The New Jersey man who was sentenced to five years in prison last month for growing marijuana plants to treat his multiple sclerosis will now remain jailed while he appeals his conviction. John Wilson has maintained that he grew marijuana for personal use only to treat his illness. Throughout most of his trial, a judge prevented Wilson from mentioning his condition, even after New Jersey became the 14th state in the nation to pass a medical marijuana law. On Friday, that same judge—State Superior…

The campaign to end marijuana prohibition received a noteworthy endorsement last week, when the head of the second-largest teachers union in the country said that she supports this year’s ballot initiative in California to regulate marijuana. Randi Weingarten, president of the 856,000-member American Federation of Teachers, told HBO’s “Real Time” host, Bill Maher, that “everything in moderation is pretty much fine.” “When something becomes a forbidden fruit,” the 52-year-old told Maher, “you have…

For those of you who missed it last night, or haven’t seen it yet on MPP TV or MPP’s YouTube channel, here’s the clip of MPP director of campaigns Steve Fox that aired on Fox News last night. Enjoy!

Legislative analyst Dan Riffle joins Insider host Mike Meno to discuss medical marijuana legislation in D.C., Maryland, and New York. Also, get updates on Wal-Mart, California's TaxCannibas 2010 initiative, and news on the Veteran's Administration refusal to allow medical marijuana treatments.

MPP director of state campaigns Steve Fox appears on the O'Reilly Factor with host Laura Ingraham to discuss the benefits of taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol. This came just after Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws offered Sarah Palin $25000 to speak at a pro-marijuana reform event and admit that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol. Palin spoke at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers convention on Tuesday. 04/08/10

MPP spokesperson Sarah Lovering appears on KTLA to explain the benefits of a taxed and regulated marijuana market proposed by the Tax Cannabis 2010 initiative in California. 03/24/2010

MPP director of state campaigns Steve Fox will be interviewed on Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor” tonight about the recent offer that an MPP-backed Nevada group made to former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Following Palin’s speech in Las Vegas this week to the national convention of Wine & Spirits Wholesalers, Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws offered the possible 2012 G.O.P. presidential contender $25,000 to make a similar speech to supporters of a regulated marijuana market. “Such a speech would…

Encouraging news from the City of Brotherly Love today: Philadelphia’s new district attorney and members of the state Supreme Court are taking steps to remove criminal penalties for people arrested with up to 30 grams (or a little more than an ounce) of marijuana. Under the new approach, those caught with marijuana would face a possible fine, but receive no criminal conviction. “The goal,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “is to sweep about 3,000 small-time marijuana cases annually out of…

Prohibitionists continue to shout whatever they can to frighten voters. As more and more U.S. citizens realize that current marijuana laws do more harm than good, the misinformation is going to get stranger and stranger. Just watch. One classic cry is that marijuana might cause cancer. Recent work out of Brown University actually reveals quite the opposite. Researchers gathered hundreds of people from Massachusetts who had head or neck cancers and compared them to similar people from the same neighborhoods…

Today, on more than 80 college campuses across the country, students organized by MPP-grantee Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) are calling for changes in campus policies that steer students toward the use of alcohol instead of marijuana. Although the national day of action was timed to coincide with the first day of Alcohol Awareness Month, the organizers played off the April Fool’s Day theme by emphasizing that the health and safety of students is not a joke. [Disclosure: I am…