The House has taken a giant step toward undoing one of the gravest injustices of the war on drugs. Now, the question is whether the Senate can act. 1 comments
ON THE SPEAKEASY BLOG
Our Work on Medical Marijuana at the UN
This post is the first of a series explaining our organization's current work and strategy. One part of that is work at the United Nations. 6 comments
The MORE Act has passed the House!
The MORE marijuana legalization with social justice act has passed the US House of Representatives! This is a big day for drug policy reform.
33 commentsInitiatives 2020 -- Legalization Sweep, Psychedelic Sweep, Medical Marijuana, Decrim
November 3rd was a good day for drug reform ballot initiatives. 973 comments 
Philippine Democracy and Human Rights Face a Critical Test This Week
Our ally Senator Trillanes is facing possible jailing, maybe as soon as tomorrow, for opposing Duterte's drug war killing campaign. 26 comments Trillanes Gets Reprieve, for Now
One of the few outspoken leaders opposing Rodrigo Duterte's mass murder campaign in the Philippine drug war, Senator Antonio Trillanes, is likely be jailed tomorrow. He will be the second opposition senator and Duterte critic suffering this fate. 51 comments EVENT: Human Rights Challenge: Judicial and Extrajudicial Drug War Killings, in a Time of Authoritarianism
The rise of authoritarian or authoritarian political figures has been accompanied by calls for both sanctioned and extra-legal government violence in their crime and drug policies. This event, held in association with the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, will focus primarily but not exclusively on the situation in the Philippines. We will also examine the ramifications of President Trump's call to administer the death penalty for drug trafficking. 6 comments VIDEO: Our Protest at the Philippine Embassy Today
There are nearly 40,000 v 18 comments Statement of ICC Prosecutor on Opening Preliminary Investigations in the Philippines and in Venezuela
The ICC is a long and uncertain road. But this is an important first step for stopping the drug war killings, restoring rule of law, and seeking justice. 9 comments Save Marijuana Legalization
Jeff Sessions is trying to turn back marijuana legalization and medical marijuana. Don't let him do it. 3 comments Action Alerts, #GivingTuesday, Issue 1000, Remembering Rep. Hinchey
As issue #1000 of the Drug War Chronicle newsletter approaches, we ask you to take advocacy actions, we ask for your financial support, and we stop to remember one of reform's best allies. 1 comment ALERT: Medical Marijuana Is Under Threat -- Tell Congress to Act!
For the first time since becoming law in 2014, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment (formerly known as the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment) is in danger of not being renewed. 10 comments CONGRESS: Pass S. 1055 for Philippines Human Rights Accountability
This bill responds to the Philippines drug war killings, in which well over 10,000 people have been killed extrajudicially without trial by police and vigilantes. The legislation would place human rights conditions on law enforcement assistance to the Philippines. It would also fund positive public health programs for substance use issues, as well as the work of Philippine human rights defenders. 3 comments Against Jeff Sessions for Attorney General
The president-elect's nominee for Attorney General is a big-time drug warrior who could derail both sentencing reform and marijuana legalization. Please write your Senators in opposition to this nomination. 25 comments Massachusetts Legalizes It, Arkansas Okays Medical Marijuana
More marijuana victories tonight. 1 comment
Read all Speakeasy Posts
FROM THE CHRONICLE
Move to Ease Research Burdens on Schedule I Drugs Gains DEA Support, Colombia Pill Testing, More... (12/7/21)
Language protecting banks doing business with state-legal marijuana firms has been removed from a defense spending bill, Canada's Alberta province is looking into establishing a safe drug supply, and more. comments MO, OH GOP Lawmakers File Legal Marijuana Bills, UK PM Takes Aim at Posh Drug Users, More... (12/6/21)
Republican lawmakers in Missouri and Ohio roll out marijuana legalization legislation, the New York Times reports that the Syrian government is a major trafficker of the amphetamine captagon, and more. 1 comment Groups Call on Congress to Reject Biden Fentanyl Scheduling Proposal, FL MedMJ Privacy Protection Bill Filed, More... (12/3/21)
A new bipartisan federal bill aims to help states and localities with marijuana expungement efforts, New York state adjusts its COVID quarantine policies for drug treatment facilities, and more. comments MN MedMJ Patients to Get Access to Edibles, DEA Increases Research Quotas for Psychedelics, More... (12/2/21)
Georgia's parliament toughens that country's drug laws, the Rhode Island ACLU announces a settlement in a medical marijuana employment discrimination case, and more. comments Austin Initiative Would Decriminalize Pot, Ban No-Knock Raids; VT Medical Society Wants THC Limits, More... (12/1/30)
Evo Morales marches back into Bolivia's capitol alongside the current president, the Vermont Medical Society wants to limit THC in marijuana available in the state, and more. 2 comments This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A meth-cooking New Jersey cop gets himself in trouble, a southern California sheriff's deputy gets caught trying to frame a woman for meth, and more. 1 comment NYC Opens Nation's First Official Supervised Injection Sites, Toronto Moves Toward Drug Decrim, More... (11/30/21)
A pair of supervised injection sites are now operating in New York City, NORML issues a report on marijuana legislative victories in the states, and more. 1 comment Chronicle Book Review: "Psychedelic Justice"
