Last week we had numerous federal laws that make possessing and distributing marijuana a crime. This week the laws are still there. Nothing’s changed on that front. What has changed is that our U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has directed federal prosecutors not to go after possessors and distributors of marijuana who are complying with state medical marijuana laws. He said, “It will not be a priority to use federal

Legalizing marijuana in California could generate $1.4 billion a year for the cash-starved state treasury, according to the state Board of Equalization. It’s supported by 56 percent of the public, according to a Field Poll in April. But it’s not a proposal that any of the five leading candidates for governor is willing to embrace. “If the whole society starts getting stoned, we’re going to be even less competitive,” Democratic

Anyone curious about the effects of legalizing marijuana should read Norman H. Clark’s “Deliver us from Evil,” a history of the prohibition of alcohol and narcotics. Alcohol was legalized — in part — in order to deprive organized crime of money. Over time, the war on drugs has had little impact on drug use. By abolishing the war we would not only save billions of dollars in expenses, we could

The current economic crisis may have one significant upside. It may convince Californians to finally legalize marijuana, so it can be taxed, thereby raising much-needed revenues for the state. Earlier this year, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco introduced a bill in the state legislature to decriminalize pot and tax it. And now backers of a measure that would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in California and allow

ANNAPOLIS — When a police officer asked her what she was doing behind a van in the park, Pamela Hughes told him the honest truth. “I said I was smoking a cannabis cigarette,” she said. She presented the stunned policeman with a written recommendation from her doctor and a copy of Maryland’s “Compassionate Use Act,” which reduces the penalties for possession of medical marijuana. “I honestly thought that I wasn’t