March 29, 2024
Search Result For : rand paul

An Extraordinary “Path to Marijuana Reform” by Two Oregon Congressmen

Two Oregon congressional democrats, a senator and a representative, show ground-breaking leadership with their “Path to Marijuana Reform.”  Three pieces of excellent legislation showcase the effort by Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Earl Blumenauer. This proposal has excellent cannabis policy goals. It would: Deschedule Marijuana Completely. No Schedule II, maybe […]

You Want A Third-Party President? Here’s How!

Range Voting

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 […]

Executive Director Allen St. Pierre Resigns From NORML

Allen St. Pierre

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Multiple sources have confirmed to Marijuana Politics that Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), has resigned. Serving as executive director will be Randy Quast, the current treasurer, who was selected unanimously by the board of directors. Quast will […]

Too Little Too Late? Bernie Sanders Hints at Elizabeth Warren as VP.

ElizabethWarrenBernieSanders

I’ve been a huge supporter for Bernie Sanders’ political revolution as his call to end federal cannabis prohibition, reform the Drug War and tackle civil rights abuses have been far and away the best of any mainstream candidate, especially after Republican Rand Paul dropped out of the race. Hillary Clinton, evolving […]

Ted Cruz and Republican Right-Wing Crushing Criminal Justice and Cannabis Law Change

Ted Cruz and several other Republican right-wingers have regrettably challenged recent encouraging signs of congressional change in criminal justice, incarceration, and scheduling of cannabis. Incentives have been building in recent years to make changes to America’s bloated criminal justice, drug war, and prison systems. The realities and downsides of now generations […]

Still Zero Senate Cosponsors for Bernie Sanders’ Bill De-scheduling Marijuana

Bernie Sanders

Sadly, exactly zero colleagues have cosponsored Senator Bernie Sanders’ smart proposal to de-schedule marijuana. The Vermont Senator’s bill, S. 2237: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2015, was introduced in early November. Going beyond the timid rescheduling out of draconian Schedule I, a common sense move somehow refused by President […]

Eight Senators Demand Government Speed Up Marijuana Research

Oregon’s two senators, joined by six democratic colleagues, are demanding anew medical marijuana research answers, solutions,  and actions from obstructive federal agencies. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, led by Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and along with Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.),  Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Cory […]

MPP’s Rob Kampia Lists His Top 10 2015 Marijuana Victories

Marijuana cannabis in jars.

Each and every year, the cannabis community can celebrate success and 2015 was no different. While off-year elections are not going to usher in as many monumental changes as election years, there are still electoral, political and cultural victories to celebrate. Many political victories have been ushered in or aided […]

Bernie Sanders Continues to Attack the Drug War

Bernie Sanders War on Drugs

Treating drug use as a crime clearly hasn’t worked for the United States. Just as alcohol prohibition enriched Al Capone and other gangsters, the Drug War has enriched cartels and other criminal organizations. Prohibitionist policies have increased the potency of drugs and tax-exempt profits of outlaws. Of course, the War […]

Chuck Grassley is Killing the Cannabis Rescheduling CARERS Act

Iowa’s GOP senior Senator Chuck Grassley is stifling cannabis reform. His inaction as head of the Senate Judiciary Committee is all that is needed to stop the CARERS Act. The historic, bipartisan Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States Act is Senate legislation that would reschedule cannabis off its current […]

Las Vegas Review-Journal Calls for Marijuana Rescheduling

medical marijuana cannabis

The classification of marijuana as a Schedule I substance, along with heroin, is a national joke that barely has any public supporters these days. Declaring marijuana a drug with a high rate of abuse with no accepted medical value is laughable considering the medicinal benefits that have been shown, the […]

Stephen Colbert Exposes John Kasich’s Marijuana Hypocrisy

JohnKasichStephenColbert

Ohio Governor John Kasich was recently grilled by Stephen Colbert on his hypocrisy regarding marijuana as Kashich joined both prohibitionists and many cannabis law reformers in opposing the controversial Issue 3 legalization measure. While Kasich remains a longshot to win the Republican nomination, he will very likely be on the […]

Donald Trump Believes Marijuana Legalization is a State Issue

Donald Trump Peace Sign

Candidates vying for the presidency diverged this week quite a bit, with Bernie Sanders on one end, supporting the descheduling of marijuana as a controlled substance, effectively ending federal cannabis prohibition and Republicans Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich and Ben Carson seemingly on the other end, wanting to […]

