Inspired by Bill Maher lighting up a joint during his Real Time and calling for the national legalization of marijuana, Washington, D.C., cannabis law reform activists have called for a cannabis smoke-out protest in front of the White House on April 2nd. Why 4/2 instead of 4/20 (as originally called […]

Hillary Clinton’s record on the War on Drugs sets her apart from other the other candidates – and not in a good way. From her criminal justice agenda as First Lady to her foreign policies as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has proven herself to be one of the greatest […]

The Seattle Times should be commended for being one of the few mainstream media outlets to endorse Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination. Most establishment media members have, not surprisingly, endorsed Hillary Clinton, the favored choice of the Democratic establishment. The Seattle Times, bucking the trend wrote: Authenticity and […]

When my “Oregon Marijuana” Google Alert notified me yesterday that the Foster Buds dispensary and a local marijuana cultivator, Farmer 12, were joining forces to donate a portion of their revenue to support Bernie Sanders’ campaign, I had to do my civic duty and head over to the store and […]

The Democratic National Committee chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz is responsible for getting out the Democratic vote; she is failing terribly. Voter turnout in the 2016 elections will be key. So far in the primaries, Republican turnout has been huge; Democratic turnout has been hideous. See, “Here’s Just How Massive Republicans’ […]

While Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz/Marco Rubio were able to keep hope alive after Super Tuesday, the odds of a Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton general election matchup definitely increased. I, and many other progressive cannabis law reformers and civil libertarians, have spent a lot of time describing why Bernie […]

Colorado Berned one tonight. The results are still coming in, but his lead is so strong that the networks were calling it for him as we were walking out of the caucus location, Byers Middle School, just west of ritzy Washington Park. The energy tonight was palpable, and the Sanders […]

Robert Reich Bill Clinton’s Labor Secretary made political waves by endorsing Bernie Sanders last week, despite deep ties with the Clinton family, which even includes a date with the future Democratic front-runner during college. Professor Reich, who taught economics for Harvard before moving onto the University of California, Berkeley, has […]

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard sent shockwaves through the political landscape by resigning as vice chair of the Democratic National Committee to endorse Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for president. DNC officials must remain neutral, so Gabbard had to resign to make an endorsement. Supporters of Bernie Sanders have often complained that the […]

Last month, Democratic Congressman Earl Blumenauer published an open letter to President Barack Obama urging him to use his executive power to end marijuana prohibition. Now, Representative Blumenauer is calling upon the cannabis community and all concerned citizens to help his effort by signing onto a petition to the president. […]

Anyone paying close attention to Robert Reich could tell that the economist and former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton, was a part of the #FeelTheBern movement. Reich often defends Bernie Sanders’ policies on his Facebook page, but he hadn’t made an official endorsement until today. Reich, a former Harvard Professor […]

Hillary Clinton’s contribution to our era of mass incarceration has garnered increased media attention after Black Lives Matter protester Ashley Williams asked Clinton for an apology during a fundraiser in South Carolina. Criminal justice reform has been a big issue between the Democratic front-runner and challenger Bernie Sanders throughout the […]

Colorado appears to be one of the upcoming Super Tuesday states that  Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders can win over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and marijuana legalization may just help swing the state for Sanders. Cannabis law reformers have praised Sen. Sanders’ more progressive marijuana policy, particularly his call to end […]

Vermont moved one step closer to becoming the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislative process as the state Senate voted 16-13 in favor of S. 241, a bill that would end state cannabis prohibition. This is a preliminary vote by the Vermont Senate as the legalization proposal requires […]

Somehow former Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African American to hold the position, stated in an interview with Frontline that he thinks that the Drug War is over. I’m guessing that the Drug War doesn’t seem over to the nonviolent citizens still in prison for marijuana and other substances, […]

After successful conferences on the West Coast, the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) is heading across the border, first to Vancouver, Canada, on October 13 & 14 of this year and then April 11-12, 2017, in Berlin, Germany. Sandwiched between the two international events will be another San Francisco, California, conference […]

I am very grateful to Bernie Sanders for helping to educate the public about socialism and income inequality. Is socialism the scary boogey man it has been painted as in the last few decades? In short, I argue no. Socialism has been given a bad rap, as has welfare. Just […]

