Our Presidents Smoked It. Why Is It Still a Crime?

The cover of a recent issue of The Nation calling for marijuana legalization features President Obama with his high school buddies, known as the Choom Gang, who, allegedly, were very into smoking weed. And as The Nation points out, Obama has company—Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush before him both admitted to using drugs.

By By Lynda Garcia, Soros Fellow, Criminal Law Reform Project, ACLU

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Thanks Birth Control!

Just in time for Thanksgiving, it's time to give thanks to our favorite wingwoman: Birth control.

By By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project

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Thanks Birth Control!

Just in time for Thanksgiving, it's time to give thanks to our favorite wingwoman: Birth control.

By By Becca Cadoff, Reproductive Freedom Project

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This Week in Civil Liberties (11/08/2013)

The "Nursing Mothers Provision" of what newly passed federal bill requires ACLU plaintiff Bobbi Bockoras' employer to provide her with a clean and private location in which to pump breast milk?

By By Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU

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The Basis for the NSA's Call-Tracking Program Has Disappeared, If It Ever Existed

This piece was originally published on JustSecurity.org on November 7, 2013.
There's a

By By Jameel Jaffer, Deputy Legal Director, ACLU

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Dianne Feinstein's Fake Surveillance Reform Bill

This was originally posted on The Guardian.

By By Michelle Richardson, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

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Anal Probe for a Traffic Stop?

David Eckert was pulling out of a Wal-Mart parking lot when police officers pulled him over for failing to stop at a parking lot stop sign. Police ordered Eckert to step out of his vehicle, and that's when he committed the highly suspicious act of "clenching his buttocks." The officers' natural reaction? This man must be hiding narcotics in his anal cavity.

By By Allison Frankel, Criminal Law Reform Project, ACLU

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Hey, Congress! Halloween Was Last Week

Am I confused, or didn't we celebrate Halloween last week? I distinctly remember handing out candy to the ghouls and goblins that banged on my door demanding sweets. But it looks like anti-choice lawmakers didn't check their calendar, because they're scaring the U.S. populace with terrible legislation introduced today threatening women's health and wellbeing. That's enough to snap you out of your Halloween candy-induced sugar coma.

By By Elayne Weiss, Washington Legislative Office

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Battle for Veterans' Disability Benefits: VA Discrimination Against Survivors of Military Sexual Violence

Ruth Moore was raped by her supervisor while serving in the Navy. After she left the service, she fought for 23 years with the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA") before obtaining disability benefits based on the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ("PTSD") she experienced after the sexual assault. She is one of many veterans who faced, and continue to face, a difficult and unfair struggle with the VA to obtain the compensation they deserve.

By By Sandra S. Park, ACLU Women's Rights Project

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