A new Gallup poll out Monday finds that the percentage of American adults who say they currently smoke marijuana has nearly doubled over the past three years. In 2013, only 7 percent of adults said they were marijuana smokers. When Gallup asked again in July of this year, 13 percent admitted to current marijuana use. That works out to more than 33 million adult marijuana users in the U.S. If America's marijuana users resided in one state, it would be bigger than Texas and second only to California in population. [continues 236 words]
There are currently about 40 million cigarette smokers in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Given that cigarette use is in decline, marijuana use could become more prevalent than cigarette use in just a few years' time. A new Gallup poll out Monday finds that the percentage of American adults who say they currently smoke marijuana has nearly doubled over the past three years. [continues 361 words]
Marijuana Use Could Overtake Cigarette Use in a Few Years. A new Gallup poll out today finds that the percent- age of American adults who say they currently smoke marijuana has nearly doubled over the past three years. In 2013, only 7 percent of adults said they were marijuana smokers. When Gallup asked again in July of this year, 13 percent admitted to current marijuana use. That works out to more than 33 million adult marijuana users in the U.S. If America's marijuana users resided in one state, it would be bigger than Texas and second only to California in population. [continues 294 words]
A new Gallup poll out Monday finds that the percent of American adults who say they currently smoke marijuana has nearly doubled over the past three years. In 2013, only 7 percent of adults said they were marijuana smokers. When Gallup asked again in July of this year, 13 percent admitted to current marijuana use. That works out to more than 33 million adult marijuana users in the United States. If America's marijuana users resided in one state, it would be bigger than Texas and second only to California in population. [continues 368 words]
The House of Representatives recently passed a number of bills designed to combat the epidemic of dangerous drugs sweeping across the United States. No congressional district has been spared from this problem, and people are dying at an alarming rate from the use of fentanyl, bath salts, flakka, K2, Spice and other synthetic drugs. But lawmakers failed to act to close a major entry point for these terrible drugs into the United States: the global postal system. Anyone with a laptop, wireless access and a credit card can order these poisons over the Internet from abroad and have them shipped directly to their home through the U.S. mail. This is not a new problem - Congress has held extensive hearings on this issue, starting as far back as 2000. According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 340 million packages enter the United States through the international mail stream, with little or no electronic manifest data associated with them. Our federal law enforcement agencies have no way to perform risk assessments on incoming postal shipments before they arrive and are forced to manually screen millions upon millions of postal parcels in an attempt to intercept these deadly drugs. [continues 351 words]
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday cut short the sentences of 214 federal inmates, including 67 life sentences, in what the White House called the largest batch of commutations on a single day in more than a century. Almost all the prisoners were serving time for nonviolent crimes related to cocaine, methamphetamine or other drugs, although a few were charged with firearms violations related to their drug activities. Almost all are men, though they represent a diverse cross-section of America geographically. [continues 411 words]
Regarding "Dangerous drugs" (Page A14, Thursday), the editorial takes note of illogical marijuana laws in our state, while those laws sidestep kush, which is actually a more dangerous substance. Four states have already legalized the use of marijuana, and all is well. Texas needs to move forward on this issue as well as the issue of casino gambling. Other states are enjoying the freedoms related to both of these issues, which should be individual choices. We are stuck in an outdated mode, based on falsehoods and overly conservative and religious mores. We need to focus our laws and enforcement efforts on things that really matter. G. Gratzer, Sargent [end]
Take a bow, San Francisco: The Bay Area is home to the highest concentration of marijuana smokers anywhere in the country, according to new data released Tuesday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Every few years, SAMHSA combines data from the annual National Surveys on Drug Use and Health to derive estimates of monthly marijuana use among Amer-icans age 12 and older. The latest cut of that data, encom-passing the years 2012 to 2014, includes responses from about 204,000 people. That huge sample makes it possible to visualize marijuana use rates with a level of detail not possible with traditional surveys. [continues 200 words]
