MPP's Bruce Mirken appeared on CNN Sunday night to discuss the news that a 23-year-old American male had been photographed using marijuana at a college party. Bruce's interview occurs at about 6:40 on the video below. In it, he shoots down the "gateway" myth, demonstrates prohibition's many failures, and points out how absurd it is that of the 100 million Americans who have used marijuana, anybody should care that one of them is Michael Phelps.

I'm a city boy, so this could be a rural legend, but I've heard that when you cut off a chicken's head, its body continues to run around, wildly and aimlessly. I hope that's the case with the DEA right now, where holdovers from the previous administration are continuing their war on medical marijuana patients and scientific research as though Bush were still in the White House. My colleague, Aaron Smith, mentioned last week that the DEA raided a medical marijuana dispensary in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.,…

Yesterday, DEA agents – still under the direction of Bush appointees – raided Patient-to-Patient Collective, a South Lake Tahoe, California, medical marijuana dispensing collective which operated under voter-supported state laws. President Obama pledged to end such raids throughout his campaign. However, four top positions at the DEA are still filled by Bush cronies, who are attempting to undercut the that pledge. If you're like me and desperate for a change, use MPP's online form to contact President…

Last night, CNBC aired its much-touted documentary, "Marijuana Inc." It was a decidedly mixed bag. It was a portrait of an industry that is huge and thriving, despite the energetic efforts of assorted law enforcement agencies to "eradicate" it. No sane person could watch the program and come away thinking that present government efforts to curb marijuana production or use are working.  With California's Mendocino County as the focus, the crashing failure of the war on marijuana was on vivid display. What…

Tonight at 8:40 p.m. Eastern time, MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston will debate former Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson on "CNBC Reports." The debate airs right before the premier of CNBC's documentary about the marijuana business, "Marijuana Inc.: Inside America's Pot Industry." The live debate will only be shown once (the documentary will repeat at 1 a.m. Eastern), but will also be available on CNBC's Web site.

Unfazed by three consecutive legal defeats, the California counties of San Bernardino and San Diego last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their legal challenge to the state’s 12-year-old medical marijuana law. The 47-page petition – drafted on the public’s dime – is a last ditch effort by the two embattled counties to continue their policy of arresting medical marijuana patients even when the patients are in full compliance with state law. Their reasoning? Well, all marijuana is illegal…

Join Nydia as she answers your questions about marijuana. Do you have questions about marijuana? E-mail them to [email protected] with the subject line "Ask Nydia" and we'll film an answer. Have you signed up for our free national alerts? Visit www.mpp.org/subscribe to sign up!

Dear President Obama: Like millions of Americans, I choked up watching you take office Tuesday. And like hundreds of millions -- maybe billions -- around the world, I watched and listened to your inaugural address, riveted by the moment. One line jumped out at me: "We will extend a hand," you said, "if you are willing to unclench your fist." Your words were directed at hostile governments around the world, but they also embody how hundreds of thousands of suffering Americans view their own government. I'm…

Join Nydia as she answers this week's question: How can I help end the war on marijuana users? Do you have a question about marijuana? E-mail it to [email protected] with the subject line "Ask Nydia." Have you subscribed to our free national alerts? We'll keep you updated on the latest-breaking marijuana-related news nationwide. Check it out: www.mpp.org/subscribe

You wouldn't know it from their Web site, but it turns out the White House drug czar's office is legally required to provide the public with facts that are, well, factual. Under the Data Quality act, all government agencies, including the Office of National Drug Control Policy, are responsible for "ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information." You could print out the material on ONDCP's site, throw a dart at the printout, and probably hit an assertion that's…