Special Coverage: DrugReporter

CNN's Lou Dobbs Is Clueless When It Comes to the Drug War

Tony Newman, AlterNet. May 16, 2008.
Lou Dobbs talks nonsense to explain Mexican drug violence. Face it: Drug prohibition creates a profit motive that people are willing to kill for.

How Pot Became Demonized: the Fine Line Between Good Medicine and 'Dangerous Drugs'

Wendy Chapkis, Richard J. Webb, NYU Press. May 13, 2008.
A history of the battle between politics and science over the use of marijuana as a medicine.

Drug Czar's Latest B.S. Claim: Pot Makes Teens Crazy and Suicidal

Paul Armentano, NORML. May 13, 2008.
How can you tell if the drug czar is lying? If his lips are moving.

NYC's Staggering Arrest Rate for Pot Achieved By Police Deception and Scams

Steven Wishnia, AlterNet. May 9, 2008.
New study says New York's cannabis crackdown is both racist and fraudulent -- and that more have been arrested under Bloomberg than Giuliani.

Psst... Government-Supplied Marijuana Program Turns 30

Bruce Mirken, AlterNet. May 7, 2008.
That's right, our government has been supplying medical marijuana to some patients for three full decades.

North Dakota Man Facing Years in Prison After Buying Salvia Divinorum on eBay

Phillip S. Smith, Drug War Chronicle. May 1, 2008.
A North Dakota man with an interest in herbalism and spirituality faces years in prison for $32 worth of salvia leaves he bought on eBay.

Will Pot Ever Be Legal in This Schizoid Country?

Steven Wishnia, AlterNet. May 1, 2008.
Five signs that pot might become legal soon -- and five reasons why it probably won't.

The Sick and Crazy Science Tobacco Companies Pursue to Get You Hooked

Scott Thill, AlterNet. April 26, 2008.
Injecting nitric oxide into the penises of sedated cats is just one of the newly discovered bizarre studies conducted by the tobacco industry.

America's Gulag Just Keeps Growing

Ethan Nadelmann, AlterNet. April 25, 2008.
The U.S. dwarfs the rest of the world when it comes to locking up its citizens, due in large part to madness of our incarceration policies.

Feds Bring an Ounce of Sanity to Our Drug Laws with the Second Chance Act

Malakkar Vohryzek, AlterNet. April 22, 2008.
Why are we still incarcerating people who use controlled substances, when we have ample evidence that this "cure" is worse than the "disease"?

Caught Shilling for the Drug War, Pollster Attacks the Messenger

Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post. April 16, 2008.
Pollster Mark Mellman was hired by Lockheed Martin to push for funding for drug tracking planes in Colombia and doesn't like being called on it.

Hillary's Uninspiring Drug Reform Plan

Ellen Komp, AlterNet. April 14, 2008.
We are likely to see more money spent on failed policies if Hillary moves back to the White House in 2009.

Why Is Coke Glamorous and Heroin Scary? Because of Halfwits Like Nikki Sixx

John Dolan, AlterNet. April 12, 2008.
Sixx, the '80s hair rocking bassist for Motley Crue, offers to the public the memoirs of his drug-addled stardom -- if only he could admit he had fun.

Idiotic School Ban on Candy Mirrors Stupidity of Drug Prohibition

Tony Newman, AlterNet. April 10, 2008.
Whaddya know? As soon as CA schools started banning candy, students started dealing it on the "underground market" at a marked up price.

Battle over Pot Possession in Alaska Is Back in the Courts

Phillip S. Smith, Drug War Chronicle. April 2, 2008.
They won't give up -- Alaska Supreme Court hears oral argument in state's bid to overturn legal marijuana at home.

How McCain Stays Popular Despite Supporting Disastrous Wars

Ira Chernus, AlterNet. April 2, 2008.
The strange nature of McCain's appeal is directly tied to the distractions of the unwinnable Iraq occupation and the "War on Drugs."

Spitzer's Fall Sparks Hope for Overhaul of New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws

John Tarleton, AlterNet. March 27, 2008.
With a progressive new governor and state Republicans on the verge of extinction, New York may soon be ready to "drop the Rock".

