susays it's it killed more than 100 soldiers in the

. trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement with war rhetoric has continually been

trying to derail that peace process. by launching such a large-scale offensive, it only creates a more than 10ouos situation with loss of innocent lives and casualties on both sides. the latest news we have is is that they have called for an immediate cease-fire. efforts with the ocs men's group, i think it's time for the world to pay greater attention to the situation here because, as i said, it will have a large influence on the greater region if this issue is not resolved peacefully. >> united nations has released th thet disturbing figures showing

iraqis killed by violence in march. the u.n. mission to iraq says 1,119 people were killed last moh compared to the 670 killed in february. that's a spike of a massive 67%. well, it's due in part to a change from tackics. iraqi forces backed by u.s.-led airstrikes have advanced in recent months. it's responded by ramping up large scale bombings. worst affected is the capitol, baghdad, where 259 civilians were killed, another 1500 iraqis were injured in march around, around a third were civilians. the rest were kurdish peshmerga or government-affiliated fighters. al jazeera waddill ibrahim has the latest from baghdad. >> reporter: there are many reasons behind the increasing of the death toll that was mentioned by the united nation in addition iraq.

first of all, at a time fighting is still going on. recently, when iraqi forces announced they are going to go launch or they did launch operations in more than one area, not only in the province or even in president other province. all, many earlier in iraq are subjected to an increased military operation between the iraqi forces and isil as well. also, we have to take into consideration that the very bad circumstances, some are witnessing. when we talk about this issue, we talk about fallujah. it is a surrounded area from all directions people inside fallujah, they are talking about bad circumstancthey are witness many people decide because of

this circumstances of this siege. now, saying the coming battle inside mosul are the going on operation closes to mosul could increase the number of dead people in the future. >> at least 25 pro government fighters have been killed in heavy fighting between syrian government forces and al-qaeda-linked group, al nusra front as they tried to approach. the missiles and other ammunition t residents in the greek border town of idimini are losing patience. thousands of refugees and migrants have been camped out in the area ever since the border was closed by the macedonian authorities in february. they say their livelihoods are at risk but the refugees and my grarnts say they are suffering the same fate. a report now from northern

greece. at first, there was solidarity with thousands of refugees and migrants but now the people are telling the government in athens that livelihoods are at risk. some are furious. >> they say that i recall quiet town no longer belongs to them. >> when they came here, we embraced them and gave them things, but now, our lives are unbearable. we are scared to allow our children to play in the streets. no one explained to us why they are staying here. >> the refugees and migrants have been living in thefields close to the boarder for weeks. farmers have lost their income. they can't plow their land. the people in the village say the refugees have been stealing their chick edges. for the past two weeks, the main freight remember line to the rest of europe has been blocked by those who are now stranded in greece. they hope the protest action will pressure the eu to open borders but it is adding more pressure on this country's already fragile economy.

>> we are now forced to reroute our trains by bulgaria. we are paying 25% more. it takes longer to delirthe goods. police have tried to keep people from the tracks. authorities have said they have no intention of evacuating the area by force. >> this used to be a transit camp. it is now home to more than 12,000 people. a few hundred have agreed to pay accomodation centers. the majority of the people are reluctant they say it is a lack of trans piece. they have set up this information center to explain to those trapped in greece their official options even as they argue the system is not functioning. >> ouro it's for europe saying it doesn't exist. our message is: listen to the people here on the ground that

are not treated according to human rights. their life is set on hold. procedures that are set in place, all. the people of edomini say they are you under impossible strain. refugees continue to believe the border will open along what has become a road to no where. zeina hodr. residents voicing concerns in the western turkish stamp. the setting out, the registration and the building of refugee camps. the counsel has rejected asylum seekers. europe, two days before the european deal is to take place. >> the mayor is worried about the effects of influx of

refugees. >> the infrastructure is not peaceful. nobody asks the opinion of people here buff making a decision. the children real not being educated. wealth health organization, they are under threat. bell jum police have arrested around 2 dozen left wing protesters in the square. the protest is islamaphobe i can't. riot please have been in the area, far right groups have a demonstration there and anti-racists to turn up. british international airport on sunday. departure is down 12 days ago

