Judge Issues Tentative Decision Tossing California Lethal Injection Procedure

A California judge issued a tentative decision on Thursday finding prison officials failed to follow the law when adopting new state procedures for lethal injection. If the judge’s decision is upheld, the Associated Press reports, it will “throw California’s stalled capital punishment system into further doubt.” Judge Faye D’Opal of…

Dec 16, 2011 1:57 PM CST

HHS Secty Nixes FDA’s OK of Nonprescription Sale of Plan B Emergency Contraceptive to Teens Under 17

The Food and Drug Administration was ready to approve a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. proposal to sell the company’s Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive to girls under age 17 over the counter, without a prescription. But, in an unusual move, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today blocked the…

Dec 8, 2011 12:32 AM CST

Swiss Drug Maker Wants No Part of Nebraska’s Lethal Injection Regime

A Swiss drug company has asked Nebraska officials to return a drug it made that the state plans to use for the execution of death row inmates. The CEO of Naari says the company did not supply the drug to the state and would never support its use in a…

Nov 30, 2011 8:09 PM CST

Arizona Cannabis Clubs Sued by State AG

Four cannabis clubs in Arizona, where voters last year passed a law allowing medical marijuana use, were sued today by the state attorney general, who alleges that the groups’ actions run afoul of the new ordinance. The lawsuit was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court. According to the state attorney…

Aug 8, 2011 7:07 PM CDT

Florida Drug Law Struck Down, Could Change Thousands of Convictions

Florida’s Drug Abuse Prevention and Control law, which in 2002 was amended to remove language that intent was required for a conviction, was recently overturned in Orlando federal court. Defense lawyers there told the St. Petersburg Times that the July 27 order (PDF) will affect thousands of cases. The law…

Jul 29, 2011 6:50 PM CDT

There’s ‘Strong Evidence’ Sedative for Lethal Injection Was Illegally Imported, Nebraska Lawyer Says

There is “strong evidence” lethal injection sedative used in Nebraska is being illegally imported from India, according to a lawyer there who handles capital cases, and using it brings brings legal and humane risks, he wrote in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Alan Peterson, who practices in…

Apr 12, 2011 6:57 PM CDT

DEA Seizes Lethal Injection Drug from Ga. Corrections Department

Georgia’s Department of Corrections turned proactive when a limited supply of a lethal injection drug delayed some executions in the United States. The state imported the sedative sodium thiopental from England and used it two months ago in a three-drug execution cocktail to execute Emmanuel Hammond, convicted of the shotgun…

Mar 16, 2011 11:22 AM CDT

Some Say It’s Time to Rethink Cannabis Regulation

Approach the squat, green-and-white building at a busy corner in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Palms, and you might be tempted to order two pieces of Original Recipe. On closer inspection, one sees that what used to be a Kentucky Fried Chicken store is no longer, and that KFC now…

Dec 10, 2010 11:28 PM CST

Up In Smoke: Voter Reactions Have Some Saying It’s Time to Rethink Cannabis Regulation

Dec 1, 2010 7:50 AM CST

Judge Allows Animal Drug to Be Used in Lethal Injections in Oklahoma

A sedative used to euthanize animals can be used to execute death-row inmates in Oklahoma, a federal judge has ruled. Oklahoma prison officials want to administer pentobarbital, used on animals and in physician-assisted suicides in Oregon and the Netherlands, according to the Associated Press and NewsOK.com. On Friday U.S. District…

Nov 23, 2010 12:00 PM CST

Who Gets the Lethal Injection? Drug Shortage Creates ‘Russian Roulette’ Scenario

A national shortage of sodium thiopental, one of three drugs commonly included in a lethal cocktail used to execute prison inmates on death row, has created a “Russian roulette” scenario in at least one state and could do so in 34 more, an expert says. Death Penalty Information Center Director…

Sep 28, 2010 7:36 PM CDT

Lawyers and ‘Suited Geeks’ Turn Out for Cannabis Convention

Lawyers hoping to find new clients were among those attending the Colorado Cannabis Convention this past weekend. More than half a dozen lawyers that are gaining experience in medical marijuana law showed up at the convention, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports. Medicial marijuana dispensaries started springing up like weeds…

Apr 6, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

6th Circuit Stays Execution of Ohio Inmate Due to Lethal Injection Concerns

A federal appeals court has stayed the execution of an Ohio inmate until a federal appeals court can hear arguments over the state’s lethal injection process. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the execution of Lawrence Reynolds, who was scheduled to die on Thursday, according to the…

Oct 5, 2009 3:23 PM CDT

Lawsuit Spurs Washington’s Lethal Injection Team to Quit

The state of Washington is without a team to administer lethal injections after all four of its members resigned in response to a lawsuit. The four volunteers, all who currently or previously worked for the Department of Corrections, apparently fear their names will become public as a result of a…

Apr 3, 2009 3:57 PM CDT

Judge: FDA Overstepped Bounds in Restricting ‘Plan B’ Contraceptive

A federal regulatory agency overstepped its bounds in limiting access to the so-called “Plan B” emergency contraceptive, a federal judge has ruled. In setting special requirements for the controversial contraceptive, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “departed in significant ways from the agency’s normal procedures regarding similar applications to switch…

Mar 23, 2009 8:13 PM CDT