Former Disney pop star Miley Cyrus recently offered her two cents on alcohol and marijuana use. In her June 18 interview with Rolling Stone, the 20-year-old singer said, “I think alcohol is way more dangerous than marijuana. People can be mad at me for saying that, but I don’t care. I’ve seen a lot of people spiral down with alcohol, but I’ve never seen that happen with weed. As long as it isn’t illegal, there are far more dangerous things.”

Cyrus also stated that “it’s legal in the state of California.” While Miley is right that marijuana is safer than alcohol, she is mistaken about the Sunshine State’s cannabis laws. Recreational use is still prohibited, and possession of an ounce or more can lead to arrest.

Yesterday morning, after meeting with Gov. Hassan’s policy advisors, a special committee of seven representatives and senators agreed on the final language of HB 573 that will move medical marijuana forward to Gov. Hassan’s desk.

Then, Gov. Hassan issued a formal statement indicating that she intends to sign the bill after it is approved one last time by the House and Senate. She said the compromise “addresses the concerns that I have heard and expressed throughout this session, and provides the level of regulation needed for the use of medical marijuana…. I encourage the full legislature to pass this compromise so I can sign this legislation into law."

Sadly, Gov. Hassan was not willing to agree to any significant changes, so only minor improvements were made by the committee. Home cultivation will remain a felony under all circumstances, and patients will have no legal protections until ID cards are issued (which could take up to 19 months).

Despite these imperfections, we are very pleased that New Hampshire will finally be moving forward with implementation of a medical marijuana law.

Following the approval of a ballot initiative application on Friday, it seems that Alaska may be the next state to legalize marijuana for adults.

[caption id="attachment_6604" align="alignright" width="160"] Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell[/caption]

On June 14, Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell certified a ballot initiative application that would put the question of whether to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol up to state voters. In order to appear on next year’s ballot, the initiative must receive 30,169 signatures from qualified voters.

The proposal would create state-regulated marijuana stores, cultivation facilities, and the option for Alaska’s legislature to create a Marijuana Control Board tasked with overseeing the industry. It would also allow adults to grow up to six marijuana plants.

Petition sponsor Tim Hinterberger stated that advocates hope to finish collecting signatures by January in order to get the petition on the primary ballot.

If the proposal passes, it would help to clear up Alaskans’ confusion over some of the nation’s most contradictory marijuana laws. In 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that possession of less than four ounces in the home was protected from criminal sanctions by the state constitution’s right to privacy. However, in 2006, the legislature passed a bill criminalizing the possession of even small amounts of marijuana. Meanwhile, the state is one of 18 that allows patients to access medical marijuana.

Mason Tvert, a spokesman for MPP, is quoted in the Huffington Post as saying that this proposal is not a “blanket protection for marijuana possession… In order to have a system where individuals can go to the store, buy an ounce of marijuana, drive home, and enjoy it at home, it is necessary to make up to an ounce of marijuana entirely legal.”

For Father’s Day, the Marijuana Policy Project created a video called “Dear Dad” in which a young man talks to his father about his preferences after a long day’s work. He explains how they're a lot alike -- they both work hard and have good jobs -- but at the end of a long day, he prefers to use marijuana instead of having a drink.

It is these types of conversations that are going to build the support needed to end marijuana prohibition. This video is an opportunity to show your dad, granddad, or any loved one that enjoying marijuana can be a relaxing activity much like having a glass of alcohol. It is a way to bridge the gap between generations and their understanding of marijuana and its objectively safer effects.

You can also find MPP’s "Dear Mom" video that addresses the same issue between a daughter and her mother. Send these videos to those you love to let them know you’re ready to talk about the choices you want to make.

Medical marijuana patients in Nevada will finally have legal access to their medicine.

[caption id="attachment_6590" align="alignright" width="240"] Gov. Brian Sandoval[/caption]

On Wednesday, 13 years after Nevada voters approved the medical use of marijuana, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed SB 374 into law. The bill establishes the regulatory framework for medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, thereby putting an end to patients’ decade-long struggle to obtain their medicine safely. The bill will also allow patients to continue growing their own plants (and increases the number they may possess) until 2016.

The law allows the state to license up to 66 dispensaries throughout the state, distributed according to population density.

Additionally, the state will impose medical marijuana-specific taxes, of which 75% will fund education and 25% will be spent on implementing and enforcing the regulations.

The governor’s approval of the bill was sparked by Judge Donald Mosley’s critique last year of the state’s medical marijuana law. Mosley declared the existing law “unconstitutional” for failing to provide patients with the legal means to obtain their medicine.

Nevada is now the 14^th state to allow medical marijuana dispensaries.

