Dennis Peron announced on Tuesday 15 Sep 09 that he returned from Burning Man to discover he had been fired from Oaksterdamn U because of his opposition to taxing and regulating medical marijuana.

The evidence from Portugal since 2001 is that its decriminalization of drug use and possession has produced many significant benefits and almost no harmful side-effects. Ten facts about Portugal's experience:

More than one-half of Americans now believe that smoking marijuana is less dangerous than drinking alcohol. That's according to the results of a just-released national telephone poll of 1,000 likely voters by Rasmussen Reports.

As of this week, Western Australia, the huge but sparsely populated state that covers nearly half the continent, has implemented a new marijuana law under which those caught in possession of 30 grams or less will, in most cases, be ticketed and subject to fines instead of arrest. Meanwhile, two weeks ago, the state's parliament passed a bill that will allow for the legal production of hemp for the first time in Australia.