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ON THE SPEAKEASY BLOG

On International Human Rights Day, UN drugs body silences UN human rights expert on ground-breaking report

News release from our colleagues at the International Drug Policy Consortium:

7 comments

Our Work on Medical Marijuana at the UN

This post is the first of a series explaining our organization's current work and strategy. One part of that is work at the United Nations. 3 comments

The MORE Act has passed the House!

The MORE marijuana legalization with social justice act has passed the US House of Representatives! This is a big day for drug policy reform.

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Initiatives 2020 -- Legalization Sweep, Psychedelic Sweep, Medical Marijuana, Decrim

November 3rd was a good day for drug reform ballot initiatives. 2 comments

Philippine Democracy and Human Rights Face a Critical Test This Week

Our ally Senator Trillanes is facing possible jailing, maybe as soon as tomorrow, for opposing Duterte's drug war killing campaign. 34 comments

Trillanes Gets Reprieve, for Now

One of the few outspoken leaders opposing Rodrigo Duterte's mass murder campaign in the Philippine drug war, Senator Antonio Trillanes, is likely be jailed tomorrow. He will be the second opposition senator and Duterte critic suffering this fate. 6 comments

EVENT: Human Rights Challenge: Judicial and Extrajudicial Drug War Killings, in a Time of Authoritarianism

The rise of authoritarian or authoritarian political figures has been accompanied by calls for both sanctioned and extra-legal government violence in their crime and drug policies. This event, held in association with the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, will focus primarily but not exclusively on the situation in the Philippines. We will also examine the ramifications of President Trump's call to administer the death penalty for drug trafficking. 15 comments

Statement of ICC Prosecutor on Opening Preliminary Investigations in the Philippines and in Venezuela

The ICC is a long and uncertain road. But this is an important first step for stopping the drug war killings, restoring rule of law, and seeking justice. 7 comments

Save Marijuana Legalization

Jeff Sessions is trying to turn back marijuana legalization and medical marijuana. Don't let him do it. 3 comments

Action Alerts, #GivingTuesday, Issue 1000, Remembering Rep. Hinchey

As issue #1000 of the Drug War Chronicle newsletter approaches, we ask you to take advocacy actions, we ask for your financial support, and we stop to remember one of reform's best allies. 7 comments

ALERT: Medical Marijuana Is Under Threat -- Tell Congress to Act!

For the first time since becoming law in 2014, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment (formerly known as the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment) is in danger of not being renewed. 1 comment

CONGRESS: Pass S. 1055 for Philippines Human Rights Accountability

This bill responds to the Philippines drug war killings, in which well over 10,000 people have been killed extrajudicially without trial by police and vigilantes. The legislation would place human rights conditions on law enforcement assistance to the Philippines. It would also fund positive public health programs for substance use issues, as well as the work of Philippine human rights defenders. 3 comments

Against Jeff Sessions for Attorney General

The president-elect's nominee for Attorney General is a big-time drug warrior who could derail both sentencing reform and marijuana legalization. Please write your Senators in opposition to this nomination. 25 comments

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FROM THE CHRONICLE

Another Fed Court Rules Pot Gun Bans Unconstitutional, WA Drug Sentencing Bill Advances, More... (4/10/23)

Maryland is just the governor's signature away from having a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce, Minnesota lawmakers fold a psychedelic task force bill into a must-pass healthcare omnibus bill, and more. comments

China Rebukes US on Fentanyl Crisis, Cleveland Mayor Will Seal Thousands of Pot Records, More... (4/7/23)

Michigan's former GOP House Speaker pleads guilty to marijuana bribery, a natural psychedelic legalization bill is filed in Uruguay, and more. 1 comment

NH House Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill, Federal Smart Sentencing Act Filed, More... (4/6/23)

An Arkansas pot legalization bill gets filed, the German health minister says the government's pot legalization bill will be revealed after Easter, and more. comments

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

A small-town Pennsylvania police chief gets a slap on the wrist for pilfering heroin to feed his habit, a fomer North Carolina cop gets caught partying in a church parking lot at midnight, and more. 1 comment

Kentucky Becomes 38th Medical Marijuana State [FEATURE]

The Bluegrass State joins the medical marijuana club. 1 comment

Medical Marijuana Update

Kentucky becomes the 38th state to embrace medical marijuana. 1 comment

GOP Pounding War Drums on Mexican Cartels, MN Legal Pot Bill Draws Near to Floor Votes, More... (4/5/23)

A Florida marijuana legalization initiative looks well placed to meet its signature gathering threshold, a pair of GOP senators introduce a bill designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, and more. 1 comment

NBA to End Marijuana Testing, Costa Rica Drug Killings on Rise, More... (4/4/23)

Missouri's marijuana legalization has become a job creation engine, the Urban Institute for a report on the impact of reforms in Mississippi's criminal justice system, and more. 1 comment

KY Becomes 38th MedMJ State, Bipartisan Federal Reentry Act Introduced, More... (4/3/23)

Minnesota's marijuana legalization bill wins yet another committee vote, a Connecticut psilocybin decriminalization bill heads for a House floor vote, and more. 2 comments

House, Senate Bills to Schedule "Tranq" Filed; KY MedMJ Bill Faces Crucial Votes Today, More...(3/30/23)

