War on Drugs

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Drug Cops Bust Cancun's Mayor

Gubernatorial candidate insists he's innocent

(Newser) - Mexico's drug war just got messier: Police have arrested Cancun's mayor for his alleged ties to organized crime. Gregorio Sánchez is a high-profile gubernatorial candidate whose arrest signals growing concern about the influence drug kingpins have on politicians, notes the Wall Street Journal . "Voters in Mexico are asking...

Jamaica Declares Emergency Over Drug Gang Violence

Gangs blockade Kingston to protect drug boss

(Newser) - Jamaica has declared a state of emergency as gangs backing a reputed drug lord sought by the US blockaded a huge section of Kingston and attacked police stations. The violence erupted as US authorities moved to extradite drug boss Christopher "Dudus" Coke after his indictment for heading a criminal...

Blame Mexico's Calderon for Arizona's Law

Mexico's crazy drug war set the stage

(Newser) - The real unsung villain of the Arizona immigration debacle lives south of the border, writes Bryan Curtis in the Daily Beast . Felipe Calderon's insane war on drugs has turned his side of the border “into a bloody slaughterhouse, complete with torture and beheadings. You can draw a straight line...

Hazmat Storms House Over Meth Lab&mdash;Er, Stinky Cat Box
Hazmat Storms House Over Meth Lab—Er, Stinky Cat Box
THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Apr 14, 2010 1:29 PM CDT

Hazmat Storms House Over Meth Lab—Er, Stinky Cat Box

Cops mistook kitty pee for meth lab

(Newser) - Police, firefighters, and Hazmat teams stormed a home in Westland, Mich., on Monday after the home’s owner mistook the stink emanating from an abandoned litter box for the smell of an active meth lab, WLBZ2 NBC reports. The homeowner, Sue Walters, had recently kicked out the home’s longtime...

Legalizing Pot Likely to Make California Ballot
Legalizing Pot Likely to
Make California Ballot
petition deadline today
Mar 24, 2010 7:22 AM CDT

Legalizing Pot Likely to Make California Ballot

Expect an all-out campaign brawl that could make history

(Newser) - A proposition to legalize pot in California is all but certain to garner enough signatures to appear on the ballot in November by today’s deadline. Supporters and opponents are already gearing up for the campaign, the LA Times reports. Proponents believe that California’s new, promiscuous medical marijuana culture...

Police Chief's Daughter Gunned Down in Mexico

Heavily armed men in two trucks opened fire on his home

(Newser) - Gunmen opened fire on a police chief's house in southern Mexico, killing his 23-year-old daughter and a bodyguard and wounding three others, police said yesterday. Anacleto Flores Valle, the chief of police in the Pacific coast town of Petatlan, was uninjured when heavily armed men in two trucks opened fire...

US Agents to Embed With Mexican Drug Police

Obama administration willing to work more closely with Mexico

(Newser) - The US has hatched a plan to embed American intelligence agents in Mexican police units for the first time, in an effort to hunt down drug cartel leaders. In the past, the US has hesitated to share intelligence with Mexican police, viewing them as largely corrupt and incompetent. To avoid...

That Line of Cocaine Is Killing the Rainforest: UK Cops
That Line of Cocaine Is Killing the Rainforest: UK Cops
TRUTH IN ADVERTISING
Dec 16, 2009 10:04 PM CST

That Line of Cocaine Is Killing the Rainforest: UK Cops

Law partners with Greenpeace in campaign aimed at greens

(Newser) - Cops the world over are looking for reasons to stop you from snorting cocaine, but a new campaign in the UK takes a new angle: It’s killing the rainforests. London’s Metropolitan Police—with the government’s backing—has teamed up with Greenpeace on this one, the Times reports,...

Drug Czar Needs to Look Beyond Worthless Laws
 Drug Czar Needs 
 to Look Beyond 
 Worthless Laws  


GEORGE F. WILL
Oct 29, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

Drug Czar Needs to Look Beyond Worthless Laws

Enforcement doesn't work, but there is hope elsewhere

(Newser) - In a chat with new czar Gil Kerlikowske, George Will notes that the war on drugs, as it has been waged, is an utter failure. Harsh drug laws have done nothing to reduce drug-taking, he writes, and incarcerating drug users is looking more and more wasteful to strapped states. “...

