At a press conference at the National Press Club on Friday, representatives of Institute of the Black World, as well as Rev. Jesse Jackson, Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance, and others met to look at the impact that our nation’s failed war on drugs has had on minorities. One of the ideas mentioned most frequently to eliminate some of the negative effects of the drug war was to remove criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. While this is not a very radical statement,…

In yet another illustration of how the marijuana debate has gone completely mainstream, the freshly-crowned winner of the Miss USA pageant, Alyssa Campanella, stated that she supported the use of marijuana for medical purposes. As the California representative at the pageant, the judges thought it appropriate to ask the young lady about her opinions on marijuana. She had this to say: "Well, I understand why that question would be asked, especially with today's economy, but I also understand that…

The failure of marijuana prohibition and its inherent hypocrisy are certainly becoming clearer than ever these days, and the discussion is starting to include some pretty big names. The report released by the Global Commission on Drug Policy two weeks ago is evidence of that, and the discussion is spreading to others. The last three U.S. presidents have admitted to using marijuana, and it did not stop them from going on to lead successful lives. This is largely attributable to the fact that they…

DealFlow Media is hosting The Marijuana Conference in San Francisco on June 16 and 17. This is the only non-biased event covering the business, legal, and health issues surrounding the growing debate over marijuana in the United States. MPP’s own Rob Kampia will be speaking on the opening panel discussing efforts to make marijuana legal in 2012. For more information on the conference or to register, please visit: http://www.mjbusinessreport.com/conferences/mj_conference_11.cfm The agenda for this…

One of America’s most well-liked entertainers just publicly admitted that he uses marijuana. That’s right, Justin Timberlake, boy band ingénue, actor, and all around nice guy, told Playboy that he uses marijuana to, well, relax. How refreshing to see someone dealing with the pressures of fame by using something safer than alcohol, instead of jumping on the crazy train. From US Weekly: "The only thing pot does for me is it gets me to stop thinking," the Bad Teacher and Friends with Benefits star explains.…

"The scientific record demonstrates that the cost of discontinuing the pursuit of potentially life-saving medications, because such compounds could be illegally diverted and abused, would be unacceptably high."   You might expect that the quote above came from MPP or some other medical marijuana activists in response to critics who oppose medical marijuana laws. You’d be wrong. It’s actually from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the same agency that recently forced the National Cancer Institute…

In an interview Wednesday, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said that he had been tempted to use medical marijuana while undergoing treatment for cancer. He cited many of the reasons other medical marijuana patients do for wanting to use this treatment, including intense pain and being unable to keep anti-nausea medication down long enough for it to work. Unfortunately, medical marijuana is not legal in Utah, so Shurtleff was unwilling to use it, even when offered it by a friend. This experience…

Last week, the Global Commission on Drug Policy, an international organization consisting of high level current and former heads of state and policy experts, released a report suggesting world governments give up the war on drugs and consider more rational harm-reduction policies, including removing all criminal penalties for the possession and use of marijuana. The Commission, which included former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, among many others,…

The good news just keeps on coming. The Connecticut House of Representatives just passed a bill to decriminalize possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana! The Senate passed the bill over the weekend, so it now heads to the desk of Governor Dan Malloy who is sure to sign it. Malloy has been a strong supporter of decriminalization and deserves much of the credit for this bill passing. With today’s vote, the penalty for possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana will drop from a misdemeanor…

Vermont Governor Pete Shumlin – who MPP helped elect – just signed a bill to make Vermont state law the eighth to explicitly authorize and regulate dispensaries where registered patients can purchase medical marijuana. Today’s signing marks the culmination of a two-year lobbying effort led by MPP and the third bill signing we’ve been a part of just this month. Many thanks to Governor Shumlin and the bill’s sponsors, Senators Jeanette White, Hinda Miller, and Dick Sears for their leadership, and the…