Afederal appeals court gave medical marijuana advocates what seemed like a big win this week with a unanimous ruling that the federal government cannot prosecute people who grow and distribute medicinal cannabis if they comply with state laws. The decision affirms a mandate from Congress that barred the U.S. Department of Justice in 2014 and 2015 from bringing cases against legitimate pot shops in states that have medical marijuana laws. It makes clear that if operators are meticulously following the rules, they shouldn't have to worry about the feds coming after them. [continues 437 words]
A s some areas of the Golden State already seem to be embracing the marijuana industry, thankfully Tulare County continues to follow the law and awaits further legislation. On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors again passed an interim ordinance blocking the growing and dispensing of medical marijuana and basically thwarting any attempts for someone to set up a growing operation in the county in preparation should the state's voters pass a measure in November which will legalize cannabis. There is so much uncertainty and still so much illegal activity surrounding marijuana - medical or not - we support the moratorium on opening up new cooperatives or collectives to distribute medical marijuana because the regulations are still far too lax. [continues 239 words]
A federal appeals court gave medical marijuana advocates what seemed like a big win this week with a unanimous ruling that the federal government may not prosecute people who grow and distribute medicinal cannabis if they comply with state laws. The decision affirms a mandate from Congress, which barred the U.S. Department of Justice in 2014 and 2015 from bringing cases against legitimate pot shops in states that have medical marijuana laws. It makes clear that if operators are meticulously following the rules, they shouldn't have to worry about the feds coming after them. [continues 514 words]
The Drug Enforcement Administration's decision last week not to reschedule marijuana highlights the absurdities of its pre-election limbo. Marijuana will remain a Schedule I drug, meaning that the federal government doesn't recognize any of its medical uses and considers it to have high potential for abuse. "This decision isn't based on danger," DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg told NPR. "This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine ... and it's not." [continues 776 words]
Not a single gram of legal marijuana has yet been sold in Alaska, but some bank accounts tied to people in the emerging cannabis industry are already being shut down. Citing strict federal laws around cannabis, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union has stopped doing business with an undisclosed number of people linked to marijuana businesses; Credit Union 1 has also closed down at least one account, company officials confirmed. Cole Hollister, co-owner of Fairbanks-based cultivation facility Pakalolo Supply Co. Inc., got a letter in July notifying him his personal account with Alaska USA was being shut down. [continues 1218 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday banned the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana cases if no state laws were broken. A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the federal agency to show that 10 pending cases in California and Washington state violated medical marijuana laws in those states before continuing with prosecutions. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but Congress has barred the Justice Department from spending money to prevent states from regulating the use or sale of medical pot. [continues 445 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court Tuesday banned the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana cases if no state laws were broken. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered the federal agency to show that 10 pending cases in California and Washington state violated medical marijuana laws in those states before continuing with prosecutions. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but Congress barred the Justice Department from spending money to prevent states from regulating the use or sale of medical pot under a bipartisan measure co-authored by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa. [continues 555 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court on Tuesday banned the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana cases if no state laws were broken. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered the federal agency to show that 10 pending cases in California and Washington state violated medical marijuana laws in those states before continuing with prosecutions. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but Congress has barred the Justice Department from spending money to prevent states from regulating the use or sale of medical pot. [continues 349 words]
In a potential legal breakthrough for medical marijuana, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Justice Department cannot prosecute anyone who grows, supplies or uses the drug for medical purposes under state law because Congress has barred federal intervention. The decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was written by one of its most conservative judges, Diarmuid O'Scannlain, and was the first by any appeals court to prohibit federal prosecutions under spending restrictions enacted by Congress. First passed in 2014 and renewed through September, the budget amendment forbids the Justice Department to spend any money to prevent California and other states from "implementing their own state laws" that authorize the medical use of marijuana. [continues 698 words]
