Category: Law & Politics

(3,816 posts)

News and commentary on cannabis law and politics

July 31, 2014
07/31/2014
Operation Shattered: Feds Target BHO Manufacturing in Washington State

Operation Shattered: Feds Target BHO Manufacturing in Washington State

On July 22, the federal government initiated “Operation Shattered” with the stated intention of cracking down on individuals involved in causing butane hash oil-related explosions in Washington...
July 31, 2014
07/31/2014
Study: Arrests for Marijuana Offenses Increasing in Many States

Study: Arrests for Marijuana Offenses Increasing in Many States

Law enforcement in many states are making a greater number of marijuana arrests than ever before despite polling data showing that the majority of Americans believe that the adult...
July 31, 2014
07/31/2014
Good News and Not-So-Good News in Maine

Good News and Not-So-Good News in Maine

The good news: South Portland officials have informed us that we collected enough signatures to place an initiative on the November ballot that would make marijuana legal...
July 31, 2014
07/31/2014
NY Times Calls on Feds to End Marijuana Ban

NY Times Calls on Feds to End Marijuana Ban

The New York Times editorial board put out a call for the federal government to end the ban on marijuana. Obviously, I agree and there is a...
July 31, 2014
07/31/2014
The Federal Marijuana Ban Is Rooted in Myth and Xenophobia

The Federal Marijuana Ban Is Rooted in Myth and Xenophobia

The federal law that makes possession of marijuana a crime has its origins in legislation that was passed in an atmosphere of hysteria during the 1930s and...
July 30, 2014
07/30/2014
New York Lawmakers Want Faster Medical-Marijuana Process

New York Lawmakers Want Faster Medical-Marijuana Process

New York lawmakers urged Gov. Cuomo to consider different ways to get the drug to epileptic children and terminally ill patients more quickly, such as obtaining marijuana from other states....
July 30, 2014
07/30/2014
Debunking the White House’s Reefer Mad Reaction to the NYT

Debunking the White House’s Reefer Mad Reaction to the NYT

The New York Times has joined the majority of US citizens in the call for a more rational marijuana policy. The White House responded with an attempt...
July 30, 2014
07/30/2014
The Required White House Response on Marijuana

The Required White House Response on Marijuana

When the White House issued a statement last night saying that marijuana should remain illegal — responding to our pro-legalization editorial series — officials there weren’t just...
July 30, 2014
07/30/2014
Campaign to Regulate Marijuana in Alaska Unveils New Bus Ads

Campaign to Regulate Marijuana in Alaska Unveils New Bus Ads

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol In Alaska unveiled a series of bus ads yesterday in Anchorage that highlight the relative safety of marijuana compared to...
July 30, 2014
07/30/2014
Are Law Enforcement Officers Ignorant?

Are Law Enforcement Officers Ignorant?

I assumed that law enforcement know that marijuana is pretty safe and causes much less havoc than even alcohol or cigarettes. A recent story from Bakersfield, CA,...
July 29, 2014
07/29/2014
GOP Congressman Introduces CBD Oil Bill

GOP Congressman Introduces CBD Oil Bill

GOP Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania introduced a bill today that would make CBD oil legal under federal law. If passed, the “Charlotte’s Web Medical Hemp Act...
July 29, 2014
07/29/2014
Poll: Majority of Floridians Support Legalized Marijuana; Super-Majority Endorse Medicalization

Poll: Majority of Floridians Support Legalized Marijuana; Super-Majority Endorse Medicalization

Nearly nine out of ten Florida voters support legalizing the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, and a majority of Floridians support allowing adults to possess the...
July 29, 2014
07/29/2014
Another Brutal NYPD Arrest Caught on Tape, This Time for Petty Marijuana Possession

Another Brutal NYPD Arrest Caught on Tape, This Time for Petty Marijuana Possession

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is the star of yet another cellphone video of an arrest that may have involved excessive force. You can watch the...
July 28, 2014
07/28/2014
New York Times: End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

New York Times: End Federal Marijuana Prohibition

What is arguably the most influential and respected newspaper in the United States is ready to free the weed. In a Sunday editorial, the New York Times...
July 28, 2014
07/28/2014
Rand Paul Files Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill

Rand Paul Files Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has filed a bill to reform federal asset forfeiture laws. Yesterday, he introduced the FAIR (Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration) ACT, Senate Bill 2644,...
July 28, 2014
07/28/2014
Homeowners’ Associations Can Regulate Marijuana in Neighborhoods

Homeowners’ Associations Can Regulate Marijuana in Neighborhoods

Homeowners’ associations cannot legally ban their members from using marijuana in their homes in states where it is legal to do so, but some HOAs are attempting...
July 28, 2014
07/28/2014
Guatemalan President Still Mulling Whether to Legalize Marijuana

Guatemalan President Still Mulling Whether to Legalize Marijuana

Will Guatemala ever legalize marijuana? Maybe. The country’s president, Otto Perez Molina, didn’t rule out the possibility of legalizing the drug during an interview with The Washington...
July 28, 2014
07/28/2014
At Colorado’s Borders, a Dividing Line Over Marijuana

At Colorado’s Borders, a Dividing Line Over Marijuana

The legal marijuana market in Colorado has created a bonanza for “green entrepreneurs” and tax collectors in the state. At the same time, it has put pressure...
July 25, 2014
07/25/2014
9-Year-Old Girl’s Death Shines a Tragic Light on Medical Marijuana Debate

9-Year-Old Girl’s Death Shines a Tragic Light on Medical Marijuana Debate

Drug reform advocates across New York state are demanding emergency access to medical marijuana for critically ill patients after the death last week of a 9-year-old girl...
July 25, 2014
07/25/2014
University of Arizona Alumnus Starts Petition to Reinstate Sue Sisley

University of Arizona Alumnus Starts Petition to Reinstate Sue Sisley

Ricardo Pereyda, a University of Arizona alumnus and veteran diagnosed with PTSD, has begun a petition for the university to reinstate Sue Sisley, one of the foremost...