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By Steve Elliott in
Legislation, News
Thursday, Jul. 29 2010 @ 2:24PM
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| Photo: KOZE950.com |
| Could marijuana legalization be in Washington state's future? The office of Gov. Chris Gregoire said Thursday that it's a "legitimate idea." |
When Gov. Gregoire opened an online suggestion box on ways to fix the state's budget, she may not have expected pot legalization to come in at first place. But it has been in the lead for more than a week now, and the governor's office even has a somewhat positive response.
"It's a legitimate idea," said Gregoire spokeswoman Karina Shagren, who said the Governor is reading the list herself, as is Marty Brown, the director of the governor's budget office. "But we'd like to see how the federal government would respond."
With marijuana legalization apparently so popular among Washington's (and America's) voters, the idea is being considered right along with the roughly 1,750 others that have been submitted so far.
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By Steve Elliott in
Legislation, News
Thursday, Jul. 29 2010 @ 12:58PM
The state cannot take children away from a mother simply because she tests positive for marijuana use, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday.
According to the decision, reversing a Marion County juvenile court ruling, the children can't be taken away without evidence showing the mother's cannabis use endangers the kids, reports Helen Jung at The Oregonian.
The juvenile court had earlier ruled that the state Department of Human Services had jurisdiction over the two children, a 19-month-old and a 6-month-old. The state had argued that the simple fact fact that the mother used marijuana "presented a reasonable likelihood of harm to her two children."
But the appeals court reasonably agreed with the mother's argument that the state had failed to provide any evidence connecting her marijuana use with risk to the children.
The children and the mother are identified only by their initials in the case to protect their anonymity.
By Steve Elliott in
Legislation, Medical
Thursday, Jul. 29 2010 @ 12:25PM
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| Graphic: LA Progressive |
The ASA legal filing points to a policy directive issued last week by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), recognizing medical marijuana and distinguishing it from other illegal controlled substances.
In its brief, ASA says that the VHA directive bolsters advocates' arguments that marijuana does indeed have medical value.
"Recognition of marijuana's therapeutic benefits by a federal agency makes it more difficult for the government to argue against marijuana's medical value," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford, who filed the notice with the court.
By Steve Elliott in
Legislation, Medical
Wednesday, Jul. 28 2010 @ 9:14AM
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| Graphic: Cannabis Defense Coalition |
The worst part is that the bill was written and sponsored by Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic senator from California!
S. 258, the "Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act," was introduced by Sen. Feinstein and is using a hyped-up media scare about "candy flavored methamphetamine" to attack medical marijuana patients and providers.
Since there is no national trend toward lacing candy and other edibles with meth or any other drug besides cannabis, this bill clearly targets legitimate medical marijuana dispensaries, caregivers and patients in states that have legalized it as medicine.
By Steve Elliott in
Dispensaries, Legislation
Tuesday, Jul. 27 2010 @ 6:10PM
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| Photo: Opposing Views |
The District joins 14 other states across the U.S. in having effective medical marijuana laws.
By Steve Elliott in
Legislation, News
Tuesday, Jul. 27 2010 @ 12:10PM
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| Graphic: SF Appeal |
| Prop 19 is ahead by 16 points! Is it November yet? |
The new PPP poll (PDF) shows the largest margin of support yet seen from recent polling on Prop 19, reports policy analyst Jon Walker at FireDogLake.
Interestingly, the poll found Prop 19 support among African Americans to be very high, possibly influenced by the California NAACP's recent endorsement of the legalization measure.
African Americans are the strongest supporters of Prop 19, with 68 percent in favor and 32 percent against, followed by whites who support it 53 percent to 37 percent.
By Steve Elliott in
Culture, Legislation
Monday, Jul. 26 2010 @ 12:17PM
Photo: ACLU-WA Famed travel writer and TV host Rick Steves will be among the panelists at "Where Is Marijuana Reform Heading?", a public forum in Seattle on September 12 sponsored by the WA ACLU.
Sure, it seems that the wind is at our backs. The tantalizing possibility of marijuana legalization looks more possible than it ever has before. But what comes next?
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington on September 12 will present a discussion on the history, current status, and future of marijuana-law reform in Washington and the United States.
The event will be Sunday, September 12, 2010, 7 pm - pm (doors open at 6:30 pm), at the Great Hall at Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Avenue at Seneca Street. Enter on 8th Avenue. (Directions and Parking)
Local and national panelists include travel writer Rick Steves; Keith Stroup, founder of and legal counsel to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML); Washington state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles; Rob Kampia, co-founder and executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP); and Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA).
By Steve Elliott in
Legislation, News
Thursday, Jul. 22 2010 @ 12:11PM
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| Graphic: LEAP |
Either you support the failed Drug War party line, or your opinion isn't welcome. That seems to be the policy at a U.S. government-sponsored substance treatment conference in Chicago next week. Innovative solutions like legalization aren't even allowed at the table.
After accepting registration payment from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at first told the police group that its booth was being cancelled at the National Conference on Women, Addiction and Recovery "because of overbooking and space concerns."
By Steve Elliott in
Legislation, News
Thursday, Jul. 22 2010 @ 10:49AM
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| Graphic: Yes On Prop 19 |
The report (PDF) confirms that Prop 19 will enable state and local governments to tax marijuana and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
According to the report, "Proposition 19 allows local governments to authorize, regulate, and tax various commercial marijuana-related activities... We estimate that the state and local governments could eventually collect hundreds of millions of dollars annual in additional revenues.
The California Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO), which provides nonpartisan fiscal and policy advice, released the report Tuesday.
Proposition 109 would enable California to sensibly adjust police priorities, according to the report.
By Steve Elliott in
Legislation, Medical
Monday, Jul. 19 2010 @ 8:49AM
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| Graphic: KFBB |
At least two GOP lawmakers plan to introduce bills in the 2011 Legislature -- which begins in January -- to repeal the medical marijuana law altogether, reports Daniel Person at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
This spring, the Montana GOP added to its platform the belief that the state's medical marijuana law should be either "amended or repealed," with several Republican lawmakers putting forward repeal bills. The state Democratic Party platform does not address the issue of medical marijuana.
