In the latest issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience, leading scientists argue that the UN conventions on drugs in the 1960s and 1970s, which outlawed drugs with psychoactive substances such as marijuana, is hindering research into potentially significant medicinal uses, estimating that research in key areas such as consciousness has been set back by decades.

Report authors Professor David Nutt and Professor David Nichols contend that the illegal status of psychoactive drugs makes it almost impossible to examine their mechanisms of action and potential therapeutic uses.

Prof. David Nutt

Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, stated that the ban is “motivated by politics, not science” and characterized it as “the worst case of scientific censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus and Galileo.”

Nutt and Nichols, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill, have called for a more rational approach to drug regulation that would empower researchers to make advancements in the field of neuroscience and uncover new treatments in areas such as depression and PTSD.

The call for reform has been endorsed by the British Neuroscience Association and the British Association for Psychopharmacology.

On Thursday, the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would make it easier for minors suffering from debilitating illnesses to procure medical marijuana.

The bill eliminates the requirement of written confirmation from a pediatrician and a psychiatrist in order for juveniles to get medical marijuana. It also calls for medical marijuana to be produced in edible form and allows more strains to be made available.

Compassionate Care Foundation CEO William J. Thomas

Also out of New Jersey, the state’s Health Department issued a permit for the second medical marijuana dispensary to begin growing its first crop. Compassionate Care Foundation Inc. will now join Greenleaf Compassion Center in bringing relief to the nearly 1,000 patients that have registered for the state’s medical marijuana program.

Despite the fact that black and white Americans use marijuana in comparable numbers, a new analysis of federal data performed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) found that blacks were nearly four times as likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in 2010. The report is the most comprehensive national examination of marijuana arrests by race and by county.

According to the ACLU:

“The aggressive enforcement of marijuana possession laws needlessly ensnares hundreds of thousands of people into the criminal justice system and wastes billions of taxpayers’ dollars. What’s more, it is carried out with staggering racial bias. Despite being a priority for police departments nationwide, the War on Marijuana has failed to reduce marijuana use and availability and diverted resources that could be better invested in our communities.”

The statistics in Washington, D.C. and Maryland were particularly staggering. The former had the country’s highest arrest rate for marijuana possession arrests – more than three times the national average – and the latter had the fourth highest rate. Blacks accounted for 91% of possession arrests in D.C. and were more than eight times more likely to be arrested than whites. In Maryland, blacks accounted for 58% of possession arrests and were more than three times more likely to be arrested than whites. In Baltimore City, they were more than five-and-half times likely to be arrested than whites.

The disproportionality of marijuana enforcement is just one more pebble on the mountain of evidence that exposes our nation’s marijuana policy for what it is: broken.

Three weeks after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) raised the testing threshold for marijuana metabolites from 15 nanograms per milliliter to 150 ng/ml, the UFC announced that it would follow suit.

The new rule will go into effect for all UFC regulated international events, including events held in Brazil.

The announcement came during last Friday’s meeting of the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s Steroid and Drug Testing Advisory Panel, which took place in Las Vegas.

“When we self-regulate around the world, we are going to go the WADA standard of 150,” said UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner. “So we’re starting that immediately.”

Marc Ratner

There has been much outcry from the mixed martial arts (MMA) community over the organization’s – and state athletic commissions’ – severe stance on marijuana. The previous threshold of 15ng/ml resulted in Nick Diaz’s suspension and fine, Matt Riddle’s dismissal from UFC, Alex Caceres’ six-month suspension, and Pat Healy’s $130,000 loss in bonuses. The criticism has not been limited to the world of mixed martial arts, however. In March, MPP and boxing advocates publicly decried the $900,000 fine levied on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. with a Las Vegas billboard and a petition to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The UFC’s evolving opinion of the drug is a positive step in protecting athletes who choose to use a safer substance than alcohol and it will enable regulators to focus their efforts on detecting competitors who take potentially dangerous performance-enhancing drugs. Now is the time for athletic commissions around the country to do the same.

On Thursday, in a 36-21 vote, Oregon lawmakers approved a bill that would allow individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to register for medical marijuana cards.

Currently, Oregon’s medical marijuana program only permits patients with certain debilitating medical conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, and Alzheimer’s disease to register. Senate Bill 281 would add PTSD to this list.

According to the National Center for PTSD, approximately 5.2 million adults in the nation suffer from the anxiety disorder during a given year.

Rep. John Lively

Rep. John Lively (D-Springfield) revealed that he personally suffered from PTSD; he also has family and friends with the anxiety disorder. Rep. Lively’s fellow lawmaker Rep. Jim Weidner (R-Yamhill) stated that his son, who served in Iraq, had three friends who committed suicide.

The bill now heads to Gov. John Kitzhaber for approval.

MPP supports the state’s effort to help veterans and others trying to cope with PTSD and hopes Gov. Kitzhaber will make Senate Bill 281 a reality so that patients and their doctors have the opportunity to decide what treatment works for them.

UPDATE: Katz wrote this article Thursday explaining his voting history and personal feelings about medical marijuana.

On Wednesday, in an unofficial 80-59 vote, the New York Assembly passed legislation to reduce the penalty for publicly holding a small amount of marijuana. Only one Republican assembly member voted in favor of the bill: Steve Katz.

Assemblyman Steve Katz

Originally a staunch prohibitionist, Katz voted against allowing medical marijuana in 2012, but a brush with the law this past March seems to have brought about a change of heart.

