Many legal observers are very skeptical Nebraska and Oklahoma’s federal challenge of Colorado’s marijuana law, feeling that it has “lacks merit” and won’t be successful in stopping the licensing and regulation of cannabis commerce. I certainly hope the United States Supreme Court doesn’t allow the attorneys general of Nebraska and Oklahoma, two supposed supporters of states’ rights, succeed in their hypocritical lawsuit. Showing some interest in the case, the Supreme Court has asked for a brief on the issue from the Obama Administration.

Nebraska’s Jon Bruning and Oklahoma’s Scott Pruitt have been vocal and prominent challengers against Obamacare’s alleged attacks upon state sovereignty, so it is amazing that they would have the gall to tell Colorado how to enforce its own marijuana laws. Mark Stern writes about the hypocritical lawsuit in Slate:

Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign is already a unique endeavor that will hopefully allow our nation to more honestly debate a whole host of issues, particularly on the Democratic side. Sanders will definitely push Hillary Clinton on many progressive issues and the Republicans likely will have to deal with the consequences of the liberal vs. centrist tussle after the Democrats have their say.

Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, is already such a unique candidate in that he appears to be completely honest. Most elected officials usually try to channel charm and optimism, especially when running for president, but the independent senator from Vermont isn’t afraid to gruffly tell it how he sees it. Many folks concerned about the next president’s impact upon the four states that have already legalized marijuana, the legalization policy in our nation’s capital, the several states likely to legalize in the near future and the more than 20 states that have legalized medical marijuana, could certainly do worse than Mr. Bernie Sanders.

Hailing from a medical marijuana state, admitting to using cannabis in his younger years and understanding where his base lands on this issue, we can certainly expect Bernie Sanders to be one of the most progressive candidates on cannabis in the race. From the Bustle’s Kim Lyons:

The issue of marijuana legalization will likely be front and center for presidential candidates in 2016, and with fewer and fewer states barring all marijuana use, it makes the possibility of a national law more likely. Many believe Vermont could be the next state to decriminalize marijuana use, according to The Huffington Post. The home state of newly-declared presidential candidate Bernie Sanders already allows marijuana for medical use, and has reduced possession of small amount of pot to a civil infraction, barely on the same level as a parking ticket.

In an interview with Time magazine last year, Sanders said he supported medical marijuana use, and admitted to smoking pot when he was younger. He expressed some concerns about legalizing pot for recreational users, but is on board with medical uses. The war on drugs, Sanders told Time, has put a lot of non-violent offenders in jail, while not focusing enough resources on the epidemic of heroin use and other such dangerous drugs.

However, in the same Time magazine interview, Sanders said he did not see marijuana decriminalization as a “one of the major issues facing our country.” It is no doubt a controversial issue for many still, and Hillary Clinton has yet to make her position clear. She told CNN in 2014 she wanted to examine how effective state laws were before she decided what action, if any, should be taken at the federal level. The Republican candidates who have announced they will seek their party’s nomination have mixed opinions on decriminalizing marijuana. Rand Paul has said he supports decriminalization, and wants to see medical marijuana restrictions relaxed, and Ted Cruz admitted to toking up as a teenager.

Senator Sanders will likely be very cautious on marijuana policy, especially at first. He certainly won’t be a neanderthal on the issue like Chris Christie or afraid to really speak his mind like Hillary Clinton. He will likely stake out a position similar to Rand Paul, declaring that the federal government shouldn’t be wasting resources trampling the will of the voters who have decided to end cannabis prohibition within their borders or allow medical marijuana to qualified patients.

Senator Sanders would be wise, in my opinion, to stake out a very aggressive campaign linking our nation’s War on Marijuana to the many other examples of inequality and injustice in this nation. This could be a great issue during the Democratic primary and will place him with the majority of Americans that want to treat marijuana like beer and wine. And besides, he has already been outed as a pot-smoking socialist by the President of the United States, so he might as well continue speaking the truth and declare loud and clear that the Drug War has failed and that it is time for America to lead the way past the harmful consequences of prohibition. Will Bernie Sanders become the cannabis candidate? We shall see, but he certainly should.

The National Football League finished up the 2015 draft, bringing in new players that will go on to make millions of dollars and win Super Bowls while others will fade out of the league or never make a roster at all. Some of these players are big and strong, others quick, some fast, some with the right combination to win MVPs and potentially a bust in the NFL Hall of Fame. But of all the traits that will determine future Pro Bowlers versus washouts, marijuana usage doesn’t matter any more than alcohol or video games on how well they will perform on the field.

Unfortunately, however, marijuana use could cost some of these athletes millions of dollars and potentially their entire career. Following a minor marijuana citation, the Missouri Tigers’ Shane Ray, one of the most feared pass rushers in the draft fell out of the first 10 draft picks, past number twenty, into the arms of the Denver Broncos, who traded up into the #23 spot to take the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year. Thanks to the citation, Ray will be subjective to extra scrutiny and random drug tests for the first part of his career. Of course, not lost on anyone is that Ray was drafted into a state that has legalized marijuana, into a city that is certainly on the short list for cannabis capital of the world.

The Denver Post’s Mark Kiszla comments on the absurdity of it all:

So riddle me this: How many of the 31 other first-round picks in the 2015 NFL draft do you think have smoked marijuana? Fifty years ago, it was smuggling cases of Coors out of the Rocky Mountains under a blanket in the back of a pick-up truck. Now, the rest of the USA can blame Colorado for spreading sticky icky throughout the country.

