News Feature

For the first time in Pennsylvania history, a state legislative committee held a hearing on medical marijuana Tuesday. It was a good start, and although there are significant hurdles to pass, momentum seems to be building.

As 2009 winds down, we are taking a look at all the legislation related to drug policy around the country. Two weeks ago we looked at federal legislation, and last week at medical marijuana bills in the states. This week it's state marijuana decriminalization and legalization bills -- if we missed any, let us know.

The Los Angeles City Council spent seven hours Tuesday trying to thrash out agreement on an ordinance to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. It didn't quite get there, but it made some progress.

Getting medical marijuana bills passed in state legislatures is a long, hard slog. So far this year, only one bill has passed into law, the Rhode Island dispensary bill, which builds on an existing medical marijuana law. Two states' legislatures, Minnesota and New Hampshire, passed bills, only to have them vetoed. But there's still hope in a few places. Here's a rundown of medical marijuana at the statehouse this year.

The Drug Policy Alliance's 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conference got underway Thursday in Albuquerque, and it looks like the biggest yet. Here's an initial report from the conference opening. Look for much more next week, too.

With both the White House and Capitol Hill under the control of Democrats, there are signs that the Bush-era blockade of federal drug reform legislation is ending. Here's an update on what's moving -- and what's not -- on Capitol Hill this year.

Maine has become the latest state to approve state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. It joins New Mexico and Rhode Island. But locally-allowed (or not) dispensaries are the rule in California, Colorado, and Washington. Both paths have their pluses and minuses.

Nearly a quarter of a million American veterans were behind bars in 2004, many of them for drug abuse-related offenses, a new report finds. While the military, the Veterans Administration, and other agencies are taking some steps to help them, there is much more that could -- and should -- be done.

For the first time in nearly a century, the California legislature took up marijuana legalization on this week. A Wednesday hearing on a legalization bill previewed the battle lines and arguments that lie ahead.

Modesto, California, is a sleepy, dusty, economically struggling small city in California's Central Valley. With high levels of methamphetamine and other injection drug use, it is a locale crying out for needle exchange programs. But local officials disagree, and when activists did it anyway, they got busted. Now, they're fighting back.