A bill legalizing safe injection sites has passed the California legislature and is now on the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). 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. 15 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.
16 commentsInitiatives 2020 -- Legalization Sweep, Psychedelic Sweep, Medical Marijuana, Decrim
November 3rd was a good day for drug reform ballot initiatives. 13 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. 28 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. 33 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. 48 comments VIDEO: Our Protest at the Philippine Embassy Today
There are nearly 40,000 v 17 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. 32 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. 5 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. 5 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 Read all Speakeasy Posts
FROM THE CHRONICLE
CA Psychedelic Decriminalization Bill Dies, Mexico Cartels Wreak Havoc, More... (8/15/22)
Another Texas poll has solid majority support for marijuana legalization, cartel violence flares in Mexico, and more. comments CA Psychedelic Legalization Advances, AR MJ Legalization Back on Ballot, More... (8/12/22)
Maryland officials finalize the ballot language for a marijuana legalization referendum, a Florida marijuana legalization bill dies without a hearing, and more. 2 comments CO Pot Sales Declining for Months, Biden Orders More Colombia Drug War, More... (8/11/22)
An Ohio harm reduction group is suing a state board over how $400 million in opioid settlement money is spent, an Uruguayan meth bust signals a possible shift in drug trafficking between Europe and South America, and more. comments Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative Makes the Ballot, But Not Everybody Is Happy [FEATURE]
This makes three states that will have marijuana legalization on the ballot in November, with three more still possible. 3 comments This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A California cop gets nailed for flushing legal weed down a toilet, a Denver sheriff's deputy heads to the slammer for her role in a drug-dealing ring, and more. 4 comments Biden DOJ Opposes Gun Rights for MedMJ Patients, MO Legal Pot Initiative Qualifies, More... (8/10/22)
A Florida marijuana legalization initiative campaign aimed at 2024 gets underway, a Colorado natural psychedelic initiative comes up short, and more. 3 comments Cheaper and More Accessible Naloxone In the Works, Colombian Drug War Critic is Now President, More... (8/8/22)
A Congressional Research Service report zeroes in on the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Remedy Alliance is easing naloxone bottlenecks, and more. 3 comments AR Legalization Campaign Sues to Get Back on Ballot, Honduras Coca Production, More... (8/5/22)
Coca grower factions continue to clash in Bolivia, Colombia's new president will move to decriminalize drugs, and more. 2 comments Chronicle Book Review: American Cartel
This new entry in the growing literature on the opioid crisis digs deep and paints a picture that isn't pretty. But the book's laser-sharp focus on corporate and political malfeasance omits much of the context in which this crisis has unfolded, and that context is important. 1 comment Russian Court Sentences American Basketball Star Brittney Griner to Nine Years in Prison
Her sentence, if not the circumstances in which she came to face it, is unfortunately par for the course in the regressive Russian criminal justice system. 2 comments Feds Charge Four Louisville Cops in Fatal Breonna Taylor Drug Raid, Thai Cannabis Tourism, More... (8/4/22)
Arkansas election officials knock a marijuana legalization initiative off the ballot -- at least for now -- San Francisco's new DA cracks down on drug dealers, and more. 1 comment California is One Signature Away from Okaying Safe Injection Sites [FEATURE]
A bill legalizing safe injection sites has passed the California legislature and is now on the desk of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). 1 comment This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A small-town Pennsylvania got too friendly with the local drug dealer, a small-town Ohio cop probably wishes he had maintained domestic bliss, and more. 2 comments CA Marijuana Lounges Set to Expand, Coca Clashes in Bolivia, More... (8/3/22)
The country's largest federal workers' union wants an end to marijuana testing of employees in states where it is legal, Mexican cartel gunmen get in a shoot-out with the Guatemalan president's guards at a border village, and more. 2 comments CA Safe Injection Site Bill Goes to Governer, WV Cities and Counties Settle with Opioid Distributors, More... (8/2/22)
