War on Drugs

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Mexico Nabs Young Drug Lord
 Mexico Nabs Young Drug Lord 
Apr 2, 2009 6:08 PM CDT

Mexico Nabs Young Drug Lord

(Newser) - Mexico finally has some good news in its violent drug war. Police arrested the No. 2 leader of one of the nation's largest drug cartels, the Los Angeles Times reports. Vicente Carrillo Leyva, 32, had been one of Mexico's most wanted criminals. He's part of a new wave of youthful,...

Time to Weed Out Marijuana Ban: Klein
Time to Weed Out Marijuana Ban: Klein
OPINION
Apr 2, 2009 9:18 AM CDT

Time to Weed Out Marijuana Ban: Klein

Costly US drug policy deserves serious look, not politics as usual

(Newser) - When President Obama dismissed a question recently about the legalization of marijuana, he was “taking the traditional path of least resistance,” writes Joe Klein in Time. In America, anyone who dares to speak seriously about the issue will “be cast into the outer darkness,” assumed forever...

US Agents to Aid Mexican Cartel War

Admin could announce plan as early as this week

(Newser) - President Obama is shipping agents and equipment to the border to aid Mexico's war on violent drug cartels, the Washington Post reports. His plan, to be unveiled as early as this week, aims to stop the flow of weapons and cash from the US into Mexico. Law enforcement will also...

Obama's Drugs Czar: More Treatment For, Less War On

Kerlikowske says key is to reduce demand

(Newser) - President Obama’s choice for drug czar signals a 180-degree pivot from the Bush administration’s policies, the Washington Post reports. The White House says it’s pushing to use alternative drug courts that would mandate treatment, rather than jail, for offenders. That’s a big break from President Bush’...

Seattle's Top Cop Picked for Drug Czar

Kerlikowske viewed as reformer, with personal experience of drugs' "devastating effects"

(Newser) - President Obama will officially nominate Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be drug czar today, reports the Seattle Times. Though the job is being demoted from its Bush administration Cabinet status, Kerlikowske will have “a direct line to the president and vice president,” says an official. Drug law...

Obama Looks to Curb Mexican Drug Violence

President powwows with envoy, may offer US military support

(Newser) - President Obama met yesterday with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mike Mullen, recently returned from Mexico City, with an eye toward offering US military and intelligence support to Mexican forces as they battle a tidal wave in drug-related violence, CNN reports. The meeting followed reports of new bloodshed: A US...

Drug Cartels' Latest Ploy: Ultralight Planes

Ultralight aircraft are the Mexican cartels' newest tactic

(Newser) - Mexican pot smugglers have come up with a new tool in their never-ending quest to outsmart US border patrols: ultralight aircraft, USA Today reports. An ultralight is a small plane resembling a scooter with a hang glider attached, and authorities have found several crashed or in mid-flight over the border...

New Drug Bust for Would-Be Drug Czar's Stepson

Seattle police chief grappling with family war on drugs

(Newser) - Bummer. The stepson of the man most likely to be tapped as Barack Obama's drug czar has been busted again for, well, violating probation on a drug charge. Obama is expected to appoint R. Gil Kerlikowske to lead his war on drugs. Kerlikowske is chief of police in Seattle, a...

US Nabs 750 in Mexico Drug Crackdown

(Newser) - Federal agents have rounded up more than 700 suspects in a wide-ranging crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating inside the US. An official familiar with the sweep said the arrests culminated in a series of DEA raids around the country last night and this morning. The operation has led to...

UK Cops Nab Pot Farmer Who Posted Crop on YouTube

Using his real name likely hastened bust

(Newser) - Police taught aspiring drug lords everywhere a valuable lesson yesterday: If you’re going to grow pot, don’t put a video of yourself doing it on YouTube—and definitely don’t sign that video with your real name. But one 25-year-old Somerset man did just that, and was treated...

