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Sentencing: US Sentencing Commission to Review Mandatory Minimums

For years, Congress never met a mandatory minimum drug sentence it didn't like. But now, with the Democrats in charge and the federal prison population nearly 10 times as large as it was three decades ago, Congress is having second thoughts. It has ordered the US Sentencing Commission to take a look.
Chronicle
Chronicle

Europe: British Home Secretary's Firing of Drug Advisor Continues to Reverberate

Two weeks ago, Britain's home secretary fired the government's head drug policy advisor, Professor David Nutt, over Nutt's criticisms of government drug policy as driven by politics and not evidence. The row continues, as three more members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs resigned this week, bringing the total to five.
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Blog
Blog

Off to Albuquerque

The 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conference kicks off tomorrow evening, which means we'll be in Albuquerque for the rest of the week. It also means I probably won't be posting for a few days, because my fingers will be caked with enchilada sauce (and if anyone knows where to get good Mexican food in Albuquerque, please hook me up in comments).

If you're going to the conference, please keep an eye out for me and say hi. I always enjoy meeting readers, so feel free to get all up in my business. The best place to find me is at the premiere of the new Flex Your Rights film 10 Rules For Dealing With Police, which I co-wrote and can’t wait to unveil. It's going down on Thursday at 8:45pm. It's so cool, you should really just get in the car right now and start driving to New Mexico.

Anyway, the blog should back in action next week. If anything huge happens in the meantime, I'm sure Pete Guither will be all over it.
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American Medical Association Ends Opposition to Medical Marijuana

Enemies of medical marijuana have almost completely run out of talking points, and now they just lost one of their favorite remaining arguments:

HOUSTON --- The American Medical Association (AMA) voted today to reverse its long-held position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value. The AMA adopted a report drafted by the AMA Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, "Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes," which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana and called for further research. [Opposing Views]

I wonder how long it will take for the DEA to correct their website.
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Everyone Loves Marijuana Prohibition (Except the 44% Who Don't)

The CBS debate between Judge James Gray and David Evans continues today, and you are going to absolutely love it (if your idea of a good time is listening to a judge explain why the drug war doesn’t work, while a frustrated drug warrior sputters redundantly).

I think my favorite part is an attempt by Evans to explain all the reasons why you can’t compare alcohol prohibition with drug prohibition. This one topped his list:

(1) During prohibition the government sought to restrict the consumption of alcohol although lacking the consensus of the nation. Even during Prohibition most people had experience with and accepted alcohol. That is not the same today for illicit drugs. Prohibition went against the national consensus whereas the current drug policies do not.

Apparently, David Evans hasn’t checked out the comment section yet. Incredibly, he appears not to even understand why he was invited to participate in a marijuana legalization debate in the first place. Literally, the whole point of this dialogue is to indulge the raging debate over marijuana policy that now grips the nation. If there were a "national consensus" in favor of marijuana prohibition, you wouldn't have spent the last two days on the CBS website arguing against legalization.
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David Evans nearly sent me over the edge

This is my response as written on cbsnews.com to Part 2 of the "discussion" between Judge James Gray and David Evans of the Drug-Free America Foundation. When I read the first part yesterday I was bothered by Evans but it was typical prohibitionist rhetoric. Today he made me irate. _______________________________________________ I had to take a few moments to calm down otherwise I might have said something that could have caused me some serious trouble. Evans said that Gray called him a racist. Gray never implied or said that Evans was a racist. He did state the undeniable fact that war on "some" drugs treats the races unequally. This statement from Evans shows he is either delusional or racist. I hope it is the former. "Prohibition did not cause an increase in the overall crime rate but there was an increase in the homicide rate. However, the increase in homicides occurred mainly in the African-American community, and African-Americans at that time were not the people responsible for trafficking in alcohol."
Event
Event

Moving Marijuana Reform Forward in Colorado

Please join Sensible Colorado, SAFER, and the Marijuana Policy Project for a Thanksgiving Celebration to commemorate how far marijuana policy reform has come in Colorado, and to find out where it is h
In The Trenches

BREAKING: A Legal Victory for Patients


BREAKING:  Legal Victory for Patients and Providers

 

This morning, Sensible Colorado attorneys delivered a victory in overturning the Board of Health's 10/19/9 decision which limited patients rights.   See coverage of this story HERE

As background, late on Monday Nov. 2, Sensible Colorado received word that the state was holding a stealth meeting to narrow the definition of who could provide medical marijuana.  Our staff immediately sent out an alert and over 200 of our supporters responded by either calling-in or attending the Board's 11/3 meeting.  At that meeting, after refusing to hear from any affected patients or caregivers, the Board voted to require caregivers to provide supplementary-- and often unnecessary services-- beyond supplying medical marijuana to sick patients.

Today, Sensible Colorado Board member Robert Corry, along with staff member Brian Vicente, and attorney Lauren Davis, successfully argued that the 11/3 "stealth" meeting was a violation of the Colorado Open Meetings Law.  After hearing about the state's complete disregard for public testimony and their lack of notice to affected parties, Chief Denver District Chief Larry Naves ruled in favor of patients and invalidated the Board's recent finding.

Sensible Colorado wants to thank the two patients involved in this lawsuit, as well as the hundreds of patients and supporters who attended-- or tried to attend-- these hearings. 

What does this mean for patients and providers?  Judge Naves ruling means that, under Colorado law, medical marijuana caregivers can continue to simply provide medical marijuana for patients and are not required to provide supplementary services.  Please stay tuned for further alerts, as this area of the law is dynamic.

We can't do this without your help!!  Please support the work of Sensible Colorado by becoming a monthly donor today.  Click HERE to help.