Drug War Chronicle

A "transpartisan" effort to push marijuana legalization and get out the vote in November got its official kick-off Tuesday.

President Obama has signed into law a bill that reduces, but does not eliminate, disparities in federal sentencing for crack and powder cocaine offenses. It isn't retroactive, which means current prisoners still wait for relief.

The Marijuana Policy Project and its Nevada affiliate want a marijuana legalization initiative on the 2012 ballot. A new poll suggests they have a lot of work to do over the next 27 months if it's to pass. Advocates say public education is what it's going to be about.

Three months out from election day, California's Prop 19 marijuana legalization campaign is out-fundraising the opposition by better than ten-to-one. And unlike the opposition, a chunk of Prop 19's money is in the form of small donations from the grassroots.

StoptheDrugWar.org has completed the first stage of a major upgrade and expansion of our web site. This article explains some of what we've done so far, and also where some sections of the site that you've been used to from before can still be found.

In the latest round of the battle of the California pot polls, Prop 19 comes out well ahead.

A bill that would create a blue-ribbon National Criminal Justice Commission to explore mass incarceration, the drug war, and related topics has passed the House. The Senate version awaits a floor vote.

Veterans in states where medical marijuana is legal may use it without getting thrown out of Veterans Administration pain treatment programs, the VA has announced in a clarification of its policies. The move responds to years of patient VA patients' efforts. Those advocates point out that VA physicians still are bound by an agency gag rule preventing them from recommending the substance until federal law changes.

Oh, my goodness! Charles Bowden has written a mind-blowing book on the prohibition-fueled violence in Ciudad Juarez. Prepare for existential dread.

Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.