In the Time of Trump, Can Congress Take the Lead on Marijuana Policy?

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Phillip Smith | February 13, 2017

While the marijuana community — consumers, industry, and advocates alike — eyes with trepidation the reign of avowed anti-pot Republican Jeff Sessions at the Justice Department, the Trump executive branch isn’t the only game in town when it comes to making marijuana policy. Congress is back in session, and after last November’s legalization and medical marijuana victories at the polls, the pot state delegation is larger than ever.

And at least some of those senators and…

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Senate Votes to Confirm Jeff Sessions as US Attorney General

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Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) listens to a question during confirmation hearings on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.

Drug Policy Alliance | February 8, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Senate voted 52 to 47 Wednesday to confirm Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as Attorney General. Most Republicans voted for him; most Democrats voted against him.

The vote comes after two months of organized opposition as hundreds of organizations expressed concerns about Sessions’s record and racially-charged statements he has made in the…

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Senate Judiciary Votes to Advance ‘Drug-War Dinosaur’ Jeff Sessions as Attorney General

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Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) listens to a question during confirmation hearings on Tuesday, January 10, 2017.

Drug Policy Alliance | February 1, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC — The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to advance the nomination of Jeff Sessions for Attorney General of the United States. The vote was 11 to 9, with no Democrats supporting the nominee. The nomination will now go to the Senate floor for a full and final vote.

“Jeff Sessions is a disaster for drug policy and criminal justice reform,”…

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Senate Judiciary Advances the Nomination of Marijuana Prohibitionist Jeff Sessions to be the Attorney General

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NORML | February 1, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC — Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the confirmation of Jeff Sessions to be the next US Attorney General on a party line vote of 11 to 9.

There a numerous groups in the criminal justice advocacy space, ranging from the NAACP to the ACLU who are opposed Senator Sessions becoming the nation’s top law enforcement officer for various reasons, ranging from his positions on voting rights, capital punishment, and…

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Action Alert: Call the Judiciary Committee Today to Protect Marijuana Progress

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NORML | January 10, 2017

On January 10th and 11th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on the nomination of Jeff Sessions to become the next Attorney General. Over the course of these two days, marijuana reformers and citizens alike from around the country will be calling members of the committee to have them ask a simple question: Does Sen. Sessions intend to respect the will of the voters in the majority of US states that have enacted to pursue alternative marijuana policies?

The stakes are high.

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Trump Nominates Another Drug War Zealot, General John Kelly, to Head Department of Homeland Security

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Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly, commander of U.S. Southern Command, discusses the latest developments in his command’s efforts to stem the flow of drugs from South and Central America while briefing reporters at the Pentagon, March 13, 2014. (Department of Defense/Glenn Fawcett)

Drug Policy Alliance | December 7, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC — According to multiple media reports Wednesday, President-elect Donald Trump will nominate General John Kelly to head the Department of Homeland Security. Kelly served as head of…

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Arizona Prosecutor Wants Trump to “End the Charade” of Marijuana Legalization

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Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery

Scott Gacek | December 2, 2016

PHOENIX, AZ — Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, a prominent Republican who helped lead the opposition to a failed ballot measure that would have legalizde marijuana in Arizona, said this week that he expects the Trump Administration to crack down on medical marijuana laws nationwide and to “end the charade” of marijuana legalization in the states that have done so.

At a press conference Wednesday, Montgomery, a staunch opponent to all things marijuana, said that he…

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Trump Adds Another Marijuana Opponent to Cabinet

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Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump as Health and Human Services secretary. (photo/Gage Skidmore)

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump as Health and Human Services secretary. (photo/Gage Skidmore)

Scott Gacek | December 1, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump has picked another marijuana opponent to join his cabinet, tabbing Georgia Rep. Tom Price to serve as  Health and Human Services secretary.

This could be bad news for state-sanctioned medical marijuana programs in the 28 states that allow it.  While the Department of Justice — which, if he is confirmed by the Senate,…

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Will Trump’s Dead Alcoholic Brother Haunt His Drug Policy?

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Phillip Smith | November 30, 2016

As incoming president, Donald Trump will be, among other things, the man in charge of the nation’s drug policy. Whether he takes a hand-on, direct approach to policy-making or whether he delegates decision-making authority on drug matters to subordinates—think Attorney General Jeff Sessions and shudder—the buck ultimately stops with Donald.

What a Trump administration will do with states that have legalized marijuana is a huge burning question, but the drug policy horizon…

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A Pathway Towards Marijuana Legalization: The Significance of the Democratic Platform

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A Pathway Towards Marijuana Legalization: The Significance of the Democratic Platform

Among all the speeches and balloons and revelry of the recently completed Democratic National Convention — a convention that has already made history by nominating a woman for president – was a far less obvious, but important change in the Democratic Party platform. For the first time since marijuana was made illegal on the federal level in 1937, a major party platform has embraced a strategy they describe as a “reasoned pathway for future legalization.”

Thant’s right. While many mainstream elected officials remain skittish of…

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Trump VP Pick Mike Pence is Bad News on Marijuana, Drug Policy

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Trump VP Pick Mike Pence is Bad News on Marijuana, Drug Policy

The Republican nominee’s choice of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate means Trump has selected a man who is the very embodiment of last century’s “tough on drugs” prohibitionist attitudes.

Pence’s anti-drug reform stances are part and parcel of his overall social conservative, Tea Party positions. He has also been a strong opponent of gay marriage and abortion rights and a strong supporter of “religious freedom.”

Indiana has tough marijuana laws, with possession of even the smallest amount of pot worth up to six months…

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Looking Past the Party Conventions

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Looking Past the Party Conventions

With the country so divided right now along party lines, as well as within each of the two major parties, it would be easy for voters to say “The hell with them all,” and sit this election out. Both of the major party candidates have record-setting voter disapproval ratings, assuring that our next president will be starting off their first term knowing that more than half the country did not like them, and would have preferred someone else for president.

But there really is no other choice this year.

History of Third Party Candidates

The…

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Democratic Party Calls for “Pathway for Future Legalization”

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Democratic Party Calls for “Pathway for Future Legalization”

Over the weekend the Democratic National Committee voted to endorse a “reasoned pathway to future legalization” of marijuana and called on the federal government to downgrade marijuana from it’s current Schedule 1 of the United States Controlled Substances Act.

In an 80-81 vote, the following language was added as part of the Democratic party’s official 2016 platform:

“Because of conflicting laws concerning marijuana, both on the federal and state levels, we encourage the federal government to remove marijuana from its list as a…

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Democratic Party Includes Marijuana Reform As Part of 2016 National Platform

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Democratic Party Includes Marijuana Reform As Part of 2016 National Platform

Representatives within the Democratic National Committee have approved provisions specific to marijuana law reform as part of the party’s 2016 platform.

A 15-person decision-making panel unanimously voted to adopt the following language:

“We believe that the states should be laboratories of democracy on the issue of marijuana, and those states that want to decriminalize marijuana should be able to do so. We support policies that will allow more research to be done on marijuana, as well as reforming our laws to allow legal marijuana…

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