During the past 12 months, thanks to everybody from Ray Rice to Aaron Hernandez, pro football has given America a chance to have gut-wrenching discussions on social issues from domestic violence to the entitlement that can cause an athlete to believe it’s possible to get away with murder.

But, for more than a year, forward-thinking NFL leaders such as Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll have been advocating that marijuana be studied by the league for its potential benefits as a natural medicine rather than reefer madness to be punished with a suspension for repeat offenders.

Medical marijuana has been mainstream for easily over a decade and legalized cannabis not only enjoys strong majority support, but even naysayers admit that legalization is inevitable. The NFL, sometimes lampooned as the “No Fun League” for clamping down on on-the-field celebrations, when it has a dark history of violence, drug addiction and traumatic brain injuries. NFL Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion, Mark Stepnoski and rushing champion Ricky Williams have demonstrated that cannabis use isn’t detrimental to performance while Olympic champion Michael Phelps has shown that a marijuana user can be the greatest athlete in his or her field. I love the NFL, American loves the NFL, but it is time that the No Fun League represents a majority of the country and recognize the legitimate medicinal benefits of cannabis.

Despite the best efforts of Congressman Earl Blumenauer, the United States House of Representatives narrowly voted against a measure that would have allowed Veterans Administration doctors to recommend medical cannabis in states where the medicine is legal. When there is an epidemic of veteran suicides, it is shameful that Congress won’t allow VA doctors to recommend a safe medicine to those that have sacrificed so much for our country. The vote fell just a few votes short as there were 210 votes in favor and 213 against.  As an Oregonian, I am proud of the fact that 4/5 of the state delegation (all Democrats) voted for the measure while only one, Republican Greg Walden, voted against. The Oregonian reports:

Blumenauer, who sponsored the same measure last year, came closer this time. He lost by just three votes as the House decided 210-213 against his amendment to a bill that includes VA funding.

“The medical marijuana train has left the station,” the Democrat told opponents on the House floor. “A million Americans have a legal right to use medical marijuana and do so.  You want to treat veterans differently.”

Blumenauer argued that many veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions are prescribed painkillers that at higher-than-average rates lead to addiction and overdose deaths. “Nobody dies from an overdose of marijuana,” he said.

In good news, the vote shows that the failed war on marijuana is losing steam, as this vote improved from the 195-225 vote that occurred previously. The vote garnered 35 Republican votes this session, up from 22 last year. Day by day, year by year, vote by vote, until we are all free.

Modern-day generations can always look back and admire their superiority of past generations in a number of fields. We can deem many practices as “barbaric” and can be thankful that we live in better times. I remember being horrified as a child about the fact that people actually enslaved other people, oblivious to the fact that modern-day slavery unfortunately still exists. I couldn’t believe that women in the United States didn’t have the federal right to vote until the 19th Amendment passed in 1920 or that there were separate water fountains for people of color.

While we assume that the most enlightened people of the day would not engage in barbarism, Thomas Jefferson, one of the elite intellectuals of his time, who actually advocated for the abolishment of slavery owned hundreds of slaves himself. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence was thought of as such a strong advocate for the mentally that his likeness is still utilized for the seal of the American Psychiatric Association today, yet he engaged in many crazy medical practices. From The Huffington Post:

In his thriving private practice Dr. Rush doused patients with cold water in the winter, gave them “artificial diarrhea” and bled them-in Mr. D.T.’s case, four gallons.

Rush’s biggest contribution was in the area of psychiatry. Believing mental illness to be caused by bad circulation to the brain, he “twirled” patients from ropes suspended from the ceiling, for hours on end. He also invented the “tranquilizer chair,” employed all over the world. This innovation restrained a patient’s hands and feet, covered his head with a wooden box and had a hole cut in the bottom, for bodily functions.

Believing that pain and suffering were curative, Dr. Rush beat, starved and verbally abused his patients, and poured acid on their backs. He cut them with knives and kept the wounds open for months or years, to facilitate “permanent discharge from the brain.”

Esther Inglis-Arkell, writing for the sci-fi & fantasy website, io9.com, lists 8 reasons why future generations will consider us barbaric today, and our current drug policy made the list:

Our drug policy will look dated to future generations, because every drug policy always looks dated to the generations that follow. This is inevitable — partly thanks to the nature of scientific research. Some studies will have more alarming results than others, and those studies tend to shape policy. It’s only further study — and often further societal experimentation — before we get an idea of what a drug does to people, and to the civilization they live in. So when we make decisions about drugs based on existing research, we look ignorant because, compared to future generations, we are ignorant. But that, by itself, doesn’t make us seem barbaric.

What makes us seem barbaric is when, despite our ignorance, we dole out harsh penalties. When, during Prohibition, the government started poisoning alcohol to keep people from drinking, it was barbaric, and it did not stop people drinking. When people get twelve-year prison sentences for selling thirty-one dollars worth of marijuana, it’s barbaric and it doesn’t stop people from smoking pot. Meanwhile, tobacco use has steadily declined via taxation and annoyingly self-righteous ad campaigns — neither of which future generations will call barbaric.

