MPP's Bruce Mirken will appear on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" tonight to add a little rationality to the latest pronouncement regarding rising THC levels in marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded Marijuana Potency Project. Drug warriors love to exaggerate small increases in marijuana potency over time and make vague proclamations linking those increases to increases in marijuana's potential danger, even though no credible research supports such a connection. Of course, if they…

In his first interview as White House drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske signaled a huge shift – at least rhetorically – in federal drug policy. "Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he told the Wall Street Journal. "We're not at war with people in this country." Yes, the fallacy of pursuing U.S. citizens who use illegal drugs as though they were enemy combatants was obvious the minute President Nixon made it official…

A 1999 study showed a modestly increased risk of certain types of head and neck cancer among marijuana smokers. Due to methodological limitations, the researchers warned that their "results need to be interpreted with some caution in drawing causal inferences." But warnings about this alleged risk have shown up from time to time in materials put out by prohibitionist types, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A new study, just published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers,…

Last November, I mentioned here that I'd undergone treatment for prostate cancer  -- implantation of 85 tiny, radioactive seeds designed to zap the tumor before it zaps me. I'm happy to report that, six months later, it seems to have worked, according to the latest lab tests. Though the risk of recurrence never goes away entirely, I'm as close as one can be to being an official cancer survivor. Endless thanks to all who sent kind thoughts. And since someone is bound to ask: No, I didn't ever need…

Former drug czar John Walters may be out of government, but that doesn't stop him from taking his anti-marijuana zealotry to the masses. Yesterday, he appeared on CNN to debate Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron on the merits of ending marijuana prohibition. Dr. Miron had little trouble tearing apart Walters' arguments, but one statement of Walters caught my attention. At 6:53 in the clip below, Walters begins a tirade about medical marijuana in California, saying "it has been reported in the news"…

Yesterday marked the first time in history that a nationwide poll showed majority support for taxing and regulating marijuana (at 52%).  The poll, conducted by Zogby International at the end of April, was also one of the largest sample sizes of any national polls on the subject, with almost 4,000 respondents and a margin of error of +/- 1.6%. This poll, in combination with recent trends, is further evidence that Americans are quickly realizing the value of taxing and regulating marijuana. Congress,…

In yet another sign of the growing acceptance for marijuana policy reform, MPP's Rob Kampia appeared on MSNBC and CNBC yesterday to discuss California Gov. Arnold Schwarzegger's recent statement supporting an open discussion about ending marijuana prohibition. You can see his MSNBC appearance here and the CNBC one in which he debates former drug czar official and lifelong drug warrior Kevin Sabet here. (Just to prove it's really live TV, you'll notice Rob's audio feed cuts out at one point, causing…

MPP's Rob Kampia debates the benefits of taxing and regulation marijuana like alcohol with Kevin Sabet, drug policy advisor to the Clinton and Bush administrations. This segment aired a day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called for an open discussion of marijuana reform as a means to solve California's financial problems.

Yesterday, San Francisco supervisors formally condemned the March DEA raid conducted against a local medical marijuana facility, Emmalyn's California Cannabis Clinic. In a 9-to-2 vote, the board approved a resolution authored by Supervisor David Campos that calls for the immediate cessation of such attacks on medical marijuana in California. The resolution calls on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to provide clear direction to the DEA and federal judges and prosecutors on President Obama's new…

Intense media interest in proposals to tax and regulate marijuana continues, given a big boost by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's statement Tuesday that the issue is worthy of debate. MPP executive director Rob Kampia discussed the issue earlier today on MSNBC (we hope to have video posted soon) and will debate a to-be-named prohibitionist tonight on CNBC's "CNBC Reports." The program airs from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, and we're told the marijuana segment will be around 8:30, barring…