Legislation

Cops Ask Dept. of Justice to Respect State Marijuana Laws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 20, 2012 Legislation, News

LEAP Cites Public Safety Concerns Created by Illegal Marketplace

A former narcotics cop on Tuesday morning delivered a letter signed by 73 current and former police officers, judges, prosecutors and federal agents to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him not to interfere with the wishes of the voters of Colorado and Washington State to legalize and regulate marijuana.

“We seem to be at a turning point in how our society deals with marijuana,” said Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), the group that authored the letter. “The war on marijuana has funded the expansion of drug cartels, it has destroyed community-police relations and it has fostered teenage use by creating an unregulated market where anyone has easy access.

Law Enforcers To Justice Dept.: Respect State Marijuana Laws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 19, 2012 Legislation, News

LEAP

Neill Franklin, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: “During his first time, President Obama really disappointed those of us who hoped he might follow through on his campaign pledges to respect state medical marijuana laws”

U.S. Attorneys Urged To Use Discretion To Allow Successful State Implementation

A group of veteran law enforcement professionals on Tuesday will deliver a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the Department of Justice urging the Obama Administration to respect state laws that legalize and regulate marijuana. Voters in the states of Colorado and Washington opted decisively for marijuana legalization on November 6, and national polls show majority support for replacing marijuana prohibition with legal regulation.

After personally delivering the letter signed by dozens of police, prosecutors, judges and federal agents to the Department of Justice at 9:00 a.m. ET, 34-year veteran narcotics cop Neill Franklin will join other law enforcers for a noon teleconference call to answer questions from journalists.

“During his first term, President Obama really disappointed those of us who hoped he might follow through on his campaign pledges to respect state medical marijuana laws,” said Neill Franklin, the former Baltimore narc who serves as executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). “Still, I’m hopeful that in his second term he’ll realize the political opportunity that exists to do the right thing.

Uruguay Introduces Marijuana Legalization Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 16, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Fox News

Poised To Become First Country in the World To End Marijuana Prohibition

On Heels of Colorado and Washington Legalization Initiatives, Race Is On to See Who Will Be First to Set Up Successful Regulation of Marijuana

Uruguayan lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill in Congress to legally regulate marijuana. This comes on the heels of the historic approval of marijuana legalization initiatives in Washington and Colorado on November 6, making these two U.S. states the first political jurisdictions in the world to legalize the production and distribution of cannabis. If Uruguay approves the measure, it will become the first country in the world to do so.

Flint City Officials Say They’ll Ignore Marijuana Decrim Vote

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 14, 2012 Legislation, News

Sean Work/MLive.com

Law Enforcement Officials Declare Their Disapproval of City’s Undemocratic Approach

The City of Flint, Michigan has announced that despite a successful ballot measure decriminalizing the adult possession of marijuana approved by 54 percent of voters last week, it will continue to prosecute people for marijuana possession. City officials called the vote “symbolic,” saying they would continue to arrest people for pot.

“We’re still police officers and we’re still empowered to enforce the laws of the state of Michigan and the United States,” said Flint police chief Alvern Lock, reports Gary Ridley at mlive.com. “We’re still going to enforce the laws as we’ve been enforcing them.”

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), a group of law enforcement officials who support legalization of marijuana, on Wednesday publicly condemned the city’s actions.

Colorado Legalization Leads Boulder DA To Drop Pot Cases

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 14, 2012 Legislation, News

BoulderCounty.org

Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett is dismissing all pending marijuana possession cases under an ounce, as well as paraphernalia cases for those under 21

If you have an active marijuana possession case pending against you in Boulder, one of Colorado’s most liberal areas, it’s your lucky day.

District Attorney Stan Garnett said he will be dismissing all such cases in Boulder County due to the “overwhelming support” voters gave Amendment 64, which taxes and regulates cannabis similarly to alcohol, reports Mitchell Byars at the Boulder Daily Camera.

“You’ve seen an end to mere possession cases in Boulder County under my office,” Garnett said.

Lawmakers To Announce Introduction of Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 14, 2012 Legislation, News

Tyler Drumm/The New Maine Times

At least four state legislatures will consider replacing marijuana prohibition with regulation

On Election Day, voters in the states of Colorado and Washington approved ballot initiatives to remove criminal penalties for adult marijuana use and regulate the substance in a manner similar to alcohol. State legislators from Rhode Island and Maine on Thursday will join the Marijuana Policy Project on a teleconference press call to announce that they are introducing similar bills to tax and regulate marijuana in their state legislatures.

Cops Release Guide: How To Smoke Marijuana Legally In Seattle

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 13, 2012 Culture, Legislation, News

Swagger & Young

Washington state’s I-502 may not be the best piece of “legalization” legislation you’ve ever seen; it certainly has its share of warts, including the unscientific DUI blood limits for active THC, and the continued prohibition on home cultivation. But there are definite up-sides to the passage of 502.

Among those delicious up-sides is the publication — by the Seattle Police Department — of a guide on how to legally use marijuana in the Emerald City.

A cop-penned guide on how to legally use marijuana? That shit just couldn’t have happened until November 6, man. Let’s enjoy the thing, in its entirety.

(The cops got a little clever, entitling their magnum dopus “Marijwhatnow? A Guide To Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle.”)

Alabama House To Hold Medical Marijuana Hearing Wednesday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 13, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Marijuana.com

The Alabama House Health Committee will hear testimony about medical marijuana on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Alabama State House.

The hearing won’t specifically address House Bill 2, which would legalize medical marijuana in the state, according to bill sponsor Rep. Patricia Todd (D-Jefferson County), who sponsors the legislation.

“I have seen a lot of people die a miserable death and some benefited from the use of marijuana,” Todd said, reports Bill Britt at the Alabama Political Reporter. “I also believe that it can be very beneficial for people who suffer from cancer and migraines.”

Post-502: Washington Prosecutors Dismiss 220 Marijuana Cases

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 9, 2012 Legislation, News

Graham Lawyer Blog

Prosecutors in Washington’s two most populous counties are dismissing more than 220 misdemeanor marijuana cases after state voters on Tuesday decriminalized small amounts of cannabis.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg is dismissing 175 cases, and Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said he was dismissing “about four dozen” such misdemeanor cases where marijuana is the only offense, reports Jonathan Martin at The Seattle Times.

The prosecutors decided to apply I-502 — which removes criminal penalties for up to an ounce of marijuana — retroactively. I-502 comes into effect on December 6, one month after voters approved it in Tuesday’s general election.

Will Alabama Get Medical Marijuana? Hearing Next Week

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 9, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition/Facebook

Co-Presidents Ron Crumpton, left, and Chris Butts of the Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition

Eighteen states now allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and a movement is afoot in Alabama to make it the 19th. Next Wednesday, November 14, a public hearing will be held in the Alabama State House on the medicinal use of cannabis.
Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville, who chairs the House Health Committee, said the hearing won’t be specifically about House Bill 2, a bill that will be before the January session of the Legislature which would legalize medical marijuana. The hearing is, however, a chance for medicinal cannabis proponents to educate legislators about the medical benefits of the herb.

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