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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