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Oklahoma has rejected recreational marijuana, per a vote Tuesday on State Question 820. The Associated Press called the race with the "no" votes up by more than a 60 to 40 percent margin just after 8 p.m. Tuesday. State Question 820 would have legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. If passed, SQ 820 would have gone into effect on June 5

The psychedelic renaissance will resemble the 1960s, only this time, it will take place under medical authorities and state supervision, with the corporate sheen of celebrity endorsement.The popularization of psychedelics has already transformed the American mind. As tripping becomes normalized and legal in the coming decade, the pace of change will only accelerate. There will be more openness to new ideas, both brilliant and insane. Commercial availability will also invigorate the market for synthetic religious experiences.Having seen people gobble up hallucinogens in various contexts, I’m not particularly bothered by the substances themselves. The physical effects are negligible—fatality rates are basically...

Even as rates of opioid prescribing dropped by 25% between 2011 and 2017, opioid overdose deaths continued to rise. It is time for Congress to direct the CDC to withdraw its guideline for a ground-up rewrite by an agency like the NIH or FDA that actually knows what it is doing. Likewise, the Veterans Health Administration must be directed to withdraw its closely related “Opioid Safety Initiative.” Veterans tell me that medical practice standards embedded in the initiative are driving vets to suicide by denying them treatment with opioid pain relievers. Finally, the DEA must be told to stand down...

NY SLIMES actually has a good article on the Fake Opioid Crisis. See the link.

Authorities have confirmed that one gunman has been wounded and that five kidnapping victims have been rescued following a Wednesday afternoon shootout in a busy downtown Reynosa shopping district. Mexico's Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) confirmed that a shootout took place in the "peatonal" or "pedestrian shopping area" of downtown Reynosa on Wednesday afternoon. SEDENA officials reported that soldiers were in the area when they came under fire from an unknown number of men. Reynosa residents reported the gunfire on the social media network Twitter. SEDENA officials reported that shootout ended with one gunman being wounded and five alleged kidnapping...

"Paraguay: Alleged Hezbollah financier detained Wassim el Abd Fadel, a Lebanese with Paraguayan citizenship, faces human trafficking and narco-terrorism charges."  SNIPPET: "ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay – Wassim el Abd Fadel is behind bars inside Tacumbú prison in Asunción, Paraguay, as he awaits trial on human trafficking, money laundering and narco-trafficking charges. But Paraguayan authorities suspect the Lebanese with Paraguayan citizenship’s involvement in crime is much greater, which is why he’s being investigated for financing the terrorist organization Hezbollah. Fadel, 31, was arrested on Dec. 21 in Ciudad del Este, which is on the border shared by Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina, about...

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities say they have arrested a Panamanian woman arriving at Barcelona airport with 1.38 kilograms (3 pounds) of cocaine concealed in breast implants. The Interior Ministry said Wednesday that border police noticed fresh scars and blood-stained gauze on her chest as well as pale patches beneath her skin.

I spend a chunk of my week as a Berkeley psychotherapist trying to convince clients to lay off the illicit substances. The State of California is making my job that much harder. There's a proposition on the November ballot to legalize marijuana for residents over 21. Now, is this really the direction that the state should be heading in? California's economy is in tatters. We host the biggest share of the country's illegal aliens, and we have 32% of the nation's welfare caseload on our books. What else: a decaying infrastructure, substandard schools, and burgeoning crime. To add insult to...

Remember this? Somehow, it didn't disqualify theWON for POTUS. In fact, it didn't even seem to affect his image at the time he made it public.

SNIPPET: "Aly Akbar Khan, 52, is due at Caernarfon Magistrates' Court in Gwynedd, charged with possessing class A drugs with intent to supply. Mr Khan, of Caernarfon, and a 21-year-old man, were arrested on Friday after the parcels were found. The second man has been released on bail pending further inquiries." SNIPPET: "The men were arrested under Section 4 of the Explosives Act after a suspicious package was found at the MI6 building in Vauxhall on Wednesday, and a second was found at a sorting office in south London on Thursday."

