Legislation

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Harris Poll: Most Americans Want To Legalize Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 31, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

The marijuana legalization debate has caught fire. When asked if they would support legalizing cannabis in their state, three out of four Americans — 74 percent — say they support legalization of medical marijuana, with almost half (48 percent) saying they strongly support it, according to a new Harris Poll. Fewer than one in five Americans (18 percent) say they oppose legalizing medical marijuana in their state.

Americans are less supportive of legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Two in five (42 percent) support legalizing recreational use in in their state, and half (49 percent) oppose it.

Surprisingly to some, adults in the East are most supportive of legalizing marijuana for medical use (80 percent) and recreational use (50 percent). The West is the next most supportive region, with 76 percent supporting medical marijuana and 50 percent favoring the legalizing of recreational marijuana.

50th Anniversary Of Treaty Outlawing Cannabis Worldwide

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 30, 2011 Global, Legislation

Photo: The Vaults of Erowid

Harry J. Anslinger is responsible for both the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, effectively outlawing cannabis in the U.S., and the 1961 Single Convention Treaty on Narcotic Drugs, which outlawed weed worldwide and is still in effect.

Today, March 30, 2011, marks an unhappy birthday. Fifty years ago, marijuana became illegal worldwide.

The Single Convention Treaty on Narcotic Drugs, which started the international policy of cannabis prohibition, was signed on this day in 1961. In accordance with the treaty, marijuana is still illegal in every country on Earth — including the Netherlands, where laws remain on the books despite official policy “tolerating” its use.

The Single Convention Treaty was the handiwork of the powerful ex-director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, Harry Anslinger, architect of the first federal cannabis prohibition law, the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act.

“Anslinger had pushed for a treaty against cannabis in order to shore up the act’s dubious constitutionality under U.S. law,” said Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML. (The act was later declared unconstitutional for other reasons, only to be supplanted by the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, which kicked off Nixon’s War On Drugs.)

“Today, the international treaty stands as the principal cause of prohibition-related crime and violence worldwide with drug wars from Mexico to Afghanistan plus the criminalization of millions of users,” Gieringer said.

Cannabis Industry, Congressman Promote $1.7 Billion Business

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 30, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: NCIA

The National Cannabis Industry Association, the first national trade organization advancing the interests of marijuana-related businesses, on Wednesday discussed the federal legislative needs of the industry at an event at the National Press Club.

Leaders of the industry joined Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colorado), as well as the manager of See Change Strategy, an independent firm that last week released the first-ever financial analysis of the legal medical marijuana industry in the United States.

The See Change report, based on interviews with more than 300 people in the industry, estimated the total legal medical cannabis market at $1.7 billion in 2011.

San Diego Passes Restrictive New Medical Marijuana Rules

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 29, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Nug Magazine

The San Diego City Council on Monday approved restrictive new medical marijuana regulations that will force more than 165 dispensaries in the city to close in the near future and apply for permits to operate.

San Diego becomes the 43rd city in California to pass sweeping limitations on medical marijuana collectives, which have multiplied at a speed that has alarmed city officials, reports Christopher Cadelago at Sign On San Diego. At least 214 California cities have permanent bans on the facilities, according to the Coalition for a Drug Free California.

Oregon Marijuana Legalization Petition Approved; Drive Starts

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 28, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: OCTA 2012

Organizers of a new Oregon state marijuana legalization initiative campaign, Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012 (OCTA 2012), are kicking off their petition drive and opening a new office. The Oregon Secretary of State’s Election Division just announced the approval of the petition, Initiative Number 9, for circulation and signature gathering on March 24.

Initiative organizers will have until July 7, 2012 to gather 90,000 registered Oregon voters’ signatures to qualify for the November 6, 2012 ballot.

Petitioners rallied at their new office in Portland starting at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, March 28 and held a news conference at 10 a.m. The state campaign committee is working to achieve ballot status in three ways: hiring paid petitioners, organizing volunteer petitioners and soliciting Oregon registered voters’ signatures online.

“We’re wasting a lot of money right now on prohibition of marijuana,” said campaign manager Jennifer Alexander, reports KPTV. “We’re losing a lot of industrial benefits from not having hemp.”

The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 2012 would regulate the legal sale of marijuana to adults through state-licensed stores, allow adults to grow their own, license Oregon farmers to grow marijuana for state-licensed stores and allow unlicensed Oregon farmers to grow cannabis hemp for fuel, fiber and food.

