to set up a Dutch-style cafe where small amounts of marijuana can be consumed."

Trial looms for marijuana activist (Jan. 9, 2003)
"It looks like pro-marijuana author and activist Ed Rosenthal of Oakland is headed for trial soon on the federal drug charges against him."

Marijuana motorist acquitted (Jan. 9, 2003)
"Rick Reimer, a former lawyer and marijuana activist who had a joint in his hand when police pulled his car off the road, was acquitted yesterday of driving while impaired by marijuana."

Estrogen drugs must have warning labels, FDA says (Jan. 9, 2003)
Turns out Estrogen might be a tad bit dangerous.

Heart aided by frequent drinking, study finds (Jan. 9, 2003)
"Men may want to abandon that teetotalling new year's resolution since a massive new study has found frequent drinking reduces the risk of heart attacks."

Beavers charged with dealing marijuana (Jan. 9, 2003)
"Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Aubrey Beavers was jailed Wednesday on felony charges of marijuana possession."

Gravity clocked: Science catches up with Einstein - 87 years later (Jan. 9, 2003)
"Einstein was right: the speed of gravity matches that of light."

Judges throw out convictions of woman because of nude photos (Jan. 8, 2003)
"A judge in the trial of a woman convicted on drug charges should not have allowed prosecutors to show nude photographs of the woman during her trial, the state appeals court ruled Wednesday."

Police: Roadways Seeing More Drug Traffic (Jan. 8, 2003)
"A local law enforcement office has established a special task force designed specifically to crack down on criminals using area highway systems."

Drug companies fined for questionable tactics (Jan. 8, 2003)
"Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay more than $500 million after using illegal tactics to keep generic competitors' medications off the market, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced Tuesday."

Can PCP be held guilty of homicide? (Jan. 8, 2003)
"Mr. DuPont's comment is worth revisiting now that Washington, D.C.'s police chief is citing "angel dust" — the veterinary anesthetic phencyclidine (PCP) — as an explanation for his city's rising homicide rate. End-of-the-year figures show that homicides in D.C. jumped 12 percent between 2001 and 2002, and Police Chief Charles Ramsey says increased PCP use is one reason."

Singapore judge sends girl to jail for taking Ecstasy (Jan. 8, 2003)
"A Singapore chief justice upheld a one-year jail sentence for a 17-year-old girl who took Ecstasy - but he said the worst factor in her case was her habit of staying out late, a newspaper reported Wednesday."

MINNESOTA: Activist guilty — and proud of it (Jan. 8, 2003)
"Rabbi Ariel Pedersen desperately wants to be Minnesota's marijuana martyr."

Update drug laws, ex-lawyer tells court (Jan. 8, 2003)
"Shedding the odd tear and quoting Bob Dylan, a maverick ex-lawyer told a judge yesterday that Canada's marijuana laws need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era."

Decriminalization of Marijuana (Jan. 8, 2003)
"Canadians have been waiting for thirty years for Parliament to act on the recommendations of the LeDain Commission and decriminalize marijuana."

Amphetamine Psychosis (Jan. 8, 2003)
"Now, thanks to Rolling Stone—a magazine that still occasionally inveighs against drug war abuses and still occasionally gets attacked by conservatives for supposedly promoting drug use—you can get a Sonny Bono-quality irony fix just by wandering down to your local newsstand."

Lawmaker calls for more anti-drug money (Jan. 8, 2003)
"State Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, who lost a son to drugs in 2001, said the Texas-Mexico border region was rapidly becoming a war zone because of the proliferation of cocaine and marijuana, and violent crime associated with the drug trade."

New test to aid war on drugs (Jan. 8, 2003)
"Researchers from the Australian Nuclear, Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the Australian Forensic Drug Laboratory have developed a technique using atmospheric radiocarbon dating, which allows the age of the drug to be accurately predicted."

"Yeah, and I'm Going to Help Them Fry the Nigger" (Jan. 8, 2003)
If this story at The Memory Hole is true, Mumia Abu-Jamal got a bum deal. Of course, this will come as no surprise for many US citizens who have found themselves facing hostile prosecutors and courts. There're links here to "he's guilty" and "He's innocent" websites, as well as to the writing of Jamal.

