New York State Assemblyman Stephen Katz was arrested for possession of marijuana after being stopped for speeding just south of Albany. The Journal News reported on March 15, 2013, that:


Katz, 59, who was first elected to the state Assembly in 2010, was pulled over for allegedly driving 80 mph in a 65 mph zone at about 10 a.m. Thursday, State Police told Gannett’s Albany Bureau.

He was stopped headed northbound on the Thruway in Coeymans, just south of Albany. The Legislature was in session on Thursday.

Colorado's Task Force on Implementation of Amendment 64 has issued its final report: Regulation of Marijuana in Colorado.

Following is from the Executive Summary:

The UN Human Rights Council has released a "Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez" which examines the use of forced treatment and similar psychosocial interventions for drug users. As explained in the summary:


The present report focuses on certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It identifies the policies that promote these practices and existing protection gaps.

The latest issue of the Drug War Facts Newsletter is now available at
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/3146
and also below.
Subscribe to the DWF Newsletter and stay up to date on the latest drug control policy research, data, and statistics! It's easy - here's the link:
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/subscriptions

--------------------------------------------

What's New At Drug War Facts
Volume 3, Issue No. 2
March 2013

Current data. New research. Evolving policies.

The UK's Home Office Minister, Theresa May, has ordered an " international "what works" study of drug laws, including Portugal's policy of scrapping criminal penalties for personal possession." The Guardian reported on March 7:


But she has rejected a call from the Commons home affairs select committee for a rapid royal commission to report by 2015 on how to reform Britain's 40-year-old drug laws.