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. 2 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.
1 commentInitiatives 2020 -- Legalization Sweep, Psychedelic Sweep, Medical Marijuana, Decrim
November 3rd was a good day for drug reform ballot initiatives. 3 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. 6 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. 3 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. 2 comments VIDEO: Our Protest at the Philippine Embassy Today
There are nearly 40,000 v 2 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. 7 comments Save Marijuana Legalization
Jeff Sessions is trying to turn back marijuana legalization and medical marijuana. Don't let him do it. 7 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. 4 comments 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. 1 comment 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. 2 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. 26 comments Massachusetts Legalizes It, Arkansas Okays Medical Marijuana
More marijuana victories tonight. 3 comments
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FROM THE CHRONICLE
This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A major federal operation in Georgia sweeps up three prison guards, three Virgin Island cops are in hot water after a planeload of cocaine got caught in Miami, and more. 1 comment Medical Marijuana Update
Medical marijuana bills are being filed in state legislatures, and more. 1 comment US and Mexico in Drug War Tiff, IL Passes Bill to Abolish Cash Bail, Santa Fe DA Softens Drug Charges, More... (1/19/21)
Marijuana legalization and medical marijuana bills get filed in Nebraska, the US and Mexico spar over the undone arrest of a former defense minister, a Washington state bill to allow home cultivation gets a hearing, and more. 2 comments Feds Loosen Up Buprenorphine Prescribing, VA Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed, More... (1/15/21)
State legislatures are beginning to turn their sights to marijuana legalization, the Trump administration loosens restrictions on prescribing buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, and more. 1 comment Federal Appeals Court Rules Planned Philadelphia Safe Injection Site Violates Drug Law [FEATURE]
There's a bad news appeals court ruling out of Philadelphia, but there could still be hope in other parts of the country. 1 comment Federal Appeals Court Rules Safe Injection Sites Illegal, Poll Finds Most Think Pot Safer than Alcohol, More... (1/13/21)
A federal appeals court has put the kibosh on a proposed Philadelphia safe injection site, a Michigan prosecutors says no more magic mushrooms prosecutions, and more. 1 comment NJ Pot Legalization Implementation Bill in Limbo, NY Governor Calls Again for Pot Legalization, More... (1/12/21)
New Jersey's governor and legislative leaders are at odds over punishing young marijuana offenders, a battle over what legalization will look like is shaping up in New York, and more. 5 comments CA "Contingency Management" Meth Treatment Bill Filed, NJ Marijuana Mess, More... (1/11/21)
Voter-approved marijuana legalization initiatives are running into problems with elected officials, federal prosecutors say the Honduran president was taking big bribes from drug traffickers, and more. 4 comments These 5 States Are Well-Placed to Legalize Marijuana This Year [FEATURE]
Which states will legalize marijuana in 2021? Here are some of the brightest prospects. 3 comments NY, CT Governors Renew Calls for Marijuana Legalization, VA Legalization Bills Filed, More... (1/7/21)
East Coast governors start the push for marijuana legalization this year, a Tennessee lawmaker files a bill to allow out-of-staters who have medical marijuana cards to possess half an ounce in-state, and more. 1 comment NY Marijuana Legalization Bill Pre-Filed, UNODC Warns on Innovative Meth Production Practices, More... (1/6/21)
New Jersey lawmakers attempt to move forward with implementing voter-approved marijuana legalization, the UNODC warns of innovative meth production practices in Asia, and more. 2 comments MO GOP State Senator Pre-Files Marijuana Legalization Referendum Bill, MI Prosecutor Goes No Cash Bail, More... (1/5/21)
A Utah bill would once again allow any doctor to recommend medical marijuana, the prosecutor in Michigan's Washtenaw County ends cash bail, and more. 2 comments DC Decriminalizes Drug Paraphernalia; Pot Possession, Cultivation Now Legal in MT, More... (1/4/21)
