http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/feed.xml Visit ACLU.org to learn more and get involved. en-us 10 2009-06-25T02:25:18-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/40033prs20090625.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate's uncorroborated accusation that she previously possessed ibuprofen. The American Civil Liberties Union represents April Redding, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, whose daughter, Savana Redding, was strip searched by Safford Middle School officials six years ago. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/40033prs20090625.html 2009-06-25T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/40029prs20090604.html?s_src=RSS HONOLULU – The ACLU of Hawaii today announced two more cases in which courts have ordered an end to suspicionless drug testing of teachers. On Tuesday, a North Carolina appellate court struck down a program that subjected all school employees to random drug tests; last Friday, a federal court in Louisiana issued a consent decree ending a policy that required any teacher who suffered an injury on the job to submit to a drug test – even if that "injury" resulted from being punched by a student. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/40029prs20090604.html 2009-06-04T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/39989prs20090529.html?s_src=RSS BATON ROUGE, LA – A consent decree was filed today in a lawsuit brought by the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers and the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the unconstitutional drug testing of teachers without reasonable suspicion. The decree, which was signed by a federal court, the Federation of Teachers, and the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, brings an end to a policy that subjected any teacher who suffers an injury on the job to a drug test absent any suspicion of drug use. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/39989prs20090529.html 2009-05-29T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/39691prs20090528.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON – Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, testified today before the U.S. Sentencing Commission about the need for Congressional action to eliminate both the unjust crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and the mandatory minimum sentences for narcotics. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/39691prs20090528.html 2009-05-28T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/39652prs20090521.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing today on eliminating the unjust and discriminatory 100-to-1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences under federal law. As part of the hearing, entitled “Unfairness in Federal Cocaine Sentencing: Is it time to crack the 100-to-1 disparity?,” lawmakers considered several bills to equalize crack and cocaine sentencing statutes and heard testimony from former baseball player Willie Mays Aikens; Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer; a U.S. District Court Judge; a district attorney; and a former prosecutor, among others. Federal law treats five grams of crack cocaine the same as 500 grams of powder cocaine. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/39652prs20090521.html 2009-05-21T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/39606prs20090518.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court today declined to hear an appeal brought by San Diego and San Bernardino counties challenging the validity of California's medical marijuana laws. The Court's order leaves intact the rulings of California's state courts, holding that state medical marijuana laws are entirely valid despite the federal prohibition on marijuana. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/39606prs20090518.html 2009-05-18T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/39416prs20090421.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments over whether school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate's uncorroborated accusation that she previously possessed ibuprofen. The American Civil Liberties Union represents April Redding, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, whose daughter, Savana Redding, was strip searched by Safford Middle School officials six years ago. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/39416prs20090421.html 2009-04-21T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/38367prs20090116.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that it will review a lower court ruling that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate’s uncorroborated accusation that she possessed ibuprofen. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/38367prs20090116.html 2009-01-16T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/38356prs20090115.html?s_src=RSS BATON ROUGE, LA – A federal court in Louisiana halted an unconstitutional teacher drug testing policy today. The policy, instituted by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, subjected any teacher who suffers an injury while on the job to a drug test without any suspicion of drug use. The American Civil Liberties Union and the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit last month seeking an immediate halt to the policy in order to protect teachers’ constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/38356prs20090115.html 2009-01-15T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/38300prs20090112.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bush administration struck a parting shot to legitimate science today as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) refused to end the unique government monopoly over the supply of marijuana available for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved research. DEA’s final ruling rejected the formal recommendation of DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Mary Ellen Bittner, issued nearly two years ago following extensive legal hearings. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/38300prs20090112.html 2009-01-12T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/38267prs20090108.html?s_src=RSS CHARLESTON, WV – A federal court in West Virginia today issued a written order halting the proposed random, suspicionless drug testing of nearly all Kanawha County public school employees. The order provides a thorough rationale for last week’s verbal ruling to block the controversial program and comes in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union in partnership with the West Virginia Education Association, which argues that drug testing without cause violates public servants’ constitutional right to privacy. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/38267prs20090108.html 2009-01-08T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/38220prs20081222.html?s_src=RSS BATON ROUGE, LA – The American Civil Liberties Union and the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers sought a federal court order today to suspend an unconstitutional teacher drug testing policy instituted by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board. The policy subjects any teacher who suffers an injury while on the job to a drug test without any suspicion of drug use. The East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers, a local affiliate of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the national American Federation of Teachers that represents over 1,600 local members, and the ACLU are seeking an immediate halt to the policy in order to protect teachers' constitutional right to privacy. