More than 30 years after it was written, the Pentagon has released a memorandum detailing its involvement in the CIA’s infamous Cold War mind-control experiments.

But a warning to conspiracy theorists on the lookout for new fodder: This isn’t quite Men Who Stare at Goats II.

The 17-page document (.pdf), “Experimentation Programs conducted by the Department of Defense That Had CIA Sponsorship or Participation and That Involved the Administration to Human Subjects of Drugs Intended for Mind-Control or Behavior-Modification Purposes,” was prepared in 1977 by the General Counsel of the Department of Defense and released on May 6 after a Freedom of Information Act request.

wired.com

Our friends at LEAP noticed this remarkable DEA testimony at a Senate hearing:

Mexico is the number one foreign supplier of marijuana abused in the United States. In fact, according to a 2008 inter-agency report, marijuana is the top revenue generator for Mexican DTOs—a cash crop that finances corruption and the carnage of violence year after year. The profits derived from marijuana trafficking—an industry with minimal overhead costs, controlled entirely by the traffickers—are used not only to finance other drug enterprises by Mexico’s poly-drug cartels, but also to pay recurring “business” expenses, purchase weapons, and bribe corrupt officials.

What a mess. Who'd have guessed that a drug known for producing feeling of pleasant relaxation would end up financing massive international networks of murderous gangsters.

stopthedrugwar.org

Prävention statt Kampf gegen Drogen: Mit der am Dienstag vorgestellten Kontrollstrategie will sich US-Präsident Obama von seinem Vorgänger Bush distanzieren. Dieser antwortete auf Drogenmissbrauch vor allem mit Gefängnisstrafen. Obamas oberster Drogenkontrolleur sieht in der Abhängigkeit eine Krankheit und will diese auch als solche behandeln. Wie viel davon Rhetorik ist, bleibt offen, denn mehr als die Hälfte des Budgets zur Drogenkontrolle kommen dem Heimatschutz-, Justiz- und Verteidigungsministerium zugute.

orf.at

Four decades after President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs, the White House yesterday announced a shift in national drug policy that would treat illegal drug use more as a public health issue and plunge more resources into prevention and treatment.

The new drug control strategy boosts community-based antidrug programs, encourages health care providers to screen for drug problems before addiction sets in, and expands treatment beyond specialty centers to mainstream health care facilities.

boston.com
Is Obama Serious About Ending the War on Drugs?

Auf dem Flughafen von Madrid endete das Kostümspiel: Zwei als Piloten verkleidete Männer wurden bei dem Versuch entdeckt, Drogen aus Bolivien nach Europa zu schmuggeln. Ihr Fehler: Sie verhielten sich anders als richtige Crew-Mitglieder.

spiegel.de