Yearly Archives: 2011

Idaho Lawmaker Introduces Medical Marijuana Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Idaho patients have already fought long and hard to legally use the medicine which works best for them.

A northern Idaho lawmaker has once again introduced a bill which would legalize medical marijuana in the state.

Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow) earlier this week sponsored the Idaho Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act to establish a system for patients to legally obtain and use marijuana with a doctor’s approval, reports The Associated Press.

The bill would allow patients with illnesses like cancer, AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis to have access to legal marijuana grown and distributed through state-monitored dispensaries.

It’s time for legislators to help reduce the suffering of seriously ill citizens, according to Trail.

If the bill passes, patients would need authorization from a doctor to get medical marijuana. Patients or their caregivers would also have to register with the state.

Ban Overturned! Phillies Blunts Can Be Sold In Philly Again

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2011 Legislation, Products

Photo: The Montana Chronicles

Here’s the beginning of making a Phillies Blunt live up to its full potential.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Philadelphia law banning the sale of “blunt cigars” in places other than tobacco shops and hotels.

The high court agreed with several cigar companies, ruling that the Philadelphia City Council has no authority to pass such a ban. According to the court’s ruling, only the state can ban blunts, reports Mike Dunn at CBS Philly.

The justices ruled that blunts are covered under the state’s Controlled Substances Act, which preempts local legislation.

Stanford Pushes To Legalize Cannabis In Oregon

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: KATU

Paul Stanford, THCF: Prohibition of cannabis hemp, destroying lives and families in the process, is truly evil.

If Paul Stanford has his way, cannabis will become legal in Oregon next year. The executive director of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation (THCF) is working to get a measure on the ballot in 2012 to legalize marijuana in the Beaver State.

Pot should be taxed like cigarettes and alcohol to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state, according to Stanford, who said cannabis would be regulated and sold to people over the age of 21, reports Joe Raineri at KATU.

“We want to regulate it so that businesses like bars and taverns that bar the admission of minors can offer that as a business,” Stanford said.

Montel Williams Supports Medical Marijuana Bill In Maryland

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Marijuana Policy Project

Montel Williams: “Every day that they delay is another one of needless suffering for patients like me all across the state”

Multiple sclerosis patient and media celebrity Montel Williams will speak at a press conference Monday in Annapolis in support of legislation that would make Maryland the nation’s 16th state allowing physician-approved use of medical marijuana.

Williams grew up in Baltimore, where his father was the city’s first African-American fire chief, Montel graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis and retired from the U.S. Navy as a decorated Naval Intelligence officer after more than two decades of service before starting his second career as a TV talk show host.

In 1999, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Following his diagnosis, he created the Montel Williams MS Foundation, which is committed to raising awareness of the disease and providing inspiration to those who live with MS.

Williams has advocated for the compassionate use of medical marijuana in a number of states that have approved or are considering new laws.

Montel will be joined at the Maryland press conference Monday by the chief sponsors of the state’s medical marijuana legislation: physician and Delegate Dan Morhaim, and Senators Jamie Raskin and David Brinkley, both cancer survivors.

NORML Director Predicts 2012 Cannabis Initiatives In Four States

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: Nilo Radio

NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre: “This is the generation that’s going to be at the vanguard of legalization”

Marijuana initiatives will likely be on the ballot next year in at least four U.S. states — California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington — according to Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

“I think these states are going to try to pass initiatives in 2012,” St. Pierre told about 80 attendees at a University of Central Florida NORML meeting Wednesday night, reports Katie Kustura at the UCF student newspaper, Central Florida Future.

However, St. Pierre warned, if they don’t reach the “magic number” of 58.5 percent in favor and maintain that support for at least six months, any initiative — marijuana related or not — will not succeed.

One of the reasons that probably led to the failure of California’s Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana there, is the fact that it was “too detailed” and left proponents open to attack from the opposition, according to St. Pierre.