New West Summit Brings Together Cannabis, Media and Technology Industries

New West Summit

As anyone can see, the cannabis industry has made great strides in recent years, politically, culturally and economically. Creatively and effectively utilizing technology and media have been a part of the foundation for that success. Anyone familiar with the cannabis community, particularly those with an entrepreneurial spirit, knows that the community […]

Rand Paul: Nominating Donald Trump Would be a Disaster

RandPaulDonaldTrump

While cannabis law reform advocates and Drug War reformers on the progressive side of the political spectrum have largely flocked to support Bernie Sanders, many conservatives and libertarians have stood by the candidacy of Rand Paul. Senator Paul started off the race for the Republican nomination as one of the […]

Marijuana Legalization Now Favored in USA!

legalize it cannabis leaf sphere

Americans now favor marijuana legalization by a healthy margin, as proven in a new Gallup Poll. This realization is now influencing the 2016 Presidential election. Candidates supporting continued criminal prohibition of cannabis now face strong headwind of American public opinion. The Gallup pollsters concluded: Americans’ support for legalizing marijuana is […]

Cannabis Reformers for Bernie Meetup in Portland, OR, for Debate Tonight

World Famous Cannabis Cafe

Cannabis law reform advocates have been spreading the word that Bernie Sanders seems to have the best marijuana and Drug War policy among candidates that have a legitimate shot at winning. Progressive advocates have certainly rallied behind the Vermont Senator while conservative and libertarian counterparts are sticking with Republican candidate […]

Carly Fiorina’s Marijuana Rhetoric is Dangerous

Carly Fiorina before the US Flag

Carly Fiorina made waves at the last Republican presidential debate when she delved into the marijuana policy debate by bringing up the relative danger between cannabis and beer as well as the tragic death of her step-daughter due to drug abuse. Fiorina, who many pundits feel won the 2nd GOP […]

Bernie Sanders, Ben Carson Lead in Latest Utah Poll

Democrat Donkey boxes Republican Elephant

Utah would seem to be fertile ground for GOP-outsider Ben Carson, a religious, soft-spoken neurosurgeon, but not democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, but both have surged ahead in the latest poll sanctioned by UtahPolicy.com. The poll, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates, found Carson leading national frontrunner Donald Trump 18% to […]

GOP Debates Marijuana, Highlights the Problem with Medical Marijuana and CBD Oil

Donald Trump and Jeb Bush

I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s Republican Presidential Debate. There was an obese governor from Arkansas calling for a cure for heart disease that isn’t cutting down on the Chick-fil-A. There was governor after governor telling 54% of last election’s voters how proud they are of de-funding the Planned Parenthood clinics […]

Republicans Finally Talk About Marijuana in the GOP Debates

Second GOP Debate

Federal cannabis policy is a major issue that impacts lives, jobs and budgets across the nation and actually impacts the global Drug War as well. It would only make sense for 2016 presidential candidates to address the fact that four states and our nation’s capital has legalized marijuana, with a host […]

Governor Martin O’Malley to Hold Cannabis Legalization Listening Session

MarijuanaIn 2016 Elections

Breaking on Marijuana Politics: Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley touts his progressive cannabis law reform history in a press release announcing a marijuana legalization listening session in Denver, Colorado, this Thursday. The event will be held at the office of Vicente Sederberg, a law firm that has been instrumental in […]

John Kasich: Right on So Many Issues, Wrong on Marijuana

John Kasich by Michael Vadon

Last month Ohio Governor John Kasich debated his way into the mainstream spotlight at the first official Republican presidential showdown. In a sea of prototypical GOP voices attempting to out-Trump The Donald, his reasonable and measured demeanor stuck out like a pair of cuffed skinny jeans paired with a man-purse […]

New GOP Poll is Good News for Donald Trump and Ben Carson

Donald Trump Ben Carson

Monmouth University released its first Republican poll following the first presidential candidate debates and the new GOP poll is good news for Donald Trump and other outsiders, bad for news for the establishment candidates. The conventional wisdom immediately following the first Republican debates seemed to be that Donald Trump would […]

Marijuana Poll: What it Means for Sanders, Clinton, Trump, Bush and the Rest of the 2016 Field