attacked by suicide bomber. people were killed in the attack t now playing with delayed government tried to reach a deal with the security measures forb passengers entering the airport terminal. >> a restart of the operations even on the partial liz, it's a sign of hope that shows our view and our strengths. turkey's president has lashed out in u.s. presidential candidates. the muslims are made the comments while opening a new islamic center. john hendren is there. >> the president of turkey is

speaking right behind me now. al cultural center in maryland. capping off a trip in which he attended the nuclear summit. here, today, thousands of muslims and others have come here to celebrate this opening of the center. a mosque, a center all in one. it hasn't all gone easily. erdouan has been criticized by president obama and others for a crackdown on the press in tu turkey. the president has not agreed to meet with erduan. he wanted president obama to be standing right there with him right now as he gives a speech. the white house cited a conflict scheduled. thought to have a bilateral meeting with erduoanto declined to do that. >> has been viewed a snub.

obama has been critical of the crackdown on the press security situation there. best, scuffling, throughout his trip. a controversial trip and one that ends with what the turkish government sees as a happy occasion. >> now, nelson mandela's former aids has added his voice to jacob zuma to step down. he said he should go so the government can recover from a confidence crisis. he said zuma will failed to uphold the constitution and said he will pay back some of the $60 million the state funds he spent on his private residence.

kenya's attack, a memorial has been unveiled to commemorate the victims of the attack. al shabaab stormed the area killing 148 people and injuring 79 more in a 15-hour siege targeting christian students. still ahead here on al jazeera: >> philippines drought, three people are killed by demonstrations by angry farmez get violent. seeking international attention as they show case their work actively seek fashion. >> all hell broke lose.

>> people were saying that we were terrorists. >> how are you providing a cover for your brother to do this? >> we saw the evil side of the social media take off.

>> a reminder our top stories here on al jazeera. heavy fighting between forces in armenia in the disputed region. both sides are reporting casualties. thet since 1990. killed in the country in march, half of those killed were civilians. the u.n. says isis is partly to blame. after the deadly attack. 11 people have been kidnapped while clearing land mines in afghanistan. the d minus from the halo trust where on friday, the military operation was underway.

negotiating. four days of heavy rain. the parts of the capitol. half of the international aids sent to afghanistan over the past 15 years in the infrastructure. it will is a report. kabul asking where all that money went. >> it said the best way to get to know a city is to walk in. but that's a tall order for the nearly 6 million residents of kabul. the afghan capitol seems to be soaking in rainwater. the editorial this week suggested residents who want to go anywhere use a boat. >> our children are stranded and there is no one to help them out.

many are having trouble. whenever it rains, gutters full of garbage and mutt turn stre s streets. most cars, many are often abandoned. >> it's not a working draining system. all we see is water floating in the city. everyone is filling their own pocket. this will problem has to be up have been poured into post war afghanistan. many say they think it has been miss spent by politicians. they say government officials hire their own businesses for construction projects or get kickbacks when awarding contracts. if the money was spent the right way, there would not be a situation like this.

millions of camps. some residents even say the construction materials used in public works projects are often substandard. residents say most of the new roads and infrastructure last only a few years and then need repairs for a rebuild. >> as we all know, kabul city is not a normal city. about 75% were built without urban planning. >> international assistance was widely a rare opportunity. to re-invent itself and become a 21st century city. now, with little chance, there will be little outpouring of assistance. afghans say they will have to address it themselves, take responsibility and rely on their own resources and resourcefulness.

