While I was in the green room waiting to debate Calvina Fay on Fox Business News today (we're working on getting the video posted), former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales sat down next to me to wait for his interview on the sister Fox News Channel. After exchanging some small talk, he asked me what I was going to be talking about on TV.  After telling him that MPP was the organization that ran those ads in California last week that touted how taxing marijuana could help some of the California government's…

An argument regularly raised by those who want to keep marijuana illegal is that because there is no equivalent of a breathalyzer test for marijuana intoxication, DUI laws would be impossible to enforce. The California Supreme Court just shot a very large hole in that argument. It's an odd argument anyway, given that tens of millions of Americans regularly take drugs that can impair driving -- pain relievers, antihistamines, etc. -- for which there is no simple, roadside test. For most of these drugs,…

MPP Director of Government Relations Aaron Houston appeared on the Today Show to discuss the benefits of taxed and regulated marijuana sales, the failures of prohibition, and the comparitive safety of marijuana over other drugs. 07/09/2009

MPP spokesperson Dan Bernath speaks about the failure of marijuana prohibition on Fox & Friends. This segment was produced the day after MPP released an ad in California promoting the taxation and regulation of marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. Several California TV stations refused to run the ad, drawing criticism from many sources. Also appearing on the segment is prohibitionist John Lovell of the California Peace Officers Association. 07/09/2009

Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.), one of the most powerful Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, yesterday joined the list of cosponsors for Rep. Barney Frank’s bill to remove penalties for marijuana possession. Rep. Miller is the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, a position that awards him a lot of sway on Capitol Hill. Miller joins Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Representatives Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), Ron Paul (R-Texas),…

MPP Director of Communications Bruce Mirken talks about the benefits of taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol as a way to help California's budget problems. He also criticizes the rejection of ads promoting this reform by several California TV stations in the wake of Governor Schwarzenegger's call for open debate on the subject. Debating him is Calvina Fay of the Drug Free America Foundation. 07/08/2009

Last night, voters, patients, and advocates in Washington, D.C. moved one step closer to implementing a medical marijuana law that’s been 10 years in the making. Since 1999, Congress has used its unique authority over D.C. affairs to block a local medical marijuana initiative passed by 69% of D.C. voters. The legislation responsible for blocking the will of D.C. voters is known as the Barr amendment, and it lives in the annual D.C. appropriations bill. Last week, the congressional subcommittee in…

In the shadow of California's historic budget crisis, MPP is airing a TV ad calling for an end to marijuana prohibition in the state. The 30-second spot features a marijuana consumer who - along with millions of others in in the state - wants to pay taxes to help bridge California's massive budget gap. Nadene Herndon, 58, declares that "instead of being treated like criminals for using a substance safer than alcohol, [marijuana consumers] want to pay our fair share." The ad will be running on cable…

Five months after breakfast cereal maker Kellogg's axed Michael Phelps as an endorser after a photo of him appearing to smoke out of a bong surfaced, Subway has released its first ad featuring the Olympic champion. Not only does Subway's ad demonstrate an understanding that Americans care way more about Phelps' amazing accomplishments than they do about his very ordinary controversy, but it actually articulates that sentiment: "You can always be yourself at Subway." Kellogg's apparently found it…

ProCon.org, whose goal is to "promote critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship" by presenting information on controversial issues "in a straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format," did an interesting experiment recently. They filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Food and Drug Administration seeking information on reported deaths due to marijuana and 17 FDA-approved prescription drugs. Five of those drugs were chosen because they are widely used and well known,…