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The Observer, 15 May 2013 - "The only justification is always in terms of the existence of innocent victims. In the case of drugs, the major effect of drug prohibition is to multiply the number of innocent victims, not to reduce it." - Milton Friedman, 1991 The prohibition against alcohol took most of a hundred years to reach its final stage in the 1930s. Then, society gave up on prohibition and settled for alcohol regulation. A surprising thing happened when the same forces of the society who pushed alcohol prohibition applied the same prohibition logic to recreational drugs. Sadly they have gotten the same result from drug prohibition as they did from alcohol prohibition. Albert Einstein contended the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So how long do we intend to be insane?

The Register-Herald, 15 May 2013 - BECKLEY - A drug policy proposed for Raleigh County students was placed on a 30-day comment period at the monthly meeting of the Raleigh County Board of Education. If approved, the policy will mandate that every student in grades 6-12 who wants to participate in school-related competitive activities, including academic activities, or drive to school and park on the property, to submit to random drug testing.

Orlando Sentinel, 15 May 2013 - The Orlando Sentinel's Front Burner columns on Friday addressing drug testing in schools illustrate that there are issues about which honest people can disagree in good faith. Harold J. Krent, dean and professor of law at Chicago-Kent law school, and Debbie Moak, a mother whose family has suffered heartbreaking tragedies associated with drug abuse, presented different sides of the argument whether students should be tested for drugs.

Washington Post, 15 May 2013 - The New President's Decision to Rein in U.S. Agents Spurs Dismay in Washington, Highlighting Divisions Over Goals and Costs MEXICO CITY - The recent changes ordered by new President Enrique Pena Nieto to Mexico's anti-narcotics partnership with the United States have produced markedly different reactions here and in Washington, underscoring what appear to be diverging perceptions of the drug war's goals and the costs of fighting it.

Seattle Times, 14 May 2013 - TAKE a short drive through any corner of Seattle, and count the number of businesses with green crosses on their signs. For the uninitiated, that is the discrete symbol for a marijuana dispensary. But at this point, who isn't initiated?

The Gazette, 14 May 2013 - The Colorado Springs City Council will host public hearings this summer to talk about pot. The council must decide whether the city will allow retail marijuana sales or ban them. And there is much to consider in the meantime, said Kyle Sauer of the city attorney's office.

The Intelligencer, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

The Expositor, 13 May 2013 - If those behind the idea of turning the arena in MacTier into a legal marijuana grow-op thought they had a fight on their hands before, No. 4 has just jumped over the boards. Bobby Orr was famous for scoring big goals and, if necessary, dropping the gloves, too.

San Francisco Examiner, 13 May 2013 - Justice Department's Attempt Is First Such Move in S.F. The landlord's eviction proceedings against Shambhala Healing Center last year failed because the site complies with state, though not federal, laws.

Concord Monitor, 13 May 2013 - Hardy Macia speaks in a whisper, gentle like the hills and lake outside the hospital window, yet cruel in the illness it represents. He sits cross-legged in bed, his mouth and nose covered by an oxygen mask, signing paperwork handed to him by a friend, who's also an attorney. His family is everywhere: in Macia's room, where bags of liquid and twisting tubes hang beside his bed, and down the hall in the waiting area, near that window framing Vermont's serenity.

Chicago Sun-Times, 13 May 2013 - For seriously ill folks looking for relief, a big moment has arrived. Here's hoping the Illinois Senate doesn't blow it. A bill legalizing medical marijuana likely will come up for a vote this week. The bill already has passed the House. In years past, less restrictive versions of the very same bill have prevailed in the Senate. Yet, we worry. We fear that fear will overcome reason. We worry that speculation about opening the door to drug legalization will trump the facts. We worry that compassion for people in pain will get lost in the political shuffle.

Wisconsin State Journal, 13 May 2013 - A Weekly Feature on Proposed Changes to State and Local Law. in a Nutshell Under current law, a city, village, town or county can enact and enforce an ordinance prohibiting the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana or the possession of a synthetic cannabinoid. A person who is charged with possession of more than 25 grams of marijuana or who is charged with possession of any amount of marijuana or a synthetic cannabinoid following a conviction for the possession of a controlled substance generally may not be prosecuted under the ordinance.

