Tagged With: Policy
Two New Virginia Laws Foreshadow Larger Cannabis Policy Changes
A common cliché for overcoming a difficult obstacle asks, “how do you eat an elephant?” The answer is, “one bite at a time.” In Virginia politics, the tough question facing cannabis policy reform advocates is, “how do you change the minds of political Elephants?” The answer is, “one law at a time.” Although progress in cannabis reform has been slow in … Continue reading
Chris Christie Has Zero Credibility on Drug Policy
From Forbes: According to Erik Altieri, Executive Director of the decades-old drug reform nonprofit NORML, Christie has spent much of time as governor (and, as it happens, much of the opioid epidemic) fighting the rising tide of calls for cannabis reform in his state. Last week, as part of opioid-themed comments, Christie even called the … Continue reading
Washington: Support For Marijuana Policy Reform Surges Post-Legalization
Public support for marijuana legalization has surged in Washington state in the years following the enactment of legislation permitting the commercial production and retail sale of the plant, according to survey data published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Fifty-five percent of voters approved the voter-initiated measure in 2012. Investigators with the Public Health … Continue reading
NORML Releases Open Letter to Vice President-Elect Mike Pence on Marijuana Policy
National NORML, Michigan NORML and dozens of other state and local chapters have released an open letter to Vice President-Elect Pence seeking clarity and common sense from the incoming administration regarding marijuana policy. During the campaign, President-Elect Trump, on multiple occasions, has voiced support for allowing states to move forward with medical and recreational marijuana … Continue reading
VP-Elect Pence: Where will the new administration take cannabis policy?
After the 2016 Presidential campaign dust has settled, Michigan NORML had a distrubing thought: with their states electoral votes as well as the White House going to Donald Trump and Governor Mike Pence, what will happen to the good people in Michigan who are being helped by the state’s medical marijuana program? Futhermore, how will … Continue reading
NORML Releases Gubernatorial Report Card: Learn Where Your Governor Stands On Marijuana Policy
With the 2016 election only days away, NORML is pleased today to release of our first ever Gubernatorial Scorecard. Inspired by NORML’s Congressional Scorecard, this extensive database assigns a letter grade ‘A’ through ‘F’ to every state governor based upon his or her comments and voting records specific to matters of marijuana policy. Public opinion … Continue reading
America Can Learn A Lot From Portugal’s Drug Policy
Since 1996, when California voters approved the medical use of marijuana, most of the high-profile political progress that has been made towards legalizing marijuana has been made in the United States. And starting with Colorado and Washington, all of the full legalization experiments have been homegrown. But that does not mean we should not be … Continue reading
Ohio: Governor Signs Bill Amending Driver’s License Suspension Policy For Drug Offenders
On June 13th Governor John Kasich signed legislation, Senate Bill 204, into law so that certain drug offenses are no longer punishable by a mandatory loss of one’s driver’s license. House lawmakers previously approved the legislation in a 95 to 2 vote while Senate lawmakers unanimously approved the legislation. Under previous law, any drug conviction carried a mandatory driver’s … Continue reading