Legislation

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Marijuana Activists Don’t Like CO’s New 35-Day Waiting Period

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 1, 2010 Legislation, Medical

If you just received your doctor’s authorization in Colorado, you now have to wait 35 days to buy any marijuana from a dispensary.

Medical cannabis activists are protesting a new policy requiring patients who just applied to the state’s medical marijuana registry to wait 35 days before they can shop at a dispensary.

Matt Cook, the Department of Revenue enforcement official who oversees Colorado’s new medical marijuana regulations, claims the position paper, written Monday, solves the riddle of how to handle sales at a dispensary to patients without a medical marijuana card, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.

Colorado is months behind in issuing medical marijuana cards to patients. According to state law, applications not processed within 35 days will be considered approved until the state can get to them. But dispensary owners were unsure whether that mean they had to wait 35 days to sell to those patients, or whether proof of application alone was enough to legally get patients in the door.

Canada: Liberals Will Reintroduce Marijuana Decrim Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 1, 2010 Global, Legislation

Photo: Macleans

Canadian Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff: It’s time to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use

Canadian Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said his party will reintroduce legislation to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.

The Opposition Leader told an audience of about 200 people in Montreal on September 27 that the Libs would bring back Martin Cauchon’s decrim bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for possession of under 15 grams of cannabis and replace them with fines, reports Jeremiah Vandermeer at Cannabis Culture.

Decrim In Cali! Schwarzenegger Signs Bill: Pot Now $100 Fine

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 1, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Salem News

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: “In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources” prosecuting petty pot offenses

A bill downgrading the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction has been signed into law by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The law, SB 1449 by Senator Mark Leno, means small-time pot offenders will no longer have to appear in court, and will no longer have a criminal arrest record. It will also save California millions of dollars in court and prosecution expenses, according to Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML.

The bill treats petty cannabis possession like a traffic ticket, punishable by a simple $100 fine and no arrest record.

“Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state’s taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders,” Gieringer said. “Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources.”

S.D. Medical Marijuana Supporters Rally For Measure 13

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 29, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: South Dakota Coalition for Compassion

About 100 people gathered in Rapid City, South Dakota Tuesday evening for the Rally for Compassion, sponsored by the South Dakota Coalition for Compassion, which has spearheaded the campaign for Initiated Measure 13, which calls for the legalization of medical marijuana in South Dakota.

South Dakota voters will have a chance to vote on Measure 13 in November, and Coalition for Compassion campaign director Emmett Reistroffer urged rally attendees to spread the truth about the initiative, reports Lynn Taylor Rick at the Rapid City Journal.

“There are some opponents out there lying (about the measure),” Reistroffer said. He encouraged rally attendees to set the record straight.

Arizona Sets The Stage For Medical Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 29, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Reality Catcher

It’s about five weeks until Election Day, and the Arizona Department of Health Services is brainstorming ways to implement a medical marijuana policy in case voters approve Proposition 203, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.

The department has spoken out against Prop 203, reports Michelle Ye Hee Lee of The Arizona Republic. But if the measure passes, the department will need to draft an administrative code for implementation and set up an electronic verification system to keep track of records, including doctor authorizations, dispensary applications and cardholder registrations.

Prop 19 To Legalize Marijuana Gains Support In California

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 27, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: ACS Blog

A new poll finds growing support for a November ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana in California.

Sunday’s survey by the nonpartisan Field Poll on Prop 19, which will be on the state’s November ballot and would legalize marijuana and tax its production, distribution and sale, shows more voters warming to the measure, which is now leading 49 to 42 percent, with 9 percent undecided.

A Field Poll in July showed the measure trailing, 44 percent Yes to 48 percent No, reports Jim Miller of the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Oakland City Attorney Backs Prop 19 To Allow Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 14, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Living In The O

Oakland City Attorney John Russo: “What we’ve being trying to do is fight a raging fire with a watering can. The better way is to cut off the oxygen”

Breaking from the staunch opposition of most law enforcement groups, Oakland City Attorney John Russo on Monday joined about two dozen officials from across California to publicly support Proposition 19, the measure allowing recreational marijuana that will appear on November’s ballot. Another group gathered in West Hollywood with the same message.

Their support of Prop 19 goes against the majority of law enforcement agencies in California, which oppose the measure, reports Angela Woodall of The Oakland Tribune. “It’s very difficult for them to change, Russo said Monday in front of Oakland City Hall.

Meanwhile, a coalition headed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca — “No On Prop 19” — blasted the measure in a statement signed by scores of police chiefs, sheriffs, law enforcement associations and district attorneys, of all whom want to keep those fat federal anti-pot funds flowing.

Green Party Senate Hopeful Calls For Repeal Of Marijuana Laws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 13, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Duane Roberts

Duane Roberts: “Repealing federal laws criminalizing marijuana will save the U.S. government billions of dollars”

Duane Roberts, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from California, has called for repealing federal laws prohibiting marijuana from being used for “medicinal, recreational and industrial purposes.” Roberts urged the passage of Prop 19, saying it will send a message to the political establishment.

“As I officially kick off my campaign for the U.S. Senate today, one of the first declarations I make is to call for the repeal of all federal laws on the books which make it a criminal act for people to grow, sell and use marijuana for medicinal, recreational and industrial purposes,” Roberts said on Thursday.

“According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 800,000 people are arrested each year in this country for using a plant of which the evidence suggests is far less dangerous to consume than alcohol, tobacco, and some well-known prescription pharmaceuticals,” Roberts said.

This is a big waste of taxpayer money, according to Roberts.

“Not only does this clog the court systems and fill up the jails and prisons with non-violent offenders, but it diverts the limited resources of the police, prosecutors, and judges away from pursuing individuals who engage in violent crimes against others,” said the Senatorial candidate.

Law Enforcement Support For Prop 19 Pot Initiative Growing

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 10, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: Cal Pot News

Support for Proposition 19, the voter initiative on November’s ballot which would legalize, control and tax marijuana in California, continues to grow in the law enforcement community.

A group of police officers, judges, and prosecutors who support Prop 19 will hold simultaneous press conferences Monday, September 13 in front of Oakland City Hall and in West Hollywood Park near Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PDT to release a letter of endorsement by dozens of law enforcers across the state.

“At each step of my law enforcement career — from beat officer up to chief of police in two major American cities — I saw the futility of our marijuana prohibition laws,” said Joseph McNamara, former police chief in San Jose and in Kansas City, Mo.

“But our marijuana laws are much worse than ineffective; they waste valuable police resources and also create a lucrative black market that funds cartels and criminal gangs with billions of tax-free dollars,” said McNamara, who is now a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Judge Calls Earlier Order ‘Joke,’ Won’t Return Pot To Collective

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 9, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Grinning Planet

Claiming that an earlier proposed court order had been a “joke,” a judge on Wednesday formally denied a defense motion seeking the return of large amounts of seized medical marijuana to a Concow, California collective.

Assigned Judge William Lamb pointed out that none of the collective’s members had petitioned the court for the pot’s return, and that in any event, he “felt” the amount confiscated by sheriff’s offices exceeded what he thought was “medically necessary” for the group and was thus “not subject to return,” reports Terry Vau Dell of the Chico Enterprise Record.

And here we were, thinking that doctors were supposed to make medical decisions!

A jury earlier this year acquitted both Michael Kelly and his father, Sean Kelly, of identical felony charges of illegal cultivation and possession of marijuana for sale.

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