News

02/26/09 Breaking the Taboo: Latin American Leaders Release Report Calling for Global “Paradigm Shift” in Drug Policy
Latin American leaders and change-makers issued a clear call for a dramatic shift in global drug policy on February 11, when the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy released a groundbreaking report, “Drugs and Democracy: Toward a Paradigm Shift,” at a press conference in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
02/25/09 California Bill to Tax, Regulate Marijuana
California could become the first state to tax and regulate marijuana. With the state facing the worst budget deficit in generations, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced a bill earlier this week to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol.
02/25/09 Medical Marijuana Bill Passes New Jersey Senate
Recently, the first-ever floor vote on medical marijuana in New Jersey was successful, passing in the New Jersey Senate by a vote of 22 - 16. This important legislation will help to relieve the suffering and improve the quality of life for seriously ill people in New Jersey.
02/19/09 DPA Leading the Fight Against a Ban on Salvia in Maryland
Policymakers in Maryland have an opportunity to choose reason over prohibition this legislative season when considering Senate Bill 9 (R-Colburn), a bill that would classify Salvia divinorum, a hallucinogenic herb which is currently legal to use in Maryland, as a Schedule I substance. If passed the bill would impose misdemeanor and felony penalties, including prison terms of up to 20 years for selling salvia.
02/12/09 Breaking News: Obama's New Drug Czar
We wanted you to be the first to know -- we just confirmed in the last hour that President Obama selected Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be his drug czar.
01/29/09 Change in New Mexico, New Jersey
New Mexico is in fiscal crisis. Now is the time to start saving millions by embracing treatment instead of incarceration, which is a focus of DPA New Mexico's legislative agenda. DPA is also working hard to protect the health and safety of communities in New Jersey, a state in which the criminal justice system is seriously out of balance, with too much emphasis on mandatory minimum sentencing.
01/29/09 Obama and Drug Policy in 2009
The White House website calls for eliminating both the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity and lifting the federal ban on funding syringe access programs. Obama has promised to end federal medical marijuana raids -- it is now our job to seize this encouraging moment and make 2009 the best year yet for drug policy reform.
01/28/09 Success: New Directions for New York
DPA and the New York Academy of Medicine brought together over 300 conference participants from all over the state in order to build a public health and safety approach to drug policy.
01/26/09 Empowering Judges to Protect Communities
Harsh and unfair prison sentences are tearing apart families and communities in New Jersey. You have an opportunity to protect New Jersey citizens from this unjust system -- by telling the chair of the Senate Judiciary committee that you want a hearing for a bill that would restore judicial discretion.
01/23/09 101-Year-Old Woman Almost Evicted from her Own Home
On December 19, 2008, Mamie Singleton, 101, was issued a notice to vacate her house within five days. Under a Syracuse nuisance abatement law, she was ordered to leave her home of 45 years because her nephew, who had stayed periodically in the upstairs apartment, had used the residence to sell cocaine and marijuana.
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