Legislation

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Can Legally Using Medical Marijuana Get You Fired?

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

Most companies won’t fire you for prescription drug use. But they’ll sack your ass in a heartbeat for the medical use of marijuana — even in states where it’s legal.

Washington Supreme Court To Decide

Washington voters approved the medical use of marijuana back in 1998, but state law is unclear on whether employees can be fired for legally using cannabis. Now, 13 years after voters legalized medicinal pot, that question is likely to be answered by the Washington Supreme Court, which heard a test case on the issue last month, reports Jonathan Martin at The Seattle Times.

229 Marijuana Dispensaries Make Deadline For L.A.’s Lottery

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 25, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Photo: Kevork Djansezian

More than 200 medical marijuana dispensaries have applied to be in a lottery to select 100 legal dispensaries in Los Angeles.

The lottery is L.A.’s second try at narrowing down the number of pot shops in the city, reports John Hoeffel at the Los Angeles Times. The first attempt relied on a moratorium ordinance, but was ruled unconstitutional by a judge.

According to the city clerk’s office, 229 applicants had filed by the February 18 deadline to participate in the lottery. The office released only the number of applicants, declining to provide any information on them.

OR Medical Marijuana Patients Protest Proposed Restrictions

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 24, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Kobbi R. Blair/Statesman Journal

About 60 medical marijuana advocates gathered Wednesday at the Oregon Capitol to demonstrate against proposed legislation that would tighten restrictions on the state’s medical marijuana program.

Medical marijuana activists demonstrated at the Oregon Capitol on Wednesday, protesting proposed legislation that would put new restrictions on medicinal cannabis in the state.

A rally on the Capitol steps drew about 60 protestors, some holding signs reading “Cannabis Is My Friend” and “Don’t Tread On Medicine,” reports Alan Gustafson at the Statesman Journal.

Demonstrators registered their opposition to a flurry of new bills introduced in the 2011 legislative session seeking to narrow participation or enact other changes in the state’s medical marijuana program, established after voters approved the legalization of medicinal cannabis in 1998.

Poll: 72% Of Maryland Voters Support Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 23, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Cannabis Fantastic

An overwhelming majority of Maryland voters — 72 percent — support medical marijuana. Maybe it’s time for the politicians to catch up.

A new poll shows broad, overwhelming support for a bill that would make Maryland the 16th state to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. When asked if they supported the bill, 72 percent said yes, with just 21 percent opposed and 7 percent undecided.

The survey informed voters of a bill pending in the Legislature that would allow patients with multiple sclerosis, cancer, debilitating pain, and other serious conditions to use marijuana with their doctors’ approval.

“I’m certainly pleased by the poll, but frankly, these numbers don’t surprise me,” said the bill’s sponsor, Del. Dan Morhaim, the only licensed physician in the Maryland General Assembly. “There’s a strong consensus among medical and scientific professionals that marijuana can relieve the suffering of those with certain serious illnesses, and there’s nothing controversial about relieving suffering. That’s what this bill is about.”

California Bill Would Keep Marijuana Growers Out Of Prison

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 22, 2011 Growing, Legislation

Photo: Stuff Stoners Like

Legislation to keep Californians convicted of illegal marijuana cultivation out of state prisons has been introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco).

Assembly Bill 1017 would set a maximum sentence of one year in county jail for people convicted of illegal cultivation, reports Peter Hecht at The Sacramento Bee. Current California law regards cannabis growing as a felony, with up to three years in state prison, and even stiffer sentences if the cultivation is connected to illegal sales or trafficking.

The bill would also make it easier for non-medical marijuana growers to be charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony, according to Ammiano’s spokesman, Quintin Mecke. “It will make everything a wobbler,” Mecke said.

Montana House Votes Again To Repeal Medical Marijuana Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: News Junkie Post

Speaker of the House Mike Milburn (R-Cascade) preens as he prepares to accept his nomination as Speaker in the Montana Legislature. One of Milburn’s first acts as Speaker was to call for the repeal of Montana’s medical marijuana law, which would end safe access for patients.

