The DC city council has voted to approve marijuana decriminalization. There's still one more vote to go, and some bad amendments, but marijuana reform is coming to the nation's capital.
An amendment to the food bill that would allow universities and state agriculture departments to do research on hemp has been approved by conference committee negotiators and is set to become law.
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.
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).
Walking Raven's Luke Ramirez is making the transition from dispensary to adult sales retailer. (Kim Sidwell, cannabiscamera.com)
The latest Monitoring the Future numbers on teen drug use are out. Most drug use is down or stable, and teen marijuana use is well withing historic levels, but that isn't stopping some from sounding alarms.
Breaking with his past practice, President Obama Thursday granted commutation to eight federal prisoners serving long sentences for crack cocaine-related offenses, including Clarence Aaron, who has been in for 20 years.
In an historic vote, the Uruguayan Senate gave final approval Tuesday night to the government's marijuana legalization bill. Once President Mujica signs it, Uruguay is 120 days away from legal marijuana commerce.