In Blow to Drug War, House Backs Decriminalizing Pot as Voters OK Legalization Ballot Initiatives

We look at how the House of Representative voted Friday to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and "address the devastating injustices caused by the War on Drugs," as voters in Arizona and New Jersey approved ballot measures in November that legalize the possession and use of recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 and up. Oregon also became the first state to decriminalize low-level drug possession while legalizing the recreational use of psychedelic mushrooms under Measure 110. Ronald Newman, national political director for the American Civil Liberties Union, says the overall trend toward undoing the drug war is positive. "We are developing a collective consensus that we need not throw people behind bars for use of marijuana, and we should be happy about that progress," he says. #DemocracyNow Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream 8-9AM ET: https://bit.ly/2iMUW3w Please consider supporting independent media by making a donation to Democracy Now! today: https://bit.ly/2vxfmnj FOLLOW DEMOCRACY NOW! ONLINE: YouTube: http://youtube.com/democracynow Facebook: https://bit.ly/1JFyMme Twitter: https://twitter.com/democracynow Instagram: https://bit.ly/1dhTTNI SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/1z8zE34 iTunes: https://apple.co/1z8zE35 Daily Email Digest: https://bit.ly/2veXNWE