Of course the barbaric practice of locking up our fellow humans in cages for utilizing a non-lethal substance like cannabis, should be the first barbaric Drug War policy that we end. But we need to also acknowledge the utter insanity of placing nonviolent people, regardless of their drug of choice, into prisons filled with violent and dangerous prisons; especially when authorities can’t even keep dangerous drugs out of prison.

Our Drug War has led to too many barbaric consequences to fill up numerous history books: from law enforcement officers killing an elderly Atlanta woman and trying to frame her as a drug dealer after unconstitutionally raiding her home; to shooting family pets, again, and again, and again; to kidnapping a medical marijuana patient’s child; to sentencing Jeff Mizanskey, a Missouri man to die in prison for three nonviolent marijuana offenses and then allowing him to remain in prison even though the law has subsequently been changed so no one else will have to suffer such a draconian punishment. Unfortunately, these barbaric Drug War practices occur everyday in alarming numbers. I have no doubt that future generations will consider the Drug War barbaric and hope that it won’t be too long before future generations wonder why we engaged in such barbarism and am proud to join other civil libertarians and social justice advocates in fighting these barbaric policies.

While most marijuana law reform advocates have an antagonistic relationship with their US Attorney, Oregon’s cannabis community has been fortunate to have Amanda Marshall at the helm since October 7, 2011. Marshall succeeded Dwight Holton, who was not supported by the cannabis community, to say the least, as his anti-marijuana positions rallied advocates to help Ellen Rosenblum defeat him in his race for Oregon Attorney General. Marshall’s resignation is effective on May 15th.

While Dwight Holton stated that medical cannabis dispensaries would “not be tolerated,” Marshall on the other hand, stated that she wanted to see the state’s dispensary program “be successful” and that “Our goal is not to stop the state from moving ahead with their policy decision.”

Instead of wasting federal resources raiding medical marijuana facilities, Marshall focused on violent gangs and sex trafficking. Ms. Marshall set a record for her jurisdiction’s number of sex-trafficking prosecutions, stating, “This is modern-day slavery, and we will not rest until every victim is rescued, and every trafficker sent to prison.”

Amanda Marshall even sat down with the Oregon Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana in December of 2012, to take questions from advocates.  I blogged about her sit down with the ACMM for the National Cannabis Coalition, stating that, “While I don’t think that we can necessarily count Ms. Marshall as an ally in the fight to end cannabis prohibition, it seemed apparent to me that we could certainly do much worse than her and that she is clearly and unambiguously more reasonable than her predecessor, Dwight Holton.” More from that blog:

Ms. Marshall stated that she only prosecutes Oregon growers and providers who are not in “clear and unambiguous” compliance with state law. She considers the quantity of plants and cannabis, whether there are sales involved and whether any of the marijuana is crossing state lines.  When asked if it would be okay for medical marijuana card holders and organizations to provide cannabis for free to Oregon patients (since that is clearly and unambiguously allowed under the OMMP), MS. Marshall wouldn’t ever say that it is okay to violate federal law, but her criteria for prosecution made it clear that such actions were not a prosecutorial priority for her.  When asked about jury nullification, Ms. Marshall stated that she was morally opposed to the practice because, in her experience, jurors who utilize the practice lie during the jury selection process.  I had hoped that an ACMM member would follow up on that question to see whether she would have felt the same if she was prosecuting people for helping “fugitive” slaves when our federal government still sanctioned slavery.

Amanda also shed a bit of light on the workings of other US Attorneys, mentioning that they don’t get all that much guidance from Attorney General Eric Holder because he is overwhelmed and extremely busy dealing with, in her opinion, one of the toughest jobs in the world.  Different US Attorneys across the country in medical marijuana states may have different priorities and these federal attorneys meet in a workgroup that includes states that are allegedly the recipient of large amounts of cannabis grown in medical marijuana states.  They contemplate different policy decisions some have undertaken, such as only concentrating on dispensaries operating within a 1,000 feet from a school.  While many have argued that US attorneys are targeting growers and providers acting in compliance with state law, she stated that her colleagues do consider state law and that their perspective is likely that their targets are not following state law.

Born and raised in Oregon, Amanda admitted to attending Grateful Dead concerts and that she doesn’t “think holistically that the War on Drugs has been successful.”  The meeting room filled with patient advocates and cannabis activists applauded when she stated that she believes that drug use should be considered more of a health issue than a criminal justice issue.  She went on to state that she wasn’t a policy maker, she is a public safety official within the Executive Branch and her job is to prevent and decrease crime.

Ms. Marshall has cited health reasons for her resignation and I hope that she gets the help that she needs. It is unclear whether Marshall’s departure will lead to any change’s in federal marijuana prosecutions in Oregon, but her successor should see the wisdom in following her pragmatic cannabis policy (and hopefully Dwight Holton won’t be selected to replace her.) During an important phase of Oregon’s marijuana history, Marshall’s prioritization of serious and violent crimes, played an important role in Oregon legalizing safe access to medical marijuana and becoming one of the first states to legalize cannabis for adults. I had meant to send Ms. Marshall a thank you message numerous times during her tenure whenever I read about a prosecution of a truly despicable criminal, but I never did. So thank you, Amanda Marshall, and good luck in whatever comes next.

