The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday regarding “Conflicts Between State and Federal Marijuana Laws.” The Justice Department announced on August 29 that it will not seek to stop Colorado and Washington from moving forward with implementation of voter-approved laws establishing state-regulated systems of marijuana cultivation and retail sales. [caption id="attachment_6911" align="alignright" width="198"] Sheriff John Urquhart[/caption] The truly amazing part was that the majority…

The Marijuana Policy Project announced Monday it will support efforts to end marijuana prohibition in 10 more states by 2017. The announcement comes one day before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing at which it will address the U.S. Justice Department’s recent decision to allow states to regulate the cultivation and sale of marijuana. MPP will work with local and national allies to pass voter initiatives in at least five states and bills in five state legislatures…

According to Talking Points Memo, Sen. John McCain made some comments Thursday that some may find surprising: McCain’s comments could not have been better timed. Next week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the Justice Department’s new policy allowing states to move forward with taxing and regulating marijuana. Arizona’s other senator, Jeff Flake, is a member of that committee. Sen. Flake will have the opportunity to question Justice Department officials and help shape the future…

For years, the National Football League has been punishing athletes for using marijuana despite the fact that it is far less harmful than alcohol, a substance widely embraced by the league. Now that the U.S. Justice Department has announced it will allow states to legalize marijuana, the NFL needs to recognize and respect those laws, too. Please sign MPP’s petition to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell calling on the league to stop punishing players for using marijuana. To draw attention to this important…

On Tuesday, MPP director of federal policy Dan Riffle spoke with Fox Business Network about the Department of Justice announcement last week that the federal government will not interfere with the implementation of legal marijuana businesses in Colorado and Washington. Here is the segment from “Markets Now”:

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that it would not prioritize marijuana enforcement against businesses that were following state law and adhering to a set of criteria established by Deputy Attorney General James Cole. Given the administration's history with marijuana policy, there is a lot of speculation about what this memo will mean for the future of reform efforts and the legal marijuana industries in Colorado and Washington, as well as the 20 states and the District of Columbia…

At a press briefing Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it will allow Colorado and Washington to move forward with implementation of laws establishing state-regulated systems of marijuana production and distribution. “Today’s announcement is a major and historic step toward ending marijuana prohibition," said MPP director of federal policy Dan Riffle. "The Department of Justice's decision to allow implementation of the laws in Colorado and Washington is a clear signal that states are…

UPDATE: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will testify at the hearing. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced Monday that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on “Conflicts Between State and Federal Marijuana Laws." Sen. Leahy has reportedly invited U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Attorney General James Cole to speak to the committee. The hearing is scheduled for September 10 at 10 a.m. ET in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building. Sen. Leahy has said he believes…

On Monday, Politifact published the results of its research into the accuracy of MPP’s statement in a recent ad that marijuana is objectively safer than alcohol. As expected, the statements in the ad were true (despite Politifact giving a strange conclusion as to why it was only mostly true). What was unexpected, however, was the response from the National Institute on Drug Abuse: "Claiming that marijuana is less toxic than alcohol cannot be substantiated since each possess their own unique set of…

New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate John Liu made headlines this week when he proposed regulating and taxing marijuana sales for adults 21 and older. In a formal statement, he said: New York City’s misguided war on marijuana has failed, and its enforcement has damaged far too many lives, especially in minority communities. It’s time for us to implement a responsible alternative. Regulating marijuana would keep thousands of New Yorkers out of the criminal justice system, offer relief to…