DENVER - To a child on the prowl for sweets, that brownie, cookie or bearshaped candy left on the kitchen counter is just asking to be gobbled up. But in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, notably Colorado, that child may end up with more than a sugar high. New York Times These brownie bites by Spot contain 5 milligrams of THC per serving. A study in JAMA Pediatrics says the rate of marijuana exposure in young children in Colorado has increased 150 percent since recreational use was legalized. [continues 789 words]
To a child on the prowl for sweets, that brownie, cookie or bear-shaped candy left on the kitchen counter is just asking to be gobbled up. But in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use, notably Colorado, that child may end up with more than a sugar high. A study published on Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics says that in Colorado the rates of marijuana exposure in young children, many of them toddlers, have increased 150 percent since 2014, when recreational marijuana products, like sweets, went on the market legally. [continues 750 words]
A Story of Truth, Lies and an American Addiction She had already made it through one last night alone under the freeway bridge, through the vomiting and shakes of withdrawal, through cravings so intense she'd scraped a bathroom floor searching for leftover traces of heroin. It had now been 12 days since the last time Amanda Wendler used a drug of any kind, her longest stretch in years. "Clear-eyed and sober," read a report from one drug counselor, and so Amanda, 31, had moved back in with her mother to begin the stage of recovery she feared most. [continues 5637 words]
Legislators who want to expand the use of medical marijuana in Texas - - as well as the green-seeking entrepreneurs who could benefit financially from more state-approved, pot-derived treatments for what ails Texans - might be able to lean on a new study to bolster their argument when the Legislature convenes in January. State senators and Texas House members undoubtedly will be looking for ways to save money next session, especially since the price of oil has dropped into an abyss, taking with it much of the state's oil-based tax revenue. They'll cut programs. They always do. But they also will search for savings. [continues 415 words]
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will pay $475,000 to a New Mexico woman who accused agents in Texas of forcing her to undergo illegal body-cavity probes. The woman was at an El Paso port of entry when a drug-sniffing dog jumped on her, according to court filings. The American Civil Liberties Union in Texas and New Mexico announced the settlement Thursday. Customs and Border Protection officers will also be required to undergo additional training. A lawsuit filed in 2013 said the woman - a 54-year-old U.S. citizen referred to only as Jane Doe - was "brutally" searched by customs agents in December 2012. [continues 72 words]
As the California campaign for the Adult Use of Marijuana Act gains momentum and state economists forecast an industry that could grow to $15 billion annually by 2020, creating thousands of jobs and generating millions in tax revenue, there's a dark cloud hanging over potential victory celebrations on Nov. 8: The multibillion industry will have no legal baking options. If approved by voters, new cannabis businesses in California will have to overcome an obstacle that has dogged the industry in 25 medical marijuana states and four recreational-use states - Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. There simply is no safe, efficient, and legal banking. The Attorney General's Office made that very clear with the now infamous 2011 "Cole Memo," which warned bankers not to open cannabis-related accounts or they could face money-laundering charges or possibly lose their FDIC insurance, which would be ruinous. [continues 755 words]
I hear the AUMA has made it to the ballot. Which way are you leaning? - -Imonda Phince The Adult Use of Marijuana Act has indeed made it to the ballot. California voters will get a chance to join states like Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Alaska by legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults. Other states with adult-use initiatives on the ballot this year are Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada. I am going to support AUMA and do all that I can to get this initiative passed. It isn't perfect, but it's really, really good, and it's high time for California to retake its proper place as a leader in the recreational cannabis industry. I have traveled extensively through Washington, Oregon and Colorado, and I have to tell you that the freedom (and the money) that comes with cannabis legalization is incredible. And dig this: If the AUMA does pass, it doesn't mean that our jobs as activists are done. The AUMA is just a step. A big step, but there will be things we need to change, and we will need pot activists to stay involved. [continues 310 words]
On June 20, The Day published a guest commentary by Jim Spellman of Groton, "Stopping heroin at the source," which contended that "two appropriate recommendations have been offered to counter the heroin crisis - treat it as an epidemic and counter it as a village." Left unclear was who determined that these are the two appropriate recommendations in all of Connecticut. But, on his first point, I will agree that the heroin crisis in our state should be treated as an epidemic. [continues 501 words]