Oftentimes, I like to reflect upon how and why the cannabis community has made such great strides in recent years. Authors, chief petitioners, spokespeople, funders and advocates associated with prominent reforms capture the headlines and media attention, but the truth is that we all stand upon the shoulders of giants who came before us. So many people have suffered so much through the years of marijuana prohibition and have sacrificed so much to get us to where we are today. And we will see many more victories that will build upon the more recent advancements. Sure, we’ll suffer a few setbacks along the way and lose an election or two, but it is apparent to me that the days of cannabis prohibition are numbered; and I am certainly not alone as three-fourths of Americans agree that legalization is inevitable.

When thinking about the most important marijuana law reformers of all time, I have been wondering about who would be on my Marijuana Mount Rushmore. As a big sports fan (if you aren’t a sports fan feel free to skip the rest of this paragraph and the next), my thought process has been inspired by recent talks about who would be on professional basketball’s Mount Rushmore. In any list that includes just four choices, there are going to be worthy candidates snubbed. NBA great LeBron James famously stated that he would be one of the top four basketball greats when his career is over, putting himself onto the game’s Mount Rushmore. James named his basketball Mount Rushmore as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson. Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took offense to the list. Last year’s MVP, Kevin Durant, had three-fourths the same members as LeBron on his all-time NBA Mount Rushmore, with Kobe Bryant replacing Oscar Robertson.

Some basketball greats that are getting left off by James and Durant include: Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlin and Bill Russell. It is hard to pick only four, especially when you haven’t seen some of the all-time greats play. For me, I go: Russell, Abdul-Jabbar, MJ & Magic. While some greats have to be snubbed on such a list, I’m confident that my choices are defensible as each can arguably have a case as the greatest of all-time.

When coming up with the four greats to place upon the Marijuana Mount Rushmore, I am thinking mainly about cultural significance and helping the cannabis community get to where we are today. Without further ado, here would be my all-time Marijuana Mount Rushmore: Jack Herer, Bob Marley, Carl Sagan and Willie Nelson. My honorable mention, in no particular order: Cheech & Chong, Snoop Dogg, Michael Phelps, Dennis Peron, Jon Stewart, Seth Rogen, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Congressman Earl Blumenauer, Raphael Mechoulam, Sanjay Gupta, Ethan Nadelmann, Peter Lewis, George Soros, Bill Maher, Elvy Musikka, Debby Goldsberry, Irv Rosenfeld, Marc Emery, Dan Viets, John Sajo, Leland Berger, Ed Rosenthal, Gary Johnson, Allison Holcomb, Mason Tvert, Jerry Garcia, Hunter S. Thompson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Franti, Rick Steves, Mark Stepnoski, Jack Black, Keith Stroup, Rob Kampia, Sean Penn, William O’Shaugnessy, Joe Rogan, Louis Armstrong, Peter Tosh, Ann Druyan and Bob Dylan.

This is just a personal list and arguments can be made for many of these folks I’ve listed and many others as well; some living members may just continue to do great things for the movement, bumping off one of my four. A little explanation as to why I chose my four greats for the Marijuana Mount Rushmore:

Jack Herer

Known as the “Emperor of Hemp” or simply “The Hemperor,” the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothes, is truly a prophet of the movement to legalize hemp and cannabis. He was fearless and he trained and inspired many cannabis activists who have trained and inspired even more cannabis activists. Virtually unwilling to compromise on his beliefs, the man wasn’t infallible, but his impact on the cannabis law reform movement is immeasurable and continues to this day. And oh yeah, he has a cannabis strain named after him.

Bob Marley

Bob Marley viewed the use of cannabis as sacred and his music has inspired and entertained millions of people across the globe. A Rastafarian, he gained international fame and was never shy about his use of cannabis, both in his music and in his personal life. Marley stated that, “When you smoke herb, herb reveal yourself to you. All the wickedness you do, the herb reveal itself to yourself, your conscience, show up yourself clear, because herb make you meditate. Is only a natural t’ing and it grow like a tree.” He was named Band of the Year by Rolling Stone in 1976; BBC named “One Love” the Song of the Millennium; he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994; the United Nations awarded him the Peace Medal of the Third World; and he was awarded the Jamaican Order of Merit, Jamaica’s highest honor.

Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan was a scientist that could communicate scientific concepts to the masses and he has had a great impact on top scientists today that have followed in his footsteps, such as Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Sagan won too many awards to list them all: his TV show Cosmos won a Peabody and a couple of Emmys; he won a Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction; and the Discovery Channel named him the 99th Greatest American of all-time in 2005.

An avid user of cannabis, Sagan unfortunately felt that he must reside in the cannabis closet during his lifetime. He contributed an essay bout his use of cannabis in the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered under the pseudonym “Mr. X.” The essay explained how marijuana helped inspire his works and enhance his intellectual experiences. Sagan’s cannabis use became known widely after the publication of his biography in 1999. His widow, Ann Druyan, went on to serve on the board of directors for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Perhaps the greatest achievement of Sagan’s, within the cannabis community, is the fact that he completely obliterated the “stupid stoner” stereotype, demonstrating that one can use cannabis and be one of the greatest scientific and intellectual minds of all-time.