Note: The following text is a quote: Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation Gang Member Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for His Role in Drug Conspiracy WASHINGTON—Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) member John Guzman, 31, of Big Spring, Texas, was sentenced today to 210 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks for the Northern District of Texas. Guzman pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent...

Note: The following text is a quote: Travel Warning United States Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Washington, DC 20520 This information is current as of today, Sun Mar 14 2010 15:23:05 GMT-0700 (PDT). MEXICO March 14, 2010 The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens traveling to and living in Mexico of concerns about the security situation in Mexico, and that it has authorized the departure of the dependents of U.S. government personnel from U.S. consulates in the Northern Mexican border cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and Matamoros until...

Note: Photo included. "2 Canadians slain in Mexico tied to drug trade: police 3 gunmen believed responsible for shootings" Last Updated: Monday, September 28, 2009 | 9:56 PM ET The Associated Press SNIPPET: "Gang investigators in British Columbia say two men gunned down in Mexico were involved in the drug trade, and had been on the radar of gang investigators before they were found shot to death in a Puerto Vallarta condo complex."

Note: The following text is a quote: Alleged Afghan Narcotics Trafficker Ordered Detained Pending Trial on U.S. Drug Charges Haji Bagcho, aka Haji Bagh Chagul, an Afghan national, was ordered detained today by Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia while he awaits trial on U.S. narcotics charges. Bagcho was charged in a two-count indictment unsealed June 24, 2009, with one count of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States and one count of distribution of one kilogram or...

Services were moved to the parking lot of a Rainier Beach church after a naked man smashed through a window Saturday, spattering HIV-positive blood inside and leaving a trail of destruction through the house of worship. Officials believe the 46-year-old suspect was high on PCP during his unholy rampage through the Unity Church of God in Christ - and now the church interior is considered a bio-hazard because of the tainted blood inside.

Note: The following text is a quote: Obama Administration Announces National Strategy to Reduce Drug Trafficking and Flow of Bulk Cash and Weapons Across Southwest Border Today, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske released President Obama’s strategy to stem the flow of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the Southwest border and reduce associated crime and violence in the region. The National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy directs federal agencies to increase coordination and information sharing with state and local law enforcement agencies, intensifies national...

A man was jailed today for shining a laser at a passenger plane preparing to land. Hossein Hosseiny briefly illuminated the cockpit of the Dublin to Cardiff aircraft which was carrying 52 people on board on the evening of March 8. The pilot said the actions of the 21-year-old father-to-be from the Countisbury Avenue area of Llanrumney, Cardiff, caused a "momentary loss of concentration" during his approach to the runway due to a "dazzling green light". The incident was reported immediately by the pilot to air traffic control and Hosseiny, a failed asylum seeker from Afghanistan, was arrested soon after...

FBI is advising law enforcement officers across the country that a Texas cell of Los Zetas — an increasingly powerful arm of the Mexican Gulf Cartel drug trafficking syndicate — has acquired a secluded ranch where it trains its members to “neutralize” competitors in the United States.

Man is one of Mexico's 24 most-wanted drug traffickers MEXICO CITY — Mexican police on Wednesday arrested suspected Zeta gang leader Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa, one of Mexico's 24 most-wanted drug traffickers. Sauceda Gamboa appears on a list of 24 alleged drug traffickers published by prosecutors in March. Authorities have offered rewards of up to $2.1 million for each suspect. Together with a list of 13 lower-ranking drug suspects, the group covers Mexico's most powerful cartel operators. With Sauceda Gamboa's arrest Wednesday at a home in the border city of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, authorities have arrested five...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0904/090410elpaso.htm April 10, 2009 ICE deports former drug cartel top lieutenant to Mexico Criminal alien was wanted in Mexico for organized crime and drug charges EL PASO, Texas - A former high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel criminal drug organization, who was wanted in Mexico for organized crime and drug-related activity, was deported Friday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. José Manuel Garza Rendon, 56, was transferred to Mexican authorities in the morning April 10 at the middle of the Stanton Street Bridge at the El Paso Port of Entry. He...