Join the Marijuana Policy Project on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 for its 4th Annual Party at the Playboy Mansion! For more details, please visit https://www.mpp.org/pb2009/

In yet another sign that the debate on fundamentally shifting our marijuana policy has reached critical mass, a remarkable exchange occurred on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday. In a discussion of violent Mexican drug gangs with Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., host Bob Schieffer asked, "What if marijuana were legalized? Would that change this situation?" Rather than giving the standard official response that any such discussion was absurd, Ambassador Sarukhan seemed to be walking…

The question of why some kids start using alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs at a young age remains a source of controversy. How much of a role do genes play? The environment -- peers, parents, educational efforts? What about the "gateway theory," the idea that one drug -- marijuana is the most likely to be blamed -- leads to use of others? A new study of twins recently published online by the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence suggests that genes may play a large role, but to some…

Okay, I'm a bit behind on my reading, but this is worth mentioning even though it's a little late. In its December issue, the American Journal of Public Health published the final, officially sanctioned evaluation of the anti-marijuana ads that former drug czar John Walters bombarded us with during the first half of the Bush administration (the evaluation period ends in June 2004). The bottom line: "[T]he campaign is unlikely to have had favorable effects on youths and may have had delayed unfavorable…

MPP-TV just released this excellent video highlighting the need to tax and regulate marijuana. This piece is especially relevant now that California is considering groundbreaking reform legislation that has triggered a national discussion about the wisdom of marijuana prohibition.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to meet Glenn Greenwald, the best-selling author and Salon contributor who was presenting his report – funded by the Cato Institute – on Portugal's experience decriminalizing personal possession of drugs over the past eight years. Few, even in the drug policy world, have paid much attention to Portugal's remarkable but sensible 2001 decision to remove drug use and possession from the criminal realm and address it solely as a public health issue. The details of Portugal's…

A look at some of the reasons why the United States should consider taxing and regulating marijuana for responsible adult use.

Hear from Illinois medical marijuana patients on why you should support SB 1381 & HB 2514.

Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) introduced the National Criminal Justice Act of 2009 last week, an exciting piece of legislation that will create a commission to study, among other things, America’s war on drugs. The commission will look broadly at criminal justice reforms, with an emphasis on reducing America's rising prison population (now the largest in the world per capita). Centered in that debate is the hard truth about America’s punitive drug laws. One-third of U.S. inmates are drug offenders, and…

MPP Director of Government Relations Aaron Houston breaks down his testimony to Congress on April 2, 2009.