The new year brought new, sensible marijuana laws to the vibrant ski town of Breckenridge, Colorado.  In November, citizens voted by nearly a 3 to 1 margin to remove criminal and civil penalties for adults over 21 carrying up to an ounce of marijuana and smoking paraphernalia. The law takes effect today, January 1, 2010. "There is no sense in criminalizing a substance that is far less toxic, less addictive, and less problematic than alcohol," said Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado.…

It is unfortunately quite common for members of our military to return from the battlefield suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “Charlie,” who asked the news service AlterNet not to use his real name in a recent interview, is one of them. On top of a 100 percent disability rating with PTSD, Charlie returned home from Afghanistan with a traumatic brain injury, a back injury, and gastrointestinal problems. Veterans Affairs did everything it could to treat him and to ease his pain,…

The romantic comedy “It’s Complicated,” which stars Steve Martin, Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin, was recently given an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).  The rating was not due to explicit language, graphic violence, sex or nudity (many acts often seen in PG-13 movies), but because of a scene in which Martin's and Streep’s characters smoke marijuana, something over 100 million Americans have done, and nearly 15 million do at least monthly. The most alarming aspect of this…

Seattle Mayor-elect Mike McGinn says he supports efforts to end marijuana prohibition in Washington state. In an interview Friday Mayor-Elect McGinn said that marijuana should be regulated “like alcohol…not treated as a criminal activity.”  In 2003, city voters approved a measure making enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority for Seattle police and it now seems Seattle citizens want to go a step further.  On Mr. McGinn’s website, which asks for ideas on how to improve Seattle, “Legalize…

A few weeks ago, we asked our supporters to vote for MPP via Facebook in a holiday fundraising challenge sponsored by Chase Bank. Days before the first round of voting closed, it seemed like MPP had garnered enough votes to place in the top 100 and win $25,000, with the chance of winning $1 million. But as you can read in this New York Times article, it appears that Chase intentionally excluded MPP and several other groups (including Students for Sensible Drug Policy) from its list of winners, presumably…

John Wilson, the New Jersey man who had been charged with operating a drug manufacturing facility for the marijuana he grew to treat his multiple sclerosis, was found guilty yesterday of two lesser charges, and now faces five to 10 years in prison. Throughout most of his trial, Wilson had been prevented from mentioning his condition, any evidence of marijuana’s therapeutic value, or the fact that New Jersey may be weeks away from becoming the 14th state to pass a medical marijuana law. In a small…

The prestigious Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) published a statewide survey this month showing that 38% of likely 2010 voters in California consider legalizing marijuana a "very important" issue. Another 24% consider the issue "somewhat important." This includes voters who are passionate about ending prohibition and voters who strongly support continuing the war on marijuana. While the 38% figure is lower than other issues expected to be on next year's California ballots, it's worth…

A pair of Washington State legislators has submitted a bill to end the state’s prohibition on marijuana, similar to the one introduced by California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) back in February.  The primary sponsor of the bill, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle) says she’s happy to start the conversation about ending marijuana prohibition to get the attention of Congress. A bill more likely to pass is the decriminalization bill introduced earlier this year, which was recently endorsed…

The president signed the omnibus spending bill into law yesterday, lifting the ban on medical marijuana in Washington, D.C. It is now 100% official, and the nation's capital can begin to implement the original medical marijuana initiative from 1998.

Last week, we brought you the story of John Wilson, a 37-year-old New Jersey man who stands accused of operating a drug manufacturing facility, even though he says the marijuana he grew on his property was for personal use only to treat his multiple sclerosis. Nevertheless, Wilson is facing 20 years in prison and—most outrageously—had been prevented from mentioning his disease or anything about the effectiveness of medical marijuana to the jury, even though New Jersey might soon become the 14th state…