On a Sunday morning in late July, in a small town in southwest Alabama, Barbara Moore Knight gave her fellow church members news that brought spontaneous applause and murmurs of "Amen!" She told them that her son, James LaRon Knight, was among the drug felons whose sentences had been commuted by President Barack Obama the week before. In 2004, Knight was convicted of conspiracy to sell cocaine. Although the crime was nonviolent, he was sentenced to more than 24 years in a federal prison. The sentence was a travesty, an unduly harsh punishment for a family man never accused of running a substantial criminal enterprise. [continues 507 words]
The Obama administration's decision to expand opportunities for scientific research of medical marijuana, while leaving cannabis classification under its longtime most-dangerous-drug status, strikes us as an important step, but hardly a solution. The decision is hopeful in that it signals an attempt to end the bureaucratic hurdles that prevent scientific study of the drug that so many advocates claim has curative powers. But leaving in place the stigma and legal problems that a Schedule I designation creates makes the administration's attempt to find some middle ground difficult to truly appreciate. [continues 380 words]
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has just issued a helpful reminder to all Americans. In denying a petition to loosen restrictions on marijuana, the agency repeated that the drug has "no currently accepted medical use" in the U.S. This may come as a surprise, given that 25 states already allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat maladies from PTSD to Alzheimer's disease. Yet the truth is, research has yet to find firm evidence that marijuana can alleviate physical suffering. [continues 395 words]
On a Sunday morning in late July, in a small town in southwest Alabama, Barbara Moore Knight gave her fellow church members news that brought spontaneous applause and murmurs of "Amen!" She told them that her son, James LaRon Knight, was among the drug felons whose sentences had been commuted by President Barack Obama the week before. In 2004, Knight was convicted of conspiracy to sell cocaine. Although the crime was nonviolent, he was sentenced to more than 24 years in a federal prison. The sentence was a travesty, an unduly harsh punishment for a family man never accused of running a substantial criminal enterprise. [continues 535 words]
MACON, Ga. (AP) - Medical marijuana supporters in Georgia were hoping for something different from the federal government, not its recent ruling that cannabis should remain off-limits. Georgians like Janea Cox of Monroe County want to be able to get medical cannabis just like other prescriptions instead of breaking the law to seek therapies for themselves or their loved ones, The Telegraph reported. It was difficult to hear news of Thursday's ruling from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Cox told the Macon newspaper. The agency decided marijuana will remain on the list of most dangerous drugs, which includes heroin See page 16 [continues 541 words]
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has just issued a helpful reminder to all Americans. In denying a petition to loosen restrictions on marijuana, the agency repeated that the drug has "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States. This may come as a surprise, given that 25 states - including Nevada - - already allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat maladies from PTSD to Alzheimer's disease. Yet the truth is, research has yet to find firm evidence that marijuana can alleviate physical suffering. [continues 391 words]
For the first time since 1988, both major parties' nominees - Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump - say that they have never smoked or experimented with marijuana (without inhaling). President Obama has been open about having used marijuana and other drugs in his youth, yet his administration has taken insufficient steps to inject some sanity into the federal government's approach to marijuana policy. In 2008, the Obama campaign talked about keeping federal prosecutors from going after medical marijuana dispensaries in states that have legalized medical use such as California. To the contrary, in his first term especially, Obama's Department of Justice was merciless on medical marijuana providers, as well as users. If you hoped for big change, get over it. Wednesday, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it would not change marijuana's classification from the Schedule I drug status it has held since 1970. [continues 531 words]
Washington - As a college student in Virginia, Corey Jacobs started selling drugs with the help of a group of friends to make some extra money. A Bronx native, Mr. Jacobs was no kingpin, and no aspect of their drug conspiracy involved violence. Now age 46, Mr. Jacobs has served 16 years of a sentence of life without parole in the federal system. No question, Corey Jacobs should have gone to prison for his felony. But does he deserve to die there? [continues 1176 words]
