GW Hatchet, 08 Nov 2012 – Colorado and Washington state voted to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use Tuesday, becoming the first states to defy the federal ban on the substance. The two ballot initiatives push forward a cause long fought by legalization advocates, who liken the ban to the prohibition of alcohol and point to the drug’s economic and health benefits.

Washington Post, 06 Nov 2012 – Regarding the Nov. 4 news article “Mexican drug cartels establish networks in U.S. cities”: Since March 2009, the Obama administration has placed an unprecedented amount of personnel, infrastructure and technology along the southwest border. The U.S. Border Patrol has doubled in size, we’ve bolstered operations at our ports of entry and we’ve expanded successful partnerships with the Mexican government that are cracking down on cross-border crime. These actions have improved our ability to disrupt drug-trafficking across the United States.

Washington Times, 30 Oct 2012 – WYTHE CO., Va, October 30, 2012 – What do Snoop Dog, Pat Robertson, Yoko Ono, and Bill O’Reilly have in common? They all believe marijuana should be legalized and taxed, just like alcohol. Liberal or conservative, Jew or gentile, black or white, a consensus has been acknowledged and it is time to act.

Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct 2012 – A Medical Marijuana Advocate Cites a ‘Bias,’ Saying the Benefits Are Ignored and the Dangers Exaggerated. WASHINGTON – A medical marijuana advocate urged a federal appeals court to require the U.S. government to relax, or at least rethink, a more-than-40year-old rule that treats marijuana as a highly dangerous drug with no medical value.

Washington Post, 12 Oct 2012 – Measures in 3 States Would Legalize Sale of Drug for Recreational Use Voters are set to cast their ballots in three Western states next month on whether to legalize the sale of marijuana for recreational use, initiatives that would directly violate federal law but that have drawn only silence from the Justice Department.

Seattle Times, 04 Oct 2012 – WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Michael Baumgartner on Wednesday endorsed Initiative 502 to legalize retail sales of pot, calling the war on the illicit drug a matter of national security. The freshman state senator, who is challenging Democrat Maria Cantwell, worked several years ago for a State Department program in Afghanistan to help farmers grow wheat instead of opium poppies.

Latin American Herald-Tribune, 11 Sep 2012 – WASHINGTON – The Caravan for Peace arrived in Washington, the last stop on its tour of the United States, during which families of the victims of violence on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border have marked “an end and a beginning” with their condemnation of the war on drugs. After traveling more than 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) and stopping in 26 cities, the 110 participants in the caravan led by Mexican poet Javier Sicilia arrived in the United States capital.

Washington Post, 08 Sep 2012 – D.C. Store Closes in Wake of Oct. Police Raid Adam Eidinger stands next to the wall and gives it a good, solid knock. “Hemp board,” he says. “First retail store to be built out of it. It’s held up remarkably well.”

Washington Post, 12 Jun 2012 – The Plant Is a Raw Material, Not Pot, Head of Soap Company Says David Bronner locked himself in a metal cage Monday outside the White House with a stash of hemp plants and equipment, hoping to make enough hemp oil to spread on a piece of French bread.

Washington Times, 04 Jun 2012 – Federal Court Curtails ADA in Medical Cases A decision by Congress in 2009 to stop blocking the District’s medical marijuana program should not be construed as federal permission to grow and use the drug, according to a recent legal opinion from California.