Drug Enforcement Administration

At the heart of the debate about marijuana's medicinal value is a dearth of academic research into its therapeutic properties. For 40 years, the federal government has frustrated such study by restricting cultivation of marijuana for research to a single source, the University of Mississippi.

In an effort to plug a hole in U.S.-Mexico drug enforcement, the U.S. departments of Justice and Homeland Security announced an agreement Thursday that will give designated immigration agents expanded powers to pursue drug investigations. A key goal is to end the long-standing turf battles between the Justice Department's Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement that many critics believe have hampered investigations.

Federal authorities today announced dozens of indictments against people believed responsible for shipping multiple tons of narcotics into the United States and distributing them to cities and neighborhoods around the country. Among those charged in the indictments were three reputed leaders of Mexico's most violent trafficking organizations. Today's announcement followed years of investigations by federal agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in cooperation with Mexican and Colombian authorities.