Late last week, a West Palm Beach grand jury dealt a significant blow to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). It found a young man died under their watch due to “fundamentally inadequate” medical care. You may remember the disturbing story of Eric Perez, who died in custody after having been arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana while he was on probation. While incarcerated, Perez reported to guards that he was hallucinating; he vomited and soiled himself in his cell…

Earlier this week, Tom Angell of LEAP showed me this video of TV evangelist and political pundit Pat Robertson speaking out about prison overpopulation and harsh sentences for non-violent offenders. In this clip, Robertson, who is known for being a staunch social conservative, repeatedly calls for marijuana to be made legal. Throughout this segment, Robertson repeatedly blames liberals for the “tough-on-crime” approach that has led to massive over-incarceration. Traditionally, most people are probably…

Our vice president has a long and storied history of eyebrow-raising and indecipherable comments – “Bidenisms” as they’re known – and he had another doozy to offer yesterday. Speaking to a group of Latin American leaders, who have grown increasingly emboldened in their calls for legalization of marijuana and other drugs due to the deaths of tens of thousands of their citizens at the hands of powerful, murderous drug cartels, Biden offered this: "It warrants a discussion. It's totally legitimate for…

I just returned to D.C. from a conference in Palm Beach, where I briefly spoke with Gov. Rick Scott (R) about medical marijuana. When I told him I was representing the Marijuana Policy Project, he responded by saying that he had received only one communication about medical marijuana during these first 14 months of his governorship. (It's likely that he meant to say that he had spoken with only one constituent personally, as opposed to having received only one email message or one phone call from…

Once again, Obama’s DOJ shows no sympathy for medical marijuana patients. Last April, 12 HIV/AIDS activists were arrested outside of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s office as they protested funding cuts to HIV/AIDS and needle exchange programs in D.C. The protesters were offered the standard “Deferred Prosecution Agreement,” requiring them to stay away from the Cannon House Office Building for six months, perform 32 hours of community service, and test negative in three drug tests. If they were…

Last week, the political blustering of federal lawmakers once again resulted in a law that unfairly targets marijuana users without any proof of effectiveness. On Friday, Congress reached a payroll and benefits deal that allows states to drug test any person applying for unemployment benefits if that person is looking for work in a field where drug testing is commonplace. Thankfully, states have the option to not take part in this plan. The recent surge in states considering such policies, however,…

UPDATE: Dave Mustaine has clarified his position, saying that he likes Santorum but does not officially "endorse" him.   I was shocked to learn that Dave Mustaine, the singer of Megadeth, endorsed Rick Santorum for president. If you're not a fan of heavy metal, you might not know that Megadeth is one of the most popular metal bands of all time -- and they're certainly one of the most political bands in any music genre.  Dave Mustaine actually covered the presidential race for MTV News in 1996. As…

Well, another celebrity was arrested for using marijuana. Do you feel safer? R&B singer Robin Thicke was arrested today near Madison Square Garden when they saw him smoking a joint inside an SUV. He was ticketed and released. Now, since police actually witnessed him smoking, this arrest is far more legitimate than the improper marijuana possession arrests of tens of thousands of New York City residents during “stop and frisk” actions. Currently, possession of small amounts of marijuana is decriminalized…

A Georgia school system is being sued by a student after an incident that occurred during a marijuana investigation. The victim, who was in seventh grade at the time, was humiliated by school officials in front of other students after being implicated in an investigation. The details speak for themselves: The student, identified in court documents as D.H., said officials at Eddie White Academy initially strip-searched three other students on Feb. 8, 2011, after suspecting they had marijuana. One…

An opinion released yesterday by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts stated that a person found with a small amount of marijuana could still be charged with intent to distribute, despite a 2008 law removing criminal penalties for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. The statement comes from the ruling on a 2010 case in which a person with around six grams of marijuana in three separate bags was charged with intent to distribute marijuana. Defense attorneys argued that intent did…