Legislation

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Cannabis Leaders Call On Administration To Respect State Laws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 20, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

President Obama seeks campaign contributions from Oakland community after federal interference causes hundreds to lose jobs and healthcare benefits

News conference scheduled in conjunction with presidential visit: Monday, July 23, 2012 at 1:45 p.m.

Oaksterdam University, 1600 Broadway, Oakland, CA

President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the heart of America’s medical marijuana community just days after his appointed U.S. Attorney, Melinda Haag, intentionally and admittedly targeted Harborside Health Center – a state-legal medical cannabis facility – in violation of administration policy.

On July 23, President Obama is scheduled to give a speech at the Fox Theater in Oakland. To coincide with this event, advocates are planning a permitted, peaceful protest originating at Oakland’s City Hall; a press conference at Oaksterdam University; and concurrent actions in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado.

Multiple businesses in the vicinity of the Fox Theater are also expected to display green flags on their storefronts in solidarity with local medical cannabis collectives targeted by the administration.

Belize To Consider Decriminalizing Marijuana Possession

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 18, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Nick Miroff / The Washington Post

A sign greets visitors to Caye Caulker, Belize, with a warning: Though marijuana and cocaine are readily available to tourists, drugs are illegal in Belize

Belize Announcement on Heels of Uruguayan President’s Proposal to Legalize and Sell Marijuana

DPA Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann: Alternatives to Prohibition Growing Trend in Latin America and Caribbean

The government of Belize released a press statement on Monday announcing the appointment of a committee to evaluate a proposal to decriminalize marijuana possession. The committee – to be headed by a former police minister – was appointed by the Minister of National Security.

The proposal seeks to remove criminal penalties for possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana and instead impose fines and mandatory drug education. Currently, possession of less than 60 grams of marijuana is punishable by a fine of up to US $26,000 and/or up to three years in prison.

Bill Would Lift Medical Marijuana Evidence Ban In Federal Court

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 18, 2012 Legislation, Medical

Americans for Safe Access

This photo was taken in 2003, at the time the first “Truth in Trials” Act was introduced. Rep. Sam Farr is depicted with Ashley Epis, the daughter of Bryan Epis, who is a patient convicted without a defense and currently serving out a 10-year sentence in federal prison.

Congressional Medical Marijuana Bill, the ‘Truth In Trials’ Act, Would Correct Unfair Federal Trials

Late on Tuesday, U.S. Representative Sam Farr (D-CA) and 18 co-sponsors (15 Democrats and three Republicans) introduced HR 6134, the “Truth in Trials” Act, bipartisan legislation to allow defendants in federal criminal prosecutions the ability to use medical marijuana evidence at trial, a right not currently afforded them.

Because of a June 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Gonzales v. Raich, the government has the discretion to enforce federal marijuana laws even in medical marijuana states. The Raich ruling also allows federal prosecutors to exclude all evidence of medical use or state law compliance in federal trials, virtually guaranteeing the convictions of medical marijuana patients and providers.

Marijuana Legalization Makes Oregon Ballot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 13, 2012 Legislation, News

Campaign For The Restoration and Regulation of Hemp

Late Friday afternoon, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office certified Initiative 9, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, which will appear as Measure 80 on the Oregon ballot in November.

“Today is an historic day for Oregon and for the national movement for common-sense marijuana policy,” said Paul Stanford, chief petitioner. “Oregon’s long had an independent streak and led the nation on policies that benefit the public good. Regulating marijuana and restoring the hemp industry is in that tradition of independent, pragmatic governance.”

Measure 80, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, would regulate cannabis (marijuana) for adults 21 years of age and older, with commercial sales only through state-licensed stores. Ninety percent of tax revenue, estimated at more than $140 million annually, would go to the state’s battered general fund.

Oklahoma Legislature Starts Medical Marijuana Study

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

TheLaw.tv

The Oklahoma Legislature is taking a first, tentative step towards the possible legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.

