Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
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Chronicle
Chronicle
Feature: Medical Marijuana in State Legislatures -- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Getting medical marijuana bills passed in state legislatures is a long, hard slog. So far this year, only one bill has passed into law, the Rhode Island dispensary bill, which builds on an existing medical marijuana law. Two states' legislatures, Minnesota and New Hampshire, passed bills, only to have them vetoed. But there's still hope in a few places. Here's a rundown of medical marijuana at the statehouse this year.
Chronicle
Feature: Fired Up in Albuquerque -- The 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conference
The Drug Policy Alliance's 2009 International Drug Policy Reform Conference took place in Albuquerque last weekend. It was quite a show. Here's a scene report.
Chronicle
Europe: Fired British Drug Advisor Calls for Royal Commission on Marijuana Decriminalization
If the British government thought it could shut up David Nutt, the head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, by firing him, it thought wrong. Now, the newly liberated drug expert is calling for a Royal Commission to examine decriminalizing marijuana.
Chronicle
Sentencing: Era of Mandatory Minimums for Drugs Comes to an End in Rhode Island
The era of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses has come to an end in Rhode Island. But that's just a start -- you can still get up to 50 years for 10 pounds of pot.
Chronicle
Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy
"Tommy Chong's Prosecutor Says He Should Have Gotten More Jail Time," "Cheech and Chong vs. Bill O'Reilly: Worst Interview Ever," "'Buy American Pot!' Says American Marijuana Growers Association," "Drug Czar's Website Still Wrong About AMA's Medical Marijuana Stance," "DEA Website STILL Wrong About AMA's Medical Marijuana Stance," "Colorado Announces Plan to Tax Medical Marijuana," "As Long as the Drug War Continues, So Will the Corruption," "Marijuana is Practically Legal (But Only for Aging White People Who Live in the Suburbs)," "If You Care About Ending the Drug War, Watch This," "Will Foster is Almost Free. You Can Help Open That Prison Door By Acting Now," "Nice People Take Drugs."
Chronicle
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Latest News
Latest News
Event
Townhall Meeting to Support Clarence Aaron
Townhall Meeting to Support Clarence Aaron, Serving 3 Life Sentences for a First-Time, Non-Violent Drug Law Violation
In The Trenches
Marijuana Policy Projectâs 15th Anniversary Gala to Celebrate â15 States in 15 Yearsâ
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
NOVEMBER 19, 2009
Marijuana Policy Projectâs 15th Anniversary Gala to Celebrate â15 States in 15 Yearsâ
Celebrity guests and other prominent figures will help celebrate MPPâs remarkable passage of improved marijuana laws in 15 states in 15 years
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP assistant director of communications â¦â¦ 202-905-2030 or [email protected]
WASHINGTON, D.C. â The Marijuana Policy Project, Americaâs largest marijuana policy reform organization, will look back on 15 productive years of improving marijuana laws at a January 13 gala that will feature guest speakers such as talk show host Montel Williams. The star-studded host committee includes Melissa Etheridge, Tom Robbins, Bill Maher, Ben Taylor, Steve Buscemi, Susan Sarandon, Lewis Black, Nicole Atkins, Margaret Cho, Mark Leno, Hal Sparks, Ani DiFranco, Garry Trudeau, and Medeski, Martin and Wood, along with many other prominent supporters. Â Â Â Â
        When MPP was founded in 1995, medical marijuana was illegal in all 50 states. Since then, 13 states have passed medical marijuana laws, with Michigan becoming the 13th state in November 2008, when Michigan voters passed MPP's ballot initiative by a 63% to 37% margin. By the end of 2010, MPP is hopeful that medical marijuana will be legal in 15 states (with passage in New York and New Jersey).
        At the same time, marijuana possession is now decriminalized in 13 states, with Massachusetts becoming the 13th state in November 2008, when Massachusetts voters passed MPP's ballot initiative by a 65% to 35% margin. In 2010, MPP is hopeful that marijuana will be decriminalized in 15 states (with Rhode Island and Vermont becoming the 14th and 15th states).
        WHAT: The Marijuana Policy Projectâs 15th Anniversary Celebration
        WHEN: January 13, 2010. Press Availability from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m.
                       Reception from 6:30 â 7:30 p.m. Dinner from 7:30 to 11:00 p.m.
        WHERE: Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW, 20001
        Tickets cost $250 each, or $2,000 for a table.
        With more than 29,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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Latest News
Blog
Drug Czar's Website Still Wrong About AMA's Medical Marijuana Stance
Unfortunately, the DEA isnât the only drug war apparatus that's dragging its heels when it comes to acknowledging the American Medical Association's new position on medical marijuana. The drug czar's website still offers a document entitled "What Every American Should Know About Medical Marijuana," (PDF) which includes this passage:
Major public health organizations do not support smoking marijuana as medicine.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Ophthalmology all oppose the smoked form of marijuana as medicine...
So, if the drug czar thinks "every American should know" about AMA's position on medical marijuana, will he now inform Americans that the position has changed? Somehow I doubt it, but at the very least, this now-false claim that AMA opposes medical marijuana should be removed immediately.
Let me be clear about this too, because I donât want anyone thinking this is just some smug campaign to rub AMA's new position in the face of drug warriors all over the web. This document, "What Every American Should Know About Medical Marijuana," is a dreadful Bush-era hatefest that positively drips with outrageous & out-of-context propaganda points and should have been tossed from the site back in January, along with all the other rancid garbage John Walters left in the fridge at ONDCP.
This document even contains the unbelievable Steve Kubby smear, in which Kubby's statements about Marinol saving his life in prison were spun as opposition to medical marijuana (I highly recommend revisiting that one if you donât remember it, because it's so much worse than I can even describe in one sentence). And this isn't some dusty artifact I dug up from the cavernous bowels of ONDCP.gov either, it is currently the #1 search result for "medical marijuana" on the drug czar's website.*Â
So please join me in sending the drug czar a note asking that this outdated and offensive document be removed from his site once and for all. Whether it's because the reference to AMA is no longer accurate, or because the rest of the thing in its entirety is just a raging trainwreck of distortion and nastiness, or because the new administration has pledged to respect state medical marijuana laws instead of vilifying doctors and patients, this type of rhetoric has no place in the drug policy debate.
Please contact the drug czar today to ask that the document "What Every American Should Know About Medical Marijuana" be permanently removed from ONDCP.gov. Thanks.
*Update: Interestingly, the document is now much more difficult to find on the ONDCP website. Last night, it came up #1 in a search for "medical marijuana." Now I can only locate it by using more specific search terms. Hopefully, this signals that it's in the process of being removed, although the PDF is currently still being hosted by ONDCP.
Update 2: Our friends at LEAP have created an action alert where you can send a pre-written message to DEA & ONDCP requesting the necessary corrections.