Brooklyn Eases Up on Pot Prosecutions
Brooklyn's District Attorney announced Tuesday that he will not prosecute first-time offenders arrested for low-level marijuana possession.
Topic
prison nation — page 2
98 articles
Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki Talks Drug Reform
In a conference call this morning, filmmaker Eugene Jarecki discussed the impact of his award-winning drug war documentary The House I Live In and where we go from here in the fight to end the drug war and mass incarceration.
Philadelphia: City of Brotherly Love and Rogue Cops
Things aren't as sunny in Philadelphia as they may seem. Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey spoke out to announce his intention to continue arresting people for cannabis, regardless of a veto-proof City Council vote.
Recent Report Does the Impossible: Makes DEA Look Even Worse
It's not as if you needed another log to toss onto your "DEA is the Devil" bonfire, but a new report from the Drug Policy Alliance casts them in an even more pejorative light (if you can believe it).
There's More to Colorado Than Marijuana
Colorado has certainly garnered a lot of attention since voters there decided to legalize marijuana in the 2012 election, but when it comes to drug reform, there's a lot more going on in the Rocky Mountain State than just buds, blunts, and bongs.
Texas Teenager Faces Life Sentence for Selling Pot Brownies
Jacob Lovaro, a 19 year old from Round Rock, TX, was arrested for making and selling brownies infused with hash oil. He now faces life in prison due to an obscure facet of Texas law that allows for the entire weight of the finished product to be factored into the punitive weight of the drug itself.
DEA Chief Opposes Marijuana Legalization, Supports Mandatory Minimums
DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday to warn of the dangers of marijuana legalization and affirm her support for mandatory minimum sentences.
Past Marijuana Convictions Could Be Sealed if SB 218 Becomes Law in Colorado
If Senate Bill 218 is passed, Coloradans could petition to have their previous marijuana-related convictions sealed if they would have not been crimes under current Colorado law.
Smarter Sentencing Act Picks Up More GOP Cosponsors
The Smarter Sentencing Act (House Resolution 3382/Senate Bill 1410) now has 26 cosponsors, including 10 Republicans. The Senate version of the bill...
Missouri Siblings Get 37 Years for 17 Plants (Mostly for Being Stupid)
A brother and sister from Missouri got exceptionally long sentences for growing 17 marijuana plants. I could understand a year in jail for being idiots, they deserve that at the very least.
Project Propaganda: SAM's Real Agenda
Our friends over at High Times recently put out an article detailing some of the glowing orbs of shit that Project SAM is disseminating. It got me thinking about their true motives,…
Law & PoliticsLink
How Much the War on Drugs Impacts Our Overcrowded Prisons
America's prisons are dangerously overcrowded, and the war on drugs is to blame. Over 50 percent of inmates in federal prison are there for drug offenses.
Life in Prison for Marijuana?
As more and more Americans support ending marijuana prohibition, it is sometimes easy to forget that there are still a lot of people in prison for marijuana
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Smarter Sentencing Act
The Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday gave its imprimatur to the Smarter Sentencing Act, approving the bill and sending it on to a Senate floor vote.
Book Review Essay: The Drug War Past, Present, and Future
The three books under consideration here address different facets of our drug policy; one tells us how we got here, one explains (at least in part) why we're stuck here, and one offers up suggestions on where we go from here. With apologies to Dickens, it's as if we're seeing the ghosts of drug war past, present, and future.
President Obama: Marijuana Less Dangerous Than Alcohol; Legalization in WA and CO “Important”
In a profile published online over the weekend in New Yorker magazine, President Barack Obama continued his softening towards marijuana legalization...
Christianity and Cannabis: Is it Immoral?
I have always been interested in how drugs, specifically cannabis, have been viewed through the lens of religious reconciliation.
Law & PoliticsLink
It Is Immoral to Cage Humans for Smoking Marijuana
Conor Friedersdorf gives a great explanation of why it is immoral to cage humans for smoking marijuana.