I firmly believe that at some point during his second administration President Obama is going to address the issue of mass incarceration in America. What I fear is that he is going to wait so long, and ultimately do so with such caution, as to minimize his potential impact.

I'll...

In Thursday's New York Times, the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading drug policy reform organization, is running a full-page ad to thank voters in Colorado and Washington and emphasize the growing support for drug policy reform. Last month, Colorado and Washington became the first two states in...

Anytime the president answers a question about marijuana and federal marijuana policy, as he did in a recent interview with ABC's Barbara Walters that airs tonight, it makes sense to parse his words.

Four things stand out in ABC's press release about the president's comments.

The first is...

On Election Day, Washington State and Colorado became the first two states in the country -- and indeed the first political jurisdictions anywhere in the world -- to approve legally regulating marijuana like alcohol.

It would be a mistake to call these ballot initiative victories "pro-pot." Most...

12:50AM EST November 7. 2012 - Washington State and Colorado made history tonight by becoming the first states in the United States - to approve the legal regulation of marijuana.

These victories likely represent the beginning of the end of marijuana prohibition in this country and many...

This morning, the front page of the New York Times featured an article titled "South America Sees Drug Path to Legalization," which discusses the growing debate on alternatives to the drug war.

Throughout Latin America, both former and current heads of state are demanding that the full...

The end of AIDS is not just possible but predictably achievable. Science is showing the way.

But science is laborious, time consuming and costly. Its achievements must be complemented by effective government action to control the spread of HIV among vulnerable populations.

As world leaders gather this week in Washington...

On July 16, the government of Belize released a press statement announcing the appointment of a committee to evaluate a proposal to decriminalize marijuana possession. The committee - to be headed by a former police minister - was appointed by the Minister of National Security. The proposal in...

Colombia's Constitutional Court Friday approved the government's proposal to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cocaine and marijuana for personal use. Anyone caught with less than 20 grams of marijuana or one gram of cocaine for personal use may receive physical or psychological treatment depending on their state of...

The Chicago City Council passed -- by a vote of 43 to 2 -- an ordinance today that will decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. People caught with less than half an ounce of marijuana may now be given a ticket rather than be arrested. The fine will be $250 at...

A forthcoming biography on President Obama is making headlines, with new details about the president smoking marijuana with his teenage friends in Hawaii.

David Maraniss' book, Barack Obama: The Story, describes Obama as a marijuana enthusiast: "When a joint was making the rounds, he often elbowed his way...

Daniel Chong, UC-San Diego student, said he was forced to drink his own urine after he was left in a Drug Enforcement Administration holding cell for nearly five days. Chong was smoking marijuana at a friend's house celebrating 4/20, when the DEA raided the house. The DEA agents brought him...

Something incredible is happening right now in Latin America.

After decades of being brutalized by the U.S. government's failed prohibitionist drug policies, Latin American leaders, including not just distinguished former presidents but also current presidents, are saying "enough is enough." They're demanding that the range of policy...

Some anniversaries provide an occasion for celebration, others a time for reflection, still others a time for action. This June will mark forty years since President Nixon declared a "war on drugs," identifying drug abuse as "public enemy No. 1." As far as I know, no celebrations are planned. What's...

California's marijuana legalization initiative, Proposition 19, didn't win a majority of votes yesterday but it already represents an extraordinary victory for the broader movement to legalize marijuana.

What's most important is the way its mere presence on the ballot, combined with a well run campaign, has transformed public dialogue...

Today, Governor David Paterson signed legislation to limit the NYPD practice of storing personal information on innocent New Yorkers who are stopped-and-frisked but not charged with any crime.

The number of stop-and-frisks by NYPD have exploded over the past decade, increasing from less than 100,000 in 2002...

I've often felt in years past that our struggle to end the drug war is relentlessly uphill. But that's changing now, sometimes more quickly than even I can believe. The principal reason is us, by which I mean every person who grasps the lunacy of drug policies in this country...

The struggle to end America's disastrous war on drugs is a struggle for common sense, for human rights, and of course for racial justice. How could it not be, given the extraordinary and disproportionate extent to which people of color - and especially black people - are arrested, prosecuted and...

The White House's 2010 National Drug Control Strategy, released this morning by President Obama and drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, is both encouraging and discouraging. There's no question that it points in a different direction and embraces specific policy options counter to those of the past thirty years. But...

The U.S. House Domestic Policy Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), held a hearing today on the White House's drug war budget and forthcoming 2010 National Drug Control Strategy. The Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (also known as the drug czar), Gil Kerlikowske,...