A day after the Oregon business plan summit ended, The Oregonian newspaper ran an editorial about Governor Kate Brown’s failure to lead.  It was a harsh rebuke of Governor Brown. No doubt being governor is hard.  But when it comes to cannabis in Oregon, failure to lead sums it up. The Oregonian followed up their rebuke of Brown with another […]

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 […]

From the tales of murderous madness to offensive racism to the “this is brain on drugs” frying pan, prohibitionist propaganda has done more harm than good. At worst, such propaganda has created unnecessary fear and helped lead to unnecessarily draconian penalties. In many cases, the message is so ridiculous on […]

Being from Iowa I never received much encouragement for my career choice. I have been part of the cannabis culture for fourteen years, and in that time I have seen next to zero progress in the push to legalize. My family and friends have criticized me for standing up and […]

When 56% of Oregonians voted to legalize and regulate marijuana by passing Measure 91 in 2014, they voted for a law that included a provision that the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program would not be impacted. While the legalization law couldn’t guarantee that no changes would occur forever, many voters across […]

The opportunities to end cannabis prohibition and establish an industry that we can all be proud of are very exciting. While the cannabis community and general public is better off now that marijuana has been legalized in four states, industry participants know firsthand that many hurdles can be placed in […]

Buoyed by a recent poll showing a ten point lead over Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, Vermont Senator is making his case for the nomination in his stronghold of New Hampshire. Helped by a geographical proximity and a primary voting process that has a strong independent vote, Sanders has long led […]

After a landmark case before Mexico’s Supreme Court, four Mexican residents have now been granted permits to cultivate, possess and consume cannabis. More people have already applied for permits and more court cases may be on the horizon. Cannabis law reform advocates hope that the initial court case victory, the […]

Marijuana is big news for the media these days and 2015 was no different. After 56% of Oregon voters chose to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana by passing Measure 91 last November, the Beaver State officially became the fourth state to legalize marijuana possession on July 1st. Since Washington State […]

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 […]

The latest report from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) details the extent of drug rehabilitation in the United States. Rehabs that receive government funding must report to the Treatment Episode Data Set, which includes Admissions (TEDS-A) and discharges (TEDS-D). The TEDS-A report is out for 2003-2013, containing […]

Without a doubt, California has been a leader on cannabis law reform. The Golden State was the pioneer on medical marijuana and medicinal cannabis commerce following the historic passage of Proposition 215 in 1998. There are reportedly more than 1,200 medical marijuana dispensaries conducting more than $1 billion of of business […]

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 […]

Below is a guest blog submitted by a reader who wanted to join the conversation. If you would like to contribute to Marijuana Politics and join the discussion, click here.  In recent years, marijuana has become legal in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. It’s obvious that the majority […]

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 […]