Drug News (International)

San Francisco Examiner, 05 Feb 2012 - Among the Tenderloin's problems - brothels masquerading as massage parlors, open-air dealing of heroin, oxycodone, crack cocaine and other hard drugs - medical marijuana seemed low on the list of law enforcement priorities. Yet it was a nondescript storefront in the 600 block of O'Farrell Street that drew the attention of Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for Northern California.

Jakarta Globe, 05 Feb 2012 - Indonesia's aviation industry has admitted concern over widespread drug use, and the House of Representatives will summon Lion Air management after the arrest of a Lion pilot for drug use in Surabaya on Saturday, the second such case in two months. Indonesia National Air Carriers Association secretary general Tengku Burhanuddin said the use of drugs among airline crews had tainted the industry's image, and he called on the government to take quick action to crack down on the circulation of drugs.

Glenwood Springs Post Independent, 05 Feb 2012 - RFSD Saw 36 Drug-Related Incidents in 2011 School Year Editor's note: The following article is part of a collaborative effort by HealthPolicySolutions.org, Education News Colorado and I-News Network that focuses on medical marijuana dispensaries and the use of marijuana in schools. The article below addresses the impact in the Roaring Fork Valley. For complete coverage, visit www.HealthPolicySolutions.org.

The Camp Verde Bugle, 04 Feb 2012 - Arizona law seems to be forever pushing up against federal law, and the grating sound is becoming unbearable. Sometimes it's political defiance and sometimes it's nonsense. We've had a bit of both with SB 1070. Sometimes it's Arizonans challenging Washington, D.C., and sometimes it's our state legislators resisting the will of Arizonans. We have a big mix of both with the medical-marijuana law.

Arcata Eye, 04 Feb 2012 - HUMBOLDT -- With legal issues unresolved and federal threats still looming, the county's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensary applications has been extended by 10-and-a-half months. Unanimously approved at the Jan. 24 Board of Supervisors meeting, the moratorium freezes the numerous dispensary applications that are being processed and bars new ones.

Spokesman-Review, 04 Feb 2012 - Dr. Michael Reznicek has one thing in common with your stoner friend - -- or self -- from college. But just one: He wants to legalize drugs. All drugs. Even the hard ones. Pot, coke, meth, smack...

Verde Independent, 04 Feb 2012 - Arizona law seems to be forever pushing up against federal law, and the grating sound is becoming unbearable. Sometimes it's political defiance and sometimes it's nonsense. We've had a bit of both with SB 1070. Sometimes it's Arizonans challenging Washington, D.C., and sometimes it's our state legislators resisting the will of Arizonans. We have a big mix of both with the medical-marijuana law.

The Calgary Sun, 04 Feb 2012 - Aldermen Pitch Campaign Against Deadly Drug The recent spate of drug-related deaths has prompted city aldermen to call for public education targeting users and youth vulnerable to killer ecstasy.

Toronto Star, 04 Feb 2012 - Cocaine, alcohol, explosives, knives and handcuff keys are part of the haul at federal prisons as officials across the country struggle with a rising tide of contraband. Between 2007 and 2011, the amounts of drugs, intoxicants, weapons and other unauthorized items confiscated by prison staff has steadily risen, in some cases by more than 170 per cent, according to documents obtained by the Star.

Albuquerque Journal, 04 Feb 2012 - DENVER - Colorado marijuana activists have about two weeks to collect an additional 2,500 signatures to get a proposal legalizing possession of the drug for recreational use on the ballot after the secretary of state said Friday that tens of thousands of signatures turned in were invalid. Organizers with the Campaign To Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol said they plan to redouble efforts to get their measure before voters in November.

Los Angeles Times, 04 Feb 2012 - Thorough Closure of Pot Dispensaries Leaves Legitimate Patients to Suffer Forget years of conflicting rules, hazy regulations, hard lines and soft bans. An LAPD narcotics squad has made an end-run around the city's fumbling efforts to regulate medical marijuana, shutting down every dispensary in its San Fernando Valley division in a three-year campaign whose success just might signal the end of legal pot sales in Los Angeles.