al jazeera. >> three people have been killed and dozens injured after a demonstration turned violence. farmers are angry over what they say is a lack of government help between one of the country's worst droughts in years. the fields are dry. krofrpz have failed. five months of drought have hit many parts have brought farmers to their knees unable feed their families, they have tried to get their divorces heard. they protested in the nearby town but on friday, it got out of hand. rocks were thrown at the police. police then broke the lines of the protesters then shots can be heard. eduardo's brother was one of the farmers killed. he blaimz the police for his brother's death. >> the only reason we came here was to demand a raise from the governor. we were surprised to see the police. the reason there was trouble was

because the police tried to stop our demonstration. >> this is the city highway and it's a very busy road on most days. earlier this week, farmers were given a permit to demonstrate but not block the highway. when the police moved in, there were clashes and up to three people were killed as many as 4,000 people have taken sanctuary in this church. >> whole families have taken refuge wherever they can in the ground of the church. the young and old sheltering from the sweltering heat of the day. with no agreement of how to ends the stand-off, security forces have surrounded the church. they are well armed. on saturday moraling, police were given permission by negotiators to search the premises for weapons. police are letting in some food donations but only after long discussions with civil society. >> we cannot rely any more on the response of the government because we already experienced it. we rely now on the support and

aid food aid being donated bu organizations, governments such as the national food authority that these farmers will go home and not empty handed. >> while farming families wait it out, there is hope for a break through. >> there are some misconceptions on our activities here we are here to arrest them but actually we are not here to arrest them. we are here to facilitate the community. >> it's believed that an agreement to ends the protest may be reached over the weekend. how to solve their long-term problems remain the question for the government. al jazeera, mendena. >> indonesia has threatened to ban leon ardo dicaprio of his criticism of the palm oil industry. last weekend. the palm oil plantations, he wrote are destroying country's

rain forest and endangering wildlife. immigration says they don't like his comments and can competition immigration to ban him from the country. >> celeb bririty magazine "hell apologized to george cleaney for publishing a fabricated story. he said he hasn't done any interviews with the magazine and all was inaccurate. they have apologized to mr. clooney and his wife. >> butterflies are making a comeback in the mexican state of michiuan, their numbered triples after falling for 20 years. this increase comes after an agreement with canadaed and the u.s. protecting the piece he's. john hallman has the story.

butterflies in their winter home. millions travel from canada in the northern united states to the forest in central mexico it's one the nature's longest migrations and most precarious. this, numbers of monarchs. nature and man have helped the insects out. the public of the u.s. has helped to conserve and plant milk we'd, the chief food source for the larvaet they lay eggs and the plant serves as nursery add food for their young before they continue their parents' journey south. that's why canada, the u.s., and mexico have mounted a campaign to get them back in guardlens

and schools along the route. >> doing their bit in northern mexico. the basic idea which the children are enthusiastic is about the major route. >> these tiny creatures go on an incredible journey, 2 and a half thousand miles to get here. they do it using an internal come pass that guides them to a relatively small area of forest that they have never even seen before. the u.s. government in particular has put more than $3 million in to monarch conservation with numbers still weigh down from their peak 20 years ago, no one is getting carried away. >> i think it's too early to declare success. we have got to keep watching to see what's going to happen to long-term pochlthsz obstacles lie ahead. environmentalists say herb sides are a danger. >> they say they are using what

mansan to say produces that wipes out milk we'd. from 1999 to 2010, the increase in the use of herbicides eliminated 58% of the milk we'd in these places and with it, 71% of the monarch butterfly. >> that's among other factors means it's too early to tell if we are seeing a comeback or just a short respite for the monarch butterfly. john hollmann, the butterfly sanctuary in mexico. > ga's economy may be struggle ling but the fashion industry is thriving. showcasing their work. on the catwalk, it's a fashion week. a report from thegan capitol. pieces are inspired by unique local trends. georgia's over all economy is looking foggy. fashion hasn't noticed this is typical fashion week, one of two fashion weeks competing for home

grown designers. a sign of a healthy sector. >> all of the designs. now, it's a moment, so that it is developing. >>. is it ablisi is a fashion capitol of the post-soviet world. ready to wear collections are popular with buyers in ukraine and kaziksthan some of is internationally recognized. it isn't the catwalk keeping fashion alive. >> take a stroll through the streets and it's easy to find georgian girls loyally wearinggan fashion. it is a small town so, georgian buyers and designers enjoy a close relationship says diana

kabiani. >> we really think in the same way. we create something that they like, they like, something that we create because i thinkgans have something, the one taste. >> a taste intriguing foreign fashion istas who see potential he here? >> national talent. >> not re-do it but just the finness the edges. they are great and exciting things did he ever did he have fin fines. >> tweaked a little bit could propel it on to something more powerful. >> in other words, today, tablisi, tomorrow, maybe the world. robin forest year walker, al jazeera. >> international hello day. that's a thing. it's been celebrated across the world with, you guessed it, huge pillow fights.

