State & Local Legislatures

The Minnesota medical marijuana bill has passed the state Senate and is moving in the House, but the Republican governor is vowing a veto.

With a big push from reform organizations, the Maryland legislature has passed a measure that will help more than 1,000 drug offenders have a chance to get out early.

Efforts to ban salvia divinorum are spreading across the country. So far, it's illegal in five states and various towns and cities, and seven more states have bills pending this year. The DEA is looking at it, too.

A plethora of bills affecting medical marijuana patients or the state medical marijuana program are active in the Oregon legislature this year -- in part because of a strong activist base, in part because of legislative foes.

A bill that would make Rhode Island's medical marijuana permanent is headed for House and Senate floor votes. Unless it passes, the program will end June 30.

The Minnesota medical marijuana bill continues to move through the legislature.

A bill to repeal some mandatory minimum sentences in Maryland by restoring parole has gotten further so far than any similar attempt to date. But winning even when our case is the clearest is still a struggle.

With the stroke of a pen, Gov. Bill Richardson has made New Mexico the 12th medical marijuana state.

With Gov. Bill Richardson's signature on the 911 Good Samaritan Act, New Mexico becomes the first state to provide limited immunity from prosecution to people who seek emergency medical treatment for overdose victims.

A New Hampshire medical marijuana bill has been defeated in the House. Advocates are pointing to 2/3 public support and the closeness of the vote, and are promising to come back next year.