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ACLU Defends Sponsor of Marijuana Initiative from Attack by Santa Barbara City Council (05/08/2007)
SANTA BARBARA, CA – Citing California’s ban on strategic lawsuits against public participation (“SLAPP”), the American Civil Liberties Union today moved to dismiss a legal challenge brought by the Santa Barbara City Council seeking to thwart a new law, enacted through voter initiative, that directs police to focus resources on violent and serious crime by making marijuana use the lowest law enforcement priority. The Council’s lawsuit was brought against the initiative’s sponsor based solely on her participation in the political process.

U.S. Sentencing Commission Issues New Recommendations on Federal Sentencing Guidelines (04/28/2007)
Washington - In a public hearing Friday evening, the United States Sentencing Commission voted to amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for federal crack cocaine offenses. Distributing just five grams of crack for example, carries a minimum five-year federal prison sentence, while distributing 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same sentence.

ACLU Renews Fight to Overturn Law That Denies Financial Aid to Students With Drug Convictions (04/16/2007)
ST. LOUIS, MO -- The American Civil Liberties Union today filed an appeal asking that a federal court be compelled to weigh the full body of evidence in determining the constitutional validity of a provision of the Higher Education Act that denies financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense. The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota dismissed the case last year after refusing to consider significant legislative history demonstrating the law to be unconstitutional.

DEA Judge Calls for Government to End Obstruction of Medical Marijuana Research (02/13/2007)
WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union applauded a ruling issued by a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration judge that recommends ending the federal government’s sixty-five year monopoly on the supply of marijuana available for Food and Drug Administration-approved medical research.

In Response to Court Ruling, ACLU of Washington Calls on Legislature to Clarify Medical Marijuana Law (11/22/2006)
OLYMPIA, WA - The Washington Supreme Court today rejected a seriously ill woman’s plea to use medical marijuana to alleviate chronic pain, even though she had a doctor’s written recommendation. The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington said the 6-3 ruling points to the need to clarify the state’s medical marijuana law to ensure that patients are able to exercise their rights.

California's Medical Marijuana Laws Get Nod from Court (11/16/2006)
SAN DIEGO - Medical marijuana patients around the country scored a major win today, as a California Superior Court judge issued a preliminary ruling that state medical marijuana laws can co-exist with the federal law that prohibits all use.

ACLU Releases Crack Cocaine Report, Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 Deepened Racial Inequity in Sentencing (10/26/2006)
WASHINGTON – To mark the 20th anniversary of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, the American Civil Liberties Union today issued the report, “Cracks in the System: Twenty Years of the Unjust Federal Crack Cocaine Law.” The report details discriminatory effects of the drug law that devastated African American and low-income communities.

Medical Marijuana Patients Get Say in Counties’ Legal Challenge to California Medical Marijuana Law (08/04/2006)
SAN DIEGO – A San Diego Superior Court ruled today that lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Safe Access and the Drug Policy Alliance will be permitted to intervene in a lawsuit brought by several California counties seeking to thwart the state’s Compassionate Use Act, which makes medical marijuana legal for patients with a doctor’s recommendation. The groups joined the case on behalf of medical marijuana patients and their caregivers and doctors in order to assure their adequate representation in the legal proceedings.

Landmark Settlement Reached in Notorious School Drug Raid Caught on Tape (07/11/2006)
GOOSE CREEK, SC -- The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that a federal court has approved a landmark settlement in its lawsuit challenging police tactics in the high-profile drug raid of Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The settlement includes a consent decree that sets a new standard for students’ rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

Adults Have Privacy Right to Use Marijuana in the Home, Says Alaska Judge in Landmark Ruling (07/11/2006)
JUNEAU — In a landmark ruling, an Alaska state court judge has upheld adults' right to possess and use small amounts of marijuana within their homes. The American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the law, said the ruling confirmed that the state constitution protects adults who use and possess marijuana in their homes from police surveillance, searches, arrest and prosecution.