Dear Stoner: I really want to try my hand at growing my own, but I live across the street from an elementary school. What am I supposed to? Jamey Dear Jamey: Once cultivating marijuana became legal under the Colorado Constitution in 2012, you've been allowed to grow marijuana in your home no matter where you live - as long as you're the homeowner or have permission from the homeowner. Think of it this way: Can a homeowner brew beer on his/her property if it's near a school? The answer is yes, so what makes growing recreational marijuana any different - other than years of uneducated prohibition? [continues 315 words]
Chinese Fentanyl From Mexico Is Just One Lethal Legacy of Open Borders There is also the Open Borders of things. What are they bringing with them? Heroin? Cocaine? Methamphetamines? And now fentanyl? Plus the murder and gang violence that are a part of this trade? On June 9, The New York Times ran this headline on Page A1: "Drug That Killed Prince Is Making Mexican Cartels Richer, U.S. Says." The first line of the story reads, "The drug that killed Prince has become a favorite of Mexican cartels because it is extremely potent, popular in the United States - and immensely profitable, American officials say." [continues 744 words]
Within GOP, Sentiment Appears to Be Growing to Allow More Remedies. Is Texas ready to embrace expanding medical treatments from marijuana? Some state elected officials - along with some eager entrepreneurs - would like to see more allowable uses of the controversial plant when the 2017 legislative session comes around. Last session, many Capitol observers were stunned when both chambers passedSenate Bill 339 and Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law. The law - which was authored by now-departing state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, and sponsored by state Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth - allows patients who suffer from a rare form of epilepsy to be treated legally with cannabidiol, or CBD as it is better known. [continues 1507 words]
The high costs of incarceration have prompted most states and the federal government to reduce their prison populations. Now, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, there is evidence that doing so does not increase crime. Researchers analyzed prison and crime data from all 50 states between 2006, when the reform movement began, through 2014, the most recent year for which data are complete. They found that in 27 states that have decreased their prison populations, crime also has decreased. [continues 293 words]
High Court: Civil-Asset Forfeiture Is Not Subject to Criminal Court Rules. Law enforcement can seize private property that was used in the commission of a crime, even if evidence of wrongdoing was illegally obtained by police, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday. Because the process of seizing property takes place in civil court, property owners aren't protected by criminal court rules that call for evidence to be tossed out if it was obtained in an unconstitutional search or seizure, the unanimous court ruling said. [continues 416 words]
Civil Asset Forfeitures From Prepaid Cards Prompt New Concerns Over Civil Liberties. The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety has purchased several devices capable of seizing funds loaded on to prepaid debit cards to aid troopers in roadside seizures of suspected drug-trafficking proceeds. The portable card scanners are designed to be carried in law enforcement vehicles, allow troopers to freeze and seize money loaded onto a prepaid debit card, and to return money to an account whose funds were seized or frozen. [continues 1519 words]
When the subject of legalizing marijuana comes up, there seems to be plenty of mixed emotions, clashing of opinion and even ambivalence of tolerance in our society. We generally disdain excessive use of alcohol and nicotine as anodynes - painkilling drugs or medicines - but a rigid line is drawn between hedonistic marijuana use and an almost Calvinistic condemnation of the drug. Currently, we understand that 25 states, including Ohio, allow the use of marijuana for the relief of chronic pain, and just four states for "recreational" escape. [continues 129 words]
Ceo Expects Texas to Be Major Center for a Strain of Cannabis That Can Ease Epilepsy Without Getting Patients High About 60 miles north of Dallas, amid green fields in the town of Gunter, population 1,486, Texas Cannabis CEO Patrick Moran has optioned to buy a former cotton gin, where he plans to grow the Cannabis sativa plant, known more commonly as marijuana. The businessman and attorney is positioning himself at the forefront of what he estimates will be a $900 million a year industry in Texas - - the recently legalized market for treating intractable epilepsy with a strain of marijuana that eases seizures without getting patients high. [continues 1796 words]
MEXICO CITY - Two days after Jorge Antonio Parral Rabadan was kidnapped by a criminal gang, the Mexican Army raided the remote ranch where he was a prisoner and killed him. As he instinctively raised his hands in defense, the soldiers fired over and over at point-blank range. A brief army communique about the event asserted that soldiers had returned fire and killed three hit men at the El Puerto ranch on April 26, 2010. But Mr. Parral had fired no weapon. [continues 1106 words]
