State & Local Legislatures

Bills are popping at state houses across the land, pot politics continues hot and heavy, world leaders have harsh words for prohibition at Davos, and much, much more.

Residents of a pair of California counties are fighting back against restrictive ordinances, Arizona rejects some new medical conditions, Illinois rules out draft rules, and more.

Marijuana, marijuana, marijuana. It sure is generating lots of activity, plus Chris Christie speaks out on the drug war, a major farm organization endorses hemp, and Honduras wants to shoot down drug planes.

The war on weed may be beginning to wheeze toward its end, a researcher reports, and legislators continue to introduce bills to help it on its way. Meanwhile, harm reduction down South gets some attention, a bad bill targets medical marijuana-using parents in Michigan, and Bermuda gets a decrim bill, and more.

Marijuana law reform bills just keep coming, a most likely unconstitutional food stamp drug test bill gets filed in Georgia, Australian regulators block urine drug testing of state energy company workers, Jamaicans legalizers grow impatient, and more.

Washington's attorney general has dealt a body blow to the statewide legalization of marijuana commerce there, medical marijuana continues to keep state legislatures busy, a New Mexico town and county pay out big time for a horrid anal search, heroin legislation is moving in Kentucky, and more.

While the DC city council is moving on decriminalization, local activists aren't waiting to take the next step: a marijuana legalization initiative.

Florida's medical marijuana initiative appears poised to qualify for the ballot (if it survives a challenge in the state Supreme Court), a new pot poll finds the country evenly split, Afghanistan was on the agenda in the Senate yesterday, and more.

A marijuana legalization bill has passed the New Hampshire House, but not with enough votes to overcome a promised gubernatorial veto. It still faces more votes in the House and Senate, too.

As the legislative season gets underway, bills are being introduced all over the place -- good, bad, and ugly. And there's trouble in Mexico, there are peace talks in Colombia, and more.