UPDATE: Not many more details have emerged regarding the purpose of yesterday's raids. From the Oakland Tribune: Authorities refused to provide details about the raids carried out by U.S. Marshals and agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency and Internal Revenue Service. Lee was briefly detained in his home, but not arrested, supporters said. Two protesters were arrested as agents seized marijuana plants and other materials from Oaksterdam's downtown Oakland locations, all of which remained closed…

California voters may have rejected Proposition 19 last week, but a poll released after the election shows that a majority of California voters still believe marijuana should be legal in principle, and that our current laws do more harm than good. The poll from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research found that: 50 percent of California voters believe the use of marijuana should be made legal, regardless of their feelings on Prop. 19. 52 percent of voters believe our marijuana laws…

In the aftermath of at least three defeated statewide marijuana ballot measures on Election Day, people who aren't following the issue that closely might be inclined to think the pendulum is swinging against marijuana policy reform. They'd be wrong. In fact, a 46% vote in favor of California's Proposition 19 - accompanied by a collection of smaller, less-publicized marijuana-policy-reform victories across the country - is yet another sign of the growing strength of the movement to end marijuana prohibition. Now,…

We’re still tracking down all the results from yesterday’s election, but here’s a quick look at how things fared in races affecting marijuana policy. This year witnessed historic progress in the campaign to end marijuana prohibition – but as some of these results below show, there remains much work ahead. MPP and others are already looking to build on this year’s advances by launching new campaigns in 2012. First, the good news: Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts The only two major party gubernatorial…

Last night, San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum threw eight innings of one run baseball, racking up 10 strikeouts in the process, and leading the Giants to their first World Series victory since moving to San Francisco at the end of the 1957 season. Why am I writing about this on the MPP blog? Because Lincecum, a former Cy Young Award winner, is one of the millions of Americans who has used marijuana and been subjected to the criminal justice system for using a substance less harmful than alcohol.…

Voters all across the country will cast ballots tomorrow in elections that could alter the course of U.S. marijuana policy for years to come. Here are the 9 most important contests to watch for the movement to end marijuana prohibition: California: Proposition 19 would make marijuana legal for all adults – it represents the best chance to date for a single state to overturn the failure of marijuana prohibition and offer an alternative for others to follow. It would make it legal for…

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware of Proposition 19, the ballot measure Californians will vote on next week that would make marijuana legal for all adults and deliver an unprecedented blow to our nation's wasteful, ineffective, and destructive prohibition on a plant less harmful than alcohol. But you may not have heard that voters in a handful of other states will have opportunities to advance saner marijuana laws on Election Day, as well. Two states, Arizona and South…

On Sunday, masked gunmen executed 13 people in a drug rehabilitation center in Tijuana, Mexico, just across the border from San Diego. Authorities now think these grisly murders may have been in retaliation for the massive marijuana bust that occurred there last week. Whether the victims were actually involved in the seizure of 134 tons of marijuana destined for the U.S. is unknown, but in the end it makes no difference. It is clear that the tactics of marijuana prohibition are ineffective at producing…

Today's just-announced $1 million donation from philanthropist George Soros should help keep the Yes on 19 TV ad running through Election Day, as well as provide a tremendous boost to crucial get-out-the-vote efforts. From Soros's op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal: Like many parents and grandparents, I am worried about young people getting into trouble with marijuana and other drugs. The best solution, however, is honest and effective drug education. One survey after another indicates that teenagers…

This TV ad hits California airwaves tomorrow -- just in time for the Prop 19 campaign's final stretch. Learn how to reach out to voters here, find out other ways to help the campaign here, and read up on the latest polls here and here. Only 8 more days until the election!