Drug War News - 4/14/11

ONTARIO COURT OVERTURNS CANADA'S MARIJUANA LAW
A court in Ontario has struck down Canada's marijuana law, saying it prevented patients from gaining access to their medicine. Now, the government has 90 days to respond before pot is legal in Ontario

MEXICO DRUG WAR UPDATE
Just when you thought it couldn't possibly get worse... 116 bodies turn up in a series of mass graves just south of the border.

JAMAICA TO LOOK AGAIN AT DECRIMINALIZING MARIJUANA
A decade ago, the Jamaican government quietly shelved a National Ganja Commission report calling for decriminalization. This week, it decided to take it up again.

THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A typical corrupt cop week: Missing evidence, corruption on the border, greedy jail guards, and thuggish dope squad cops.

DID YOU KNOW? "HISTORY OF PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS IN SPORTS," ON PROCON.ORG
This is the final installment in a six-part series highlighting interesting and important pages from ProCon.org, an in-depth web site presenting information and views from a variety of perspectives on controversial issues, several of which relate to drug policy.

STUDENTS: INTERN AT STOPTHEDRUGWAR.ORG (DRCNET) AND HELP STOP THE DRUG WAR!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet and you could spend a semester fighting the good fight!

Stop the Drug War (DRCNet) is an international organization working for an end to drug prohibition worldwide and for interim policy reform in US drug laws and criminal justice system. Read more about DRCNet.

Founded on March 16, 2002, LEAP is made up of current and former members of law enforcement who believe the existing drug policies have failed in their intended goals of addressing the problems of crime, drug abuse, addiction, juvenile drug use, stopping the flow of illegal drugs into this country and the internal sale and use of illegal drugs. By fighting a war on drugs the government has increased the problems of society and made them far worse. A system of regulation rather than prohibition is a less harmful, more ethical and a more effective public policy.

The mission of LEAP is to reduce the multitude of unintended harmful consequences resulting from fighting the war on drugs and to lessen the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition.

LEAP's goals are:

1. To educate the public, the media, and policy makers, to the failure of current drug policy by presenting a true picture of the history, causes and effects of drug abuse and the crimes related to drug prohibition and
2. To restore the public's respect for law enforcement, which has been greatly diminished by its involvement in imposing drug prohibition.

LEAP's main strategy for accomplishing these goals is to create a constantly enlarging speakers bureau staffed with knowledgeable and articulate former drug-warriors who describe the impact of current drug policies on: police/community relations; the safety of law enforcement officers and suspects; police corruption and misconduct; and the financial and human costs associated with current drug policies.