Legislation

California Voters Narrowly Oppose Pot Legalization Initiative

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 9, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: CBS/AP

The latest Field Poll (PDF) finds likely California voters oppose Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization initiative, by a narrow 48 percent to 44 percent margin.

The survey’s results suggest a grim outlook for the measure, according to poll director Mark DiCamillo, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

“Historically, for measures that don’t start out with a lead, the chances of passage are much lower than those that start out with a lead,” DiCamillo said. “If they start out behind, history suggests a 10 to 15 percent chance of passing. Some do, but it’s very rare.”

L.A. County Moves To Ban Pot Dispensaries In Unincorporated Areas

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 7, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Hidden Treats

Spineless Los Angeles County Supervisors are about to cut off safe access for 1.5 million people.

A million and a half people are about to lose safe access to marijuana.

Worried that Los Angeles’s new crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries is pushing the pot shops out into other communities, pot-phobic Los Angeles County supervisors took steps Tuesday to ban dispensaries from unincorporated areas countywide.

“It leaves the unincorporated portion vulnerable,” said Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, author of the motion. The board, according to Antonovich, should protect residents’ “safety and property values.”

California Pot Prices Could Plummet To $38/Oz. With Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 7, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Guanabee

The price of marijuana could plummet as much as 80 percent, and consumption would rise, if Californians approve Proposition 19, the cannabis legalization measure on November’s ballot, according to a detailed analysis by researchers at Rand’s Drug Policy Research Center.

Currently between $300 and $450 an ounce in California, the cost of pot could drop as low as $38 by eliminating the expenses and challenges of operating in the black market, according to the study, reports John Hoeffel at the Los Angeles Times.

The researchers admitted they weren’t certain how much pot use might be spurred by cheaper prices, but they noted one typical estimate is that a 10 percent drop in price typically increases use by about three percent. Other factors, such as getting rid of the legal risks associated with marijuana use, could also increase usage between five percent and 50 percent.

Cash-Hungry Long Beach Wants To Tax Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 6, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: LBPost.com

Long Beach is joining other California cities which are looking at taxing marijuana to boost cash-starved city coffers.

The City Council on Tuesday, July 6, will consider a proposal to put a measure on November’s ballot that would levy a 5 percent tax on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Another tax, of up to 10 percent, would only go into effect if California voters also pass Proposition 19, which would legalize and regulate marijuana for recreational use, and allow its taxation, reports Tony Barboza at the Los Angeles Times.

Colorado Veterans Want Medical Marijuana For PTSD

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 6, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Patients Choice of Colorado

Kevin Grimsinger: “We’ve done our fighting. Don’t make us continue to fight.”

Numerous studies have shown medical marijuana to be effective in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition suffered by 20 percent of our returning veterans. Wouldn’t it make sense to make the best medicine available to those coming home from war?

Medical marijuana advocacy group Sensible Colorado and local veterans will hold a press conference and rally on Wednesday, July 7, to support adding PTSD to the list of conditions eligible for medical marijuana authorizations in Colorado.

The rally coincides with the official submission of a petition to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to add PTSD.

PTSD does not qualify for medical marijuana use in Colorado. Veterans Administration hospitals won’t recommend cannabis for any use, and, by policy, threatens to cut off health care and benefits to veterans who test positive for using it.

Massachusetts Has No Way To Collect New $100 Pot Fines

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 5, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: The Katy Capsule

Massachusetts’ 2008 decrim law, approved by voters, specifies a $100 fine for marijuana. But it doesn’t specify what to do if folks don’t pay their tickets.

Massachusetts’ new law decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana has left some local law enforcement officers dazed and confused, reports Aaron Gouveia of the Cape Cod Times.

Police officers for the past 18 months have been issuing the new $100 non-criminal citations to people caught with less than an ounce of pot. But when people don’t pay their fine, officials aren’t sure exactly what to do.

Bummer Of The Day: WA Pot Legalization Initiative Falls Short

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 2, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: Reality Catcher

With the demise of I-1068, legalization won’t be happening until at least 2012 in Washington state.

Sensible Washington, the group which tried to get marijuana legalized in Washington state through Initiative 1068, has fallen just short of the number of petition signatures it needed to get the measure on November’s ballot.

Friday was the deadline for submitting petition signatures to the Washington Secretary of State’s office, and campaign organizers said they will be several thousand names short of the roughly 241,000 needed, reports Andrew Garber at The Seattle Times.

The proposal would have eliminated penalties for persons 18 and older who cultivate, possess, transport, sell, or use marijuana.

Ballot measures in Washington need at least 241,153 valid signatures of registered state voters to make the ballot, and the Secretary of State’s office recommends at least 300,000 as a buffer, to allow for duplicate, illegible and ineligible signatures.

California Split Almost Evenly On Prop 19 To Legalize Marijuana

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

Graphic: Earth First

Proposition 19, the newly numbered Control & Tax Cannabis 2010 initiative to legalize and regulate marijuana in California, would lose if the election was held today — but by a very, very close margin, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The poll found that 48 percent of voters would support legalizing marijuana, with 50 percent opposed. The results fall well within the poll’s margin of error, which is plus or minus four percentage points.

Washington Pot Legalization Campaign Has One Day Left

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

Graphic: www.PostThisInc.com

Washington’s I-1068, a voter initiative which would legalize marijuana in the Evergreen State, is coming down to the wire with a signature deadline looming on Friday, July 2.

So far initiative sponsors Sensible Washington have about 200,000 signatures, according to KNDO, but a bare minimum of 241,153 is needed to qualify for the ballot.

The state Elections Division urges campaigns to submit at least 300,000 signatures, allowing for a “pad” to cover duplicate or invalid signatures.

Supporters say they “have been getting a lot of petitions back in the mail every day,” according to David Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state, reports Jordan Schrader at the Tacoma News Tribune.

Montana May Ban Mobile Marijuana Clinics

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 30, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Matt Gouras/AP

Jason Christ smokes marijuana in front of the Great Falls Civic Center. Christ holds mobile clinics to help people get their state-issued medical marijuana cards in Montana.

Traveling cannabis caravans, responsible for signing up thousands of people for medical marijuana cards in the past year, may become a thing of the past in Montana if a group of lawmakers gets its way.

A bipartisan panel spent most of Tuesday morning discussing changes to Montana’s existing medical marijuana laws, taking aim at traveling clinics, which some accuse of “exploiting” the law, reports Jennifer McKee of the Missoulian.

Among the committee’s ideas: Physicians who recommend marijuana for their patients must have an “established practice” in Montana, and they must have a face-to-face evaluation of a patient before authorizing them to use medical cannabis.

“No more telemedicine, no more traveling,” said Rep. Diane Sands (D-Missoula), chair of the committee.

The panel also recommended that doctors follow “professional standards of care” when dealing with potential medical marijuana patients, including looking at a patient’s medical records before recommending cannabis.

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