Topic: Legal

A House committee approved an amendment that would allow military service members to reenlist despite previous cannabis use. The military makes no confusion about its views on marijuana. Despite widespread legalization and rising positive marijuana drug tests for Army soldiers, military service members who confess to consuming cannabis just once are barred from reenlisting under current law. But late last Thursday the House Armed Services Committee approved an amendment to its $740.5 billion defense policy bill that could grant a second chance to those troops. Rep. Ruben Gallego submitted a proposal alongside the bill that would create a one-time reenlistment

While the unity task force pushed Biden farther left on cannabis policy, the former vice president still doesn’t support ending prohibition. Joe Biden will not change his mind on cannabis anytime soon. A task force formed between Biden and Bernie Sanders, which had prior heated discussions on cannabis, agreed on multiple criminal justice priorities, but marijuana legalization was not among them. Instead, the official policy recommendations (released Wednesday) for Biden as he embarks on winning the general election as the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee represents a reiteration of his previous cannabis views. He believes in cannabis decriminalization, not legalization. The

The task force is split on whether to include cannabis reform among its recommendations to Joe Biden for the upcoming election. During the Democratic presidential debates, Joe Biden stood alone on cannabis reform. The majority of candidates had voiced support for marijuana legalization, siding with the more than two-thirds of voters who believed America should end prohibition. Biden instead supported decriminalization and expressed the need to further research the plant before making it available to the American public. That division has represented a point of contention within the “unity” task force Biden formed with former rival Sen. Bernie Sanders since

Amid recession and social unrest, the cannabis industry sees its moment. Actions by states to reduce criminal penalties for marijuana use and possession are fueling momentum for the broader movement to legalize cannabis and have it serve as an economic engine for cash-strapped coffers, industry members and policy experts say. “I expect a record number of states to legalize marijuana in 2021, in part due to the financial pressures, along with the racial injustice imperative to reduce unnecessary police-civilian interactions,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, the lobbying organization behind many state cannabis policies

Though marijuana legalization will not solve racial injustice in America, NORML believes it can be “an important part of this emerging discussion.” The National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws released a statement this week detailing how marijuana advocates can play a role in enacting racial justice in America. Following George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police, voices across the nation have protested against police brutality and policies that disproportionately target communities of color. Racial inequalities have long existed in enforcing drug policies. According to analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union, African Americans are close to four

“I decided to join MPP because I believe that we will not fundamentally change policing practices in this country until we put an end to the war on drugs, and it starts with ending the prohibition on cannabis.” I just spent the last two nights immersed in work that is sadly too familiar. I found myself once again providing assistance to lawyers representing an African American family who had lost a loved one at the hands of the police. So often, I am drawn back to where my career began over three decades ago as a young civil rights lawyer