It is 2018 and the Secretary of Health and Human Services is saying, “There really is no such thing as medical marijuana.” Alex Azar, the new Secretary (previously held by Tom Price who resigned in disgrace for improper spending) formerly served as a pharmaceutical exec and a pharma lobbyist. He […]

In a troubling move, US President Donald Trump has nixed Israel’s medical cannabis export hopes. Israel has long been a leader in medical cannabis research and now stands poised to serve a huge export market. Yet this market will remain unserved and global medical cannabis production discouraged, as Prime Minister […]

The cannabis community was rocked when the Republican-led House Rules Committee nonsensically prohibited a vote on the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, and a whole host of other positive cannabis law reform measures. The Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, sponsored by Republican Dana Rohrabacher and Democrat Earl Blumenauer, protects state-legal medical marijuana patients and providers from […]

The conservative Heritage Foundation has developed a dangerous document to help destroy state legalized cannabis. The powerful Heritage Foundation has had substantial influence upon Republicans since it helped chaperon Ronald Reagan and is providing major guidance to the Donald Trump administration.  The foundation, abbreviated Heritage, is supposedly conservative, but without […]

Last week, US Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) introduced a bill that would not only legalize cannabis under federal law, but would put pressure on states to legalize cannabis at the state level. This is an excellent idea. No one should go to jail for using, growing, or buying cannabis, […]

On the heels of New Jersey Senator Cory Booker introducing the “Marijuana Justice Act” to repeal cannabis prohibition, the National Conference of State Legislatures has joined the call for legalization, urging the federal government to remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances. This is the second year in a […]

The American opioid crisis continues to worsen. After 45 years of drug war failure, drug addiction and death are at all-time, devastating highs. This new opioid epidemic, clearly a function of Big Pharma’s pill milling and marketing, now kills over 100 Americans each day. In response, Chris Christie’s opioid panel […]

Donald Trump came into office as a complete wildcard on a number of federal policy issues, cannabis included. During the campaign, he stated that he supported medical marijuana and that legalization should be left up to the states, even though he personally opposed ending prohibition. However, Trump’s authoritarian tendencies and […]

Attorney General Jeff Sessions Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety has issued its recommendations to Donald Trump’s beleaguered attorney general, but still no word on any change in cannabis policy. Attorney General Sessions, who apparently isn’t even on speaking terms with the president at the moment, fueling speculation of […]

It is an understatement to say that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is no friend to the cannabis community. Throughout his political career, Sessions has been on the wrong side of history on marijuana, even joking that he thought the Klu Klux Klan were decent folks until he learned that some […]

The United States system of democracy has faced few administrations as tumultuous as the first few months of rule under our 45th president, Donald Trump. Combine the chaotic nature of the cannabis industry with the chaotic nature of Congress, and a world of unknowns emerge. But as luck would have […]

After wasting 1,000 billion dollars, 45 years, and tens of millions of arrests the war on drugs has produced as highly lethal opioid epidemic. Having promised as a candidate to “take care” of the problem, President Donald Trump has appointed an opioid panel, AKA Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the […]

Oregon Governor Kate Brown, while not perfect on marijuana policy, has been working to protect Beaver State cannabis consumers and businesses from any potential federal crackdown. Brown has joined with other governors of legalized states asking the Donald Trump Administration fulfill his campaign promise to adhere to a “states’ rights” […]

By Roger Stone President Donald Trump and Marijuana Politics is one of the most controversial decisions he will have to make . The question is whether to continue the federal stand-down by the us Justice department in which DOJ does not enforce federal marijuana laws where they contradict state laws […]

Tickets go up $150 tonight at Midnight PST! Last Chance! Berlin ICBC Kicks Off Next Week! Europe’s first B2B Cannabis Business Conference will be held in Germany next week! Join us for this historic event! So what are you waiting for? The International Cannabis Business Conference is set to commence […]

Last Chance! Berlin ICBC Kicks Off Next Week! Tickets go up $150 tomorrowat Midnight PST! Europe’s first B2B Cannabis Business Conference will be held in Germany next week! Join us for this historic event! So what are you waiting for? The International Cannabis Business Conference is set to commence in […]

Time is running out to attend Europe’s first cannabis B2B conference! So what are you waiting for? The International Cannabis Business Conference is set to commence in mere days, and tickets are moving quickly! Get your ICBC tickets by Friday, April 7th, to save, before prices go up. Starting on Monday […]

