Lawmakers in several states are working to end civil asset forfeiture and stop a police end-run around such bans. 2 comments
ON THE SPEAKEASY BLOG
Our Work on Medical Marijuana at the UN
This post is the first of a series explaining our organization's current work and strategy. One part of that is work at the United Nations. 70 comments
The MORE Act has passed the House!
The MORE marijuana legalization with social justice act has passed the US House of Representatives! This is a big day for drug policy reform.
11 commentsInitiatives 2020 -- Legalization Sweep, Psychedelic Sweep, Medical Marijuana, Decrim
November 3rd was a good day for drug reform ballot initiatives. 6 comments 
Philippine Democracy and Human Rights Face a Critical Test This Week
Our ally Senator Trillanes is facing possible jailing, maybe as soon as tomorrow, for opposing Duterte's drug war killing campaign. 42 comments Trillanes Gets Reprieve, for Now
One of the few outspoken leaders opposing Rodrigo Duterte's mass murder campaign in the Philippine drug war, Senator Antonio Trillanes, is likely be jailed tomorrow. He will be the second opposition senator and Duterte critic suffering this fate. 13 comments EVENT: Human Rights Challenge: Judicial and Extrajudicial Drug War Killings, in a Time of Authoritarianism
The rise of authoritarian or authoritarian political figures has been accompanied by calls for both sanctioned and extra-legal government violence in their crime and drug policies. This event, held in association with the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, will focus primarily but not exclusively on the situation in the Philippines. We will also examine the ramifications of President Trump's call to administer the death penalty for drug trafficking. 41 comments VIDEO: Our Protest at the Philippine Embassy Today
There are nearly 40,000 v 4 comments Statement of ICC Prosecutor on Opening Preliminary Investigations in the Philippines and in Venezuela
The ICC is a long and uncertain road. But this is an important first step for stopping the drug war killings, restoring rule of law, and seeking justice. 14 comments Save Marijuana Legalization
Jeff Sessions is trying to turn back marijuana legalization and medical marijuana. Don't let him do it. 3 comments Action Alerts, #GivingTuesday, Issue 1000, Remembering Rep. Hinchey
As issue #1000 of the Drug War Chronicle newsletter approaches, we ask you to take advocacy actions, we ask for your financial support, and we stop to remember one of reform's best allies. 1 comment ALERT: Medical Marijuana Is Under Threat -- Tell Congress to Act!
For the first time since becoming law in 2014, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment (formerly known as the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment) is in danger of not being renewed. 1 comment CONGRESS: Pass S. 1055 for Philippines Human Rights Accountability
This bill responds to the Philippines drug war killings, in which well over 10,000 people have been killed extrajudicially without trial by police and vigilantes. The legislation would place human rights conditions on law enforcement assistance to the Philippines. It would also fund positive public health programs for substance use issues, as well as the work of Philippine human rights defenders. 3 comments Against Jeff Sessions for Attorney General
The president-elect's nominee for Attorney General is a big-time drug warrior who could derail both sentencing reform and marijuana legalization. Please write your Senators in opposition to this nomination. 25 comments Read all Speakeasy Posts
FROM THE CHRONICLE
House, Senate Bills to Schedule "Tranq" Filed; KY MedMJ Bill Faces Crucial Votes Today, More...(3/30/23)
A State Department drug diplomat heads to Mexico City, the Missouri House gives initial approval to a therapeutic psilocybin study bill, and more. 1 comment This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
A former DARE cop gets decades in prison for sexually assaulting teens years ago, a south Texas cop faces an occupational hazard, and more. comments Two New Jersey Moms Sue Over Failed Drug Tests Caused by Poppy Seed Bagels [FEATURE]
Eating poppy seed bagels before giving birth led to a nightmarish odyssey for two New Jersey women. Now, they want to force change. comments DE Legal Pot Bills Go to Governor, FDA Approves OTC Naloxone, More... (3/29/23)
A North Carolina marijuana legalization bill has been filed, more New York regions have been cleared to license marijuana businesses, and more. comments Federal Marijuana Cases Continue to Decline, Britain Plans to Ban Nitrous Oxide, More... (3/28/23)
A Montana bill would turn back the clock on legal marijuana sales, a House bill to increase fentanyl penalties but also ease scientific research on Schedule I substances wins a House committee vote, and more. 1 comment HI Legal Pot Bill Dead for This Year, CA Psychedelic Decrim Bill Advances, More... (3/27/23)
Hawaii's Democratic House speaker pumps the brakes on marijuana legalization, and Idaho medical marijuana bill emerges, and more. 2 comments KY Governor Bans "Gas Station Heroin," OK, SD MedMJ Bills, More... (3/24/23)
A bill banning minors from buying Delta-8 THC products is signed into law in Kentucky, a bill banning medical marijuana use by pregant or breast-feeding women is signed into law in South Dakota, and more. 4 comments OR Issues First Psilocybin License, AZ Nonprofits Can Now Get Marijuana Justice Funds, More... (3/23/23)
Memphis cops really like seizing people's cars, the Swiss will have a summer of marijuana legalization pilot projects, and more. 2 comments After the Pandemic, Cocaine Has Come Roaring Back Worldwide [FEATURE]
