Luxembourg is on a path to be the first European Union country to legalize marijuana, Alabama Medicaid is being challenged for blocking access to Hep C treatment for peoplw who use drugs or alcohol, and more.

Drug overdose deaths have gone through the roof under prohibition. There has to be a better way.

Nebraska medical marijuana advocates and the ACLU sue over the state's initiative signature-gathering requirements, a Montreal clinic is about to become the first in Quebec to offer psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and more.

Austin voters say adios to no-knock warrants, Colombia's most powerful cartel gets unruly after its leader's extradition to the US, and more.

Signature-gathering for a marijuana legalization inititiave is underway in Oklahoma, the courts block a San Francisco effort to enact broad bans on alleged drug dealers in the Tenderloin, and more.

The White House announces more money for drug law enforcement, GOP senators file a bill to reduce but not eliminate the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity, and more.

The Biden White House released its first National Drug Control Strategy last week. It breaks new ground, but continues old, failed prohibitionist policies.

Medical marijuana will not be on the ballot in Idaho this year, Kentucky's governor is looking into going around a recalcitrant legislature on medical marijuana, and more.

Marijuana legalization continues to be popular with the public, and support for drug decriminalization is trending the same way, and more.

Kentucky's governor announces plans for executive actions to make medical marijuana available in the state, a pair of US senators go after a methamphetamine precursor chemical, and more.

There is a better, more sustainable, more environmentally and socially friendly way to grow cannabis. Weed Like Change will tell you all about it.

A new CBS poll shows continuing strong support for marijuana legalization, Honduras is becoming a coca and cocaine production center, and more.

New York issues its first marijuana grower licences, a Florida drug treatment provider is convicted of a massive drug testing fraud, and more.

The government of the world's leading opium producer says it will get out of the illicit business. Is it serious, and can it really do it if it is?

Mississippi regulators issue initial guidelines for the state's nascent medical marijuana system, Kentucky's governor is talking about executive actions if the legislature does not pass a bill this year, and more.

New polls of American and European voters show support for marijuana legalization, Massachusetts prisoners are suing over unreliable drug tests, and more.

Kentucky's governor is considering exectuive action on medical marijuana as the Senate leadership says it is not interested in passing a bill this year, the Congressional Cannabis Caucus has a new Republican member, and more.

A spate of fatal Washington state pot shop robberies is raising the pressure for passage of the SAFE Banking Act.

An Ohio narc gets nailed for peddling fentanyl, two Rikers Island jail guards go down for smuggling dope into the jail, and more.

A Georgia bill that would actually get cannabis oil into the hands of patients goes down, the DC city council narrowly rejects a bill that would effectively legalize adult pot sales, and more.

Maryland Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Legalization Referendum. The House voted last Friday to approve a measure that would ask state voters to approve marijuana legalization, House Bill 1. The Senate had already passed it, and because it is a constitutional amendment, it does not require approval from Gov. Larry Hogan (R). The House also passed a bill to implement marijuana legalization if voters approve it by a veto-proof majority of 94-39. The constitutional amendment would legalize marijuana in July 2023, and the companion bill would legalize the possession of up to 1.5 ounces. Missouri House Committee Passes Bill to Legalize Adult-Use Marijuana. A marijuana legalization bill, House Bill 2704, is moving in the House. Last Thursday, the House Public Safety Committee approved it on a 5-4 vote, with some amendments. The bill would legalize marijuana use and possession for people 21 and over and allow for up to 12 plants for personal use. It would also set up a system of taxed and regulated sales, create a path to expungement of past offenses, and bar the use of civil asset forfeiture for marijuana offenses. One amendment, however, is being described as a "poison pill." The bill contained language to create a loan program to support women and minority-owned businesses, but Rep. Nick Schroer (R) included language that revised the equity provisions to specify that only women who are "biologically" female would be eligible for the benefit. This conservative culture war import will make it difficult for some Democrats to support the legislation. The bill now goes to the House Rules Committee. House Bill 1598 New Hampshire House Passes Marijuana Legalization Bill. The House last Thursday voted 169-156 to approve House Bill 1598, which would legalize marijuana and have it be sold in up to 10 stores operated by the state Liquor Commission. Earlier this year, the House also approved a bill legalizing the possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce of weed and allowing for home grows of up to six plants, the harvest from which could traded or gifted but not sold. The House has passed legalization bills numerous times in recent years only to see them die in the Senate, which has yet to act on these bills. And even if the Senate were to approve them, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) remains opposed. International Taliban Says It is Banning Opium Production. Even as this years poppy harvest gets underway, the Taliban announced on Sunday that it was banning the cultivation of narcotics in the country, including opium. Afghanistan is far and away the world's largest opium producer and has been throughout this century. But no, more, the Taliban says. "As per the decree of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all Afghans are informed that from now on, cultivation of poppy has been strictly prohibited across the country," according to an order from the Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada. "If anyone violates the decree, the crop will be destroyed immediately and the violator will be treated according to the Sharia law," the order, announced at a news conference by the Ministry of Interior in Kabul, said. The Taliban is seeking formal international recognition in order to undo sanctions that are crippling its economy, and drug control has been a major demand of the international community. Opium production has increased in recent months amidst economic collapse, and enforcement of the ban could prove problematic.

