Legislation

Michigan Marijuana Legalization Runs Low On Signatures, Time

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 21, 2012 Legislation, News

It appears increasingly unlikely that a proposal to legalize marijuana in Michigan will make the ballot in November, but organizers say they haven’t given up.

Supporters of the proposal, which would make cannabis legal for adults 21 and older, said on Wednesday they’ve collected about 40,000 signatures, reports Tim Martin at mlive.com. That’s a long way from the nearly 323,000 signatures they need by July 9 to make the ballot and allow voters to decide.

The effort to collect signatures is continuing, according to Committee for a Safer Michigan organizer Matt Abel. He said he hopes volunteers working on the campaign will submit thousands of signatures in the next few weeks and gain new momentum for the push.

Uruguay Plans To Sell Marijuana To Registered Buyers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 20, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

AFP

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica

The government of the South American nation of Uruguay plans to not only legalize marijuana, but to sell it, according to local news media.

Unnamed lawmakers from Uruguay’s ruling party were quoted as saying that the government would send a bill to Congress on Wednesday that would legalize cannabis sales as a “crime-fighting measure.” Only the government would be allowed to sell marijuana, and only to adults registered as “users,” reports Pablo Fernandez of the Associated Press.

Long Beach Moves Toward August Marijuana Dispensary Ban

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 20, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Where’s Weed?

Barring a miracle, all medical marijuana dispensaries will be banned from Long Beach, California on August 12.

Law enforcement officers gave an update on the city’s current medical marijuana law — which includes an exception allowing 18 dispensaries — during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, reports Jonathan Van Dyke at Gazettes.com.

The Council voted in February to ban collectives, with a six-month exemption for the dispensaries that had gone through a long and torturous approval process — even including a lottery, for Christ’s sake — for the past several years.

On Tuesday, the question was whether the city ever wanted to offer another extension to the existing dispensaries, or whether the initial six-month exemption was intended as a grace period for the shops to “wind down” operations.

WA: Here’s A Way to Collect Legalization Signatures & Get Paid

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

The Weed Blog

Wanna get paid $3 per signature while gathering for Washington state’s Cannabis Child Protection Act, I-514?

Seriously? Yes, but the details will surprise you.

It’s a bit of a twist not seen in volunteer-supported campaigns, but Toke of the Town is about to pass along to Washington State cannabis reform activists something they’ve been lacking the past few years: the opportunity to collect signatures to legalize (remove penalties for adults, felonies for minors, allow home growing) for cannabis AND adjust I-502’s bad effects (if it passes) by requiring video evidence of impairment before anyone’s blood can be used in a DUI case, all while making cash money.

Curious? Here is the full story.

Senate Republicans Kill Marijuana Reform In New York

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

ShadyHousePub.com

Surprise, surprise! More gutless non-leadership from the Party of No

Senate Republicans and Conservative Party Break With Top Law Enforcement Officials to Kill Legislation Clarifying Marijuana Possession Laws; Measure Supported by Cuomo, Bloomberg, NYPD Commissioner, District Attorneys Throughout State

Over 50,000 Needless Arrests Cost Taxpayers $75 million a Year, Undermine Ability of Youth to Gain Employment; Majority Leader Skelos and Conservative Party Leader Mike Long Apparently Believe Wasteful, Unlawful, Racially Biased Arrests is “Right Message” for “Youngsters”

Operations Order by Commissioner Kelly Has Proven To Be Ineffective; Advocates, Community Groups and Elected Officials Vow to Continue Fight for Legislation That Ensures Equity, Fairness and Fiscal Responsibility

Monday night, lawmakers in Albany failed to reach agreement on legislation to reduce the staggering number of unlawful, biased arrests for marijuana possession in New York.

The proposal, unveiled by Governor Andrew Cuomo two weeks ago and introduced in the Assembly by Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries, was widely seen as a responsible measure to address the inconsistency and unfairness in the marijuana possession laws in New York. Yet Senate Republicans refused to take up the matter, appearing shaken, intimidated and frightened by threats from Conservative Party Leader Mike Long, who declared he would pull the Conservative Party line from anyone who supported the measure.

