The Marijuana Justice Act of 2017, introduced by New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker, is exactly the criminal justice and health legislation this country so needs. Much like Bernie Sander’s bill in the last Congress, this act would not reschedule, but actually deschedule cannabis out of the Controlled Substance Act […]

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 […]

H.R.1227, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017, has been introduced and is gaining cosponsors in the House of Representatives. This bill would end decades of “unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious” federal criminalization of cannabis. The legislation was sponsored by Virginia Representative Tom Garrett, a freshman republican in the state’s […]

Hillary Clinton and the democrats are searching for reasons for their devastating loss. Was it FBI Director James Comey they ask? Was it the steady drip of WikiLeaks they wonder? It just may be that Hillary’s non-committal and suspicious views and statements about marijuana doomed her. Had she come out […]

At the twilight of his presidency, Barack Obama leaves unmet the huge need to change federal cannabis law. President Barack Obama will soon leave office. Although he will re-enter private life as one of America’s better presidents, he has failed to address the calamitous war on drugs, especially the eight-decade […]

The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a new policy this morning that many advocates have considered a mixed bag. The DEA announced that they would allow more universities to produce medical cannabis for research purposes, but that marijuana would ridiculously remain a Schedule I controlled substance (the same classification as heroin, […]

“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 […]

Devisive Debbie Wasserman Schultz has finally resigned as Democratic National Committee chief. Followers of MarijuanaPolitics.com may have read this writer’s several posts criticizing Schultz as unfit for DNC chief or as a Democratic Representative to Congress. Her resignation will go a long ways in helping to unify the Democratic Party for the […]

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 […]

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, […]

President Obama has a rare opportunity to make history by rescheduling marijuana. As it so happens, the DEA is currently deciding on a five-year-old petition to reschedule marijuana, supposedly in the first half of 2016. This decision coincides with some of the final months of the Obama administration. This coincidence […]

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 […]

Bernie Sanders has endorsed Tim Canova over Debbie Wasserman Schultz for US Representative in the August 30 Florida Democratic primary vote. The primary election offers the chance to replace anti-cannabis prohibitionist Schultz with drug law reformer Tim Canova.  Debbie, of course, is also the Chair of the Democratic National Committee, […]