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama shortened the sentences Friday of 42 people serving time for drug-related offenses, continuing a push for clemency that has ramped up in the final year of his administration. Roughly half of the 42 receiving commutations Friday were serving life sentences. Most are nonviolent offenders, although a few were also charged with firearms violations. The White House said many of them would have already finished their sentences if they had been sentenced under current, less onerous sentencing guidelines. [continues 476 words]
As president of the California Police Chiefs Association, Ventura police Chief Ken Corney has garnered a lot of media attention for the group's and his own opposition to a November ballot measure that seeks to legalize recreational marijuana use in California. Their objections to the measure, known as the Adult Use of Marijuana 2016, include its allowing those with "serious drug felonies to have a license to run a marijuana shop," said Corney during a recent interview at his Ventura office. [continues 750 words]
The Explosion of Smuggled Mexican Heroin Is Killing Thousands "Lobos" has made another bust. Back in December, the K-9 dog Lobos and his human partner, Fayette County Texas Deputy Sheriff Sgt. Randy Thumann, made a routine stop on Interstate 10 and Lobos' super nose turned up $4 million in liquid methamphetamine hidden in the vehicle of two Mexican nationals. A month later, the law enforcement pair made another stop on I-10. This time, Lobos found $428,000 in cash hidden away in a Honda Odyssey driven by Jose Cortez, 28, and Maria Martinez, 26, both Mexican citizens. [continues 730 words]
Forty-one states have legislation that permits medical marijuana in some form. However, the law in Texas is not considered functional because it requires a physician to prescribe marijuana. Since marijuana is illegal under federal law, doctors can't prescribe it. They can only recommend it to patients. Louisiana's law had the same flaw, but the state's House of Representatives just voted on new legislation that should correct this problem. In April, Pennsylvania became the latest state to pass medical marijuana legislation, which will take effect this month. And recently, Ohio's House of Representatives passed a plan to permit medical marijuana in the state. [continues 1101 words]
The fines levied against marijuana businesses through the county's enforcement division are helping homeless people who have become stranded in Pueblo. In an effort to help homeless get back to their places of origin, the Pueblo County commissioners voted Wednesday to give the Pueblo Area Law Enforcement Chaplains Corp. a $25,000 grant that would be used to help benefit homeless individuals without support in Pueblo County. Commissioner Sal Pace said the money for the grant comes from funding that the county has set aside from marijuana fine money to address homelessness and youth drug prevention. [continues 480 words]
State's High- Grade Marijuana Is in Big Demand on Black Market DENVER - If you can dream up a way to smuggle marijuana out of Colorado, chances are someone else has already tried it: Cars and trucks. Potato chip bags and jars of peanut butter. The U. S. mail. Not even the sky is the limit: A pilot last year confessed he used his skydiving planes to deliver nearly a ton of pot to buyers in Texas and Minnesota, court records show. [continues 787 words]
You might not like President Obama's political philosophy or leadership style, but you have to admit that he is one cool president. If you're unconvinced, consider his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 30. His poise and charm were on full display, and his comedic timing was impeccable. Still, his best joke made me cringe a little: He said that his popularity rating had been rising. In fact, he said, "The last time I was this high, I was trying to decide on my major." [continues 614 words]
You may not like President Obama's political philosophy or leadership style, but you have to admit that he is one cool president. If you're unconvinced, consider his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 30. His poise and charm were on full display, and his comedic timing was impeccable. Still, his best joke made me cringe a little: he said that his popularity rating had been rising. In fact, he said, "The last time I was this high, I was trying to decide on my major." [continues 615 words]
They call it the poor man's methadone. The epidemic of opioid addiction sweeping the country has led to another form of drug abuse that few experts saw coming: Addicts who cannot lay hands on painkillers are instead turning to Imodium and other anti-diarrhea medications. The active ingredient, loperamide, offers a cheap high if it is consumed in extraordinary amounts. But in addition to being uncomfortably constipating, it can be toxic, even deadly, to the heart. A report published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine recently described two deaths in New York after loperamide abuse. And overdoses have been linked to deaths or life-threatening irregular heartbeats in at least a dozen other cases in five states in the last 18 months. [continues 1027 words]
