GEORGETOWN — In what is likely a first-of-its-kind case in Colorado, a judge here convicted an Avon man of marijuana possession Tuesday, despite his claim that the charges violated his First Amendment rights because he needs cannabis for religious purposes.

Trevor Douglas, 25, told the court he uses cannabis as a religious sacrament, similar to the use of bread and wine in Catholic Holy Communion. He holds membership in two churches that espouse such beliefs and said he was trained by his parents to use marijuana in holy ceremonies.

Read more...

WASHINGTON, D.C.) - The Marijuana Policy Project today denounced efforts by the United Nations’ International Narcotic Control Board (INCB) — currently meeting in Vienna, Austria — to meddle in marijuana reform in the United States. In a recent report, the INCB said they were “deeply concerned” that the country’s 14 state medical marijuana laws are sending the “wrong message to other countries.”

Read more...

Prohibition of any kind doesn’t work, and that is because prohibition is a regulation of morality. It isn’t finding justice, saving money or even keeping people from hurting themselves. Prohibition is the censorship of morality and any government body cannot be successful in that pursuit. The Temperance Movement was a religious movement to drive out the evils of America. At the time that evil was alcohol — people weren’t just opposed to alcohol but also to apples — which were almost exclusively grown to make alcohol. People started taking axes to apple trees all over the country and a campaign was waged against the “devil’s fruit.” Luckily the war against apples was never taken as far as the war against marijuana. I am going to cover the reasons given why marijuana is illegal.

Read more...