9/11 director gave evidence to own inquiry (Jan. 16, 2004)
"The panel set up to investigate why the United States failed to prevent the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, faced angry questions Thursday after revelations that two of its own senior officials were so closely involved in the events under investigation that they have been interviewed as part of the inquiry." But don't worry, it's just the truth about what happened on Sept. 11 that the commission is interested in. They wouldn't possibly be interested in creating yet another official government whitewash of embarrassing and probably even murderously traitorous criminal acts on the part of certain US government and intelligence officials.

Halliburton part of French probe (Jan. 16, 2004)
What? Dick Cheney might be a white collar criminal mafia type? What a surprise!

Grower found guilty in medical marijuana case (Jan. 16, 2004)
"Kevin Johnson, Ginn's court- appointed attorney, said he wasn't surprised by the verdict because an earlier ruling by Judge Thomas McPhee forbade him from presenting medical reasons as his client's defense for growing and distributing marijuana, a controlled substance." Another egregeous example of the lack of justice in the US courts when it comes to drug cases.

Internal Utility Industry Documents Reveal Conspiracy to Violate Clean Air Laws and Harm Public Health (Jan.l 16, 2004)
"Internal electric utility documents reveal the industry has known for more than a decade that massive air pollution increases from coal-fired power plants violate the Clean Air Act. According to a recent Justice Department brief, the documents contradict oft-repeated complaints by industry officials that they had no idea they had run afoul of the Environmental Protection Agency's interpretation of the law until the agency filed the first of several high-profile enforcement lawsuits in 1999."In other words, growing pot is bad, growing pollution is good.

French Judge Wants Cheney to Testify in Halliburton Scandal (Jan. 14, 2004)
"A French judge is threatening to subpoena – and even to prosecute—the Vice President of the United States in a huge scandal involving Halliburton, when its CEO was Richard Cheney."

ACLU Asks Court to Protect Confidentiality of Rush Limbaugh’s Medical Records (Jan. 14, 2004)
"In a motion filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida said state law enforcement officers violated Rush Limbaugh’s privacy rights by seizing the conservative radio talk show host's medical records as part of a criminal investigation involving alleged 'doctor-shopping.'"

Weedman mission hits a serious snag (Jan. 13, 2004)
"The Weedman strikes again. This time, his antigovernment attitude - not his drug habit - may send him back to jail."

What They Don't Want You to Know (Jan. 13, 2004)
"By a simple mathematical comparison of American and al-Qaeda terror, the latter is a lethal flea. In the past 50 years, the US has supported and trained state terrorists in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The toll of their victims is in the millions."

High caused by exercise may be related to cannabis (Jan. 13, 2004)
"The study's findings, published in the journal NeuroReport, challenges the belief that the release of brain chemicals called endorphins causes the peculiar high that some runners and cyclists claim to feel. Arne Dietrich, the study's principal investigator, believes the body releases cannabinoids to help it cope with the prolonged stress and pain of moderate or intense exercise."

The Awful Truth (Jan. 13, 2004- Free NYTimes registration required)
"People are saying terrible things about George Bush...But these irrational Bush haters are body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freaks who should go back where they came from: the executive offices of Alcoa, and the halls of the Army War College."

MoveOn.org Awards Show Tonight (Jan. 12, 2004)
Watch and listen to the awards for the best anti-Bush, pro-thinking commercials tonight, broadcast live from NYC.

The 9/11 Truth Candidate (Jan. 12, 2004)
"Worried about America's future under George W. Bush and his corporate puppeteers?" Check out the campaign of Republican John Buchanan.

MI5 Riddle of the Runaway Drug Baron (Jan. 11, 2004)
"An escaped drug baron who helped cause a Customs man's death has been spirited out of Britain by the secret service, police believe. Sources say cannabis smuggler Roddy McLean is hiding in Africa after walking to freedom from an open prison."

The Barreling Bushes (Jan. 11, 2004)
"There is no evidence to suggest that the events of Sept. 11 could have been prevented or discovered ahead of time had someone other than a Bush been president. But there is certainly enough to suggest that the Bush dynasty's many decades of entanglement and money-hunting in the Middle East have created a major conflict of interest that deserves to be part of the 2004 political debate. No previous presidency has had anything remotely similar. Not one."