Supporters of a saner marijuana policy scored a small victory this week when the Obama administration said it would authorize more institutions to grow marijuana for medical research. But the government passed up an opportunity to make a more significant change. The Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday turned down two petitions - one from the governors of Rhode Island and Washington and the other from a resident of New Mexico - requesting that marijuana be removed from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. Drugs on that list, which include heroin and LSD, are deemed to have no medical use; possession is illegal under federal law, and researchers have to jump through many hoops to obtain permission to study them and obtain samples to study. Having marijuana on that list is deeply misguided since many scientists and President Obama have said that it is no more dangerous than alcohol. [continues 485 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration has decided marijuana will remain on the list of most dangerous drugs, fully rebuffing growing support across the country for broad legalization, but said it will allow more research into its medical uses. The decision to expand research into marijuana's medical potential could pave the way for the drug to be moved to a lesser category. Heroin, peyote and marijuana, among others, are considered Schedule I drugs because they have no medical application; cocaine and opiates, for example, have medical uses and, while still illegal for recreational use, are designated Schedule II drugs. [continues 732 words]
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has just issued a helpful reminder to all Americans. In denying a petition to loosen restrictions on marijuana, the agency repeated that the drug has "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States. This may come as a surprise, given that some states already allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat maladies from PTSD to Alzheimer's disease. Yet the truth is, research has yet to find firm evidence that marijuana can alleviate physical suffering. [continues 177 words]
WASHINGTON - The government refused again Thursday to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, reaffirming its conclusion that the drug's therapeutic value has not been proved scientifically and defying growing support to legalize it for the treatment of a variety of conditions. In an announcement in the Federal Register and a letter to petitioners, the Drug Enforcement Administration turned down requests to remove marijuana from "Schedule I," which classifies it as a drug with "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States and precludes doctors from prescribing it. [continues 871 words]
Federal Government at Odds With 25 States That Allow Therapeutic Use. The Obama administration has decided marijuana will remain on the list of most dangerous drugs, fully rebuffing growing support across the country for broad legalization, but said it will allow more research into its medical uses. In an announcement in the Federal Register and a letter to petitioners, the Drug Enforcement Administration turned down requests to remove marijuana from "Schedule I," which classifies it as a drug with "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States and precludes doctors from prescribing it. [continues 969 words]
She recently turned 18, and if Malia Obama did not know that she had become a legitimate target for sections of the American media, she does now. The "First Daughter" was videoed smoking what a witness claimed was a joint in a video clip released yesterday. The footage was taken at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago last month. It is unclear from the images whether what Obama can be seen puffing on is a regular cigarette or one rolled with cannabis. [continues 146 words]
The Obama administration's decision to expand opportunities for scientific research of medical marijuana, while leaving cannabis classification under its longtime most-dangerous-drug status, strikes us as an important step, but hardly a solution. The decision is hopeful in that it signals an attempt to end the bureaucratic hurdles that prevent scientific study of the drug that so many advocates claim has curative powers. But leaving in place the stigma and legal problems that a Schedule I designation creates makes the administration's attempt to find some middle ground difficult to truly appreciate. [continues 428 words]
Studies OK, but No Legalization, Rescheduling WASHINGTON - The federal government is ending its decades-old monopoly on marijuana production for medical research as the Drug Enforcement Agency announced Thursday it was bowing to changing times. The agency said it would begin allowing researchers and drug companies to use pot grown in places other than its well-secured facility at the University of Mississippi. But the agency did not make the bigger plunge toward marijuana legalization that many lawmakers have been advocating. It passed on a proposal to remove cannabis from the federal government's most dangerous category of narcotics. The drug continues to be classified as more dangerous than cocaine. [continues 597 words]
Studies OK, but No Legalization, Rescheduling WASHINGTON - The federal government is ending its decades-old monopoly on marijuana production for medical research as the Drug Enforcement Agency announced Thursday it was bowing to changing times. The agency said it would begin allowing researchers and drug companies to use pot grown in places other than its well-secured facility at the University of Mississippi. But the agency did not make the bigger plunge toward marijuana legalization that many lawmakers have been advocating. It passed on a proposal to remove cannabis from the federal government's most dangerous category of narcotics. The drug continues to be classified as more dangerous than cocaine. [continues 586 words]