You might not like President Barack Obama's political philosophy or leadership style, but you have to admit that he is one cool president. If you're unconvinced, consider his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 30. His poise and charm were on full display, and his comedic timing was impeccable. Still, his best joke made me cringe a little: He said that his popularity rating had been rising. In fact, he said, "The last time I was this high, I was trying to decide on my major." [continues 608 words]
Some 100 people marched in San Antonio's second annual "marijuana march" to build support for grass-roots efforts to ease Texas marijuana laws and decriminalize pot use. The event was hosted by the local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Jesus Ramirez marched with a sign emblazoned with a cannabis plant and the words "Don't Fight. Make It Right. Legalize." "I'm here because I think we need more compassion for people who are suffering," said Ramirez, 44, a former glazier who also uses cannabis to reduce pain from a neck injury that forced him to retire five years ago. "Marijuana helps people cope. Why would anyone be against that?" [continues 161 words]
Re: =93Texas tops in use of civil asset forfeiture =AD And it's likely to get worse, Audrey Redford says,=94 Monday Viewpoints. Thanks to Redford for her excellent column and to The News for continuing to call attention to the most corrupting influence in law enforcement =AD civil asset forfeiture. The injustice of police taking property without due process has not gone unnoticed. Right on Crime, a project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the American Conservative Union Foundation and the Prison Fellowship, has given a series of seminars on the subject. It says civil forfeiture endangers individual rights and the integrity of law enforcement. [continues 108 words]
MARIJUANA advocates are teaming up with Madison Avenue to try to make pot palatable to mainstream Americans - and to the advertisers that want to reach them. High Times, the 42-year-old must-have magazine for the cannabis enthusiast, has collaborated with Sparks & Honey, an Omnicom advertising agency, on a report meant to prompt big-picture thinking in the marijuana industry. The paper, "Rebranding Marijuana," was released April 20, the unofficial pot holiday. "Through the slow legal and regulatory processes," the report noted, "marijuana is opening up opportunities across a variety of industries, most of which have nothing to do with yesterday's stoner weed." [continues 795 words]
In just over a decade, Texas law enforcement collected more than half a billion dollars, $540.7 million, in cash and personal property from Texans suspected of breaking the law. Known as civil asset forfeiture, this legal practice leaves average Texans vulnerable to having their assets seized by police, no trial or proof of guilt necessary. Texas is among the worst states in the nation for civil asset forfeiture abuse. The Institute for Justice's "Policing for Profit" report gave Texas a D+ and said the state leads the nation in average annual forfeiture proceeds, at roughly $41.6 million. [continues 503 words]
As we prepare to vote for the next president of the United States, it is important for voters to carefully consider the character of the candidates. Why? Because although a presidential term only lasts for four years, a president's policies and legacy can cause devastation for decades. Case in point: President Richard Nixon and the "War on Drugs." Nixon's drug policies that began in the 1970s seeped into our nation's education policy 20 years later; today it funnels hundreds of thousands of youths from schools into prison. [continues 615 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Marlene Manning was glad to be back in her native California on Wednesday for an annual 4/20 celebration, where reggae music played loudly and the smell of weed pervaded. The 50-year-old real estate agent just relocated from Florida, where "everything is against the law," she joked. She wasn't partaking, but she joined thousands of others at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park who were enjoying an annual marijuana-ingesting event to the fullest. "It's freedom," said Manning, pushing a stroller with her 6-month-old granddaughter on the periphery of the gathering on "Hippie Hill." They passed by empty bocce ball courts and young adults wearing tie-dyed shirts. "This is so refreshing." [continues 768 words]
Councilor Don Knight says military perceptions influence his strategy. City Councilor Don Knight says a phone call in September really put cannabis clubs on his radar. His constituent was complaining about My Club 420, which had moved into the Rockrimmon shopping center. "I found out through research there was no avenue at all for neighbors to have a voice on whether a club should go in their neighborhood or not," Knight told the Independent. "So I wanted to do something about that." [continues 565 words]
