Legislation

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New Hampshire Medical Marijuana Press Conference Wednesday

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 6, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Two New Hampshire lawmakers on Wednesday will discuss the details of SB 409, the medical marijuana bill they are sponsoring this year.

Sen. Jim Forsythe (R-Stafford) and Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster) will be joined in the lobby of the New Hampshire State Legislative Office Building in Concord by supporters of the bill, including Matt Simon, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, and John Tommasi, a retired Salem police sergeant. Several patients who would benefit from medical marijuana will also attend.

Biden Gives Flimsy Defense Of Drug Prohibition To Latin America

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 6, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Vice President Joe Biden: “There is no possibility that the Obama-Biden administration will change its policy on legalization”

Vice President Joe Biden, on a two-day visit to Mexico and Central America, said that while the drug legalization debate is “worth discussing,” there is “no possibility” that the Obama Administration will change its policy.

Biden’s statements came amid rapidly escalating demands by Latin American presidents that legalization be included among the options for reducing prohibition-related violence, crime and mayhem.

Vice President Biden meets on Tuesday with Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina and other Central American leaders. The Guatemalan president has said that the legalization debate will be on their agenda.

“Vice President Biden’s comment that ‘there is no possibility that the Obama-Biden administration will change its policy on legalization’ should come as no surprise,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). “That comment is consistent with longstanding U.S. policy, and it’s hard to imagine the administration wanting this debate to open up in an election year.”

High Demand: MI Buys New Printer For Medical Marijuana Cards

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 5, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

420 Medicated

The state of Michigan will soon have a snazzy new printer to keep up with demand for Medical Marihuana Program patient ID cards. More than 40,000 Michigan patients are still waiting for their state-issued cards.

Demand for medical marijuana ID cards is so high in Michigan, the state has had to order a new, six-figure printer that will allow it to produce 4,000 cannabis cards a day.

The state is far behind in printing cards for patients authorized to use cannabis under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. So far behind, in fact, that 40,000 patients still don’t have cards, and have instead been given tamper-proof letters to prove they’re qualified to use the herb for medical purposes, according to Rae Ramsdell, who oversees the program, reports the Associated Press.

More than 131,000 Michiganders have been approved for medical marijuana since state voters approved its legalization in 2008. Thousands more serve as caregivers, who are allowed to grow cannabis for up to five patients each.

VP Biden Visiting Latin America Amid Drug Legalization Debate

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 3, 2012 Global, Legislation, News

Charles Fox/Philadelphia Inquirer

Vice President Joe Biden will get an earful from Latin American presidents who are weary of the failed War On Drugs

Vice President Joe Biden is heading to Mexico and Honduras on Sunday in the midst of rapidly escalating demands by Latin American leaders that legalization should be included among the options for reducing drug-related violence, crime and mayhem.

The presidents of Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia and Mexico, all struggling to stem the violence associated with a failing Drug War, have said in recent weeks they’d like to have a discussion on legalizing drugs, reports Martha Mendoza of The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and Peru already allow the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use, and the leaders of Brazil and Colombia are discussing alternatives to jailing drug users.

“U.S. government officials are worried because the smartest among them know that the current strategy, both domestically and internationally, cannot be defended on economic, scientific or ethical grounds,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA).

Judge Denies Challenge Of Long Beach Medical Marijuana Ban

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 2, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

THC Finder

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Friday denied an injunction against Long Beach’s ban on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Opponents of the two-week-old law sought the injunction after a panel of Fourth Appellate District judges on Wednesday ruled that Lake Forest officials couldn’t use that city’s noise abatement ordinance as a wholesale ban on medicinal cannabis dispensaries and collectives, reports the Long Beach Press Telegram.

Lake Forest officials are allowed to use their nuisance ordinance to regulate the dispensaries and collectives, but they can’t just declare them all a nuisance, thereby banning them, according to the decision in Lake Forest v. Evergreen Holistic Collective.

MI Marijuana Activists Will Gather Sunday To Plan Testimony

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 2, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

DUI Maze Blog

Medical marijuana patients, caregivers, and organizations will all gather under one roof Sunday as Ann Arbor’s Clarion Hotel serves as Independence Hall while activists and interested parties will coordinate testimony to ensure all the implications of medicinal cannabis are properly explained to the Legislature.

The Michigan House of Representatives has a package of four bills under consideration that would alter the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMA) or associated laws. Those bills are currently being reviewed in the House Judiciary Committee, under the authority of Chairman John Walsh (R-Livonia).

Chairman Walsh has determined that the package will be considered in a series of hearings, which will include testimony from selected groups and organizations to be followed by statements from the public.

Colorado Senate Considers Medical Marijuana Vendor Training

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 1, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

examiner.com

Medical marijuana dispensaries looking for more professional respect would like to see a “responsible medical marijuana vendor” designation currently being considered in the Colorado Senate.

The designation would give dispensary owners the option of training employees similarly to that already available for the liquor business, reports the Associated Press.

Employees would be trained in handling cannabis and identifying medical marijuana patient IDs. Dispensaries which give “responsible vendor” training to all their employees could get a break if they face state sanctions for a regulatory misstep later.

Medical Marijuana In Idaho Legislature; Voter Initiative Underway

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 28, 2012 Legislation, Medical

The Weed Blog

A group in Idaho wants to legalize medical marijuana there, and is collecting signatures to get the initiative on the November general election ballot. Meanwhile, a medicinal cannabis bill is already before the Legislature.

House Bill 370, the Idaho Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, is sponsored by Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow), reports Todd Kunz at Local News 8. It would establish a system for patients to legally get and use cannabis.

Should HB 70 die in the Legislature, the Boise-based group Compassionate Idaho is already collecting signatures to get a medical marijuana initiative on the November ballot. They need 47,500 signatures to qualify; they say they’re shooting for 50,000.

“The state of Idaho has a lot of sick people and patients that have seriously ill and terminally ill conditions and we need to protect those patients from being arrested and from forfeiture,” said Lindsey Rinehart, head volunteer coordinator.

Colorado Senate Committee OKs Marijuana DUI Limit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 28, 2012 Legislation, News

NY Daily News

The recurring debate and driving while high is back in the spotlight in the Colorado Legislature, where a Senate committee voted Monday to endorse a proposal setting what they are inaccurately calling “a scientific standard” for deciding whether drivers are impaired by marijuana.

The bill says drivers would be considered per se guilty of driving under the influence of cannabis if they test positive for five nanograms or more of THC per milliliter of blood, reports Deb Stanley at The Denver Channel. There’s nothing “scientific” about that arbitrary cutoff point, of course, and any sane standard for DUI marijuana would include actual impairment in the equation.

Colorado Marijuana Legalization Qualifies For November Ballot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 27, 2012 Legislation, News

Marijuana Connections

Historic Vote Would Allow Adult Possession and Create Revenue

On Monday, Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler certified an initiative for the state’s November general election ballot that would legalize personal marijuana possession and allow regulated sales of marijuana to adults.

Gessler announced that the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol turned in more than the required number of valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. Voters in Colorado will have the opportunity to vote on this measure on November 6.

If passed, the initiative would allow adults 21 and older to possess and use limited amounts of marijuana. It would also establish a system of regulations to control and tax cannabis sales, much like the system that already exists for alcohol, and direct the Colorado Legislature to enact legislation governing the cultivation, processing, and sales of industrial hemp.

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