Items tagged with decriminalization and US drug policy

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Biden pardons thousands convicted of marijuana possession under federal law [06.10.2022] President Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and said his administration would review whether mar ...
Colombia, largest cocaine supplier to U.S., considers decriminalizing [20.08.2022] Colombia is the largest producer of cocaine in the world, the source of more than 90 percent of the drug seized in the United States. It’s home to th ...
A roundup of countries that permit recreational cannabis [15.10.2021] Marijuana may be an issue of easy agreement in the ongoing coalition talks between Germany's leading parties. Despite numerous points of contention, ...
We should hand out free heroin to drug users [26.08.2021] Let’s give out heroin, for free, to anyone who wants it. This is not a provocation meant to make you gasp or to elicit angry clicks—rather, it’s a pr ...
Washington Court decriminalizes drugs: Will lawmakers let it stand? [02.03.2021] In February 2021, two states decriminalized drug possession. One was much anticipated; the other seemed to come out of nowhere. On February 1, Oregon ...
Legalization advocates hope to end Mexico’s drug war [12.12.2020] A determined political movement to end the war on drugs has taken shape across Europe and North America. Harm reduction advocates say lives can be sa ...
Marijuana could easily be rescheduled with Biden’s health secretary [10.12.2020] While many diehard cannabis advocates are calling for the plant to be legalized in the United States in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco, Pres ...
Oregon becomes first US state to decriminalize possession of hard drugs [04.11.2020] A nationwide push to relax drug laws scored significant victories on Tuesday as four states voted to legalize marijuana, and Oregon became the first ...
How a Canadian decriminalization model can improve on Portugal [06.10.2020] On August 17, 2020, the director of public prosecutions in Canada issued new guidelines under which federal prosecutors are to resort to criminal pro ...
Where vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris stands on marijuana [12.08.2020] Joe Biden has selected Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his vice presidential running mate. She has evolved significantly on marijuana policy over her ca ...
Biden-Sanders task force does not recommend legalizing marijuana [10.07.2020] A task force formed between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, which had prior heated discussions on cannabis, agreed on multiple criminal justice priorit ...
Native American churches request that peyote not be Included in decriminalization initiatives [16.03.2020] The National Council of Native American Churches (NCNAC) and the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (IPCI) released a statement on March 12, 2 ...
New York could legalise cannabis this year, governor says [09.01.2020] Governor Andrew Cuomo pledged for the second year in a row to legalise recreational cannabis in New York, prioritizing a push that fell apart last ye ...
Marijuana’s ten biggest victories of 2019 [17.12.2019] This year was a big one for marijuana in the U.S. From a first-ever congressional vote on federally legalizing cannabis to another large state ending ...
Canada’s drug crisis has a solution. Politicians don’t like it [29.09.2019] A recent study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Addiction, found that a trio of policies adopted to combat the opioid overdose epidemic saved, ...
New York governor signs bill decriminalizing marijuana use [29.07.2019] New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a bill decriminalizing the use of marijuana in the state and expunge the records of some people convicted on ca ...
Congressional committee discusses how to legalize cannabis [10.07.2019] In a first-of-its-kind hearing, a key congressional committee met to discuss how to finally put an end to federal cannabis prohibition. Titled Mariju ...
Global marijuana use rose by 60 percent over the past decade [26.06.2019] The global story about cannabis — the most-used recreational drug in the world — is about as fuzzy as your body feels after taking your first hit. Wh ...
No charges for personal drug possession: Seattle’s bold gamble to bring ‘peace’ after the war on drugs [11.06.2019] Late last year, prosecutors in King County, which encompasses Seattle, became the first in the nation to stop charging people for possessing small am ...
'These are healing plants': Oakland decriminalizes magic mushrooms [05.06.2019] Oakland has become the second city in the US to decriminalize magic mushrooms and other psychedelics, with a policy that activists hope will spark a ...
Oakland council may board magic bus by decriminalizing natural psychedelics [27.05.2019] Oakland could become the second city in the country to decriminalize certain natural psychedelics — including “magic mushrooms” — if elected leaders ...
Mexico's president wants to change how the drug war is fought, and he may be heading for a showdown with Trump [16.05.2019] Mexico's drug policies could be in for some sweeping changes, and with them the country's relations with the United States. President Andres Manuel L ...
Mexico wants to decriminalize all drugs and negotiate with the U.S. to do the same [09.05.2019] Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrado released a new plan that called for radical reform to the nation’s drug laws and negotiating with the U ...
