Abraham Lincoln
December 6, 1840

CNBC has made a special report on the state of marijuana legalization. It includes a state-by-state guide, international overview and specific articles surrounding the fiscal motivations and players involved. There so much information on their website that it would be a deservice to recap it here. Check out CNBC report: CNBC Special Report: Marijuana & Money

Although polls indicate most Ohioans would support the use of marijuana for medical purposes, most lawmakers won't support the issue because they fear they'll be stoned by voters in future elections.

State Rep. Bob Hagan, a Democrat from Youngstown, co-sponsored a bill last week that would make Ohio the 15th state to allow medicinal marijuana. But Hagan said the bill is certain to go nowhere because his colleagues in the legislature aren't brave enough to pass it. Article from Marriettatimes.com

In all likelihood, California could be the very first state in the US to legalize the recreational use of marijuana this November. After legalization activists submitted nearly 700,000 signatures for a proposition to legalize marijuana, California's Secretary of State Debra Bowen certified a ballot initiative earlier this week to legalize the cultivation, possession, and sale of marijuana in the state of California for recreational purposes.

The November 2010 ballot measure, formally entitled the "Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010", calls for:

• Allowing adults at least 21 years old to possess up to an ounce of marijuana for personal use
• Allowing adults to grow up to 25 square feet of marijuana per home or land parcel
• Allowing cities and counties to tax the cultivation, transportation and sale of marijuana

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decided to ask the Internet what issue is most pressing to Canadians. An online poll called "Ask Your Questions to Prime Minister Harper" says the PM "will answer a selection of your top-voted questions in an exclusive YouTube interview next Tuesday March 16, 2010 at 7 p.m. ET."

We have a chance to push marijuana legalization to the top of that list (It's currently #2 and #3). You don't have to be Canadian to participate, so please, wherever you're from, help us legalize marijuana in Canada. Go here to vote now

Federal drug-enforcement agents Friday raided the home of a Highlands Ranch man who a day earlier bragged in a 9News report about the large and profitable medical-marijuana-growing operation in his basement.

Along with the raid, Jeffrey Sweetin, the Drug Enforcement Administration's special agent in charge of the Denver office, sent a message to anyone involved in Colorado's increasingly profitable medical-marijuana industry. "It's still a violation of federal law," Sweetin said. "It's not medicine. We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest people." Read more from The Denver Post

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine tonight signed a measure making New Jersey the 14th state to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, part of a flurry of bills the Democrat penned in his last full day on the job.

The marijuana bill (S119) is expected to take effect in six months. Only patients with specific illnesses would be permitted to get a prescription: cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gherig's disease), severe muscle spasms, muscular dystrophy, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease and any terminal illness if a doctor has determined the patient will die within a year.

Popcrunch.com Gives us a list of the 15 greatest proponents of marijuana legalization. Most of them are hollywood celebrities including Jack Black, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt; however, there are some others that may surprise you.

State lawmakers in New Jersey will likely pass a bill to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, allowing HIV-infected patients to use the drug to relieve pain. The latest version of the bill (S119) would also allow individuals with cancer, multiple sclerosis, seizure disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and "any other medical condition" approved by the state Health Department to be eligible to receive medical marijuana.

If the legislation passes, New Jersey will become the 14th state in the country to legalize medical marijuana. Article from the AIDS Beacon

Advocates for legalizing and taxing marijuana in California say they have gathered enough signatures to put the issue to voters. A message on the Web site of the Tax and Regulate Initiative says advocates have the signatures to get the question of giving local governments the authority to legalize and tax marijuana onto the 2010 ballot. Article from CBS news blogs

A new national poll by Angus Reid Public Opinion shows that a 53% majority of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana. Additionally, the poll found that two thirds of Americans feel that the "War on Drugs" is a failure. The survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,004 adults may finally put to rest the perception that legalization is a minority effect. Article from Seattle Pi

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The public will get a chance Wednesday to comment on a proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin. A bill to do that will be the subject of a joint hearing before the Senate and Assembly health committees. Article from wbay.com

Health and moral arguments aside, there is a very compelling economic argument to be made to legalize marijuana and thus make it subject to taxation. So-called "sin" taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling are often resorted to in tough economics times - again, the Commonwealth recently introduced a sales tax on alcohol to combat budget problems - so throwing marijuana into the mix could be a big winner.

Residents of the Colorado ski town of Breckenridge overwhelmingly voted to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana Tuesday. The measure passed with 73% of the vote. That means as of January 1, people in Breckenridge can legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana under local ordinance. The measure also legalizes the possession of marijuana paraphernalia.

"This is a dramatic step forward, the first time that any state's voters have authorized the state government to license medical marijuana dispensaries", said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., which drafted the initiative and provided start-up funding for the campaign. Coming a decade after passage of Maine's original marijuana law, this is a huge sign that voters are comfortable with these laws, and also a sign that the recent change of policy from the Obama administration is having a major impact. Story from The Moderate Voice

State lawmakers are holding a hearing on Wednesday on the effects of a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate the drug in what would be the first such law in the United States. Tax officials estimate the legislation could bring the struggling state about $1.4 billion a year, and though the bill's fate in the Legislature is uncertain, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has indicated he would be open to a robust debate on the issue. Story from the New York Times

People who use marijuana for medical purposes and those who distribute it should not face federal prosecution, provided they act according to state law, the Justice Department said on Monday in a directive with far-reaching political and legal implications. Story from the New York Times

Joe Klein from Time Magazine gives us reasons why legalization just makes sense:
...beneath the furious roil of the economic crisis, a national conversation has quietly begun about the irrationality of our drug laws. It is going on in state legislatures, like New York's, where the draconian Rockefeller drug laws are up for review; in other states, from California to Massachusetts, various forms of marijuana decriminalization are being enacted.

Top Ten Editor's note: There are millions of regular pot smokers in America and millions more infrequent smokers. Smoking pot clearly has far fewer dangerous and hazardous effects on society than legal drugs such as alcohol. Here is High Times's top 10 reasons that marijuana should be legal, part of its 420 Campaign legalization strategy.

This is a great site to follow up-to-date information on legalization. Check it out. http://www.newser.com

Washington, DC: Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, along with co-sponsors Ron Paul (R-TX); Maurice Hinchey (D-NY); Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA); and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), will reintroduce legislation today to limit the federal government's authority to arrest and prosecute minor marijuana offenders.

Attorney Andrew Cohen analyzes legal issues for CBS News: After generations of defending capital punishment and marijuana possession laws on moral, ethical and religious grounds, after years of declaring that the death penalty acted as a deterrent against violent crime and that pot smokers were more dangerous to society than, say, alcohol consumers, all of a sudden thanks to our economic crisis more and more mainstream powerbrokers are considering dramatic changes to our criminal justice system.