Former Surgeon General: Mainstream Medicine Has Endorsed Medical Marijuana

Dr. Jocelyn Elders, AlterNet. March 26, 2008.
A historic document from the 124,000-member American College of Physicians certifies the medical value of marijuana.

No One Really Knows If HGH Is Bad for You

Scott Thill, AlterNet. March 25, 2008.
While scientists hash out human growth hormone's health risks, stars like Sly Stallone and ordinary guys are shelling out millions for fast results.

Calling B.S. on the Idea of 'Marijuana Addiction'

Paul Armentano, AlterNet. March 22, 2008.
It's laughable that the Feds are pushing the concept of pot addiction when science shows that withdrawal symptoms from caffeine are far worse.

Overdose Death Rate Surges, Legal Drugs Are Mostly to Blame

Drug War Chronicle. March 21, 2008.
Oxycontin, Lorcet, and other pain control drugs are the leading cause of the tens of thousands of annual drug overdoses -- why the silence?

Crazy 'Pot Will Make You Sell Your Children' Warning from Otherwise Sane Senator

Ron Fisher, NORML. March 12, 2008.
Iowa constituent writes to Sen. Tom Harkin asking why medical pot is illegal, constituent gets off-the-wall fearmongering reply.

Outrageous Anti-Pot Lies: Media Uses Disgraceful Cancer Scare Tactics

Paul Armentano, AlterNet. March 10, 2008.
Headlines suggested a study proved pot is a greater cancer risk than tobacco -- but the media didn't even wait for the report to be released.

Mukasey's Racist Threats on Changing Crack Sentencing Fall on Deaf Ears

Liliana Segura, AlterNet. March 8, 2008.
The attorney general's last-ditch attempt to preserve our federal crack cocaine sentencing guidelines was pure "War on Drugs" propaganda.

HGH: Clemens Denies Taking It to Get Buff, Stallone Loves It -- Will It Go Mainstream?

Scott Thill, AlterNet. March 3, 2008.
Despite the Clemens saga in Congress, money, not morality will determine whether human growth hormone becomes an every day drug.

Debunking the Hemp Conspiracy Theory

Steven Wishnia, AlterNet. February 21, 2008.
Pot isn't illegal because the paper industry is afraid of competing with hemp -- it's because of racism and the culture wars.

Prescription Drugs, Not Illegal Ones, Killed Heath Ledger

Scott Thill, AlterNet. February 14, 2008.
The media pounced on his admitted love of weed and coke but did little to investigate the prescription drugs that did him in.

Making Pot Legal: We Can Do It -- Here's How

Paul Armentano, AlterNet. February 12, 2008.
Changing public opinion about pot isn't easy. Changing America's anti-pot laws is even harder -- here's a blueprint to get it done.

Breaking the Drug Taboo: Group of Traumatized Veterans Get Ecstasy Treatment

Scott Thill, AlterNet. February 11, 2008.
An experimental study that treats PTSD veterans with the drug MDMA could make life after war a lot more livable.

Hillary and Obama, Ignore the Sleazy Pollsters Who Want You to Cave on Drug Reform

Steven Wishnia, AlterNet. February 1, 2008.
The Dem candidates have good positions on medical marijuana, but they need to stand up for comprehensive changes in our drug laws.

Caught with a Bag of Weed? It Could Cost You More Than You Think

Paul Armentano, AlterNet. January 26, 2008.
U.S. arrests for pot possession were up to 739,000 in 2006. And the cost to tax payers? $1 billion a year.

America's Love-Hate Relationship with Drugs

Bruce E. Levine, AlterNet. January 9, 2008.
Many prescription drugs have effects similar to those of illegal drugs. But we still view some users as criminals -- the others as patients.

What Darwin Could Tell Us About the "War on Drugs"

Sanho Tree, MinuteMan Media. December 27, 2007.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, the "law and order" response by our politicians only intensifies the problem.