A Mushroom on the Front in the War on Cancer (Jan. 8, 2003)
This poisonous mushroom may be just the ticket to combat some cancers.

A Year in the Life of the Drug War (Jan. 7, 2003)
"It has become evident that in order to manifest a "drug-free" utopian society, citizens must be willing to relinquish personal freedoms of privacy, association, unfettered travel, and medical autonomy. In other words, a society cannot be both "free" and "drug-free." A choice must be made."

POLICE STATE, USA Cops go to bars to arrest drunks (Jan. 7, 2003)
"In the ongoing effort to keep public places clear of intoxicated citizens and drunk drivers, some police agencies are using a controversial tactic – going directly into bars and restaurants in order to make arrests. Such is the situation in northern Virginia, where Fairfax County Police are targeting patrons suspected of having one too many."

California man claims legal use of pot in Arkansas (Jan. 7, 2003)
"A California man said he has a doctor's permission to use marijuana, but a prosecutor said Monday the state plans to charge the man anyway."

Area MPs divided on marijuana issue (Jan. 7, 2003)
Find out what a small selection of Canadian politicians think of reforming pot laws.

Marijuana activist singled out by feds, lawyers say (Jan. 7, 2003)
"Lawyers for marijuana authority Ed Rosenthal of Oakland argued Monday the federal government has singled him out for persecution and prosecution, a prelude to asking that the drug charges against him be dropped."

Sheriff's Department Notes Drug Arrests (Jan. 7, 2003)
"The Ashley County Sheriff's Office started the new year with several drug arrests, according to Sheriff James Robinson."

Being drunk 'a trick of the mind' (Jan. 7, 2003)
"The feeling of being drunk is partly in the mind, say psychologists. A person's memory is impaired if they believe they are drinking alcohol even when it is really water, a study has found."

Trick or Treatment (Jan. 7, 2003)
"A 1998 study of nearly 150 teenagers treated in dozens of centers across the country found that there was 202 percent more crack abuse following treatment and a 13 percent increase in alcohol abuse."

DEA Agents Feared That Boss Would 'Go Postal' (Jan. 7, 2003)
"The US Drug Enforcement Administration's New Bedford office was so dysfunctional that some agents donned bullet-proof vests and others fled the office in fear that their supervisor would "go postal" after being reprimanded by his superiors in Boston two years ago, documents filed in a federal legal dispute allege."

Lead link to youth crime (Jan. 7, 2003)
"Low-level lead poisoning may be to blame for some cases of juvenile delinquency, claims a theory from a US scientist."

Paper: Racial Disparity in Mass. Searches (Jan. 7, 2003)
"A review of traffic ticket data shows Massachusetts police were more likely to search cars of black and Hispanic drivers during routine traffic stops than those of white drivers, the Boston Globe reported Monday."

The railroad barons are back—and this time they'll finish the job (Jan. 7, 2003)
"This administration is set to complete what the railroad barons pushed the Grant administration to start: to take democracy and its institutions of governance from the hands of the human citizen/voters the Founders fought and died for, and give it to the very types of monopolistic corporations the Founders fought against when they led the Tea Party revolt against the East India Company in Boston Harbor in 1773."

Police hunt Max Factor heir (Jan. 7, 2003)
"An heir to the Max Factor dynasty is being hunted by police in the US after vanishing in the middle of his trial on charges of drugging and raping three women."

Cuba: Escape from Camp Delta The Guantánamo Archipelago (Jan. 7, 2003)
A disturbing look at imprisonment by US forces of prisoners taken in Afghanistan and elsewhere and shipped off to Cuba.

Partnership for a Hypocricy Free America (Jan. 6, 2003)
Drug aren't the only thing that pay for terrorism.

Judge halts transfer of New Bedford DEA agents (Jan. 6, 2003)
"The agents claim, among other things, that the head of the DEA’s New Bedford office, John Schaefer, allowed city detectives to work with the federal agency despite their implications in a corruption investigation."

Call for drug-free zone around schools (Jan. 6, 2003)
"Other countries that have failed in their economic agenda have fallen prey to corruption, money-laundering and ever-spiralling violence fuelled by the drug trade which subverts the stability of the society and strains the resources of the country," said National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) Chairperson Sandra Husbands, so she recommends further ratheting up of the failed War tact in Barbados.