A State Department drug diplomat heads to Mexico City, the Missouri House gives initial approval to a therapeutic psilocybin study bill, and more. 3 comments

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

A former DARE cop gets decades in prison for sexually assaulting teens years ago, a south Texas cop faces an occupational hazard, and more. 1 comment

Two New Jersey Moms Sue Over Failed Drug Tests Caused by Poppy Seed Bagels [FEATURE]

Eating poppy seed bagels before giving birth led to a nightmarish odyssey for two New Jersey women. Now, they want to force change. 1 comment

DE Legal Pot Bills Go to Governor, FDA Approves OTC Naloxone, More... (3/29/23)

A North Carolina marijuana legalization bill has been filed, more New York regions have been cleared to license marijuana businesses, and more. 1 comment

Federal Marijuana Cases Continue to Decline, Britain Plans to Ban Nitrous Oxide, More... (3/28/23)

A Montana bill would turn back the clock on legal marijuana sales, a House bill to increase fentanyl penalties but also ease scientific research on Schedule I substances wins a House committee vote, and more. 1 comment

HI Legal Pot Bill Dead for This Year, CA Psychedelic Decrim Bill Advances, More... (3/27/23)

Hawaii's Democratic House speaker pumps the brakes on marijuana legalization, and Idaho medical marijuana bill emerges, and more. 2 comments

KY Governor Bans "Gas Station Heroin," OK, SD MedMJ Bills, More... (3/24/23)

A bill banning minors from buying Delta-8 THC products is signed into law in Kentucky, a bill banning medical marijuana use by pregant or breast-feeding women is signed into law in South Dakota, and more. 4 comments

OR Issues First Psilocybin License, AZ Nonprofits Can Now Get Marijuana Justice Funds, More... (3/23/23)

Memphis cops really like seizing people's cars, the Swiss will have a summer of marijuana legalization pilot projects, and more. 2 comments

After the Pandemic, Cocaine Has Come Roaring Back Worldwide [FEATURE]

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime reports that cocaine production and use are up, up, up. 3 comments

OK Senate Passes Bill to Rein In Illicit MedMJ Grows, Blinken Says Cartels Control Parts of Mexico, More... (3/22/23)

A Republican senator is calling on the banking industry to step up for a marijuana banking bill, the Oklahoma Senate moves to tighten up rules around medical marijuana grows, and more. 2 comments

DEA Warns on Fentanyl Laced with "Tranq," Taliban Bans Marijuana Cultivation, More... (3/21/23)

That Minnesota marijuana legalization bill keeps rolling toward final passage, Colombia's president suspends a ceasefire with a rightist drug trafficking group, and more. 1 comment

Global Drug Executions Jumped Last Year, the Border Bomb That Wasn't, More... (3/17/23)

Medical marijuana is killed in Kansas but survives in Kentucky, cocaine production hits an all-time high, and more. 1 comment

Sheriffs' Group Call on Congress to Act Against Cartels, DE Legal Pot Bill Advances, More... (3/16/23)

The Texas Senate has approved a bill raising fentanyl penalties, a Delaware Senate committee advances a pair of marijuana legalization and regulation bills, and more. 28 comments

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

An East Texas police chief breaks bad, and there's trouble on the task forces. Let's get to it: 1 comment

House GOP Members File Bill Designating Cartels as Terrorist Groups, Germany to Move Ahead With Legal Pot Proposal, More... (3/15/23)

A Kentucky medical marijuana bill faces a looming Senate deadline, Vermont lawmakers file a number of drug reform bills, and more. 1 comment

Bolivia to Seek End to UN Ban on Coca Leaf, Biden Budget Keeps Ban on DC Pot Sales, More... (3/14/23)

A trio of psychedelic research bills is filed in Texas, a Maine bill would allow for marijuana consumption at pot shops, and more. 1 comment

Opioid Settlement Causing Problems for Patients, MD Legal Pot Regulation Bill Passes House, More... (3/13/23)

The Justice Department is open to Sentencing Commission marijuana guideline reforms, a Texas bill to remove jail time for pot possession advances, and more. 2 comments

Fractures: Rule of Law Challenges in the Global Drug War (EVENT)

Drug war campaigns present challenges to human rights. Extrajudicial killings, unjust or unlawful detentions, and denial of essential medicines, are among the ills faced in the global drug war, some of them large enough to risk fracturing world rule of law efforts. This session will review various rule of law in drug policy situations, and national and international advocacy efforts to address them. 5 comments

DE House Approves Marijuana Regulation Bill, Federal Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Filed, More... (3/10/23)

Nevada lawmakers filed a bill to legalize magic mushrooms, bipartisan senators file a federal asset forfeiture reform bill, and more. 1 comment

MN Marijuana Legalization Bill Advances Again, WA Senate Approves Psychedelic Research Bill, More... (3/9/23)

Indiana marijuana reform bills appear dead in the water, Lindsay Graham will file a bill designating Mexican cartels as terrorists organizations, and more. 1 comment

Oklahoma Marijuana Legalization Initiative Defeated [FEATURE]

If you want to smoke marijuana in Muskogee, you'll have to keep your medical marijuana card. 2 comments

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