On an almost entirely party-line vote with Republicans in favor, the Montana House voted again on Saturday to repeal the state’s medical marijuana law, passed by voters in 2004, after a House panel supposedly looked at the repeal measure’s fiscal impacts.

House Bill 161, sponsored by Speaker Mike Milburn (R-Cascade), now faces a final house vote, probably on Monday, before heading to the Montana Senate, reports Charles S. Johnson at the Missoulian.

The House once again voted 63-37 to pass HB 161, with all 63 votes in favor coming from Republicans. All 32 House Democrats and five Republicans voted against repeal.

Colorado May Set Marijuana Blood Level Limit For Driving

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

Photo: Ed Andrieski/AP

Represenatives Claire Levy (D-Boulder), left, an d Mark Waller (R-Colorado Springs) go over notes on their marijuana DUI bill in the House Chamber at the Capitol in Denver, Colorado, February 18, 2011

What constitutes driving while high? The medical marijuana boom in Colorado has led to a debate in the Legislature of driving while under the influence of pot.

Lawmakers are looking at setting a DUI blood-content threshold for marijuana that would make Colorado one of only three states with such a law, reports Ivan Moreno at The Associated Press. According to sponsor Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder), it would be one of the most liberal.

Drivers who test positive for five nanograms or more of THC, a psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, would be considered too impaired to drive under the proposal if the substance is present in their blood at the time they’re pulled over, or within two hours.

Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In Kansas

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Kansas Medical Cannabis Network

Lawmakers on Monday introduced the Kansas Compassion and Care Act, which would make growing, selling, buying and smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes legal under state law.

“Legalizing medical marijuana in the state will not only allow those with debilitating conditions an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs, but will also help lower the amount of people that have to turn to the black market to obtain their medicine,” said Kyle Norton, director of Johnson County NORML.

House Bill 2330 has been referred to the House Committee on Health and Human Services for consideration and debate. Under this measure, patients with certain debilitating conditions would be able to use medical cannabis without fear of reprisal under state law, reports JoCo NORML.

The bill would also protect patients’ rights as employees, tenants, and parents. A patient registry system would be established, along with nonprofit care centers and a board to oversee the entire program.

Medical Marijuana Repeal Would Hurt Montana’s Economy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 17, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: KTVQ

House Bill 161, Montana’s medical marijuana repeal bill, has only been approved by the House of Representatives. It hasn’t cleared the Senate, nor has it been signed by the governor. But dispensaries in Missoula are concerned about possible negative economic effects if the law is repealed.

Thousands of jobs could be lost, cities would lose revenue from business taxes, and many more people would be relying on food stamps if repeal passes, according to Dave Stephens, owner of Better Life Montana in Missoula.

“It’s a bad idea all the way around,” Stephens told Paige Huntoon of the Montana Kaimin, the student daily at the University of Montana at Missoula.

MI: 2 Years Later, Medical Marijuana Still Has Huge Support

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 15, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

A huge majority of Michigan voters still approves the medical marijuana law they passed (by, you guessed it, a huge majority) in 2008.

Two years after legalizing it statewide, Michigan voters still support the state’s medical marijuana law by almost the same margin by which it was adopted in the 2008 election, according to a new poll.

The poll found that 61 percent of voters said they would vote yes again or would be likely to vote yes. Support for 2008’s Proposal 1, legalizing the possession and use of marijuana for medical reasons, was 62.6 percent statewide, reports Dawson Bell at the Detroit Free Press.

Thirty-seven percent of those surveyed said they would vote no or lean no if the medical marijuana issue was before voters again, also about the same as in 2008.

Only one percent said they were undecided about medical marijuana.

The poll “proves that a strong majority of Michigan voters stand firmly behind the compassionate medical marijuana law they enacted two years ago,” according to a spokeswoman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which helped organize and finance the successful ballot proposal in 2008.

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