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/38220prs20081222.html 2008-12-22T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/38003prs20081205.html?s_src=RSS CHARLESTON, WV – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a legal challenge that seeks to halt the proposed random, suspicionless drug testing of nearly all Kanawha County public school employees. Partnering with the West Virginia Education Association (WVEA), the ACLU brief argues that in addition to being ineffective and costly, drug testing without cause violates public servants’ constitutional right to privacy and should be blocked by the court. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/38003prs20081205.html 2008-12-05T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/36584prs20080828.html?s_src=RSS TELLURIDE, CO – The devastating impact of America's "war on drugs" will be on prominent display this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival with the premiere of "American Violet," a film based on the racially charged drug war scandal that rocked the town of Hearne, Texas, several years ago. Directed by Tim Disney and written by Bill Haney, the film stars Alfre Woodard, Will Patton and Tim Blake Nelson. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/36584prs20080828.html 2008-08-28T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/36496prs20080820.html?s_src=RSS SAN JOSE, CA - In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a federal court today held that the U.S. Constitution bars deliberate subversion by the federal government of state medical marijuana laws. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/36496prs20080820.html 2008-08-20T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/36222prs20080731.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed its disappointment in Congress for failing to repeal the aid elimination penalty in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The aid elimination penalty bars students with drug convictions – often minor, first time and misdemeanor offenses – from receiving critical college aid. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/36222prs20080731.html 2008-07-31T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/35964prs20080711.html?s_src=RSS SAN FRANCISCO – The American Civil Liberties Union applauded a federal appellate court ruling today that school officials violated the constitutional rights of a 13-year-old Arizona girl when they strip searched her based on a classmate’s uncorroborated accusation that she possessed ibuprofen. Today’s 6-5 ruling from an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reverses an earlier decision by a divided three-judge panel of the same court. Eight of the eleven judges on the en banc court held that the strip search violated Savana’s constitutional rights, and a six-judge majority further held that the school official who ordered the search is not entitled to immunity as a result of his actions. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/35964prs20080711.html 2008-07-11T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/35894prs20080707.html?s_src=RSS VIENNA, Austria – The American Civil Liberties Union today joins a diverse coalition of civil and human rights organizations participating in the United Nations’ “Beyond 2008 Forum,” a historic opportunity to assess the past decade of international drug policy and to shape its future course. The ACLU and others will speak to the inability of current, principally punitive drug policies to reduce the supply of or demand for illicit drugs, as well as the significant violence, health problems, and civil and human rights violations directly attributable to these policies. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/35894prs20080707.html 2008-07-07T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/racialjustice/35721prs20080618.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union calls on Congress to reform a Department of Justice grant program as part of today’s markup of HR 3546, reauthorizing the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. This program funds hundreds of regional anti-drug task forces that perpetuate racial disparities, police corruption, over-incarceration and civil rights abuses in large and small towns across America. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/racialjustice/35721prs20080618.html 2008-06-18T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/35183prs20080506.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON – The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is conducting the latest in a series of regional summits designed to convince local educators to begin drug testing students randomly and without cause – a policy unsupported by the available science and opposed by leading experts in adolescent health, including the Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association, the Association of Addiction Professionals and the National Association of Social Workers. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/35183prs20080506.html 2008-05-06T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/34657prs20080326.html?s_src=RSS SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appellate court today heard oral arguments over the constitutionality of a strip search performed on a 13-year-old Arizona girl by school officials looking for ibuprofen. A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the search constitutional on September 21, 2007, greatly expanding the circumstances under which schools may strip search students. That decision will now be reviewed by the full Ninth Circuit. The American Civil Liberties Union is co-counsel in the case. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/34657prs20080326.html 2008-03-26T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/34512prs20080313.html?s_src=RSS The Washington Supreme Court today unanimously found that Wahkiakum School District’s policy of suspicionless urine testing for students who participate in extracurricular athletic activities is unconstitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington challenged the suspicionless testing program on behalf of two families in the district, including a deputy sheriff and an emergency room doctor. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/34512prs20080313.html 2008-03-13T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/34294prs20080303.html?s_src=RSS SAN FRANCISCO - In legal papers delivered today, the American Civil Liberties Union joined an ongoing case to represent a 13-year-old girl unconstitutionally strip searched by school officials after a classmate’s uncorroborated accusation of ibuprofen possession. A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the search constitutional on September 21, 2007. The panel’s 2-1 decision, which greatly expands the circumstances under which schools may strip search students, will now be reviewed by the full Ninth Circuit. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/34294prs20080303.html 2008-03-03T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/crimjustice/gen/34204prs20080226.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC – On Tuesday, February 26, activists from around the country, civil rights and professional organizations stood together to call for much-needed reform to the country’s federal sentencing laws. This press briefing and lobby event marked the culmination of a month-long series of events aimed at addressing the 20-year-old sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. According to current guidelines, a conviction for the sale of 500 grams of powder cocaine results in a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence, while the same penalty is triggered for sale or possession of only 5 grams of crack cocaine. http://www.aclu.org/crimjustice/gen/34204prs20080226.html 2008-02-26T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/34085prs20080212.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC – The ACLU submitted testimony to the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the Senate Judiciary Committee for today’s hearing, titled "Federal Cocaine Sentencing Laws: Reforming the 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Disparity." The purpose of this hearing is to address the wide disparity between federal sentencing guidelines for crack versus powder cocaine. October 2006 marked the 20th anniversary of the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act. In the years since its passage, many of the myths surrounding crack cocaine have been dispelled, and it has become clear that there is no scientific or penological justification for the 100-to-1 disparity. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/34085prs20080212.html 2008-02-12T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/33893prs20080201.html?s_src=RSS HONOLULU – A diverse group of legal and labor experts and public school educators delivered a letter to Governor Linda Lingle today demanding that she retract legally baseless threats to withhold teachers’ pay raises. In response to the Board of Education’s decision last week not to divert money from Hawaii’s classrooms to fund a random teacher drug testing program, Lingle threatened to deny teachers a pay raise included in their current contract. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/33893prs20080201.html 2008-02-01T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33825prs20080128.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union criticized remarks Attorney General Michael Mukasey made on Friday suggesting he would seek to derail a decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to apply recent changes in federal crack cocaine sentencing guidelines retroactively. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33825prs20080128.html 2008-01-28T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/33833prs20080125.html?s_src=RSS HONOLULU – The American Civil Liberties Union applauded the Hawaii State Board of Education for its decision not to fund the random drug testing of Hawaii’s educators. In a unanimous vote yesterday evening, the Board of Education rejected a motion that would have allocated $400,000 just to initiate the random testing policy – additional funds would be necessary to conduct the actual random tests. In response to the Board’s decision, Governor Linda Lingle today threatened to withhold a wage increase included in the teachers’ union’s most recent contract. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/33833prs20080125.html 2008-01-25T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/33913prs20080117.html?s_src=RSS CARLSBAD, NM – A paraplegic man is suing Eddy County Sheriff's deputies for seizing marijuana plants and equipment to grow marijuana, which he uses to control pain resulting from a spinal cord injury. Leonard French received a license to cultivate and use small quantities of marijuana for medicinal purposes from the state of New Mexico under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, which represents French, says the deputies' actions violated not only that law, but also state forfeiture laws and a constitutional prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/33913prs20080117.html 2008-01-17T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33536prs20080107.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office, a non-partisan organization, believes Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) was mistaken when she called ending mandatory minimum sentences a controversial position. The organization urges all candidates, from all parties, to oppose mandatory minimum sentencing and support legislation to close the sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33536prs20080107.html 2008-01-07T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33269prs20071218.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today joined Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) at a press conference calling for a fix to the unfair federal crack cocaine sentencing policy. The ACLU also urged Congress to support Rep. Jackson-Lee’s recently introduced legislation, H.R. 4545, the “Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2007.” This bill would eliminate sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine as well as the current mandatory minimum for simple possession. In addition, the legislation establishes grants for drug treatment programs, gives the U.S. Sentencing Commission discretion to review sentencing enhancements for crack offenses, and attempts to focus federal resources on major drug dealers. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33269prs20071218.html 2007-12-18T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33139prs20071211.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s decision to apply recent changes in federal crack cocaine sentencing guidelines retroactively. Thousands of offenders were sentenced under the previous guidelines, which unfairly and erroneously required them to serve more than the mandatory minimum sentence required by law. Thanks to the USSC’s decision, such offenders will now have the opportunity to appear before the court and have their case reviewed by a judge. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33139prs20071211.html 2007-12-11T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33094prs20071210.html?s_src=RSS NEW YORK – By a 7-2 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today in Kimbrough v. United States that it is no longer mandatory for federal judges to adhere to the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which provide for disparate sentences for crack and cocaine offenses. The United States Sentencing Commission has itself rejected the 100:1 disparity as unreasonable. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/33094prs20071210.html 2007-12-10T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/32960prs20071203.html?s_src=RSS Washington, D.C. – The American Civil Liberties Union today reiterated its support of retroactivity for defendants serving longer sentences than required by federal law after the question was raised in this weekend’s presidential debate. The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) last month changed federal sentencing guidelines to make sure people would not serve more than the federal mandatory minimum sentence for crack offenses. The USSC is now considering whether to make those changes to the guidelines retroactive, applying them to offenders currently in prison, not just those who were arrested before the new guidelines were implemented. