The drug war continues to take a toll on the criminal justice system, with many public defenders offices declaring that they are at the breaking point.

A pharmaceutical drug that was supposed to help users loose weight by blocking cannabinoid receptors may be finally done as more research suggests that users face negative psychological effects from the drug. So, if it's not therapeutic to block cannabinoid receptors for some people, it seems conversely true that filling those receptors would be beneficial for other people.

And in Hawaii, a police chief ignores the will of the voters.

Police in Los Angeles County topped their record for cannabis plants eradicated in a single year by 30 per cent in 2008, including a 116,000 plant farm, which they claim is the largest clandestine cannabis grow discovered in U.S. history. Is this supposed to be good news or bad news for prohibitionists?

Hemp is a hardy plant. Long after our species is extinct there will be hemp plants, but some beleaguered American farmers aren't prepared to wait that long.

Speaking of losing the farm, Canadian courts are being forced to address the constitutionality of relatively recent asset forfeiture legislation.

Similarly in South Australia, government there is elated over new laws allowing police to seize property from people that are simply "declared" traffickers by police (no conviction needed). "Previously," reports this week's Advertiser newspaper, "a person had to be convicted of a crime before their assets could be seized."

Canadian newspapers reported this week that Canada will pony up 1.2 million dollars for "wheat seeds and fertilizer for thousands" of farmers in Afghanistan who already "meet the minimum farm-size requirement, [and] have the ability to irrigate". This will be done in hopes of displacing poppy production, which NATO forces claim funds Taliban insurgents. Reports did not mention if the wheat seeds distributed would be "terminator seeds," which are patented, genetically modified seeds designed to be sterile (thus preventing farmers from saving seeds). In Iraq, U.S. occupiers have dictated farmers there must use terminator wheat seeds.

It's true: four out of five Canadian doctors support Insite, the supervised injection center in Vancouver credited for saving lives from overdose, and limiting the spread of HIV. In a Canadian medical Association survey, 78% of the physicians agreed that "harm-reduction strategies, including safe-injection sites, should be part of a publicly funded strategy to treat addiction." The right-wing Harper government has been severely critical of the supervised injection center as government approval of drug use.