via Susan Heavey, Reuters President Barack Obama says federal authorities should not target recreational marijuana use in two Western states where it has been made legal given limited government resources and growing public acceptance of the controlled substance. His first comments on the issue come weeks after Washington state and Colorado voters supported legalizing pot, … Continue reading
via CNN Three states voted on referendums Tuesday on legalizing marijuana for recreational use: Colorado passes marijuana legalization, but there’s a catch Colorado voters have approved a referendum that supports the legalization of marijuana on a recreational basis. Amendment 64 in Colorado will amend the state constitution to legalize and regulate the production, possession, and … Continue reading
via Nick Wing, The Huffington Post A Washington group supporting a state ballot effort to legalize and regulate marijuana rolled out an ambitious new ad campaign this week, seeking to put a spotlight on the initiative ahead of the November election. New Approach Washington unveiled the $1 million buy on Monday, and the 30-second spot … Continue reading
via Damien Cave, The New York Times The agricultural output of Uruguay includes rice, soybeans and wheat. Soon, though, the government may get its hands dirty with a far more complicated crop — marijuana — as part of a rising movement in this region to create alternatives to the United States-led war on drugs. Uruguay’s … Continue reading
via Josh Gerstein and Darrenn Samuelsohn, Politico Chief Justice John Roberts promised not to pitch or bat, but he sure threw a curve ball [June 28, 2012]. By voting to uphold President Barack Obama’s health care law, Roberts shocked conservatives who thought they could rely on him to help sink Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment. Instead, … Continue reading
[Editress’ Note: Read the Supreme Court’s full decision here.] via Robert Barnes and N.C. Aizenman, The Washington Post The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the individual health-insurance mandate that is at the heart of President Obama’s landmark health-care law, saying the mandate is permissible under Congress’s taxing authority. The potentially game-changing decision — a major … Continue reading
via Lucia Graves, The Huffington Post The federal government could save as much $13.7 billion annually if it were to legalize marijuana, according to a paper by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron. More than half of the savings, $7.7 billion, would come from not having to enforce the current prohibitions against the drug, while an additional … Continue reading
via Jonathan Cohn, The New Republic Before this week, the well-being of tens of millions of Americans was at stake in the lawsuits challenging the Affordable Care Act. Now something else is at stake, too: The legitimacy of the Supreme Court. Nobody knows how the justices will rule. And nobody can know, not even the … Continue reading
via Steven Rattner, The New York Times New statistics show an ever-more-startling divergence between the fortunes of the wealthy and everybody else — and the desperate need to address this wrenching problem. Even in a country that sometimes seems inured to income inequality, these takeaways are truly stunning. In 2010, as the nation continued to … Continue reading