Corruption Trial Set for 11 Miami Cops (Jan. 6, 2003)
"The latest police scandal is the city's worst since the 1980s, when rogue officers stole cocaine from drug traffickers to resell. Three drug boat guards drowned when they jumped into the Miami River to avoid the uniformed officers. Eventually, more than 100 officers were arrested, fired or disciplined."

Police Foil Drug-Smuggling Chicken Legs (Jan. 6, 2003)
"British police said on Friday they had foiled an attempt to smuggle fried chicken legs stuffed with cannabis to a gunman involved in one of Britain's longest armed sieges on record."

Stars' British make-up artist caught with cannabis (Jan. 6, 2003)
"Allen has recently won acclaim with colleague Conor O'Sullivan for her work with actress Nicole Kidman in the film The Hours."

The Week Online with DRCNet, issue #270 (Jan. 6, 2003)
Early prison releases contemplated in cash-strapped California, prosecutors actively working to keep the War dragging ever onwards, an anti-prohibition conference coming up in the Yucatan, Connecticut debating medical marijuana, protests against Louisiana drug raid, corrupt cops and of course, the ever useful Reformers' Calendar are all found in this week's issue, plus lots more.

Clarify marijuana law (Jan. 6, 2003)
"Justice James Greco is doing the right thing in Sault Ste. Marie by declining to accept guilty pleas or to conduct trials on charges of minor marijuana possession."

Ottawa appeals judge's marijuana ruling (Jan. 6, 2003)
"Until decision, drug-busting as usual, officer says. Experts see signs pot laws in Canada are relaxing."

Canada Calls For Marijuana Reform (Jan. 6, 2003)
"The Canadian House of Commons Special Committee on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs recommended last month that Canada decriminalize the possession and cultivation of up to 30 grams of cannabis, that safe injection sites for intravenous drug users be allowed to open, and that heroin be made available by prescription."

Woman, 59, pleads guilty to growing marijuana (Jan. 6, 2003)
"An Ignacio woman who maintained one of the biggest and most elaborate marijuana-growing operations in La Plata County’s history pleaded guilty to one count of drug cultivation Friday in District Court."

India- Man with marijuana held at Fernandes' house (Jan. 6, 2003)
"A man, who came to meet Defence Minister George Fernandes was held by security guards for possessing 60 grams of marijuana (ganja), police said today."

Nicotine, Too, May Promote Cancer (Jan. 6, 2003)
"As a new year begins, cigarettes are no doubt the focus of countless resolutions. But the highly addictive nature of nicotine makes butting out hard to do."

Morris: Drugs have become major problem here (Jan. 5, 2003)
This police chief explains that despite decades of all out war, people continue using illegal drugs, and that the "drug problem" cannot be solved by police action alone.

Prozac OKd for kids, but worries linger (Jan. 5, 2003)
Prozac is ok, but pot is not?

Orangutans Found to Have Culture (Jan. 5, 2003)
"In the coming 20 years, we will have a host of studies on culture in all sorts of animals," said Frans de Waal, primatologist at Emory University, saying data have been coming in suggesting cultural differences among rats, birds and even fish. "We will not think of culture as a monolithic thing, but a concept that includes songbirds, the great apes and human culture."

The Bill Was due in 2002- Where's the Head of Osama bin Laden? (Jan. 4, 2003)
"It now appears increasingly likely that one of History’s Greatest Crimes—the September 11 terrorist attack—is being (successfully) followed by one of History’s Greatest Cover-Ups."

Guatemala Falling Out of Favor (Jan. 4, 2003)
"The Bush administration is set to decide next month if it is satisfied with Guatemala's anti-drug efforts or whether it will send the country down the road traversed by drug-producing nations in the 1990s, such as Colombia, Bolivia and Peru."

Regional anti-drug campaign needs greater Int'l support: daily (Jan. 4, 2003)
"A morning daily on Saturday stressed on the need to fight against drugs among Middle East regional states -- particularly Iran and Afghanistan -- and urged the international community to develop cooperation to this effect." How ironic that Iran, one of the lead boogiemen for US power brokers, is following US prohibitionist tactics to wage their own war upon themselves.

