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

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 New Mexico Department of Health on Friday announced changes to its medical marijuana regulations, one of which will add to the supply of legally grown marijuana by increasing the number of plants licensed producers can grow from 95 to 150.

Another change will create a permanent revenue stream to allow the program to pay for itself by increasing producer fees.

newsjunkiepost.com
cannabisnews.org

Twas three weeks before Christmas and in the East Shore, the weed was wrapped nicely, a major drug score. The buyer was waiting but police knew a lot, and busted two men with a trunk full of pot.

The holiday jingle unfolded on Townsend Avenue Wednesday morning, when a cross-country, 100-pound marijuana shipment, broken down and wrapped to look like Christmas presents complete with bows, arrived at a well-kept Cape Cod house in the middle-class neighborhood near the East Haven line. Police were there, too.

dailytribune.com

Cannabis has captured the attention of the world. From December 17-19, 2010, the Colorado Convention Center will be buzzing with thousands of medical marijuana experts and enthusiasts in what is being billed as the largest cannabis lifestyle convention to ever take place on planet Earth - KushCon II.

tokeofthetown.com

U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Rio Valley Sector seized more than 17,000 pounds of marijuana in multiple, unrelated seizures this past weekend.

The seizures occurred across the Rio Grande Valley from Brownsville to Rio Grande City and north to the Falfurrias and Sarita Border Patrol checkpoints. The Falfurrias Checkpoint seized the majority of the contraband with over 8,700 pounds of marijuana. The Sarita Checkpoint also kept busy netting nearly 3,000 pounds of marijuana.

mmdnewswire.com

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Wednesday that it would use its emergency powers to ban synthetic marijuana for one year, giving pot dealers across the country something to be thankful for when they sit down before their turkeys this week.

The synthetic weed, known as "K2" or "spice" and generally sold in head shops, is popular among police officers, members of the military and others looking to avoid failing a drug test, said one hemp store owner who sells the product. The high from marijuana is created by its main active ingredient THC, but also by the plant's several dozen poorly understood cannabinoids. The DEA had banned any drug containing natural or synthetic THC, but has not addressed the cannabinoids.

huffingtonpost.com
nytimes.com
businessweek.com
justice.gov

Federal authorities seized more than 2,139 pounds of marijuana from an abandoned vehicle found in the desert near Casa Grande Friday afternoon.

azfamily.com
kswt.com