Louisiana police can no longer search homes based on the odor of marijuana without a warrant, there is good polling for marijuana legalization in Missouri, and more. 2 comments Poll Finds Support for Psychedelic Research for Military Members, Federal Marijuana Expungement Bill Filed, More... (8/1/22)
Last weekend's Lollapalooza festival in Chicago featured not only music but harm reduction measures, a new poll finds support for federal -- as opposed to state-level -- marijuana legalization, and more. 1 comment AR Legalization Init Has Enough Signatures, UN Experts Criticize Singapore Drug Executions, More... (7/29/22)
Marijuana seizures at the US-Mexican border are down again, Colombia's Gulf Clan is escalating its attacks on police as it jockeys for position in upcoming negotations, and more. 1 comment White House Preps for MDMA Therapy Approval, MO Legalization Init Could Come Up Short, More... (7/28/22)
South Dakota's first state-licensed medical marijuana dispensary opens, the FDA is moving toward approval of MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD, and more. 1 comment This Week's Corrupt Cop Stories
A South Carolina deputy gets in trouble for his relationship choices, a former small-town Pennsylvania police chief's heroin habit gets him in trouble, and more. 1 comment Trump Calls for Death Penalty for Drug Dealers, Senate Legalization Bill Gets Hearing, More... (7/27/22)
The House approves a medical marijuana research bill, Switzerland and Zimbabwe open up to medicinal cannabis, and more. 2 comments Senate Dems' Legalization Bill Gets Hearing Tomorrow, Senate Bill to Allow TV Pot Ads in Legal States Filed, More... (7/26/22)
Senate Majority Leader Schumer's marijuana legalization bill gets two new cosponsors and a hearing tomorrow, a Cannabis Resource Center to promote equity in the industry launches in New York, and more. 1 comment DEA Backs Off on Banning Five New Psychedelics, Colombia's ELN Hints at Peace Talks with New President, More... (7/25/22)
Signature-gatherers are criss-crossing the Cowboy State for a pair of marijuana initiatives, the DEA uncharacteristically backs off from some new prohibitions, and more. 1 comment CO Psychedelic Legalization Init Qualifies, Singapore Hangs Fifth in Four Months for Drug Offenses, More... (7/22/22)
Iowa's Democratic attorney general calls for legalizing fentanyl test strips, GOP senators file a bill to go after drug cartel "spotters," and more. 2 comments Senate Democrats File Marijuana Legalization Bill, Bipartisan Psychedelics for Terminally Ill Bill Filed, More... (7/21/22)
Singapore is set to hang a drug offender today, Sensators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-KY) filed a bill to allow the terminally ill to use certain psychedelics, and more. 4 comments This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A Michigan detective goes to prison for peddling fentanyl, a Tennessee deputy is in trouble over a tricky scheme to get his hands on a vehicle seized in a drug bust, and more. 2 comments Chronicle Book Review: Opium's Orphans
The history of drug prohibition is increasingly well-trodden territory, but with Opium's Orphans, British historian P.E. Caquet brings a fascinating new perspective embedded in a sweeping narrative and fortified with an erudite grasp of the broad global historical context. 9 comments AZ Churches Sue Feds Over Ayahuasca Seizures, Schumer's Legalization Bill Coming Within Days, More... (7/20/22)
Indonesia's Constitutional Court rejects medical marijuana but calls for "immediate" study, DC Mayor signs workplace protection bill for marijuana users, more. 4 comments Australia's First Drug Checking Site Opens This Week, TX Bill Would Make Legal Pot a Local Option, More... (7/19/22)
There are marijuana reform rumblings in the Lone Star State, Ohio becomes the latest state to see a fentanyl test strip decriminalization bill, and more. 2 comments Big Increase in Injection Drug Use, House Passes Another Spending Bill with SAFE Banking, More... (7/18/22)
British Tories audition a new scheme for punishing drug users that effectively decriminalizes somebody's first two drug busts, a new study finds racial disparities in Pennsylvania marijuana arrests increasing, and more. 2 comments What Comes Next in the Philippine Drug War and Will Duterte Pay for His Crimes? [FEATURE]
A parallel event to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development takes on the future of the Philippines drug war now that Duterte is gone. 1 comment 