Decriminalization

Since Washington’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s minor drug possession laws in February, cities, state lawmakers, and the governor are re-envisioning what drug policy will look like in the Evergreen State.

The city councils in St. Louis and Maplewood, Missouri voted to decriminalize cannabis possession on Tuesday.

The California Senate Public Safety Committee has advanced a psychedelics decriminalization measure.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) may support a bill that would decriminalize cannabis possession while limiting the number of homegrown plants allowed for medical cannabis patients.

The City Council in Shreveport, Louisiana is considering a measure to decriminalize low-level cannabis possession. If approved, Shreveport would be only the third Louisiana city to adopt significant cannabis reforms.

Barbados Attorney General Dale Marshall is set to decriminalize the possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis but has warned that fines and penalties will be higher for people who lie to officials about their cannabis possession.

Alabama’s Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a measure that would decriminalize cannabis possession for first-time offenders, reducing penalties from a potential jail sentence to a $250 fine.

Washington state law enforcement agencies are releasing responses including guidance and pushback to the state’s Supreme Court ruling last week that effectively decriminalized all drug possession.

Washington state’s Supreme Court essentially decriminalized drug possession yesterday after declaring the state’s felony drug possession law to be unconstitutional.

Oregon’s first-in-the-nation drugs decriminalization policy takes effect today. The measure was approved by voters last November.

A North Carolina task force has recommended the state decriminalize small amounts of cannabis and expunge cannabis arrest records.

Madison, Wisconsin approved a cannabis decriminalization ordinance on Tuesday that reduces the possession fines for up to 28 grams of cannabis to just $1.

With the landmark passage of Measures 109 and 110, Oregon voters have opted to decriminalize drugs and legalize medicinal psilocybin.

Voters in Washington, D.C. have overwhelmingly approved Initiative 81 to decriminalize psychedelic plants.

Across the U.S. today, voters from Montana to New Jersey will consider a series of ballot initiatives that could represent yet another dramatic shift for the country away from our archaic cannabis and drug policies.

Officials in Rock County, Wisconsin have reduced the fine for cannabis possession to just one dollar; the fines previously ran from $150 to $500 depending on the offense.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan City Council has unanimously passed a resolution to decriminalize naturally occurring psychedelics, including mushrooms and ayahuasca.

Cannabis activists in Oklahoma are collecting signatures to put an expungement and decriminalization question on voters’ ballots this November.

New Jersey State Sen. Ronald Rice is accusing the state’s Democratic legislative leaders of delaying a “common sense” cannabis decriminalization measure.

Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s pick for the second half of the Democratic presidential ticket, said in their first joint interview that the Biden-Harris Administration will pursue a national policy of cannabis decriminalization.

Federal prosecutors in Canada have been directed to avoid prosecuting drug possession cases unless the crime poses a major public safety risk.

With the opening of a new congressional year, Colombia’s opposition party has introduced legislation to decriminalize cocaine and regulate the drug’s production.

The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has issued a call for lawmakers to federally decriminalize the low-level possession of all drugs.

Officials in Kansas City, Missouri have decided to remove cannabis possession from the city code, effectively decriminalizing low-level possession.