ACLU and Others Step In To Defend California’s Medical Marijuana Law From Rogue Counties’ Attack (07/07/2006)
SAN DIEGO - The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Safe Access and the Drug Policy Alliance moved today to intervene in a lawsuit brought by several California counties that seeks to overturn the state’s Compassionate Use Act, which makes medical marijuana legal for patients with a doctor’s recommendation.

July's ACLU Freedom Files: Drug Wars Shows the Sham That Is the "War on Drugs" (07/06/2006)
NEW YORK — The ACLU Freedom Files helps viewers get to know everyday people whose rights are threatened and shows the human side of our fight to protect civil liberties. The "Drug Wars" episode, premiering this July, shows how the "war on drugs" has turned out to be a war on the American people.

ACLU Asks Alaska Court to Strike Down Unconstitutional Marijuana Law (06/30/2006)
JUNEAU, AK – The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska today filed legal papers urging a court to strike down as unconstitutional a newly enacted law criminalizing adults’ possession of small amounts of marijuana in the privacy of their homes. A hearing on the matter has been set for Wednesday, July 5, in state Superior Court in Juneau, Alaska.

ACLU Files Lawsuit to Protect Privacy Rights of Alaskans After Governor Signs Unconstitutional Marijuana Law (06/05/2006)
JUNEAU, AK - The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska today filed a state constitutional challenge to a newly enacted law criminalizing adults’ possession of small amounts of marijuana in the privacy of their homes. The ACLU of Alaska’s lawsuit seeks an immediate court order blocking enforcement of the law and an eventual ruling permanently striking down the legislation as unconstitutional.

ACLU Wins Expanded Protections for Needle Exchange Participants (06/01/2006)
BRIDGEPORT, CT – The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed a ruling by a federal court expanding protections to needle exchange program participants. The court expanded the scope of a previous order, which prohibited the Bridgeport Police Department from harassing or arresting individuals who possess needles, ruling that other forms of injection equipment are protected as well.

ACLU and Sentencing Experts Again Call for Federal Courts to Uphold Judges’ Right to Reject 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Sentencing Disparity (06/01/2006)
SIOUX CITY, IA – The American Civil Liberties Union and a number of prominent criminal law and sentencing experts filed the fourth in a series of friend-of-the-court briefs today supporting judges’ right to depart from the notorious 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity imposed by Congress. The case, U.S. v. Spears, is being argued in the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

ACLU Calls on Department of Education to Halt Enforcement of Law That Refuses Financial Aid to Students With Drug Convictions (05/26/2006)
ABERDEEN, SD - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a motion in federal court seeking an order that would immediately bar the Department of Education from enforcing a provision of the Higher Education Act that denies financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense. The aid elimination penalty has blocked aid to approximately 200,000 would-be students since its enactment in 2000.

ACLU and Sentencing Experts Renew Call for Federal Courts to Uphold Judges’ Right to Reject 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Sentencing Disparity (05/18/2006)
PHILADELPHIA – The American Civil Liberties Union joined a group of renowned criminal law and sentencing experts in filing a friend-of-the-court brief today in support of the right of judges to depart from the notorious 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity imposed by Congress. The case, U.S. v. Ricks, is being argued in the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Landmark Settlement Reached in Notorious School Drug Raid Caught on Tape (04/07/2006)
GOOSE CREEK, SC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a landmark settlement reached this week in its lawsuit challenging police tactics in the high-profile drug raid of Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The settlement sets a new standard for students’ constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

ACLU Reveals Proof of Racial Targeting in Major Meth Investigation (04/05/2006)
ROME, GA – The American Civil Liberties Union today unveiled evidence that a major police investigation into methamphetamine production unlawfully targeted South Asian convenience store owners and clerks based on race and national origin. In legal papers filed today, the ACLU asked a federal court to dismiss all remaining charges related to the controversial investigation in northwest Georgia, dubbed “Operation Meth Merchant.”