Washington state's move toward legal, regulated marijuana commerce is well underway. Initial draft rules have been circulated and commented on, and here's where things stand now. But retail outlets are still months away. 3 comments
ON THE SPEAKEASY BLOG
Big Sentencing Ruling Today from the Supreme Court
In a 5-4 ruling, the US Supreme Court today extended a sentencing reform that begun with a ruling it made in 2000. 0 comments Cameron Douglas Writes from Behind Bars
Actor Cameron Douglas was serving five years prison time for a drug law violation, when he was tested positive for drug use. 2 comments
Angry Afternoon (The Human and Fiscal Cost of the Medical Marijuana Wars)
Two reports came out today about the federal government's attacks on medical marijuana providers. 1 comment Harm Reduction 2013
Our friends at the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union attended the international harm reduction conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, this week 0 comments What will legal marijuana look like in Washington?
Voters in Washington approved marijuana legalization in November, draft regulations came out last month. We're about to publish a feature article on how things are shaping up. In the meantime,... 1 comment
Rep. Steve Cohen Grills Eric Holder on Marijuana Prohibition (VIDEO)
In a hearing devoted primarily to the IRS and Associated Press records controversies, one member of Congress pointed to the banning of things people think should be legal as another threat to freedom. 1 comment
No Thank You
The guy who fired bullets at the White House two years ago was angry about marijuana prohibition, prosecutors claim. 12 comments
Congressman Predicts Current Congress Will Legalize Hemp
A senior Democratic congressman has predicted that the current congress will legalize hemp growing. 3 comments Illinois House of Representatives Passes Medical Marijuana Bill
Will Sen. Durbin press federal medical marijuana legislation if his home state approves medical marijuana? 1 comment Sens. Leahy and Paul Introduce Bill to Undo Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) have introduced S. 619, the bipartisan "Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013," allowing judges to set aside mandatory minimum sentences when they feel appropriate. 7 comments NYPD Marijuana Arrests Scandal Blows Up Again
NYPD spent a million hours on marijuana possession arrests over the past decade, a new report finds. 3 comments Kleiman Addresses His Prop 19 Editorial
Prof. Kleiman has responded to concerns raised over his remarks during the Prop 19 campaign in California, predicting that Prop 19 would cause prices to plummet and that the feds would have had to intervene in ways going beyond how they've dealt with the medical marijuana trade. 7 comments 
Is the International Narcotics Control Board Ignoring Human Rights?
The International Narcotics Control Board stands alone among UN agencies -- even other drug agencies -- in its apparent unconcern with human rights. But the disjuncture may soon become harder to ignore, thanks to a pair of recent reports. 9 comments Drug War Symposium, Cardozo Law, NYC 3/13
I am presenting at a symposium sponsored by the Cardozo Public Law, Policy and Ethics Journal, " 4 comments
More Overreaching Arguments Against Marijuana Legalization by DEA Chiefs and the UN
The International Narcotics Control Board, a UN agency, and eight former DEA administrators came out swinging this week against marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington. Their positions may be legal overreaches. 18 comments HCLU Interview with Former EU Drugs Commissioner Carel Edwards
Former EU Drugs Commissioner Carel Edwards discusses EU efforts to shift drug policy away from the prohibitionist status quo and toward human rights and public health. 2 comments 
HuffPost Live on Mexican Drug War and Security, 11:30am EST TODAY
StoptheDrugWar.org executive director David Borden is participating on a HuffPost Live panel starting at 11:30am EST this morning: Is Mexico's Security Policy Failing? 11 comments
Harborside and the Feds' Failed Medical Marijuana Communications
Harborside is in the news again today. 6 comments The Next Seven States to Legalize Marijuana?
Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson continues his coverage of marijuana legalization with a not unjustifiably optimistic article, "The Next Seven States to Legalize Pot." 14 comments Legalization and the UN Drug Treaties -- A Minor Obstacle at Worst
I have criticized the ease with which some media outlets and even some reformers have accepted the 16 comments Senate Judiciary Committee to Take Up Legalization Next Year
Huge news this morning from Senate Judiciary Committee chair Pat Leahy (D-VT). 16 comments 
Prohibitionists are Overstating Feds vs. State Marijuana Legalization Case to Media
A mostly great piece in Rolling Stone this weekend, "Obama's Pot Problem," missed the mark on the federal preemption question -- can the feds shut down Washington and Colorado's legalized regulation systems? 12 comments What Happens Next?