Seattle Times, 12 May 2013 - Cannabis Freedom March at Westlake Message: Police Make Sure It's Done Legally In a sign of how far and how fast mainstream attitudes about pot have shifted in Washington state, Seattle's top cop drew cheers Saturday when he addressed a crowd of several hundred people at the annual Cannabis Freedom March at Westlake Center.

Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2013 - What if your doctor smoked marijuana and then performed surgery on you? Not a comforting thought, but it could happen. That is why two Johns Hopkins doctors and patient safety experts say hospitals should make alcohol and drug tests mandatory for physicians. The doctors shared their views in a commentary published online April 29 in The Journal of the American Medical Association. They say doctors should also be tested if a patient dies suddenly or is unexpectedly injured during surgery. "Patients might be better protected from preventable harm. Physicians and employers may experience reduced absenteeism, unintentional adverse events, injuries, and turnover, and early identification of a debilitating problem," wrote the authors of the study: Dr. Julius Cuong Pham, an emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Dr. Peter J. Pronovost, director of the Johns Hopkins' Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom

Buffalo News, 12 May 2013 - It's time to set the record straight about marijuana policy in New York. The May 5 article "Look before you leap," by Dr. Robert Whitney, is both inaccurate and misleading. New Yorkers have had a hard and decades-long look at our marijuana policies, and they understand how much destruction they have caused criminalizing seriously ill New Yorkers, saddling tens of thousands of young people with criminal records each year and creating reprehensible racial disparities. Under our current policies, thousands of New Yorkers living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening conditions must break the law or needlessly suffer, despite the fact that there is good scientific evidence to support the health benefits of medical marijuana for a range of serious conditions. In addition to at least 110 controlled clinical studies, including randomized controlled trials meeting the "gold standard" of scientific evidence, looking at cannabis or other cannabinoids, in 1999, the congressionally chartered Institute of Medicine conducted the most extensive review of the medical literature on marijuana to date. It concluded that "[t]he accumulated data indicate a potential therapeutic value for cannabinoid drugs, particularly for symptoms such as pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."

Washington Examiner, 11 May 2013 - A student in a Fairfax County public school caught for the first time with marijuana would not be automatically expelled, under a new disciplinary policy the school board is scheduled to consider Monday. The current policy recommends expelling a student caught for the first time with marijuana or synthetic marijuana unless school leaders decide, after a hearing, that another punishment would be more appropriate.

Kamloops Daily News, 11 May 2013 - There's a tantalizing 10-page gap in the B.C. government's response to a freedom of information request. An unidentified media outlet asked for any records in the Justice Ministry dealing with the possible impact of decisions in Washington state and Colorado to approve recreational marijuana use.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 11 May 2013 - This week, the Colorado General Assembly put the finishing touches on legislation aimed at taxing and regulating the commercial distribution of marijuana for recreational use. The process has been haunted by the fear that the federal government will try to quash this momentous experiment in pharmacological tolerance - a fear magnified by the Obama administration's continuing silence on the subject.

The Steamboat Today, 11 May 2013 - Just in the nick of time last week, Colorado lawmakers came together to pass legislation establishing the regulatory framework for retail marijuana business in the state. While much remains in the air - including, for example, whether Colorado voters will approve this fall marijuana excise and sales taxes that will raise money for school construction and pot industry oversight, respectively - there are some fundamental positives about the bills approved Wednesday. Significantly for Steamboat Springs, Routt County and other municipalities, the laws provide at least a regulatory foundation on which they can build. Last November's passage of Amendment 64 very clearly legalized the possession and use of small amounts of cannabis for adults 21 and older, but the constitutional amendment left it up to the state to work out regulations for the operation of recreational marijuana businesses. The state was up against a July 1 deadline to create such regulations.

Prince George Citizen, 10 May 2013 - There's a tantalizing 10-page gap in the B.C. government's response to a freedom of information request. An unidentified media outlet asked for any records in the justice ministry dealing with the possible impact of decisions in Washington state and Colorado to approve recreational marijuana use.