Is the Drug War a Well Polished Lie?
A leading Mexican journalist with deep knowledge of the drug war, claims that government corruption and back alley deals with the DEA carry a heavy load of responsibility for facilitating and encouraging the war.
Topic
federal government
353 articles
Unregulated Pesticide Use Concerns Cannabis Consumers
The problem of unregulated pesticide use could be solved by federal legalization, or possibly even rescheduling. The feds are the ones who dictate which pesticides are safe but, due to the federally illicit nature of the plant, they are paying scant attention to its oversight.
Pot LuckLink
Feds Paying for Sewer Analysis of Pot Usage in Washington
The federal government is chipping in money for a three-year pilot study using sewage samples to determine levels of marijuana use in two Washington cities — research that could help answer some key questions about pot legalization, according to the University of Puget Sound.
Law & PoliticsLink
The Obama Administration Just Made Medical Marijuana Research Easier
A long-standing bureaucratic obstacle to privately-funded medical marijuana research has just been removed, effective immediately. The Department of Health and Human Services determined that the PHS review process is redundant with the FDA review, and that...
Law & PoliticsLink
How the DEA Seized a College Student's Entire Life Savings, Without Charging Him With a Drug Crime
Carrying cash is not a crime. But that didn't stop the federal government from seizing $11,000 from Charles Clarke. Charles, a 24-year-old college student, was flying home after visiting family and friends in Cincinnati, when he lost his entire life savings to civil forfeiture.
Colorado Supreme Court Rules Employers May Fire MMJ Patients for Private Use
The disconnect between the classification of state-sanctioned cannabis and the federal prohibition of cannabis has created another impossible situation for the law to resolve. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on June 15th that companies can legally fire employees who use cannabis.
Law & PoliticsLink
Senate Committee Approves Protections for State Medical Marijuana Programs
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a provision Thursday that would protect medical marijuana operations from federal crackdown in states where the substance is legal. The committee passed the measure, by a vote of 22-8, as an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill for fiscal year 2016.
CannabusinessLink
Buying Legal-Marijuana Stocks: Just Say No?
Marijuana legalization in multiple states has ushered in a variety of companies and funds that are selling shares. Some investors have been playing this market for several years already. But while marijuana has been legalized for medical and recreational use in a short list of states, at the federal level marijuana is still illegal. But should you invest in stocks?
Law & PoliticsLink
New DEA Chief Claims He Will Not Focus on Marijuana
While the domestic War on Drugs has been supported for nearly four decades by Michele Leonhart, it appears as though some of her misguided policies, mostly those rooted in Reagan’s anti-reefer regime, may finally come crashing down with the recent appointment of the new leader of the DEA.
Law & PoliticsLink
Feds Propose 50% Marijuana Tax---as a Tax Cut
Should marijuana businesses pay tax on gross profits or net profits? It sounds like a silly question. After all, virtually every business in every country pays tax on net profits, after expenses. But the topsy-turvy rules for marijuana seem to defy logic. And taxes are clearly a big topic these days.
It's Time for Congress to Act on Cannabis Legalization
What Judge Mueller did was an administrative passing of the ball to Congress. Judge Mueller felt the need to rule the way she did and risk disappointing cannabis advocates, because there is more at stake than just cannabis.
Law & PoliticsLink
New Bill Would End Federal MMJ Patient Prosecutions
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) has introduced a new bill which appears to target the same aims of the so-called “Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment,” which many advocates claimed would end federal raids in medical marijuana states when it passed by bipartisan vote last year.
Judge Upholds Federal Schedule I Classification of Cannabis
In perhaps one of the most disappointing outcomes we've seen in a while, a judge has upheld the Federal Schedule I classification of cannabis after a lengthy debate process.
Law & PoliticsLink
DEA Used Drug War as an Excuse to Spy on American Citizens
An exposé published last week by USA Today reveals that the practice of spying on American citizens had nothing to do with monitoring terrorist activity post 9/11, but that it was actually a program launched in the early nineties by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a means to further combat the drug war.
Law & PoliticsLink
Federal Government Unwittingly Admits Cannabis Kills Cancer
A group of federal researchers commissioned to prove the government’s claim that marijuana has “no medicinal value” may have unwittingly let some crucial research slip through the cracks, forcing the United States to admit that cannabis can kill cancer.
Law & PoliticsLink
NIDA: New Strains, Bargain Prices
In a move which may have been made in response to federal pressure to expand options for US researchers trying to study the effects of herbal cannabis on the human body, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has announced a wider selection of federally-sanctioned research cannabis, available either in bulk or as individually wrapped cigarettes.
Law & PoliticsLink
Obama Commutes 22 Drug Sentences, Instantly Doubling the Number of Commutations He's Issued
President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 22 individuals on Tuesday, more than doubling the number of commutations he has issued in the six-plus years he's been in office. The men and women granted the reprieves had been imprisoned under an "outdated sentencing regime," the administration concluded. Eight of the 22 inmates ...
Law & PoliticsLink
Schedule I Ruling Delayed Again – What Does It Mean?
Judge Kimberly Mueller, the federal magistrate who made history by granting defense requests for a five-day hearing on the constitutionality of the continued inclusion of cannabis in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, was originally scheduled to meet with the parties of US v Schweder et al for a status hearing this week — but has delayed that meeting until April 15th.