Denver voters approve measure to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms [08.05.2019] Voters in Denver, Colorado, made their city the first in the U.S. to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms by approving a ballot measure on the issue. ...
Jamaica’s cannabis gamble [17.04.2019] Jamaica is starting to think of cannabis as an opportunity. Uruguay, Canada and ten American states have legalised it for recreational use. Ganja, as ...
Slowing the legal weed freight train [12.02.2019] Sabet's strategy for sabotaging legalization is to offer legislators what he calls "a true decriminalization and justice" bill, which would do away w ...
Schumer to introduce bill to decriminalize marijuana [19.04.2018] Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that he would introduce legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, marking a sig ...
Drugs should not be in the hands of organized crime [25.02.2018] Drug overdoses are one of the leading causes of death in the United States and are contributing to decline in life expectancy. The opioid epidemic ha ...
Vermont becomes first state to legalize marijuana through legislature [23.01.2018] Vermont, the "Green Mountain State," has become the first state to legalize marijuana by passing a law in the legislature rather than by use of a bal ...
The public really, really, really opposes current federal marijuana law [18.01.2018] The overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to current federal marijuana law. That’s the big takeaway from a new poll conducted by Mason-Dixon ...
Commission makes recommendations for tackling opioid crisis in North America [03.10.2017] The Global Commission on Drug Policy has issued recommendations on tackling North America's opioid crisis, calling for the immediate expansion of har ...
More people were arrested last year over pot than for murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery — combined [26.09.2017] In 2016 more people were arrested for marijuana possession than for all crimes the FBI classifies as violent, according to 2016 crime data. Marijuana ...
How to win a war on drugs [22.09.2017] Decades ago, the United States and Portugal both struggled with illicit drugs and took decisive action — in diametrically opposite directions. The U. ...
Oregon bill decriminalizes possession of heroin, cocaine and other drugs [11.07.2017] The Oregon legislature passed a bill that reclassifies possession of several drugs from a felony to a misdemeanor, reducing the punishments and expan ...
Marijuana reforms flood state legislatures [13.01.2017] Legislators in more than a dozen states have introduced measures to loosen laws restricting access to or criminalizing marijuana, a rush of legislati ...
Police arrest more people for marijuana use than for all violent crimes — combined [12.10.2016] On any given day in the United States, at least 137,000 people sit behind bars on simple drug-possession charges, according to a report released by t ...
Lack of progress and transparency at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs [26.04.2016] The first meeting of UNGASS since 1998 was supposed to be a game changer in prodding the lumbering and often draconian UN drug policy regime into ser ...
The movement to legalize pot gains speed in the Americas [21.04.2016] In the shift toward legalization of marijuana, the Americas have emerged as a leader. This is a remarkable shift for a region that includes some of t ...
Top US international drug official signals green light for countries to decriminalize [09.03.2016] William Brownfield, Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, gave a qualified go-ahead for countries to ...
Voters are doing what politicians won’t on marijuana reform [08.03.2016] Massachusetts' top politicians just came out swinging against legal marijuana. Voters there are on track to decide whether to legalize marijuana at t ...
Decriminalizing drugs: When treatment replaces prison [07.12.2015] Cities all over the US are copying Seattle’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program, in which police officers put low-level drug offenders into t ...
US president cautions against hopes of ganja legalisation [10.04.2015] President Barack Obama cautioned persons who have hopes of marijuana being legalised, as he explained the difference between legalisation and decrimi ...
D.C. hosts nation’s biggest legal marijuana giveaway [26.03.2015] With D.C. police officers looking on, hundreds of city residents lined up and then walked away from an Adams Morgan restaurant carrying baggies conta ...
Survey finds strong majority in support of marijuana legalization and decriminalization [17.03.2015] A new national survey of American voters has found a strong majority in support of marijuana legalization and an even larger majority in support of d ...
D.C. pot advocates threaten public smoke-in to protest ban on pot clubs [03.03.2015] After just five days of pot being legal in the nation’s capital, the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve new limits on marijuana use. The legis ...
Washington DC legalises marijuana possession and use [26.02.2015] Washington DC joins Alaska, Colorado, and Washington state as the only places in the US that allow the use of the drug for recreational purposes. Res ...
The science of decriminalizing drugs [02.02.2015] The legal landscape for marijuana has never looked this relaxed. Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. voted during the recent election season to lega ...
US official cautions Jamaica on ganja legalisation [29.01.2015] The U.S. Government has signalled discomfort with Jamaica's move to decriminalise marijuana for specific uses. According to assistant secretary, Will ...