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/gen/32960prs20071203.html 2007-12-03T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/32794prs20071115.html?s_src=RSS HONOLULU – The American Civil Liberties Union condemned Governor Lingle’s refusal to retract a policy that will subject as many as 13,500 public school employees, including teachers,librarians and many administrative workers to random drug testing. Saying that the drug testing program violates adults’ constitutional right to privacy and is ineffective and costly, the ACLU announced today that it will file suit imminently in federal court. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/32794prs20071115.html 2007-11-15T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/32733prs20071113.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC – On November 1, as a result of corrective action by the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC), the federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine were brought back in line with the mandatory minimum statute. The ACLU now urges the USSC to take the additional step of making such changes retroactive, a move that would go a long way toward increasing parity and justice in cocaine sentencing. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/32733prs20071113.html 2007-11-13T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/32518prs20071101.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today praised the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) for taking action to bring the guideline ranges for crack cocaine federal sentences back in line with the mandatory minimum statute. As a result of the previous guidelines, crack cocaine defendants sentenced to the mandatory minimums often served many more months than required by the law for their offense. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/32518prs20071101.html 2007-11-01T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/32089prs20071004.html?s_src=RSS HONOLULU - The American Civil Liberties Union served Governor Lingle a formal demand letter today calling for an end to the State’s plan to randomly drug test many public school employees, including teachers and librarians. The ACLU has so far been contacted by more than 150 educators seeking to challenge the random drug testing policy. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/32089prs20071004.html 2007-10-04T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/32050prs20071002.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON - The United States Supreme Court heard arguments today regarding the ability of judges to depart from the notorious 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, Kimbrough v. U.S., arguing that federal judges have discretion under existing law to reject this disparity and issue more lenient sentences than those called for by federal sentencing guidelines for crack offenses. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/32050prs20071002.html 2007-10-02T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/31863prs20070918.html?s_src=RSS Washington, D.C. – A letter signed by 45 members of the U.S. House of Representatives will be delivered today to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) demanding an end to the obstruction of scientific research aimed at developing marijuana as a legal prescription medicine. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/31863prs20070918.html 2007-09-18T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/31851prs20070914.html?s_src=RSS HONOLULU -- The American Civil Liberties Union is convening a series of local events to announce its legal challenge to a state policy that will randomly drug test many public school employees, including teachers, librarians and many administrative workers. Saying that the drug testing program violates adults’ constitutional right to privacy, is ineffective and costly, the ACLU is currently seeking Hawaii public school employees to participate in a lawsuit against the State that will soon be filed in federal court. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/testing/31851prs20070914.html 2007-09-14T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/31253prs20070809.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON – A coalition of criminal justice advocacy organizations is launching "It's Not Fair. It's Not Working," a national effort to reform the 100-to-1 federal sentencing disparity ratio between crack and powder cocaine which results in excessive mandatory minimum sentences for first-time possession of small amounts of crack cocaine. The initiative will officially launch at the National Association of Black Journalists 32nd Annual Convention August 8-12, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/31253prs20070809.html 2007-08-09T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/32399prs20070806.html?s_src=RSS KENT COUNTY, MD - Three years after taking a courageous stand against excessive police action at their public high school, two young women from Kent County have won what the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland is calling the most significant settlement of a school search case in Maryland history - including $285,000 in monetary damages and written apologies from both the school system and Sheriff's Department. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/search/32399prs20070806.html 2007-08-06T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/30942prs20070725.html?s_src=RSS Washington, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on an amendment that would prohibit the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from raiding and arresting medical marijuana patients and providers in states that have made medical marijuana legal under state law. The "Hinchey Amendment," offered by U.S. House of Representatives member Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) during consideration of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, would prevent the U.S. Department of Justice from spending funds to interfere with medical marijuana in any state that has authorized medical marijuana use. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/30942prs20070725.html 2007-07-25T12:00:00-05:00 http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/racialjustice/30757prs20070719.html?s_src=RSS WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee held hearings today to examine the dangers of the informant system as used in drug law enforcement. Today’s hearing was prompted by the tragic death of a 92-year-old Atlanta woman, Kathryn Johnston, who was shot during a botched SWAT raid of her home. The raid was based on information fabricated by police, who falsely attributed the misinformation to a confidential informant. Civil rights advocates and members of Congress called for an overhaul of the informant system, instituting oversight mechanisms and safeguards to prevent future injustices. http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/racialjustice/30757prs20070719.html 2007-07-19T12:00:00-05:00 CrownPeak CMS