Legislation

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Medical Marijuana Dispensary Bill Dies In Washington Legislature

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

Almost 14 years after Washington state voters approved the medicinal use of cannabis, patients in many parts of the state still have no safe access to it. A bill which would have formally legalized medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington has died in the Legislature.

Thus ends yet another effort to clearly define the legal status of the cannabis storefronts, of which there are already more than 100 in Seattle, Tacoma and surrounding areas, reports Jonathan Martin at the Seattle Times.

Although there were enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill, according to sponsor Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Seattle), it didn’t make it past the deadline for bills to advance because of limited time in the short session, as well as due to opposition from some Republican lawmakers and a handful of cities.

Vermont Voters Support Decriminalizing Marijuana

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

WPTZ

A majority of Vermont voters favor removing criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released on Wednesday. Of those polled, 63 percent supported replacing criminal penalties for possession of an ounce or less of cannabis with a civil infraction and a fine of up to $150, with no threat of arrest or jail.

Under current Vermont law, the penalty for possession of cannabis is up to six months in jail and up to a $500 fine.

The poll also reported that a majority of Vermonters would support politicians who also supported making this change. When asked if they would be more likely to vote for a legislator that voted to replace criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana, 52 percent reported that they would be more likely to support such a lawmaker.

Detroit Voters May Have To Keep Waiting To Legalize Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 14, 2012 Legislation, News

Cannabis Culture

Detroit voters who were hoping to vote on a ballot proposal which would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana may have to keep waiting.

The City of Detroit plans to file an appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court, likely delaying attempts to place the measure on the August primary ballot, according to Krystal Crittendon, corporation counsel for the city’s law department, reports Jonathan Oosting at MLive.com.

The Michigan Court of Appeals had ruled 2-1 last week that Detroit acted illegally in keeping the proposal off the ballot despite the fact that organizers collected far more signatures than needed to put the question before the city’s voters.

Congress OKs Medical Marijuana Everywhere With DC Rules: Attorney

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 13, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

theskunk.org

If one prominent attorney is right about the legal ramifications of the District of Columbia’s marijuana law — specifically, that it was approved by the U.S. Congress — then it could be a game-changer nationwide.

D.C.’s medical marijuana law was the first time that the United States Congress had ever given its explicit assent to any state or local law that permits the medicinal use of marijuana — and, according to a California attorney who specializes in health care compliance, that is enormously significant under the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

In 2009, noting that it was “allowing” the voters of Washington, D.C., to vote on and implement that city’s Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment law, Congress approved medicinal cannabis in the federal District of Columbia, over which it has all governmental power.

Clueless Anti-Drug Agencies Oppose Medical Marijuana In Ohio

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 13, 2012 Legislation, Medical

“Cannabis Addiction“

Surprise, surprise. Members of two local “drug-fighting” agencies in Ohio are going public with their opposition to two possible statewide ballot issues in November, either of which would legalize the use of medical marijuana for certain types of illnesses with a doctor’s authorization. Job security, anyone?

“We wanted to take early action to get our position out there,” said Brian Kress, chairman of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services Board of Tuscarawas and Carroll counties.

Joining Kress in opposing the use of medicinal cannabis is the Anti-Drug Coalition of Carroll County, reports Jon Baker of the Dover-New Philadelphia Times Reporter.

The Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment, a medical marijuana ballot issue, was approved by the Ohio Ballot Board in October.

In January, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine certified the petition for the proposed Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment to the Ohio Constitution.

Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In West Virginia

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

The Weed Blog

Delegate Mike Manypenny, who said he’s convinced the Lord put marijuana in His grand scheme of creation to provide mankind with relief from chronic pain, has introduced a bill in the West Virginia House of Delegates which would allow the medicinal use of cannabis in the state.

According to Manypenny, the Bible itself proves that God intended that man use marijuana for medical reasons, and he thinks his fellow members in the House of Delegates realize this, reports Mannix Porterfield of the Beckley Register-Herald.

HB 4498, new bill Del. Manypenny introduced to the chamber on Friday, would allow the use of marijuana for medical reasons.

When some constituents asked him a few years ago to sponsor the bill, “I thought, ‘They’re crazy,’ ” said Manypenny, a Democrat from Taylor County.

Arizona Legislator Wants To Ban The Term ‘Medical Marijuana’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 13, 2012 Legislation, Medical

Tucson Citizen

Arizona, this is your “leadership”: mental pygmy Rep. Bob Robson (R-Chandler) doesn’t believe in medical marijuana, so he wants to remove the term from all bills which contain it.

Arizona voters approved medical marijuana back in 2010. But there’s no such thing, insists GOP state Rep. Bob Robson, and he not only wants his fellow lawmakers to stop using that term; he wants it struck from all bills which reference it.

“We’re already tacitly committing this body to recognizing something that doesn’t really exist,” said Robson, a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives hailing from Chandler.

He’s urging that the term be struck from all bills that contain the words “medical marijuana.”

Why, exactly, does the term need to be summarily removed from the English language, pray tell?

Robson argues that because he personally has never seen any studies that prove marijuana has medical properties (although one feels safe in guessing Rep. Robson’s intellectual explorations have been, shall we say, rather limited), the term should never be used. (Granny Storm Crow [PDF], call home.)

Medical Marijuana Bills Introduced In Maryland

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

Cannabis Fantastic

Two bills were introduced Friday in the Maryland House and Senate that would allow patients with certain qualifying conditions to use medical marijuana with doctors’ recommendations.

The bills, HB 1024 and HB 1148, are based on the recommendations of a study panel created by the Legislature in 2011 and were introduced in the state House by Del. Dan Morhaim. Senator Jamie Raskin is expected to sponsor similar legislation in the state Senate.

One version of the legislation, championed by state lawmakers on the work group, allows doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their patients who could then purchase it from licensed dispensaries, all of which would be overseen by an independent commission.

Medical Marijuana Profit Is Allowed Under California Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 9, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Chronic Fatigue

In a Recent Letter, the Originator of SB 420 Clarifies That Medical Cannabis Providers Can Make a Profit.

By Robert A. Raich

There is a widely held misperception that businesses in the California medical cannabis industry are prohibited from making a profit. In reality, no California law prohibits cannabis-related businesses from making a profit.

Opponents of medical cannabis, however, have done a masterful job of spreading disinformation since SB 420 was signed into law in 2003. That disinformation has become so prevalent that it is affecting safe access to medical cannabis by patients around the state and has prompted retired state Senator John Vasconcellos to release a letter [PDF] debunking the widely held misinterpretation that profit is not permitted for medical cannabis providers under California law.

Deuvall Runs For TX House On Marijuana Legalization Platform

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

John Parr

Clif Deuvall speaks to the crowd at Portland Hempstalk 2011

A Texas man running as an Independent for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives includes ending cannabis prohibition as a prominent point in his campaign.

Clifford “Clif” Deuvall of Waco, a decorated military veteran and longtime community leader in Central Texas, has his sights set on the District 56 seat in the Texas House, and he brings a plethora of experience to the table.

Unlike many other politicians who have shied away from the issue, Deuvall — founder of Waco NORML — proudly supports marijuana legalization, and he can tell you exactly why.

“Prohibition and the disparity associated with it has cost the Texas taxpayers, youth, and families enough,” he said. “Texas prohibition was written capriciously, arbitrarily, and with discriminatory overtones directed toward the Hispanic community.

“A discriminatory-structured law must not remain on the law books of Texas,” Deuvall said.

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