The state police stopped Katz for speeding on the state thruway and subsequently found less than 25 grams of marijuana in his vehicle; he later failed a drug test. Fortunately for the assemblyman, in accordance with a favorable plea deal, his drug charges will be dismissed after he completes a mere 20 hours of community service (and keeps out of legal trouble for six months).

Katz declined to discuss his vote on Wednesday when approached in the Assembly chamber. However, he did issue a statement later in the day saying he hopes the bill leads to “a broader discussion of our state’s policies.”

The bill, if passed, would lower the penalty for the public possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a violation. It now faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.

The imprisonment of Jerry Duval, a seriously ill medical marijuana patient convicted of distributing the drug, could cost taxpayers upwards of $1.2 million, reports the Huffington Post.

Duval suffers from Type 1 diabetes. He has received both a kidney and a pancreas transplant, and he also lives with glaucoma and neuropathy. Consequently, he has a strict medical regime, which prior to his arrest included medical marijuana.

Despite the fact that Duval was a registered Michigan medical marijuana cardholder acting in compliance with state law, the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought the ailing farmer to court.

During the trial, Duval was not allowed to refer to his medical condition or the fact that he was acting in accordance with Michigan law, and in April 2012, he was found guilty of drug trafficking and given a 10-year sentence, which he will serve in a federal medical facility.

Now, Duval’s healthcare falls on taxpayers.

“The annual cost to preserve my kidneys and pancreas alone tops $100,000,” wrote Duval in a request for compassionate release.

“In addition, I require treatment for coronary artery disease and diabetic retinopathy, which has forced me to undergo nearly two-dozen eye surgeries. These expensive optical procedures will likely need to be repeated several times during the decade that I am in BOP custody.”

Once again, the DOJ’s refusal to acknowledge state laws has devastated a family and misused taxpayer dollars.

Last Friday, the Organization of American States (OAS) gathered in Bogotá, Colombia for the release of its $2 million report, ”The Drug Problem in the Americas,” which characterized marijuana as a relatively benign drug.

The 400-page study concluded that if the United States was sincere in its desire to reduce drug violence in the western hemisphere, then it would have to seriously rethink its stance on marijuana and look into more rational drug policies:

“It would be worthwhile to assess existing signals and trends that lean toward the decriminalization or legalization of the production, sale, and use of marijuana. Sooner or later decisions in this area will need to be taken.”

Jose Miguel Insulza

The discussion is long overdue, according to OAS Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza, and most Latin American leaders – “whose countries suffer the bloody brunt of the largely failed U.S.-led drug war” – agree.

This is not the first time the Obama Administration has been asked by its neighboring governments to consider adopting more lenient marijuana policies in order to help combat the violent drug cartels that plague Latin America. The question was raised at last year’s Summit of the Americas.

The response from American officials was typical: making marijuana legal is not an option they will consider.

Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for the White House’s drug czar, said in response to the report that “any suggestion that nations legalize drugs like heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine runs counter to an evidenced-based, public health approach to drug policy and are not viable alternatives.”

It is hardly “evidence-based” to lump marijuana in with the other drugs mentioned in that statement. Studies have conclusively shown that marijuana is objectively safer than all of them, including legal alcohol. Nor is it in the interest of public health to continue allowing the marijuana industry to be controlled by violent criminal organizations.

Latin America can attest to the fact that this drug war has a real body count. The United States needs to take responsibility for its failed policies and be willing to listen to its neighbors.

The Mayor of San Diego is encouraging jurors of an upcoming medical marijuana case to reject the prosecution’s argument, which rests on the fact that marijuana is banned at the federal level.

The feds arrested Ronnie Chang of San Marcos in 2009 for operating a medical marijuana dispensary. He is just one of the many Californians who have faced legal consequences for their state-sanctioned efforts to bring relief to patients.

Mayor Bob Filner

Mayor Bob Filner is outraged at Chang’s situation. “Someone should not be going through this stage of prosecution for trying to help people to have access to medical marijuana,” he told reporters.

A champion for civil rights and a former Freedom Rider, Mayor Filner wants jurors to send a message to the federal government this fall, when Chang’s trial is expected to begin.

“[I]t’s time, like with Prohibition, to step back and say this was a stupid thing to do…and juries ought to take the lead in saying that to the federal government.”

In a process known as “jury nullification,” Mayor Filner hopes that those selected to listen to Chang’s case will place their consciences above the evidence and acquit him of any wrong doing.

Let’s hope the jury heeds Mayor Filner’s bold cry for action.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) raised the threshold for a positive test for marijuana from 15 nanograms per milliliter to 150 nanograms per milliliter, significantly reducing the likelihood of detection for athletes who use the drug.

“We wanted to focus on the athletes that abuse the substance in competition,” said Julie Masse, WADA’s director of communications. “This should exclude cases where marijuana is not used in competition.”

Although marijuana is not considered a performance-enhancing drug, WADA included it on its initial list of prohibited substances in 2003 after caving in to pressure from U.S. sports officials.

“From a sports perspective, I was rather ambivalent (toward marijuana),” stated Richard Pound, an attorney who was WADA’s initial chief and still serves on the Foundation Board. “As we morphed into WADA, the USA was very keen to have it included.”

Although marijuana thresholds and testing are vague indicatives rather than precise measurements of use, WADA hopes that the new limit will lessen the chance that responsible recreational users will suffer disciplinary action. In recent years, a number of athletes, some of them legitimate medical marijuana patients, have faced suspensions and huge fines failing post-competition marijuana tests.

“There is no desire to go soft on the list,” WADA’s Athlete Committee announced, “but members want cheaters to be caught for cheating, not for recreational usage.”