The Senate – in what can only be called a stunning failure of leadership – then refused to take up the legislation, undermining reform. Because of inaction in the Senate, tens of thousands of people, predominately young men of color, will continue to be needlessly funneled through the criminal justice system at an expense of tens of millions of dollars to state taxpayers and untold damage to the relationships between law enforcement and communities in New York.

San Diego Medical Marijuana Initiative Doesn’t Make The Ballot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 19, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

The Weed Blog

A proposed ballot measure to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of San Diego which would also impose a tax on dispensary operators won’t be on the ballot in November, supporters announced on Monday.

The dispensary-sponsored groups Citizens for Patient Rights and the Patient Care Association were unsuccessful in getting 62,057 signatures by Monday’s deadline to qualify. The number of signatures collected fell badly short at under 20,000, less than a third of what was required.

“Qualifying a ballot initiative in the City of San Diego is extremely cost prohibitive,” the group said in a Monday press release. “Recently, the proponents of the successful Proposition B spent over 1.1 million to qualify their initiative for the ballot, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.”

N.C. Democratic Party Endorses Medical Marijuana Legalization

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

Gateway Pundit

The North Carolina Democratic Party endorsed medical marijuana legalization at its convention last weekend, as one of 77 resolutions that members support.

Many of the resolutions adopted at the convention are aligned with official party policy positions, but some, including cannabis legalization, are still seen by the establishment as “fringe” positions, report John Frank and Lynn Bonner of the Raleigh News-Observer. (Frank and Bonner didn’t get the story quite right, by the way; they reported the Democrats endorsed “marijuana legalization,” which, of course, is a whole different animal than “medical marijuana legalization.” Try harder to get it right next time, John and Lynn.)

The party endorsed not just one but two pro-cannabis resolutions, the first for legalizing medical marijuana in North Carolina, and the second in support of renewing industrial hemp as an agricultural crop in the state.

Oregon’s Largest Union Endorses Oregon Cannabis Tax Act

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 16, 2012 Legislation, News

Michael M.

The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555, with 18,000-plus members, has endorsed the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, which would legalize marijuana in the Beaver State

There’s good news and bad news from the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, OCTA 2012. The good: OCTA has received the endorsement and support of Oregon’s largest private sector union, the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 555, and their 18,000-plus members. On Thursday, June 14, UFCW Local 555’s board of directors voted unanimously to endorse the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act initiative.

“We are working with their leadership to mobilize their membership to sign and circulate the petitions,” said OCTA 2012 sponsor Paul Stanford “Thank you UFCW Local 555!”

Democratic Senator Backs Industrial Hemp In Farm Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 14, 2012 Growing, Legislation, News

Sully The Urban Hillbilly

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon: “My amendment to the Farm Bill will change federal policy to allow U.S. farmers to produce hemp for these safe and legitimate products right here”

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) explained the difference between industrial hemp and marijuana on Wednesday in a floor speech backing an amendment to a Senate farm bill which would allow farmers in the United States to grow hemp.

Wyden’s amendment would remove the federal rule which prohibits farmers from growing hemp, replacing it with a state-administered permit system, reports Daniel Strauss at The Hill. Amendment 2220 is cosponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

“This is, in my view, a textbook example of a regulation that flunks the commonsense test,” said Wyden. “There is government regulation on the books today that prevents America’s farmers from growing industrial hemp and what’s worse is this regulation is hurting job creation in rural America and increasing our trade deficit.”

N.Y. Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana In Symbolic Move

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

My Daily Complaint

In a move seen as mostly symbolic, the New York State Assembly on Wednesday voted 90 to 50 in favor of legislation that would make the Empire State the second-largest to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. It was the third time the Assembly, controlled by Democrats, has passed such legislation, which would allow registered patients to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis or grow up to 12 plants.

But the New York Senate, controlled by Republicans, is unlikely to vote on the bill this session, reports Reuters. The GOP-controlled Senate has never allowed the bill to come up for a vote, despite its being passed three times by the Assembly, using the lame excuse that it would “violate federal law.”

Browsing: Legislation