The good soldier - now there's a concept (Jan. 4, 2003)
"I feel rage when I think of the Canadians he killed and injured, but then I remember that his rabidly anti-drug government gave him amphetamines. I've done speed. I'm surprised Schmidt hadn't pulled out his kneecaps and swallowed them whole before he dropped that bomb. How can they blame him?"

US pilots blame drug for friendly fire deaths (Jan. 4, 2003)
"Two American fighter pilots facing trial for the "friendly fire" killings of four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan last April were pressured by the US air force into taking amphetamines that may have impaired their judgment, their lawyers allege." It's going to be interesting to see the US military argue that amphetamine use does not lead to impaired judgement. There's this article too, 'Go' pills for F-16 pilots get close look Amphetamines prescribed in mission that killed Canadians.

Cops concerned meth labs could spread to this area (Jan. 4, 2003)
Speed is good for soliders, bad for private citizens. Sarasota County Sheriff's Capt. Don Wampner "said the labs got their name from the German Nazis in World War II, who developed a simple way to make methamphetamine as a means of keeping their troops going on little or no sleep." Hmmm, so what do we call US military use of speed, un-Nazi?

Drug war dilemma (Jan. 4, 2003)
"Ultimately, Bradley says, she did kick her drug habit at a halfway house in Western Massachusetts while federal prosecutors prepared a drug trafficking indictment against her. But wiretap transcripts showed that the Drug Enforcement Administration task force agent who made six undercover buys from Bradley actively discouraged her from going to treatment programs, saying they 'never work.'''

'Wonderful girls', victims of drug gangs' turf war (Jan. 4, 2003)
When will we end prohibition, and the gangs that prohibition engenders and empowers?

U.S. Deleted Iraqi-run Florida Chemical Plant from UN Weapons List (Jan. 4, 2003)
"Most recently activated American soldiers are unaware that they will likely be facing the same deadly chemical and biological agents provided illegally to Iraq by their own government just prior to the last Gulf War – and that high-ranking Bush 41 cabinet officials profited from secret investments in these companies manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. (WMD)"

Vanishing Point: How to disappear in America without a trace (Jan. 4, 2003)
Just what the title says.

State given list of patient prescriptions, but not for law enforcement (Jan. 3, 2003)
"Every month Nevada pharmacists transmit to the state the names of people who have purchased painkillers and other potentially addictive drugs prescribed by doctors -- and that information is available to law enforcement officials."

Drug firms 'invented' female sexual problem (Jan. 3, 2003)
"Drug companies are accused today of creating a medical disorder, female sexual dysfunction, in order to sell impotence drugs such as Viagra to women as well as men." There's this view as well, that Female impotence is a 'sponsored creation', and this broader look, Do we need lifestyle drugs, which notes that "Some critics are also concerned that drug companies are playing too great a part in defining conditions - with profits in mind."

Ancient Amazon Brew Comes to Colombia's Cities (Jan. 3, 2003)
"Yage is not addictive, users say, in fact quite the opposite. At least one doctor has claimed that he has successfully cured addictions to cocaine using the potion."

Drug sentence reform law is a step forward (Jan. 3, 2003)
"One of John Engler's final acts as governor won't win him any points from crime-and-punishment hardliners. Ending mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, however, is a sensible, if not humane, reform."

Judge's ruling puts KC drug-search procedures in doubt (Jan. 3, 2003)
"A federal judge has found that Kansas City police illegally searched a man's home for drugs in a case that defense lawyers say raises questions about hundreds of other Jackson County searches."

Appeal to reform the UN Conventions on Drugs (Jan. 3, 2003)
Calling on world leaders to end the War on Some Drugs and Users. Here's an opportunity to make your thoughts on this topic heard.

Top Ten Conspiracy Theories of 2002 (Jan. 3, 2003)
"Soon after replacing the Taliban government with one more to its liking (and, in what is surely a coincidence, resuscitating the world's most bountiful opium fields), the administration began agitating for a similar, but even more destructive, bombardment of the oil-rich nation of Iraq."

It's Time to Inject Some Sense into the War on Drugs (Jan. 3, 2003)
"The boy is no criminal, no drug kingpin. His case should have been resolved long ago. But Prince became a victim of the nation's overzealous war on drugs. For decades, American law enforcement authorities have waged a Prohibition-like campaign against illegal narcotics; that crusade has fostered one of the world's highest rates of incarceration while having no discernible effect on the flow of illegal drugs."

