The war on drugs will be on the ballot in California this November. The nation will watch the state decide whether to tax and regulate marijuana or continue to arrest adults for possession of this plant.

The Associated Press has an interactive map “Medical Marijuana, A breakdown of laws by state” with access to related videos and other information.

CNN’s Larry King talks to legendary singer Willie Nelson about why he supports marijuana legalization.

The U.S. legal landscape surrounding “medical marijuana” is complex and rapidly changing. Fourteen states – California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Maine, Hawaii, Colorado, Nevada, Vermont, Montana, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Michigan, and most recently, New Jersey – have passed laws eliminating criminal penalties for using marijuana for medical purposes, and at least a dozen others are considering such legislation.1 Medical experts have also taken a fresh look at the evidence regarding the therapeutic use of marijuana,2,3 and the American Medical Association (AMA) recently adopted a resolution urging review of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance, noting it would support rescheduling if doing so would facilitate research and development of cannabinoid-based medicine. Criticizing the patchwork of state laws as inadequate to establish clinical standards for marijuana use, the AMA has joined the Institute of Medicine, the American College of Physicians, and patient advocates in calling for changes in federal drug-enforcement policies to establish evidence-based practices in this area.

Segment one of Part 2 of Paul McKeever’s two part documentary titled “The Principle of Pot”, concerning individual freedom and the political strategies and campaigns of Marc Emery (dubbed the “Prince of Pot” by American media), who currently faces the possibility of extradition to the USA, and years of imprisoment there.

Legalizing marijuana is no longer the unthinkable. Many Americans support it and some states have sanctioned it for medical use. CNBC looks at the details around this multi-billion dollar industry and how it affects business, government, and the consumer.

The report estimates that legalizing drugs would save roughly $48.7 billion per year in government expenditure on enforcement of prohibition. $33.1 billion of this savings would accrue to state and local governments, while $15.6 billion would accrue to the federal government. Approximately $13.7 billion of the savings would results from legalization of marijuana, $22.3 billion from legalization of cocaine and heroin, and $12.8 from legalization of other drugs.

Nice work by Pete Guither over at DrugWarRant, my favorite drug war blog. Pete noticed that federal anti-drug officials were playing quite loose with language regarding “drugged driving,” making the problem seem more widespread than it really is. The Office of National Drug Control Policy replied to Pete and changed […]