Democrat Donkey boxes Republican Elephant

Marijuana Majority recently released the group’s first poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, to question registered voters in Iowa and New Hampshire on whether the federal government should respect state marijuana laws. The poll found that strong majorities of Democrats, Republican and independents want Uncle Sam to stay out of states’ cannabis […]

Iowa Starting to #FeelTheBern as Bernie Sanders Surges Close to Clinton

Bernie Sanders

As it has been written many times now, Bernie Sanders has become the mainstream candidate of many cannabis law reform advocates, especially following his comments about the Drug War ruining lives and the failure of the War on Drugs; his announcing a bill to abolish private prisons; and his openness […]

Is Africa The Next Big Global Marijuana Market?

While South Africa’s parliament continues to struggle with whether to legalize dagga (marijuana) or just allow medical marijuana use, the rest of the African continent continues to produce and use cannabis at rates that rival North America. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) in its […]

Ted Cruz Evolves on Cannabis, Changes Position on Marijuana Legalization

Ted Cruz has proven to be a formidable challenger in the GOP primary, with the latest national polls putting him in the top tier of candidates. With the presidency in mind, Texas Senator Ted Cruz has “evolved” on cannabis and flipped his position on marijuana legalization, now supporting the right of […]

Carly Fiorina Dislikes Marijuana, but Would Allow States to Legalize It

By all accounts, Carly Fiorina impressed many voters and pundits in the first (undercard) debate and has increased her standing among her primary competitors. Since she has moved up in the polls, the cannabis community needs to examine her record on marijuana policy. While she certainly remains a longshot for […]

Oregon Medical Marijuana Business Conference: Bridging the Gap

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Business Conference (OMMBC) is just over a month away. Attendees will get the latest info on both medical marijuana regulations and upcoming recreational regulations as the conference bridges the gap between the two Oregon systems. This is the fourth OMMBC, tickets are still available, but you […]

New York Times: President Obama and Congress, Pass Marijuana Reform

Legalize It

The New York Times call to repeal federal marijuana prohibition was a monumental event for advocates and the mainstream media’s coverage of of all things cannabis. Once derided in the media, the support of the Gray Lady. While more and more people move away from traditional media, like print newspapers, the […]

Bernie Sanders Weekend Rallies on the Cannabis-Friendly West Coast

Update: Bernie Sanders in Seattle: “Too Many Lives Have Been Destroyed by the War on Drugs.” Update 2.0: Commits to Criminal Justice Reform Before His Largest Crowd Ever; 28,000  Supporters in Portland, Oregon Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking his presidential bid to the West Coast, with a rally tonight in Seattle, tomorrow […]

17 GOP Candidates, 4 Debate Hours, 0 Marijuana or Drug War Mentions

Fox News GOP Debate

Last night was the first of the Republican Presidential candidates’ debates, presented by FOX News and Facebook, and in four hours there was not one mention of the War on Drugs. As fellow Marijuana Politics blogger Romain Bonilla noted, the debate would have been a great opportunity to discuss marijuana policy, […]

First GOP Debate: A Great Opportunity to Discuss Marijuana Policy

Later today, Republican presidential candidates will participate in a two-hour debate on live television, where there’s a good chance they will be asked to address issues of marijuana policy. The primetime debate, organized by Fox News in Ohio, will begin at 8:50 pm Eastern time and will feature the top […]

Hillary Clinton Talks About Marijuana

Members of the media weren’t allowed into the $2,700 a head Hillary Clinton fundraiser in one of the most posh neighborhoods in pot-friendly Portland, Oregon, but that didn’t prevent some details of her talk from being reported upon as some attendees dished some details. Of course, most interesting to us here […]

Rand Paul Needs to Make Up His Mind on Marijuana Legalization

As marijuana policy becomes a major issue in the 2016 presidential race, Rand Paul has made a name for himself as a champion of reform within the Republican party — but while he reaps the political benefits of appearing sensible on marijuana laws, it’s still unclear where the Senator stands on […]

Marijuana in the 2016 Election

marijuana does well at the ballot box

The news media will certainly focus a lot on marijuana in the 2016 election. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that marijuana is covered a lot in the media these days. Many mainstream media outlets, once strong opponents of legalization, have now embraced marijuana with spin-off publications […]