Studies OK, but No Legalization, Rescheduling WASHINGTON - The federal government is ending its decades-old monopoly on marijuana production for medical research as the Drug Enforcement Agency announced Thursday it was bowing to changing times. The agency said it would begin allowing researchers and drug companies to use pot grown in places other than its well-secured facility at the University of Mississippi. But the agency did not make the bigger plunge toward marijuana legalization that many lawmakers have been advocating. It passed on a proposal to remove cannabis from the federal government's most dangerous category of narcotics. The drug continues to be classified as more dangerous than cocaine. [continues 484 words]
DEA Turns Down Pleas to Redefine Drug's Dangers The federal government's fresh assertion that marijuana has no demonstrated medicinal value, which came even as it granted scientists greater ability to study whether it might, is the latest zigzag in a national psychodrama over pot that remains unsettled even as states strike out on their own and legalize recreational use of the drug. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday that it had rejected pleas to take marijuana off its Schedule I drug list - which includes heroin and ecstasy - meaning the herb is still classified, as it has been for 46 years, as an addictive drug with no accepted medical value and a high potential for abuse. [continues 839 words]
Obama Pledged Science-Based Policy The Obama administration has looked the other way as more than a dozen states enacted medical marijuana laws and five jurisdictions legalized the drug for recreational use, but when faced with what was likely its final chance during President Obama's tenure to loosen federal restrictions on the medicinal use of the drug, the administration has chosen to puff, puff, pass. The Drug Enforcement Administration on Thursday denied requests to change the legal classification of marijuana, shooting down advocates' latest push to get the drug federally approved for medical purposes. [continues 677 words]
Decision a Blow to Legalization but May Spur Research WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration has decided marijuana will remain on the list of most-dangerous drugs, fully rebuffing growing support across the country for broad legalization, but said it will allow more research into its medical uses. The decision to expand research into marijuana's medical potential could pave the way for the drug to be moved to a lesser category. Heroin, peyote and marijuana, among others, are considered Schedule I drugs because they have no medical application; cocaine and opiates, for example, have medical uses and, while still illegal for recreational use, are designated Schedule II drugs. [continues 261 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration has decided marijuana will remain on the list of most-dangerous drugs, fully rebuffing growing support across the country for broad legalization, but said it will allow more research into its medical uses. The decision to expand research into marijuana's medical potential could pave the way for the drug to be moved to a lesser category. Heroin, peyote and marijuana, among others, are considered Schedule I drugs because they have no medical application; cocaine and opiates, for example, have medical uses and, while still illegal for recreational use, are designated Schedule II drugs. [continues 446 words]
California appears poised to join the growing number of states that have legalized marijuana, even as the federal government is reaffirming its 46-year-old stance that pot is a top-tier illicit narcotic on par with heroin and LSD. The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday that marijuana will remain classified as a Schedule I controlled substance - a designation reserved for highly addictive drugs with no proven medical use. Thousands of published studies and extensive anecdotal evidence have indicated marijuana can help with conditions such as epilepsy and chronic pain. But DEA acting Administrator Chuck Rosenberg said a thorough review of the research, with input from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, determined cannabis treatments haven't yet been proven effective by controlled clinical trials and widespread acceptance from the medical community. [continues 838 words]
Sen. Wyden says laws are 'behind the times' WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration has decided marijuana will remain on the list of most dangerous drugs, fully rebuffing growing support across the country for broad legalization, but said it will allow more research into its medical uses. The decision to expand research into marijuana's medical potential could pave the way for the drug to be moved to a lesser category. Heroin, peyote and marijuana, among others, are considered Schedule I drugs because they have no medical application; cocaine and opiates, for example, have medical uses and, while still illegal for recreational use, are designated Schedule II drugs. [continues 732 words]
