Apr 30 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, AP says By Zeke Miller, Joshua Goodman, Jim Mustian, Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. Continue reading
Apr 16 House panel says China subsidizes fentanyl production to fuel crisis in the U.S. By Kevin Freking, Associated Press A report released Tuesday by a House select committee says China is directly subsidizing the manufacturing of materials used by drug traffickers to make fentanyl outside the country. Continue reading
Apr 01 Oregon governor signs a bill recriminalizing drug possession By Associated Press The new law rolls back the state's previous decriminalization efforts by making so-called personal use possession a misdemeanor. It also establishes ways for treatment to be offered as an alternative to criminal penalties. Continue reading
Sep 19 After a 12-year pause, South Carolina secures drug to resume lethal injections By Jeffrey Collins, Associated Press South Carolina has had an unintended moratorium on the death penalty ever since its lethal injection drugs passed their expiration date and pharmacies refused to sell the state more because they could be publicly identified. Continue reading
Apr 12 Mix of vet tranquilizer, fentanyl 'emerging threat,' White House drug office says By Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy is designating the tranquilizer xylazine when mixed with fentanyl as an emerging threat. Continue reading
Jan 23 Watch 6:32 Mexico's former anti-narcotics chief on trial in U.S., accused of protecting cartels By Nick Schifrin, Zeba Warsi In New York, arguments began in the case of the highest-ranking Mexican official to ever stand trial in the U.S. Prosecutors say the very man responsible for working with the U.S. to enforce the war on drugs, Genaro García Luna,… Continue watching
Nov 08 Colorado voters consider legalizing psychedelic mushrooms By Thomas Peipert, Associated Press Colorado voters are deciding Tuesday whether theirs will become the second state, after Oregon, to create a legalized system for the use of psychedelic mushrooms. Continue reading
Oct 07 6 European nations agree to step up their cross-border anti-drug cooperation By Aleksandar Furtula, Associated Press Six European countries have pledged to beef up cross-border cooperation and work more closely with Latin America in the fight against organized crime. Continue reading
Sep 13 Woman's cries of rape go unheard during undercover drug sting By Jim Mustian, Associated Press An Associated Press investigation found a woman informant was allegedly raped twice during an undercover drug sting last year in which her law enforcement handlers left her unmonitored and unprotected. Continue reading
May 11 Watch 5:17 Overdose deaths in the U.S. reached record levels in 2021 By Geoff Bennett, Dorothy Hastings New CDC data released Wednesday indicates that deaths from drug overdoses in the U.S. reached a record-high last year. More than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, the highest annual death toll ever recorded. Deaths from fentanyl, methamphetamine… Continue watching