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A look at how the collapse of industry, poor labor conditions and the anxiety of economic decline facilitated mass drug use in one small town.

México Unido Contra la Delincuencia A.C., es una asociación civil nolucrativa, laica y apartidista. Nuestra visión es tener una sociedad que pueda vivir y progresar conseguridad y tranquilidad en un marco en que prevalezca el Estado dederecho, con ciudadanos comprometidos con México, conscientes de su responsabilidad social, participativos y que exijan a las autoridades el [...]

Wall Street Journal, 21 Feb 2012 - Agency Says CVS and Cardinal Health Knew of Hefty Painkiller Orders The federal government alleges Cardinal Health Inc. and CVS Caremark Corp. were aware of high-volume orders of prescription painkiller oxycodone shipped to two pharmacies in Florida, in a closely watched case probing how much responsibility companies bear for a growing drug-abuse problem.

The Columbian, 20 Feb 2012 - County Commissioners Correctly Decide to Protect Employees From Prosecution Athough many local residents might suspect there's a legalizing-pot debate under way among Clark County leaders, that's really not the case. A more accurate description is that of a legal dilemma. County commissioners are caught in a tug of war between a new state law that allows collective medical marijuana gardens, and federal law that prohibits growing, distributing and possessing the substance.Last year, the commissioners made the right call when they imposed a moratorium on implementing the state law, and now they say they will extend that moratorium beyond its July expiration date. That, too, appears to be a correct decision, even more so in light of a recent letter to county commissioners from the U.S. Department of Justice. As Stephanie Rice reported in Friday's Columbian, commissioners had asked the feds if county employees would be immune from prosecution if they perform tasks related to zoning and permitting of state-sanctioned collective medical! marijuana gardens. That seems to be a question of profound importance, especially of county employees who don't want to face federal criminal charges for doing their jobs.

Daily Nebraskan, 20 Feb 2012 - Marijuana Policy Project Refutes Claims of Study, Says It Doesn't Account for All Factors Smoking marijuana just a few hours before driving nearly doubles a person's risk of getting into a car accident, a recent study found.

St. Joseph News-Press, 20 Feb 2012 - Sixteen states, as well as the District of Columbia, have legalized the use of medical marijuana. A statewide group is looking to take it a step further, however, and legalize all marijuana use in Missouri. A group of about 65 volunteers have been hitting the streets in St. Joseph, looking for supporters of Show-Me Cannabis, an association that seeks to legalize and regulate marijuana use in the state. Missouri's Secretary of State requires 150,000 signatures on a statewide petition by May 6 in order for a legalization measure to appear on November's ballot.

As part of a deal to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits through 2012, Congress will allow states to drug test people applying for those benefits.

As part of a deal to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits through 2012, Congress will allow states to drug test people applying for those benefits.

The murder and "disappearance" of vast numbers of Colombians is part and parcel of the U.S.'s policy to "drain the sea [the civilian population] to kill the fish [the insurgents]."

Globe and Mail, 19 Feb 2012 - Geoff Plant has felt for years that the prohibition of marijuana is wrong. Now that the former B.C. attorney-general is out of government, he has joined the chorus of officials and former politicians pushing for the legalization of the drug. "I have always had a problem with the idea that the state should criminalize an act which is essentially no more complex than putting a couple of seeds in your back yard, waiting a while and then, when something grows, you put it in your pocket, you chew it or you smoke it," Mr. Plant said.

Helena Independent Record, 19 Feb 2012 - The number of medical marijuana cardholders in Montana continues to plummet, while the number of legal marijuana providers is a fraction of its peak, as the industry faces an uncertain future here. The 2011 Legislature passed of a much more restrictive law, Senate Bill 423, which has reduced these numbers. Then there were several dozen federal raids of medical marijuana growing operations, along with the arrests and convictions of some owners.

The Billings Gazette, 19 Feb 2012 - MEDICAL MARIJUANA NUMBERS DROP AS UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDS INDUSTRY HELENA -- The number of medical marijuana cardholders in Montana continues to plummet while the number of legal marijuana providers is a fraction of its peak, as the industry faces an uncertain future here.

Nanaimo News Bulletin, 18 Feb 2012 - Addiction experts from across Canada will come to Nanaimo in March to highlight the therapeutic community model of substance abuse treatment. Canada's first National Therapeutic Community Symposium, organized by the Nanaimo Addiction Foundation, takes place March 5-8 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.

Nanaimo News Bulletin, 18 Feb 2012 - The federal government's proposed crime bill was the topic of a protest in downtown Nanaimo Thursday. About 30 people gathered in the rain to participate in a rally that started in Maffeo Sutton Park and ended in front of the courthouse on Front Street.

St. Albert Gazette, 18 Feb 2012 - Four former Attorneys-General of British Columbia - spanning two political parties (NDP and Liberal) and fourteen years in office - have called for the legalization of marijuana. The federal government (Conservative) continues to move towards harsher drug penalties including for the marijuana trade. This political split mirrors opinion in the country, where periodic polls do not show a solid, sustaining majority one way or the other on the issue. Marijuana and harder drugs were not much of a concern in Canada more than half a century ago when I went through my school years here in Alberta, then moved on to military colleges in Victoria and Kingston, without encountering any drugs or users. But the recreational narcotics climate began shifting in the latter part of the 1960s. Whether this was part of a world trend, a North American loosening up in reaction to the Vietnam War, or whatever, the winds of change had a distinct burning leaf odour. My first close awareness came in the summer of 1971, soon after U.S. President Nixon famously proclaimed the "War on Drugs." Having a health issue requiring surgery, I shared a room in an Ottawa military hospital with a chatty airman from the local military aviation base. He explained that the junior ranks quarters there commonly reeked of marijuana fumes. Some years later as a lawyer I had to review the transcript of a court martial from our army in Germany - the barracks scene ! depicted sounded pretty much what the airman had described earlier.

South Whidbey Record, 18 Feb 2012 - LANGLEY - The plans for a medical marijuana "access point" in the Village by the Sea got a warm but wary welcome from city officials at a special council workshop this week. Lucas Jushinski, a 35-year-old Freeland resident, Iraq War veteran and combat medic, has applied for a business license with hopes to set up Island Alternative Medicine behind the All Washed-Up Laundromat on Second Street.