Growers will be able to apply for licenses, expanding potential for medical research. WASHINGTON - The federal government is ending its decades-old monopoly on marijuana production for medical research as the Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday it was bowing to changing times. The agency said it would begin allowing researchers and drug companies to use pot grown in places other than its well-secured facility at the University of Mississippi. But the agency did not make the bigger plunge toward marijuana legalization that many lawmakers have been advocating. It passed on a proposal to remove cannabis from the federal government's most dangerous category of narcotics. The drug continues to be classified as more dangerous than cocaine. [continues 814 words]
The federal government has for years employed a bizarre circular logic when it comes to marijuana. Officially deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical application, marijuana is listed by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act - on a par with heroin and LSD. Yet that very listing has severely limited the research that could settle the question of whether marijuana does indeed have therapeutic value, as attested to by countless glaucoma sufferers, nauseated cancer patients and a raft of other ailing people and their physicians who report anecdotally that marijuana eases suffering. [continues 317 words]
WASHINGTON - The government refused again Thursday to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, reaffirming its conclusion the drug's therapeutic value has not been proved scientifically and defying a growing clamor to legalize it for the treatment of a variety of conditions. In an announcement in the Federal Register and a letter to petitioners, the Drug Enforcement Administration turned down requests to remove marijuana from "Schedule I," which classifies it as a drug with "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States and precludes doctors from prescribing it. [continues 1190 words]
WASHINGTON - Delivering a major blow to backers of pot legalization, the Obama administration said Thursday that it would keep marijuana classified as one of the nation's most dangerous drugs, similar to heroin and LSD. The long-awaited decision by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration keeps intact a 1970 law that lists marijuana as Schedule 1 drug, one defined as having no medical value. That runs counter to decisions made by California and 25 other states that have already approved use of the drug as medicine. [continues 963 words]
Wasn't the DEA supposed to have released its decision on rescheduling cannabis by now? - -John E. Law Of course it was, and of course it hasn't. Word was that the Drug Enforcement Administration was in talks to bump cannabis to Schedule 2 within the first half of 2016. Do you know how hard it is for government agencies to admit they've made a mistake? Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it supposedly has no medicinal value and has a high risk for abuse. You know, like other Schedule I drugs such as heroin or LSD. [continues 458 words]
The Obama administration is planning to remove a major roadblock to marijuana research, officials said Wednesday, potentially spurring broad scientific study of a drug that is being used to treat dozens of diseases in states across the nation despite little rigorous evidence of its effectiveness. The new policy is expected to sharply increase the supply of marijuana available to researchers. And in taking this step, the Obama administration is further relaxing the nation's stance on marijuana. President Obama has said he views it as no more dangerous than alcohol, and the Justice Department has not stood in the way of states that have legalized the drug. [continues 710 words]
The government on Thursday will refuse again to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, reaffirming its conclusion that the drug's therapeutic value has not been proved scientifically, according to government officials, and defying a growing clamor to legalize it for the treatment of a variety of conditions. In an announcement scheduled to be in the Federal Register, the Drug Enforcement Administration will turn down requests to remove marijuana from "Schedule I," which classifies it as a drug with "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States and bars doctors from prescribing it. [continues 759 words]
Recently in Denver, Donald Trump told a television station that states should decide for themselves whether or not to legalize marijuana. Trump has expressed contradictory views in the past, but this is one of his more believable campaign promises. If Trump believes in anything besides himself, it's in the virtue of making money. He allocated a prime speaking slot at the Republican National Convention to Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire who - aside from celebrities - is the most prominent businessperson to get his hands green. Thiel's Founders Fund invested millions in Privateer Holdings, the parent company of weed site Leafly and cannabis brand Marley Natural. Like every speaker at either party's conventions, Thiel declined to mention the plant, but he has a stake in the industry's future. [continues 678 words]
Regarding "Pro-pot forces sue over ballot language" (Aug. 5): I don't believe those in favor of Proposition 64, the legalization of recreational marijuana, will be dissuaded by "TV commercials" and children targeted by ads for "marijuana gummy candy and brownies." The Public Policy Institute of California's latest poll shows 60 percent in favor of legalization and 37 percent opposed. Of those 60 percent, likely most, if not all, are now or have been recreational smokers, be it legal or not, and have already been exposed to the federal government's "Reefer Madness" form of propaganda for years. Besides, TV advertisement for marijuana, like hard liquor, is already banned by the federal government, and recreational marijuana will only be sold, as is liquor, to adults over 21, so children don't even enter the equation. The inevitability of legalization has surrounded us for decades. President Obama, who has admitted smoking marijuana, agrees that it's less harmful than alcohol. When legal, the process of pardoning those California inmates incarcerated for nonviolent marijuana offenses, as Obama has recently done, can begin. Michael Haworth, Vallejo [end]
