Over the weekend, the Quad-Cities Times ran a feature on the “Faces of medical marijuana in Iowa.” The article shined a compassionate light on the daily struggles that many Iowans endure and their frustration at not being able to use marijuana legally, under their physicians’ recommendations. Twenty states and Washington, D.C., protect patients from criminal penalties for using medical marijuana; it’s time Iowa does, too. There are individuals and families across the Hawkeye state whose lives would…

[caption id="attachment_7159" align="alignright" width="180"] Will Graves[/caption] Last Friday, news broke that former UNC Tar Heel Will Graves faces misdemeanor charges after police officers found 4.4 grams of marijuana in a house that Mr. Graves rents. Let your lawmakers know that they should not burden responsible adults with criminal convictions for using a substance that is safer than alcohol. If you are a North Carolina resident, please ask them to replace criminal penalties for the possession…

[caption id="attachment_7153" align="alignright" width="253"] Pres. Jose Mujica[/caption] Jose Mujica is not a man who compromises his beliefs. Before he became President of Uruguay, he was shot six times and spent fourteen years in a dungeon-like military prison. Now he lives a modest lifestyle, donates most of his income to social projects, and resides in a one-bedroom farmhouse with his wife, Congresswoman and former acting President of Uruguay, Lucia Topolansky. President Mujica, once known as…

Susan Sarandon, respected actress and member of MPP’s VIP Advisory Board, lightheartedly confessed on Wednesday that she has used marijuana before attending almost all award shows.  The admission came on an episode of “Watch What Happens Live” with Andy Cohen on the Bravo network. Cohen, during a popular segment known as “Plead the Fifth”, asked Sarandon to “name one major Hollywood event that you showed up to stoned.” Sarandon replied, “Only one?” and continued to elaborate that she had used marijuana…

Uruguay and its President, Jose Mujica, have been making headlines recently for legislation to regulate the marijuana market. President Mujica has been determined to pass the law, supporting the movement throughout the legislative process and defending the policy to opponents both in his own country and abroad. Now that the law has passed, Uruguay is facing pressure from the U.N., which accuses the legislature of violating an international convention. The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961…

[caption id="attachment_7142" align="alignright" width="158"] Rep. Mike Callton[/caption] The Michigan House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed two important bills today. HB 4271, sponsored by Rep. Mike Callton, would allow local governments to license and regulate dispensaries. HB 5104, sponsored by Rep. Eileen Kowall, would extend the protections currently in place for smoked forms of marijuana to marijuana extracts, a key ingredient in topical emollients, edibles, and tinctures. [caption…

[caption id="attachment_7139" align="alignright" width="240"] Gov. Mark Dayton[/caption] Is Gov. Mark Dayton – thankfully – softening his irrational opposition to medical marijuana? It appears as though that might be the case. Yesterday, ECM reported that Gov. Dayton will allow staff to work with patients and advocates on the issue of medical marijuana. He even expressed interest in researching the issue himself. While we still “don’t know where he stands,” according to Heather Azzi, political director…

At a time when so many politicians seem out of touch with the realities of marijuana prohibition, Daylin Leach is a sight for sore eyes.  He is a state senator from Pennsylvania who is running for Congress and he understands the consequences of marijuana prohibition.

Many marijuana prohibitionists insist one reason to keep marijuana illegal is that it causes mental illnesses, despite many scientific studies that say otherwise. A new study conducted through the Harvard Medical School adds to that body of research and shows that marijuana use is unlikely to be a cause of schizophrenia. The researchers studied four groups: people with no history of psychosis and no history of marijuana use, people with no history of psychosis who were heavy marijuana users as adolescents,…

The Office of National Drug Control Policy released an email invitation this past Friday for the first White House Drug Policy Reform Conference in history. The email contained a graphic with a quote from U.S. Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske that read, Drug policy reform should be rooted in NEUROSCIENCE – NOT POLITICAL SCIENCE. Now, MPP is asking the office to explain the meaning behind their contradictory statement, since actual neuroscience has shown that marijuana harms the human brain far less than…