This Wednesday, I will be speaking at Michigan State University Law School and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan. Both events sponsored by the local student Federalist Society chapters. In both cases, the topic will be Federalism and the War on Drugs. The talk at MSU will be at noon, and I […]
Archive | War on Drugs
DePaul University Says No to Pro-Marijuana-Legalization Group
By Eugene Volokh on October 18, 2010 7:03 pm in Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities, War on Drugs
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education has the details. The university admits that it is excluding the group from generally available student group registration benefits, because the university disapproves of the group’s message: Considerable research indicates the use of cannabis does not contribute to healthy decision-making, particularly in college-age populations. Given the above, the […]
Law Professors’ Petition in Support of California Proposition 19
The Yes on 19 website has posted a petition by law professors in support of California proposition 19, which would decriminalize marijuana in that state. Among the signers are six of the Volokh Conspirators – Jonathan Adler, Randy Barnett, David Bernstein, David Post, Sasha Volokh, and myself. There are also many prominent non-VC signers, including […]
This Bud’s Not for You
The California Beer and Beverage Distributors is opposing a California ballot proposition that would legalize marijuana within the state. No surprise there. Some of the CBBD’s members may fear legal marijuana would compete with beer. Interestingly, the CBBD claims it is not opposed to legalization in principle, just the poor wording of this specific proposal. Josh […]
African-Americans and the War on Drugs
John McWhorter has a good column at Root urging African-Americans to make a priority of opposing the War on Drugs {[HT: here]: The Reclaim the Dream March “recaptured the flavor” of the March on Washington. But it isn’t an accident that this brings to mind popping an old piece of gum from the underside of […]
As Predicted, New Justice Department Policy Didn’t Stop Federal Medical Marijuana Arrests in States Where Medical Marijuana is Legal Under State Law
Back in October, the Obama Administration Justice Department issued a memorandum that seemed to constrain federal enforcement of laws against marijuana possession in states where medical marijuana is permitted under state law. I welcomed the memo as a small sign of progress, but pointed out that it doesn’t really constrain federal prosecutions in any meaningful […]
Feds Stifle Research, But Support for Pot Decriminalization Grows
Many doctors and patients believe there are many legitimate medical uses for marijuana, yet there is relatively little serious scientific evidence to support such claims, particularly as concerns smoking it. One reason for this could be that the federal government makes it so difficult — indeed, virtually impossible — to conduct scientific research on marijuana’s […]
A Marijuana Tipping Point?
The AP reports on an increase in efforts to decriminalize marijuana possession or use at the state level. Legalization bills were introduced in California and Massachusetts earlier this year, and this month, New Hampshire and Washington state prefiled bills in advance of their legislative sessions that begin in January. Marijuana is illegal under federal law, […]
Medical Marijuana in D.C.?
According to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, the FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act will end restrcitions on the District of Columbia’s ability to implement the medical marijuana initiative passed by District voters several years back. It will be interesting to see how the Justice Department responds.
An Emerging Majority for Marijuana Legalization?
The Washington Post reports on growing support for marijuana legalization. The shift is widely described as generational. A Gallup poll in October found 44 percent of Americans favor full legalization of marijuana — a rise of 13 points since 2000. Gallup said that if public support continues growing at a rate of 1 to 2 […]
The AMA Open to Medical Marijuana Research
The LA Times reports: The American Medical Assn. on Tuesday urged the federal government to reconsider its classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use, a significant shift that puts the prestigious group behind calls for more research. . . . In changing its policy, the group said its goal was […]
The Wall Street Journal on Alvarez v. Smith
By Ilya Somin on October 25, 2009 7:33 pm in Criminal Law, Due Process Clause Property Rights, Property Rights, War on Drugs
The Wall Street Journal has an editorial urging the Supreme Court to rule in favor of the property owners in Alvarez v. Smith, an important property rights case that I have been trying to draw attention to for a long time (see my recent Findlaw column on it and previous posts on the subject here […]
How Much of a Difference will the Administration’s New Policy on Prosecuting Medical Marijuana Cases Make?
Many critics of the War on Drugs, myself included, were happy to see the Obama adminstration’s new memo urging federal prosecutors not to pursue cases against medical marijuana users in states where such use is legal under state law. The administration’s policy could potentially offset some of the negative effects of the Supreme Court’s 2005 […]
A Step Toward Sanity on Medical Marijuana
The AP reports that the Justice Department will issue a memo formally establishing a new policy regarding the federal prosecution of marijuana possession and sale in states that have decriminalized medical marijuana. The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new […]
Too Many Lawyers or Too Many Laws?
A few days ago, Justice Antonin Scalia ruffled the feathers of the legal profession by suggesting that we are “wasting” too many of our “best minds” on law: I mean lawyers, after all, don’t produce anything. They enable other people to produce and to go on with their lives efficiently and in an atmosphere of […]