On Friday, even more evidence that most Americans no longer support marijuana prohibition was released. Washington Post reports: A new survey released today by the the Associated Press and the University of Chicago finds that a record-high percentage of Americans -- 61 percent -- say they support marijuana legalization. The survey uses the same question wording ("Do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal, or not?") on marijuana as previous Gallup surveys, which had shown a previous high…

[caption id="attachment_7153" align="alignright" width="253"] Pres. Jose Mujica[/caption] Jose Mujica is not a man who compromises his beliefs. Before he became President of Uruguay, he was shot six times and spent fourteen years in a dungeon-like military prison. Now he lives a modest lifestyle, donates most of his income to social projects, and resides in a one-bedroom farmhouse with his wife, Congresswoman and former acting President of Uruguay, Lucia Topolansky. President Mujica, once known as…

Uruguay and its President, Jose Mujica, have been making headlines recently for legislation to regulate the marijuana market. President Mujica has been determined to pass the law, supporting the movement throughout the legislative process and defending the policy to opponents both in his own country and abroad. Now that the law has passed, Uruguay is facing pressure from the U.N., which accuses the legislature of violating an international convention. The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961…

[caption id="attachment_7115" align="alignright" width="108"] Pres. Jose Mujica[/caption] Just one Senate vote stands between President Mujica and ending marijuana prohibition in Uruguay.  In July the bill passed the house, last week it passed a Senate committee, and soon it is expected to pass a vote in the full Uruguayan Senate.  Now, President Mujica is turning his attention outside of his country, and is asking the rest of the world to help him make the law reality. “We ask the world to help…

Another study pointing to the failures of the war on drugs was published yesterday by a group of U.S. and Canadian researchers. The study was funded by the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy and examined the relative price and potency of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana from 1990 to 2010. Through analysis of existing data from various UN and governmental databases, the study found that, despite an estimated $1 trillion spent by the U.S. alone, the war on drugs has failed. Lead researcher…

The Uruguayan House of Representatives voted yesterday to approve a bill that would tax and regulate marijuana for adults. The measure will now move to the Senate where, if it passes as expected, will make Uruguay the first country in the world to create a fully legal and regulated marijuana market. All 50 members of the ruling Broad Front coalition approved the measure yesterday after more than 13 hours of passionate debate. Lawmakers in the Senate have stated that they have achieved a comfortable…

In the latest issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience, leading scientists argue that the UN conventions on drugs in the 1960s and 1970s, which outlawed drugs with psychoactive substances such as marijuana, is hindering research into potentially significant medicinal uses, estimating that research in key areas such as consciousness has been set back by decades. Report authors Professor David Nutt and Professor David Nichols contend that the illegal status of psychoactive drugs makes it almost impossible…