The House is set to approve marijuana legalization for the second time tomorrow, Mississippi lawmakers approve a bill criminalizing the possession of pill presses if not registeres with the state, and more.

A new anti-drug reform super PAC emerges and targets a GOP congresswoman, Singapore is now set to hang a mentally disabled man on drug charges, and more.

A bill to establish the East Coast's first psychedelic medicine center is moving in Connecticut, Utah's Republican governor signs a psychedelic research bill, and more.

Here is an important new volume on the international drug control regime -- and how to move beyond it.

Rhode Island lawmakers are trying to thrash out agreement on a marijuana legalization bill, the Marijuana Policy Project releases a report on the states lagging behind on marijuana reform, and more.

A suburban Atlanta prosecutor's big to clamp down on Delta-8 THC products runs into a judicial roadblock, the University of Michigan SSDP chapter is spearheading a municipal drug decriminalizaiton resolution, and more.

Advocates are not happy with low levels of harm reduction funding, no legal marijuana sales for DC, and fentanyl-analog scheduling.

Kentucky Medical Marijuana Bill Advances. The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 15-1 to approve a medical marijuana bill, House Bill 136, clearing the way for a House floor vote, which could come as soon as next week. A similar bill passed the House in 2020, but did not get taken up by a Senate committee because of lack of support and the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. In a bid to win broader support, bill sponsor Rep. Jason Nemes (R) narrowed the bill this year by including provisions that ban smoking marijuana or growing it oneself, but Senate leadership still has "concerns."

Mexico is sending more trips to fight cartel violence in the state of Jalisco, the head of the WHO speaks out about unnecessary suffering due to lack of access to pain medication around the world, and more.

A medical marijuana bill advances in Kentucky, congressional negotiators have slashed harm reduction funding in the final appropriations bill of the year, and more.

The Washington Post has a major piece on police misconduct payouts, an expungement bill advances in California, and more.

Bills to produce marijuana-consuming workers advance in Illinois and DC an Idaho bill to require drug tests for substitute school teachers is killed, and more.

The Rhode Island legislature is about to get serious about legalizing marijuana.

A coalition of marijuana and civil rights groups is demanding a House floor vote on a marijuana legalization bill, the Transportation Department is moving toward approval oral drug testing for truckers, and more.

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps makes the news in a couple of different ways today, an asset forfeiture reporting bill advances in South Dakota, and more.

A California bill would provide protections to workers for off-duty marijuana use, the New Mexico Supreme Court rules medical marijuana purchases are not subject to a state tax, and more.

This week, we have a trio of jail guards gone bad.

A new poll finds three out of four Floridans are ready to legalize marijuana, the Supreme Court asks the Justice Department to file a brief in a pair of medical marijuana workmen's compensation cases, and more.

A South Dakota tribe is defending non-tribal medical marijuana cardholders who have been arrested by state and local police.

Activists in Denver opened psychedelic floodgates for the United States with their successful psilocybin decriminalization initiative in 2019. Since that time, the trickle of bills and initiatives seeking to undo the criminalization of psychedelics has turned into a torrent.

A marijuana legalization bill gets filed in Missouri, a marijuana decriminalization bill is filed in Wyoming, and more.

Oregon goes after water haulters in a bid to repress illicit pot grows, the Utah House approves a psychedelic study task force bill, and more.

The South Carolina Senate approves a medical marijuana bill, a new Rand study tracks opioid prescribing declines, and more.

Thirteen states still don't have full-fledged medical marijuana programs. That could change this year in a half dozen of them.

Pennsylvania sees its first ever legislative debate on marijuana legalization, Tennessee sees a slew of marijuana-related bills, and more.

A key Maryland legislator rolls out a marijuana legalization bill, the Utah legislature approves employment protections for medical marijuana cardholders, and more.

Mississippi becomes the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana.

Minnesota medical marijuana patients will soon be able to buy buds, South Dakota medical marijuana patients will be able to buy edibles, and more.