Willie Nelson

My only living member of the Marijuana Mount Rushmore is the musical legend Willie Nelson, who will turn 82 years-old on April 29th. An unabashed marijuana smoker, Nelson still records and tours with the best of them, out-performing musicians half his age. An American icon, and one of the main Outlaw Country musicians, Nelson has won 37 different major musical awards, including 11 Grammys. Nelson, with credibility among many different demographics, including more conservative folks, has used his celebrity to benefit many causes, from marijuana legalization to family farmers to LGBT rights to hemp and biodiesel fuels. He even appeared in over 30 films and has authored several books, including Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road.

Nelson has long worked with NORML to fight for legalization and his several marijuana arrests have helped publicize the fight to legalize cannabis and demonstrate the absurdity of prohibition. Prohibitionists don’t even want to put a national treasure like Willie Nelson in prison, but they have to admit that a poor, non-celebrity would have served a prison sentence long ago with Nelson’s rap sheet. Following his latest arrest, he started the Teapot Party to help fight for legalization across the nation. Nelson is far from done, as he announced last April 20th that his cannabis brand, “Willie’s Reserve” will be sold soon in Colorado and Washington and then in future regulated markets. And he and Merle Haggard just released a new single, “It’s all going to Pot”:

So there is my list. It is certainly subjective and arguments can be made for many of the folks that I listed and some that I didn’t. Comedian Rob Cantrell and a marijuana smoker he interviewed went with Louis Armstrong, Snoop, Bob Marley and Sean Penn. Feel free to let me know who you would place on your Marijuana Mount Rushmore and whether I have any glaring omissions.

Update: I’ve made some additions to the honorable mentions and will continue to do so thanks to the many thoughtful responses I’ve gotten.

The plight of Shona Banda and her family in Kansas illustrates just how far we have to go to end the harmful and futile War on Marijuana. While people were celebrating newly-won freedoms on April 20th, Shona Banda had to attend a child custody hearing because here son spoke out against anti-cannabis propaganda taught in school. Banda’s 11 year-old son lived in Colorado for a time and he has seen first-hand the medicinal benefits his mother has experienced from cannabis, so he spoke his mind in school. This case goes beyond cannabis and into the most fundamental rights that we have in this country. This case illustrates a a very slippery slope regarding parental rights. What’s next? Raw milk in the home? Owning a pit bull or a rottweiler as a family pet?

Unfortunately, this has led to a tragic scenario for Shona, where she is now embroiled in a Kafkaesque bureaucratic nightmare where she is fighting to prove that she is fit to raise her son while felony marijuana charges hang over her head. In over 20 other states, and our nation’s capital, Ms. Banda would be a harmless patient, but since she has the misfortune of living in Kansas, a state with draconian cannabis laws, she is facing prison time and the state-sanctioned kidnapping of her child.

From Jacob Sullum over at Reason:

The Garden City Police Department, which conducted the search of Banda’s home, insists that the state-sanctioned kidnapping is in the boy’s best interest. “The most important thing here is the child’s well-being,” said Capt. Randy Ralston. “That is why it is a priority for us, just because of the danger to the child.”

Ralston elaborated on that rationale in a press release posted yesterday. After Banda’s son “reported to school officials that his mother and other adults in his residence were avid drug users,” Ralston says, the officials called CPS, which in turn contacted the police. The search, based on a warrant obtained that evening, discovered “approximately 1¼ pounds of suspected marijuana,” along with “a lab for manufacturing cannabis oil on the kitchen table and kitchen counters.”

***

The family court judge cited the possibility of felony charges as a reason to remove Banda’s son from his home. For a while he was staying with his father, Banda’s ex-husband, but CBS News reports that CPS “took the boy back into protective custody” when he “ended [up] back with his mother again.” As far as I can tell, the counterintuitive notion that Banda’s son is better off in state custody is based on no evidence other than his mother’s use of a medicine that is legal in about two dozen states.

While it is so tragic that Banda’s family has had to undergo this traumatic ordeal, the silver lining is that government overreaches like this tend to galvanize the cannabis community and inspire activists to work even harder to end prohibition. The cannabis community rallies to help Shona Banda and many others like her, suffering through such horrific ordeals due to the Drug War. Shona Banda’s legal defense fund on GoFundMe has already raised more than $34,000 to help her fight for custody of her son and potentially against felony charges that may be filed.

Kansas prosecutors are currently reviewing the case and will determine whether to press any charges within the next 10 days. Here’s hoping that prosecutors decide to exercise compassionate discretion in this case and decide that this medical cannabis patient and her family have gone through enough already. If prosecutors decide to pursue draconian charges, we can expect the cannabis community to continue to support Shona and work even harder to end prohibition so we can live in a world where families never again have to suffer through such ordeals.

Cannabis law reformers and anyone interested in competent governance have cheered the fact that Michele Leonhart has been ousted as head of the Drug Enforcement Agency. Leonhart, a Bush appointee, should have been fired long ago as the DEA has a long list of misdeeds under her watch, she demonstrated a reluctance to follow President Obama’s agenda, fought against support policies favored by a vast majority of Americans or demonstrate any common sense about the harm of marijuana compared to other drugs. Leonhart’s actions should have been deemed insubordination by the Obama Administration, but it took a grilling by a congressional oversight committee to finally put on display Leonhart’s utter incompetence and finally cost her the job as chief of the DEA.