here are some pictures from hong kong and taiwan where hundreds turned out armed with pillows and soft toys to battle with each other. now, you can find out much more on our website. why not take a look at that? aljazeera.com. >> adults can buy recreational marijuana legally in colorado today, and reformers hope it's the beginning of a wave that will sweep across america. but in places like louisiana in the southern united states, legalization is off the agenda. the state has the country's highest incarceration rate.

>> marijuana prosecutions are very common in louisiana. >> donna weidenhaft is a public defender in new orleans. >> are the penalties severe here for marijuana possession? >> absolutely. you can get anywhere up to 20 years if you are caught with marijuana 3 times. and in some cases, you can even get life. >> bernard noble, one of weidenhaft's clients, was sentenced to 13 years in jail last year after he was stopped with 2.8 grams of pot - about 3 marijuana cigarettes. >> when bernard was riding his bike the new orleans police department saw him and they thought that he had swerved his bike onto the sidewalk to avoid them, almost hitting a car so they stopped bernard at that point and that's pretty much where bernard's nightmare began. >> noble was riding to a sweet shop. in the past he had been arrested for possessing small amounts of pot and cocaine. his most recent arrest was nine and a half years before.

>> is bernard noble a drug dealer? >> bernard noble is not a drug dealer, no. >> was bernard noble ever arrested for violent offenses? >> bernard noble has never been accused of a crime of violence. >> the judge in noble's case assessed his character and the offense and sentenced him to 5 years in prison - still serious time for 3 joints. but after the orleans district attorney appealed three times, the louisiana supreme court ordered noble to prison for thirteen years. derwyn bunton is the chief public defender in new orleans. >> we in the south are part of the bible belt, very christian part of the country that has produced some very conservative values that play themselves out in our criminal justice system. there is also the history of slavery and racism in the south. >> do you think the fact that district attorneys and judges are elected plays a big role in the tough pot penalties here? >> i think that's played a big part in sentencing; it becomes easy to sort of make

a political name prosecuting very vigorously drug offenses. >> he was just so concerned about his children's well-being, you know i'm going to be 60 years old and gonna miss everything in their lives, everything. >> latonya noble is bernard's sister. >> this is the picture of the whole family. >> the impact of noble's imprisonment on his family has been devastating. >> when my daughter told me just the amount of years he got, i thought i would just die. it's been really hard. >> what's it been like to have your father in jail? >>time is precious, so i feel that's it's not right. because for a bag of weed, it's just too long? >> i ain't seen my daddy since i was 18. he wrote me last year for my 20th birthday. >> he has a son that has autism. when bernard left,

his son was two years old. he's now 5. >> so bernard was a breadwinner for a lot of people? >> he was the provider, the main provider in the household. so, with him gone, they lost their home, their independence, they lost everything. >> what do you think when you see they are selling pot legally in colorado but bernard is in jail for 13 years for 3 joints? >> i think just need to change the law, they have murderers; they have people who have killed people who have less time than bernard has for a non-violent act. 13 years to keep a man away from his family for three joints? it just doesn't make sense. >> noble and his family placed a great deal of hope in marijuana reform legislation considered in the louisiana legislature last year. it would have reduced the penalty for third time pot possession to 5 years. the bill passed the house, but was prevented from being voted on in the senate.

>> why didn't it pass? who was opposing it at the time? >> well, primarily it was local law enforcement and the sheriffs. >> george steimel, a lobbyist for the louisiana defense lawyers association, tried to get the marijuana reform legislation through. but the bill would have affected the hundreds of millions of dollars the sheriffs get from housing state inmates. >> the state pays the sheriffs a per diem for each of the state inmates. and a great deal of those state inmates are serving time in local jails for drug offenses >> so the sheriffs have an economic interest in having a steady flow of inmates? >> that's correct. and they also want to keep as many people on the payroll because that boosts their political popularity. >> the sheriffs provide corrections jobs in the jails they run in their counties, known as parishes. they also have deals with private prison companies that house inmates.

