Legislation

Landmark Federal Medical Marijuana Hearing Begins In D.C.

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 16, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Advocates challenge marijuana’s classification, present scientific evidence for first time in nearly 20 years

For the first time in nearly 20 years, advocates will use scientific evidence of marijuana’s medical efficacy to try to force a change in the federal government’s classification of marijuana as a dangerous drug with no medical value.

Medical marijuana advocates will participate in oral arguments Tuesday before the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the landmark case Americans for Safe Access v. Drug Enforcement Administration. Advocates contend that the government has arbitrarily and capriciously kept marijuana classified as a Schedule I substance and out of reach for millions of Americans by ignoring overwhelming research on the therapeutic value of marijuana

Marijuana Policy Project Responds to Former DEA Officials

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 15, 2012 Legislation, News

Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

“Federal Government Should Respect State Reforms, Not Waste Money on Failed Policies”

In a response to a teleconference this afternoon featuring former drug czars and Drug Enforcement Administration officials calling on the federal government to vigorously oppose attempts to reform marijuana laws, the Marijuana Policy Project said that marijuana prohibition is a failed policy and urged the Department of Justice to allow states to experiment with alternatives to arresting adult marijuana users.

In November, voters in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon will decide on ballot initiatives that would remove criminal penalties for adult marijuana use. Two of these initiatives, in Colorado and Washington, would replace current marijuana laws with tightly regulated systems similar to those used to control alcohol. (Unfortunately, Washington’s “legalization” measure, I-502, would also institute a DUI-cannabis level unsupported by science.)

Advocates: Protect Medical Marijuana Access For PTSD Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 15, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Soldiers For The Cause

Continued access to medicine threatened by a request to withdraw PTSD as a qualifying condition for the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program

Military veterans and other patients to petition the Governor and the Secretary of Health: Don’t Take Away Our Medicine

More than 3,000 New Mexican residents with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are actively enrolled in the state’s Medical Cannabis Program. Many of them are military veterans, patients living with disabilities, and victims of serious trauma and violent crime. Unfortunately, their continued access to medicine is being threatened by a request to withdraw PTSD as a qualifying condition for the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program.

Marijuana Advocates Mount Challenge To Schedule I Designation

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 15, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

ProCon.org

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Will Hear Oral Arguments Tuesday

DPA Statement: Feds’ Claim of “No Medical Use” Ignores Science

For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral arguments on Tuesday, October 16, in a case challenging the Drug Enforcement Administration’s decision to designate marijuana as a Schedule I substance. Schedule I is the most restrictive category for controlled substances, including those drugs defined as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.

Women For Measure 80 Successfully Protest Shameful Billboards

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 12, 2012 Culture, Legislation, News

Willamette Week

Clear Channel agrees to remove misleading ads, cites transparency issues

Following a grassroots, online protest by volunteers with Women for Measure 80, advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor has agreed to take down a series of shameful, misleading and fear-mongering anti-marijuana billboards around Portland.

At a press conference this morning, Women for Measure 80 coordinator Amanda Rain joined Oregonians for Law Reform and other sensible marijuana-policy advocates to condemn the advertisements, denounce the backers’ scare tactics and call for smart marijuana policies that would effectively protect Oregon’s communities and young people.

Voters Should Hold Out For Real Marijuana Reform

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 11, 2012 Legislation, News

The Seattle Times

Washington’s I-502 ‘Legalization’: Don’t Fall For This Narrow Proposal

By Douglas Hiatt

Sensible Washington

Washington voters are being told a big lie. New Approach Washington, the campaign behind Initiative 502, is advertising that it will “legalize” marijuana. It would not.

It creates a very narrow exception that defines the possession of one ounce by adults over 21, and the state’s rules for production, as “not a violation” of the law.

Montel Schedules Arkansas Medical Marijuana Press Conference

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 11, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Arkansans for Compassionate Care

Montel Williams is scheduled to appear at an October 18 press conference backing medical marijuana in Arkansas

Daytime Emmy Award-winner Montel Williams, a legend among TV talk show hosts, will speak in Little Rock on behalf of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act on Thursday, October 18.

Williams will back the efforts of Arkansans for Compassionate Care, a coalition of concerned physicians, patients and allies who agree that sick and dying patients should have access to medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation.

ACC is sponsoring the ballot initiative that would allow seriously ill Arkansans to use marijuana to treat certain conditions with the recommendation of their doctors. The initiative will appear on the November state general election ballot as Issue 5.

Report: 240,000 Marijuana Possession Arrests In Washington In Last 25 Years

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 11, 2012 Legislation, News

Andy Bronson/The Bellingham Herald

Renee Devan, right, takes down a phone number for Martin O. Nickerson of Northern Cross medical marijuana collective, as he sits in the back of a Bellingham Police Department vehicle, under arrest, in the alley behind the store, March 15, 2012

Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans Disproportionately Arrested; 25 Years of Arrests in WA Cost $300 Million or More

With just three weeks remaining before Washington voters decide whether to make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana legal in their state, a new report — “240,000 Marijuana Arrests: Costs, Consequences, and Racial Disparities of Possession Arrests in Washington” — reveals that nearly a quarter of a million people have been arrested in Washington for marijuana possession since 1986. Police made more than half of those marijuana arrests in just the last 10 years.

Oakland Fights Back Against Federal Medical Marijuana Asset Forfeiture

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 11, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

House of 420

Oakland Lawsuit in U.S. District Court to Stop Seizure of Property of Oakland Dispensary

Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker and San Francisco law firm Morrison & Foerster have announced that the City of Oakland filed a complaint Wednesday in United States District Court to stop the federal government from seizing an Oakland building used by a medical marijuana dispensary.

“This is a great day for medical marijuana patients and for the residents of Oakland,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana patients’ advocacy organization. “City Attorney Parker is ray of sunshine for all patients who have been watching the federal government jeopardize their access to medical marijuana.”

New Approach Washington Launches Fall TV Ad Campaign

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 10, 2012 Legislation, News

New Approach Washington

Former U.S. Attorney John McKay is among the sponsors of a drive to legalize marijuana for adults in Washington state.

Marijuana ‘Legalization’ Effort Features Former U.S. Attorneys and F.B.I. Special Agent in Charge

New Approach Washington, the committee backing Washington state’s “legalization” ballot measure Initiative 502, will launch its fall media campaign on Thursday, October 11. The campaign will feature two 30-second ads that will air on broadcast and cable television throughout western Washington and Spokane.

“An overwhelming majority of Washington citizens agree that treating marijuana use as a crime has failed,” said Alison Holcomb, campaign director for New Approach Washington. “Initiative 502, endorsed by law enforcement, public health doctors, and prevention and treatment experts, is a carefully considered, responsible approach to changing course. We can do better, and our communities deserve it.”

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