Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s conduct in Maricopa County, Arizona, is a national disgrace that should be declared unconstitutional and should be stopped. Jane and Bernie Sanders should be commended for shining a light on Arpaio’s abuses, from racial profiling to neglectful, inhumane treatment of people in his custody. These abuses are […]

The fact that Bernie Sanders is just 7% down from Hillary Clinton in Missouri’s Democratic primary this Tuesday has been widely reported. The Docking Institute of Public Affairs Poll conducted for Missouri newspapers has the Democratic establishment candidate Clinton with 47% of the vote with the anti-establishment Sanders at 40%, within […]

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 […]

I get the chance to meet and interview amazing people, like pot star Tommy Chong, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, quarterback Jim McMahon, billionaire Richard Branson, and the leading researchers and activists in the marijuana movement. But the interviews I find most special are those with the children battling life-threatening illnesses and […]

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 […]

My conversation with Tommy Chong at the International Cannabis Business Conference began with his thoughts on the candidacy of Donald Trump, who Chong believes “personifies the Republican Party.” In Part 2 of our interview, Chong talks about how rich people like Donald Trump lose contact with the real world. Chong […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Imagine being forced with the choice of either breaking state and federal law or watching your child suffer. That was the tragic choice put before the parents of Vivian Wilson, who chose to move to Colorado to acquire the medicine needed for her Dravet syndrome. The Wilson family wanted to comply […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

As the Democratic candidates square off in a debate tonight in South Carolina, polls have shown that the race has been tightening in Iowa and New Hampshire, and potentially even nationally. Frontrunner Hillary Clinton has been expected to win the Iowa caucus, but recent polls show that she is in a […]

Progressive supporters of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders got great news this past week when a Fox News poll showed the anti-establishment Democratic candidate with a commanding 13 point lead over frontrunner Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire. The good polling news continued with the release of the NBC/The Wall Street Journal/Marist also […]

The founders of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, are urging voters to support Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and for supporters to make a donation before midnight rings in 2016. Cohen and Greenfield started the iconic ice cream company in Vermont, so it shouldn’t be a […]

Bernie Sanders’ supporters, including many in the cannabis community, did all that they could to make the Vermont Senator TIME Person of the Year as he clearly won the online vote, but the magazine’s editors have decided to go a different route. While Sanders will fail to become the first […]

UPDATE: TIME left Bernie Sanders off of the shortlist of potential winners for Person of the Year, despite his winning the online readers’ poll.  TIME Magazine’s editors will ultimately have the final say, but their readers have made it clear that Bernie Sanders should be the 2015 TIME Person of […]

With less than 3 days left to vote, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders leads the TIME Person of the Year Poll, ahead of political rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Sanders has far exceeded expectations in the 2016 Democratic primary and has helped dramatically improve how American political candidates discuss marijuana […]

UPDATE: Holly Holm defeated Ronda Rousey to win the UFC bantamweight championship at UFC 193. Ronda Rousey is obviously not afraid of speaking her mind. From her belief that women don’t need others to take care of them to sex, Rousey seems to speak authentically off the cuff. Some love […]

Hillary Clinton has talked a pretty good talk on criminal justice reform during the 2016 Democratic primary, but she disappointed many cannabis law reform advocates by refusing to endorse marijuana legalization. Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, has long enjoyed the support of many cannabis law reformers and the insurgent […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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CNN’s coverage of the first Democratic presidential debate drew both praise and controversy across the political spectrum. Many people felt that Anderson Cooper did a great job asking tough questions of the candidates and sticking to the issues. Others criticized CNN for declaring Hillary Clinton the winner of the debate, […]

Many cannabis law reform advocates and Drug War reformers have certainly rallied behind Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. The insurgent candidate has stated that he will consider legalizing marijuana; that states should be able to legalize without restrictions; he has called the Drug War a failure; and he has introduced a […]

Less than a week after what many saw as a lackluster performance at the second official GOP debate, Donald Trump is still leading in the polls and back on the attack, this time on Instagram implying that Jeb Bush must be totally high. In a video posted yesterday, The Donald’s […]

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 […]

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and failed California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina has won two debates thus far according to political conventional wisdom, the first FOX News second-tier debate and then the latest top-tier debate on CNN. While Fiorina’s tenure at HP was very controversial, including sales to Iran despite U.S. sanctions, […]

The 2016 election is shaping up to be a landmark year for the cannabis community, with more marijuana legalization measures passed in any one year, not to mention a the potential to elect a president willing to allow states to legalize “without restriction“, at least support the ability of localities […]

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 […]

Hat tip to Tom Angell over at Marijuana.com, who we first saw post about Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ comments on cannabis law and greater Drug War reform in an interview with Little Village, a public access program on Iowa public access radio. The progressive Democratic presidential candidate stated, “What the […]

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 […]

In a rather shocking development, even for those that have long been supporters and of Bernie Sanders, the latest Qunnipiac poll has the Vermont Senator edging out Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton 41% to 40%. While this poll is clearly within the statistical margin of error, the most amazing development is the huge […]

Bernie Sanders has increased his lead on Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire according to the latest NBC/Marist poll. The progressive insurgent candidate that many cannabis law reform advocates have rallied around, has been the target of criticism from Clinton surrogates in recent day. Sanders responded that Clinton’s campaign must be […]

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 […]

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 […]