Legislation

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Willie Nelson Supports Oregon Cannabis Tax Act

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 16, 2012 Culture, Legislation, News

Country music legend Willie Nelson has endorsed the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012 (OCTA 2012), which is gathering signatures to qualify for the November general election ballot. If passed by the people of Oregon, OCTA 2012 would regulate the legal sale of marijuana through state-licensed stores, allow adults to grow their own, license Oregon farmers to grow marijuana for state-licensed stores and allow unlicensed Oregon farmers to grow hemp for fuel, fiber and food.

OCTA 2012 will raise an estimated $140 million a year by taxing commercial cannabis sales to adults 21 and older, and save an additional estimated $61.5 million as law enforcement, corrections and judicial attention can focus on violent crimes and theft.

“We estimate this will amount to $200 million a year more funding for state government,” the Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH) said. Ninety percent of those proceeds will go into the state general fund, seven percent for drug treatment programs, with one percent each going to drug education in public schools and to two new state commissions to promote hemp biofuel, hemp fiber and food.

Human Rights Is A Foreign Concept In The UN’s War On Drugs

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 16, 2012 Culture, Global, Legislation

Your Black Bloggers

Latin American Presidents’ Calls For Legalization Debate Go Unheeded At UN Drug Policy Meeting

The annual Drug War meeting of the United Nations is just wrapping up in Vienna, and sadly, none of the sentiments recently expressed by Latin American presidents about the need to consider legalization were raised during the sessions.

“Alarmingly, the U.S. even opposed amending one of its resolutions to include mention of the need to consider human rights when implementing drug policies,” Tom Angell, media relations director at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), told Toke of the Town on Friday morning.

Even while several Latin American presidents are calling for an outright debate on drug legalization, delegates at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs meeting this week failed to even discuss a change in the global prohibitionist drug treaties, reports a group of judges, prosecutors and jailers who were at the meeting in Vienna to promote reform.

Canada Passes Harsh Mandatory Sentences For Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 15, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

The Non Conformer

Despite widespread criticism from experts and a massive price tag, Canada’s Harper Conservatives on Tuesday passed by a 154 to 129 vote the controversial Bill C-10, the so called omnibus crime bill or “Safe Streets and Communities Act.” The new law includes harsh mandatory jail sentences for minor marijuana offenses. The Beyond Prohibition Foundation, which has long advocated against these sweeping changes to Canada’s criminal justice system, said it was “deeply troubled by the implications of the bill.”

The bill increases sentences for drug and sex offenses, reduces the use of conditional sentences such as house arrest, provides harsher penalties on young offenders, and makes it more difficult to get a pardon, reports Bruce Cheadle of the Canadian Press.

Fed Court Sets Hearing In Medical Marijuana Voting Rights Case

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 14, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

The Weed Blog

In a case that could change everything, a hearing has been ordered in the voting rights case brought by medical marijuana patients against the federal government.

U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford set March 26 to hear arguments regarding whether federal authorities should be enjoined from sending letters ordering the closure of medical marijuana collectives in Costa Mesa, California.

The patients in the case allege they have been denied the right to vote on medical marijuana legalization despite Congress’s December 2009 decision to grant that right to Washington, D.C., voters. A team of likeminded attorneys has now started working cooperatively to defend disabled patients’ rights on this case and additional suits.

“It is anomalous for the U.S. Attorney to claim that marijuana has no medical value based on the more than 40-year-old Controlled Substances Act considering Congress allowed the District of Columbia to vote on and implement its ‘Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Purposes Act’ in 2009,” Matthew Pappas, an attorney on the case, told Toke of the Town Wednesday morning.