Florida Cop Picks A Bud From Seized Pot Plant, Gets Busted

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2011 News

Photo: Chip Osowski/TBO.com

Officer Ricard Flores was charged with burglary, petty theft and possession of marijuana after picking a bud from a plant seized for evidence

What is it with these stoner cops, anyway? Can’t they buy their own supply?

A Florida police officer was arrested and suspended Wednesday after he took a bud of marijuana from a large quantity of pot the department had seized in an investigation, according to the Winter Haven Police Department.

Ricardo Flores, 36, was charged with burglary of a conveyance, petty theft and possession of marijuana, less than 20 grams, reports Tampa Bay Online. He was booked into Polk County Jail and his being held without bail, according to the jail website.

N.J. Medical Marijuana Advocates Blast Proposed Regulations

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: NY Post

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie has been accused of needlessly delaying safe access to medical marijuana by proposing unworkable regulations

Medical marijuana advocates on Thursday said the regulations New Jersey has proposed for medicinal cannabis make no sense for businesses, patients or doctors.

A state Senate hearing consisted mostly of advocates criticizing the proposed regulations, which had few defenders there, reports The Associated Press.

The hearing was one step in a rarely used constitutional maneuver the Legislature is using in an attempt to force Gov. Chris Christie’s health department to come up with more workable regulations.

Some lawmakers contend that the rules drafted by the Christie Administration don’t follow the intent of the legislation through with the Legislature authorized medical marijuana. Activists have also accused Christie of dragging his feet and needlessly delaying safe access for the state’s seriously ill patients.

Cannabis Association Supports Medical Marijuana Reform In WA

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: OC NORML

The Washington Cannabis Association has announced its support for a historic and sweeping medical cannabis reform bill — S. 5073 — which is set to have its first legislative committee hearing Thursday in the State Senate’s Health and Long-Term Care Committee.

According to a January 20 press release from the group, the WCA “supports the bill with some modifications and recognizes that it could clean up our state’s medical cannabis law for the good of medical cannabis patients, their providers and law enforcement.”

Sponsored by State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Queen Anne), S. 5073 [PDF] would for the first time offer Washington medical marijuana patients true arrest protection and would offer legal protection to dispensaries and producers, while also regulating them under the authority of state agencies.

R.I. Lawmaker Again Seeks Decriminalization Of Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: Zazzle

Rep. John G. Edwards (D-Tiverton) has again introduced legislation to decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana in Rhode Island.

Possession of any amount of marijuana is currently a criminal offense, punishable by up to a year in jail and $500 fine, reports Katherine Gregg at The Providence Journal.

Under Edwards’ proposal which he is introducing for the second year in a row, possession of an ounce or less of pot would instead be a civil offense, subject to a $150 fine.

“My intent with this legislation remains the same: to provide some relief to the taxpayers of our state,” Edwards said. “In these difficult times, we must look for ways to cut costs wherever we can.

Makers Of Natl. Geographic Marijuana Special Misled Participant

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2011 Culture, Products

Photo: National Geographic Channel

Michael Hayne in the National Georgraphic documentary “High On Marijuana”: “I was manipulated and given false assurances. If only I could sue the bastards.”

One interviewee featured in the current National Geographic pot documentary, “High On Marijuana,” has told Toke of the Town he was “manipulated and given false assurances” that the show — widely criticized in the cannabis community for its alarmist portrayal of the herb — would be an impartial look at cannabis.

I mean, come on. How are we supposed to take a supposedly “scientific” show seriously when it describes the onset of marijuana’s effects as like “terrorists taking over the brain”?

As Toke of the Town pointed out before the show aired, the fact that the show features testimony from those who have, to quote Nat Geo, “been addicted,” was something of a red flag to those of us who were expecting an impartial viewpoint. Still, it came as a disappointment that the show turned out to be a “breathless piece of anti-pot hogwash,” as we had predicted.

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