Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/tag/drugs/page/3/)
As the photo above illustrates, Governor Dayton has backed off statements Bluestem examined in Medical pot: Mark Dayton feels your pain, but thinks you people with PTSD are probably faking it. Continue Reading
America has fought a losing war and it is time to end it. No, this is not a reference to Afghanistan or the War on Terrorism. It is to the four decade long war on drugs that has failed miserably. It is time to shift away from a drug policy that criminalizes its use to one which treats it as a public health problem. This should be the policy regardless of whether Minnesota endorses medical marijuana. Richard Nixon launched the “war on drugs” with his presidency in 1968 and coined the phrase in a 1971 speech. Since Nixon the war on drugs has been a mainstay of Republican if not bipartisan politics. The 1974 New York Rockefeller Drug laws penalized individuals with sentences of 15, 25 years, or even life in prison for possession of small amount of marijuana. Increased mandatory minimum sentences for crimes were ratcheted up for drugs and the move toward “three strikes and you are out laws” in the 1990s were adopted in part as a result of the drive to prosecute drug crimes. All told in the last decade the federal government has annually spent $20-25 billion on drug enforcement with states kicking in an additional $10-15 billion if not more. What has this money purchased? Continue Reading
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton’s revelation that he would like to see some sort of compromise legislation on medical marijuana meets with mixed reviews from legislative leaders of both parties. House Majority Leader Erin Murphy says it may be better to have a conversation about medical marijuana next session. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt says there is bipartisan support for medical marijuana as well as bipartisan opposition.
Amber spends hours riding metro buses in order to stay sober.
Random drug testing requirements for the Minnesota Family Investment Program could see some changes by the end of the legislative session.
Much is being made about a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll: Majority support legalization of medical marijuana. That seems like good news for those of us who want marijuana made legal if heavily regulated and available by prescription from doctors. Continue Reading
Sue Nelson, the Tea Party member challenging incumbent conservative Republican state representative Mary Franson, continued her holy war against ditch weed on Facebook Tuesday. Along with several other Minnesota Republicans, Franson supports allowing Minnesota farmers to grow hemp for fiber, building materials and other non-recreational purposes. Continue Reading
Will medical marijuana soon be legal in Minnesota? That’s the question getting more and more media attention as lawmakers gear up for the 2014 legislative session, when companion bills to legalize marijuana for medical use will be introduced in both the Minnesota House and Senate. Continue Reading
A recent Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans favor marijuana legalization for the first time, and supporters skew towards the younger end of the age spectrum. TPM gets a hat tip and credit for calling it correctly. They said last April this would happen, “Surprised At Speed Of Gay Marriage? Pot Legalization Is Next“. In that article, they posted a graph using polling data going back to 1995 which showed that support for marijuana legalization followed the same trajectory as support for marriage equality, being just a bit behind. With the increase in support for marriage equality which a few months earlier allowed supporters to win at the polls in four states, they predicted marijuana legalization would shortly reach the same level of support. Apparently they were right. TPM unfortunately lost the graph when the redesigned their web site, but I found it in an internet archive. Here it is: Continue Reading
Law enforcement officials, state pharmaceutical regulators and prosecutors from across the state on Tuesday called for toughened laws to tackle what they said is a growing — and dangerous — synthetic drug problem in Minnesota.