Global Drug Decriminalization?

Portugal is the latest European country to treat illegal drugs as a health problem as well as a crime. In the Netherlands, some drugs are legal. In South London, marijuana has been experimentally decriminalized. In Canada, police chiefs and rank-and-file cops disagree on the issue. In the US, three states are being targeted with ballot measures like one in California that replaced prison time with treatment for first-time offenders. We hear the pros and cons of the changing medical, law enforcement, and political strategies in the war on drugs from Europe and the US.

• Newsmaker: American Youth Soccer Organization Bans Adults for Brawling - The American Youth Soccer Organization has issued its toughest punishment ever, levying a lifetime ban on three adults who got into a fight at a youth soccer game in San Juan Capistrano, California. Scott Gold, of the Los Angeles Times has more on this latest effort to control an increasing trend of adult violence at children's games.
• Reporter's Notebook: Cheney Task Force Data Demanded - Vice President Cheney's energy task force met with 130 interest groups, from union leaders and environmentalists to representatives of the oil, gas, coal and nuclear power industries. Now a bloc of Democrats and Republicans want to uncover the identity and aim of those advisors. California Congressman Henry Waxman is one of them.

American Youth Soccer Organization

Los Angeles Times

Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police

Canadian Police Association

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction in Portugal

Florida Office of Drug Policy

Office of National Drug Control Policy

A New PATH

Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (Prop 36)

House Committee on Energy and Commerce