| StoptheDrugWar.org

Is Hawaii One Step Closer to Legalizing Marijuana?

After a state Senate session, Hawaii is arguably five steps closer. The Senate voted to pass five medical marijuana-related bills on to the House.

Delaware Valley School District Sued Over Drug Testing Policy

ACLU lawyers are fighting Delaware Valley School District's drug-testing policy in court on behalf of two students. The ACLU believes the district's policy violates a 2003 Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling, Theodore vs. Delaware Valley School District. That decision required schools to justify suspicionless drug testing programs with evidence of a widespread drug problem among students, unless the school could show additional evidence that the group of students undergoing testing had a high rate of drug use.

We Need Your Ideas!

Name our campaign to end the war on drugs – and win a free DPA t?shirt, mug and calendar.

Submit your idea today!

Dear Friends,

Forty years ago, Richard Nixon launched the war on drugs. After decades of disastrous policies, it couldn't be more clear: It's time to put an end to the drug war.

That's why the Drug Policy Alliance is pulling out all the stops this spring. We’re launching a massive campaign to spotlight the many failures of the war on drugs and to push for policies that work.

To get the campaign off the ground ASAP, we need a campaign name – will you help? Send us your ideas to name the campaign to end the war on drugs! If we pick yours we'll send you free DPA gear, including a t?shirt, coffee mug and calendar!

Momentum is building quickly and now is the time to take our efforts to a new level.

My recent Huffington Post article explains our strategy for 2011 and the future. Please read it. It will give you a better idea of our basic themes and objectives – and hopefully inspire you to come up with a great name for our campaign!

In the next few months, DPA will release a hard-hitting report, team up with organizations to plan local events across the country and engage high-profile people to speak out against the war on drugs. With public opinion in our favor, we are approaching critical mass.

That's why we want you to participate in our campaign naming contest. Submit your idea for a campaign name now!

A good campaign name will be attention-grabbing, four words or less, and get across the core of our message: that the drug war is a failure and needs national attention now. A great campaign name will be unforgettable. Submit your idea today!

Sincerely,

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance

Portugal's Experiment with Drug Laws Is Paying Off (Opinion)

Daniel Akst, a columnist for Newsday, opines on the success of Portugal's comprehensive drug policy reforms. He concludes the American war on drugs is a costly failure on a larger scale than was Prohibition, with ramifications far beyond U.S. borders. He says we'll never eliminate drugs for the simple reason that too many people like them. But it's time to figure out a way to decriminalize narcotics, at the very least, even while firmly discouraging their use.

Ron Paul: Hemp for Victory

Ron Paul supports the legalization of industrial hemp, a non-psychoactive variety of cannabis that provides an eco-friendly source of fiber and protein. Paul is a perennial author of hemp legalization bills, the latest of which is being promoted in May during the second-annual Hemp History Week. In this interview Josh Harkinson partially spoke with Paul about the benefits of hemp.