This is crucial work for anyone pondering where we go from here with psychedelics (and how we got here in the first place). 1 comment FL Decrim Bill, UAE Drug Reform, Guide for Psychedelic Churches, More... (11/29/21)
The Chacruna Institute releases a guide for psychedelic churches, DOJ Says the Bureau of Prisons short-changed up to 60,000 First Step Act prisoners on earned-time credits, and more. comments MA Poll Finds Public Happy with Legal Weed, Mexico Senate Moving on Marijuana Legalization, More... (11/26/21)
Pennsylvania medical marijuana regulators take aim at vape products, Mexican cartel violence flares in Sonora and Zacatecas, and more. 1 comment SD MJ Legalization Init Thrown Out, New Zealand Legalizes Drug Checking, More... (11/24/21)
A federal jury finds major drugstore chains culpable in two Ohio counties' opioid crisis, St. Louis decriminaizes marijuana possession, and more. 3 comments NY Marijuana Arrests Up in Smoke, TX MJ Poll, First SD MedMJ Patient Card, More... (11/23/21)
St. Louis aldermen move to end fines for pot possession and allow personal cultivation, New York marijuana arrests are declining dramatically, and more. 1 comment First Actual Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana Case -- Or Not? -- ICC Temporarily Suspends Philippines Probe, More... (11/22/21)
An Illinois judge rules the odor of raw marijuana is no longer a basis for a vehicle search, an Ohio move to legalize marijuana is nearing its signature-gathering goal, and more. comments OR Has Another $270 Million for Drug Treatment Programs, Germany to Legalize Marijuana, More... (11/19/21)
Germany is moving to legalize marijuana, DC is moving to legalize marijuana sales, and more. 2 comments Oregon Drug Decrim is Slashing Drug Arrests, Massively Funding Services [FEATURE]
It's been a year since Oregon voters approved drug decriminalization. How's it working? 1 comment Capitol Hill Democrats Divided on Marijuana Reform Progress, Administration Releases Model Naloxone Legislation, More... (11/18/21)
South Dakota lawmakers are ready to take up marijuana legalization in the next session, the drug czar suggests the pandemic-related easing of methadone restictions could be made permanent, and more. 2 comments This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A Pennsylvania trooper's heroin habit gets him in trouble, a Georgia cop's protection of her drug-dealing boyfriend gets her in trouble, and more. 2 comments Medical Marijuana Update
Mississippians will have to wait even longer for their medical marijuana, Coloradans will face some restrictions on medical marijuana purchases, and more. comments Drug ODs Top 100,000 in One Year, GOP Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed, More... (11/17/21)
A Czech marijuana magazine editor gets convicted of promoting "toxicomania," the DEA has to return money it stole from Americans in two separate cases, New Yorkers rally for sentencing reform, and more. 2 comments IN Democrats Call for Marijuana Legalization, PA ACLU Opposes Parental Drug Screening Bill, More... (11/15/21)
Renewed clashes between prison gangs linked to rival drug cartels left at least 68 more dead over the weekend, an Oklahoma marijuana legalization initiative gets hit with a nuisance lawsuit, and more. 1 comment CO Announces Stricter MedMJ Rules, German Coalition Nearing Marijuana Legalization Deal, More... (11/12/21)
A New Jersey judge's ruling keeps an Atlantic City needle exchange program alive (for now), the Scottish government is trying to find a way to open a safe injection site in Glasgow, and more. comments Three Senate Dems Seek Pardons for Nonviolent Marijuana Prisoners, MS MedMJ Will Have to Wait, More... (11/11/21)
Massachusetts legislation would legalize health insurance coverage for medical marijuana, federal lawmakers seek language in Justice spending bill to protect legal marijuana states, and more. 1 comment This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
The Detroit dope squad gets a house cleaning, a San Francisco police sergeant has a bad habit, and more. 1 comment OK Supreme Court Throws Out $465 Million J&J Opioid Settlement, Detroit Dope Squad Probe Ends More... (11/10/21)
Civil rights groups ask for expanded clemency options for federal prisones sent home during the pandemic emergency, an Ohio bill would greatly expand the state's medical marijuana program, and more. 1 comment HUD to Continue Evicting Residents for Marijuana Use, Singapore Drug Execution Delayed, More... (11/9/21)
Another poll has a solid national majority for marijuana legalization, an Ohio judge gets punished for jailing a court spectator for refusing a drug test, and more. 2 comments GOP Federal Marijuana Legalization Bill Coming, Mexico Blames US Guns for Bolstering Cartels, More... (11/8/21)
A Malaysian man set to be hanged in Singapore over 43 grams of heroin has won a temporary reprieve, our supply chain woes include 72,000 truckers felled by drug testing, and more. 1 comment Another AR Marijuana Legalization Initiative Filed, Furor Over Looming Singapore Drug Execution, More... (11/5/21)
Critics chide the new drug czar over his perfomance in West Virginia, a third marijuana legalization initiative has been filed in Arkansas, and more. 1 comment New Gallup Poll Shows Continuing Strong Support for Pot Legalization, Mexico Michoacan Massacre, More... (11/4/21)
A Congressional Research Service report shows easy off-ramp for federal pot prohibition, a new Gallup poll shows marijuana legalization retains strong majority support, and more. 2 comments Chronicle Book Review: The Afghanistan Papers
How to eke out a loss in war, while losing to the opium poppy, too. 1 comment This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
An illicit marijuana scheme in Maine draws in a prosecutor and several cops, a Raleigh detective gets fired for planting fake drugs on people, and more. 1 comment 