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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference.Does anybody still think criminalising drugs works? Alas, most people do, including Barack Obama. He was a dope user in his younger days, and when asked if he inhaled (Bill Clinton having said he didn't), responded: "I inhaled frequently. That was kind of the point." In America today, seventeen states say cannabis can be distributed for medical purposes. The Daily Beast has a fine report on what that means in practice.
Here's a flavour: "The reason for the recent enforcement actions has to do with the skyrocketing growth of dispensaries, said a former U.S. Justice Department official who spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity. 'We are responding to a very aggressive effort to expand the distribution of marijuana. By making it medicine, kids think it’s safe. Same as prescription drugs,' the official said. 'For the most part, all they’re doing is traffickers. They never prosecute anybody who isn’t a trafficker.'
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