One of California’s most respected polling firms, Field Research, just released data showing that 56% of registered voters in the state support legalizing and taxing marijuana as a means of generating revenue for the ailing state budget. The poll asked voters for their opinions on various tax proposals. Making marijuana legal turned out to be among the most popular. The marijuana tax beat out carbon taxes, gas taxes, and business property taxes, among others. Hopefully this poll will ensure that…

Earlier today, MPP announced the launch of a TV ad campaign in New Hampshire. The ad features Sandy Drew, a retired nurse and multiple sclerosis sufferer, and calls on Gov. John Lynch (D) to sign the medical marijuana bill. The Senate passed the bill yesterday by a 14-10 vote. It now heads back to the House (which easily passed it last month) to accept the minor changes the Senate made to the bill. Gov. Lynch could then either sign it, veto it, or let it become law without his signature. Sandy’s…

We just got word that the Rhode Island Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill, 35-2, that would establish "compassion centers" to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients, making access for the seriously ill far safer and more reliable. Just to recap, that means three huge victories for medical marijuana patients and advocates today. Earlier, the senates in New Hampshire and Minnesota both passed bills that would protect seriously ill patients from arrest for using medical marijuana with their…

Update (8/21/2009): Mexican President Felipe Calderón has signed this legislation into law. Click here to read more. Mexico’s Senate passed a bill on Tuesday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and other drugs. The bill would make it legal to carry up to 5 grams of marijuana in Mexico and defers low-level drug dealing cases to the Mexican states. Proposed by President Felipe Calderon, the bill seeks to free up law enforcement resources in order to better fight violent drug cartels…

Minnesota's Senate just followed its New Hampshire counterpart with a medical marijuana victory of its own, passing its medical marijuana bill 36-28. The process in Minnesota is a little complicated: Today's vote was technically made by the Senate's Committee of the Whole, and needs an official vote that will probably take place later this week. But today's victory is a very good sign. Supporters in Minnesota can help seal this victory by contacting their representatives in both chambers urging them…

The New Hampshire Senate just passed their medical marijuana bill, 14-10. If you live in New Hampshire, you can send Gov. John Lynch a fax urging him to allow the bill to become law. It's free. As I said last night, this could be a big day for medical marijuana across the country, and this is a great start. More to come ...

It's never easy to know for sure, but this week could be huge for medical marijuana reform if things go just right in state legislatures across the country. The senates in Illinois, Minnesota, and New Hampshire all could vote to pass medical marijuana bills as early as tomorrow. At the same time, the Rhode Island Senate could vote on a bill creating medical marijuana compassion centers, making safe access to qualified patients in the state far less burdensome. So stay tuned – we'll let you know…

Aaron Houston, MPP's director of government relations, has just posted some thoughts on President Obama's first 100 days on the Congress Blog of the Capitol Hill political paper, The Hill. You can read all of Aaron's thoughts here. The bottom line: "While we have a pretty good idea of where Obama is heading on issues like the economy and health care, his direction on marijuana and drug policy remains unclear."

After a lengthy hearing, Judge George Wu once again deferred his sentencing decision in the case of the federally prosecuted California medical marijuana provider, Charles C. Lynch. Judge Wu indicated that he's leaning toward a more lenient sentence than the five-year mandatory minimum sought by the federal prosecutor and said he needs a way around the mandatory minimum and alternatives to prison for Lynch, who operated his medical marijuana collective in compliance with state and local law. The…

On Monday, National Public Radio marked the unofficial marijuana holiday 4/20 with a story called, "What If Marijuana Were Legal? Possible Outcomes?" We were not impressed, but you can listen to the story and read a transcript here. After reviewing it, I wrote the following e-mail to the reporter and assorted NPR honchos: I read the transcript of this -- haven't had the chance to hear it on the radio today -- and I must say I'm profoundly disappointed. You weren't interested in talking to us for…