Legalized pot seems likely up north (Jan. 3, 2003)
"The door-kicking has stopped, as have the asset forfeitures and harassment. Chris Bennett hasn't been arrested in weeks, nor have any of his friends. Yet, the 40-year-old Bennett isn't inclined to say the battle is won. He's seen the police relax before. He's seen pot achieve a tenuous level of respectability when a more liberal-minded mayor or police chief takes over. And he's seen the subsequent backlash."

Pro-Marijuana Group Mounts New Offensive Against US Drug Policy (Jan. 3, 2003)
"Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), called the administration's stand an 'incredibly disgusting example of government propaganda' and announced that his group is initiating a new offensive next week against the administration's anti-drug policy."

Windsor pot ruling likely to be challenged (Jan. 3, 2003)
"The Justice Department 'probably' will appeal yesterday's Ontario court ruling there are no laws forbidding possession of small amounts of marijuana." There's also this take on the issue, Pot law in doubt as teen acquitted, and this one too, Canada Marijuana Charge Tossed in Dispute.

Judge Rules Against Homeland Security Department (Jan. 3, 2003)
"The Office of Homeland Security lost the first round in a legal fight to keep its activities secret as a federal judge ruled it will have to answer questions about its power over other federal agencies."

Our Peculiar Institution (Jan. 3, 2003)
" In Heber City, officials are denying charges made by a local Catholic priest that local and federal law enforcement officers are using the war on drugs as cover for arresting and deporting more undocumented workers from Mexico."

Judge calls marijuana law invalid (Jan. 2, 2002)
"A judge in Windsor, Ont., has ruled that Canada's law on possession of small amounts of marijuana is no longer valid." He threw out 2 drug charges against a 16 year old. US prohibitionists who are always saying they wage war on us all to protect children from imagined evils of pot must really be hating this one.

Police tried to nab pot-smoking MP (Jan. 2, 2003)
"Bill Clinton got away with it by saying he didn't inhale. Nandor Tanczos got away with it even when he did. But police now believe historical admissions of cannabis use can be used to support a prosecution."

Canada to soften cannabis laws (Jan. 2, 2003)
"The Canadian Government is widely expected to introduce legislation to decriminalise possession of marijuana early in this year."

John Ashcroft: Man of the Year (Jan. 2, 2003)
Apparently this is a serious article by former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese, not a satire or bad joke.

Head's "Licence Drug" Call (Jan. 2, 2003)
"The headteacher of a Torbay school which suspended four pupils for using cannabis has backed moves to legalise the drug."

Pro-marijuana party, and host of other groups, hoping to get into Israel's Knesset (Jan. 2, 2003)
"A month before parliamentary elections, Green Leaf is among several fringe parties competing for the protest vote from Israelis unwilling to choose hardliners but frustrated by dovish parties after more than two years of fighting with the Palestinians."

Phish Ends Hiatus With Marathon Concert (Jan. 2, 2003)
"Phish put its long-suffering fans out of their misery in style."

Drink charge Diana Ross 'fell over and laughed' - police (Jan. 2, 2003)
"Diana Ross says she was trying to rent a video and got lost when she was stopped for alleged drink-driving, according to a police report."

Another Year And The Internet Can Legally Drink (Jan. 2, 2003)
The internet turns 20 years old.

BACKLASH--The Gary Eitel Story (Jan. 1, 2003)
"To the public it looked like a thrifty plan to use surplus military planes to fight forest fires in the West. In reality, Eitel would learn it was a scheme to divert millions of dollars worth of military aircraft to covert operators with CIA ties, while taxpayers picked up the tab."

The Thin Line Between Legal and Illegal Drugs (Jan. 1, 2003)
(Well, yes, one can't have the rich and famous getting their drugs from the street! That's where common, er, drug addicts are to be found.)

Survey : What is the most chilling government action in recent US history? (Jan. 1, 2003)
"Posse Comitatus is the legal concept that US military troops are not to be used for internal security purposes. This stems back to the revolutionary war when one of the complaints against the British was that colonial residents were compelled to house British military troops. In recent years with the 'War on Drugs,' more and more US military personnel have been used on US soil against US and non-US citizens suspected of drug crimes."

