Massachusetts voters didn't like the old marijuana law, so they changed it. Some Massachusetts officials don't like the new law, so they're, well, pouting. Today is the first day Massachusetts adults will no longer have to fear arrest for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana. Under the new system, approved by 65% of commonwealth voters on Election Day, violators will now be subject to a $100 civil citation and nothing more. The question now is whether those law enforcement officials who campaigned…

David Murray, the alleged "chief scientist" at the White House drug czar's office, seems determined to end his tenure in a blaze of dishonesty. In a just-published article in New Scientist that examines the excellent Beckley Foundation Global Cannabis Commission report, Murray touts recent declines in U.S. teen marijuana use and claims, "In the absence of prohibition, it would have been difficult to achieve that." That's nonsense, as we've already pointed out. As many U.S. teens currently smoke marijuana…

As we say goodbye to the Bush Administration, we'd like to take this opportunity to give the outgoing president and his drug czar their final grades. Don't forget to subscribe!

With that time of year approaching, we humbly offer a few New Year's resolutions for some of the individuals and institutions sure to be affecting all of our lives in 2009: President-elect Barack Obama: To move quickly to keep your campaign promise to end the DEA's medical marijuana raids. And to appoint a drug czar who treats science as a guide for policy, not something to be spun in the service of ideology. The news media: To treat announcements from the drug czar's office, the Drug Enforcement…

Apparently the adage “if you don’t like the law, change it” isn't that simple – not in California, anyway. Despite a tough opposition campaign by the law enforcement lobby, California voters approved Proposition 215, enacting the nation’s first effective state-level medical marijuana law, in November 1996. But that didn’t stop some law enforcement officials from trying to circumvent the very law they campaigned against, 12 years after its passage. Frustrated with the fact that medical marijuana is…

Medical marijuana patients living in California’s capital will finally be able to realize the full benefit of the state’s medical marijuana law. This week, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution making the state-mandated medical marijuana ID card program available to county residents. The cards keep patients who are already allowed to possess marijuana under the state’s 12-year-old Compassionate Use Act from being wrongfully arrested by state and local law enforcement. You…

Since this is the season for year-end reviews, "best of" lists and the like, it seems like a good time  to take note of why 2008 was one of the most successful years ever for marijuana policy reform. 2008 saw major progress on legal reforms plus a raft of new data that validated reformers' critiques of current marijuana laws. Some highlights:      MARIJUANA DECRIMINALIZED IN MASSACHUSETTS: A measure to replace criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana with a $100 fine similar…

Join Nydia as she answers this week's question: "How much does marijuana cost?" Do you have questions about marijuana? Its history? The laws? The science? E-mail them to [email protected] with the subject line: Ask Nydia! Please be sure to check out our other videos, and don't forget to subscribe: www.mpp.org/subscribe

Well, the federal government's National Drug Threat Assessment for 2009 is out, and -- who'dda thunk it? -- "Marijuana availability is high throughout the United States." This is despite record seizures of marijuana plants in 2007, as well as an all-time record number of marijuana arrests, over 872,000. Indoor cultivation -- often in converted homes and other dubious locations -- has increased "because of high profit margins and seemingly reduced risk of law enforcement detection." This year's Monitoring…

Yesterday, Bruce pointed out that the latest government data indicate that over the past 15 years teen cigarette use has declined and marijuana use increased to the point where teens use them pretty much equally now. At his press conference announcing the annual report, Monitoring the Future, I asked White House drug czar John Walters to explain his insistence that marijuana must be prohibited for adults in order to protect children when the data suggest the exact opposite. I don't have a transcript…