Bush Administration Admits to Leaving Communities at Risk from Toxic Waste in 2003 (Jan. 11, 2004)
"In other words, pot growers and drug users are bad, toxic waste pollution and polluters not so bad."

Saddam's Ouster Planned In 2001? (Jan. 11, 2004)
"The Bush Administration began making plans for an invasion of Iraq, including the use of American troops, within days of President Bush's inauguration in January of 2001 -- not eight months later after the 9/11 attacks, as has been previously reported." This is a former employee of Bush making this assertion, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.

9 Officers Cited for Contempt in Pot Case (Jan. 11, 2004)
"In a collision of federal and state drug laws, nine law enforcement officers, including a federal drug agent, were issued contempt citations Wednesday and ordered by a judge to appear in court Feb. 2 to explain why they shouldn't be jailed or fined."

High Appeals (Jan.11, 2004)
"After patting their suspects down and running background checks, officers saddled the men with $150 citations. (Upon seeing the tickets, one rally member asked whether this meant anybody could blaze up at Independence Mall, provided they had $150 to burn."

Second safe injection site needed, says mayor (Jan. 11, 2004)
"Speaking on CBC Radio's The Early Edition, the mayor says the current clinic on the Downtown Eastside – which opened less than six months ago – can't handle any more addicts." Also hear the audio statement here.

GOP refutes Limbaugh (Jan. 10, 2004)
"All of them acknowledged that they were trying to capitalize on the publicity surrounding the very conservative talk-radio host who is under investigation for "doctor-shopping," fraudulently obtaining exessive amounts of prescription painkillers. So were all these very conservative Republicans also 'singling out' Rush Limbaugh?"

Enron and the System (Jan. 10, 2004)
"Mr. Fastow's testimony will probably lead to charges against other former Enron executives. But it would be a big mistake to conclude that the system is working. It isn't."

Bush Grabs New Power for FBI (Jan. 10, 2004)
"While the nation was distracted last month by images of Saddam Hussein's spider hole and dental exam, President George W. Bush quietly signed into law a new bill that gives the FBI increased surveillance powers and dramatically expands the reach of the USA Patriot Act."

'U.S. Climate Policy Bigger Threat to World Than Terrorism' (Jan. 10, 2004)
"Tony Blair's chief scientist has launched a withering attack on President George Bush for failing to tackle climate change, which he says is more serious than terrorism."

D.A.R.E. teen attends special session at FBI headquarters (Jan. 9, 2004)
What have they done to this girl's mind? Take a look at the photo here and try to say there's nothing wrong with this picture.

The war on (affordable) drugs (Jan. 9, 2004)
"In this war on drugs, the federal government has lined up not against Joe Crack Dealer, but against mid-income senior citizens and a growing number of state officials who are beginning to blatantly ignore the FDA rules."

Drug Warriors Try to Censor their Opponents (Jan. 9, 2004)
"Those who might be tempted to dismiss the significance of efforts to gag proponents of drug legalization should know that government officials have already sought to implement censorship measures (albeit more limited ones than the comprehensive bans suggested by some drug warriors)."

Africa's Pot War (Jan. 9, 2004)
"Feds promoting prohibition--in Ghana."

Carnegie Group Says Bush Made Wrong Claims on WMD (Jan. 9, 2004)
"The Bush administration will today be accused of 'systematically misrepresenting' the threat posed by 'Iraq's weapons of mass destruction' in a comprehensive report on post-war findings." In other words, it was "Iraqi WMD: Myths and ... more myths."

911 For The Truth (Jan. 9, 2004)
Check out the latest news on the Mariani vs. Bush lawsuit as well as other Sept. 11 terror attack-related news.

Should Rush Go to Jail? (Jan. 9, 2004)
Should Rush be put behind bars or left alone? You can vote on it here.

The Bush Hitler Thing (Jan. 9, 2004)
A TruthOut reader and survivor of the holocaust in Europe explains why the comparisons between the Bush administration and the Hitler administration are not only valid but scary as hell too.