A Senate Interim Study to review and analyze medical marijuana has been approved, reports Fox 25; next, the Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee will decide if the issue will get a hearing.

Connie Johnson, the state senator behind the study said the study is just a first step for legislators to inform themselves about the issue. Senator Johnson said she planned to introduce a medical marijuana legalization bill in the Legislature this December.

Medical Marijuana Patients File Lawsuit Against Yuba County

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 11, 2012 Growing, Legislation, Medical

420 Magazine

A coalition of medical marijuana patients, caregivers and collectives has filed a lawsuit against Yuba County, California, to stop implementation of Ordinance 1518, which declares most medicinal cannabis cultivation to be a “public nuisance.”

Yuba County Supervisors on Tuesday formally suspended an ad hoc committee formed to discuss the issue with growers, signaling that the discussion is now moving from board rooms to court rooms, reports Ben van der Meer at Yuba Appeal-Democrat.

The coalition submitted amendments to Ordinance 1518 that they said would have given Yuba County the necessary tools to go after illegitimate marijuana growers and still protect safe access for medicinal cannabis patients in the county.

Federal Appeal By Marijuana Dispensary Attracts Support

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 10, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

S.E. Miller/SLO New Times

Though Charles Lynch and his dispensary were supported by local officials and the Chamber of Commerce in Morro Bay, where Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers was located, the DEA raided and shut down CCCC in 2007

Widely supported former dispensary operator appeals conviction to 9th Circuit amidst ongoing federal crackdown

Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed an amicus ‘friend of the court’ brief on Monday in a federal appeal brought by California dispensary operator Charlie C. Lynch. Lynch’s case drew a lot of attention during his 2008 trial and June 2009 sentencing under an Obama Justice Department.

Though Lynch was supported by local officials and the Chamber of Commerce in Morro Bay, where his state-compliant dispensary Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers (CCCC) was located, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided and shut down CCCC in 2007 anyway, much like the DEA is doing today. A hearing in the Lynch appeal is expected this winter.

Nevada Lawmaker Wants To Legalize Marijuana Dispensaries

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 10, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

The Weed Blog

With the number of Nevada residents authorized to use medical marijuana now at 3,430, Assemblyman Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas) wants to change how marijuana is distributed in The Silver State. Last week Segerblom announced he will introduce a bill next year to license medical marijuana dispensaries and farms to provide cannabis to patients.

Under Segerblom’s plan, the state would tax marijuana sales to patients, reports Ed Vogel at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Nevada’s Health Division reported on Monday that the number of patients with medical marijuana authorizations has climbed by 1,143 in the past year.

Nevada medical marijuana patients currently have to grow their own, even though there is no legal way to even acquire seeds, and of course many of them aren’t good gardeners, or are too sick to cultivate. Authorized patients may possess up to an ounce of marijuana and three mature and four immature cannabis plants.

Arizona Initiative Would Let Voters Overrule Federal Law

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

The Libertarian Patriot

Arizona voters could gain the right to overrule federal laws and mandates under the terms of an initiative filed on Thursday.

The Arizona Constitution says the federal Constitution “is the supreme law of the land,” reports Howard Fischer at Capitol Media Services. What this measure would do, should voters approve it in November, is add language saying the federal Constitution cannot be violated by any government — including the federal government.

Ohio Decriminalizes Marijuana Smoking Paraphernalia

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

Greg Dewald/Clay Middle School

The new law will fix an imbalance under which possession of marijuana paraphernalia received a stiffer penalty than possession of marijuana itself

Ohio will start treating people who get caught with a marijuana pipe the same way it treats those who get traffic tickets starting this fall, reversing an imbalance that punished possession of marijuana paraphernalia more harshly than possession of marijuana itself.

While the removal of barriers that keep reformed felons from getting jobs was the portion of Senate Bill 337 that got lots of attention when Republican Gov. John R. Kasich signed it — it’s a considered a national model of how to write such a bill — the part that decriminalizes possession of most marijuana paraphernalia isn’t as well known, report M.L. Schultze and Simon Husted of WKSU.

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