State & Local Legislatures

High drama in New York as a medical marijuana bill goes down to the wire, congressmembers call on HHS to help unblock marijuana research, a limited CBD medical marijuana bill becomes law in another Southern state, and more.

It looks like Oregon is set to join Alaska in voting on marijuana legalization this year, the New York medical marijuana bill is going down to the wired, Florida's governor signs a pair of drug-related bills, Colombia's drug reforming president wins reelection, and more.

Jamaica will decriminalize pot possession and Bermuda is thinking about it, legalization initiatives in Alaska and Oregon get big bucks donations, medical marijuana reform is moving in the DC city council, and more.

Marijuana reform is exciting some third-party activity, New York's medical marijuana bill is still alive amidst ongoing last-minute negotiations, the New York Senate has passed a package of anti-opiate bills that will bring on more drug war, a high-level commission calls for radical drug policy changes in West Africa, and more.

New York City residents are still getting arrested for marijuana at the rate of 80 a day, New York state residents face another year without medical marijuana passing, Philly heads for decriminalization of a sort, the Justice Department supports retroactivity for recent sentencing reforms, the Sinaloa cartel has apparently lost another key leader, and more.

Congressional Democrats who voted wrong on medical marijuana catch some flak, California continues to struggle with regulating medical marijuana, while other states struggle to get bills passed.

There's money in marijuana, as Colorado keeps finding out, MPP is eyeing Massachusetts in 2016, opponents of Florida's medical marijuana initiative got a big bucks contribution from a major Republican funder, Customs and Border Patrol fires its internal affairs head, the US Embassy in Kabul can't explain what impact $7 billion in anti-drug aid there has had, and more.

Another marijuana-heavy news day today -- at least it's coming from all corners of the country. The DEA is giving ultimatums to doctors in Massachusetts, the California GOP attorney general candidate wants to legalize it, and, Down Under, the Melbourne city council has a report calling for a debate on drug legalization.

Advocates of drug testing people poor people lost another battle today as the USDA told Georgia its law mandating drug tests for some food stamp recipients violates federal policy and cannot be implemented.