The War on Weed Continues in California, Which Supposedly Legalized Marijuana Six Years Ago
Federal and state agencies are busting unlicensed marijuana merchants, who face decades in prison.
Federal and state agencies are busting unlicensed marijuana merchants, who face decades in prison.
With its unnecessarily complicated and contentious provisions, the MORE Act received only three Republican votes in April.
Meanwhile, Delaware's governor has blocked a more modest step, and a legalization initiative has qualified for the ballot in South Dakota.
The Republican Senate candidate is echoing decades of anti-pot propaganda, but evidence to support his hypothesis is hard to find.
The overall prevalence of cannabis consumption among adolescents rose between 2017 and 2019 but has fallen since then.
It may not translate to victory in November, but increased support for marijuana legalization is a welcome change.
The settlement came after the Justice Department agreed to return more than $1 million in proceeds from state-licensed marijuana businesses in California.
The justice overlooks the long American tradition of pharmacological freedom and the dubious constitutional basis for federal bans.
Heavy regulation, high taxes, and local bans combined to cripple the legal cannabis industry, which accounts for just a third of the state's pot market.
The Colorado Democrat supports abortion rights, school choice, letting kids play unsupervised, an end to COVID-19 overreach, and an income tax rate of "zero."
Chuck Schumer seems less interested in achieving cannabis reform than in making political hay from his inevitable failure.
Nikki Fried, a Democrat, is suing the Biden administration, arguing that the policy violates the Second Amendment and a congressional spending rider.
Jonathan Wall, whose federal trial begins on May 2, notes that many people openly engage in similar conduct with impunity.
The Florida senator has a long history of defending prohibition, but it has not improved his arguments.
Empyreal Logistics agreed to drop its claims against the Justice Department, but it is still suing San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus.
Chuck Schumer claims to favor repealing the federal ban on marijuana. So why did he sink legislation that would have removed federal obstacles to banking services for pot businesses?
The controversial Columbia neuroscientist, Air Force vet, and author of Drug Use for Grown-Ups believes deeply in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Instead of building on Republican support for federalism, they seem determined to alienate potential allies.
The state's regulators plan to start accepting applications from manufacturers and "service centers" on January 2.
Just three Republicans voted for the MORE Act, two fewer than in 2020.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer worries that approving the SAFE Banking Act would make broader changes less likely.
Though voters simultaneously approved initiatives aimed at legalizing both recreational and medical use of marijuana, Amendment A got quickly tied up in court.
But 37 states allow medical or recreational use, and arrests are falling.
The federal mandatory minimum didn't leave many options.
The bill is the latest sign of strange new respect for drugs that were once routinely depicted as menaces to body and soul.
Previous efforts languished in committees.
A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order, saying the evidence of legal violations is insufficient at this point.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves' grudging support for medical marijuana speaks volumes about the erosion of support for prohibition.
The Institute for Justice argues that the seizures violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.
Stranger still, the leading drug policy reform organization supported Schumer's obstruction.
The South Dakota Supreme Court ruled that the ballot initiative violated the "single subject" rule for constitutional amendments.
Rep. Nancy Mace is touting "a framework which allows states to make their own decisions on cannabis."
Democrats need to decide whether they want to legalize marijuana or just want credit for seeming to try.
Police are still pushing this discredited scare, but it seems fewer people are falling for it.
The 36 percent drop may also be partly due to pandemic-related restrictions that drove cannabis consumers indoors.
Oregon will license and regulate psilocybin-assisted therapy by 2023. Some health care professionals aren't willing to wait.
Harm reduction invites a radical reconsideration of the way the government deals with politically disfavored intoxicants.
What have policy makers learned since Colorado became the first state to allow recreational use in 2012?
Small-scale drug possession is now a $100 infraction that can be dismissed with a call to a drug abuse assessment hotline.
Much of what government does is tax people to try to fix problems that government caused.
The Senate majority leader's racial rhetoric and overly prescriptive approach make an already iffy effort even more quixotic.
The evolution of Pollan's thinking reflects the confusion caused by arbitrary pharmacological distinctions.
Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension for marijuana use highlights an arbitrary distinction that makes less sense than ever before.
Six years after the court ruled that pot prohibition was unconstitutional, the Mexican Congress is still dithering about how to license and regulate commercial suppliers.
The president supports the ban, and his fellow Democrats do not seem serious about attracting Republican support for repealing it.
Adding to the puzzle, another study from the same organization found "no increased crash risk" associated with cannabis consumption.
Plus: The federal government gets a jump-start on celebrating Juneteenth, the masks come off in California, and more...
The puzzle of marijuana's Schedule I status invites a reconsideration of the agency's vast discretion to decide which substances should be prohibited.