We noted this morning that marijuana is now legal in Washington State. But what happens next? 55 comments Prohibition Repealed 80 Years Ago Today -- and Again One Day from Now
A big anniversary today, and a big day tomorrow. 5 comments Protecting Your Rights in a College Dorm
Over at Flex Your Rights, we've been getting a lot of questions lately about how to protect your rights when you're living in a college dorm. I put together this video response that I hope everyone will find helpful (I think a lot of the tips... 4 comments Read all Speakeasy Posts
FROM THE CHRONICLE
Supreme Court Rules Juries—Not Judges—Must Find Facts on Mandatory Minimum Sentences
In a decision that should cut back on prison time for some drug offenders, the Supreme Court has held that facts used to impose mandatory minimum sentences must be proven before a jury--not a judge with a lower standard of proof. 0 comments Medical Marijuana Update
Well, at least the DEA didn't raid any dispensaries in the last week. In California, the battle continues at the local level, while progress is being made in several states. 0 comments This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
Two of our three cases this week involve cops protecting their steroids dealers. Go figger. The other one is a crooked police chief who bragged, "I'm the best cop money can buy." 0 comments Medical Marijuana is Coming to New Hampshire
New Hampshire is poised to become the next medical marijuana state after House and Senate negotiators reached a compromise on the legislation that satisfies the concerns of Gov. Maggie Hassan. That means no patient grows. 2 comments Chicago Police Kill Fleeing Man in "Drug Area"
A Chicago man with a drug record who fled a traffic stop in an area of "drug activity" was shot and killed by police Sunday. Police said he was armed. His family said he wasn't, and that police shot him in the back. 1 comment Marijuana Legalization Initiatives Gear Up in Three States
2014 marijuana legalization initiatives are starting to pop up. There is action already in Alaska, Arizona, and Oregon. 5 comments Texas to Drug Test Some Unemployment Applicants
Texas will start requiring some applicants for unemployment benefits to pass a drug test after Gov. Perry signed a bill into law last Friday. 0 comments Judge's Handyman Cops Plea in Georgia Sex, Drugs, Frame-Up [FEATURE]
A third man has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to falsely arrest a Georgia woman who accused a judge of sexual misconduct. But the judge has yet to even be indicted. 2 comments North Carolina Partial Needle Decriminalization Bill Passes
A bill that would allow people carrying syringes to avoid arrest if they tell police they are carrying before a search has passed the legislature in North Carolina. 1 comment Nevada Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Dispensary, Needle Bills
Nevada took steps on two drug refom fronts Wednesday, as Gov. Sandoval signed bills creating a medical marijuana dispensary system and decriminalizing syringe possession. 0 comments Internships: Legislative, Writing/Research, Web, IT, Admin/Finance, Communications
Interns are making an important difference fighting the good fight with us at StoptheDrugWar.org. 0 comments Donations Needed This Month for Drug War Chronicle
StoptheDrugWar.org needs your support to continue our work during the most important time in drug reform we've ever seen. We have gifts to send you too, with donations of $15 or more. 0 comments Moving Toward Legal Marijuana Commerce in Washington State [FEATURE]
Washington state's move toward legal, regulated marijuana commerce is well underway. Initial draft rules have been circulated and commented on, and here's where things stand now. But retail outlets are still months away. 3 comments Medical Marijuana Update
California dispensaries continue their vanishing act, thanks to feds and local officials, but Arizona fends off a challenge, Oregon adds PTSD to its list of approved conditions, and frustrated New Jersey patients rally. 1 comment This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A pill-popping Florida cop goes to jail, a coke-slinging New York TSA agent gets busted, and a North Carolina narc gets fired. 1 comment Drug Prohibitions Hurt Science, Researchers Charge
A trio of leading scientists, including British Professor David Nutt, have lambasted the prohibitions on psychoactive substances as amounting to censorship of science in a paper published Wednesday. 5 comments New Jerseyans Ready to Decriminalize Marijuana, Poll Finds
In New Jersey, the Senate Judiciary Committee is where marijuana decriminalization bills get stalled. A new poll may help prod legislators to move on them. 1 comment Maine Legislature Won't Put Marijuana Referendum on Ballot
A Maine marijuana legalization bill morphed into a bill to allow a popular vote on legalization, but even that couldn't pass the House. If solons don't act, activists are looking at a citizen initiative in 2016. 2 comments Marijuana-Based Medicines Okayed in France
France has taken a major step toward okaying marijuana-based medicines. 1 comment Sex, Lies, and a Georgia Drug Frame-up [FEATURE]
Clarence Walker presents a Southern gothic tale of lust, judicial privilege, retaliation, planted drugs, and crooked cops. 2 comments Marc Emery in Solitary Confinement in US Prison
Canadian "Prince of Pot" Marc Emery has been sent to solitary in a US federal prison over what looks like a bogus "investigation" into who (or what) took photos of he and prison bandmates practicing. 7 comments Iowa Federal Judge Criticizes Harsh Methamphetamine Sentences
A US district court judge has lambasted federal meth sentencing guidelines as harsh, unfair, based on politics instead of science, and "fundamentally flawed." He's not the only one. 1 comment Vermont Decriminalizes Marijuana Possession
Vermont becomes the latest state to decriminalize marijuana possession as Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) signed a decrim bill into law Thursday. 7 comments Donations Needed This Month for Drug War Chronicle
StoptheDrugWar.org needs your support to continue our work during the most important time in drug reform we've ever seen. We have gifts to send you too, with donations of $15 or more. 0 comments Vermont Governor Signs Overdose Prevention Bills
Good Samaritan and Naloxone bills were signed into law in Vermont Wednesday. 0 comments Medical Marijuana Update
The medical marijuana scene is hectic! Bill passing, raids happening, local officials pondering, and California dispensaries dwindling. 1 comment This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
It's judges gone wild! Plus sticky-fingered narcs, lying narcs, crooked deputies, and more! 2 comments Blacks Targeted in Wasteful War on Marijuana, ACLU Finds
The war on marijuana is disproportionately waged against Black America, the ACLU finds in a new report based on federal statistics. And it costs a whole lot of money and isn't achieving much. 2 comments California Senate Approves Industrial Hemp Bill
The California Senate has approved an industrial hemp bill. Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the last one in 2011, but this one is written to address the concerns he raised last time around. 5 comments Internships: Legislative, Writing/Research, Web, IT, Admin/Finance, Communications
Interns are making an important difference fighting the good fight with us at StoptheDrugWar.org. 0 comments 
