Jacob Sullum: How Libertarian Is Rand Paul On Drug Policy?

More than the others, but there is room for improvement. Last week about 40 people paid at least $2,700 each to hear Rand Paul talk about drug policy during the National Cannabis Industry Association's conference at the Denver Convention Center. That "private briefing" made the Kentucky senator the first major-party presidential candidate ... MORE

Cautious Effort To Legalize Marijuana In California In 2016

by Steven Greenhut.   By ballot initiative. Regardless of one's take on the Supreme Court's 5-4 decision on Friday forbidding states from banning same-sex marriage, it's clear the ruling didn't come in a vacuum. Analysts said the court "created" a new civil right, but public attitudes have shifted dramatically in recent years. The court simply gave its blessing  ... MORE

Marijuana Legalization: Bad For The Cartels, Better For All

by Hillary Bricken.        Marijuana legalization has already led to many benefits in the United States, ranging from increased tax revenues to decreased cannabis use by minors. Marijuana legalization is also putting a dent into what the Department of Justice calls the “greatest organized crime threat to the United States,” the Mexican drug cartels.    ... MORE

Government Study Confirms Marijuana Impairs Drivers Less Than Alcohol, Casts Doubt on Stoned Driving Definitions

by Jacob Sullum.   A new study by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) confirms that marijuana has a less dramatic effect on driving than alcohol does and casts further doubt on the standard that Colorado and Washington use for determining when someone is too stoned to drive. In the double-blind study, 18 occasional cannabis   ... MORE

VIDEO: Should Prostitution Be Legal?

Kelly McLauglin: Morgan Freeman Makes Impassioned Plea For Legalization Of Cannabis While Discussing His Habit

'I'll eat it, drink it, smoke it, snort it' Hollywood's favorite narrator Morgan Freeman opened up about being an advocate for legalizing marijuana last week, claiming that 'pot is very useful'.  Freeman, 77, is a longtime user who was turned on to the drug by his first wife 'many years ago'.  'I'll eat it, drink it, smoke it, snort it! This movement is    ... MORE

In Surprise Move, Puerto Rico Legalizes Medical Marijuana

by Daniel Kreps.   In a surprise move, Puerto Rico's Governor Alejandro García Padilla signed an executive order legalizing the use of medical marijuana in the U.S. territory. The order, which was heavily debated in Puerto Rico since 2013 but never put to a public vote, went into immediate effect. The Caribbean island joins 23 other U.S.   ... MORE

These 8 States Could Be Next For Marijuana Legalization

by Andrew Meola.      The times, they are a-changin' for marijuana, as longtime prohibition laws risk going up in flames. The New York Times advocated for legalization of pot at a national level last year, arguing that the "social costs" of the current prohibition laws are vast -- unreasonable prison sentences, a judicial system skewed against minority    ... MORE

How Weed Will Eventually Become Legal In The U.S.

by Josh Voorhees. A trio of high-profile senators this week unveiled a package of drug reforms that would effectively end the federal war on medical marijuana once and for all. The bill, from Republican Rand Paul and Democrats Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, wouldn’t legalize medical weed across the country, but it would remove ... MORE

Ted Cruz & The Political Prudence of Marijuana Federalism

Principles matter.    At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last week, Ted Cruz responded to a question about marijuana legalization in Colorado by endorsing a federalist approach to the issue. “I actually think this is a great embodiment of what Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called ‘the laboratories of democracy,’” the    ... MORE

A Majority Favors Marijuana Legalization For First time, According To The Nation’s Most Authoritative Survey

by Christopher Ingraham.       For the first time, the General Social Survey -- a large, national survey conducted every two years and widely considered to represent the gold standard for public opinion research -- shows a majority of Americans favoring the legalization of marijuana. In interviews conducted between March and October of last year    ... MORE

Texas Sees First Bill To Fully Repeal Marijuana Prohibition

by Mark Wiggins.   A Northeast Texas lawmaker says it's time to end the state's nearly century-old prohibition on marijuana, and has filed the first bill to do so in at least 50 years. State Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) filed House Bill 2165 Monday, which would strike all references to marijuana from Texas statues. Digital records       ... MORE

Jonah Bennett: Legal US Weed Is Killing The Drug Cartels

The free market will always defeat the black market.    The growth of the U.S. marijuana industry has devastated drug cartels in Mexico, evidenced by fewer seizures of cannabis at the border and, according to Mexican security forces, a drop in total homicides and domestic marijuana production rates. Mexican drug cartels     ... MORE

Vermont Could Be Next State To Legalize Recreational Pot

by Matt Ferner.     Vermont could become the first state in history to legalize recreational marijuana via state legislature with a new bill submitted Tuesday that aims to end prohibition of the plant. Senate Bill 95 would legalize the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana in the state for those 21 and older. Adult residents could possess   ... MORE

Rob Manfred Says MLB Could Support Legalized Gambling

by David Brown.     New commissioner Rob Manfred says he would be open to Major League Baseball considering a new approach to legalized gambling. Echoing statements that NBA commissioner Adam Silver made recently, Manfred told ESPN's Outside the Lines on Thursday that, "It's important for baseball to give fresh consideration to the    ... MORE

Decriminalizing Possession of All Illicit Drugs

by Joao Castel-Branco Goulao.       Portugal did it 15 years ago. The overthrow of Portugal’s military dictatorship 40 years ago brought liberation after decades of repression. But along with political freedom and self expression, came another import from the free world that our citizens had long been denied, drugs. With little experience of   ... MORE

Robert D'Onofrio: Protecting Individual Liberty From Evil

Evil persists when good men do nothing.       Aside from the stunning brutality of the tragedy in France, the most striking thing about the cowardly murders is how unambiguous the enemy is in both intent and action. It’s uncensored, chilling and very real. This isn’t just a U.S. problem or a gun problem. It’s also not a group problem,    ... MORE

Jacob Sullum: Legal Pot Slips Through A Loophole

D.C. residents can breathe easier.   Harold Rogers, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, says a rider in the omnibus spending bill that Congress enacted last month stops the District of Columbia from legalizing marijuana. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's congressional delegate, disagrees. So do D.C. Mayor ... MORE

Is Obama the Drug Warrior Becoming Obama the Reformer?

by Jacob Sullum.    In a 2011 Reason cover story, I explained why drug policy reformers had been bitterly disappointed by President Obama's performance during his first few years in office. With the notable exception of his support for shorter crack sentences, which Congress approved almost unanimously in 2010, Obama had done very    ... MORE

Paul Derienzo: The State Of Pot Today

Clearing the smoke around legalization.  Marijuana legalization is on the move as ballot measures to free the weed are spreading like a prairie fire across the American landscape. In November voters legalized marijuana for recreation in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia. They join voters in Washington State and Colorado who legalized  ... MORE