Currently Browsing: national
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI); photo via AFGE One of the leading tools that opponents of cannabis reform use to discourage public support for legalization is misinformation. Prohibitionists ranging from local cops up to top government officials have been caught out spreading scientifically-discredited myths about cannabis being a “gateway drug,” leading to increased crime rates, or […]
Ed. Note: Tax revenue is the reason we’ve been legalization advocates for decades. It’s great to see these projections
Ending the prohibition of marijuana and other currently illegal drugs and instead taxing and regulating their sales would supplement federal and state government budgets to the tune of up to $106.7 billion a year, according to a new analysis from a Harvard University researcher.
With many key congressional races rated as “toss ups” by political observers, either major party could end up controlling of the U.S. House of Representatives after this November’s midterm elections. A new poll identifies one thing that can help Republican or Democratic candidates come out ahead: Embracing marijuana legalization. The polling firm Lake Research Partners […]
An organization representing the 3,069 county governments across the U.S. is calling on the federal government to allow states to legalize marijuana without interference. “The federal government should largely be responsible for regulating and enforcing against illegal drug trafficking, while respecting states’ right to decriminalize cannabis under state law,” reads a new platform plank adopted […]
Ed. Note: This is a good and necessary introduction to the 1937 Tax Act that banned cannabis. It even has the big villain Harry Anslinger in it!
The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is best understood as a critical turning point in the country’s attitude toward the plant, its possibilities and its “perils”.
Former Deputy Attorney General James Cole wasn’t especially surprised when he learned earlier this year that Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded his 2013 landmark namesake memo that provided guidance to U.S. attorneys on marijuana enforcement priorities. But he’s also skeptical that the policy regression will stand the test of time. In a phone interview with Marijuana […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has denied a request from an anti-legalization group to place marijuana and its derivatives on a list of restricted substances that are not “generally recognized as safe and effective.” The move is “not necessary for the protection of public health,” Janet Woodcock, the director of FDA’s Center for […]
Nearly 70% of Americans support the legalization of marijuana. About the same margin also support so-called “clean slate” legislation, an emerging judicial tool to that would automatically seal the records of people convicted of non-violent felonies or misdemeanors if they’ve proven they can stay crime-free, an especially important factor in making a tiny dent in […]
A powerful U.S. Senate panel has moved to block an amendment to let marijuana businesses store their profits in banks. In a 21 – 10 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee table an amendment on Thursday that would have shielded financial institutions that open accounts for cannabis businesses that are complying with state laws from being punished by federal regulatory authorities. Current […]
Ed Note: Of course not. They won’t offer any apology to people of color. Ever.
The House of Representatives will not be allowed to vote on a measure apologizing to “the individuals and communities harmed through the War on Drugs” because Republican leadership has blocked it from advancing.
Ed. Note: WOW! If this is an accurate survey, we’re most of the way there. Now, if legislators in some states will stop being idiots, they could control this change!
Sixty-eight percent of American voters now want to end cannabis prohibition, according to the survey released on Wednesday by leading progressive think tank the Center for American Progress (CAP) and the research firm GBA Strategies.
Ed. Note: This is something a lot of cannabis companies should do. The actions of our country are horrid and should be stopped.
A cannabis company in Oregon has teamed up with a dispensary to help kids taken from undocumented parents. Leif Goods will donate $1 for each of its chocolate bars sold at Farma during the next week. In the last six weeks, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has separated nearly 2,000 migrant children from their parents.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) has introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives that would acknowledge the war on drugs has failed. Watson Coleman filed the measure, House Resolution 933, on Tuesday. More than two dozen additional Representatives have also added their names as sponsors of the legislation. Watson Coleman noted that the government […]
A strange-bedfellows mix of powerful state governors and members of Congress signed on to end the decades-old war on marijuana – via the newly introduced STATES Act. Momentum seemed to build over the weekend for the bill, introduced Thursday by Sen. Corey Gardner (R-CO) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). On Friday, the governors of California […]