Last night, Scott Brown (R-Mass.) beat Democrat Martha Coakley in a special election to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy, becoming the first Republican to hold a Senate seat in Massachusetts since the 1970s. So what happened up there?

To state it simply, the Democrats chose a bad candidate. They backed one of the most vocal and public opponents of the MPP-funded ballot initiative, Question 2, which decriminalized marijuana possession in Massachusetts in 2008. Question 2 was more popular than President Obama on Election Day, garnering 65% of the vote compared with the president’s 62%. All but three towns in the state supported the initiative.

There is a lesson here for Democrats and Republicans alike: Support for marijuana reform will help, not hurt, a candidate in elections. Public support is surging forward. Polls on legalization are moving quickly toward majority approval nationwide — in the west, it’s already passed the 50% mark — and medical marijuana enjoys 81% support. Politicians on both sides of the aisle must recognize that it’s time to use this populist platform as a tool for winning elections.

Scott Brown is not a card-carrying member of the marijuana reform movement by any stretch of the imagination. As a state senator, he proposed that possession of marijuana in a vehicle remain a criminal offense, attempting to pull back parts of Question 2. But Brown was not a leading opponent of the measure nor was he publicly associated with the issue, as Coakley was. The lesson here, however, is of the could have should have variety: Democrats could have backed a candidate that supported Question 2, and they should have used marijuana reform as a tool in the campaign. Had they, today’s election results may have looked a lot different.

MPP’s Aaron Houston will be interviewed on CNN’s “The Situation Room” today regarding progress toward lifting the “Barr amendment,” which has blocked Washington D.C. from implementing its medical marijuana law passed by voters in 1998. The show airs at 6 p.m. Eastern time, 3 p.m. Pacific.

Bear in mind that TV news schedules are always subject to last-minute change if there’s breaking news, but they are pre-taping the interview even as I post this.

As a result of the media attention that the social networking site Twitter has been receiving, many members of Congress have become active tweeters, some updating and reading their pages personally. This means that we have a new forum to interact with our representatives in Washington, D.C., one that’s quick, easy, and increasingly effective.

If you use Twitter, please send a tweet asking your member of Congress to end marijuana prohibition today. In keeping with Twitter’s real-time nature, we’re asking you to tweet about this great article from The Washington Post and tie it to your support for ending marijuana prohibition. Please see the message and steps below for help.

Step 1: Sign in to Twitter.

Step 2: Visit tweetcongress.org/. After you enter your zip code, the site will display your member of Congress’s Twitter account. (Note that some members don’t have accounts. If this is the case, tweetcongress.org allows you to petition them to join.)

Step 3: Post a Twitter message that “mentions” your member’s account. You can do this by beginning your tweet with “@[your member's account]” with out the quotes. For example, Congressman Jim Moran would be “@Jim_Moran” with out the quotes. Do this, and your message will appear on your legislator’s Twitter page.

Sample Message:

@[your member's account] Read http://tinyurl.com/ydwf2uj (WaPo). Legal marijuana will cut cartel violence where law enforcement has failed.

Just copy and paste the above into Twitter and customize it with your member of Congress’s account name.

Please also also follow MPP on Twitter at twitter.com/MarijuanaPolicy.

Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato (R-N.Y.) said there is merit to the idea of legalizing marijuana on Monday, a surprising statement from a law-and-order Republican who once tried to ban any dietary supplement that makes you happy.

In 1995, then-Senator D’Amato introduced legislation to classify any “dietary supplement that claims to produce euphoria, heightened awareness or similar mental or psychological effects” as a drug. The legislation’s intent was to combat the popularity of ephedrine-based herbal supplements by banning them, the same logic he applied to marijuana prohibition as an ardent supporter of our current laws.

D’Amato now appears to have changed his position, telling Howard Stern on Monday “there’s some merit to” the idea of legalizing marijuana. If only he had come to that conclusion while he had the power to do something about it.

In his first interview as White House drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske signaled a huge shift – at least rhetorically – in federal drug policy.

“Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as a war on them,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “We’re not at war with people in this country.”

Yes, the fallacy of pursuing U.S. citizens who use illegal drugs as though they were enemy combatants was obvious the minute President Nixon made it official policy – against his own experts’ advice – 35 years ago. And no, Kerlikowske isn’t calling for an end to the policies that fuel that failed war. Marijuana prohibition, for example, isn’t going anywhere, according to the new drug czar.

Still, Kerlikowske’s rejection of drug war ideology is a dramatic – and possibly significant – departure from his drug crusading predecessors.

Of course, if you really want to end the war on drugs, then maybe it’s time to end marijuana prohibition. Let your representative know with a phone call or an e-mail.

The National Academy of Public Administration just released a devastating Senate-commissioned report detailing the failures of the drug czar’s office during the Bush administration. [Read more →]

Now that her case is settled against the D.C. government over the 2004 death of her quadriplegic son while in prison for marijuana possession, I hope Mary Scott can find at least some comfort.

However, the D.C. prison system’s incompetence and neglect are not the only culprits in Jonathan Magbie’s tragic death. If it weren’t for Congress continually blocking the implementation of the medical marijuana initiative 69% of D.C. voters passed in 1998, Magbie would probably be alive today.

Not only did Tuesday’s election produce two major marijuana policy victories, but we also saw signs of progress in Washington, D.C.

Barack Obama has consistently said that he does not support the federal government arresting medical marijuana patients in states where medical marijuana is legal. He also affirmed to MPP that he would not use federal resources to raid medical marijuana dispensaries in California, something his predecessor’s administration has done countless times.

And the Politico reported that Obama’s pick for drug czar may be Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton.  Bratton is “totally supportive of the concept of medical marijuana” (Source).

[Read more →]