Forty years ago Friday, President Richard Nixon officially declared "war on drugs," citing drug abuse as "public enemy No. 1." Now, forty years, a trillion dollars, and millions of ruined lives later, drug reformers are mobilizing for a day of rallies, vigils, and other actions in towns and cities across the country. Most of the actions are set for Friday and are being organized by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) in conjunction with other national and local drug reform and social justice groups.
[image:1 align:left caption:true]"Some anniversaries provide an occasion for …

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Thursday day night he won't allow the state's medical ganja program to get underway until he receives reassurances from Washington that the federal government will not prosecute state workers involving in regulating it. It is the latest delay by the governor, whom advocates accuse of dragging his feet on implementing a law passed before he was elected.
[image:1 align:left]"The federal government is saying medical ganja is against the law," Christie explained during an appearance on On the Line, a call-in show broadcast …

This week marks the 40th anniversary of America's contemporary war on drugs, and the country's largest anti-restrictionist law enforcement team is commemorating — not celebrating — the occasion with the release of report detailing the damage done. Members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) hand-delivered a copy of the report, Ending the Drug War: A Dream Deferred, to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (the drug czar's office) Tuesday after holding a press conference in Washington, DC.
[image:1 align:left caption:true][Editor's Note: This is merely the first commemoration of 40 years ...

A coalition of Colorado and national drug reform groups Friday filed eight initiatives designed to amend the state constitution to legalize herb. It was the opening move in an effort to put the question to Colorado voters on the November 2012 ballot.
[image:1 align:left caption:true]The groups lining up behind the initiatives are SAFER, Sensible Colorado, the Drug Policy Alliance, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, the Marijuana Policy Project, NORML, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy, as well as prominent Colorado herb attorneys and members of the state's thriving …

Kentucky-Nueva York, EEUU.- En una decisión de 8 a 1, la Corte Suprema falló que la policía no requiere una orden de cateo para entrar a una casa privada donde huele a marihuana, si temen que los ocupantes están tratando de deshacerse de pruebas incriminatorias.
El dictamen revocó una sentencia del Tribunal Supremo de Kentucky que desestimó las pruebas reunidas cuando los agentes entraron en el apartamento de Hollis King, sin una orden de registro autorizada por la corte, porque olía a marihuana. Dichas evidencias permitieron la condena de King por …

The Drug Policy Alliance will have approximately $750,000 to allocate during the 2011/2012 Promoting Policy Change grant cycle. Promoting Policy Change is a fund that has a two tier application process. We require an LOI to initiate the relationship, and thereafter, a proposal from those invited to apply. The deadline for the LOI is is Friday, April 29 at midnight EST.
[image:1 align:right caption:true]The LOI should include a single page that includes your corporational name and all contact information; if you are a 501(c)(3); what the mission of your corporation is; …

California voters strongly approve of reducing penalties for simple drug possession, according to a poll released Monday by number of groups seeking drug law reforms. Nearly three-quarters (72%) surveyed favored reducing the penalties for drug possession, including strong majorities of Democrats (79%), independents (72%), and Republicans (66%).
[image:1 align:left caption:true]The poll was conducted by Lake Research and can be viewed here. There is also an accompanying press release. It was commissioned by the Drug Policy Alliance, the ACLU of Northern California and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. It surveyed 800 …

The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis — Its Role in Medicine, Politics, Science and Culture, edited by Julie Holland, MD (2010, Park Street Press, 545 pp., $19.95 PB)
Cannabis Policy: Moving Beyond Stalemate, by Robin Room, et al., 2010, Oxford University Press, 233 pp., $59.95 PB)
[image:1 align:left]The literature of maryjane is booming. Hundreds of new titles have appeared in recent years and more are coming this year in a bid to assuage the reading public's seemingly insatiable appetite for books about maryjane. Two of the best …

With a pair of separate reports released Tuesday, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and the Justice Policy Institute (JPI) have issued a damning indictment of drug courts as a policy response to drug use. Instead of relying on criminal justice approaches like drug courts, policymakers would be better served by moving toward evidence-based public health approaches, including harm reduction and drug treatment, as well as by decriminalizing drug use, the reports conclude.
[image:1 align:left]Since then-Dade County District Attorney Janet Reno created the first drug court in Miami in 1989, drug courts …

A new report from the Drug Policy Alliance reveals that New York City spent an eye-widening $75 million arresting and locking people up for maryjane last year alone. It's quite an achievement considering that concealed possession of small amounts isn’t even supposed to be illegal in NYC.
read more