Bernie Sanders lost narrowly to Hillary Clinton in Nevada, but he stuck to his common themes in his concession speech, including criminal justice reform. Senator Sanders again stressed the absurdity of people getting criminal records for marijuana offenses while Wall Street crooks don’t suffer any punishment. Former Secretary of State […]

Hillary Clinton reaffirmed her commitment to continue President Barack Obama’s policy of allowing states to move forward with their own cannabis laws and her support for moving marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to Schedule II in an interview with Nevada Public Radio. While the Democratic front-runner wouldn’t move […]

Bernie Sanders continued the messages and policy proposals that have helped him surge in the polls in tonight’s MSNBC Democratic Town Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike some politicians that tend to “play it safe” when taking a lead in a poll, Senator Sanders stayed consistent on marijuana legalization and […]

Two recent polls have shown a big surge by Bernie Sanders, turning the Nevada caucus on Saturday into a dead heat. In such a close race, is it possible that marijuana legalization supporters could tip the scales in favor of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the more progressive candidate on federal cannabis […]

Bernie Sanders’ proposal to deschedule marijuana just got a big endorsement: former Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders. “I certainly would support” it, Dr. Elders told Marijuana Politics on Saturday. “You know, we don’t have cigarettes [in the Controlled Substances Act]. We don’t have alcohol on it,” she added, “So I […]

Former President Clinton, stumping for his wife Hillary Clinton in Tennessee, contended that President Obama wasn’t “a change-maker.” Bill Clinton garnered quite a bit of media attention for stating that, “we are all mixed-race people” after Representative Steve Cohen introduced the forty-second president as a “heck of a stand-in” for the first […]

Hillary Clinton claims that the policies of Bernie Sanders won’t help black communities, but activist Dr. Cornel West vehemently disagrees. Now that the Democratic nominating process is moving past the homogeneous demographics of Iowa and New Hampshire, Clinton and Sanders are both making their case as to why their platforms […]

I got the chance to sit down with cannabis legend Tommy Chong at the International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco. Chong, 77, is parlaying his cannabis celebrity into a new brand, Chong’s Choice, as well as co-hosting a podcast with his son, Paris, to be hosted on CannabisRadio.com. I asked […]

For those not lucky enough to see Tommy Chong interviewed by Steve Bloom of Celebstoner and Freedom Leaf at the International Cannabis Business Conference  (ICBC), here are some highlights and notes, in a very stream-of-consciousness-kind-of-manner. This is according to my recollection, so most quotes are very much paraphrased: How are […]

Some political pundits and Hillary Clinton backers have rallied behind the still-Democratic-frontrunner’s closing statement in last night’s debate where she stated, “I am not a single-issue candidate and I do not believe we live in a single-issue country.” Some feel that Clinton finally found her message on why she is […]

Bernie Sanders has a remarkable history of being on the right side of the important civil rights battles of the day. Has he been perfect, of course not, but the smear that he has been absent on issues that matter to African American communities and all people of color seems […]

Last night’s New Hampshire crush and repudiation of the establishment on both the left and the right sent a loud and clear signal that Americans are tired of the same old politics and business as usual.  Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump didn’t just win, they blew everyone away!  That the […]

Bernie Sanders was immediately declared the winner of the New Hampshire primary, once the polls closed, becoming the first presidential primary candidate to win a state after supporting cannabis legalization. Once considered to have no shot at all, the anti-establishment underdog can certainly be considered a viable candidate after defeating […]

As approaches the New Hampshire Democratic Primary tomorrow night, he leads by almost 15 points in Huffington Post’s Pollster poll averages. barely eked out a 0.2 percent “win” in Iowa and now the Granite State could put Senator Sanders in the position of frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. This […]

Florida Senator Marco Rubio had his momentum (or “Marcomentum,” if you will) blunted by New Jersey Chris Christie at the final Republican debate before the New Hampshire primary. Rubio had been seen as the “establishment” candidate with the most momentum following his strong third-place finish, just one point behind national frontrunner […]

A conservative critic of President Obama’s use of executive authority is urging the President to declassify or reclassify marijuana. Illya Shapiro will soon file another brief in a 26-state challenge to President Obama’s immigration actions, yet he wants him to bypass Congress, who still lags way behind the American voters on the […]

