State & Local Legislatures

A joint report from the Justice and State inspector generals' finds that the DEA lied and covered up the facts in a 2012 Honduran raid that left four innocent civilians dead, Peruvian security forces prepare to enter forbidden territory in the country's coca heartland, the South Dakota attorney general's ploy to win political advantage by prosecuting a pot consultant fails, and more.

The legislature was the first in the country to approve marijuana legalization, but the governor has issues.

Vermont's bid to be the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislative process gets derailed by the governor, a judge rules a Rhode Island company discriminated against a medical marijuana patient, UC Santa Barbara students start an ecstasy pill-testing program, and more.

We're starting to see 2018 pot legalization initiative action getting underway, an Ohio Supreme Court justice calls for freeing the weed, the American Legion wants the feds to get out of the way of medical marijuana research, Afghanistan has a bumper opium crop, and more.

The CDC issues a damning report about drug policy and Hep C, the clock is ticking on the Vermont legalization bill as the governor ponders his choices, Michigan legalizers hit the streets with petitions for 2018, and more.

Iowa sees an expansion of its CBD cannabis oil law, a Delaware medical marijuana expansion bill stalls, Florida remains without medical marijuana regulations after the legislature couldn't get its act together, and more.

The Rhode Island House voted to study marijuana legalization instead of actually do it, Vermont newspapers pressure the governor to sign their legalization bill, the federal Justice Safety Valve Act gets refiled, Mexican journalist Javier Valdez Cardenas is gunned down, and more.

Marijuana legalization efforts look stalled in Connecticut and Rhode Island, Rand Paul joins the chorus of critics of Attorney General Sessions' drug war crackdown, the California Senate approves a bill to end sentencing enhancements for prior drug convictions, and more.

A new Jersey state senator wants to legalize marijuana, and so do Britain's Liberal Democrats; Seattle's proposed safe injection sites face NIMBY opposition, violence flares in Mexico and threatens to erupt in Colombia, and more.

Attorney General Sessions has rolled out plans to return to the harsh war on drugs of old, New Hampshire is set to become the next decriminalization state (even as polls show it's ready for legalization), Denver takes a step toward social pot consumption permits, and more.