A long hoped-for cannabis legalization bill died in the New York state assembly, but reform advocates got a consolation prize as lawmakers agreed to widen decriminalization and expunge thousands of low-level marijuana convictions.
Mexico's new populist president announced that he is dropping out of the regional US-led drug enforcement pact, and will be turning down the aid package offered through the program. Instead, he is proposing a dialogue with Washington on across-the-board drug decriminalization in both nations. And Mexican lawmakers say they will pass a cannabis legalization bill by the end of the year.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he will reintroduce his bill to remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances—allowing states to set their own laws to regulate the plant without the shadow of Washington interference.
New Mexico's governor signed into law a cannabis decriminalization measure, as well as another bill that opens social space for medical marijuana users. Advocates anticipate a growing market and industry in the state. A full legalization measure, however, died in the state senate.
A measure to legalize cannabis in the Aloha State died in the legislature. But Hawaii's long-delayed medical marijuana program is finally taking off—and has now been opened to non-residents.
With rival cannabis legalization bills now pending in Albany, New York state activists are demanding "Day One Equity"—legislation consciously crafted to correct the injustices of the War on Drugs. Advocates and politicians came together to give voice to this demand at a recent forum on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
Following a campaign by local advocates, the US Virgin Islands passed a medical marijuana law that allows home cultivation for qualifying patients. Basking in victory, the territory's activists still anticipate protection of sacramental use by Rastafarians—and general legalization.
Two bills to legalize "recreational" cannabis have been introduced in Portugal—a country that already has a thriving medical marijuana industry, and a "depenalization" policy for personal possession that has been hailed as a success by reform advocates across the world.
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