Katie Rucke

Katie Rucke is a MintPress staff writer and investigative report specializing in the war on drugs, criminal justice, marijuana legislation, education and watchdog investigations as well as whistle-blowers. Her investigations related to the coverage of the 2010 Toyota recall scandal, and coverage of the trials of Anonymous hacker and proclaimed activist Jeremy Hammond as well as Bradley Manning have received international acclaim. Rucke has been recommended by the Wikileaks organization as a trusted journalist in 2013. Rucke has also written pieces for Yahoo! and various community magazines. Follow Katie on Twitter: @katierucke

Report: State Marijuana Laws Found To Comply With Federal Guidelines

The DOJ has “acted in bad faith in its policy to defer to local law enforcement,” the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access says.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

Although 37 percent of the U.S. population currently lives in a state where medical marijuana is legal, and there are more than a million Americans legally using medical marijuana, the federal government has continued to prosecute medical marijuana businesses and patients across the country. On Monday, the medical marijuana advocacy group

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College-Success Programs Help Low-Income Students Thrive

It’s a “fundamental injustice,” that low-income children struggle to get to college and is “not fair to those students and is not the right thing for our country.”

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

A new study from researchers at Harvard University found that the surest way out of poverty is for a person to obtain a four-year degree. Despite efforts of several college-success organizations to help low-income children enrolled in a four-year accredited college, only 8.3 percent of students from low-income families earn a college degree by the

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Goodwill Pays Workers With Disabilities Less Than Minimum Wage

Goodwill employees receive as little as 22 cents per hour, significantly lower than the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

Due to a loophole in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, employers can obtain a special wage certificate that allows them to pay employees with disabilities a wage much lower than the federal minimum wage. A company that takes advantage of this Depression-era loophole is one of the most well-known nonprofits in the United States:

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Lawmaker Pens Pre-Emptive Strike Against Big Brother

Without a warrant, state agencies would be prohibited to obtain personal info from phones, email, and non-public social media.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
Germany NSA Surveillance

Although several lawmakers have expressed their disgust and outrage at the far-reaching scope of the National Security Agency’s surveillance practices, one Kansas lawmaker has taken his dissatisfaction a step further and created a law that would protect his constituents “against the prying eyes of Big Brother.” Kansas State Republican Rep. Brett

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Colorado Issues World’s First Recreational Marijuana License

Medical marijuana grows in legality, but a business has never before been licensed to sell marijuana for recreational use.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

Annie’s in Central City, Colo., located 35 miles west of Denver, won the world’s first recreational marijuana sales license on Wednesday. The recreational sale of marijuana will be legal January 1 in Colorado. Although the sale of marijuana in “coffee shops” throughout the Netherlands has occurred since the 1970s, marijuana sales are actually

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India’s High Court Rules To Protect People “Used As Guinea Pigs” In Drug Trials

Drug companies will now face stricter regulations for clinical trials in India after the Supreme Court’s ruling last month.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

After it was discovered earlier this year that thousands of impoverished people living in rural parts of India were being subjected to what many described as “unethical and flat-out inhumane clinical trials” by Big Pharma companies to determine the safety and effectiveness of new drugs, the country’s Supreme Court ruled last month that there needs

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Pet Owners For Pot

“People need to understand that this isn’t about getting my dog high — it’s about improving his quality of life.”

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke

When “Denise’s” 12-year-old black Labrador Retriever Miles developed a tumor in his spleen that spread to his liver and lungs, the veterinarian gave him two months to live. To cope with the pain, Miles’ vet prescribed a drug called tramadol, but Denise said she didn’t like the way the drug was affecting her furry friend. “Every time we gave it to

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