Stories by Paul Armentano
Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), and is the co-author of the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink (2009, Chelsea Green).
An exclusive look at the historic testimony prepared for a special hearing on legalizing marijuana to the California Assembly.
Posted on Oct 28, 2009, Source: AlterNet
Recent scientific reports suggest that pot doesn't destroy your brain, that it doesn't cause lung damage like tobacco -- but you won't hear it in the corporate media.
Posted on Sep 23, 2009, Source: AlterNet
41 percent of the U.S. population say they've tried cannabis at least once in their lives, 10 percent say they've used it in the last year.
Posted on Sep 10, 2009, Source: NORML
The stats for death and injury tied to alcohol on campus are staggering, yet students are more harshly punished for pot -- which is far more benign.
Posted on Aug 20, 2009, Source: Chelsea Green Publishing
The authors of a new book on misconceptions about marijuana respond to the torrent of comments on an excerpt published on AlterNet.
Posted on Aug 15, 2009, Source: AlterNet
A new book explains how we're steering people away from cannabis and toward the use of a very harmful and deadly substance: alcohol.
Posted on Aug 6, 2009, Source: Chelsea Green Publishing
Rep. Mark Kirk thinks that the magic number of 15% THC concentration in marijuana should lead to a 25-year prison penalty.
Posted on Jun 15, 2009, Source: NORML
The govt. "warns" us that our pot is stronger than anything Jerry Garcia ever smoked in his heyday. What do they expect?
Posted on May 16, 2009, Source: NORML
John Walters uses classic anti-drug logic to pave over Schwarzenegger's call to legalize marijuana.
Posted on May 7, 2009, Source: NORML
Even the most mainstream figures are now taking the idea of legalizing and taxing pot seriously -- budget-crunched governments should listen.
Posted on Apr 14, 2009, Source: AlterNet
Since 1965, police have arrested over 20 million Americans for violating marijuana laws. Obama shouldn't laugh at questions about legalizing it.
Posted on Mar 27, 2009, Source: NORML
So why does the mainstream media continue to get the story wrong when it comes to pot?
Posted on Feb 11, 2009, Source: NORML
What gives? Let's see Obama be the one who personally rains on the DEA's eight-year parade that has crushed the lives of thousands.
Posted on Feb 5, 2009, Source: NORML
Pot-reform activists have swarmed Obama's Change.gov, and huge majorities voted for pot reform in election '08, but no change yet from Obama.
Posted on Jan 28, 2009, Source: AlterNet
If lawmakers really wanted to address marijuana use, they would regulate and tax pot like they do tobacco.
Posted on Nov 17, 2008, Source: NORML
Three suggestions for how Obama can take immediate, practical steps to reform America's antiquated and punitive pot laws
Posted on Nov 7, 2008, Source: NORML
Voters have rejected the Bush doctrine on drugs.
Posted on Nov 5, 2008, Source: NORML
74% of all Americans busted for pot are under 30 -- it's long past time for young people to join ranks and help end this drug war.
Posted on Oct 17, 2008, Source: AlterNet
I'd like to give you seven specific reasons why the use of cannabis by adults remains a crime in America.
Posted on Oct 2, 2008, Source: NORML
Cannabis arrests now comprise nearly 47.5 percent of all drug arrests in the United States, 89% of them for mere possession.
Posted on Sep 16, 2008, Source: AlterNet
Joe Biden authored the laws establishing the White House drug czar and random drug testing of public employees, among others.
Posted on Sep 6, 2008, Source: AlterNet
Stoners in the Mist is one of the most offensive and outrageous pieces of anti-drug propaganda ever produced.
Posted on Aug 1, 2008, Source: High Times
Police caught Hoffman with pot but promised to drop charges if she agreed to go undercover in a drug bust. She was killed soon afterward.
Posted on Jul 29, 2008, Source: AlterNet
While the the American Medical Association claims pot has no medical value, Big Pharma is busy getting patents for marijuana products.
Posted on Jul 5, 2008, Source: AlterNet
Yet another marijuana study on health risks that relies on subjects who smoke pot 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
Posted on Jun 10, 2008, Source: NORML
Scientific studies indicate that marijuana can halt the spread of numerous cancer cells, including the type that Kennedy suffers from.
Posted on May 23, 2008, Source: NORML
How can you tell if the drug czar is lying? If his lips are moving.
Posted on May 13, 2008, Source: NORML
It's laughable that the Feds are pushing the concept of pot addiction when science shows that withdrawal symptoms from caffeine are far worse.
Posted on Mar 22, 2008, Source: AlterNet
Headlines suggested a study proved pot is a greater cancer risk than tobacco -- but the media didn't even wait for the report to be released.
Posted on Mar 10, 2008, Source: AlterNet
Changing public opinion about pot isn't easy. Changing America's anti-pot laws is even harder -- here's a blueprint to get it done.
Posted on Feb 12, 2008, Source: AlterNet
U.S. arrests for pot possession were up to 739,000 in 2006. And the cost to tax payers? $1 billion a year.
Posted on Jan 26, 2008, Source: AlterNet
The feds have started issuing dire warnings about the potency of today's marijuana, calling it "Pot 2.0." Will it backfire and tempt more to toke?
Posted on Oct 20, 2007, Source: AlterNet
Since 1990, over 10.4 million Americans have been busted for pot. When will we recognize it's time to stand up to the war on harmless pot smoking?
Posted on Oct 1, 2007, Source: AlterNet
How does the federal government reconcile its propaganda on the dangers of pot with the huge number of people who rely on marijuana's medicinal powers? Pretend they don't exist.
Posted on Sep 10, 2007, Source: Huffington Post
A new attempt to scare pot smokers in Britain alleges that smoking pot can increase the risk of becoming "psychotic." A quick glance at the data cited reveals no such correlation.
Posted on Aug 13, 2007, Source: Huffington Post
The Republican governor of Connectictut is the latest politician to look foolish for pushing tough anti-marijuana policies in the face of scientific data that proves the arguments hollow.
Posted on Jul 13, 2007, Source: AlterNet
The ONDCP is spreading new propaganda that the pot grown in the 1960's and '70s is far weaker than today's "pot 2.0," making absurd and unsubstantiated claims of "brain damage."
Posted on Jun 23, 2007, Source: AlterNet
The FDA has rejected a controversial diet aid that is supposed to counteract the effects of pot and has been linked to suicidal thoughts and depression.
Posted on Jun 15, 2007, Source: AlterNet
If you're a pot smoking African-American or Hispanic in New York City, chances are you and the NYPD are on a first-name basis.
Posted on Mar 31, 2007, Source: AlterNet
Since 1972, U.S. taxpayers have spent well over $20 billion enforcing criminal marijuana laws and 16.5 million people have been arrested. It's time to put an end to this waste.
Posted on Mar 22, 2007, Source: AlterNet
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