That Pesky Bush-Hitler Thing (Jan. 7, 2004)
"Here we go again. Another bone-head with a Bush-Hitler analogy. How many times have we told folks this? Bush is not Hitler, Bush is not Hitler, Bush is not Hitler. Holy cow, this is getting really frustrating. Why won't this thing die? Just because his grandfather Prescott Bush financed Hitler's rise to power, do they think that means George W. Bush has Nazi tendencies? That's absurd. Is it fair to say that just because the U.S. government had to step in and shut down Prescott Bush's Union Banking Corporation operations in New York in 1942, under the Trading With the Enemy Act, that this Bush should viewed with caution and skepticism? That's just silly."

Advertising executives charged with cheating U.S. in $684M anti-drug campaign (Jan. 7, 2004)
"A current and a former executive at the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency were charged Tuesday with conspiracy for allegedly overbilling the U.S. government for a campaign to reduce the illegal drug trade." It's amazing how well prohibition has decreased the levels of criminality in the US.

Quarantining dissent (Jan. 7, 2004)
"When President Bush travels around the United States, the Secret Service visits the location ahead of time and orders local police to set up "free speech zones" or 'protest zones,' where people opposed to Bush policies (and sometimes sign-carrying supporters) are quarantined. These zones routinely succeed in keeping protesters out of presidential sight and outside the view of media covering the event."

Republican Lawmaker Introduces Medicinal Marijuana Bill (Jan. 7, 2004)
"Underheim's motives stem from his own bout with prostate cancer." So in other words, it took this guy getting cancer himself to finally see the light? Does anyone else see this as really sad?

Your bank account, your liberties (Jan. 7, 2004)
How can at least half (read: Republicrat) the US be so unconcerned about the continued shredding of our Constitutionally protected rights? There's some scary stuff happening in this country, and it hasn't a thing to do with foreign terrorists.

More Than They Deserve (Jan. 7, 2004)
"The population in federal prisons has quadrupled from 43,000 inmates in 1987 to 173,000 today - at a cost to taxpayers of $4 billion a year." This is an ok expenditure but universal health care isn't? What's wrong with the thinking in the US? What happened to Christian morals?

Guilt by association (Jan. 7, 2004)
Canadian government's latest smuggling scandal.

Principal Resigns Over School Drug Raid (Jan. 5, 2004)
"The principal of a high school where police drew their guns on students and ordered them to the floor during a drug raid announced his resignation Monday."

Two Loud Words (Jan. 4, 2004)
"This is a whiff of colossal proportions, the implications of which will echo down the halls of history unless someone develops enough spine to speak the truth into a large microphone. The talking point is not difficult to manage. It was splashed in gaudy multi-point font across the front page of the New York Post in May of 2002. Two words: 'Bush Knew.' It is, frankly, amazing that this has fallen down the memory hole."

Heavy, Long-Term Use of Cannabis Might Be Linked to Numerous Negative Features in American Users (Jan 5, 2004)
What with all the studies that have come out in support of prohibitionistic views, it is hard for many to believe any study that purports to show ill effects from the use of marijuana.

Condi and the 9/11 Commission (Jan. 3, 2004)
"National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is apparently not keen on going under oath for the Kean 9/11 commission." Considering the fact Rice told the US public that no one could have imagined terrorists using planes as missiles, knowing full well what bologna that comment was, it isn't surprising she is hesitant to testify under oath. What else has she lied to us about? "Two government sources tell TIME that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is arguing over ground rules for her appearance in part because she does not want to testify under oath or, according to one source, in public."

Past Defeat and Personal Quest Shape Long-Shot Kucinich Bid (Jan. 3, 2004)
"Now, after a stunning political comeback that culminated with his election to the House of Representatives in 1996, Mr. Kucinich — the boy mayor who was so bombastic he fired his police chief live on the 6 o'clock news — is seeking the White House, on a platform of "nonviolence as an organizing principle of society." He wants to pull out of Iraq, sharply reduce the Pentagon budget and establish a cabinet-level Department of Peace."

Newsbrief: Bush Administration Using Colombia Drug War to Go After Venezuela's Chavez (Jan. 2, 2004)
"They didn't manage to get rid of him with the failed April coup attempt. Now, members of the Bush administration are using alleged links between the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and leftist guerrillas in neighboring Colombia to press for stronger action against Chavez."

