Author Archives: Pete

I’ve been out of touch for a while, helping students with a fundraiser where they ended up keeping four square games going for 69 hours straight, along with having bands playing and other special events. They ended up raising about … Continue reading →

Had a great time at the Illinois State University Hemp Fest sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Gave a talk on drug policy and had a wonderful discussion with a number of audience members afterward. I also had some … Continue reading →

I’ve got a group of extremely talented friends (and former students) who have been involved in a massive film/real life/social media project called “I Made America.” Check out their entire video series – it’s wonderful. The idea is that six … Continue reading →

Rafael Lemaitre, the communications director at ONDCP has started adding #Reform to a lot of his tweets, as though calling what they’re doing “reform” makes it so (sort of like saying they’ve ended the “war on drugs” makes that true). … Continue reading →

Two articles that help emphasize the importance of the recent Summit of the Americas in Cartagena. Douglas Haddow’s OpEd in the Guardian is a must-read: Did Cartagena mark the beginning of the end of the war on drugs? But while … Continue reading →

Considering the Drug Czar famously said: “Legalization is not in the president’s vocabulary, and it is not in mine,” both of them seem to be using it an awful lot lately. As Scott Morgan notes: We’re Winning Any Time the … Continue reading →

ONDCP calls new drug control strategy a “revolutionary shift” in policy. The 2012 National Drug Control Strategy (pdf) A Drug Policy for the 21st Century by R. Gil Kerlikowse at Huffington Post. Guest Blogger Kevin Sabet says “Wake Up and … Continue reading →

If you’re in my area (central Illinois), stop by on Friday for the 10th annual HempFest, sponsored by the Illinois State University chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. I’ll be speaking at 6 pm. Should be a great time. … Continue reading →

Hardball with Chris Matthews. Chris did a nice job of putting President Obama on the spot regarding the drug war in questioning down in Cartagena. He shows that exchange, and then has a discussion with Ethan Nadelmann and Kevin Sabet. … Continue reading →

Is it a sea change? Certainly we don’t expect reform to come from the top down — it’ll take an overwhelming revolt by the population to overcome the governmental self-interest. And the U.S. is firm in its resolve to keep … Continue reading →