Never fear, we're not asking readers to support the annual exercise in futility known as marijuana "eradication," which is now in full swing as summer nears an end and harvest season approaches. Not only has there never been the slightest indication that these campaigns reduce the marijuana supply -- the supposed objective -- but the U.S. Department of Justice's own National Drug Threat Assessment 2008 indicates that "eradication" campaigns directed at outdoor farms are actually driving a shift to…

While some medical uses of marijuana remain controversial, a new study of marijuana and HIV-related neuropathy published online in early August by the journal Neuropsychopharmacology closes the case regarding one important indication: neuropathic pain.  Neuropathic pain -- pain from damage to the nerves -- can be caused by any number of conditions, including HIV (as in this study), diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. And it is notoriously resistant to conventional pain drugs, as the article notes.…

Today's Associated Press story on a group of college presidents proposing reconsideration of the legal drinking age is accompanied in some outlets by a fascinating graph, reproduced here. Two things are striking: 1) The number of alcohol poisoning deaths in the U.S. each year is shockingly high, consistently between 300 and 400. The number of annual deaths from marijuana poisoning remains -- as always -- zero. 2) The number of alcohol poisoning deaths spiked just as the U.S. government started…

For a press guy, there's nothing like returning from vacation to find yourself quoted in a major newspaper. It's even better when the story -- in this case actually a set of articles examining medical marijuana in today's Los Angeles Times -- does a clear, thorough, and informative job. Reporter Jill Adams looks at the latest scientific evidence regarding marijuana's medical benefits and its risks, citing several of the world's top researchers in the field. Unlike the once-over-lightly jobs that…

It's here, it's hot, it's new, it's fresh: the latest video from MPP-TV, The War on Drugs in 100 Seconds.  This video takes a look at the war on drugs through a couple of quotes by author Michael Pollan from his book The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World. Check it out, enjoy, and--as always--let us know what you think and what you'd like to see in the future!

This video is a quick showcase of a couple of quotes from Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World. Want to help promote marijuana policy reform but think it’s too much work? Not anymore! With MPP’s free e-mail alerts, we’ll deliver the information you need right to your inbox with no muss or fuss!

No real surprises in the latest National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse, the annual National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse survey of teens' and parents' attitudes on drug use. But it does confirm what we've long known about the availability of illicit drugs for kids – including marijuana – compared to that of regulated drugs such as alcohol and tobacco. According to the report, half of the 16- and 17-year-olds surveyed said their peers use marijuana more than tobacco. More…

Jacob Sullum at Reason.com published an interesting piece today on medical marijuana and federalism.  Sullum points out the irony in conservative presidential candidate John McCain’s opposition to state medical marijuana laws and his liberal opponent, Senator Barack Obama’s, acceptance of them. Waving the flag of federalism as a political tool – rather than a firm ideological standpoint – is nothing new and is not limited to medical marijuana, but it is still surprising to see such a dramatic role…

Last Friday, MPP's Dan Bernath appeared in this CNN Headline News Showbiz Tonight segment on marijuana in the media.

A comment posted to a BBC blog by the former director of Britain's anti-drug unit (scroll down, it's comment #73) criticizing the drug war as pointless and harmful has gotten some attention lately across the pond. In it, Julian Critchley dismisses the tough-on-drug policies he once promoted as "wishing drug use away," saying many of his colleagues privately agreed. Perhaps he should consult his counterparts in the White House drug czar's office; they could assure him he just wasn't wishing hard enough.