Legislation

Washington Drug Agents Seize Pot Legalization Petitions

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 21, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: Citizen Alert

Washington drug agents have illegally seized signed petitions for marijuana legalization, according to organizers of ballot initiative I-1068.

Marijuana advocacy group Sensible Washington says it has learned that a dozen signed copies of the marijuana legalization initiative for Washington State of which it is the sponsor, were seized last week by the federally-funded WestNET drug task force.

Advocates say that the drug agents who seized the petitions are interfering with a constitutionally-protected legislative procedure.

“Our estimate is that 2009 signatures are sitting in WestNET’s offices in Port Orchard, apparently seized as ‘evidence’ during a series of raids against the North End Club 420 in Tacoma,” said Sensible Washington campaign director and initiative co-author Philip Dawdy.

Poll: Californians Evenly Divided On Legalizing Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 20, 2010 Culture, Legislation

Graphic: Earth First

This one’s going down to the wire. California voters are evenly divided for and against legalizing marijuana, according to poll results released Wednesday. The survey shows 49 percent oppose legalization while 48 percent support it.

Politics, geography and demographics seem to predict which side of the cannabis divide people are on: 56 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independents favor legalization while only 34 percent of Republicans support it, reports Josh Richman at The Oakland Tribune.

Oakland City Council First In CA To Endorse Pot Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 20, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: KVAL

he Oakland City Council endorsed California’s marijuana legalization measure on the November ballot Tuesday, becoming the first city in the state to back it.

Last year, 80 percent of Oakland voters approved becoming the first city in the United States to tax medical marijuana dispensaries, gaining $500,000 for city coffers, reports Joe Garofoli at SF Gate. And in 2004, city voters approved Measure Z, making marijuana possession arrests the lowest law enforcement priority for the Oakland Police Department.

“Our experience shows that controlling and taxing cannabis dispensaries can benefit everyone in the community,” said Oakland City Council member at-large Rebecca Kaplan.

Berlin Ready To Relax Cannabis Laws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2010 Global, Legislation

Photo: Berlin.de

The Hanf Hemp Museum in Berlin is a tourist destination for marijuana lovers. Now the city may become even more attractive to potheads.

A new marijuana policy could make it legal for individuals to possess up to 15 grams (a little more than half an ounce) of pot in Berlin, the capital city of Germany. The rule would make Berlin among the most cannabis friendly cities in Europe.

Berliners have long enjoyed their city’s soft stance on marijuana, reports Spiegel Online. It’s not rare to see people hitting a joint in a city parka, or rolling one up in the back of a café.

But the German capital may take another step toward becoming one of the most pot-tolerant cities in the European Union. The city’s top health official, Katrin Lompscher, said she plans to raise the amount of marijuana and hashish one can legally possess to 15 grams.

California CP Patient Sues City Over Pot Dispensary Ban

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: PR Newswire

Medical marijuana patient Malinda Traudt is suing the City of Dana Point as it threatens to shut down all dispensaries in the city.

Malinda Traudt, a blind and wheelchair-bound medical marijuana patient in Dana Point, California, has filed suit after the city threatened to shut down the collective where she gets the medical marijuana needed to stay alive and manage her pain.

Malinda was born with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, total blindness, and severe cognitive delays. Now 29 years old, she has been in a wheelchair her entire life.

Recently, she was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis, a degenerative bone disease. Malinda’s doctor gave her pain medication but, within hours, her kidneys began shutting down, her lungs filled with fluid causing pneumonia, she developed a high fever, and vomited for three straight days. Malinda’s physician recommended that her mother contact a hospice to arrange for Malinda’s final hours.

In a last-ditch effort to keep Malinda alive while managing her pain, Malinda’s mother and her pain specialist replaced the pain medication with medical marijuana. Almost immediately, Malinda’s fever subsided, she stopped vomiting, and her suffering lessened. Within days, she began to recover.

Malinda’s kidneys regained function, she was able to eat, and she began smiling again. Her pain became manageable and her quality of life improved significantly.

Medical Marijuana Provider First To Be Tried Under New Policy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Movement In Action

A North San Diego County medical marijuana provider, James Stacy, will be the first such case to go to trial after the Justice Department issued its new enforcement policy in October 2009, a month after the raid.

The trial date will be scheduled on Wednesday for Stacy, whose Vista dispensary was raided on September 9, 2009. Stacy will argue at the hearing that he’s entitled to admit evidence of state law compliance, something which has been routinely denied to defendants in federal marijuana cases. Unlike the state laws in California and 13 other states, federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I “narcotic,” with no medical value.

Stacy’s dispensary, Movement In Action, was raided along with more than a dozen other San Diego County dispensaries as part of local-federal joint enforcement actions known as “Operation Endless Summer” which resulted in more than 30 arrests.

London: 4,200 People Fined For Cannabis In Past Year

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 18, 2010 Global, Legislation

Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

A man smokes a joint in Russell Square at the start of the annual cannabis march in London. If he’s been caught with cannabis two times before, he could get up to five years in prison under U.K. law.

More than 4,200 people in London have been given £80 fines on the spot for possessing cannabis in the first year of the British government’s “crackdown on drugs.”

Figures released by the Met show that nearly half those fined handed over the cash quickly, reports Martin Bentham at the London Evening Standard.

But the majority of offenders — 55 percent — failed to pay the fine with the 21-day deadline required by law, and police had to pass the unpaid fines to magistrates’ courts for collection.

Michigan Medical Marijuana By The Numbers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 17, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

Thousands of patients have applied to participate in the Michigan Medical Marijuana Program (MMMP) since state voters made it legal last year.

The following statistics are through April 2010, according to Monroe News.

Original and renewal applications received: 27,883

Patient registrations issued: 14,398

Caregiver registrations issued: 6,274

Applications denied: 4,072 (most due to incomplete information or missing documentation)

Certified caregivers can acquire and possess 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana and grow up to 12 marijuana plants for a qualifying patient. Each caregiver may assist up to five patients.

Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In Pennsylvania

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 14, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: WHYY

State Senator Daylin Leach has announced the introduction of legislation to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.

Under the bill, Pennsylvania would join 14 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing doctor-supervised medical marijuana for patients with debilitating medical conditions, reports Main Line Media News. Neighboring New Jersey passed its own medical marijuana law earlier this year.

“It’s long past time we move beyond the misinformation and ancient wives’ tales and allow people to have the medicine that will make them feel better,” Leach said. “Medical marijuana has been proven repeatedly to help people who are desperately ill. It is nothing more than gratuitous cruelty to deny it to them.”

IL Lawmakers Still Scared Of Medical Pot; Only Two Votes Away

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 14, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Lou Lang News Weblog

Rep. Lou Lang: “I’m not done; I’m gonna keep trying”

A vast majority of people in Illinois say they support medical marijuana. The most recent poll shows 68 percent of state residents want to make cannabis legal for medical purposes, reports Anna Davlantes of FOX Chicago News.

So why won’t Illinois lawmakers make it happen?

Predictably, most law enforcement agencies claim giving anyone legal access to marijuana increases the supply for potheads.

Opponents also point to the fact that cannabis hasn’t been approved by the FDA — conveniently forgetting to mention that the reason this is so is the lack of research mandated by its federal classification as a tightly-controlled Schedule I narcotic, with no accepted medical uses.

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