Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Marijuana Decrim Headed To The Ballot In Miami Beach

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 12, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: CSMP

Miami Beach, Florida voters may get a chance to vote on decriminalizing marijuana this fall, making it the first city in South Florida to reduce the penalty for pot to a $100 fine instead of criminal charges.

Sensible Florida (Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy), a group which works to legalize cannabis, said it has collected more than double the number of signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot, reports Tim Elfrink at Miami New Times; normally, doubling the required number all-but-ensures that enough valid names are present to qualify.

The group said it will present 9,000 signatures at Miami Beach City Hall on Wednesday, July 13.

Indiana State Senator Gets Support For Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 12, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: IN.gov

Cannabis grows beautifully in Indiana — witness the above, from Greens Fork last August (unfortunately busted after a tipster called it in).

When Indiana state Senator Karen Tallian first floated the idea of introducing a bill to legalize marijuana, her Statehouse colleagues warned her it could kill her chances of being reelected. After all, conventional wisdom holds that pot legalization is a political third rail.

But Tallian (D-Portage), 60, a mother of three, thought there might be some public support for taking the crime out of cannabis, so she sent out an informal email survey to her constituents in northeast Indiana, reports Maureen Hayden at the CNHI Statehouse Bureau.

Within 72 hours of sending the email, she got more than 2,000 responses. Almost all of them were supportive, and most of those said Indiana should treat marijuana like alcohol: Control its sale and tax it as a revenue source.

“I was floored by the response,” Tallian said. Encouraged by the support, she filed a bill last January to begin a serious conversation about the issue.

Sources: Prosecutor Wants Mercy For Willie Nelson In Pot Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 12, 2011 Culture, News

Photo: I Love Weed

Willie has never been shy about his continuing love for and frequent use of marijuana.

Willie Nelson’s prosecutor in a Texas marijuana possession case may not be going along with the judge who rejected a plea deal struck with the country legend and sought harsher punishment.

Becky Dean-Walker, the judge in Willie’s pot case said the plea deal struck between Nelson and District Attorney C.R. Bramblett — in which the singer would have paid a $500 fine and the case would have gone away — smacked of leniency because of Nelson’s star status.

Judge Dean-Walker, sporting a garish vintage 1980s trailer-park hairdo, told the prosecutor to come up with a harsher punishment, with a maximum of one year in jail.

“There’s a strong possibility that the prosecutor will not recommend a stronger punishment, but instead just sit on the case until it’s dismissed for lack of prosecution,” reports TMZ.

“Call it defiant, but the prosecutor is riding a wave in Texas to treat marijuana possession for what it is… and not fill the overcrowded jails with recreational potheads,” TMZ wrote.

Mounties Let ‘Honest’ Pot-Smoking Driver Through Checkpoint

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 12, 2011 Global, News

Photo: The Wyckoff Journal

A Canadian man who smoked a joint while an RCMP officer chatted with drivers a few cars ahead of him at a roadside checkpoint last week was allowed to continue on his way after he gave up his small stash of marijuana.

The man, from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, was upfront when asked if he had “smoked any dope recently,” reports Brian Medel at the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. Yes, he said — about 30 seconds ago.

But at least his seat belt was fastened, and he was courteous and cooperative. Even though the aroma of freshly smoked cannabis wafted up through the air as the officers waved him up, “he seemed fine,” so after he put his small weed stash into the outstretched hand of a Mountie, he was on his way.

Unemployment Pay Awarded To Fired Medical Marijuana Patient

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 12, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: 303 Magazine

A medical marijuana patient in Colorado has been rewarded unemployment benefits after being fired from his job for positive drug test results.

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled in Sosa v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office that the evidence presented by an employer at a claims hearing fell short of proving a sufficient basis for the denial of unemployment benefits to the man, who tested positive in the employer’s drug screen, according to Lexology.

A registered medical marijuana patient was required to undergo urinalysis when his supervisor claimed the employee exhibited “behavior suggesting he might be under the influence of drugs.”

When asked to undergo testing, he responded that he would likely test positive, as he was a medical marijuana patient and had recently consumed marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Seattle May License Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Photo: Steve Elliott

Safe access is in danger for medical marijuana patients in Seattle and across the state of Washington since Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed most of a bill that would have legalized dispensaries in the state. But now, the Seattle City Council is attempting to license and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the state’s largest city.

After Gov. Gregoire’s veto — which she claimed was due to her concern that state workers would be arrested and federally prosecuted for administering the dispensary program, although that’s never happened in any medical marijuana state — patients across Washington are worried.

Video of the Day: Ethan Nadelmann on Real Time with Bill Maher

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2011 Culture, News

Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, discusses the failed War On Drugs and the prospect of marijuana legalization in this one-on-one interview on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.

White House Slams Marijuana Legalization In New Report

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2011 News

Photo: LEAP

Neill Franklin, LEAP: “I cannot understand why they’re dumping more money into arrests, punishment and prisons that the Bush administration ever did”

“Who ever heard of curing a health problem with handcuffs?”

~ Neill Franklin, LEAP

On Monday the Obama Administration released its new National Drug Control Strategy for 2011 and, instead of coming through with its much-touted “shift” in drug control resources toward prevention and away from punishment, the document spends several pages disparaging the idea of legalizing and regulating substances like marijuana.

“It’s sad that the drug czar decided to insert a multi-page rant against legalizing and regulating drugs into the National Drug Control Strategy instead of actually doing his job and shifting limited resources to combat the public health problem of drug abuse,” said Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and a former Baltimore narcotics cop.

“Obama administration officials continually talk about the fact that addiction is a medical problem, but when our budgets are so strained I cannot understand why they’re dumping more money into arrests, punishment and prisons than the Bush administration ever did,” Franklin said. “The fact is, once we legalize and regulate drugs, we will not only allow police to focus on stopping violent crime instead of being distracted by arresting drug users, but we will also be able to put the resources that are saved into building treatment and prevention programs that actually work.

Supporters To Hold Miami Beach Marijuana Decrim Rally

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: CSMP

In a small but important success, a marijuana decriminalization measure has qualified for the ballot this fall in Miami Beach, Florida, and supporters have scheduled a rally for Wednesday, July 13, at 4:20 p.m.

“We are working to generate a huge crowd for this historic event,” said campaign organizer Eric Stevens of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy (Sensible Florida). “We need to get as many people as possible at the rally.”

“One of our plans is to have planes with banners flying all around Miami Beach to let people know that this is happening,” Stevens said. “Imagine how cool it would be to see a plane flying overhead announcing a marijuana rally at City Hall on Miami Beach as we work to present the voices of thousands of people who signed the petition to change the marijuana laws!”

Federal Medical Marijuana ‘Clarification’ Another Disappointment

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: Roger Goodman for Congress

Roger Goodman: “Sorry, DOJ. Please give it another try.”

Last week’s Department of Justice memo, supposedly meant to “clarify” the DOJ’s position on medical marijuana, doesn’t reflect any real changes in policy from prior administrations.

This latest “clarification” was seemingly needed after a prior “clarification” in 2009 gave many the impression that the DOJ would not prosecute medical marijuana patients and providers in states that had authorized such programs.

That 2009 document, called the “Ogden Memo,” did not actually provide for a hard change in policy, but rather directed U.S. Attorneys to be careful in how they use their limited department resources, suggesting that prosecuting medical marijuana patients is not a good use of government funds.

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