Executive Branch

Congress is back and bills are picking up cosponsors, Guam will vote on medical marijuana, Wyoming moves toward ending civil asset forfeiture reform, the president names drug producing and transit countries (again), and more.

Are federal funds helping to oppose the Oregon initiative? Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) wants to know. Plus, Hawaii dispensary hearings loom, Charles Bowden dies, and today marks an infamous anniversary.

Philly will decriminalize, the Global Commission on Drugs issues a ground-breaking new report, LEAP's Norm Stamper testifies on police militarization, Jodie Emery runs for parliament, there's medical marijuana news from Europe and South America, and more.

NIDA seeks a marijuana grower, South Dakota state fair medical marijuana protest planned, an LSD lifer seeks his freedom, Gambia to reduce marijuana penalties, and more.

A bill to end the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity is close to becoming law in California, the US Sentencing Commission still has work to do on mandatory minimums, the 50th anniversary of America's first pot protest will be commemorated this weekend, and more.

SWAT teams are in the news, the RAVE Act gets critiqued as counterproductive, there will be no medical marijuana initiative in Oklahoma, but it looks like there will be a decriminalization initiative in Santa Fe, and more.

Antoine Jones may have won a landmark Supreme Court GPS search and seizure case, but he's still in prison, and he's not too happy about that.

Late last week, the US Sentencing Commission extended sentencing reforms for federal drug defendants to include people who are already serving their sentences. Some 46,000 drug war prisoners could see cuts averaging about two years.

With tens of thousands of Central American children and adolescents arriving at the US border, the roots of the crisis tend to be obscured by partisan bickering over what is to be done and who is to blame. There's a good argument the war on drugs deserves some credit.

In a groundbreaking move, the US Sentence Commission has voted unanimously to make federal drug sentence reductions retroactive. That means some 46,000 federal drug war prisoners should be able to apply for sentence reductions -- if Congress doesn't disagree.