Pro-ganja lobby endorses changes on eve of Senate debate [28.01.2015] Professor Archibald McDonald called on the Jamaican Government to continue with the reforms and disregard apparent threats from US Government officia ...
The year in drug policy: Movement at a crossroads [26.12.2014] The 43-year-old war on drugs had never seen such a barrage of opposition as it did in 2014, with successful marijuana legalization initiatives in sev ...
Pot luck [18.11.2014] Smoking, growing, buying, selling or merely possessing cannabis is a criminal offence, according to America's federal government. Ask the states, how ...
Pot legalization: Gateway to what? [12.11.2014] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) plans to stay on the sidelines of future pot legalization campaigns – already supported by groups plotting ...
The dark-horse policy reform that has both Obama and some GOPers optimistic [09.11.2014] With Democrats holding the White House and Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, it's been suggested that the odds are slim of any major ...
Marijuana may mean ticket, not arrest, in New York City [08.11.2014] The New York Police Department, which has been arresting tens of thousands of people a year for low-level marijuana possession, is to stop making suc ...
US vote refuels ganja debate [06.11.2014] The local pro-ganja lobby in Jamaica is welcoming the vote for the legalisation of ganja in the American states of Oregon, Alaska, and Washington DC. ...
6 facts about marijuana [05.11.2014] Attitudes about marijuana have undergone a rapid shift in public opinion, paralleled by few other trends in the U.S. Our recent data, along with hist ...
Grow your own marijuana law [25.10.2014] Retail marijuana sales for adults are now legal (at least at the state level) in Colorado and Washington. Next month, voters in Alaska and Oregon may ...
Let states decide on marijuana [25.07.2014] Repealing the Controlled Substances Act would allow the states to decide whether to permit marijuana use and under what conditions. Nearly three-four ...
The great pot experiment [11.07.2014] On July 8th Washington became the second state after Colorado to offer recreational pot-smokers a chance to buy weed legally at a local store. Mariju ...
CARICOM did not consult us on ganja law reform - US [25.06.2014] William Brownfield, assistant secretary at the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, has charged that Jamaica and other C ...
High times: The next five states to tackle pot laws [02.06.2014] Weed is legal in at least some form in 22 states and the District of Columbia. Most allow it for medical use only. Colorado and Washington this year ...
Eric Holder 'cautiously optimistic' about marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado [14.04.2014] Attorney General Eric Holder is "cautiously optimistic" about how things are going in Washington state and Colorado following the legalization and st ...
The Rise and Decline of Cannabis Prohibition [10.03.2014] The cannabis plant has been used for spiritual, medicinal and recreational purposes since the early days of civilization. In this report the Transnat ...
Measures to legalize marijuana are passed [05.11.2013] In Colorado, voters backed a heavy tax on recreational marijuana. The tax will pay for the cost of overseeing the state’s marijuana industry as well ...
Majority of Texas voters want to legalize marijuana [08.10.2013] A majority of Texas voters support marijuana legalization, according to a recent survey. Public Policy Polling found that 58 percent of Texans "suppo ...
Cabinet to consider changes to ganja laws [06.10.2013] Justice Minister Mark Golding says international events and changes in the United States - the chief opponent of Jamaica's decriminalisation efforts ...
A rising marijuana reform tide at the Statehouses [30.04.2013] In the wake of the marijuana legalization victories in Colorado and Washington last November, and buoyed by a series of national public opinion polls ...
The drug policy reform agenda in the Americas [30.04.2013] Latin America has emerged at the vanguard of efforts to promote debate on drug policy reform. For decades, Latin American governments largely followe ...
Shafer Commission Report on Marijuana and Drugs, issued 40 years ago, was ahead of its time [22.03.2013] Forty years ago, the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse said in its final report: "A coherent social policy requires a fundamental alter ...
Marijuana legalization may be unstoppable [28.02.2013] US Attorney General Eric Holder told America to expect a decision "soon" on how he'll respond to the recent legalization of pot by Colorado and Washi ...
Mayor Bloomberg makes a small step toward a rational policy on marijuana [19.02.2013] In his final state of the city address as Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, announced that anyone caught in possession of marijuana would no long ...
New York City plans to stop booking, arraigning many low-level marijuana suspects [14.02.2013] Many people arrested on low-level marijuana-possession charges in the nation’s largest city will no longer be booked and held hours for arraignment, ...
