marijuana legalization

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Is Pot Addictive? Critics, Fans Fight Over Data

(Newser) - Advocates and critics of marijuana are wielding scientific data as the debate over legalization becomes one about addiction, the New York Times reports. "Science really has proven, if anything, that cannabis is likely one of the safest substances we can interact with,” says one marijuana legal reformer. But...

Toker on New Ad: Legalize Pot, Then Tax Us, Please

(Newser) - A pro-legalization group has launched a statewide ad campaign in California stressing that pot smokers want to pay taxes, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The Marijuana Policy Project ads feature an "actual California marijuana consumer" who points out that regulating and taxing marijuana could help save services being cut...

Obama's Online Push Opens Debate ... to Lunatic Fringe

(Newser) - President Obama promised to use the Internet to give Americans a greater voice in government—but in keeping that promise, he’s given America’s fringe a chance to shout at him, the New York Times reports. When the administration asked for ideas on how to make the government more...

We've Lost the War on Drugs
 We've Lost the War on Drugs 
OPINION
Jun 14, 2009 7:14 AM CDT

We've Lost the War on Drugs

It's time for a new approach: Kristof

(Newser) - The war on drugs has been waged for 40 years, but despite spending $44 billion annually, “the drugs have won,” writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times. A former police chief notes that “drugs are more readily available, at lower prices and higher levels of potency—...

Legal Pot Backers Target 2010 Calif. Vote

Advocates step up efforts to have legalization put on next year's ballot

(Newser) - Advocates of marijuana legalization—and taxation—have stepped up their efforts to include the issue on California's November 2010 ballot, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Backers say the tide of public opinion has turned strongly in favor of legalizing and taxing pot for personal use, especially in light of its...

Schwarzenegger: It's Time to Talk About Legalizing Pot

California Gov. says he would welcome debate on legalization, taxation

(Newser) - California's governor would welcome a debate on terminating the state's ban on recreational use of marijuana, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that while it isn't time for the state to start treating marijuana the same as alcohol, the legalization issue should be discussed—especially in light of...

WWJD? OK Medical Pot: Pastors
WWJD? OK Medical Pot: Pastors
Apr 29, 2009 1:43 PM CDT

WWJD? OK Medical Pot: Pastors

60 Ill. clerics push lawmakers on cannabis measure

(Newser) - More than 60 Illinois religious leaders want state lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana, saying their faith compels them to show mercy, the Chicago Tribune reports. "Jesus lived his life healing those where he could and bringing those to the absence of pain," said one minister. "This...

Pot Holiday Goes Mainstream
 Pot Holiday Goes Mainstream  
Apr 20, 2009 2:38 PM CDT

Pot Holiday Goes Mainstream

Goofy 'holiday' becomes touchstone for legalization advocates

(Newser) - Marijuana enthusiasts will toke up today in celebration of 420, the pot holiday that corresponds to the code for pot consumption across the nation, the Monitor reports. The term 420 was hatched in 1971 by a dozen high school pot smokers who used to meet at 4:20 in the...

Feds Pushing False Info on Medical Pot: Advocates

(Newser) - The government is pushing “false information” about pot, medical-marijuana advocates pushing for updated policy told a federal appeals panel yesterday. Citing a federal law that prohibits the government from spreading inaccurate information, they say there’s overwhelming evidence marijuana eases pain and anxiety among chronically ill patients, the Los ...

Legalize Pot? That's Nearly the Case Now in Calif.

(Newser) - Don’t look now, but marijuana is essentially legal in California, the Washington Post reports. Medical marijuana facilities litter the state, some offering only the flimsiest pretext of medical care. Stride into the Medical Kush Beach Club in Venice Beach, for example, and two scantily clad women will lead you...

Carlos Santana to Obama: Legalize Pot

Rocker advises tax revenue go to education

(Newser) - Carlos Santana has a request for President Obama: Legalize pot. The musician says legalization is “really way overdue” and compares the current state of affairs it to Prohibition, the AP reports. His idea for the tax revenue? “Take all that money and invest it in teachers and in...

Time to Weed Out Marijuana Ban: Klein
Time to Weed Out Marijuana Ban: Klein
OPINION
Apr 2, 2009 9:18 AM CDT

Time to Weed Out Marijuana Ban: Klein

Costly US drug policy deserves serious look, not politics as usual

(Newser) - When President Obama dismissed a question recently about the legalization of marijuana, he was “taking the traditional path of least resistance,” writes Joe Klein in Time. In America, anyone who dares to speak seriously about the issue will “be cast into the outer darkness,” assumed forever...

Dude! High Times Snags Obama Interview ... Sorta

(Newser) - On the heels of his much-publicized comments about legalizing marijuana—or not—President Obama will fire off a written response to questions from High Times, the pro-weed publication reports. “The president does not, at this time, support the legalization of marijuana,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says. “...

Obama's Pot Answer Too Dismissive
 Obama's Pot Answer 
 Too Dismissive 
opinion
Mar 26, 2009 8:41 PM CDT

Obama's Pot Answer Too Dismissive

(Newser) - President Obama drew chuckles today for his comments about legalizing marijuana—it's not a "good strategy to grow the economy"—but critics say he was too dismissive of a serious issue. "His answer was a non-answer," writes Andrew Sullivan in his Daily Dish blog at the...

Obama on Weed Question: Dude, Chill

(Newser) - Pro-legalization activists stuffed the ballot box with questions about marijuana when the White House solicited questions for today’s online town-hall meeting, and President Obama went out of his way to address the issue, the Los Angeles Times reports. “I don’t know what this says about the online...

Calif. Pot Bill Sparks Row Over Weed

But activists say legalization would only add to state's problems

(Newser) - With California’s economy going to pot, one state assemblyman says the state should legalize and tax marijuana—but anti-drug advocates aren't buying it, Time reports. Proposed legislation would raise about $1.3 billion annually, but "We have enough problems with alcohol and abuse of pharmaceutical products," ...

Med Marijuana Backers Cheer End to Raids

(Newser) - Supporters of medical marijuana are celebrating a remark by Attorney General Eric Holder that went largely unnoticed this week, MSNBC reports. Asked about federal drug raids on state-approved dispensaries that led to 775 arrests, Holder said such busts are a thing of the past. What President Obama "said during...

Calif. Legislator Wants to Tax, Legalize Pot

Knows 'jokes coming,' but says his broke state could net $1B

(Newser) - A California lawmaker thinks he has a solution for the state’s fiscal woes: Tax marijuana. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced a bill that would legalize, regulate, and tax pot, treating the drug like alcohol or tobacco, the Los Angeles Times reports. “I know the jokes are going to...

Calif. DMV Sued for Suspending Licenses of Med Marijuana Users

Sober residents have right to drive: plaintiff

(Newser) - A medical marijuana advocacy group has sued California's Department of Motor Vehicles, demanding a written policy that treats doctor-approved pot like any other prescription drug, reports the Los Angeles Times. The DMV is accused of repeatedly suspending licenses, against state policy, from sober drivers caught with medical marijuana. "It...

Phelps Gets Off Easy Thanks to Image, Not Race
Phelps Gets Off Easy Thanks to Image, Not Race
OPINION
Feb 5, 2009 2:01 PM CST

Phelps Gets Off Easy Thanks to Image, Not Race

Goody-goodies, black or white, see minimal hit for taking hits

(Newser) - Those who think Michael Phelps would be facing harsher treatment if he were black are “stuck in the 1960s,” Jason Whitlock writes for Fox Sports. “Image is everything whether you're black or white.” Only bad boys get hung out to dry when controversy calls—Phelps was...

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