The Kansas Supreme Court throws out Wichita's voter-approved "decrim" ordinance on a technicality, GOP committee chairs quash medical marijuana bills in Indiana, the DEA partnered with a TSA screener in a bid to seize cash from travelers, the Argentines want to shoot down drug planes, and more.
Dana Larsen's gift to all 184 Liberal MPs in Canada (Twitter/Dana Larson)
It's another one of those all-marijuana news days -- the California initiative hits the ground running, New Hampshire legalization bills get filed, Canadian MPs get a pot package, and more.
President Obama commutes drug sentences. (whitehouse.gov)
Christmas came early for nearly a hundred federal drug war prisoners as President Obama commuted their sentences. He has now commuted more sentences than the last five presidents combined.
Congress just voted to block the DEA and Justice Department from interfering in medical marijuana states and to soften the ban on federal needle exchange funding, but reformers didn't get everything they wanted.
Marijuana remained a major story this year. (wikimedia.org)
As the year winds down, we look back on the big stories in drug policy, from marijuana reform to climbing fatal overdose levels to sentencing reforms and beyond.
The omnibus budget bill approved by Congress today includes several drug policy provisions, the president commutes the sentences of 93 drug war prisoners, Iranian parliamentarians move to end the death penalty for non-violent drug smuggling offenses, and more.
Afghan opium production is down 48% this year, thanks to drought conditions. (unodc.org)
The Obama administration weighs in Nebraska and Oklahoma's lawsuit against Colorado legalization, Delaware decrim goes into effect tomorrow, Hawaii released medical marijuana dispensary rules, drought is hurting Afghan poppy production, and more.
The US Solicitor General urges the Supreme Court to brush off a lawusit by Nebraska and Colorado seeking to invalidate Colorado's marijuana legalization law.