Law & Politics
Legislation Addresses Postal Service Marijuana Ad Ban
A group of members of both chambers of Congress has introduced a pair of bills aimed at stopping the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from threatening newspapers that mail marijuana ads. Late last year USPS officials in Oregon sent a notice to newspaper publishers in the area warning them that it is illegal to “place an ad in any […]
Rhode Island Governor Wants to Tax Medical Marijuana Patients’ Plants
The governor of the the nation’s smallest state wants to raise a big chunk of revenue by taxing medical marijuana cultivation, including plants grown by individual patients for themselves. In a Fiscal Year 2017 budget released Tuesday night, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) proposes making the Ocean State the first in the nation to levy […]
Celebrating the Life of a Legend; May He Rest in Peace
Michael J. Kennedy I just returned from attending the wake and memorial service held in New York for the legendary civil rights and criminal defense attorney, Michael J. Kennedy. It was truly an inspiring experience, and underscored the crucial role of criminal defense lawyers in society Kennedy was a giant in the legal profession, a […]
Americans Don’t Care if Presidential Candidates Used Marijuana
Marijuana use isn’t a political problem for presidential contenders, most Americans say in a new survey. Seventy-four percent of U.S. adults think candidates’ past cannabis use doesn’t matter, Pew Research Center found in the poll released on Wednesday. Six percent say past marijuana use by a candidate actually makes them more likely to earn support, while 20 percent say they’re less […]
Bernie Sanders Spotlights Student Marijuana Essays
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders took time away from the campaign trail on Wednesday to highlight the voices of young people who say marijuana should be legalized. The Vermont independent, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, entered the essays of five students from his state into the Congressional Record. Two of the pieces argue that […]
Baltimore Mayoral Candidate Pledges to End Marijuana Arrests
Baltimore voters will elect a new mayor this November, and one candidate just pledged to “end the drug war” and stop arrests for simple possession of marijuana. “This is an area where the Mayor has the power to act immediately,” Elizabeth Embry, a former prosecutor, wrote in a criminal justice plan released Wednesday. “We don’t want people using marijuana, […]
Top Official Hints Mexico Could Legalize Medical Marijuana
A growing number of developments point to the increasing possibility that Mexico could soon pass legislation allowing the medical use of marijuana. “There seems to be a majority opinion, even at international level, about its therapeutic benefits,” Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, the country’s secretary of the interior, said on Tuesday. The high-ranking cabinet member made the […]
Clinton: It’s ‘Appropriate’ for States to Legalize Marijuana
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reiterated her support for letting states legalize marijuana without federal interference in an interview on Monday. “I think that states are the laboratories of democracy, and four states have already taken action to legalize, and it will be important that other states and the federal government take account of how […]
Medical Marijuana Lobbyist Forms Group Opposing Legalization in Massachusetts
A lobbyist for Boston’s only medical cannabis dispensary has formed a campaign committee to oppose broader marijuana legalization. According to public records filed with the state Office of Campaign & Political Finance on Wednesday, the purpose of the new group, Safe Cannabis Massachusetts, is “opposition to the ballot initiative to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol”that is expected to be voted on […]
National Group Launches Ohio Medical Marijuana Effort
A major national organization has announced it will attempt to put a medical marijuana initiative on Ohio’s 2016 ballot. The move comes just days after a separate group behind 2015’s failed attempt to pass a measure legalizing marijuana in the state announced that it would not try again in 2016, and would instead defer to the legislature to take action on medical […]