Marijuana Legalization

Alaska appears poised to vote on marijuana legalization, New York's governor announces a half-step toward medical marijuana, the ACLU fights for our rights on a couple of fronts, and trouble could be coming to the coca fields of Peru. And more.

Last year is receding in the rear view mirror, but before looking forward to the battles of 2014, we take a moment to savor what was, overall, a pretty big year for drug reform on the domestic front.

Another poll comes in showing a rapid increase in support for marijuana legalization and a solid majority now favoring it, this one from CNN.

East Coast governors speak against marijuana legalization, but DC voters may get a chance to have their own voices heard; a new report on Obamacare's implications for drug reform is out; the DEA is reported to have talked to the Sinaloa Cartel; and details of a Mexico City marijuana legalization bill emerge. And more.

Another poll shows solid majority support for marijuana legalization, Florida's medical marijuana initiative appears to be within reach of qualifying for the ballot (if the state Supreme Court doesn't block it), Sweden's justice minister falls for a pot deaths hoax, and a UN official has a grim warning on Afghanistan. And more.

Marijuana continues to suck all the air out of the room when it comes to drug policy, with news on the legalization, medical, and international fronts. The only non-marijuana-related item we have today is the murder of a confidential informant.

Today is one of those days when it seems like drug reform is all about marijuana. We have four domestic stories -- all about marijuana policy -- and two international stories -- both about marijuana policy. And then there's the "Breaking Bad" contest winner thinking he's Florida's answer to Walter White.

2013 saw a historic breakthrough on the international front, as well as evidence that powerful currents are shifting inexorably away from the prohibitionist consensus of the last half-century. But there was also continuity as the drug war, drug production, and the use and trafficking of drugs, all continued apace (although not without innovation).

Adult marijuana sales become legal tomorrow in Colorado, but would-be retailers are having to deal with some bumps in the road.

It has been a historic day in Denver, with the first legal retail sales of marijuana having taken place early this morning. It's a new era.