“Our results are consistent with theories that predict that marijuana legalization will displace illicit criminal organizations and decrease crime through changes in security behaviors or substitution toward more harmful substances.”
Month: August 2019
Surgeon General’s Advisory Highlights Need for Further Cannabis Regulation, Not Criminalization
“Our current model of federal prohibition represents the utter lack of control over any aspect of marijuana or the marijuana market. The Surgeon General’s time would be better spent advocating for a legally and tightly regulated cannabis market – one in which we educate Americans about the potential harms and benefits of cannabis through evidence-based public education campaigns – rather than through fear-mongering.”
Standoff in the Bolivian Rainforests
The Reagan administration launched its drug war against Bolivian coca and cocaine production between 1980-2 with attacks meant to terrorize the Quechua-speaking people growing coca in Chapare. Bullets from aircraft penetrated the tin rooftops of Bolivian homes, killing women, children, and men inside. As was his style, Ronald Reagan’s war failed to stop coca production.
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New York: New Law Reducing Marijuana Possession Penalties Takes Effect Today
Legislation reducing marijuana possession penalties and facilitating the expungement of past cannabis convictions took effect today.
Oklahoma: Expanded Protections for Cannabis Patients to Take Effect
Legislation will take effect next week expanding and strengthening protections for state-qualified medical cannabis patients.
Virginia, Marijuana, and How Medical Legalization May Unfold in the South
NORML’s Jenn Michelle Pedini shares how they got the state’s conservative legislature to craft one of the American South’s most comprehensive medical marijuana bills to date
DEA Promises Progress on Federal Cultivation Applications, But Provides No Timetable for Action
“For the past three years, the DEA has failed to take any steps to follow through on its promise to facilitate clinical cannabis research, and today’s announcement makes it clear that this foot-dragging will continue,” NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said.
California: Hospitalizations Linked to Use of Unregulated Vapor Cartridges
California health officials have identified a link between the use of unregulated vapor cartridges and patients seeking hospitalization for respiratory distress. In each of the cases, patients presented symptoms of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and possessed a history of consuming either THC or CBD extracts via the use of unlicensed vapor cartridges.
Federal Report: Youth Marijuana Use Steadily Declining
The self-reported use of marijuana by teenagers continues to decline nationally, according to federal data reported by the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Arizona NORML, Partners File 2020 Statewide Legalization Initiative
A coalition of activist groups, including Arizona NORML, the Drug Policy Alliance, and the state chapter of the ACLU, have filed language with the Secretary of State seeking to legalize the adult use and dispensing of cannabis.