The last few months has seen a flurry of activity with regard to congressional support for modifications to the laws governing medical marijuana in the United States of America. So much so that that a bipartisan US Congressional Delegation is heading to Europe next week to study the various drug policies and […]

On Tuesday, February 28th, President Donald Trump gave his first address to the Houses of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, outlining his agenda for the next for years. Many agree the speech was by far the most eloquent and presidential the new head of state has sounded in public […]

With the Trump Administration’s embrace of medical marijuana, our federal government has actually made a very important step forward in its acceptance of cannabis as medicine and states’ rights to implement their own medical programs. Unfortunately, Uncle Sam isn’t as hip to recreational marijuana, making medical marijuana more important than […]

The cannabis industry is understandably hanging on each and every bit of information that could potentially provide insight into the Donald Trump Administration’s future marijuana policy. There have been some troubling signs out of the administration, but also some positive ones. Many questions remain and everyone is still awaiting answers. […]

Tom Price, Donald Trump’s selection to head the gigantic Health and Human Services Administration, is an anti-marijuana extremist. It is as if the President is appointing cabinet members based on their anti-marijuana zealotry. The HHS is a massive federal grouping of health care and related organizations. Decisions in many of […]

Yet another Trump cabinet position has been filled with an anti-marijuana drug war zealot. The Department of Homeland Security is now headed by 45 year Marine Corp vet, Gen. John Kelly. From the DHS announcement: Kelly now leads the third largest federal department in the United States that includes the […]

If there are two things president-elect Donald Trump loves more than anything else, it’s fame and money. Trump’s international recognition a flashy billionaire is undisputed. Despite the obvious thrill he gets from antagonizing opponents, the truth is the Donald wants to be popular. And there is no more popular political […]

The Oregon Marijuana Business Conference (OMBC) last weekend was another sold-out event that brought cannabis industry participants, and those thinking of joining, to beautiful Ashland to learn the latest about Oregon’s medical and adult use cannabis laws. An amazing VIP pre-party on Friday kicked off the the conference as the […]

For cannabis activists and entrepreneurs, medical marijuana users, and all Americans, the impending Trump administration took a nightmarish turn with the selection of cannabigot Jeff Sessions for Attorney General. No other choice could have been worse. Each and every one of Trump’s new cabinet is a hardliner cannabis prohibitionist. Cannabigotry, […]

President-Elect Donald Trump has surrounded himself with hard-liner, cannabis-hating ex-prosecutors. They present a clear and present danger to state marijuana legalizations across the USA and to the millions of Americans benefitting from medical marijuana and from the booming economies of legalized states. Actually, prosecutors don’t hate marijuana, they love it, […]

A journey that began many years ago is apparently realizing significant developments: the push for marijuana reforms. Now begins the examination of the Trump Cannabis agenda in America. Throughout the campaign period, it was not only about the presidency but some other interests as well. Marijuana related issues were also […]

Neal Levine, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for LivWell Enlightened Health , has been through the trenches of cannabis activism and business, like very few have. Levine actually helped to oversee the grant from the Marijuana Policy Project for the very first campaign I was a part of, a local […]

“Are you experienced?” Jimi Hendrix For the first time in decades, the next US President will have no personal experience with marijuana. Neither Hillary nor The Donald have known the relaxing, yet stimulating, sensation of a cannabis “high.” Or so they say. If so, they are poorer for the lack […]

Since I have dropped my #BernieOrBust stand to support Hillary Clinton for president, I’ve has to deal with so many people urging me to vote for the Green’s Jill Stein or the Libertarian’s Gary Johnson. I think Dan Savage has the best take on the quadrennial third party distraction, but […]

Liberal firebrand Michael Moore has written an incredible essay on why Donald Trump will be the next President of the United States. It is an expansion on a riff he delivered recently on Bill Maher’s HBO program, about what Moore calls “the Rust-Belt Brexit”. I believe Trump is going to […]

Hillary Clinton’s disdain for marijuana law reform is apparent in her choice for Vice President, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. Just like Barack Obama’s marijuana-hating Joe Biden, she has chosen a cannabis prohibitionist for second in command. For many MarijuanaPolitics.com readers, a politician’s votes and actions on cannabis legislation, medical use […]

Donald Trump’s chosen running mate, Mike Pence, would make a disastrous Vice-President. The Republican Governor of Indiana is an arch-conservative zealot of the most regressive type, badly out of touch, wrong on nearly every key issue for the 2016 election. Of particular interest to MarijuanaPolitics.com readers are Pence’s particular views […]

