Already Four States Have Marijuana Legalization Bills In Play; Californians To Vote On Legalization in 2010

It can readily be said that 2009 was one of the busiest and most productive years in cannabis law reform since NORML’s founding in 1970. However, it appears as if 2010 is going to be an even busier year–notably marked by the increasing number of actual state legalization bills and a voter initiative in America’s most important state.

norml.org

Medical marijuana could be legalized in D.C. if a giant government funding bill passes Congress. House and Senate conferees have come up with a compromise conference agreement that would provide funding for most federal departments and agencies. But unlike past years, there is no provision that would prevent D.C. from legalizing medical marijuana.

nbcwashington.com
Ballot Initiative 59

A synthetic chemical similar to the active ingredient in marijuana makes new cells grow in rat brains. What is more, in rats this cell growth appears to be linked with reducing anxiety and depression. The results suggest that marijuana, or its derivatives, could actually be good for the brain.

newscientist.com

Neil Diamond changed the classic stoner lyric, "And smoke your marijuanica" to "Don't smoke your marijuanica" on his cover of Adam Sandler's "Chanukah Song."

via

Lil Wayne is one of the biggest names in hip-hop right now. Actually, he's one of the biggest names in music right now (he had the biggest-selling album of 2008). He's also geared to genre-jump by releasing a rock album in February. Besides that, we also know that the pint-size rapper has been unapologetically open about his drugs of choice which are of syrup and marijuana, but now marijuana is preventing the Louisiana native's Miami apartment from being sold for the listing price of $520,000. Potential buyers are turned off simply because it smells like marijuana.

examiner.com
nypost.com

Mexican cartels are increasingly going "old school" to keep supplying America with methamphetamine despite an ingredient squeeze.

Some gangs have responded to a Mexican crackdown on their meth chemical of choice - pseudoephedrine - by reviving a production method so old, it was used by U.S. motorcycle gangs and bathtub chemists in the 1970s and '80s, recent seizures show.

idahostatesman.com
Methamphetamine [wiki]

AUSTRALIA will have a white Christmas - we are now the world's most profitable market for cocaine cartels.

A confidential Australian Federal Police report reveals a "generational shift" towards cocaine has pushed demand for the drug to unprecedented levels, with prices to match.

In the US a kilo of cocaine is worth about $35,000, but here the street price is a staggering $190,000 a kilo.

heraldsun.com.au
news.com.au