The latest results from respected pollster Quinnipiac University show that Senator , once down by 30 points nationally to Secretary , is now within just two points of the supposedly presumptive Democratic presidential nominee among voters who are Democrats or Democratic-leaning, and out-performs her against the three leading GOP candidates. […]

About three weeks ago, I blogged about Senator Bernie Sanders surging in the polls and the establishment freaking out and I’m happy to post today that he is continuing to surge, but a little dismayed that the establishment continues to lose its mind. In a stunning development, Sen. Sanders now […]

Despite winning the New Hampshire primary against Barack Obama in 2008, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton has had a hard time overtaking the anti-establishment Bernie Sanders in his neighboring state. Buoyed by huge leads with young voters and independents, Senator Sanders is up by 20% in the NBC/WSJ/Marist poll and 31% […]

CNN broke the news that Bernie Sanders has earned the endorsement of Ben Jealous, former head of the NAACP. Senator Sanders, like then-Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 primary, has started way behind in African-American support. Candidate Obama flipped black voter support following his inspirational victory in the Iowa caucus, […]

Hillary Clinton was crushed by 17-29 year-old voters in Iowa, as Bernie Sanders defeated the Democratic frontrunner 84%-14%. At the New Hampshire town hall, hosted by CNN, the former Secretary of State demonstrated that she is still severely out of touch on marijuana. Not only is she out of touch […]

The Republican presidential primary looks to be boiled down to three real candidates following the Iowa caucus and one, Marco Rubio, should have cannabis law reformers and civil libertarians concerned. The Reefer Madness candidate was Chris Christie, who famously stated that marijuana users were diseased and needed curing with law […]

UPDATE: The final tally gives Hillary→ back that 0.3 percent “victory”. It’s past midnight now in Iowa, which means it’s now Groundhog Day. Formerly-presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary→* Clinton has to feel like she’s watching 2008 play out all over again as some unknown senator comes at her from the […]

Rubio was the real GOP winner while the Democrats prepare for a  slog after a tie After months (years?) of campaigning in one of the more unique political seasons in modern American history, the Iowa caucus results are in. Republican Ted Cruz won a solid electoral victory while Marco Rubio […]

Update: Iowa ends up even politically, even after the voters caucus. Polls released today show Bernie Sanders up 3% in Iowa and winning by a whopping 31% in New Hampshire.  In Iowa, the polls are about to be irrelevant as Iowans trudge out in the Midwest winter (but at least […]

Iowa is too close to call and young voters could very well determine the Democratic Iowa caucus winner and thus, the nominee and future leader of the free world. On the biggest issues of the day, Hillary Clinton has been out of touch with young voters, while Bernie Sanders has been consistently […]

Political junkies like myself were waiting anxiously as the final Des Moines Register Iowa caucus poll was announced this afternoon. The poll is widely respected as having the best grasp on the hard-to-predict Iowa caucus. Not surprisingly, Donald Trump leads the Republican field, although Ted Cruz is in striking distance of […]

Iowa Democratic caucus voters have a huge burden on their shoulders as they decide who they will caucus for on Monday. Will they choose Bernie Sanders’ hopeful message of change or Hillary Clinton’s pragmatic realism (or is it political cynicism)? Iowa chose change in 2004, and despite the many unfulfilled […]

As her lead in the polls continues to dwindle, Hillary Clinton is trying her best to appeal to young voters, who favor her main opponent, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Clinton goes to ridiculous lengths in her attempts to woo young people into supporting her campaign: she’s whipped and nae-naed on […]

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 […]

The Democratic political establishment has gone into full panic mode as anti-establishment candidate Bernie Sanders surged past Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and pulled within striking range in Iowa. We can certainly count on more ridiculous hyperbole coming out of the Clinton machine now that the latests CNN/WMUR polls have Senator Sanders […]

I’m a political junkie and have watched all of the Republican and Democratic presidential debates so far. If I were one of the moderators, these are the marijuana questions I’d ask the candidates for president: Democrats , you’ve called not for rescheduling, but descheduling of marijuana. Would that mean moving […]

Bernie Sanders campaign has long been ridiculed by the political establishment and even by some fellow progressives. Well, they can stop laughing now. The Vermont Senator’s remarkable climb in the polls has crescendoed to unprecedented heights in the latest CNN/WMUR poll that has the anti-establishment candidate defeating frontrunner Hillary Clinton […]