News Feature

The times they are a-changing, if Tuesdays Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on marijuana policy is any indication. Only one senator suffered from Reefer Madness; the others wanted to figure out how to make things work.

If you like to wager, Alaska, Oregon, and Rhode Island look like the best bets for legalizing marijuana next year. But the situation is fluid, and there could be others.

In a move that cuts against more than a decade of sentencing reform efforts in California, Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would allow some people caught with small amounts of drugs to face misdemeanor charges instead of felonies.

Jon Alexander went from tweaker to DA in a remote Northern California county, but his misconduct has him on the ropes again.

Defelonization of drug possession is starting to take hold across the country. California looks set to join the list of states easing up, and Washington state could be next.

Prescription heroin is coming to Canada, at least on a limited basis, whether the Conservative government likes it or not. Health Canada has okayed it, despite the protests of the health minister.

Sens. Patrick Leahy and Rand Paul led the charge for mandatory minimum sentencing reform at a Judiciary Committee hearing last week. The adminstration and the federal judiciary are already on board; now, it's time for Congress to step up to the plate.

Hemp advocates are emboldened by last month's Justice Department guidance on marijuana reform in the states and are moving forward, both on Capitol Hill and in the states.

The Justice Department will not -- at least for now -- try to block implementation of marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington, AG Holder said today. And there's a new memo instructing federal prosecutors how to respond.

The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the federal response to medical marijuana in 20 states and legal marijuana in two states. He has asked Attorney General Holder to testify. The hearing will be September 10.