Schools Warn Against Mexico Spring Break

(Newser) - Arizona’s three state universities are following the State Department and attempting to dissuade students from spending spring break in Mexican border towns, a traditional pastime, because of drug-associated violence there, the AP reports. One federal official called the warning “sage advice,” noting “documented violence, attacks, killings”...

Phelps Toke Highlights Absurd Drug Laws
Phelps Toke Highlights Absurd Drug Laws
OPINION
Feb 4, 2009 1:00 PM CST

Phelps Toke Highlights Absurd Drug Laws

We elected a president who once smoked, so what's the big deal?

(Newser) - Poor Michael Phelps, who will have to be punished for something nearly half the country has also done, writes Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post. And poor Sheriff Leon Lott, who "probably doesn't want to press charges because it's a waste of time and resources." The real problems,...

Narcotic Khat Raises Cultural Rift in US

Police worry about growing use of common African drug

(Newser) - In Africa, it’s the perfectly legal pick-me-up and social lubricant of choice, but in America, khat is an illegal narcotic—and its popularity is growing, the Los Angeles Times reports. Cities like Washington and San Diego are stepping up enforcement measures against the green leaf as growing African immigrant...

Mass. Cops Refuse to Ticket Pot Smokers

Police call new, softer marijuana law 'unenforceable'

(Newser) - Now that marijuana is decriminalized in Massachusetts, many cops say they won’t even bother issuing tickets to pot smokers, the Boston Globe reports. “We’re just basically not enforcing it right now,” said the chief of police in one Central Massachusetts town. Officers “probably handled a...

Prohibition Shadows War on Drugs
 Prohibition Shadows
 War on Drugs 
OPINION
Dec 5, 2008 2:13 PM CST

Prohibition Shadows War on Drugs

Time to end the drug war

(Newser) - Today marks the 75th anniversary of the end of Prohibition, a convenient time to think back on another failed effort to prevent Americans from indulging in mood-altering substances. "A failed drug prohibition can cause greater harm than the drug it was intended to banish," Ethan Nadelmann of the...

US War on Drugs Has Failed: Report
US War on Drugs Has Failed: Report
Nov 27, 2008 8:42 AM CST

US War on Drugs Has Failed: Report

Americans urged to focus on treatment, prevention, gun sales

(Newser) - America is treating the symptoms rather than the disease of drug use, and its war on drugs will continue to fail unless it changes course, a new report by an influential Washington think tank finds. The report urges the US to develop stronger ties in the Caribbean and Latin America,...

Latin American Nations Reject DEA

Bolivia, Ecuador latest to repudiate US anti-drug operations

(Newser) - Some Latin American countries are pushing back against the US by cutting off DEA operations, the Christian Science Monitor reports. President Evo Morales, saying DEA agents "worked to conduct political espionage," gave them 3 months to leave Bolivia. Ecuador, meanwhile, has refused to renew the US lease on...

Mexican Boutique Sells Bulletproof Duds

Specialty boutique sells protective shirts, jackets to anxious customers

(Newser) - As drug-related violence skyrockets in Mexico, anxious shoppers are buying bulletproof shirts and jackets for protection, the New York Times reports. A boutique in Mexico City sells only bulletproof garments, including leather jackets, polo shirts, windbreakers, and even tuxedo shirts. Who's willing to pay up to $7,000 for such...

Feds Bust Ring that Hid Cocaine in Legos

Drugs packaged with toys in Puerto Rico, mailed to New York

(Newser) - Federal agents announced the arrest yesterday of a pack of Bronx drug dealers accused of smuggling cocaine into New York with the help of the world’s smallest traffickers: Lego men. Agents say the cocaine was sent from Puerto Rico through normal US mail, ingeniously hidden within buckets of the...

DEA Nabs 175 Mexican Drug Cartel Suspects

Nationwide initiative a key step in border drug war, authorities say

(Newser) - US officials arrested 175 suspected Mexican drug traffickers this week in raids in a dozen states, the LA Times reports. Prosecutors believe the suspects are part of the violent Gulf cartel, considered to be a driving force in Mexico’s escalating drug wars. The raids were part of a 15-month...

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