The momentum for marijuana law reform clearly cannot be stopped, whether by local voter initiative, statewide ballot measure, state legislative reform, federal policy-making or in the halls of Congress. The most recent reform is in the great state of Delaware, which just became either the 18th, 19th or 20th state […]

ResponsibleOhio is a well-funded political action committee (PAC) seeking to legalize marijuana in the Buckeye State. The group has some famous backers and seems to have the money to develop an effective campaign that can win. The measure would end thousands of arrests and allows for home cultivation. However, the fact […]

Many people have been concerned about the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) regulating cannabis commerce in Oregon and I completely understand their concerns as it is hard to trust any government agency with the task. However, I must admit that I have been pleasantly surprised by the dedication of the […]

I have seen the pain the eyes of fellow cannabis law reform advocates, particularly those from California, when I have stated that Colorado is now leading the cannabis revolution. By jumping out first with licensed and regulated sales and bringing marijuana into the mainstream of government regulation and taxation, Colorado […]

Wow. Just wow. A fan of my show has forwarded to me the email he got from Sen. Ted Ferrioli (R-West Idaho) explaining why he threw a temper tantrum until the east side of the state was given special privileges not approved by the 56 percent of voters who passed […]

House Bill 3400 unanimously passed out of the Oregon Joint Committee on Implementing Measure 91 Monday night. The bill has gone through many ups and downs and transformations and it contains some good provisions and some bad provisions. In this blog, I will focus on some of the good provisions, […]

In a setback for medical marijuana patients and the entire cannabis community, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that employers can fire medical cannabis patients. From The Denver Post: The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday affirmed lower courts’ rulings that businesses can fire employees for the use of medical marijuana — […]

While ending criminal penalties for marijuana is a monumental step in the right direction, employment rights is likely the next step for true equality. Having the freedom to utilize cannabis without fear of prosecution and arrest is only one step in the process when the cannabis community can still be […]

SALEM, Ore. – In the closing days of the Oregon legislative session, powerful senators from both sides of the aisle have introduced a radical proposal that would split the state into two new sovereign states, called “New Oregon” and “West Idaho”. Republican Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli and Democratic Senate […]

The momentum nationally for sensible marijuana reform is moving at such a rapid pace, that it is almost too hard to keep up. Following a few successful votes in the United States House, the Senate has followed suit and passed an amendment prohibiting the DEA from using any federal funds […]

Update: the expungement provision passed and then became a model for federal legislation introduced by Congressman Earl Blumenauer.  Legalizing marijuana is a lifelong passion of mine and I certainly look forward Oregon creating thousands of new jobs and generating millions of dollars in new revenue. However, first and foremost, I […]

Marijuana legalization may be coming to the Midwest in 2016 as two ballot initiatives have been approved for circulation in Michigan. The Great Lake State has actually been one of the leaders in marijuana policy for quite some time as Ann Arbor decriminalized personal amounts of marijuana in 1972; the […]

In our last installment, I showed how Oregon’s medical marijuana advocates pushed for expansive limits and suffered news reporting of the shenanigans in medical marijuana that led to the adoption of new legislative restrictions that the advocates blame mistakenly on legalization of recreational marijuana. A somewhat similar path was forged […]

Hillary Clinton will certainly be asked plenty of times about her marijuana policy as she travels the campaign trail. She will most likely be challenged from the left by Bernie Sanders on the Democratic side and potentially from the right by Rand Paul if he can escape the clown car […]

California has long been a trendsetter in many areas, and marijuana is no exception. California was the first medical marijuana state and the freedoms and commerce enjoyed by the California cannabis community has spread throughout the land. However, the Golden State now lags behind Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and our […]