>> are the jobs in parish jails a big part of the jobs that sheriffs provide? >> yes. in the northern part of the state, in the rural parishes housing state inmates have become economic development tools. while we should be producing manufacturing jobs we're producing jobs, low paying, low-skilled correctional workers jobs. >> noble was sent to a parish jail run by the local sheriff in the rural northern part of the state. we were denied permission to interview bernard noble here at the concordia parish correctional center. louisiana law enforcement officials had little interest in discussing the human costs of steep penalties for pot possession and the economic incentives that promote them. the district attorney who sent noble to jail for 13 years declined our request for an interview. so did the executive director of the louisiana sheriffs association which lobbied successfully against marijuana

law reform late last year. >> mass incarceration is a for profit business. people don't want to see those revenue streams go. the more people you arrest and criminalize the more you're going to need the services potentially of private entities, whether its telephone companies, health care or actual prisons themselves to deal with this kind of mass prison industrial complex. >> do you think we've reached a tipping point in regard to pot legalization in the united states? >> even though i'm optimistic about the end of the war on marijuana and i think that's the direction we're going in, it's going to be a hard road. right now if you look at the states that are contemplating or have legalized they're predominately on the west coast and in the northeast and frankly they're overwhelmingly white states. i think if you look at states that either have large black communities, particularly in the deep south, or that have very segregated populations in the midwest, that those states are further behind. >> there aren't very many people that are doing time in jail or

in prison for user quantities of marijuana. that just, in our state that doesn't happen and in most places that doesn't happen. >> in louisiana someone who's caught with marijuana three times, with a joint three times, can go to jail for 20 years. there's no justification for that is there? >> well isn't that up to the people of louisiana? if legalization is up to the people of colorado then why can't the people of louisiana have it the other way if that's the way they want to have it? what we're talking about here is people deciding what they want to do. >> that's exactly what federal legislation introduced in washington dc by congressman dana rorhabacher would allow. >> the main purpose of the bill is just basically tell the federal government agencies not to interfere with state law. >> rohrbacher served as a senior speechwriter for president ronald reagan. it's a sign of the times that he is now an advocate for cannabis legalization. >> i was very involved in trying to defeat communism,

but now that communism has been defeated, i feel it's time to get back to more of a classic american view of what government should and shouldn't do. and that classical view i believe our founding fathers were aimed at liberty. there is a downside to using marijuana and i discourage anybody from using it, but i don't want the federal government to be involved in making those decisions for the individual. >> do you think that economic self-interest plays a role in law enforcement opposition to pot legalization? >> yeah, these people now they just like every other government bureaucracy become a self-serving bureaucracy. people understand the military industrial complex over there; i mean eisenhower warned us about that. well we have the same thing with drug laws. >> what do you say to those who say the war on drugs was targeted on people of color and that they've paid the highest price? >> i think that thought reflects

a paranoid view of reality that doesn't exist. reagan, and the other republicans i know, probably felt they were doing people in the ghetto and in the barrio trying to do them a favor by protecting their children from the drug dealers. >> would you agree that the war on drugs failed? >> yeah i think the war on drugs was like the war in iraq. it was something we should not have really gotten into. one of the unintended consequences of marijuana prohibition is the fact that we have undermined honest government in various parts of the third world, especially on our own border with mexico. we have created a flow of wealth and power into the hands of a criminal element. >> ...and on the streets. >> there's been another teenager shot and killed by the police.

>> a fault lines special investigation. >> there's a general distrust of this prosecutor. >> this is a target you can't get rid of. >> the untold story of what's really going on in ferguson. >> they were so angry, because it could've been them. >> one hour special, only on al jazeera america.

>> [chanting] yes we can! >> an historic election. >> you and i, we're going to change this county, and we will change the world. >> monumental decisions. >> mr. president, there's a one and three chance of a second great depression. >> first-hand accounts from the people who were there. >> their opinion was shocking. >> the challenges. >> he said, "i am president of the united states and i can't make anything happen." >> the realities. >> he stood up and said, "that's it, i'm finished."

