Legislation

Wisconsin Court Tosses Pot Conviction, Scolds And Fines City

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 21, 2010 Legislation, Medical

A Wisconsin appeals court threw out a man’s Grand Chute marijuana conviction Tuesday and soundly scolded the city for its bad behavior, even levying a $200 fine against the city’s law firm.

The court made its ruling after deciding that the town’s possession ordinance includes an exception for medical marijuana that is at odds with state law.

In a refreshing turn of events, the Third District Court of Appeals verbally spanked the city for its bad behavior. “We are astonished by the Town’s brazen misrepresentations, which are not supported by record citations,” the Court of Appeals wrote.

The court chided the town’s attorneys, calling them responsible for “grossly misrepresenting the record, omitting record citations, and citing a document not made part of the record.”

Video: ‘Auditors With Guns’ Will Control Colorado’s Medical Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 21, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: Colorado Statesman

Colorado State Sen. Chris Romer: “If you all don’t clean up your own house, we’re going to clean it up for you”

Colorado State Sen. Chris Romer (D-Denver), one of the co-sponsors of HB 1284 and SB 109, bills in the Legislature which would effectively eliminate most medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, shocked audience members at a meeting April 15 when he used the phrase “auditors with guns” dozens of times when describing the regulatory regime he envisions.

Romer discussed the bills at a meeting of the Medical Marijuana Business Alliance on April 15 at Loews Hotel in Denver. Members of the Cannabis Therapy Institute (CTI) were in attendance, and on 4/20, the People’s Cannabis News released a video of the event with Romer’s speech (see the video below).

Romer started on a threatening note. “If you all don’t clean up your own house, we’re going to clean it up for you,” he told the medical marijuana advocates. “Certainly if we send in some auditors with guns, we’re gonna clean it up really fast.”

Across Street From 420 Rally, House Toughens Medical Pot Rules

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 21, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Joe Amon/The Denver Post

Thousands gathered in the park across from the Colorado State Capitol in Denver to support the legalization of marijuana, April 20, 2010.

Colorado state lawmakers at the Capitol on Tuesday toughened regulations for the booming medical marijuana industry as clouds of smoke wafted from a pro-pot really across the street.

The House ultimately passed a bill to create rules for marijuana dispensaries, focusing largely on licensing requirements, tax policy and signage rules, reports John Ingold at The Denver Post.

D.C. Medical Marijuana Bill Up For A Vote 4/20

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 20, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Photo: Executive Healthcare

The D.C. Council will vote Tuesday, April 20, on a much-anticipated proposal to allow chronically ill patients to receive a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana medically, and buy it from a city-licensed dispensary.

Under the bill, which has already passed two committees, patients who suffer from HIV, glaucoma, cancer, or a “chronic and lasting disease” and who get a doctor’s recommendation will be allowed to possess up to two ounces of marijuana, defined as a “30-day supply,” reports Tim Craig at The Washington Post.

California County Mulls $40 Fee For Marijuana Gardens

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 19, 2010 Growing, Legislation

Photo: Andreas Fuhrmann/The Record Searchlight

Patient Donna Will tends to her garden at her Tehama County, California home. Both Will and her partner, Jerrey Doran, are medical marijuana patients and also grow for other patients.

Tehama County Supervisors on Tuesday will consider starting a $40 registration fee for medical marijuana gardens.

The fee wouldn’t be set at the Tuesday vote, but the vote could establish a May 4 public hearing where the board would consider the fee, reports Geoff Johnson at the Red Bluff Daily News.

Supervisors on April 6 already approved a medical marijuana cultivation policy prohibiting growth within 1,000 feet of schools, churches or bus stops, linking the number of plants allowed to parcel size, and requiring medical marijuana growers to register their gardens with the Tehama County Health Services Agency.

‘Auditors With Guns’ In Colorado? Pot Bills Gut Protections

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 16, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Cannabis Therapy Institute

Two law enforcement bills are now working their way through the Colorado Legislature that would, according to Cannabis Therapy Institute, seriously harm medical marijuana patients and their caregivers. According to CTI, both of these bills have seen strong support from legislators, both Democrats and Republicans.

Law enforcement bill #1 (SB 109) would destroy the confidentiality of the Registry by allowing the government to use patient records to determine “suspicious” activity by physicians. It allocates more than $1 million of patient registration fees to prosecute these supposedly “suspicious” physicians.

L.A. City Council Passes Final Marijuana Dispensary Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 16, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Photo: LA Kush

The Los Angeles City Council voted 9-1 Friday to approve final amendments to a local medical marijuana dispensary ordinance it passed earlier this year.

Conspicuously absent from the final ordinance was a controversial provision that caused medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) to file a lawsuit against the city. The ordinance previously required dispensary operators to find a new location within seven days after the law took effect, which ASA argued was a violation of due process.

Although Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed the dispensary ordinance into law on February 3, the city was required to adopt a supplemental permit fee ordinance before the law could take effect.

Canadians Support Legalizing Pot; B.C. Leads The Way

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 15, 2010 Global, Legislation

Photo: AdamCorley.com

Jodie Emery exposes the truth in public places.

A new poll shows the majority of Canadians support legalizing marijuana, but not other drugs. As was the case two years ago, a majority of Canadians (53 percent) support the legalization of cannabis.

Support for legalization is highest in British Columbia, where more than six in 10 people say it’s time to stop jailing people for cannabis. Support is nearly as high in Alberta (59 percent) and Ontario (57 percent).

The Angus Reid poll, released Thursday, also shows many Canadians believe the country has a serious nationwide drug abuse problem, and 70 percent want mandatory minimum prison sentences and fines for drug dealers and, in a curious twist, marijuana grow operators, reports Jeff Lee of The Vancouver Sun.

The poll supports other Reid polls in the past that show most Canadians believe decriminalization of marijuana possession is a good idea, but that other illegal drugs should continue to be prohibited.

The online survey of 1,110 Canadians, conducted April 8-9, showed negligible support for legalizing hard drugs. The figure supporting hard drug legalization has actually dropped since the Reid survey in 2008. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.

New Czech Drug Law Fuels Cannabis Confusion

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 15, 2010 Global, Legislation

Photo: Legalizace.cz

The Czech Republic no longer punishes the growing of five or fewer cannabis plants

Surrounded by confusion regarding exactly what was taking place, the Czech Republic changed its laws on the possession and growing of drugs at the start of this year. The change was more of a far-reaching clarification than a fundamental overhaul, reports Chris Johnstone at Radio Praha.

The new law that came into effect January 1 was an attempt to clear up what had been a hazy legal situation. Under the old law, all types of drug possession and use were criminal offenses. The new law makes possession or cultivation of cannabis (and certain other drug plants) an “administrative offense,” subject to only a fine if small amounts are involved.

The “small amount” was also defined for the first time. For example, growing up to five cannabis plants still counts as a small amount, but more than five is over the limit and considered a criminal offense.

Bermuda: Calls Grow For Debate On Cannabis Decriminalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 15, 2010 Global, Legislation

Photo: Cruise Law News

Bermuda is discussing loosening its marijuana laws.

Politicians in Bermuda are calling for a major debate on decriminalizing cannabis, with support said to be strong in some corners of the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), reports Tim Smith at The Royal Gazette.

Government Senator Walker Brown on Wednesday backed a debate on Bermuda’s marijuana laws, saying people in possession of small amounts of pot should no longer be prosecuted.

Party members David Burt and Makai Dickerson also spoke up for decrim, adding that the entire community should have a say on the issue.

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