Sensible Washington, a group gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that would end marijuana prohibition in Washington state, reported last week that members of West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team (WestNet), a federally-funded drug task force, seized about 200 signatures during a raid on a medical marijuana club. From Sensible Washington’s site: “We have made repeated calls to WestNet’s office, but have yet to receive any assurance that the task force’s personnel have secured the signed petitions…

In the aftermath of the recently release video showing a family terrorized and their pets shot by a SWAT team in Columbia, Missouri, that city's police chief is now saying he supports efforts to change marijuana laws so officers will no longer need to spend time and resources enforcing them. During a press conference yesterday, Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton went out of his way to state his support for ending marijuana prohibition. "I applaud your efforts," he told a reporter who asked about campaigns…

While states across the country are discussing positive reform of marijuana laws, there have recently been some bizarre exceptions, as other states have renewed attacks against one of the most recognizable icons of marijuana use: the water bong. Yesterday, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed a bill that would close a loophole in state law that makes it possible to prosecute people for the contents of their bong water. Under the bill, which passed the Minnesota legislature in a nearly unanimous…

The absurdity of marijuana prohibition in the United States is on full display today in The New York Times. On the one hand, we have the national “newspaper of record” publishing a long, mouth-watering and entirely non-critical article about “haute stoner cuisine” in the restaurant industry. On the other hand, we have an article on their Web site reporting that a professional basketball player for the NBA’s New York Knicks was arrested last night for marijuana possession. Beneath a headline, “Marijuana…

For people who still don’t believe that medical marijuana is a mainstream issue supported by a majority of Americans, last night’s GOP Senate  primary in Kentucky provided just one more example. Newcomer Rand Paul, son of Republican congressman Ron Paul, defeated establishment candidate Trey Grayson, in part, because of his support for medical marijuana laws. Here’s how the L.A. Times described it: “Grayson and his allies sought to portray Paul, a Bowling Green eye doctor, as something of a kook.…

Rep. Mark Souder (R-Indiana), perhaps the most fanatic opponent of sensible marijuana laws in the U.S. Congress, announced that he is resigning this morning amid revelations that he had an affair with a 45-year-old staffer. Souder, who was preparing to run for his ninth term in office, has spent the last 16 years fighting for cruel and unscientific drug policies, many of which have caused irreparable harm to his country and his constituents. Among the lowlights: In defiance of mountains of evidence…

A group of local leaders in Santa Barbara seems to have been stricken by a particularly nasty form of Reefer Madness.  Last week, the “Don’t Cannabis Our Kids” campaign (huh?) held a press conference to tell the world about a very disturbing “public health threat” to the local children.  I had the (apparently) silly notion that they were going to raise awareness about the relative dangers of marijuana versus alcohol, given that alcohol abuse kills more than 70,000 people a year and marijuana kills…

A new Rasmussen telephone poll released over the weekend shows that 49% of Colorado voters support taxing and regulating marijuana, while 13% are still undecided. The findings come just days before Colorado’s governor is expected to sign a bill that would regulate the state’s booming medical marijuana industry. Some local patients groups protested the proposed regulations last week, since roughly half of the state’s estimated 1,100 dispensaries are not expected to be able to comply with the changes.…

Drug czar Gil Kerlikowske has stated on many occasions that his vocabulary does not include the word “legalization.” Now today, we learn that our nation’s top drug warrior doesn’t know the meaning of the word “prohibition” either. Sadly, I’m not making this up. In an online video interview today with the Washington Post, Kerlikowske says the Obama administration is “very much opposed” to taxing and regulating marijuana because—get this—he says the taxes paid on alcohol do not make up for the “criminal…

Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws spokesperson Dave Schwartz is interviewed regarding the effort to put an initiative on the 2012 ballot to tax and regulate marijuana in the state of Nevada. 05/11/2010