We were somewhere north of Denver, not far from the pot farm, when my neighbor on the party bus pulled hard on his pipe and said: "Know what it is I love about this country? Everyone gets stoned." He was a big, bearded fellow who had come up from his cattle ranch in Kansas, and though he didn't seem like the usual type for a cannabis foodie tour, I felt that he was right. After all, with us on the bus that afternoon was a Whitmanesque array of stoned Americans. There they were, puffing blunts beneath the blinking purple lights: a gay couple from Rhode Island, some multiethnic techies from Atlanta, a rowdy group of white dudes who'd just flown in from Houston for a bachelor party and a 60-year-old Boston mother with a beach house in the Hamptons. Everyone gets stoned. [continues 3195 words]
Medical marijuana might seem like a cottage industry, but with Pennsylvania the nation's sixth-largest potential market, it's more likely to be big business. Think guys in suits, or maybe lab coats, not dreadlocks and striped baja hoodies. "I've heard estimates that the investment has to be $5 million to $10 million to be a grower-processor," said Dan Clearfield, a Harrisburg attorney who specializes in regulated substances. "This is not a small-business operation." It won't happen overnight, either. It could be anywhere from 18 months to two years before Pennsylvania residents seeking to treat their medical conditions with cannabis will be able to walk into a dispensary and slap a prescription on the counter. [continues 975 words]
Illicit Pot Increasingly Is Being Grown in Homes and Shipped Out of State. Authorities say organized crime elements with out-of-state ties increasingly are using Colorado homes to grow large amounts of marijuana illegally for transport and sale across the nation. About 30 locations, many of them homes, were targeted in raids on Thursday by authorities searching for illegal marijuana operations. The uptick in these so-called "pirate grows" has become a priority for federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, who have dedicated resources to quashing the trend. [continues 937 words]
Kingpin's Plea With U.S. Triggered Years of Bloodshed Reaching All the Way to Southlake Zetas Saw Gulf Cartel Leader As Traitor, Declared a War That Has Killed Thousands of People A plea agreement between a Mexican drug kingpin and the U.S. government helped generate a violent split between two drug cartels that led to the deaths of thousands of people in Mexico and along the Texas border, a Dallas Morning News investigation has found. A masked gunman fired multiple times at Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa with a 9 mm handgun through the passenger window of his Range Rover at Southlake Town Square in May 2013. Three Mexican citizens were arrested more than a year later and charged with stalking, and aiding and abetting in the hit. [continues 4074 words]
ST. LOUIS - Clara Walker, a mother of nine and grandmother of eight, was peering out the window of her home three years ago after hearing what she initially thought were gunshots from a television crime show. But at that moment, Anthony Jordan, who the authorities say was a gang enforcer known as "Godfather," was spraying gunfire on the street outside, and two bullets struck Ms. Walker, killing her. "St. Louis is a dangerous place right now," Johnny Barnes, Ms. Walker's longtime boyfriend, said during a recent interview. "It's all around us." [continues 1222 words]
Just north of the New Mexico state line, developers plan to turn Trinidad, Colo., center into a one-stop shop for pot tourism On the first day the state of Colorado allowed the sale of recreational marijuana, Chris Elkins waited two hours in the freezing cold to buy weed. "The line was down the stairwells, down the sidewalks, around the buildings, down the street," Elkins, who had traveled to Colorado from Arkansas for a long-planned ski trip, recalled about that New Year's Day in 2014. [continues 2107 words]
Out-of-state pot industry promoters are pouring millions of dollars into Nevada to legalize recreational marijuana in this state. To qualify for the ballot, these promoters raised nearly $800,000, with 60 percent from outside Nevada - given by pot industry corporate donors from California, Colorado, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, Missouri, Massachusetts - and including $250,000 from the Washington D.C. pro pot lobby group, Marijuana Policy Project. Nevadans need to know what this initiative is NOT. This initiative is NOT a Nevada-based libertarian "live and let live" effort to permit limited "backyard marijuana grows." Instead, the initiative will require the Nevada Department of Taxation to be radically transformed into a massive bureaucracy and become the single most powerful agency in state government. [continues 433 words]
President Obama commuted the sentences of 61 inmates Wednesday, part of his ongoing effort to give relief to prisoners who were harshly sentenced in the nation's war on drugs. More than one-third of the inmates were serving life sentences. Obama has granted clemency to 248 federal inmates, including Wednesday's commutations. White House officials said that Obama will continue granting clemency to inmates who meet certain criteria set out by the Justice Department throughout his last year. The president has vowed to change how the criminal justice system treats nonviolent drug offenders. [continues 948 words]