>> since 2006 in mexico, the war against drug traffickers, and their fight to control territory, has resulted in more than 60,000 deaths and 20,000 disappearances. in mexico and other latin american countries, the legalization of marijuana is seen by many as the only way to combat the cartel violence that has traumatized families. these protestors were calling on the government to investigate what happened to their loved ones. and for the legalization of drugs.

>> this man's son, a café owner, was killed because he refused to sell drugs for a mexican trafficker. >> a bill to legalize the production and sale of marijuana has been introduced in the mexican congress.

>> but so far the proposed legislation has garnered little support. mexican president enrique pena nieto is opposed. roberto campa, deputy minister of the interior, is in charge of the pena nieto administration's violence prevention program. >> in mexico, small amounts of drugs for personal use are allowed, but sales are illegal. >> many people i've spoken to say that the only way to combat the violence of the drug cartels here in mexico is to legalize drugs, to end prohibition. >> you don't think that eliminating the market for drugs would eliminate a lot of their

earnings//that it would strip them of a tremendous economic power? >> mexico's gotten hundreds of millions of dollars to fight the drug war from the united states, there are strong ties between intelligence agencies, drug fighting agencies in the united states and mexico. does that make it difficult for mexico to go its own way on drug policy?

>> it's very insignificant, drug consumption in mexico, and yet we have this war. why? because it's to the convenience of united states. they want always war outside of the territory. >> vicente fox is a businessman who was the president of mexico from 2000 to 2006. >> so mexico is in this trap. we have paid with many lives, blood. so this has to change. >> what impact do you think legalization in colorado and washington state are having in mexico and in latin america? >> for the moment it's just cultural, and informative, but california's key to me. there's no way that mexico will have the alternative of

refraining to this course and to approve the same that california approves. otherwise imagine tijuana, by the side of san diego california. if san diego has approved and tijuana has not, it will be a thoroughly conflictive situion. >> do you think that a tipping point in terms of the legalization of marijuana has occurred, both in the united states and in latin america? >> nobody can stop this. this is on its way. it will happen so we better adopt our minds to the new paradigm >> do you think marijuana legalization will cut into the economic profits of the cartels. i mean marijuana is only... >> 40% of the income on drugs. 40%. so it's not small. if it's 50 billion, 20 billion come from marijuana. imagine taking that money away from cartels. you will weaken the capacities. they're not going to be able to buy the weapons that they buy in

the united states and bring them to mexico to kill kids on the street. they are not going to be able to bribe institutions and police corps and even army in mexico. so, everything will change.

>> we set out to the mountainous region of sinoloa state to assess the impact on the underground drug market of cannabis legalization in the u.s. home of the sinoloa cartel, the area is one of the main marijuana producing regions in mexico. sinaloa farmers grow a high-quality strain of pot known as chronic. >> the farmers sell the

marijuana to the highest bidder for transport to the u.s. >> how much is it worth? >> the percentage of drug cartel profits that come from marijuana sales are a matter of debate. but the cannabis now being raised legally in the u.s. is already having an effect on profits from pot. >> what impact has the spread of medical marijuana had on the price down here in mexico? >> if they legalize marihuana in the united states, do you think is going to impact your life a lot down here? >> do you think that the legalization of drugs will combat violence here in mexico?

>> to say that you're going to eliminate the black market, you're going to eliminate criminal activity by legalizing it, i don't think that's true. >> violence diminished dramatically when alcohol prohibition ended. >> i think a lot of things have changed since prohibition. criminal activity has gotten to be a lot more sophisticated. there's a lot of money to be made off marijuana, they're making a lot of money off methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin and the other drugs too. >> wouldn't it weaken them like it weakened al capone during prohibition? >> i don't know how to answer that question really, bob. >> i think it'd put them out of business and that's the purpose of it. it's to reduce the crime and violence and stop the killing. people are dying in this drug trade in central and south america in staggering numbers, compared to the united states. >> in uruguay, combatting drug cartel violence was a major aim of a cannabis legalization campaign last year.