Pain Treatment Advocates to March on Washington this April, Call for Congressional Hearings on the DEA's War on Doctors (Jan. 2, 2004)
Calling for sanity in how the DEA prosecutes doctors who treat pain.

Nine hundred and Eleven Missing Pieces (Jan. 2, 2004)
So many questions remain unanswered about the September 11 terrorist attacks. Will we ever here answers to the questions as these which the victims' widows feaetured in this article are demanding?

The Cow Jumped Over the U.S.D.A. (Jan. 2, 2004)
"Right now you'd have a hard time finding a federal agency more completely dominated by the industry it was created to regulate...The beef industry has fought for nearly two decades against government testing for any dangerous pathogens, and it isn't hard to guess why: when there is no true grasp of how far and wide a food-borne pathogen has spread, there's no obligation to bear the cost of dealing with it...Last year the Agriculture Department tested only 20,000 cattle for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, out of the roughly 35 million slaughtered."

Justice Takes Its Time (Jan 2, 2004)
Another innocent American does 19 years in prison for a terrible crime he had nothing to do with, with the courts trying to crew him at every turn before he finally wins his release.

A Community of Ex-Cons Shows How to Bring Prisoners Back Into Society (Jan. 2, 2004-Free NYTimes registration required)
"Delancey Street's 'third way' — neither harshly punitive, nor mindlessly permissive — has won backers ranging from Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, to George Shultz, secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan."

9/11 Conspiracy Theories Abound, and Inquiry Takes Note (Jan. 2, 2004)
Considering the countless lies and disinformation shoveled down the US citizenry's collective throat, it is not difficult to suspect the very worst in terms of what happened before, during and after the September 11, terrorist attack in the United States. From Condolezza's Rice's incredible claim that no one in the administration or government had ever contemplated planes being used as missiles, to Bush naming Henry Kissinger to the Sept. 11 commission (a nomination rapidly withdrawn due to outraged public opinion), from the terrorist plot Bojinka, which called for the use of planes as missiles and uncovered by US intelligence forces back in the early to mid-90s to US officials fetting and supporting the Taliban for years, the stinking connections between the US government and its intelligence services and the apparent terrorists themselves, make it easy suspect nefarious involvement at some level or other of certain US officials in the worst terrorist attacks on US soil ever.

Threats to Democracy at Code-Red Level (Jan. 2, 2004)
"Consider the USA Patriot Act titled 'Uniting and strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Funds to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.' Noble as that objective is, the act's provisions are scary. Government can now collect data on library withdrawals, charge card records, medical and financial histories. Surveillance can be ratcheted to monitor your e-mail, wiretap you under a generic warrant, search your home without a warrant and label you a "terrorist" if you are among activists exercising rights to dissent."

City Auditor Criticizing Police Over Drug War (Jan. 1, 2004)
"The city of Syracuse is pumping $34 million a year into the Syracuse Police Department. City auditor Minch Lewis says taxpayers aren't getting their money's worth...Lewis says his solution is to decriminalize personal drug use, treating the problem with medicine instead."

Editorial: ‘Protecting’ the public from drugs (Jan. 1, 2004)
"In other words, at the same time that the federal government is forcing you to spend your money to publicize its willingness to engage in storm trooper tactics to persecute the tens of millions Americans who smoke or have smoked marijuana, it is trying to prohibit you from having the freedom to spend your money to protest these same tactics."

Forget the War on Drugs Already (Jan. 1, 2004)
"The U.S. Supreme Court recently let stand a lower court ruling barring Uncle Sam from punishing doctors who prescribe medical marijuana. California's new governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, admits to past drug use. Radio host Rush Limbaugh has sought drug treatment, forcing even prohibitionist conservatives to acknowledge the pervasiveness of drug abuse. The war on drugs is going badly."

Rehnquist rips PROTECT Act (Jan. 1, 2004)
"Chief Justice William Rehnquist, in a year-end report released Thursday, ripped a federal law he said comes close to intimidating federal judges who hand down lighter sentences."

US ready to seize Gulf oil in 1973 (Jan. 1, 2004)
"The United States considered using force to seize oilfields in the Middle East during an oil embargo by Arab states in 1973, according to British government documents just made public."

