California state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) today announced the introduction of legislation to tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcoholic beverages. The bill, the first of its kind ever introduced in California, would create a regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine, and liquor, permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession by those under 21.        Estimates based on federal government statistics have shown marijuana to…

One of the arguments regularly raised against medical marijuana is that THC is available in pill form, so -- according to the Drug Enforcement Administration and other opponents -- patients don't need that nasty weed, which has all sorts of other stuff in it. The problem with that argument is that some of that "other stuff" is really useful, not to mention remarkably safe.  For example, an article recently published onlineby the journal Phytotherapy Research reviews the many beneficial effects of…

Many people are at least vaguely aware that government-sanctioned medical marijuana programs exist in Canada and the Netherlands. But few Americans are aware that another of America's strongest allies, Israel, also has a national medical marijuana program. And, according to a translation posted by MAPS of a recent article in the Israeli newspaper Maariv, that program is growing. Three hundred patients are now enrolled, representing a 1,400% increase in new permissions to use medical marijuana in…

Two weeks and eight arrests after a photo of Michael Phelps smoking from a bong made headlines, Richland County, S.C., Sheriff Leon Lott has called off the criminal investigation of the Olympic champion. Unlike Phelps, who has expressed regret for the entire incident, Lott was unrepentant about wasting the county's time and resources on a case that at most would have led to charges of possession of a pinch of marijuana. He also didn't apologize for the armed raids and arrests of eight college kids…

One point upon which MPP agrees with federal officials is that kids shouldn’t use marijuana recreationally. But we’ve criticized exaggerated ad campaigns from the drug czar’s office on the grounds that lying to kids is likely to backfire. A study published recently by the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors suggests we’re right.   Based on a two-year survey of adolescents, researchers looked at how changes in teens’ expectations regarding the effects of using marijuana (i.e., that it would…

My colleague John Berry made this 30-second video about Michael Phelps and the hypocrisy surrounding the reaction to the photo of him smoking something out of a bong. I think he pretty much nails it.

A commission led by three former Latin American heads of state blasted the U.S.-led drug war as an utter failure in a report released Wednesday. The report, by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, called for the U.S. to re-examine its punitive, enforcement-based drug policies and consider decriminalizing the use of marijuana. What’s really startling about this report is not its findings – we’ve long known the war on drugs was a failure – but rather our government’s response.  As…

No one cares that Barack Obama used marijuana, why should Michael Phelps be treated differently?

Newsclip from KSTP-TV on the Minnestoa Medical Marijuana Hearing before the Senate Committee of Health, Housing and Family Security.

One of the purposes of this blog is to highlight the insanity of our war on marijuana users. So I have to admit I'm a little resentful that in such a short time Sheriff Leon Lott has done such an effective job illustrating that point in his hot pursuit of Michael Phelps. The Richland County, S.C., sheriff had announced earlier he would investigate and – god willing – arrest the Olympic champion after he was photographed smoking from a bong at a college party. As if he hadn't already done enough…