Toke of the Town

Author Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

Cities And Towns Vote Against Marijuana Prohibition

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By on Legislation, News

WWMT.com

Statewide victories in Colorado and Washington (legalization) and Massachusetts (medical marijuana) weren’t the only blows our country’s failed marijuana policies were dealt on Election Day. A number of cities and towns voted against cannabis prohibition, as well.
In Michigan, voters overwhelmingly approved all four citywide measures to stop arresting marijuana users, reports the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). Grand Rapids voters replaced possible jail time for simple possession of marijuana with a fine. In Detroit and Flint, voters removed local criminal penalties for marijuana possession. In Ypsilanti, marijuana possession will now be the lowest law enforcement priority.
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Marijuana Legalization: We Won This Battle, But It Isn’t Over

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By on Culture, Legislation

David Stevens / Cheryl Shuman
Amendment 64 supporters Tuesday night celebrate the legalization of marijuana in Colorado

By Dr. Robert Townsend
         
“The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will,” Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said in a written statement released by his office. “This will be a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug so don’t break out the Cheetos or gold fish too quickly.”
The voters have spoken indeed. Legalization in the face of federal law has passed by a large margin in two states, we added the 18th medical state, we nearly got a 19th in the South, and all ballot initiatives supportive of cannabis passed in Michigan. But like the Colorado governor demonstrates, there are many politicians rushing to smoke filled back rooms to try and figure out a way to circumvent the will of the voters. 
Is he isolated in his views? We see so many examples of politicians like Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and agencies like the Department of Justice, HUD, and the ATF doing everything they can to maintain the status quo of prohibition. Private employers hide behind federal law to discriminate against the sick, adopting the position that it is OK to show up to work stoned out of your mind on oxycontin, but if you used cannabis 3 weeks ago… welcome to the world of unemployment. 
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DEA Says It Will Ignore Marijuana Legalization

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By on Legislation, News

Opposing Views

What do our servants in the federal government do when the voters have spoken? They promptly announce their intention to ignore the voters. At least, that’s what happens when it comes to the marijuana laws.

The citizens of Colorado and Washington may have thought the decision was theirs on whether to legalize cannabis — that they’d have the final say in the matter. But a spokesperson for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has other ideas.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged,” an agency spokesperson blithely told Reason this morning, Mike Riggs reports.
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Pro-Legalization Cops Cheer Marijuana Reform Election Results

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By on Legislation, News

LEAP

Nine States and Localities Vote for More Sensible Drug Laws
In a historic night for drug law reformers, on Tuesday, Colorado and Washington voters passed measures legalizing and regulating marijuana, Massachusetts became the 18th state to allow medical marijuana and six localities voted to modernize policies on marijuana.
“I cannot tell you how happy I am that after 40 years of the racist, destructive exercise in futility that is the war on drugs, my home state of Washington has now put us on a different path,” said Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief who is now a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).
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How To Avoid A Marijuana DUI Charge Under WA’s I-502

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By on Legislation, News

Bail Bonds Guys
This scene, unfortunately, is likely to play out many times in Washington state with legal marijuana and a strict new DUI rule. Here’s how you can improve your chances

By Anthony Martinelli
Communications Director
Initiative 502 has passed in Washington State, with portions of the measure becoming law on December 6th of this year (the one-ounce decrim and the new DUID mandate). The rest will follow a year later. Regardless of what side of the debate you were on, this is the reality of our current cannabis policies in Washington State. Part of Initiative 502 will soon be law.
We first want to congratulate those behind this initiative on their success. National headlines proclaiming that “Washington State Has Legalized Marijuana” will benefit the movement, and decriminalization of an ounce will stop many unneeded misdemeanors.
That said, we opposed this initiative for good reason. Rhetoric and politics aside, the new driving under the influence of drugs policy for THC, which is per se (meaning your blood level, not actual impairment, is the determining factor for guilt), will ensnare innocent individuals, especially patients, and especially those under 21, for whom it’s a zero tolerance policy.
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CA Votes To Reform ‘Three Strikes’ Mandatory Minimum Law

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By on Legislation, News

Los Angeles Times
California’s badly overcrowded prisons and jails are one of the most visible signs of the failure of mandatory minimum sentences

Proposition 36 Puts End to 25-to-Life Sentences for Minor Drug Law Violations and Other Nonviolent Crimes
California’s voters appear to have voted overwhelmingly to reform their state’s draconian “three strikes” law. The measure, Proposition 36, which enjoyed a huge lead in early returns, will close a controversial loophole in the law so that life sentences can only be imposed when the new felony conviction is “serious or violent.”
Three strikes laws, often known as “habitual offender” laws, grew out of the “tough on crime” era of the 1980s and 90s. Between 1993 and 1995, 24 states passed some kind of three strikes law, but California’s 1994 three-strikes ballot measure was especially harsh.
While the law required the first and second strike to be either violent or serious, any infraction can trigger a third strike and the life sentence that goes with it. Therefore, petty offenses – such as stealing a piece of pizza – have led to life imprisonment for thousands of people.
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Washington Becomes 2nd State In One Day To Legalize Marijuana

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By on Legislation, News

Nuggetry

Voters Say Yes To Regulation, Taxation Plan

Isn’t it just the way it always goes? Nothing for 75 years, then two states in one day. Washington voters resoundingly approved Initiative 502, which regulates and taxes marijuana production in the state, with 56 percent voting Yes and 44 percent voting No.

The state’s voters on Tuesday evening joined those of Colorado, from which results had become final earlier, in legalizing cannabis.

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Marijuana Legalized In Colorado: Voters Flex Their Power

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By on Legislation, News

Nugs.com

LEGAL
Colorado has become the first state in the history of the U.S. to legalize marijuana. Voters in the Rocky Mountain State decided it’s high time to just get over 75 years of nonsense around the cannabis plant.

According to early returns, 53 percent of state voters approved Amendment 64, which, according to its sponsors, will restore some sanity to Colorado’s marijuana laws by treating cannabis much more like alcohol and less like an illegal drug.
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Medical Marijuana States Welcome Massachusetts

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By on Legislation, Medical, News

Medical Marijuana Blog

It’s official: Massachusetts is becoming the 18th medical marijuana state in the U.S.

Massachusetts voters Tuesday night approved a new law legalizing the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes by people with cancer, hepatitis C, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, glaucoma, HIV, AIDs, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis and other serious conditions.
Voters didn’t just approve the initiative. They, well, MASSively approved it by 63 percent to 37 percent, unequivocal landslide numbers equalling those of medical marijuana’s previous biggest victory — that one in Michigan.
The full text of the initiative, Question 3, is available here [PDF].
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