Slaughterhouse Politics (Jan. 1, 2004)
"Ranchers Fought Rules That Might Have Prevented Mad Cow."

A time and place for drugs (Dec. 31, 2003)
"Should you do drugs? Not all use is intrinsically bad."

Mad Cow USA: The Nightmare Begins (Dec. 31, 2003)
"It was the livestock feed industry that led the effort in the early 1990s to lobby into law the Texas food disparagement act, and when an uppity Oprah hosted an April 1996, program featuring rancher-turned vegan activist Howard Lyman, she and her guest became the first people sued for the crime of sullying the good name of beef."

bemushröömed (Dec. 31, 2003)
From "Hallucinogenic Fungi of Mexico" by Robert Gordon Wasson.

American 'Values' Cast a Global Shadow (Dec. 31, 2003)
"Mulligan, for one, points to the 'war on drugs' as key, a war that has seen the rate of imprisonment of drug offenders jump by 700 percent since 1980; a war that depends on narrowly targeted law enforcement and on mandatory prison sentences. In 2002, 80 percent of those receiving such sentences were minorities. The war on drugs has been disproportionately a war on young black men."

Alaskans to Vote on Pot Legalization in '04 Elections (Dec. 31, 2003)
"Registered voters will get a chance to decide next year whether to legalize private use of marijuana for Alaskans 21 and older. Lt. Gov. Loren Leman notified initiative sponsors in late November that the petition has the 28,782 signatures necessary to get the question on the 2004 ballot."

Do Medications Really Expire (Dec. 31, 2003)
"In other words, are drug manufacturers being honest with us when they put an expiration date on their medications, or is the practice of dating just another drug industry scam, to get us to buy new medications when the old ones that purportedly have 'expired' are still perfectly good?"

The Medicare Sham: Pharmaceutical Industry the Real Winner (Dec. 31, 2003)
"It’s difficult to really point a finger at exactly what the new Medicare legislation will cost Americans in the long run...But the real winners are the pharmaceutical companies that will reap the greatest benefit of all. They will continue to be able to gouge Americans who have no choice but to pay exorbitant prices for medication they need. And they’ll do it with the cooperation and support of our legislators in Washington, and the President."

Strip-search ruled illegal in drug arrest (Dec. 30, 2003)
"The Court of Special Appeals has reversed the drug conviction of Chris Nieves, ruling that police obtained evidence during an unconstitutional strip-search of the Washington County man."

Ecstasy Death Boy Was Actor in Anti-Drugs Film (Dec. 30, 2003)
"A 15-year-old boy who died after apparently taking ecstasy acted in an anti-drugs film screened just a week before he collapsed, it emerged today."

Researchers Testing Idea Of Weed-Sniffing Dog (Dec. 30, 2003)
"That's the hope of researchers like Kim Goodwin, who are studying whether dogs can be trained to detect the prolific - and problematic - spotted knapweed the same way they can be trained to sniff out drugs and bombs."

Reveller killed by 'dodgy' ecstasy (Dec. 30, 2003)
"A 20-year-old lifeguard has died and five of his friends have been hospitalised after they took ecstasy at a party. Police believe Scott McSephney and his friends were supplied the tablets from a 'dodgy batch' of the drug."

FRANK drugs warning for new year revellers (Dec. 30, 2003)
"Young people thinking of taking drugs this New Years' Eve are being encouraged talk to the Government's FRANK helpline. New reseach published today shows that a third of clubbers surveyed was using both drugs and alcohol."

In their own words (Dec. 30, 2003)
Teens talk about their widely varied views on illegal drugs.

Where it begins (Dec. 30, 2003)
More on kids and drugs, who seem to be, according to this other article, starting young.

Herbal supplement ephedra to be banned (Dec. 30, 2003)
"Federal officials are moving to ban the sale of the herbal supplement ephedra because of continued health concerns about the product."

Bitter Harvest- Opium Production in Afghanistan (Dec. 30, 2003)
PBS has set up an interactive map here, showing the routes from Afghan poppy fields (run in large part by current US allies) to Western markets.

