Kansas was the first state to embrace alcohol prohibition, and one of the last to end it. Now, could it become the 15th to pass medical marijuana? Yesterday, Kansas state Representative Gail Finney (D-Wichita) introduced a medical marijuana bill. Finney suffers from lupus, which makes her sympathetic to those with diseases such as cancer and HIV, and Finney thinks the chronically ill should be allowed to use the medicine that works best for them without having to fear being arrested or thrown in…

Yesterday, lawmakers in Colorado unveiled a bill that could severely restrict the progress of medical marijuana in that state. Among other changes, the bill would place an 18-month moratorium on any new dispensaries, force existing establishments to reopen as nonprofit “medical marijuana centers,” and impose severe limitations on who can grow marijuana or work in a dispensary. In response, medical marijuana advocates, led by the group Sensible Colorado, filed a statewide ballot initiative that would…

MPP director of California policy Aaron Smith discusses the effort to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol, and the failure of marijuana prohibition, on NBC. 02/01/2010

President Obama’s CitizenTube forum concluded today with questions about ending marijuana prohibition receiving the most votes, by far. Yet, an answer to the most popular question was absent from the president’s address, which took place on YouTube this afternoon. Last year, when marijuana reform questions topped the president’s “Open For Questions” forum, the president at least answered -- albeit without serious consideration to the issue. Obama needs to realize something: ending marijuana prohibition…

President Obama released his budget requests for FY 2011 today, requesting $3.5 million less for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign than he did in FY 2010. The media campaign, which is run by the drug czar’s office, has for years emptied its coffers on absurd anti-marijuana advertisements that veer so far from the truth they’re laughable. Take, for example, this ad, which insinuates that marijuana use can lead to rape. This is a particularly dishonest approach considering that alcohol, a…

On November 25, 45-year-old Kenneth R. Howe was riding in the passenger seat of a truck that was stopped by police at a sobriety checkpoint in North Andover, Massachusetts. Hours later, he was dead. The cause has been ruled a homicide, from injuries suffered while Howe “struggled with police.” What exactly happened that night is a matter of dispute, and the subject of a federal lawsuit filed last week against state, city and county police, claiming that police officers beat Howe to death. Family…

On Wednesday, DEA agents raided Full Spectrum Laboratories, a lab in Denver, Colorado, that tests medical marijuana for dispensaries. Bob Winnicki, president of the lab, said the DEA issued a subpoena requesting that it turn over customer and patient records from the past six months. Winnicki said he wasn't charged with a crime, but agents seized about $10,000 worth of marijuana, some of which was going to be made into capsules for people with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Winnicki…

Big news! California's Tax Cannabis 2010 campaign announced today that they have submitted nearly 700,000 signatures to qualify their initiative for the November 2010 ballot. The initiative seeks to make personal possession (up to 1 oz.) and cultivation (up to 25 square feet) legal for adults 21 and up. The proposal also gives cities and counties the option to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana sales. Supporters only needed to collect 433,971 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Submitting…

President Obama has created a YouTube channel where anyone with an Internet connection and an idea can hold an “exclusive interview with the president.” The project is called CitizenTube, and it is very similar to the Open For Questions forum the Obama team unveiled one year ago. And just like last year, marijuana reform questions are by far the most popular. Here is MPP’s entry: You can visit the site to vote and help our question be one of the few chosen by Obama for a live YouTube event next week.…

President Obama has nominated the acting head of the DEA, Michele Leonhart, to take on the post permanently. We have been generally happy with the Justice Department during Obama’s freshman year, but it would be nice to see a new face at the DEA. Here’s why. Early in Leonhart’s career, she was the Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Division, where she oversaw President George W. Bush’s brutal tactic of raiding and arresting medical marijuana patients. Most readers will remember the…