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

Garri R. wollte angeblich heilen - doch seine Drogentherapie brachte zwei Menschen den Tod. Jetzt verurteilte das Berliner Landgericht den 51-jährigen Arzt zu einer Haftstrafe von vier Jahren und neun Monaten. Als Mediziner darf er in Deutschland nie wieder praktizieren.

Seit sieben Monaten sitzt Garri R. in Untersuchungshaft, in den vergangenen acht Wochen musste er sich wegen Körperverletzung mit Todesfolge sowie fünffacher Körperverletzung vor dem Berliner Landgericht verantworten

spiegel.de

The Conservative Justice Minister Rob Nicholson today condemned Marc Emery to US custody. Opting to wait until Emery was in custody on a bail technicality, Nicholson sent the order to Emery's lawyers shortly after Emery entered custody. Emery had expected to be out on bail again today as the Justice Minister was expected to request another extension on the controversial move.

whyprohibition.ca
afp
washingtonpost.com
chron.com
stopthedrugwar.org
theprovince.com

The Brooks County Sheriff's Department has a marijuana problem. They've got 200,000 pounds of pot, and they're complaining that it would be too expensive to destroy it.

"This is a problem that doesn't seem to be going away and anything we can get to help us to dispose of these cases once they're done and to get ready for the next one that are coming in would be a great help," said Deputy Daniel Davila.

whyprohibition.ca

In the 60s hippies fled to the backwoods of northern California to grow pot. There they have been joined by growers of 'medical marijuana' – available with a doctor's recommendation – as well as by Mexican drug cartels. With cannabis now its largest cash crop, the state will soon vote on whether to legalise it fully – and even Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is thinking the enormous tax revenues might just solve his budget deficit…

guardian.co.uk