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US of A and Drugs

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'...and in Massachusetts, a police drug-testing technician was found to have been high on ketamine, LSD, cocaine, or methamphetamines almost every day at work for the past eight years.'

House passes bill to legalize marijuana in NM. Illinois Set to Become the First State to Elminate Cash Bail. Illinois will make history by becoming the first US state to end cash bail.

Illinois Set to Become the First State to Elminate Cash Bail

Instead, judges must impose the least restrictive measures to make sure defendants show up in court. This reform and others—which passed the state legislature as a package on January 20 and now await an all-but-certain signature from Governor JB Pritzker (D)—come after a years-long campaign to address systemic racism in Illinois’ courts and jails. “The community drove the movement to end money bond in Illinois,” Sharone Mitchell, director of the Illinois Justice Project, told Filter. “Advocates, activists, and concerned people built a coalition, organized across the state, pushed the media’s conversation, partnered with legislators, and consulted with key stakeholders to make this happen. Oregon Voters Approve Decriminalizing All Drugs in Stunning Victory.

NPR Choice page. Oregon Is Poised to Legalize Shrooms. It’s Just the Beginning. The Covert History of Narcs in High Schools. In high school, rumors spread like wildfire, and in almost every class, suspicions inevitably arise about the presence of a narc.

The Covert History of Narcs in High Schools

The person in question is usually a young man who’s significantly larger than his fellow classmates. States With Legal Marijuana Would Be Protected From Feds Under Newly Filed Bill. As more states enter the growing landscape of legal marijuana, jurisdictions are taking on the responsibility of addressing social justice and equity for communities targeted by the drug war in their legislation earlier in the process instead of trying to address the issue later, as has been the case in many states that have ended cannabis prohibition to date.

States With Legal Marijuana Would Be Protected From Feds Under Newly Filed Bill

For Shaleen Title, the sea change is timely and welcome. In September 2017, the drug policy activist and attorney became one of five members of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission after her appointment by the state’s governor, treasurer and attorney general. Rollingstone. Salon. ‘We’ll never be the same’: How a hydroponic tomato garden inspired cops to raid a family’s home. The hydroponic tomato garden that led to a 2012 police raid.

‘We’ll never be the same’: How a hydroponic tomato garden inspired cops to raid a family’s home

(Court exhibit.) The police report would claim it all kicked off at 7:38 a.m., but Bob Harte later thought it had to be earlier. Measuring vapor pressure of THC paves the way for reliable marijuana breathalyzer. As marijuana legalization sweeps through the United States there is a pressing need for an accurate roadside test for intoxication.

Measuring vapor pressure of THC paves the way for reliable marijuana breathalyzer

Inside Trump’s Disastrous ‘Secret’ Drug War Plans for Central America. Nothing really puts you in your place quite like getting shot at in another country.

Inside Trump’s Disastrous ‘Secret’ Drug War Plans for Central America

All gringo arrogance vaporized in an instant. Choking from teargas. Lungs aflame. Colorado's marijuana profits are going to schools and fighting opioid addiction. Colorado’s experiment in legalizing recreational marijuana has been very successful in raising the state’s revenues.

Colorado's marijuana profits are going to schools and fighting opioid addiction

Last year they used some of their millions towards education scholarships amongst other things. This year, with more than $105 million in the state’s Marijuana Tax Cash Fund, Colorado will be spending that money on education, public health and their own industry’s oversight. Colorado’s new budget devotes $15.3 million in weed tax revenue to pay for “permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing assistance for individuals with behavioral health needs, and for individuals experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.”

Dookhan drug case dismissals reach 21,587 - News - capecodtimes.com - Hyannis, MA. 7 district attorneys file intent with state.

Dookhan drug case dismissals reach 21,587 - News - capecodtimes.com - Hyannis, MA

By Andy Metzger / State House News Service. BUMMER! I couldn’t be less bullish on cannabis startups. And the venture industry seems to agree. Deep History and the Global Drug Connection, Part 3: A Deadly Bureaucracy. Deep History and the Global Drug Connection, Part 1. To many, the anecdote described below will sound far-fetched, and logical minds may suspect that the Vietnam vet in the story created the “incident” himself.