Worried Pain Doctors Decry Prosecutions (Dec. 30, 2003)
"In recent years, similar charges of illegally prescribing prescription narcotics, criminal conspiracy, racketeering and even murder have been brought in dozens of states against scores of doctors who treat chronic pain with prescription narcotics. At least two have been imprisoned, one committed suicide, several are awaiting sentencing, many are preparing for trial, and more have lost their licenses to practice medicine and accumulated huge legal bills."

With a Whisper, Not a Bang (Dec. 30, 2003)
"Bush signs parts of Patriot Act II into law — stealthily."

FBI Links Almanacs With Terror Planning (Dec. 30, 2003)
Don't carry around an almanac or you risk questioning by the authorities.

A war on sanity (Dec. 26, 2003)
"The government doesn't even want you to have the right to protest its stupid war on drugs."

McGill marijuana study underway (Dec. 26, 2003)
"After years of delay, a Canadian study on the value of marijuana as a pain reliever is underway in Montreal."

Marijuana activist uses act of defiance to launch campaign (Dec. 26, 2003)
"Newly off probation, Ed Forchion of Browns Mills announced a bid for the U.S. House, then lit up."

Free Tommy Chong (Dec. 26, 2003)
Who will come to the defense of those non-celebrities who become the next targeted victims of this senseless, wasteful and destructive War on Some Drugs and Users, if someone so well known as well as non-threatening Tommy Chong can and has been so unfairly prosecuted?

Ed puts Weed behind the wheel (Dec. 26, 2003)
"The veteran officer claims today's weed is 300 times stronger than pot grown 30 years ago -- he says he knows of crackheads who won't touch the stuff." This officer is supposedly an "expert" but would you trust anyone who utters totally falicious and bizarre claims like this? Apparently those who make and enforce the anti-drug laws the do.

Secrets, Lies and Media Privilege (Dec. 26, 2003)
"Should government agents, operating on their own authority and in violation of privacy law, be allowed to smear Americans by leaking false information to the media? Are journalists who print those lies protected by the 1st Amendment from revealing their sources, thereby preventing those falsely accused from obtaining justice through lawsuits?"

Lawyer Accuses Housekeeper of Blackmailing Limbaugh (Dec. 23, 2003)
"The onetime housekeeper for Rush Limbaugh who told Florida law enforcement authorities that she and her husband illegally supplied him with prescription pain pills was blackmailing him in return for their silence, Mr. Limbaugh's lawyers said yesterday."

Maradonas Plastic Penis Gone Missing (Dec. 23, 2003)
"A fake plastic penis, used by Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona to pass drug tests, has disappeared on a tour of the country. A museum in Buenos Aires had been given it for its historical significance."

George Dubya found caught in a dirt-tunnel hideout, 20 feet beneath the White House (Dec. 23, 2003)
So where are the bearded Dubya dolls?

Schools to have random search for illegal drugs (Dec. 21, 2003)
"The Arkansas City High School and Middle School will have 10 random drug searches before the current school year ends."

Three arrested over 'drugs website' (Dec. 21, 2003)
"Police believe they have uncovered the first website in the UK allegedly designed to sell illegal drugs over the internet."

Setback for Ashcroft's Radical Agenda (Dec. 21, 2003)
"Constitutionally, the questions in Padilla's case are very roughly twofold: first, whether the President's rights, as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, supercede those of Congress, which has authority to determine issues of due process; and secondly, when military matters involve a threat to national security on U.S. soil itself, whether a declaration of war or war making authority – such as that Congress gave Bush after 9-11 – is enough to give Bush the latitude to, for example, suspend basic constitutional rights."

Secondary School Under Siege by US Forces (Dec. 21, 2003)
Rounding up stone-throwing children in Iraq.

Al Gore's Son Arrested for Pot Possession (Dec. 21, 2003)
"The son of former vice president and 2000 Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore has been charged with marijuana possession. Albert A. Gore III, 21, was arrested Friday night after he was stopped for driving a vehicle without its headlights on."

Afghanistan: Drug War Yields to Terror War as Rumsfeld Glad-Hands Drug Dealing Warlords (Dec. 19, 2003)
"Despite all its fulminations about wiping out the global drug trade, the US government is once again turning a blind eye to the trade when some of its key allies are the ones overseeing the drug running."