Everyone knows that sex sells and not many things capture headlines like sex. Throw in drugs and guns and you have the makings of a Quentin Tarantino movie or a government corruption story that can actually bring together Democrats, Republicans and everyone in between to call for the firing of an out-of-touch government official. It shouldn’t have taken DEA sex parties with prostitutes paid for by violent drug cartels to end Leonhart’s incompetent reign, but beggars can’t be choosers, so supporters of sensible drug policies will certainly take it. With Leonhart’s exit, comes hope that the next DEA chief won’t be an obstacle to common sense reforms supported by a strong majority of voters. From Time:

“Leonhart opposed medical marijuana, she opposed sentencing reform, she opposed pretty much everything that Obama was doing and for that matter everything Congress was doing,” says Bill Piper, the director of National Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance.

The Drug Policy Alliance is one of several drug and marijuana policy organizations that have previously called for Leonhart’s removal. Following a speech in which Leonhart was critical of Obama’s assertion that smoking marijuana was no more harmful that drinking alcohol, the Marijuana Policy Project and over 47,000 citizens called for her to resign. A Drug Policy Alliance petition called for her removal following revelations that the DEA had been tracking citizens’ phone calls for decades. Organizations including Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws have also called for her resignation.

Though who will be filling in for Leonhart isn’t yet clear, activists say her replacement should be more supportive of ongoing reform initiatives, including reducing mass incarceration and taking the health impact of drugs into consideration when formulating policy. What’s more, Piper says, her removal could lead the Obama administration to reschedule marijuana before the President leaves office.

President Obama has been a bit of a mixed bag for supporters of marijuana law reform and broader drug policy changes. Presidential candidate Obama campaigned on respecting the will of the voters that passed state medical cannabis laws, but his administration’s actions didn’t match the rhetoric at first. There was a modest bill to reform the sentencing discrepancy between crack and cocaine and then his federal enforcement policies, for the most part, have turned out to follow his medical marijuana states’ rights position as a candidate. On legalization, the Obama administration has been cautious, but has basically allowed Colorado and Washington to implement their policies as their voters intended and we can expect the same in Alaska in Colorado. Also, he recently commuted the sentences of 22 nonviolent drug offenders, promising a more aggressive clemency policy.

I have very low expectations for politicians, so President Obama has basically done all that I hoped he would do, which is basically adhere to the conservative policy of states’ rights on marijuana policy, a position now shared by Jeb Bush, of all people.It is unfortunate that the former Choom Gang member has laughed and cracked jokes about marijuana during his tenure, but he has improved federal policy and he now has the opportunity to demonstrate real leadership on a burgeoning bipartisan issue that impacts our economy and our civil rights.    I do think that we can thank the President for moving us past the notion that it is acceptable for armed federal agents to trample the will of the voters who have chosen to end cannabis prohibition within their borders (unless your name is Chris Christie, that is). However, the goal posts have now moved and it is time for true leadership and true reform.

The changing of the guard at the top of the DEA has provided President Obama and everyone that supports drug policy reform to help implement lasting change that can benefit millions upon millions of people. Change at the DEA or more of the same? Only time will tell, but the opportunity is there. Let’s hope that President Obama, and all of us, seize this opportunity.

New Jersey Governor and likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate took fire from Jon Stewart on the Daily Show last night for his hypocritical stance that the federal government should crack down on states that have legalized marijuana. Christie, who has made himself public enemy #1 of the cannabis community, has already damaged too many lives by mishandling New Jersey’s medical marijuana program, would ruin even more lives and waste federal resources by violently invading people’s homes and businesses with armed federal agents for cultivating and providing a non-lethal substance that the federal government itself grows and dispenses to a handful of federal patients.

Stewart, who famously portrayed an “enhancement smoker” in the movie Half Baked, first satirically takes CNN to task for covering marijuana as a legitimate news story before Jessica Williams tells him to get with the times and beyond stereotypical stoner talk on the Daily Show’s segment commemorating 4/20. Then, Stewart calls out Governor Christie for supporting internet gambling while hypocritically proclaiming that the federal government should crack down on states that have licensed and regulated cannabis commerce:

Chris Christie has not only angered supporters of marijuana legalization, but he is likely to lose the support of libertarian-minded Republicans that support states’ rights and limited government. There are plenty of Republicans that live in Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Oregon as well as the states likely to have legalization on the ballot in 2016, such as California, Arizona and Nevada, that may not support marijuana legalization, but they also don’t support federal agents trampling the will of the voters. While Chris Christie hasn’t even declared that he is running for 2016 yet, let’s hope that his radical Reefer Madness agenda has disqualified him from any serious consideration.

Happy April 20th!

The unofficial marijuana holiday is being celebrated with rallies and smoke-outs all over the world, with the largest events being held in Canada, The United Kingdom, and The United States. Over the weekend, an estimated 125,000 people attended a 4/20 two-day celebration in Denver’s Civic Center Park – and reports from earlier in the day  estimate that thousands gathered at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco for a smoke-out, openly defying the law in California where recreational use of marijuana remains illegal.

While Coloradans celebrated mostly over the weekend, the annual smoke-out celebration at Civic Center Park scheduled for today did not go as swimmingly as planned. Organizers were unable to obtain a permit for the celebration, and by the end of the festivities, Denver Police issued approximately 100 citations. While this may seem like a lot of citations, let’s take a moment to remember the victory that each one of those citations represents. With legalization of marijuana in Colorado, each citation issued today replaced a potential arrest of a non-violent cannabis user, saving the state thousands in sunk incarceration costs. Instead of wasting money, legalization allowed the state to generate new revenue through these tickets.

