Decriminalization

We review two books on marijuana -- an academic treatise on marijuana policy in England, and a not-so-academic account of hanging out with pot outlaws in the California hills. Both have their virtues.

Is decriminalization coming to the nation's capital? A bill to do that was introduced Wednesday, and there is strong public support for it.

Marijuana decriminalization goes into effect Monday in Vermont, leaving New Hampshire as the odd man out when it comes to decriminalization in the region.

Two bills reducing penalties for marijuana offenses have been signed into law in Oregon. They take effect immediately.

A Malaysian government minister has said the Southeast Asian nation is shifting toward decriminalizing drug use, but her remarks suggest drug users could just trade jail cells for treatment beds.

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.

Vermont becomes the latest state to decriminalize marijuana possession as Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) signed a decrim bill into law Thursday.

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.

The Washington, DC, city council could take up a decriminalization bill this summer. If the council doesn't act, reformers are considering an initiative, maybe even a legalization initiative.

Vermont is about to become the 17th state to either decriminalize or legalize marijuana.