Legislation

Washington Legislature Says No To Pot, Yes To ‘Continued Chaos’

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

The Legislature in Washington state displayed a trait Wednesday for which they are becoming well known: spinelessness, especially when it comes to marijuana law reform.

Despite the fact that a majority of state voters favor legalizing pot, cowardly politicians in the State House voted down a pair of bills aimed at changing Washington’s failed marijuana laws.

House Bill 2401 would have legalized and regulated the adult production, use and distribution of marijuana, in a manner similar to the regulation of alcohol.

The roll call vote on HB 2401, to legalize marijuana, went like this:

Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana: Is Third Time The Charm For WAMM?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: WAMM

WAMM grows medical marijuana for terminally ill patients.

A case which could have far reaching implications in patient access to medical marijuana is coming back to court for a settlement hearing on Friday.

On January 22, the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM), a collective which provides medical cannabis to the terminally and critically ill at no cost, will be in federal court in San Jose, California, for the hearing in WAMM’s joint lawsuit against the federal government.

Details of the settlement will be released following the court hearing.

Seattle’s New City Attorney Drops Marijuana Charges

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2010 Culture, Legislation, News

Photo: alapoet

Seattleites protest marijuana laws in the annual Marijuana March, May 2008.

As promised, Seattle’s new city attorney is dismissing marijuana possession cases.

By the end of January, more than 25 people charged with possession could be off the hook, reports Linda Brill at KING 5 News.

Even if you are arrested for marijuana in Seattle, it’s more than likely you won’t be prosecuted.

During his campaign for city attorney, Pete Holmes promised he would dismiss marijuana possession cases brought by his predecessor, former City Attorney Pete Carr. Despite an initiative passed by Seattle voters a few years ago, Carr’s office had continued to vigorously prosecute many cannabis cases.

Los Angeles City Council Adopts Marijuana Dispensary Law

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

Graphic: www.losangelesmedicalmarijuana.org

After more than two years of deliberation, the Los Angeles City Council voted 11-3 Tuesday afternoon to adopt the first reading of an ordinance regulating the sale of medical marijuana in the city.

The ordinance will establish rules for the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries, collectives and cooperatives.

Patients and advocates worked throughout the process to improve several versions of an ordinance they considered to be flawed.

‘Live Like It’s Legal’: Landmark Cannabis Hearing In New Zealand

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2010 Global, Legislation, News

Photo: gonzofreakpower.blogspot.com

Dakta Green: “Live like it’s legal”

Dakta Green, founder of New Zealand’s most visible cannabis club, will argue in court Wednesday that marijuana laws are a fundamental breach of his rights, in what is being called a “landmark” hearing.

Green will argue before Judge Ann Kiernan in Auckland District Court that cannabis laws discriminate against users of the herb, and that the severity of marijuana penalties under the Misuse of Drugs Act violates New Zealand’s Bill of Rights Act.

“Alcohol and tobacco are dangerous drugs but are legally available,” Green said. “Cannabis causes less harm to our community.”

Green, whose motto is “live like it’s legal,” will call two witnesses to bolster his claims of persecution and discrimination.

Attorney To Health Dept.: Where Has All The Medical Marijuana Registration Money Gone?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2010 Legislation, Medical, News

Photo: westword

Activist/attorney Rob Corry: “Serious questions are raised as to the allocation of the patients’ funds”

Activist/attorney Rob Corry, one of the most visible marijuana advocates on the Colorado scene, has sent an open records request to the Colorado Department of Health. Corry wants to know where the money has gone.

Via email, Corry writes that Colorado has received “conservatively $1.7 million… from suffering patients paying for the privilege of waiting four months for a paper card that doesn’t fit in normal wallets and falls apart in one wash,” reports Michael Roberts at Westword.

In the letter, Corry documents 19,691 patients who received marijuana registry cards between June 2001 and September 2009. With the health department recently receiving a record 1,650 applications in a single day, that number is clearly out of date.

Washington Lawmakers Snuff Out Marijuana Legalization Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: seattlest.com

A Washington grow room. A bill which would legalize marijuana in Washington is dying through lack of leadership in the Legislature.

If marijuana is going to be legalized in Washington this year, it will have to be the voters who do it — because the Legislature won’t.

The House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee is expected to vote down bills dealing with legalization and decriminalization of marijuana, reports Jerry Cornfield at the Everett Herald Net.

Rep. Chris Hurst, chairman of the public safety panel, told Cornfield there aren’t enough votes to move either bill out of committee.

Court: Tracking Devices OK On Marijuana Suspects’ Vehicles

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 18, 2010 Legislation, News

Graphic: www.technologygear.net

A federal appeals court in Oregon has ruled that mobile tracking devices can be attached to the vehicles of suspects as part of a marijuana investigation, The Associated Press reports.

Juan Pineda-Moreno argued his constitutional rights were violated when U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents attached the tracking devices to his sport utility vehicle.

DEA agents attached several of the spy gadgets to Pineda-Moreno’s SUV, tracking his movements after they learned the suspect and his associates bought large amounts of fertilizer, groceries, irrigation equipment and deer repellent in the Medford, Oregon area in 2007.

It’s Official: New Jersey Becomes 14th Medical Marijuana State

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 18, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: salem-news.com

Monday was a day of celebration for patients and advocates as the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law by outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine.

The new law provides patients protection from arrest and prosecution for possession and transportation of marijuana, and establishes state-regulated distribution of medicinal cannabis by “Alternative Treatment Centers.”

New Jersey is the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana, and the third largest in population, after California and Michigan.

Seattle’s New City Attorney: ‘Not Going To Prosecute Marijuana Possession Cases’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 15, 2010 Legislation, News

Pete Holmes

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes: “We’re not going to prosecute marijuana cases anymore”

Seattle’s new city attorney, keeping a campaign promise, is dismissing all marijuana possession cases, starting with those that were begun under the previous city attorney.

“We’re not going to prosecute marijuana possession cases anymore,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said Thursday. “I meant it when I said it” during the campaign.

Holmes, who defeated incumbent Tom Carr in November, said he dismissed two marijuana cases in his first day on the job, and several others are about to be dismissed, reports Emily Heffter at The Seattle Times.

Unless there are “out of the ordinary circumstances,” Holmes’s office doesn’t intend to file charges for marijuana possession, according to Craig Sims, criminal division chief.

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