“We’ve been claiming that Prop. 36 is going to increase the jail population, of course, but they’re increasing it into an already failed and broken system where people’s lives are lost from neglect. If you put more pressure and more activity on this, it’s gonna fail even more,” Miller said. 

Several California-based activist organizations discussed how the upcoming state ballot measure, Proposition 36, may harm public safety.

A formerly incarcerated Californian worries that the type of rehabilitation programs that changed his life will be lost if resources are spent filling prisons.

"The war on drugs is quite reminiscent of the phrase, 'The beatings will continue until morale improves,'" said AMA Connecticut delegate Ryan Englander. "We have tried for decades to criminalize our way out of a substance use crisis in this country, and it has not worked."

As of Jan. 1, it’s illegal for most California employers to discriminate against cannabis users or even ask about past cannabis use on job applications, thanks to a pair of new laws that increase workplace protections for cannabis users.

Assembly Bill 2188 includes a major change to how employers can conduct drug tests