Taking the initiative on legal marijuana [05.11.2012] Two years ago, California’s bid to legalize marijuana—Proposition 19—achieved great notoriety in Latin America, but ultimately fell short at the ball ...
Pot decriminalization debated by B.C.'s municipal leaders [23.09.2012] Former B.C. attorney general Geoff Plant said the debate comes as Washington looks at a tax and regulation plan, and this is an opportunity for a coo ...
Chicago decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana [26.06.2012] People caught with small amounts of marijuana in Chicago will be ticketed instead of arrested under a new ordinance passed by the city council on Wed ...
Chicago Mayor Emanuel backs marijuana decriminalization [14.06.2012] Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he would back a proposal that would decriminalize possessing small amounts of marijuana, the latest major U.S. politi ...
Marijuana Should Be Decriminalized [07.06.2012] New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to change New York’s laws to decriminalize marijuana. New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Police Commissioner ...
New York to decriminalize marijuana? [05.06.2012] New York governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana in the state and he’s got the support of New ...
Decriminalize marijuana? Four ways America's views of pot are changing [04.06.2012] Polls show national opinion toward marijuana use steadily changing toward greater acceptance, and laws are changing and ballot initiatives are coming ...
Bloomberg Backs Plan to Limit Arrests for Marijuana [03.06.2012] New York Police Department, the mayor and the city’s top prosecutors on Monday endorsed a proposal to decriminalize the open possession of small amou ...
U.S. says drug abuse needs treatment, not just jail [23.05.2012] The United States sees drug abuse as a public health problem as much as a crime issue and is seeking to learn from countries in Europe and elsewhere ...
Drugs: The Rebellion in Cartagena [23.05.2012] The startling, unprogrammed, and rebellious discussion about drugs that took place among hemispheric leaders in April at a summit in Cartagena, Colom ...
Bill to decriminalize marijuana possession is advanced by N.J. Assembly committee [20.05.2012] New Jersey took a step toward decriminalizing marijuana possession today when an Assembly panel unanimously approved a bill that would allow offender ...
War on drugs: There has to be a better way [24.04.2012] The most important story of the Summit of the Americas was the Latin American demand to open the debate on an alternative to the ‘war on drugs’. The ...
Obama and the failed war on drugs [15.04.2012] Long before he was in a position to change his country's policies, Barack Obama had firm views on a complex problem: "The war on drugs has been an ut ...
Latin American countries pursue alternatives to U.S. drug war [09.04.2012] When President Obama arrives in Colombia for a hemispheric summit this weekend, he will hear Latin American leaders say that the U.S.-orchestrated wa ...
Time for Obama to join the debate over the failed war on drugs [08.04.2012] All wars end. Eventually. Even the war on drugs – resilient for so long – is starting to show signs of exhaustion. It is 42 years since President Nix ...
U.S. Facing Bold New Calls for “Drug War” Alternatives [02.04.2012] At a poorly attended summit of Central American leaders, President Otto Perez Molina of Guatemala reiterated calls for the decriminalization of recre ...
Attorney tells more Colorado medical pot centers to close [22.03.2012] Colorado's top federal prosecutor has ordered 25 medical marijuana shops located near schools to close in an escalating pot clampdown, as the state g ...
'This Debate Will No Longer be Suppressed' [09.03.2012] Latin American leaders are increasingly speaking out against prohibition. And public opinion in America, especially when it comes to legalizing pot, ...
U.S. officials tell Tories war on drugs has failed [22.02.2012] A high-profile group of current and former U.S. law enforcement officials has written to the Conservative government with a surprising message: Take ...
Guatemala president weighs drug legalization, blames US for not reducing consumption [14.02.2012] U.S. inability to cut illegal drug consumption leaves Guatemala with no option but to consider legalizing the use and transport of drugs, President O ...
Drug Policy in the Andes [15.12.2011] Fifty years after signing the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and 40 years after the U.S. government declared a "war on drugs," ma ...
The politics of pot [01.12.2011] Polls show overwhelming support for amending the laws. In fact, 50 percent of Americans—the largest portion ever recorded—now favor legalizing mariju ...
Decriminalize pot, aldermen urge — but mayor says not so fast [02.11.2011] Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he would not be rushed into decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana because doing so creates its o ...
Justice Dept. memo writer is mum on pot crackdown [26.10.2011] A high-ranking U.S. Justice Department official who wrote a memo saying state medical marijuana laws do not provide immunity from federal prosecution ...
