Mexico’s Imminent Marijuana Legalization Law Leaves US Lawmakers Holding the Joint

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is expected to make Mexico the largest legal cannabis market in the world when he signs a new marijuana law awaiting passage in the Senate. When he does, U.S. lawmakers will have to choose between the people and the prison industrial complex.

Raul Diego
By Raul Diego
Mexico Marijuana Feature photo

MEXICO CITY -- For years now, dozens of pro-marijuana activists have gathered in front of Mexico's Congressional building on Reforma Avenue in the largest city in the Americas to spark up and tacitly remind lawmakers of a landmark 2012 ruling by the country's Supreme Court, that declared a ban on recreational marijuana to be

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Tomato Gardeners: The Latest Victim in the Government’s War on Drugs

Merely growing a vegetable garden on your own property, or in a greenhouse on your property, or shopping at a gardening store for gardening supplies—incredibly enough—could set you up for a drug raid sanctioned by the courts.

John Whitehead
By John Whitehead
backyard marijuana garden Feature photo

A journal entry from a California resident describes the government’s aerial searches for marijuana plants:  They came again this morning at about 8:00 o’clock. A large cargo-type helicopter flew low over the cabin, shaking it on its very foundations. It shook all of us inside, too. I feel frightened … I see how helpless and tormented I am

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Despite Legalization, Border Patrol Will Go After Marijuana at California Checkpoints

At highway checkpoints, Border Patrol agents look for signs of nervous drivers, like clutching steering wheels and avoiding eye contact and interrupting when passengers are asked to state citizenship. Some panicked drivers make a U-turn when they spot the checkpoint, a dead giveaway.

Mint Press News Desk
By Mint Press News Desk
Border Patrol

Marijuana possession still will be prohibited at eight Border Patrol checkpoints in California, a reminder that state and federal laws collide when it comes to pot. The U.S. government classifies marijuana as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD. "Prior to Jan. 1, it's going to be the same after Jan. 1, because nothing changed on our end,"

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Prosecuted Then, Prioritized Now: LA Brings Social Equity to Marijuana Sellers

For decades, the War on Drugs has operated disproportionately to undercut the economic and citizenship status of U.S. minorities. In giving priority to that war’s victims when it comes to applying for licenses to sell now-legalized marijuana, the LA City Council is helping to right a long-standing wrong.

Thandisizwe Chimurenga
By Thandisizwe Chimurenga

LOS ANGELES – Beginning in January in Los Angeles, individuals who are low-income and/or have had a conviction for a marijuana-related offense will enjoy priority status when it comes to applying for a license to legally sell the herb. Cultivators or manufacturers will also have such status, thanks to the Los Angeles City Council.  On Wednesday

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FBI Stops Publishing Data On Marijuana Arrest Rates

According to 2015 data, 83.9 percent of drug arrests were for possession, and 38.6 percent of those possession arrests were over cannabis, the highest of any drug.

Carey Wedler
By Carey Wedler
In this photo taken Wednesday June 20, 2012, David Kosmecki, left, talks to Idaho State Police Trooper Justin Klitch in Fruitland, Idaho. Kosmecki was stopped and charged with possession of marijuana (AP Photo/Nigel Duara)

According to the latest FBI data, drug arrests in the United States increased from 2015 to 2016. Though the federal agency used to provide breakdowns on the details of these arrests in its annual “Crime in the United States” report - including which drugs were in question and whether the arrests were made over possession or sale - in its latest

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Phoenix Police Face Lawsuit For Forcing Man To Eat Pot During Traffic Stop

While the officers were discussing what to do about the marijuana, the suit claims one of them said, “Oh, we should make him eat it.”

Victoria Prieskop
By Victoria Prieskop
A marijuana bud is seen at a medical marijuana facility in Unity, Maine. (AP/Robert F. Bukaty)

A Phoenix man has sued the city and several police officers who he claims forced him to eat a gram of marijuana they found in his car. Edgar Castro was 19 years old when he was pulled over by Phoenix Police Department for traffic violations. According to his lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court, when officers found

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