>> the campaign was mounted in support of legalization legislation pushed by uruguay's president jose mujica. >> last december, uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize the production and sale of recreational marijuana. > > the cannabis legalization effort was spearheaded by mujica's presidential secretary, diego canepa. >> in denver last year, canepa and other latin american officials participated in the drug policy alliance's meeting of legalization advocates

>> we are working very hard to move from vienna to new york to start the discussions. it's very important for us. >> latin american leaders have convinced the un to hold a special 2016 session on drugs and the drug war. >> the war on drugs that started with nixon's speech in 1971 has not given us a good result in the region. we totally agree, all of us. different government, from the right to the left to the center. >> what role do you think uruguay can play and is playing in the rethinking of the war on drugs? >> the better way that we can help people in the world is that you show our policy is better for the population. so, you can discuss and say, uruguay choose to change the policy, choose to have a radical movement and now we have a better result, why we not don't it? >> in the us, this is very much a grass roots movement, pardon the pun. conversely, in latin america, barely a third of the public actually supports legalizing marijuana, but you have elected officials,

presidents, providing real leadership. >> do you think marijuana legalization is the beginning of the end of the drug war? >> yes. i think marijuana legalization is the beginning of the end, but it's not like bringing down the berlin wall. that wall crumbled awfully fast when it finally came down. so, there's a long way to go but, there's a powerful argument, which says that the war on marijuana subsidizes the rest of the war on drugs. if marijuana's taken out of the picture, a lot of the cops barely have anything to do anymore? >> as police officers we don't make the law we enforce the law. if they change the law we are stuck with what the law is. >> what do you think would be the most persuasive thing to happen to prevent legalization? if things go badly in colorado and washington state? >> i think we're going to see some of that, yes. i think eventually we're going to get to a point far enough down the road where people are going to understand what the real dangers and the damage is.

>> do you expect to see pot being sold on bourbon street during your lifetime? >> i don't expect to see it in louisiana anytime soon. it may never happen without the federal government getting involved and saying hey marijuana is off the list. i think if that happens then you create a sort of a catalyst effect, not just for louisiana but everywhere else. >> if it was a secret ballot the legalizing marijuana would pass with a very strong majority here. but people are afraid that their position will be misrepresented in advertising campaign against them in their very next election. >> do you expect to see 25 states legalize pot in your lifetime? >> yes. >> do you think that the legalization of marijuana is the beginning of the end of the drug war? >> i think it a waste of resources to take the police, our courts, our jails and put people in them whose only crime is trying to smoke some weed that you can grow in your backyard or trying to sell someone something for

them to smoke. we're going broke. i think we've reached a point where there can be a reevaluation as to what the benefits are of channeling resources of our federal government into marijuana or the war on drugs. >> al jazeera america, proud to tell vital and important environmental stories. >> i'm off the coast of hawaii. >> we've been driving for miles into what should be pristine rain forest. >> this is not your standard household dust. >> the first national news channel to report unsafe water in michigan. >> chlorine. >> it tastes like you're drinking out of a pool. >> no justice, no peace! >> so today, we stand up for environmental justice. we stand up for ourselves. we stand up for our rights.

>> have you experienced any health issues since this water was switched over? >> loss of hair. >> is there an environmental urgency? >> even a modest rise in sea level could have dramatic impacts. >> this is where our house stood. >> behind me, it is literally hell on earth. the fire fighters in there are fighting against global forces. >> the fire was getting closer. we had just enough time to get him in the truck and go. >> i lost my auto body shop. that's the money i had. >> you can't replace people, so absolutely we're happy to be alive. >> it's extraordinary to be here, check this out. >> we're looking at the most incredible wonders of the natural world. >> we've returned this iconic mammal to illinois. >> we can make clean drinking water just using the sun. >> this opens up whole new possibilities. >> al jazeera america, proud to tell your stories.

>> hello there, i'm julie mcdonald. this is the news hour live from london. coming up, residents lose patients over refugees in their town. tours reject potential asylum seekers headed their way. sharp rise in the number of iraqis killed as isil starts its attacks on civilians. and suffering it's worst player up in fighting in 22 years.