State & Local Executive Branches

From the village board to the halls of Congress, medical marijuana is popping up all over. And there's action at various state houses, too.

The US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the state of Florida from implementing its welfare drug testing law. The law violates the Fourth Amendment's proscription against warrantless searches, the court found.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that police will no longer hold people arrested for small-time marijuana busts, but will instead merely have them make a desk appearance and then be released.

In the latest example of the drug testing fever sweeping Charleston, a West Virginia delegate has introduced a bill requiring teens to pass not one but three drug tests before being granted full drivers' licenses.

After the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that dispensaries are illegal, a conservative lawmker is introducing a bill that would allow them by local option.

South Dakota lawmakers once again refuse the opportunity to reform the state's marijuana laws.

The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a key case on whether localities can ban dispensaries, and medical marijuana bills died in two Midwest states, and there's more news, too.

Now, here's some news we didn't expect: US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has endorsed a pending hemp bill in his home state of Kentucky.

Although it hasn't made reformers' top target list, Washington, DC, could be ripe for a marijuana reform initiative, whether legalization, expanding medical marijuana, or decrim. Local activists are meeting and national organizations are watching.

An important federal court ruling, medical marijuana bills start popping up in the states, more providers get prosecuted, and LA continues to stumble toward a resolution of its dispensary issue.