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reports that cocaine production and use are up, up, up. 3 comments OK Senate Passes Bill to Rein In Illicit MedMJ Grows, Blinken Says Cartels Control Parts of Mexico, More... (3/22/23)
A Republican senator is calling on the banking industry to step up for a marijuana banking bill, the Oklahoma Senate moves to tighten up rules around medical marijuana grows, and more. 2 comments DEA Warns on Fentanyl Laced with "Tranq," Taliban Bans Marijuana Cultivation, More... (3/21/23)
That Minnesota marijuana legalization bill keeps rolling toward final passage, Colombia's president suspends a ceasefire with a rightist drug trafficking group, and more. 1 comment Global Drug Executions Jumped Last Year, the Border Bomb That Wasn't, More... (3/17/23)
Medical marijuana is killed in Kansas but survives in Kentucky, cocaine production hits an all-time high, and more. 1 comment Sheriffs' Group Call on Congress to Act Against Cartels, DE Legal Pot Bill Advances, More... (3/16/23)
The Texas Senate has approved a bill raising fentanyl penalties, a Delaware Senate committee advances a pair of marijuana legalization and regulation bills, and more. 4 comments This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
An East Texas police chief breaks bad, and there's trouble on the task forces. Let's get to it: 1 comment House GOP Members File Bill Designating Cartels as Terrorist Groups, Germany to Move Ahead With Legal Pot Proposal, More... (3/15/23)
A Kentucky medical marijuana bill faces a looming Senate deadline, Vermont lawmakers file a number of drug reform bills, and more. 1 comment Bolivia to Seek End to UN Ban on Coca Leaf, Biden Budget Keeps Ban on DC Pot Sales, More... (3/14/23)
A trio of psychedelic research bills is filed in Texas, a Maine bill would allow for marijuana consumption at pot shops, and more. 1 comment Opioid Settlement Causing Problems for Patients, MD Legal Pot Regulation Bill Passes House, More... (3/13/23)
The Justice Department is open to Sentencing Commission marijuana guideline reforms, a Texas bill to remove jail time for pot possession advances, and more. 2 comments Fractures: Rule of Law Challenges in the Global Drug War (EVENT)
Drug war campaigns present challenges to human rights. Extrajudicial killings, unjust or unlawful detentions, and denial of essential medicines, are among the ills faced in the global drug war, some of them large enough to risk fracturing world rule of law efforts. This session will review various rule of law in drug policy situations, and national and international advocacy efforts to address them. 5 comments DE House Approves Marijuana Regulation Bill, Federal Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Filed, More... (3/10/23)
Nevada lawmakers filed a bill to legalize magic mushrooms, bipartisan senators file a federal asset forfeiture reform bill, and more. 1 comment MN Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Again, WA Senate Approves Psychedelic Research Bill, More... (3/9/23)
Indiana marijuana reform bills appear dead in the water, Lindsay Graham will file a bill designating Mexican cartels as terrorists organizations, and more. 1 comment Oklahoma Marijuana Legalization Initiative Defeated [FEATURE]
If you want to smoke marijuana in Muskogee, you'll have to keep your medical marijuana card. 2 comments Medical Marijuana Update
A fairly quiet week on the medical marijuana front, but there was action in two states. 2 comments DE House Approves Marijuana Legalization, Anti-Cartel Resolution Filed in House, More... (3/8/23)
The Oklahoma marijuana legalization initiative gets crushed at the polls, a bipartisan federal bill to ease the rescheduling of therapeutic psychedelics gets filed, and more. 2 comments DOJ Now Accepting Pot Pardon Applications, OR House OKs Naloxone Expansion, More... (3/7/23)
The Justice Department signals it will appeal a federal court ruling invalidating the federal ban on guns for pot users, Colombia calls for coca leaf decriminalization, and more. 3 comments HI Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances, WA Senate Approves Bill Upping Drug Sentences, More... (3/6/23)
A long-shot marijuana legalization bill is filed in Florida, a fentanyl test strip decriminalization bill gets a hearing in Arkansas, and more. 3 comments BC Company Awarded License to Make and Sell Cocaine, Voting Underway for OK Pot Initiative, More... (3/3/23)
A Florida marijuana legalization initiative is about halfway home on signature gathering, Arizona politics is roiled by an unsubstantiated charge that the Sinaloa Cartel is bribing state and county officials, and more. 2 comments Attorney General Garland Talks Pot on Capitol Hill, TN MedMJ Bill Killed, More... (3/2/23)
California legal marijuana sales revenues decrease for the first time ever, a fourth Michigan city endorses natural psychedelic decriminalization, and more. 1 comment Chronicle Book Review: "Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable"
An indispensable work for those concerned with how we can rein in unaccountable law enforcement. 2 comments Medical Marijuana Update
A North Carolina medical marijuana bill is moving, an Idaho initiative campaign is not, and more. 2 comments MN Legal Pot Bill One Step Closer, Feds to Start Limiting Telehealth Prescriptions, More... (3/1/23)
North Carolina's Senate gives initial approval to a medical marijuana bill, New Jersey lawmakers pass a bill giving pot businesses the ability to take state business tax deductions, and more. 2 comments 