Legislation

Landmark Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ruling Prevails

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 24, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

People v. Colvin Affirms That Dispensing Collective Members Are Not Required To Help Cultivate Their Marijuana

The absurd specter of seriously ill medical marijuana patients being forced to work in the fields for their medicine has been dispelled. In a major victory for the community, the California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied review of an important dispensary case out of Los Angeles. Rejecting calls from State Attorney General Kamala Harris and law enforcement to review the Court of Appeal ruling in People v. Colvin, the Court upheld certain protections for medical marijuana patients and providers.

Penn’s Rant About Obama Marijuana Policy Goes Viral

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 23, 2012 Culture, Legislation, News

Video footage of Penn Jillette and Michael Goudeau’s “Penn’s Sunday School” chat about the President’s marijuana policy and previous drug use has gone viral online.

NORML Women Putting Judges On The Cannabis Hot Seat

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 22, 2012 Legislation, News

The UnLockr

It’s time for the cannabis community to be more aware of the stands taken by judges and other public servants when it comes to marijuana, and the NORML Women’s Alliance is taking steps to make that happen in Los Angeles County.

The L.A. branch of the NORML Women’s Alliance (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) on Monday launched a new voter education project focused on candidates for Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge in the June 5 primary election.

“We at the NORML Women’s Alliance believe that judges hold one of the most important elected offices in our system of government,” said Cheri Sicard, Los Angeles County community leader for the group. “Judges, more than any other government officials, have a direct impact on the daily lives of the constituents they serve. Yet voters are often least informed about the candidates they elect to these important positions. We want to change that.”

Poll: 56% Favor Legalizing, Regulating Marijuana In U.S.

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 22, 2012 Legislation, News

Dawah International, LLC

A solid majority of voters nationwide favor legalizing and regulating marijuana similar to the way alcohol and tobacco are currently regulated, according to a poll released last week by Rasmussen Reports. Most of those responding don’t believe it should be a crime for people to smoke marijuana in the privacy of their own homes.

The national telephone survey of 1,000 likely voters shows that 56 percent favor legalizing and regulating marijuana in a manner similar to the way alcohol and cigarettes are regulated. Thirty-six percent (36%) are opposed to legalizing and regulating cannabis in such a manner.

“Polling now consistently shows that more voters support legalizing and regulating marijuana than support continuing a failed prohibition approach,” said Neill Franklin, a retired Baltimore narcotics cop who now works with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). “Yet far too many politicians continue to acts as if marijuana policy reform is some dangerous third rail they dare not touch.

One Year Later, Medical Marijuana At A Standstill In Delaware

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 21, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

The California Pot Blog

Hundreds of Delaware residents suffering from serious health problems thought a year ago when Gov. Jack Markell signed the state’s medical marijuana law that they were on the verge of finally being legally allowed to use the herb to treat nausea and pain. But they’re still waiting for safe access to cannabis — and are becoming more disappointed and frustrated by the day.

Many doctors, who must write the recommendations which authorize medicinal cannabis use, are reluctant to give their approval, and the state is in a stalemate with the federal government over plants for distributing marijuana, reports Doug Denison at Delaware Online.

The reluctance of Delaware’s medical community to embrace marijuana come from two main sources, Denison reports: Some physicians just aren’t convinced that cannabis is an effective treatment, while others worry that they could get in legal trouble if they authorize patients to use the substance, since it is federally classified as a Schedule I drug. (If they were lawyers instead of doctors, they’d realize that question has already been addressed and resolved by the Supreme Court in the Conant v. Walters case.)

Californians to Regulate Medical Marijuana Holding Unity Conference

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

Californians to Regulate Medical Marijuana

Press conference on Monday, May 21 at Capitol in Sacramento, followed by lobby visits to each California State Assembly & Senate office

Californians to Regulate Medical Marijuana, a Political Action Committee formed in the fall of 2011 to push for passage of a statewide production and distribution system, is holding a “Unity Conference” this weekend, followed by a press conference and lobby day on Monday.

Advocates will gather at the Sacramento Central Labor Council on Saturday and Sunday to build their skills and strategize on passing statewide regulations. Hundreds of advocates will then gather on Monday at the Capitol to lobby every State Assembly and Senate office.

Marijuana DUI Bill Fails Again In Colorado

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

Timothy Tipton

The Colorado Senate on Tuesday afternoon killed a marijuana DUI bill

A marijuana DUI bill early Tuesday afternoon failed again to clear the Colorado Senate, once again being voted down.

The DUI bill has been a rollercoaster for the past two years, reports Michael Roberts at Denver Westword, perhaps due at least partially to the fact that there’s no solid science supporting the proposed limit of five nanograms per milliliter (5 ng/ml) as being at all correlated with actual driving impairment.

Failure of the bill once again in the Colorado Legislature (for the third time) may have reverberations all the way to the U.S. West Coast, since an identical DUI limit — 5 ng/ml — currently threatens to derail a semi-legalization initiative, I-502, in Washington state.

Anti-Pot Wingnut Wants Ammiano Removed From Committee

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

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Anti-marijuana wing nut Paul Chabot: “Ammiano is a long-time advocate of drug legalization and has sponsored a number of anti-pubic [sic]safety bills”

Coalition for a Drug Free California Wants To Punish Assembly Member For Supporting Medical Marijuana Patients

The Coalition for a Drug Free California (CDFC), an extremist anti-marijuana fringe group headed by entertaining wingnut Paul Chabot, has called for California Assembly Member Tom Ammiano to be removed from his chairmanship of the Public Safety Committtee.

You see, Ammiano has dared to voice his support for medical marijuana, and that’s just not permissible in the stuffed-shirt little nightmare world inhabited by Chabot and his minions — and they want to force the rest of us to live in that fucked up little world, too.

Colorado Marijuana DUI Bill Again Poised For Approval

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

THC Finder

Like a bad penny that just won’t go away, Colorado’s marijuana blood-level limit for drivers is back again, and once again is poised for approval, after two previous failures.

The Colorado House gave its initial thumbs-up to a bill setting the cannabis driving limit at 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood (5 ng/ml), reports The Associated Press.

Last year the pot DUI bill was rejected in the Senate after it was brought to light that a 5 ng/ml cut-off point is unsupported by science; the link between that blood THC level and driving impairment appears tenuous at best.

Last week, the Colorado House was once again poised to adopt the bad legislation, but the bill died as a result of a filibuster on a civil unions measure.

Thoughts On Washington’s I-502: With Friends Like These…

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 14, 2012 Culture, Legislation

Naked Science Forum

By Mickey Martin

Cannabis Warrior

So there is a lot of drama in Washington State right now about I-502, an initiative that will go before the voters in November to legalize up to an ounce and set up a distribution system like statewide liquor stores. I have taken a step back from this battle because I am somewhat torn.

I have allies on both sides of the fence, and the big point of contention is the creation of a five nanogram per milliliter standard for DUI, and a zero tolerance limit for anyone under 21.

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