COLORADO'S now years-long experiment with legal medical and recreational cannabis markets has been mostly positive and fascinating, and yet the federal government has been slow to rethink its decades-long prohibitionist position. We hope the Obama administration takes advantage of its historic opportunity to end or take steps towards dismantling the destructive war on pot. What an irony it would be if Obama, who has openly admitted to pot use in his early years, and who has shown great tolerance towards local legalisation laws, left office without having moved the nation away from the antiquated reefer-madness enforcement of past presidencies. [continues 135 words]
Colorado's now years-long experiment with legal medical and recreational cannabis markets has been mostly positive and fascinating, and yet the federal government has been slow to rethink its decades-long prohibitionist position. We hope the Obama administration takes advantage of its historic opportunity to end or take steps toward dismantling the destructive war on pot. What an irony it would be if Obama, who has openly admitted to pot use in his early years, and who has shown great tolerance toward local legalization laws, left office without having moved the nation away from the antiquated reefer-madness enforcement of past presidencies. [continues 444 words]
Nevadans will pass judgment in November on state Question 2, which would essentially legalize pot for recreational use among adults. As the election nears, it's worth noting that many doctors in states that allow the drug's use for medical purposes remain wary of recommending it to their patients. "The hesitance reflects persistent concerns about the possible legal repercussions for their medical licenses if they prescribe a drug the federal government classifies as dangerous," the Boston Globe reported last month. "It also underscores the lingering doubts about marijuana's health risks and benefits." [continues 284 words]
President Obama last week commuted the prison terms of 214 federal inmates who were sent to prison under draconian, '80s-era laws that have since been revised. Among them were 67 people serving life sentences, nearly all of them for nonviolent drug offenses. Mercy was granted in these cases. But the federal clemency system - which moves far too slowly and is too often blocked by politics in both the Justice Department and the White House - was never intended to manage miscarriages of justice that happen on a vast scale, as was the case when so many Americans were sent to prison under the "tough on crime" policies of the 1980s. [continues 378 words]
As our country mourns the deaths of eight police officers and a series of African-Americans killed during encounters with police, the question we all ask is, how can we stem this horror? One way would be to end the war against nonviolent drug users. More than 1.2 million Americans are arrested every year for simply possessing an illicit substance. It is widely recognized that the war disproportionately punishes African-Americans and is responsible for millions of confrontational interactions between law enforcement and blacks. Many of these anger-producing and potentially violent contacts would not take place without the drug war. [continues 653 words]
PALMER - Kim Whitaker took the story of her anguish over her daughter's ongoing battle with heroin addiction straight to the U.S. surgeon general. Dr. Vivek Murthy was a key participant at a high-powered opioid summit convened by U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, at Mat-Su College Thursday. The summit aimed to bring federal officials up to speed on the challenges Alaska faces in combating heroin and prescription painkiller abuse. Whitaker told about 500 people at the Glenn Massay Theater that her daughter became addicted to heroin after a doctor prescribed her opiates at 19. [continues 1027 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday cut short the sentences of 214 federal inmates, including 67 life sentences, in what the White House called the largest batch of commutations on a single day in more than a century. Almost all the prisoners were serving time for nonviolent crimes related to cocaine, methamphetamine or other drugs, although a few were charged with firearms violations related to their drug activities. Almost all are men, though they represent a diverse cross-section of America geographically. [continues 411 words]
Coalition Will Use Big Portion of $2 Million to Target California's Ballot Measure to Legalize Cannabis. SACRAMENTO - Facing well-financed campaigns to legalize recreational pot, a national coalition that includes former Rep. Patrick Kennedy has raised more than $2 million to fight initiatives in five states this year, including a November ballot measure in California. The money is being put up by the political arm of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group founded by Kennedy; David Frum, a senior editor of the Atlantic; and Kevin Sabet, a former drug policy advisor to the Obama administration. [continues 574 words]