My friend Leland Berger has penned an essay on this fine site entitled “AUMA is the Hillary of United States Cannabis Legalization Initiatives“. He makes very astute points about the Adult Use of Marijuana Act – California’s marijuana legalization initiative – including how it is just as good or better than the […]

I had such high hopes for California when we were drafting Measure 91 in Oregon. I hoped that criminal penalties would give way to fines, and that California could improve on what we created in many significant ways. I understand that each state is different and that California is the […]

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson adds a clear and sensible alternative to the 2016 election. Should he qualify for the the Presidential Debates, he will bring cannabis reform to the national stage. Governor Johnson will argue for winding down the drug war, ending marijuana prohibition, achieving smaller government, and pursuing a […]

With the California Primaries just four days away, many participants and enthusiasts in the cannabis space are looking to the five remaining presidential candidates (or three, depending on your perspective) to see what are their Marijuana positions and who would be their greatest ally. It’s a difficult question to answer, […]

In this historical election cycle where the impossible becomes possible, Donald J Trump and Bernie Sanders look like they might be debating each other in California before the June 7 primaries there. Sanders had already accepted Fox’s proposal to debate Hillary Clinton, but after Clinton declined the invitation, Trump said […]

With Donald Trump’s likely Republican nomination, odds increase that Chris Christie will become America’s next Attorney General. To those of us fighting for liberation of the cannabis plant and for freedom of its consumers, the very thought of Attorney General Chris Christie evokes the gag reflex, especially when already queasy […]

Despite the political establishment and mainstream pundits calling for Bernie Sanders to drop out of his race against Hillary Clinton, Bernie, and millions of supporters, are still fighting for the political revolution. Propelled by an upset victory in Indiana, Bernie Sanders, now sensing momentum behind his insurgent campaign, proclaimed, “I think […]

Sign of the times: President Barack Obama made a joke about his marijuana use at last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The glitzy annual hobnobby event featuring journalists, celebrities, and high-ranking politicians saw its expected share of Donald Trump jokes (even though the Republican presidential front-runner wasn’t in the audience […]

Cannabis icon Tommy Chong will be capping off the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference (OMBC) in Eugene on April 24th with a celebrity interview by Steve Bloom, Editor-in-Chief of Freedom Leaf Magazine and publisher of Celeb Stoner. Chong and Bloom brought the house down at the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) in […]

The Bernie Sanders political revolution rolled through Wyoming, marking 8 victories out of the last 9 contests for Sanders over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Senator Sanders earned 56% of the vote in the closed Wyoming caucu while Clinton won 44%. The all-important New York primary is next, with both candidates […]

It was apparent that the Bernie Sanders political revolution was surging in Wisconsin as the anti-establishment challenger was clearly climbing in the polls. However, no poll had Senator Sanders winning by more than 10 points, but he cruised to a clear double digit victory against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic front-runner. […]

Hillary Clinton’s ongoing private email server scandal is not an engineered right-wing smear. Even though Bernie Sanders hasn’t made Clinton’s server and corresponding ethical questions an issue during his anti-establishment campaign, that doesn’t mean that Clinton’s server and lack of transparency isn’t a legitimate issue to the American people. We […]

I assumed that it was a cruel April Fool’s Day joke, but Andrew Sullivan assured his readers that he wasn’t pulling our chain in an email to us. Still, it was nice to get confirmation that Sullivan will be writing again, albeit, not blogging daily for us, but providing long-form […]

Filets-o-Fish, Big Macs, Wendy’s, Oreos, and plenty of soda. This is the actual, no-kidding diet of the Republican presidential front-runner. Yes, Donald Trump, the man who, per his family physician, would “unequivocally…be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” eats like a teenage stoner. The proof? A sparkling Washington […]

A Little Birdie Told Me The Bernie Sanders Path to the Nomination With another set of wins in the western states of Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii, Senator Bernie Sanders has chipped away at Secretary Hillary Clinton’s delegate lead for the Democratic Presidential Nomination. However, the math in the remaining states makes […]

The deep-red state of Utah hasn’t voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in over 50 years, but that would likely change if a presidential election were held today between Democrat Bernie Sanders and GOP front-runner Donald Trump. A Deseret News/KSL poll found that 48% of Utah voters would cast their ballot for […]