Pete Holmes, the newly elected Seattle city attorney, is already making good on his campaign promise to dismiss any marijuana possession charges that come through his office, the Seattle Times reported last week. Holmes dismissed two marijuana-related cases on his first day on the job, and several others are about to be dismissed, including cases taken up by the previous city attorney. According to the Times, Holmes’ predecessor, Tom Carr, had continued to prosecute low-level marijuana arrests even…

A new poll released by Survey USA found that 54% of Washington voters support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, and selling the natural plant in state-run liquor stores. When asked broadly if voters “think legalizing marijuana is a good idea,” support was even higher at 56%. Last month two Washington state legislators submitted a bill to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. A few days later Seattle Mayor-elect Mike McGinn came out publicly in support of ending marijuana prohibition…

Back in October, the British government fired its chief drug adviser, Prof. David Nutt, for saying that marijuana is less dangerous than many legal drugs and that British laws should be changed to reflect this reality. Many other members of the United Kingdom’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs resigned in protest Then this week, Les Iversen, a former pharmacology professor at the University of Oxford, was announced as Nutt’s interim replacement as the council’s chairman. And guess what? He’s…

MPP California Policy Director Aaron Smith is seen here on CBS Sacramento talking about the passage of AB390 through the California Assembly's Public Safety Committee. This event marks the first time any legislative body has approved a bill to remove all penalties for adult use of marijuana, and to tax and regulate it like alcohol. 01/12/2010

MPP Arizona spokesperson Andrew Myers discusses the initiative to put a medical marijuana bill on the ballot in 2010 with KSAZ Fox 10. This bill would allow medical marijuana patients to purchase medicine in state-licensed dispensaries. 01/14/2010

Yesterday, the California Assembly's Public Safety Committee voted 4-3 in favor of legislation that would make marijuana legal, taxed, and regulated throughout the state. Before the vote, committee members heard supportive testimony from me and the Drug Policy Alliance's Stephen Gutwillig. Not surprisingly, A.B. 390's opponents were mostly entrenched law enforcement officials who make their living waging war on marijuana consumers. A.B. 390 isn't likely to make it further this year due to a legislative…

Yesterday, the New Jersey state legislature passed a bill allowing seriously ill patients with certain qualifying conditions to use medical marijuana with their doctor’s recommendation. Gov. Jon Corzine has said he will sign the bill into law before he leaves office Jan. 19, at which point New Jersey will become the 14th state in the nation to stop treating sick and dying patients as criminals, simply because they try to relieve their conditions through marijuana. This vote is the latest victory…

Tomorrow, I’ll be testifying before the California Assembly’s Committee on Public Safety during a hearing on A.B. 390 – legislation that would remove criminal penalties for personal adult marijuana use and tax and regulate its sales comparably to alcohol. After hearing testimony, the committee is very likely to vote on this landmark bill, which has been introduced by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), the committee's chair. Regardless of the outcome, tomorrow’s hearing will mark a historic…

MPP Director of Communications Kurt A. Gardinier appears on Press TV to discuss changing attitudes in the general public regarding marijuana and the rising support for reform of marijuana laws. Apologies for the poor video quality. 01/03/2010

Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws chairman Dave Schwartz discusses the petition to put a measure that taxes and regulates marijuana like alcohol on the Nevada ballot in 2012. This initiative would allow persons 21 and over to possess and transport up to an ounce of marijuana, and would allow for commercial sales at licensed outlets. 01/06/2010