On September 13, 2018, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at U-M’s Ford School of Public Policy released a survey that found almost 75 percent of Michigan cities, townships, and villages report that they have chosen to prohibit medical...
Tamar Mitts and Robert Axelrod participated in a trilateral workshop on the roots and trajectories of violent extremism. Mitts spoke about the radicalization of Islamic State supporters on social media; Axelrod about the strengths and weaknesses of...
In the Latin American Advisor, Melvyn Levitsky questions the long-term impact of Uruguay’s decision to legalize marijuana. Uruguay is the first nation in the world to fully legalize marijuana. Next month, Uruguay will begin to permit the sale of...
BART EDES (MPP '87) is excited to report that he now oversees knowledge management at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). In this role, he guides ADB's efforts "to transform the way in which we create, collect, store, access, share, and apply what we...
Peter F. Lydens (MPA ’58) provides pro bono management consulting services to the city of Mount Airy, NC. He was Mount Airy’s first city manager (1961–63), and retired there in 2007.
Frank Spence (MPA ’60) was appointed planning commissioner for...
No one really knows when the Ford School put on its first holiday skit-fest, but the tradition goes back at least 23 years. In 1992, IPPS News reported on the latest faculty skit attempt (clearly not the first) with this review:“Jim Levinsohn, Gary...
Kary Moss has long advocated for reform to the state’s civil asset forfeiture laws. After years of lobbying and advocacy, she and other supporters may finally see changes to the controversial laws.The Senate is set to consider an eight-bill package,...
On February 19, Ambassador Melvyn Levitsky was quoted in a Mainstreet.com article on the push for marijuana legalization. Levitsky, a former member on the United Nations International Narcotics Board, voiced his opposition to marijuana...
On an episode of Michigan Radio's Stateside program, Melvyn Levitsky discusses the history of relaxed marijuana restrictions, as well as the federal and global implications of this trend. Levitsky, who has served as Assistant Secretary of State for...
Being ladylike does not require silence
There are photos and movies of Betty Ford in her family home from the 1960s. They show a caring homemaker and mother, busy looking after her husband and four young children in their suburban Virginia home....
Where is the Drug Policy Debate Headed Next?Question from Latin American AdvisorColorado and Washington state passed measures legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States' Nov. 6 election. Luis Videgaray, the head of President-elect...
Amb. Melvyn Levitsky discussed the friction between state and federal laws regarding medical marijuana on "The Vic McCarty Show."Levitsky, who sits on the board of directors for the Drug Free America Foundation, said Michigan's state law permitting...
The winter semester kicked off early for Ford School MPP students, who arrived back on campus before classes started for the annual Integrated Policy Exercise (IPE). The topic for this year's IPE was comprehensive immigration legislation, a package...
In a new book, Marijuana: A Short History, the Brookings Institution’s John Hudak profiles how policy has evolved; how factors like economics, racism, politics, and public opinion have shaped policy, and what the future of marijuana policy may hold.
John Hudak profiles how policy has evolved; how factors like economics, racism, politics, and public opinion have shaped policy, and what the future of marijuana policy may hold. September, 2016.
Melvyn Levitsky is a professor of international policy. He served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters in 1989-93 and had a seat on the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board in 2003-12.