via Beau Hodai, Alternet In Arizona an unsettling trend appears to be underway: the use of private prison employees in law enforcement operations. The state has graced national headlines in recent years as the result of its cozy relationship with the for-profit prison industry. Such controversies have included the role of private prison corporations in … Continue reading
via Lucia Graves, The Huffington Post It started with a coalition of disgruntled Americans, then a handful of governors took up the cause last year, and now — for the first time in nearly 20 years — a federal court will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the classification of cannabis as a dangerous … Continue reading
via Robin Wilkey, The Huffington Post A pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco have found that a compound derived from marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer, potentially altering the fatality of the disease forever. “It took us about 20 years of research to figure this out, … Continue reading
via Joe Erbentraut and Lizzie Schiffman, The Huffington Post Though it’s still only about three-quarters of the way through, 2012 has already been a busy year for drug policy in Chicago. Of course, the headline grabber has been the marijuana ticketing law originally tiptoed around and later trumpeted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. When the proposal … 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 Kathleen Harris, CBC News The war on drugs is a failure that is fuelling the global HIV/AIDS epidemic by driving people away from treatment, an international group says. In a report formally released Tuesday, the Global Commission on Drug Policy — which includes six former presidents, British business magnate Richard Branson and former Supreme … Continue reading
via Associated Pres, NPR The Chicago City Council has approved a measure that would allow police officers to ticket instead of arrest people found with small amounts of marijuana. Aldermen voted 43-3 in favor of the ordinance Wednesday. Under the ordinance, anyone in possession of 15 grams of marijuana — roughly the equivalent of 15 … Continue reading
via Jesse McKinley, The New York Times Of the many roles Pat Robertson has assumed over his five-decade-long career as an evangelical leader — including presidential candidate and provocative voice of the right wing — his newest guise may perhaps surprise his followers the most: marijuana legalization advocate. Mr. Robertson’s remarks echoed statements he made … Continue reading
via Jennifer Bendery, The Huffington Post Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told a constituent in favor of legalizing marijuana that he doesn’t support the idea because drugs like pot lead to death. In a Feb. 14 letter to his constituent, McConnell said he has “serious concerns” about legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, a topic … Continue reading
via E.D. Kain, Forbes In 2008, during the aftershocks of the housing market and financial collapse and the fall of Lehman Brothers, and amidst the increasingly frightening din of anti-Obama sentiment that was coming to define the presidential campaign between him and rival John McCain, it was nevertheless difficult to not feel a swell of … Continue reading
via Carley Schwartz and Ryan Grim, The Huffington Post Three years on, not a single Wall Street banker has been prosecuted after a financial crisis rooted in rampant fraud brought the global economy to its knees. President Obama’s Department of Justice has more dangerous miscreants to worry about: medical marijuana shop owners. The DoJ has … Continue reading