Holiday festivities around the country went well for the most part, New Yorkers hosted a Reefer Madness Reunion Concert, Oregonians had a cannabis-awareness walk at the state’s capitol in Salem, and in Philadelphia, the largest city in the U.S. where marijuana is decriminalized, organizers held a fundraiser march at Independence Hall.

It’s safe to say that the 4/20 festivities this year were larger than ever before, and definitely drew more attention in the media than in previous years. The reality that four states and the capitol that have fully legalized marijuana and twenty-three others have legal medical marijuana is (seemingly) setting in. The festivities in 2016 are sure to draw even more people and media attention, especially with legalization of marijuana being such a hot-button political issue in a presidential campaign year.

Last week the President visited Jamaica, the first time a sitting President of the United States has been there since Ronald Reagan visited the island nation in 1982. While in the country, the president held a townhall Q&A session in which a man named Miguel ‘Steppa’ Williams asked Obama the question that is on everyone’s mind: what is the United State’s policy regarding the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana?

“How did I anticipate this question?” the President joked. Once again, the President made light the topic of the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana, a plant that he has admitted himself has medical use, not to mention, has used infamously as a member of the “Choom Gang” in his youth. Though the president himself openly admits that marijuana has medicinal benefit, it remains classified federally as a Schedule I drug – the same classification in which one can find drugs like heroin, LSD, and mescaline.

To refresh your memory, for a drug to be classified as Schedule I, it needs to meet the following criteria.

• The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
• The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
• There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision

As we all know, and the President himself admits – marijuana has medicinal value. Right there is the justification one would need to delist marijuana from its current Schedule I classification. But, in the age of spin and science-denial from both the right and left, we’ve seemingly come to accept this sort of doublespeak and contradiction from our elected officials.

Though Obama acknowledged the epidemic of non-violent drug offenders filling our prisons and fact that four states and the capital have legalized marijuana, he falls flat when he mentions the international aspect of marijuana prohibition. What the President believes about marijuana contradicts the official federal scheduling of the drug, yet he is reticent to push for rescheduling. He admits marijuana has medical benefit and yields that states are free to experiment with legalization, but fails to acknowledge the harmful aspects of prohibition and the classification of marijuana as Schedule I internationally. Nowhere has the president mentioned that the federal policy of prohibition and classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug artificially increases the revenues of black market dealers, and sustains black market demand of marijuana globally.

Rescheduling Marijuana would allow for more relaxed penalties for non-violent drug users at home and would severely impact the black markets that the policy of prohibition has created. With the upcoming UN General Assembly Special Summit on Drugs happening in 2016 – now is the time for Obama to take an active stance and be a leader on the issue of marijuana legalization worldwide. Former US Presidents, the former UN Secretary General, and former Presidents of Mexico and Columbia, all openly endorse the failure of the war on drugs. Will we have to wait for Obama to finish his term to openly claim that the War on Drugs and marijuana specifically has failed? Or should we expect him to be a leader on this issue both at home and internationally?

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a Reefer Madness radical out of the mainstream. He has demonstrated a lack of respect for the citizens of New Jersey, especially those suffering from debilitating medical conditions, in how he has mishandled the state’s medical marijuana program. Now, with his sights possibly set on a 2016 presidential bid, he has cast himself into the minority position of using federal resources to shut down state’s marijuana programs.

From Matt Ferner’s post on the Huffington Post, “Chris Christie: ‘I Will Crack Down And Not Permit’ Legal Marijuana As President“:

Opposition to marijuana reforms is nothing new from Christie. As governor of New Jersey, he has been a vocal critic, calling medical marijuana programs that 23 states have already enacted a “front” for full recreational legalization. On the prospects for legalizing recreational marijuana in his own state, Christie has said, “Not on my watch.” Last year, when asked how a President Christie would treat states that have legalized marijuana, he said, “Probably not well.”

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Tom Angell, chairman of the marijuana policy reform group Marijuana Majority, said that Christie’s comments put him out of step with most Americans and with most members of his own party.

“This is not only bad policy but is incredibly bad politics,” Angell said. “If Christie wants to block sensible marijuana reforms in his own state of New Jersey, that’s one thing. But it’s especially unacceptable — and not very conservative, I’d add — for him to say he’d use federal resources to overturn the will of voters in a growing number of other states that are moving beyond prohibition. Maybe he forgot that Colorado is an important swing state in presidential elections.”

This is a very strange position for any serious presidential candidate to take, so maybe this shows that Christie isn’t a serious candidate, or maybe it shows that he plans to occupy the “law and order” position on the opposite side of Rand Paul (who acknowledges the failure of the federal Drug War) and to the right of the middle ground taken by Jeb Bush (who states that he would let the states decide for themselves). While a majority of Republicans oppose marijuana legalization, a majority don’t want to waste federal resources trampling the will of the voters in states that choose a progressive marijuana policy. Hopefully, this position disqualifies Governor Christie from the highest office in the land and it certainly makes him the candidate that the cannabis community should vehemently work against if he throws his hat in the 2016 ring.