Branson, Nadelmann To Speak In DC About Failed War On Drugs

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

Drug Policy Alliance

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson (left) will join Drug Policy Alliance Executive Directeor Ethan Nadelmann (right) to speak about the need for greater momentum and political debate to end the failed War On Drugs

To Be Discussed Thursday, March 15: Legalization Debate in Latin America, Portugal’s Decriminalization Experience, Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiatives in Colorado and Washington, and the State of National Drug Policy Reform Efforts

Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson will join Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann to speak about the need for greater momentum and political debate to end the failed Drug War this Thursday, March 15, at a forum organized by The Atlantic (600 New Hampshire Ave. NW, 8th Floor) from 9:15 to 10:30 a.m.

Steve Clemons, editor at large of The Atlantic, will host the session and interview Branson and Nadelmann before opening to questions from the audience and media.

In the past year, Branson has stepped out as a prominent supporter of drug policy reform. His involvement with the Global Commission on Drug Policy electrified the international media and brought a new level of attention to the growing movement to end the 40-year-old War On Drugs.

Zero Tolerance Marijuana DUI Bill Introduced In California

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 12, 2012 Legislation, News

THC Finder

A bill that would establish a zero-tolerance driving under the influence (DUI) standard for marijuana has been introduced in the California Legislature.

The bill, AB 2552, sponsored by Norma Torres (D-Pomona), would make any driver found with above-zero levels of cannabinoids in blood or urine presumptively guilty of DUI.

“Since cannabinoids remain in the system for days or weeks after last use, the bill would effectively outlaw driving by every marijuana user in the state,” said Dale Gieringer of California NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).

Lowest Police Priority: 6 WA Cities May Have Cannabis Initiatives

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

Sensible Washington

Washington state legalization group Sensible Washington announced earlier this year that they would be running local, city-wide initiatives in 2012. Last month the group declared Spokane its first city. Now, just days away from filing, the group has announced the next five cities where they’ll be running initiatives:

• Everett

• Olympia

• Bremerton

• Kent

• Bellingham

According to Sensible Washington, these initiatives will combine making adult cannabis offenses the lowest law-enforcement priority, and prohibiting cooperation of local law enforcement with federal authorities in marijuana enforcement.

Marijuana Advocates Urge Senate Committee to Support New Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 9, 2012 Legislation, Medical

FreakingNews.com

SB 409 Would Protect Seriously Ill New Hampshire Patients From Arrest If Their Doctors Recommend Medical Marijuana

A hearing on New Hampshire’s medical marijuana bill, SB 409, ran past 5 p.m. on Thursday evening. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro), listened to two and a half hours of testimony, nearly all of which was offered in support of the bill.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Jim Forsythe (R-Strafford), introduced the measure and made a strong case that support for the bill transcends partisan boundaries.

N.H. House Votes 162-161 To Decriminalize Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 8, 2012 Legislation, News

MilitantLibertarian.org

The New Hampshire House has passed a bill — by the narrowest possible margin, 162-161 — to decriminalize possession of up to a half ounce of marijuana.

Republican Speaker of the House Bill O’Brien abstained from voting, allowing the bill to get through by one vote, reports Kevin Landrigan at the Nashua Telegraph. The bill, HB 1526, cleared the House after O’Brien announced he was letting the measure pass by not voting.

Under current New Hampshire law, anyone possessing a half ounce of marijuana can face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. This bill would make such possession a civil violation on the first offense, with a fine of up to $250, and a fine of $500 the second time it occurred.

Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Should Be Legal

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 8, 2012 Culture, Legislation, News

CNN

Pat Robertson: “I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol”

Says He ‘Absolutely’ Supports the Colorado and Washington State Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiatives

Pat Robertson is the latest and maybe the most surprising person to come out in support of legalizing marijuana. Last week on his show, The 700 Club, the signature program on his Christian Broadcast Network, he spoke out passionately against locking people up for possession of marijuana and noted that it was costing us billions of dollars.

Then on Wednesday, in an interview with The New York Times, Robertson, 81, went even farther by saying that he not only supported legalizing marijuana but that he “absolutely” supports the Colorado and Washington state marijuana legalization ballot initiatives on the 2012 ballot.

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