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Who’s In Charge At UK Cannabis Law Reform Group CLEAR?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 18, 2012 Culture, Global, News

Peter Reynolds of CLEAR is engaged in a tug-of-war with ex-members of the organization’s Executive Committee

By Denzil White

Special to Toke of the Town

In suit and tie, Peter Reynolds looks more like an extra from the set of Mad Men than like the hairy-headed hippie stereotype of a cannabis activist. He’s definitely not hairy-headed, but when he promised to clean up the image of cannabis campaigning in the UK, few people expected the makeover to result in a beauty only skin deep.

Claiming a background in advertising and public relations, Peter Reynolds won leadership of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, a small, single-issue political party, then set about changing the name of the party to CLEAR (Cannabis Law Reform) and brought on help to spruce up the party’s website and logo.

Reynolds wrote at the time, “We will build a new and effective brand and campaign. We are reasonable, responsible, respectable members of society from all walks of life and professions.”

Things were looking good; MPs hit Reynolds’ “Friend” button on Facebook and the CLEAR “Comment Warriors” plagued the popular press with pro-cannabis comments on any article reporting a factory raid or medicinal marijuana critique.

Massachusetts Towns Giving Up On Marijuana Enforcement

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on August 23, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: ABC News

Some Massachusetts towns are throwing in the towel when it comes to marijuana enforcement. Puzzlingly, some folks, mostly cops, seem upset about that.

Some towns in Massachusetts have given up enforcing the state’s marijuana law which decriminalized the possession of small amounts of pot, saying the law is written with too many loopholes to be effective.

The decrim law established a civil fine of $100 for those caught with an ounce or less of cannabis. That punishment replaced what had been a criminal offense carrying a penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine, also for possession of an ounce or less.

But the decrim law, which voters overwhelmingly passed in November 2008, doesn’t require offenders to correctly identify themselves, nor does it give a way for cities to make them pay the fines, reports The Associated Press.

What has resulted is a patchwork of marijuana enforcement across Massachusetts, as some communities continue to hand out hundreds of the $100 civil citations for pot, while others look the other way when it comes to personal cannabis use.