A federal judge struck down a provision of Colorado’s legalization law on Tuesday, which would have required marijuana-themed magazines to be treated like pornography and sold behind the counter.

Magazine publishers and local bookstores filed a lawsuit against the state in early June, arguing that such restrictions were not in place while marijuana use was illegal.

The ruling follows last week’s statement by anti-marijuana Attorney General John Suthers that the provision is unconstitutional.

The Colorado Department of Revenue, which is in the process of setting up the law’s regulatory framework, announced that it will not enforce the provision.

Mason Tvert, MPP's communications director and a campaigner for Colorado’s 2012 referendum, said, “The idea that stores can prominently display magazines touting the joys of drinking wine and smoking cigars, yet banish those that discuss a far safer substance to behind the counter, is absolutely absurd. It is time for our elected leaders to get over their reefer madness."

In the latest issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience, leading scientists argue that the UN conventions on drugs in the 1960s and 1970s, which outlawed drugs with psychoactive substances such as marijuana, is hindering research into potentially significant medicinal uses, estimating that research in key areas such as consciousness has been set back by decades.

Report authors Professor David Nutt and Professor David Nichols contend that the illegal status of psychoactive drugs makes it almost impossible to examine their mechanisms of action and potential therapeutic uses.

[caption id="attachment_6582" align="alignright" width="172"] Prof. David Nutt[/caption]

Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, stated that the ban is “motivated by politics, not science” and characterized it as "the worst case of scientific censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus and Galileo.”

Nutt and Nichols, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill, have called for a more rational approach to drug regulation that would empower researchers to make advancements in the field of neuroscience and uncover new treatments in areas such as depression and PTSD.

The call for reform has been endorsed by the British Neuroscience Association and the British Association for Psychopharmacology.

A recent poll found that a majority of New Jersey voters believe people who are caught with small amounts of marijuana should pay a fine, but not go to prison.

Commissioned by the Drug Policy Alliance, the poll of 604 registered voters determined that 61 percent support the elimination of criminal penalties for minor possession (under two ounces).

The poll also found that 82 percent of voters either favor, or are neutral to, politicians who advocate for reducing criminal penalties for possession.

Rosanne Scotti, the New Jersey State director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said, "More than 22,000 individuals were arrested for marijuana possession in New Jersey in 2010 at a cost of more than $125 million dollars. New Jerseyans understand that current penalties for marijuana are unfair and wasteful.”

Despite this wave of public support, NJ Gov. Chris Christie has stated that he will veto any decriminalization bill.

MPP is happy to announce that Troy Dayton will be joining our board of directors later this month! He will serve a three-year term, during which time he will help guide the overall direction of the organization. Troy will be replacing Richard Miller, Ph.D., who has served since 2010 and done an outstanding job.

Troy Dayton was one of MPP's first volunteers when MPP was founded in 1995. Since then, he has raised over $1 million to support MPP's work -- which is the second-largest sum of money that anyone has raised for MPP.

He also co-founded Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the National Cannabis Industry Association. And Troy made national headlines when he organized religious leaders to endorse MPP's ballot initiative to end marijuana prohibition in Nevada.

Troy is currently the CEO of The ArcView Group, which was the focus of a recent cover story in "Fortune" magazine. He is quoted often in major media outlets on the topic of marijuana legalization.

The final results showed that Troy secured over 75% of the popular vote from MPP’s members, with Michael Kirshner (16.8%) and Jason Fien (7.1%) placing second and third in the voting.

A proposal to let Maine voters decide if marijuana should be regulated like alcohol received near majority support Friday in a vote of the Maine House of Representatives.

[caption id="attachment_6565" align="alignright" width="219"] Rep. Diane Russell[/caption]

The proposed amendment to LD 1229, a bill introduced by Rep. Diane Russell (D-Portland) with a bipartisan group of 35 co-sponsors, was defeated 71-67. It would have placed a measure on the ballot calling on the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages, and Lottery Operations to develop rules and legislation for a legal marijuana market for adults 21 years of age or older. The proposal will now be considered in the Senate where it must receive a simple majority to be sent back to the House for reconsideration. A two-thirds majority will then be required to refer the measure to the ballot.

This is some of the highest level of support seen for such a bill in a state legislature. Recently, the Colorado legislature approved bills to establish regulations for the legal marijuana market. HB 1318 received votes of 37-27 in the House and 25-10 in the Senate. HB 1317 got 35-29 votes in the House and 32-3 in the Senate, and SB 283 was 62-3 in the House and 32-2 in the Senate.

As more and more states consider reforming their marijuana laws, we can hopefully expect the level of support to rise as more of their constituents come to see the failure of marijuana prohibition.