Deep History and the Global Drug Connection, Part 1

But as those who lived through that period may remember, representatives of the covert side of government did far worse — and often. Infiltration, intimidation, framing, and more were all part of the arsenal against the “disloyal.” Why Are Heroin, Cocaine and Other Drugs Really Illegal? We Must Never Forget the Answers. The San Francisco Drug Economy. Editor's note: Unless otherwise stated, all names in this article have been changed.

The San Francisco Drug Economy

On a short stretch of Market Street, sandwiched between the headquarters of Twitter and Uber, one of San Francisco’s most lucrative economies runs its daily course. Here, in the street, men lean against walls in the shadows, muttering their wares to passersby: “Weed...Hey, you want some marijuana, man?... I got Addies...Roxies...” In many ways, they are consummate salesmen: To evade patrolling cops, they often rely on subtlety rather than obtrusiveness.

Throughout the city of San Francisco, there are hotspots for certain drugs. These illicit drug sales represent a massive market in the city — one with an estimated value of $400 million. To better understand what drugs cost on the street, we decided to talk to a few ex-drug dealers and users who are familiar with the city’s drug landscape. Is taking drugs a human right? A cross-party group of MPs and peers think so. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Drug Policy Reform want to use human rights legislation to decriminalise drug use, claiming the "blanket prohibition" drug policy approach has failed. In a new report it suggests that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which outlines rights to "private and family life", could be used by defendants caught with illegal drugs.

It says drug laws needed to “reflect the supremacy of human rights conventions" and suggests that as long as drug taking does not harm others, it should not be a criminal offence. The possession, purchase and growth of drugs such as cannabis should be decriminalised by using human rights legislation, according to the report. Huffingtonpost.

The DEA Once Turned A 14-Year-Old Into A Drug Kingpin. Welcome To The War On Drugs. The Mexican Drug Cartel's Underground Marijuana Tunnel. U.S. Commandos About to Kick Their Drug War Mission in Colombia. The $8 billion U.S war on drugs and instability in Colombia has pressed U.S. special operators, air crews and other personnel into a decade-plus operation to solidify security in the South American country. But the controversial mission will likely wind down soon: Colombian officials say they are winning the fight, and the two countries want to move to a new relationship based more closely on shared economic interests, said a senior U.S. administration official. The comments came a day before Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is expected to meet with President Obama in Washington on an official visit.

The U.S.' Investigators Use 'Nasal Ranger' Smelloscope To Help Crackdown On Pot Smokers. An Excellent Lecture by Michelle Alexander on the Causes and Consequences of America’s War on Drugs. Four of five Border Patrol drug busts involve US citizens, records show. Unions Have High Hopes for Weed Workers. Early one morning in April, DEA and IRS agents and U.S. marshals raided several Oakland properties owned by Richard Lee, then the leading figure of California’s medical-marijuana industry. GHB Prohibition: Codification of Moral Mass Hysteria. In California, It’s U.S. vs. State Over Marijuana. Mexican traffickers grow pot in U.S. national forests. Marijuana Initiatives in 2 States Set Federal Officials Scrambling. Even as marijuana legalization supporters are celebrating their victories in the two states, the Obama administration has been holding high-level meetings since the election to debate the response of federal law enforcement agencies to the decriminalization efforts.

Marijuana use in both states continues to be illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. One option is to sue the states on the grounds that any effort to regulate marijuana is pre-empted by federal law. Should the Justice Department prevail, it would raise the possibility of striking down the entire initiatives on the theory that voters would not have approved legalizing the drug without tight regulations and licensing similar to controls on hard alcohol.

Some law enforcement officials, alarmed at the prospect that marijuana users in both states could get used to flouting federal law openly, are said to be pushing for a stern response. Ms. Mr. Still, federal resources are limited. 5 Surprising Consequences of the War on Drugs.