“How did I anticipate this question?” President Barack Obama jokes when asked about US marijuana policy while in Jamaica. The person posing the question mentioned that cannabis and hemp provided economic opportunities for Jamaica. After his initial joking, President Obama mentioned that two states had already implemented marijuana legalization and that positive results in future states would “spur on a national debate, but that is going to be some time off.” Excuse me, Mr. President, but the national debate is here and now and unfortunately, you seem to be ducking the issue, when you should be showing true leadership.

The legalization of cannabis is a question that has been repeatedly posed to President Obama, particularly by young Americans. In a recent VICE News interview with the President, Obama was again asked on his views about legal marijuana by VICE CEO Shane Smith. His thoughts? “It shouldn’t be young people’s biggest priority. Let’s put it in perspective: Young people, I understand this is important to you, but you should be thinking about climate change, the economy, jobs, war and peace. Maybe way at the bottom you should be thinking about marijuana.”

You’ve gotta hand it to the President, as someone who owes his two terms in the Oval Office to the youth vote, he’s masterful at shutting down their most frequently asked questions about federal drug policy. As you may recall, back in 2009 the President held an online town hall Q&A session: citizens were asked to vote on questions that the President would then answer, in the first Internet-facilitated townhall of its kind. Over 193,000 people submitted questions, more than 3.5 million people voted on these questions, and of the first 200 highest rated questions, 198 had to do with drug policy. Instead of taking the opportunity to address our nation’s failed drug policy and answer these questions seriously , the President took this opportunity to crack a joke. “I have to say that there was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation – I don’t know what this says about the online audience [cue laughter] – but…this was a fairly popular question, we wanted to make sure it was answered. The answer is no, I don’t think that is a good strategy to grow our economy.”

What legalization in Colorado and Washington have shown, is that YES, legalization is a good strategy to grow our economy. Thousands of jobs have been created in the first two states to legalize marijuana, and this growth is forecasted to continue in Oregon, and Alaska, the first four states to legalize marijuana. These jobs mean more people paying taxes, and the taxes that are levied on growers, retailers and consumers are new sources of revenue that are going into the system and not into underground markets that could fund cartels and other criminal enterprises.

Young people are thinking about the economy, about jobs, about climate change and about war and peace. The criminalization of a plant that has never killed a single human being as a result of its use and the policy of prohibition that stems primarily from racism in the 1930’s is hurting the younger generation, which is why these questions are consistently asked.

Legalization of marijuana would create jobs, does create jobs – it allows for tax dollars to go to schools, roads, and government projects. Hemp production would allow us to create sustainable biofuels, plastics, food, and even building materials, allowing us to fight against climate change by replacing or supplementing the fossil fuels we currently rely on.

War and peace? The War on Drugs hits us closer to home, 1.5 million people were arrested for non-violent drug offenses in 2013, not to mention the the turmoil and violence that prohibition has caused our southern neighbor, border, and states.

And yet, despite all of the benefits of ending prohibition, President Obama continues to ignore marijuana and hemp legalization as legitimate policy choices. When he, of all people, as a former Choom Gang member, should understand just how lucky he is that a marijuana arrest didn’t derail his future. If he would have been unlucky enough to be arrested, he could have experienced 8 years in the big house instead of the White House. Maybe, President Obama, it’s you and not the young people (to whom you owe your stay in the White House in the first place), who has their priorities out of order.

I previously blogged that marijuana law reformers should support Rand Paul as much as possible during the Republican presidential primary. Paul’s success may move both the Republican and Democratic candidates towards a sensible policy. While Hillary Clinton’s nomination on the Democratic side has had an aura of invincibility, that may not be the case. Clinton seemed inevitable in 2008 and once again, she will be challenged from the left on a variety of issues, including her vote to support the Iraq War and and potentially on marijuana law reform and broader criminal justice issues.

While they are not very well-known now, Lincoln Chafee and Martin O’Malley may just provide alternatives for cannabis law reformers. Former United States Senator Jim Webb, could also be an option. At this point, I personally believe that Chafee is the better choice, but we will learn a lot more about these candidates as the months roll along. Chafee has been a United States Senator (and voted against the Iraq War, Clinton’s biggest weakness), as well as a governor. Both Chafee (in Rhode Island) and O’Malley (in Maryland) signed decriminalization measures into law as governors. O’Malley has gone on record against legalization, however, as Chafee has kept an open mind and somewhat hedged his bets when he stated that legalizing marijuana could generate revenue that could go towards infrastructure.

From the Huffington Post:

“Let’s take it step by step on full legalization of marijuana, though; we want to see how it’s working in Colorado,” Chafee added. “Certainly, the revenue is enticing for all governors.”

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When asked if the next steps toward “pot for potholes” might occur under his watch, Chafee said: “We’ll see what comes out of the legislature. We’re just still putting in the medical marijuana component and we’ll certainly see what happening in Colorado.”

“The ability to tax and put that revenue to beneficial means, whatever that might be — infrastructure, education — is tempting for governors,” Chafee said.

Hillary Clinton and the rest of the Democratic field will be answering questions about marijuana law reform early and often during the primary, and regardless of who comes out of the field, it is imperative that they go on record as at least being as good as President Obama on federal policy. It would be great if we get a president willing to publicly agree with the strong majority of Americans that support legalization than the former “Choom Gang” member, but so long as the federal government allows states to continue with legalization efforts without federal interference, the marijuana law reform movement will continue the march towards ending cannabis prohibition.