Drug War Chronicle #859 - November 6, 2014

Federal drug sentencing reforms adopted by the US Sentencing Commission went into effect today. Not only will new offenders face less time, but people already serving time will be able to seek sentence reductions.

And then there were three (and don't forget DC). Oregon has now joined Colorado and Washington as a state that has legalized marijuana. Voters Tuesday approved Measure 91 with nearly 56% of the vote.

It's a trifecta for marijuana legalization initiatives this year, as Alaska joins Oregon and Washington, DC, in freeing the weed.

DC residents are voting overwhelmingly to legalize the possession and cultivation of small amounts of marijuana in the nation's capitol. Now, it will be up to the city council to move on to tax and regulate marijuana commerce.

California voters Tuesday approved an initiative to turn drug possession felonies into misdemeanors and rejected a trial lawyers' malpractice caps-raising initiative cloaked in the garb of drug testing doctors.

The Florida medical marijuana initiative came achingly close to victory, winning a solid majority of the vote, but not quite the 60% it needed to pass.

In the first election results of the day, voters in Guam approved a medical marijuana initiative. Guam becomes the first US territory to approve it.

The late polls suggest that Oregon is going to be the next state to legalize marijuana.

A medical marijuana initiative won in Guam, but the one in Florida lost despite winning a majority of the votes. There's other news, too.

Trouble is brewing in Detroit and DC, a Texas narc gets in trouble, so does a Miami cop, so does a Camden cop and a suburban St. Louis one.

Oregon's Measure 91 is getting big bucks and using innovative outreach techniques in the final days, the DC council ponders how to implement pot legalization, NYC councilmembers demand the cops quit targeting minority men for pot busts, Denmark funds research on medical marijuana (but not underground trolls!), and more.

It's looking good in Oregon, not so good in Florida; Guam's archbishop comes out against medical marijuana, a conservative PAC funded by the Koch brothers is seeking to peel off "stoner" votes from Democrats, there's cannabis club news from Barcelona and Uruguay, Iran drug executions are in the news, and more

We're waiting for election results--except for Guam, where medical marijuana has already won--Britain's governing coalition continues to implode on drug policy, Paraguay tries to crack down, and more.

Marijuana wins in Alaska, DC, and Oregon; medical marijuana barely loses in Florida, California defelonizes drug possession offenses, New Jersey reforms the bail system, and more