Jacob Sullum at Reason.com published an interesting piece today on medical marijuana and federalism.  Sullum points out the irony in conservative presidential candidate John McCain’s opposition to state medical marijuana laws and his liberal opponent, Senator Barack Obama’s, acceptance of them.

Waving the flag of federalism as a political tool – rather than a firm ideological standpoint – is nothing new and is not limited to medical marijuana, but it is still surprising to see such a dramatic role reversal.

Check out the complete article at Reason.com.

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Last Friday, MPP's Dan Bernath appeared in this CNN Headline News Showbiz Tonight segment on marijuana in the media.

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A comment posted to a BBC blog by the former director of Britain's anti-drug unit (scroll down, it's comment #73) criticizing the drug war as pointless and harmful has gotten some attention lately across the pond. In it, Julian Critchley dismisses the tough-on-drug policies he once promoted as "wishing drug use away," saying many of his colleagues privately agreed.

Perhaps he should consult his counterparts in the White House drug czar's office; they could assure him he just wasn't wishing hard enough.

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Join host Noah Brozinsky as he explores shocking and gruesome tales of death by marijuana overdose!

After you check out the video, be sure to leave a comment and tell us what you like!  And hey, go ahead and tell us what you don't like, too.  We're always trying to improve our online video efforts and your feedback is really valuable in helping us do that.

Enjoy!

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Join host Noah Brozinsky as he explores shocking and gruesome tales of death by marijuana overdose!

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I think drug czar John Walters has really lost it this time. Here he is, comically grim faced, chiding Hollywood for playing marijuana for laughs. Apparently, the nation's top drug policy expert believes adults not only can't be trusted to use marijuana responsibly, they also can't be trusted to view material that depicts marijuana users as anything but the deranged hedonists who so clearly haunt his nightmares.

By the way, I'll be on CNN's "Showbiz Tonight" at 11 p.m. Eastern this evening talking about how popular culture's take on marijuana has evolved. Just don't expect me to be as funny as Mr. Walters.

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Drug czar John Walters is back in California this week, flying around the Central Valley in a Blackhawk helicopter surveying the progress of the latest marijuana "eradication" adventure.Bruce Mirken has already written about these gaudy publicity stunts, but since Walters and his ilk like to play soldier so much, let's see how their war on marijuana users is going elsewhere today ...

Federal prosecutors won their case against Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary owner Charles Lynch. Having successfully argued that evidence establishing him as a responsible, law-abiding business owner was irrelevant under federal law and therefore inadmissible, painting him to a jury as a common drug dealer was a piece of cake.

At the very same time in San Diego, however, feds conveniently applied the exact opposite logic to justify raids on four dispensaries, citing evidence that the establishments weren't complying with state medical marijuana laws – the same laws that were irrelevant to Lynch's defense.

Meanwhile, it looks like cops in Tallahassee lied to a grand jury investigating local law enforcement's role in the death of Rachel Hoffman, a recent college graduate murdered in a sting operation after being pressured into acting as an informant. Not content to accept responsibility for the death of a young girl who by all accounts sold just enough marijuana to pay for her personal use, cops tried to smear her as a major drug kingpin making nearly $2 million a year. Considering that she was busted with 5 ounces of marijuana and that her dad still paid the rent on her apartment, nobody's buying it.

Finally, after local police insisted that a raid on a Prince George's County mayor that resulted in the death of the man's two black Labs was executed by the book, it now appears not only that the man is probably completely innocent, but that cops had lied when they said they had a warrant authorizing the no-knock raid.

From his perch in a combat helicopter high over the Sequoia National Forest, it's easy for Mr. Walters to portray this war on marijuana as a success. But from the ground, it's an unconscionable mess.

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In case you've missed it, MPP-TV has been busy over the last couple of weeks producing a slew of new videos.  We've got Rep. Barney Frank and Rob Kampia discussing H.R. 5843, the “Personal Use of Marijuana By Responsible Adults Act,"  a couple of videos featuring an exclusive interview with Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, and a video of our chat with travel guru Rick Steves and his thoughts on marijuana prohibition.  Check them out, let us know what you think, and send us your ideas for the kinds of videos you'd like to see!

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CNN just picked up on federal prosecutors' attempts to hamstring the defense of San Luis Obispo medical marijuana dispensary owner Charles Lynch, which went to a jury yesterday. As we've mentioned before, not only is Lynch forbidden from testifying that he operated within state medical marijuana laws with local officials' blessing, prosecutors even tried to bar "sick looking" witnesses from testifying on his behalf.

Makes sense: It's much more difficult to convict an innocent man if the jury has evidence establishing his innocence, right?

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A little while back, we held our third annual Party at the Playboy Mansion. During the party, a film crew produced a short documentary, which we're proud to present. See what celebrities think about marijuana policy reform, MPP, and our mission.

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