US officials said this week in El Paso that the Merida Initiative to help Mexico strengthen its security forces and judicial system in their ongoing battle with criminal drug trafficking organizations — the so-called cartels — will shift its focus to Mexico's border states. Other officials defended the "Fast and Furious" Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) gun-running scheme that resulted in weapons from the US being transferred to cartel members.
[image:1 align:left]The remarks came at the eighth annual Border Security Conference at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), …

by Bernd Debusmann Jr.
Mexican drug trafficking teams make billions each year smuggling drugs into the United States, profiting enormously from the forbiddanceist drug policies of the US government. Since Mexican president Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and called the armed forces into the fight against the so-called cartels, forbiddance-related violence has killed around 40,000 people, including more than 15,000 last year. The accumulating militarization of the drug war and the arrest or killing of dozens of high-profile drug traffickers have failed to stem the flow of drugs — …

by Bernd Debusmann Jr.
Mexican drug trafficking consortiums make billions each year smuggling drugs into the United States, profiting enormously from the restrictionist drug policies of the US government. Since Mexican president Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and called the armed forces into the fight against the so-called cartels, restriction-related violence has killed around 40,000 people, including more than 15,000 last year. The augmenting militarization of the drug war and the arrest or killing of dozens of high-profile drug dealers have failed to stem the flow of drugs — …

by Bernd Debusmann Jr.
Mexican drug trafficking corporations make billions each year smuggling drugs into the United States, profiting enormously from the prohibitionist drug policies of the US government. Since Mexican president Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and called the armed forces into the fight against the so-called cartels, prohibition-related violence has killed around 40,000 people, including more than 15,000 last year. The enlarging militarization of the drug war and the arrest or killing of dozens of high-profile drug peddlers have failed to stem the flow of drugs — …

A sheriff whose alleged theft from the evidence room might be excused, a prison guard who also heads a violent biker gang, another prison guard with dope and an eye for the ladies, a pill peddling suburban cop, and a bribe-taking small town cop all make the rogues' gallery this week. Let's get to it:
[image:1 align:right]In Ashford, Georgia, the Turner County sheriff is under a criminal investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation over allegations he removed a large amount of marijuana from his department evidence room and gave it …

by Bernd Debusmann, Jr.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations make billions each year smuggling drugs into the United States, profiting enormously from the disallowanceist drug policies of the US government. Since Mexican president Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and called the armed forces into the fight against the so-called cartels, disallowance-related violence has killed more than 38,000 people, including more than 15,000 last year. The augmenting militarization of the drug war and the arrest or killing of dozens of high-profile drug peddlers have failed to stem the flow of drugs …

[image:1 align:right caption:true]Bolivia is preparing to withdraw from the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs to protest its classification of coca leaves as an illegal drug. A law that would do just that has already passed the lower chamber of Congress and is likely to pass in the Senate, where the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party of President Evo Morales has a two-thirds majority.
The Congress is acting at the request of Morales, a coca union leader. His government sought late last year to amend the convention to reclassify …

by Bernd Debusmann, Jr.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations make billions each year smuggling drugs into the United States, profiting enormously from the forbiddanceist drug policies of the US government. Since Mexican president Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and called the armed forces into the fight against the so-called cartels, forbiddance-related violence has killed more than 38,000 people, including more than 15,000 last year. The accumulating militarization of the drug war and the arrest or killing of dozens of high-profile drug traffickers have failed to stem the flow of drugs …

In a decision handed down last Thursday, the Bombay High Court struck down the mandatory death penalty for some drug offenses as unconstitutional. It becomes the first court anywhere in the world to do so, according to the Indian Harm Reduction Network (IHRN), which petitioned the court for the ruling.
[image:1 align:left caption:true]The Bombay High Court is one of 22 regional high courts and has jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra and Goa. It the equivalent of a US federal court of appeals.
Section 31A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances …

The Brazilian Supreme Court ruled June 15 that marches in favor of ganja legalization can take place. The decision overturns various lower-court decisions that had banned them as "apology for drug use" and "support of drug trafficking."
[image:1 align:left caption:true]The ruling came on a unanimous 8-0 vote. The court held that the marches must be allowed if authorities were to respect the rights of freedom of expression and the right to assemble. The marches are a way for citizens to exercise their rights, Justice Celso de Mello said.
"Nothing proves more …