Feb. 6 is Bob Marley's birthday (his 66th), and international day of remembrance and celebration of the reggae legend's life.

Bob Marley

White House Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske warned people Tuesday against taking the newest synthetic drugs, often marketed as "bath salts" and being sold legally on the Internet and in drug paraphernalia stores.

The powdered drugs are sold under such brand names as "Ivory Wave" or "Purple Wave." Kerlikowske said synthetic stimulants in them have made hundreds of users across the country sick already this year. A Mississippi sheriff's office has said the drugs are suspected in an apparent overdose death there.

washingtonpost.com

Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson has broken his long silence on marijuana. In an interview with the the Daily Mail, the 73-year-old Nicholson says he still smokes pot:

"I don’t tend to say this publicly, but we can see it’s a curative thing. The narcotics industry is also enormous. It funds terrorism and – this is a huge problem in America - fuels the foreign gangs. More than 85% of men incarcerated in America are on drug-related offenses. It costs $40,000 a year for every prisoner."

dailymail.co.uk

Czech policemen have proposed that the seized marijuana be used for medical purposes, for instance for the treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, the daily Lidove noviny (LN) writes Friday.

The Justice Ministry does not oppose the idea, LN adds.

"It is certainly logical," Justice Minister Jiri Pospisil (senior government Civic Democrats, ODS)) told the daily.

He, however, admitted that in this case the police must ensure that the drug distribution would be in compliance with law.

The Czech police annually seize and then destroy some 400 kilos of marijuana, the daily writes.

praguemonitor.com

Today is the deadline for countries to submit objections to Bolivia’s proposed amendment to remove the ban on coca leaf chewing in the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. As far as we know, six countries have formally notified the UN that they reject Bolivia’s amendment: the United States (January 19), Sweden (Jan 20), the United Kingdom (Jan 21), Canada (Jan 26), Denmark (Jan 28) and Germany (Jan 28). Some other European countries may add their objections today.

The U.S. government – anxious to avoid the impression they were the ones leading the opposition against the Bolivian proposal – initially convinced three other countries to object first so they could hide behind them. But the strategy failed when Egypt (last year), Macedonia (Jan 17) and finally Colombia (Jan 26) all withdrew their objections. The Non-Aligned Movement, Mercosur and UNASUR (Union of South American Nations) all expressed their support for the amendment. The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the advisory body to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), strongly recommended that governments support the amendment. Civil society organizations worldwide are calling on countries to abstain from submitting an objection.

whyprohibition.ca

Arizonans who get a doctor's recommendation to buy medical marijuana are going to have to shell out a little extra money for the state - and maybe a whole lot more.

Attorney General Tom Horne said Wednesday that the marijuana sold at state-regulated dispensaries being set up under Proposition 203 is subject to the state and local sales taxes.

Horne figures the levy could generate $40 million for the state, based on a Denver Post story on how much marijuana is sold through dispensaries in that community "and applying that pro-rata to the Arizona population."

azstarnet.com

The Oakland City Council postponed a vote Tuesday to amend a city law that licenses large-scale medical marijuana growing operations.

It decided to send the proposed measure to the public safety committee for consideration on Feb. 8 before the change goes before the full council for a Feb. 15 vote.

sfgate.com