Philando Castile was shot and killed by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop last year. This week we learned that the officer rationalized his actions by claiming that the alleged smell of “burnt marijuana” made him fear for…
Medical Marijuana News
Two Major Victories For Student Rights In Federal Courts
Dan Viets speaking at a NORML conference Federal courts have recently rejected the actions of university and college administrators who sought to inflict suspicionless drug tests on students at a public college and to restrict the First Amendment rights of…
Study: CBD Administration Reduces Blood Pressure
Oral CBD administration is associated with reduced blood pressure in healthy volunteers, according to clinical trial data published online in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Investigators from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom assessed the effects of a…
Weekly Legislative Update 6/17/17
Welcome to this week’s edition of the NORML legislative roundup! At the Federal level, the biggest news this week was two-fold. First, in a letter made public by Tom Angell of Marijuana Moment, it was revealed that Attorney General Jeff…
Pennsylvania Governor to AG Sessions: Back Off!
In a recent letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf wrote a pointed letter regarding the Department of Justice and it’s posturing to implement a crackdown of lawful state medical marijuana programs. The full letter: Dear Attorney General…
First Meeting Of Trump’s Opioid Commission: Will It Be Effective?
Today, the Office of National Drug Control Policy convened it’s first meeting of President Trump’s “Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.” The Commission is tasked with making recommendations for improving the Federal response to opioid misuse and abuse.…
Empire State NORML in Albany with the Start SMART Campaign
Lobby Day The Drug Policy Alliance, along with other campaign pillar groups Empire State NORML, VOCAL-NY, Cannabis Cultural Association, LatinoJustice and the Immigrant Defense Project, held a press conference and lobby day to announce the Start Sensible Marijuana Access through…
Study: No Increase In Problematic Cannabis Use Following Passage Of Medical Marijuana Laws
The enactment of medical marijuana laws is not associated with increased rates of problematic cannabis use, according to data published online in the journal Addiction. Columbia University investigators assessed cannabis use trends in states in the years following the passage…
Deputy AG: Marijuana is federally illegal and has no medical use
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was questioned about federal marijuana policy during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today and his responses were disconcerting to say the least. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) asked Rosenstein about the current tension between state and…
Weekly Legislative Update 6/10/17
Welcome to this week’s edition of the NORML legislative roundup! First off, apologies to weekly readers for skipping last week’s update. We held a NORML Legal Committee seminar in Colorado about tactics to continue the fight against prohibition and protect…
Safe Streets Alliance et al. v. John Hickenlooper, et al. – Good News, Bad News
A ruling issued on June 7th by the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, in response to a series of legal challenges to Colorado’s adult cannabis use regulations, includes both good news and bad news. The Good News…
Take Action This Memorial Day
Veterans have served our nation honorably. So this Memorial Day, why is the federal government denying those veterans suffering from debilitating ailments like chronic pain and PTSD access to the therapeutic effects of marijuana? Presently, V.A. doctors residing in states…
Weekly Legislative Update 5/27/17
Welcome to this week’s edition of the NORML legislative roundup! Republican Gov. Phil Scott rejected legislation earlier this week, Senate Bill 22, which sought to eliminate criminal and civil penalties for the adult use and possession of marijuana. The Governor said that…
Setting The Record Straight
One of NORML’s primary missions is to move public opinion sufficiently to legalize the responsible use of marijuana by adults. One of the ways we successfully achieve this goal is by debunking marijuana myths and half-truths via the publication…
Vermont Governor Phil Scott Vetoes Marijuana Legalization
Republican Gov. Phil Scott today rejected legislation, Senate Bill 22, that sought to eliminate criminal and civil penalties for the adult use and possession of marijuana. The Governor said that he did not support the legislation as written, but remains…
President Trump Compliments Leader Who Executes His Citizens for Drug Charges
If the latest comments and memos coming out of Attorney General Sessions’ Department of Justice didn’t raise concerns about the Trump Administration’s potential plans to reignite our nation’s failed war on drugs, his recent call with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte should…
Online Debate: NORML Versus Project SAM
The Asbury Park Press and other Gannett newspaper affiliates, including USA Today, published a fairly extensive online debate on Sunday between myself and Project SAM co-founder Kevin Sabet under the header “Should We Make Marijuana Legal?” I respond to numerous…
Las Vegas NORML Ramps up Advocacy Efforts
With state lawmakers in Nevada quickly approaching their fast-tracked deadline of July 1st to implement the state’s new adult-use marijuana program, NORML is focused on ramping up our activism efforts in Las Vegas! Over the past two months, we’ve been…
Weekly Legislative Update 5/20/17
Welcome to this week’s edition of the NORML legislative roundup! This year, it seems that multiple states are vying for the honor of becoming the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislative process and four of them had movement this…
Recent Reviews Of Nearby Dispensaries