OCTA 2012 will raise $140 million a year by taxing commercial cannabis sales to adults 21 years of age and older, and save an estimated $61.5 million as law enforcement, corrections and judicial attention can focus on violent crimes and theft.

Cannabis Industry To Meet With Congressman, Discuss Legislation

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 28, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: Jeff Fryer/flickr

Rep. Jared Polis (C-Colorado) will meet on Wednesday with members of the National Cannabis Trade Association to discuss the federal legislative needs of marijuana-related businesses.

The National Cannabis Industry Association, the first national trade organization dedicated to advancing the interests of marijuana-related businesses, will discuss the federal legislative needs of the industry at the National Press Club this Wednesday, March 30.

Prominent leaders in the industry will join Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colorado), as well as the manager of See Change Strategy, an independent firm that, on March 23, released the first-ever financial analysis of the legal medical cannabis industry in the United States.

This report, based on interviews with more than 300 people in the industry, projected the total legal medical cannabis market at $1.7 billion in 2011.

Medical Marijuana Study Bill Passes Maryland House

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 28, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Hemp Beach TV

HB 291 would create a panel which will make recommendations to the Maryland Legislature on how to safely and effectively implement a well-regulated medical marijuana program

Panel of Experts to Advise Legislature on State Medical Marijuana Policy

By an overwhelming vote of 105-29, the Maryland House of Delegates on Monday passed HB 291, a bill that would create an 18-member panel to advise the Legislature on the best way to create a medical marijuana program in 2012.

HB 291 was amended from an earlier version of the bill, which would have set up a comprehensive medical marijuana program, protecting state-registered patients from arrest and allowing state-regulated dispensaries to provide patients with medicinal cannabis.

The bill, sponsored by the only physician in the General Assembly, Del. Dan Morhaim, was amended after Health Secretary Josh Sharfstein advocated a “yellow light” approach to medical marijuana.

Cities Shutter Dispensaries; Legislature Moves To Legalize Them

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 25, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Courtney Blethen Riffkin/The Seattle Times

Laura Healy, of Green Hope Patient Network in Shoreline, Washington, which lost its business license, said cities are in a bind: “They’re trying to force the Legislature to step up to the plate”

Cities across Washington have moved to shut down a combined 35 medical marijuana dispensaries since February. The crackdown is occurring even as the Legislature is moving the legalize the cannabis collectives.

The crackdown is driven, at least in part, by a little-noticed memo from a municipal insurance risk pool, reports Jonathan Martin at the Seattle Times. The memo emphatically states that dispensaries are illegal and not entitled to business licenses, and that opinion has prompted Shoreline, Tacoma and other Seattle-area cities to action.

Bogus Medical Marijuana Map Released By S.D. City Council

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 25, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Stop the Ban

This is the REAL map showing just how restrictive San Diego’s proposed dispensary ordinance would actually be.

In advance of a San Diego City Council vote on an ordinance which would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, the Council published a map which supposedly shows areas where a collective could be located in the city under the ordinance as written. But the map is so inaccurate as to be misinformation, according to a local patient advocacy group.

“While we contend that even this map reflects a seriously restrictive ordinance that harms patients and communities, we were distressed to learn that this map is largely inaccurate and misinforms the public as to what degree of access this ordinance would allow,” said a statement from the Stop the Ban campaign.

The City Council’s map, the PDF of which has since been removed from the web, shows various “sensitivity uses” such as schools, child care centers, and libraries. But under the ordinance, dispensaries must also be located 1,000 feet away from churches and youth-serving facilities — and no churches or youth-serving facilities are included on the map.

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Bill Heads To WA House

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 24, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Reality Catcher

Although dispensaries are neither specifically allowed nor banned by Washington’s current medical marijuana law, more than 120 have opened.

The latest version of a plan to license medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington state and provide arrest protection for patients is headed for a vote in the state House after narrowly passing a committee on Wednesday.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Washington since voters approved Initiative 692 in 1998, but the law left confusion around how patients who qualify to use medical marijuana can legally get it.

The heavily amended Senate Bill 5073 would allow the state Health Department to decide how many dispensaries could be located in each county, and would set up a lottery to obtain a license, reports Jim Camden of the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

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