Obama Pot Policy a Victory for States' Rights
Obama Pot Policy a Victory for States' Rights
OPINION
Oct 19, 2009 5:31 PM CDT

Obama Pot Policy a Victory for States' Rights

Administration takes long-overdue steps to end Bush-era excesses

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s decision to respect state laws on medical marijuana is good policy—and not just because it demonstrates compassion toward cancer and AIDS patients, writes Glenn Greenwald. Despite his critics’ charges of “socialism” and “fascism,” President Obama is showing that his administration, unlike the...

US-Grown Mom n' Pop Pot Burns Mexican Cartels

Economic forces more potent than law enforcement

(Newser) - Mexican drug cartels are facing an opponent more formidable than law enforcement: competition. The long-growing illicit US pot industry has gotten a shot in the arm from the new rules surrounding medical marijuana, the Washington Post reports. Whereas once Mexican and Colombian groups produced nearly all the pot consumed in...

Heroin Makes a Comeback
 Heroin Makes a Comeback 
Aug 5, 2009 5:00 PM CDT

Heroin Makes a Comeback

Price falls, availability surges for drug

(Newser) - The last 2 weeks have seen authorities seize huge amounts of heroin across the country—a combined 510 pounds in California, plus 17 more in New York. The drug hasn't been this readily available since the 1970s, reports the Christian Science Monitor, and authorities are worried because today's version is...

Medical Marijuana Loophole Has LA Fuming

Overrun, city cracks down on dispensaries

(Newser) - After letting marijuana dispensaries multiply across the city, Los Angeles is getting tough on them, telling some to shut down while the city council works to close a loophole that allowed many to open. The city issued a moratorium on new dispensaries in 2007, but many people filed “hardship...

Let's Lock Up Casual Drug Users
 Let's Lock Up 
 Casual Drug Users 
OPINION
Jun 30, 2009 12:10 PM CDT

Let's Lock Up Casual Drug Users

Addicts need help, but casual users need jail: Monbiot

(Newser) - The head of the UN drug and crime office recommended last week that casual drug use be decriminalized and said users "need medical help, not criminal prosecution." We should certainly help addicts, but casual users of marijuana and cocaine belong in jail, George Monbiot of the Guardian writes....

We've Lost the War on Drugs
 We've Lost the War on Drugs 
OPINION
Jun 14, 2009 7:14 AM CDT

We've Lost the War on Drugs

It's time for a new approach: Kristof

(Newser) - The war on drugs has been waged for 40 years, but despite spending $44 billion annually, “the drugs have won,” writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times. A former police chief notes that “drugs are more readily available, at lower prices and higher levels of potency—...

London Cops Waterboarded Drug Suspects: Report

Officers also accused of fabricating evidence, theft

(Newser) - London police subjected accused pot dealers to waterboarding, charges a major inquiry into corruption and police brutality in the British capital. The investigation also claims that officers fabricated evidence and stole property from suspects in a drug case. Six officers are facing criminal proceedings, reports the Times of London, but...

Drugs Czar Calls for End to 'War on Drugs'

Change in terminology signals shift in drug policy towards treatment instead of jail

(Newser) - The Obama administration's newly confirmed drug czar wants to ditch the term "War on Drugs," the Wall Street Journal reports. The combative term is a barrier to dealing with the issue properly, said Gil Kerlikowske, highlighting the administration's plans to deal with drug abuse as a public...

End Failed Drug War: Go After Kingpins
 End Failed Drug War: 
 Go After Kingpins 
OPINION
Apr 18, 2009 3:27 PM CDT

End Failed Drug War: Go After Kingpins

(Newser) - The "war on drugs" has been an abject failure—crowded jails and a still-thriving narcotics trade prove that—and it's time for some "visionary" thinking, writes Cynthia Tucker in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The nation's not ready for legalization, but how about some concrete steps: Stop going after "...

Obama Lands in Mexico to Press Drug War
 Obama Lands in Mexico 
 to Press Drug War 
UPDATED
Apr 16, 2009 9:10 AM CDT

Obama Lands in Mexico to Press Drug War

(Newser) - President Obama began his first official Latin American tour with a visit to Mexico City today, the New York Times reports. Obama landed this afternoon for the first presidential visit to Mexico’s capital since the Clinton administration. He’ll meet with Felipe Calderón to discuss the economy, trade...

Legalize Pot? That's Nearly the Case Now in Calif.

(Newser) - Don’t look now, but marijuana is essentially legal in California, the Washington Post reports. Medical marijuana facilities litter the state, some offering only the flimsiest pretext of medical care. Stride into the Medical Kush Beach Club in Venice Beach, for example, and two scantily clad women will lead you...

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