Illinois has expunged nearly half a million marijuana arrests years ahead of schedule, a New Mexico court rules that people under correctional control can use medical marijuana, and more. 6 comments Year from Hell II: The Top Ten International Drug Policy Stories of 2020 [FEATURE]
Here are the biggest world drug policy stories of 2020. 1 comment We Just Won an Old Fight
One never knows when something good is going to happen. 6 comments For First Time, CDC Recommends Pill-Testing; NH Supreme Court Psilocybin Religious Freedom Ruling, More... (12/24/20)
One Maryland lawmaker already has a marijuana legalization bill ready to go, the CDC recommends harm reduction programs use pill-testing (drug checking), and more. 4 comments Congressional Progressive Caucus Calls for Quick Legal Weed, Trump Pardons Weldon Angelos, More... (12/23/20)
Idaho activists are already eyeing 2022, President Trump and Michigan Governor Whitmer pardon drug offenders, and more. 3 comments EVENT: International Responses to Extrajudicial Drug War Killings -- Leverage and Limitations
We continue our series of events at international meetings -- online for the moment -- with another focusing on extrajudicial killings in the drug war and options for the international community to respond. 4 comments Drugs and the Year from Hell: The Top Ten Domestic Drug Policy Stories of 2020 [FEATURE]
What a year! But it wasn't a bad one when it comes to drug reform. 4 comments Congress Restores Financial Aid for Students with Drug Convictions, CA Fentanyl Task Force Bill Filed, More... (12/22/20)
Illinois' Cook County prosecutor talks expunging marijuana sales convictions and heroin and cocaine possession convictions, one of the co-petitioners of the Oregon psilocybin therapy initiative has died, and more. 2 comments CDC Says Drug ODs Hit Record High Amid Pandemic, NJ Legalization Lacks Home Grow Provision, More... (12/21/20)
Another Mexican politican gets gunned down, the Scottish public health minister has been fired over record overdose deaths, and more. 4 comments Oregon's Largest County Ends Drug Possession Prosecutions, New Jersey MJ and Psilocybin Bills Pass, More... (12/16/20)
The DEA has published a rule that will finally allow for an end to the government monopoly on marijuana grown for research purposes, the Mexican congress slaps back at the US, limiting the activities of DEA agents inside the country, and more. 3 comments This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
An Alabama cop gets arrested for meth dealing for the second time in two weeks, a former Virignia police detective is heading to prison for giving a snitch's name to drug dealers, and more. 2 comments Medical Marijuana Update
Both chambers of Congress have passed bills to ease barriers to medical marijuana research, the Mississippi Health Department joins a lawsuit trying to overturn the voter-approved medical marijuana initiative, and more. 1 comment Senate Approves Marijuana Research Bill, ICC Philippines Examination Progresses, More... (12/16/20)
A California bill wound put an end to mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenses, Toronto is moving to open safe injection sites in select homeless shelters, and more. 6 comments NJ Legal MJ Implementation Bill Advances, MS Health Dept Joins Lawsuit to Block MedMJ, More... (12/15/20)
Medical marijuana bills are coming in Kentucky and South Carolina, a bill to implement voter-approved marijuana legalization in New Jersey is advancing, and more. 1 comment Patrick Kennedy Wants to Be Drug Czar, NJ MJ Implementation Bill Heard, More... (12/14/20)
Jostling over who will be named Joe Biden's drug czar has begun, Arizona gets working on rules for the nascent legal marijuana industry, more cartel conflict in Mexico, and more. 5 comments Santa Cruz Needle Exchange Hit With NIMBY Lawsuit, Mexico Supreme Court Okays Legalization Vote Delay, More... (12/11/20)
The Mexican Supreme Court grants another extension on its deadline to end marijuana prohibition, the Oakland city council will next week take up a measure calling on the state to decriminalize psychedelics, and more. 1 comment House Passes MedMJ Marijuana Research Bill, Australia's NSW Ponders Drug "Depenalization," More... (12/10/20)
The House has passed the Medical Marijuana Research Act, America's longest-serving nonviolent marijuana prisoners is now a free man, and more. 5 comments Celebrate Double Marijuana Wins and Continue Your (Doubled) Support!
In the wake of victories in Congress and at the UN, we seek your continued support. Your donation will be matched too. 1 comment 