On Wednesday, January 19, Idaho State Representative Tom Trail introduced legislation that would protect seriously ill residents in his state from arrest and prosecution for using marijuana with their doctors’ recommendations. Rep. Trail, a Republican from Moscow, Idaho, recognized the compassionate need for a distinction between medical and non-medical use of marijuana and acted on it. If passed, Idaho would become the 16th state, along with the District of Columbia, to distinguish between medical…

UPDATED: Shocking. That's the only word that comes to mind when seeing the video of Todd Blair, 45, gunned down by armed police storming his home on a no-knock raid in Utah last September. Blair, no doubt surprised by the sound of yelling and having his door kicked in, emerges from an interior doorway holding a golf club over his head. Before Blair can react, Sgt. Troy Burnett shoots him three times and Blair slumps to the floor dead. No "drop the weapon," no "get down on the ground," just bang!,…

Two cases involving medical marijuana patients have reached the supreme courts of their respective states, and their results could have far-reaching implications for medical marijuana in the future. In Washington, the state Supreme Court announced it will hear the appeal of a woman who was fired from her job at a telephone call center for testing positive for marijuana on a workplace drug test, despite being a registered medical marijuana patient. While the medical marijuana law in Washington does…

This article by Rob Kampia was recently in Huffington Post: A few years ago, when the Marijuana Policy Project was lobbying the Minnesota legislature to pass a modest medical marijuana bill, the state prosecutors association led the opposition. Rank-and-file police from the Twin Cities left their beats to fill up committee hearing rooms -- in uniform, with handguns strapped to their waists -- in an attempt to intimidate the state legislators on the committees. And law enforcement lied, lied,…

New Mexico health officials have once again decided to expand the state's medical marijuana program. From the Associated Press: [I]n another change that was welcomed by advocacy groups, Health Secretary Dr. Alfredo Vigil agreed to license eight new growers, boosting the state total to 25 in a push to increase plant production and serve more patients. Since the program started in 2007, the state has faced problems ensuring a steady supply. Vigil also agreed to allow growers to produce 150 mature plants…

Supporters of a medical marijuana law in Illinois, headed by MPP, have announced the release of radio ads calling on Illinois residents to urge their state representatives to support Senate bill 1381, which would allow doctors to recommend marijuana, also known as cannabis, to qualified patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating illnesses. The ad – which will be broadcast in the Chicago, Peoria, Quad Cities, and Rockford media markets – features Chicago resident…

This Sunday, at 9 p.m. Eastern, (8 p.m. Central, 7 p.m. Mountain, 6 p.m. Pacific, and 4 p.m. Hawaii) Free Speech TV (FSTV) will be premiering the hour-long version of Jed Riffe’s Waiting to Inhale! FSTV is available on DirecTV channel 348 and DISH Network channel 9415. If you subscribe to either of these providers, please check local listings for details. Waiting to Inhale, a critically acclaimed documentary, examines the debate over marijuana and its use as medicine in the United States. Throughout…

After his recent marijuana arrest, legendary musician Willie Nelson said it was time for an increased political focus on changing our nation's failed marijuana laws. "Tax it, regulate it and legalize it," he said, "and stop the border wars over drugs. Why should the drug lords make all the money? Thousands of lives will be saved." With that in mind, MPP has teamed up with the folks at Change.org to ask Willie to help the cause in a way that only he can: [I]f Nelson wants to help end pot prohibition,…