Baseball's Mitchell Report: Steroid Use Doesn’t Discriminate, But Our Outrage Does

Tommy McDonald, AlterNet. December 13, 2007.
Now that we know Roger Clemens took steroids, will he get the same rough treatment that Barry Bonds did? Doubtful.

America, Intoxicated: Conference Tackles Disasters of the Drug War

Silja J.A. Talvi, AlterNet. December 11, 2007.
1,200 activists and experts converged on New Orleans for the Drug Policy Alliance conference, where AlterNet won a prize for its drug war coverage.

Twenty Thousand Protest at Fort Benning: Eleven Face Federal Criminal Trials

Bill Quigley, TruthOut.org. November 19, 2007.
Over 200 people have done time in federal prison time for previous protests..

Could Smoking Pot Be Good for Teens?

Bruce Mirken, AlterNet. November 10, 2007.
If you follow the White House's twisted logic, the answer could be yes.

'Plan Mexico' Latest Front in Failed U.S. Drug war

Laura Carlsen, Foreign Policy in Focus. November 6, 2007.
The latest in U.S. hegemony over its Southern neighbors.

Getting Real About the Economics of Cocaine

Bill Piper, AlterNet. October 24, 2007.
President Bush's plan for battling the war on drugs will only cost taxpayers dearly and make trafficking more profitable.

'Pot 2.0': Where Can I Get Some?

Paul Armentano, AlterNet. October 20, 2007.
The feds have started issuing dire warnings about the potency of today's marijuana, calling it "Pot 2.0." Will it backfire and tempt more to toke?

Crack Users Do More Time Than People Convicted of Manslaughter

Jessica Pupovac, AlterNet. October 17, 2007.
When crack cocaine possession means 24 years in prison and manslaughter means only 3, you know something is seriously wrong with the U.S. criminal justice system.

The War on Pot: America's $42 Billion Annual Boondoggle

Rob Kampia, AlterNet. October 9, 2007.
What else could we spend $42 billion each year on? Health insurance for kids? Better paid teachers? It's our choice.

10 Million Americans Busted for Pot: Enough is Enough

Paul Armentano, AlterNet. October 1, 2007.
Since 1990, over 10.4 million Americans have been busted for pot. When will we recognize it's time to stand up to the war on harmless pot smoking?

Will Drug Lord Do Less Time Than the Average American Nonviolent Drug Offender?

Anthony Papa, AlterNet. September 27, 2007.
Why Colombia's top drug lord may get off easier than small-time offenders in the U.S.

The Federal War on Medical Marijuana Becomes a War on Children

Dan Bernath, AlterNet. September 25, 2007.
Why risk provoking the American public's outrage by escalating its war on medical marijuana patients?

Spinning a Failed War on Drugs

Bruce Mirken, AlterNet. September 11, 2007.
It gets harder and harder for the government to try and convince people that we are winning the war on drugs, yet they keep trying.

The Top Ten Reasons Marijuana Should Be Legal

High Times. September 1, 2007.
Prohibition has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana -- it's time everyone faced this and the rest of the compelling arguments for legalizing it.

Let Afghanistan Grow the World's Opium Supply

Ethan A. Nadelmann, AlterNet. August 31, 2007.
Given that farmers are going to produce opium -- somehow, somewhere -- so long as the global demand for heroin persists, maybe the world is better off, all things considered, with 90 percent of it coming from Afghanistan.

Pot Growers Are New Target in "War on Terror"

Scott Thill, AlterNet. August 29, 2007.
Under Bush, terror has become a justification for any and every abuse of power.

Smoking Pot Won't Make You Crazy, But Dealing with the Lies about It Will

Paul Armentano, Mitch Earlywine, Huffington Post. August 13, 2007.
A new attempt to scare pot smokers in Britain alleges that smoking pot can increase the risk of becoming "psychotic." A quick glance at the data cited reveals no such correlation.

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DrugReporter

For the past 15 years, lawmakers have pursued tough-on-drugs policies in an effort to create a "drug free America," plowing billions of dollars into prosecuting and imprisoning drug offenders. Is it working? Not according to many drug policy observers of each political stripe, who claim the war on drugs has been a complete, and extremely costly, failure.

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