A pot-stirring debate Published: Tue, Sep 27, 2011 College campuses are buzzing again as students return to class. But the buzz of "higher" education isn't all about academics. My eldest son, a freshman at Lewis & Clark College, sent me an email with a link to the website of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a national organization that argues for the legalization... Read More

The real debate Published: Tue, Jun 7, 2011 It is time to end the debate about the success or failure of the so-called "war on drugs." The evidence is insurmountable. The facts are unimpeachable. The history is clear. This week, yet another blue-ribbon phalanx of experts released a report that regurgitates the conclusion of countless other studies and what... Read More

More Than Show and Tellb Updated: Fri, Mar 4, 2011 The other day, President Barack Obama's drug czar stopped by to visit Hazelden's facility in Naples, Fla. Gil Kerlikowske isn't partial to Hazelden, the foundation for which I work. As head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, he visits numerous programs to tout a key component of federal drug policy:... Read More

Pot possession in California now like speeding ticket Published: Fri, Oct 1, 2010 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Possessing up to an ounce of marijuana in California is now no more serious than getting a speeding ticket. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill late Thursday that reduces possession of an ounce or less from a misdemeanor to an infraction. The maximum punishment is a $100 fine.... Read More

Oklahoma authorities seize more than 1,000 pounds of pot near Tahlequah Updated: Tue, Sep 14, 2010 TAHLEQUAH - Drug task force agents seized about $1.6 million worth of marijuana during a bust Monday near Tahlequah, Cherokee County Undersheriff Jason Chennault said. Jerry Swift Jr., 30, and girlfriend, Jennifer Wood, 21, both of Tahlequah, were booked into the Cherokee County jail on marijuana trafficking... Read More

A Taxing Issue Published: Mon, Mar 29, 2010 The successful push for health care reform was center stage this past week. The result was a delay in unveiling the Obama administration's new plans for how it will fight the war on drugs, which really shouldn't be a war at all (but I don't want to go there in this space because I only get 600 words a week and I... Read More

14 charged in drug probe Updated: Tue, Jul 18, 2006 HOBART -- An 18-month investigation into methamphetamine traffic ended Tuesday with charges filed against 14 people in state and federal courts, District Attorney John Wampler announced. Early Tuesday agents of the District 3 DA Drug Task Force, FBI and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs,... Read More

Remember when: Len Bias' death and the War on Drugs Updated: Thu, Jun 15, 2006 Twenty years ago next Monday, Len Bias died. Few athletes have impacted America so much. The War on Drugs. Stiffer sentencing laws for drug offenders. Just Say No. Asset forfeiture. All came about in the 1986 frenzy over drugs, which in part was fueled by Bias, the Maryland basketball star who died of a cocaine... Read More

How a star's death changed a nation Updated: Thu, Jun 15, 2006 Twenty years ago next Monday, Len Bias died. Few athletes have impacted America so much. The War on Drugs. Stiffer sentencing laws for drug offenders. Just Say No. Asset forfeiture. All came about in the 1986 frenzy over drugs, which in part was fueled by Bias, the Maryland basketball star who died of a cocaine... Read More

Attorney, wife arrested in home Updated: Tue, Jun 13, 2006 ARDMORE -- An attorney and his wife were arrested Monday and charged with cultivation of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Jon Otey, 50, and his wife, Vicki, 50, were arrested at their home on Q Street SW after authorities found 14 marijuana plants in three different spots in the house, said Mark... Read More

Police need more equipment to fight meth labs Updated: Thu, Mar 16, 2006 Law enforcement agencies across the country are seeing a frightening trend in the war on drugs but this time it has to do with their own safety. As Jennifer Loren tells us, officers who've come into contact with meth labs are getting sick, and some are even dying. Read More