Editorial: Feds' pot crackdown bad medicine [21.10.2011] In the design of America's founders, the states are supposed to be centers of democratic experiment. They're not supposed to be uniform. For example, ...
California's Coming Crackdown on Pot: What Do You Do if You Need It? [19.10.2011] Four California-based U.S. attorneys have announced their intent to prosecute the medical-marijuana dispensaries, growers and delivery services that ...
Let states enact their own marijuana policies [06.07.2011] Let's be clear: HR 2306, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011, proposed by Reps. Barney Frank and Ron Paul, does not "legalize drugs" ...
California medical marijuana growers face pressure [02.07.2011] A new Obama administration memo approves federal prosecution of anyone in the business of growing or supplying marijuana for medical patients even if ...
Fear and loathing surrounds decriminalisation [18.06.2011] "The war on drugs has failed," said a recent report compiled by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which comprised a former UN secretary-general, ...
Delaware governor signs bill making it the 16th state to legalize medical marijuana [13.05.2011] Gov. Jack Markell has signed legislation making Delaware the 16th state to allow the use of medical marijuana. The new law allows people 18 and older ...
Federal prosecutors step into debate over medical marijuana, warn of potential criminal cases [03.05.2011] Several states have started reassessing their medical marijuana laws after stern warnings from the federal government that everyone from licensed gro ...
The Obama Administration’s drug control policy on auto-pilot [29.04.2011] In a widely watched You Tube video, U.S. President Barack Obama is asked whether or not the drug war may in fact be counterproductive. Instead of the ...
The Prospects for Drug Reform: California [09.02.2011] The West Coast is a different world when it comes to progress on drug policy reform. Three of the four states most likely to see strong pushes for ma ...
The development of international drug control [01.02.2011] The emergence of more pragmatic and less punitive approaches to the drugs issue may represent the beginning of change in the current global drug cont ...
Obama: Drugs Should Be Treated as "Public Health Problem" [28.01.2011] In an online town hall session yesterday, U.S. President Barack Obama suggested that, while he is not in favor of drug legalization, he does believe ...
Weary of drug war, Mexico debates legalization [12.09.2010] A debate about legalizing marijuana and possibly other drugs — once a taboo suggestion — is percolating in Mexico, a nation exhausted by runaway viol ...
Calif. to vote on legalizing marijuana [09.09.2010] For those who have long argued that smoking marijuana should not be a crime, a potentially historic turning point is just weeks away. Voters in Calif ...
Can California's Legalization Battle Kick-Start a Movement for Change? [05.09.2010] Drug prohibition is remarkably ineffective, costly and counter-productive -- it has cost people their lives, and put millions behind bars. Is the tid ...
The problem is more than just the substances, it's the prohibition itself [09.08.2010] Maria Lucia Karam, a retired Brazilian judge, argues that drugs should be legalised - but regulated. Every country that has provided a glimpse of wha ...
In drug war, failed old ideas never die [26.02.2010] WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Here's a stern warning to the U.S. states of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, N ...
Latin America distances itself from U.S. on drug war [09.02.2010] Latin America is shifting focus in counter-drug strategies, moving away from a U.S. strategy of a "war on drugs" that is widely seen as having failed ...
Latin America Rejects Old U.S. Approach In Drugs War [29.01.2010] As an increasingly violent and costly drugs war clogs up prisons with small-time users, some Latin American countries are abandoning hardline U.S. po ...
Legislative Innovation in Drug Policy [01.11.2009] This briefing summarizes good practices in legislative reforms around the world, representing steps away from a repressive zero-tolerance model towar ...
Latin America breaks ranks in US war on drugs [24.09.2009] Many countries in the region – most recently Mexico – have decriminalized small amounts of drugs for personal use. The moves have followed decisions ...
Stepping away from the darkness [01.09.2009] The experiences of countries that have decriminalised drugs show that fears of explosions in drugs use are unfounded.
Mexico decriminalizes small amounts of drugs [27.08.2009] Last week, the Mexican government announced that it will no longer jail users of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Other countries in t ...
Drugs and Democracy: Toward a Paradigm Shift [01.02.2009] The statement presents the main findings of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy. Prohibitionist policies based on the eradication of ...
The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy [01.05.2004] Decriminalizing cannabis doesn't lead to more widespread use, according to a study comparing cannabis users in two similar cities with opposing canna ...
Global Trends. Lessons from Vienna [20.06.2003] Martin Jelsma analysed the 2003 UNGASS mid-term review and drew some important conclusions for the 10-year review in 2008: "Alliances have to be cons ...

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