Toronto Star, 03 Feb 2012 - Journalism is lousy with prizes. In Canada, you can win a National Newspaper Award, a National Magazine Award, a Canadian Online Publishing Award, a Michener Award, a Judith Jasmine prize, an Atlantic Journalism Award, the list goes on. Yes, we love to celebrate ourselves.

Medicine Hat News, 03 Feb 2012 - Medicine Hat hasn't seen any cases of the tainted ecstasy linked to 13 deaths in Western Canada -- but that doesn't mean the drug isn't on its way here. "We haven't seen anything of that nature here yet," said S/Sgt. David Brandrith of the Medicine Hat Police's organized crime unit regarding the killer drug that police from other regions have linked to eight deaths in southern Alberta and five in B.C.

Globe and Mail, 03 Feb 2012 - If everything is on the table - including the Old Age Security benefit of roughly $540 a month - why do the billions of dollars being added to the federal corrections budget feel untouchable? As the Senate begins hearings on the government's omnibus crime bill, and the almost certain prospect of huge, long-term budgetary increases in the jails moves a step closer, it seems an odd juxtaposition: trying to ensure the long-term health of the retirement security system, and spending like crazy, in the short, medium and long terms, on prison cells.

Delta Optimist, 03 Feb 2012 - Our MP, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, recently spoke to the Delta Chamber of Commerce about pending federal legislation. While she spoke about a number of matters, I want to focus on one subject - the crime and punishment bills coming before parliament. In her letter to the Optimist last month, she referred to statements made by the Surrey fire chief about the number of fires in homes with marijuana grow-ops. They are 24 times more likely to catch fire than a home without one.

The Times, 03 Feb 2012 - State Sen. Karen Tallian wants to make most marijuana possession cases misdemeanors. What a change that would be from a toke-free Indiana. Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, did not request a committee vote on Senate Bill 347 but took nearly an hour to explain how reducing criminal penalties for marijuana possession could benefit Indiana.

Daily News-Tribune, 03 Feb 2012 - Keyser, W.Va. -- If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and flies like a duck... then it is a duck. Same goes for synthetic marijuana too. That's right if it looks like pot, feels like pot, and is packaged and marketed like pot... it's to be treated by law enforcement as if it is pot... and this is not just my opinion it's the law in West Virginia.

Cavalier Daily, 03 Feb 2012 - The University Should Embrace Del. Englin's Proposal to Consider The Evidence for Marijuana Legalization Before Making Policy Decisions Del. David Englin, D-Alexandria, recently proposed legislation which would call for a study to evaluate the revenue impact of regulating and selling marijuana through Virginia's Alcoholic Beverage Control stores. Seeing as 14 states have decriminalized medicinal marijuana, this is a fairly modest proposal. Englin said his bill merely "asks the question of if we sold marijuana through ABC stores, how much money would we get?" It is easy to imagine the budgetary boon that would come from the state's profit off the ever-persistent demand for marijuana, but it is also worth thinking about how decriminalizing the drug may benefit the University community, as well.

The Dickinson Press, 03 Feb 2012 - A Jury Acquitted Arturas Teras, WHO Was Accused of Possessing Nearly 50 Pounds of Marijuana, After Less Than an Hour of Deliberation Thursday Afternoon at the Stark County Courthouse. Donatas Jasiulionis was supposed to stand trial with Teras, but he skipped back to their native country, officials said.

Cavalier Daily, 03 Feb 2012 - A bill proposed by Del. David Englin, D-Alexandria, requesting Gov. Bob McDonnell to petition the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to allow the use of marijuana for legitimate medical reasons failed in the House Rules Committee Tuesday evening. "Legalizing marijuana is probably not supported by 99 percent of the people here," said Del. Dave Albo, R-Springfield, who did not vote on the resolution. "Del. Englin is a self-described ultra-liberal, and that's the kind of stuff he believes in."