Dr. Talley investigation hangs in limbo (Jan. 1, 2003)
"In December 2001, one doctor in one obscure little Cleveland County town hit the big time, publicity-wise, when the federal Drug Enforcement Administration focused its “war on drugs” lens on his tiny office in Grover."

Calling Time on the Bad Drinking Habits of our Nation (Jan. 1, 2003)
"Mike Knight, chairman of Nottingham Pub and Club Watch and the long-serving former executive general manager of the Palais nightclub, firmly believes that reform will make Britain a better behaved nation."

Good riddance to the worst of 2002 (Jan. 1, 2002)
"That prior to 9/11, more than twice as many FBI agents were assigned to fighting drugs than fighting terrorism. And that even post-9/11, more than 2,000 agents are still spending their invaluable time fighting a fruitless drug war," and "John Ashcroft's holy-roller war against medical marijuana clubs."

Peaceful start to 2003 all over the world (Jan. 1, 2003)
"In New York City, as many as 1 million people, screened for alcohol, drugs and weapons by police using metal detectors, shed their backpacks and baggage and screamed and sang as the traditional crystal ball dropped at One Times Square."

Studies track Gulf War illness (Jan. 1, 2003)
"Recent studies investigating the effects of low levels of sarin nerve gas on animals appear to confirm the theory that some forms of Gulf War illness may have been caused by the exposure of U.S. troops to nerve gas."

Higher source helps in drug war (Jan. 1, 2003)
"Four men were arrested on cocaine charges after a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent radioed their movements from a plane circling over Fort Pierce, according to a St. Lucie County sheriff's report."

Cutting off the drug pipeline - Investigators believe efforts are hampered (Jan. 1, 2003)
"Drug investigations are a lot like trying to find a needle in a haystack - literally. Ask any area detective and the answer comes back the same each and every time - not enough manpower and too few hours in the work day to devote to drug investigations."

State's pharmacies drafted to serve in the war on drugs (Jan. 1, 2003)
"The Controlled Substances Monitoring Act, which has been debated for about four years, takes effect Wednesday. Rep. David Shepard, D-Dickson, who is a pharmacist, sponsored the bill."

Long, Hard Year Ahead Inside Afghan "Victory" (Jan. 1, 2003)
"In fact, America's Afghan adventure has gotten off to as poor a start as that of the Soviet Union. The U.S.-installed ruler of Kabul, veteran CIA asset Hamid Karzai, must be protected from his own people by up to 200 U.S. bodyguards. Much of Afghanistan is in chaos, fought over by feuding warlords and drug barons."

Incoming prosecutor targets drug dealers (Jan. 1, 2003)
"Marion County's new prosecutor took office Tuesday with promises to wage war on drugs, calling for tougher sentencing for dealers and a crackdown on meth labs."

Three face charges in major Lowell Ecstasy bust (Jan. 1, 2003)
"One of three people arrested during the biggest Ecstasy drug raid in Lowell history posted bail before he even arrived in court yesterday."

Drug legalization advocate will get hearing (Jan. 1, 2003)
A judge has ruled that the State of New Jersey will have to illustrate clearly why Ed NJ Weedman Forchion should not be in the ISP program, despite their best efforts to say they don't have to. New York Newsday also has an article today on Forchion's case.

Moldy Pot Returned To Medical Marijuana Patient (Jan. 1, 2003)
"A medical marijuana patient got his medicine back Monday -- but not before Santa Cruz County deputies let the weed go to pot."

Tyco's Kozlowski took hard line against embezzling crimes (Jan. 1, 2003)
Hypocrits rule in the US of A. "In the same year he allegedly began stealing up to $600 million from Tyco International, former Chief Executive Dennis Kozlowski urged a judge to throw the book at an employee who had embezzled a fraction of that amount from a subsidiary."

Cocaine kills brain's 'pleasure' cells (Jan. 1, 2003)
Considering all the seemingly happy, (not to mention well off or even rich) folk who do cocaine that the editor of DrugWar.com knows, this seems kinda weird, but still scientific.

Big Tobacco posts rare victory in California (Jan. 1, 2003)
"Philip Morris Cos. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings have won a lawsuit brought by relatives of a dead smoker, their first victory in California after four straight losses in individual smoker cases."

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