MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia responds to off-topic criticisms by drug warrior Joyce Nalepka at a press conference announcing the release of a study called" False Positives Equal False Justice", which shows the inadequacy of many substance tests commonly used by police as evidence in drug prosecutions. 03/03/2009

On March 17, 1999, the Institute of Medicine -- in a report commissioned by the White House -- declared, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain, and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting and all can be mitigated by marijuana." The report acknowledged the drawbacks of smoking and urged creation of a "rapid-onset, nonsmoked cannabinoid delivery system," but added, "In the meantime, there are patients with debilitating symptoms for whom smoked marijuana might provide relief." Studies published since 1999 have…

MPP Director of Communications Bruce Mirken discusses marijuana policy and the new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, with Rachel Maddow.

Suddenly the folks in TV newsland are very interested in marijuana policy. Lots and lots of stuff coming up, starting tonight: I'm scheduled to be interviewed on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" tonight, at around 9:45 p.m. Eastern/6:45 Pacific, discussing the newly appointed drug czar. Then, on Friday, ABC's John Stossel looks at medical marijuana and the appalling prosecution of Charles Lynch. Lynch's case will also be discussed in an Al Roker special for MSNBC, which also includes an interview…

One of our members wrote us to report that the March 9 episode of the daytime television show "The Doctors," focusing on illegal drugs, contained a glaring bit of misinformation about marijuana. Here's how our member described it: At one point, one of the doctors made the statement loud and clear,"To all parents of young boys, make sure you let your boys know that...if they use marijuana they WILL grow boobs!" Then they moved on to another subject. While we haven't been able to verify a transcript,…

It's nice to see Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck has sobered up on marijuana policy reform a bit since his Feb. 25 interview with MPP's Rob Kampia, in which he seemed to have a case of the giggles. Here's Beck with former deputy foreign minister of Mexico Andres Rozental March 3 discussing how ending marijuana prohibition might be the only way to curb the devastating violence in Mexico over the illegal marijuana trade.

After MPP passed the medical marijuana ballot initiative in Michigan and the marijuana decriminalization ballot initiative in Massachusetts -- both on November 4 -- I thought the MPP staff might get a little downtime to regroup for the 2009-2010 election cycle. Not so. In the last four months, the MPP staff and our allies have been working almost nonstop to respond to -- and take advantage of -- the many opportunities that have been presenting themselves across the country. I've never seen so much…

Has the dam finally broken on medical marijuana? It sure seems like efforts to protect medical marijuana patients are on the march across the U.S. In Illinois, where medical marijuana legislation has failed to pass for several years running, this year's bill just got out of committee in the state House of Representatives for the first time ever. Medical marijuana bills are also steadily advancing in Minnesota and New Jersey. Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, which has had a medical marijuana law since…

Marijuana Policy Project's Aaron Houston, Director of Government Relations, is interviewed on Russia Today about the benefits of taxing and regulating marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol.

  On Sunday night, CBS's "60 Minutes" did a grimly fascinating piece on the escalating drug war in Mexico. Reported by Anderson Cooper (whose day job, of course, is at CNN), the piece was as notable for what it didn't cover as what it did. Like most recent media coverage of the growing carnage along our southern border, the "60 Minutes" story carefully tiptoed around the proverbial elephant in the room. That elephant, of course, is prohibition. Here is a piece of what I wrote in a letter to Cooper…