Rand Paul (congress.gov)
Rand Paul Files Crack Sentencing Reform Bill
Rand Paul has introduced his fourth drug reform measure this month. This one would completely eliminate the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity.
Race
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Sentencing Commission Cuts Up to 46,000 Drug War Prisoners' Sentences [FEATURE]
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.
outside DC election headquarters (drugpolicy.org)
DC Marijuana Initiative Hands in Plenty of Signatures [FEATURE]
An initiative that would legalize the possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana appears poised to qualify for the ballot after organizers handed in more than twice the needed number of signatures.
Eugene Jarcecki (wikimedia.org)
Filmmaker Eugene Jarecki Talks Drug Reform [FEATURE]
Eugene Jarecki, auteur of the award-winning drug war documentary The House I Live In, talks about the film, the war on drugs, and the future.
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ATF's Operation Gideon Raises Questions of Fairness, Justice, and Race [FEATURE]
Operation Gideon, in which the ATF,and sometimes, the DEA, set up fake drug stash house robbery stings, is raising questions about entrapment and racially-targeted law enforcement. Here's part one of a series on it from Clarence Walker.
California's prisons are still overcrowded. (supremecourt.gov)
California's Latinos Are Ready for Sentencing Reform, Poll Finds [FEATURE]
Sentencing reform legislation is moving in the California Senate, and a new poll of Latino voter attitudes in the state suggests one reason why.
The Taliban's Pakistani cousins are financing operations by taxing the drug trade, a new report says. (wikimedia.org)
Chronicle AM -- May 19, 2014
The feds will still arrest you for pot possession on their property in DC even though the city has decriminalized, Chicago cops will still arrest you for pot possession even though they could just give you a ticket, decrim initiatives are coming to Kansas cities, Minnesota becomes the 22nd medical marijuana state, Mexico doesn't want to legalize it, and more.
The Rev. Edwin Sanders (cannabisculture.com)
Faith Leaders Issue Easter Statement on War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration [FEATURE]
A group of faith leaders have issued an "Easter Statement" making a powerful moral and spiritual call for an end to the war on drugs and mass incarceration. What would Jesus do?
Marijuana will be decriminalized in Washington, DC soon, if Congress doesn't stop it.
DC Mayor Signs Decriminalization Bill! [FEATURE]
Washington, DC, Mayor Vincent Gray has signed a decriminalization bill. Now, Congress must act to stop it within 60 working days or it becomes law. But this is by no means the end of pot politics in the nation's capital.
Michelle Alexander (wikimedia.org)
"The New Jim Crow" Author Michelle Alexander Talks Race and Drug War [FEATURE]
On Thursday, Michelle Alexander, author of the best-selling and galvanizing "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" sat down with poet/activist Asha Bandele of the Drug Policy Alliance to discuss the book's impact and where we go from here. It's a discussion worth reading.