Legislation

Cops Reject US Attorney’s Colorado Medical Marijuana Threats

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 23, 2012 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Tony Ryan, left, and Richard Frieling of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Ryan is a retired lieutenant from the Denver Police force; Frieling is a former municipal court judge and practicing criminal defense attorney

Colorado-based and national representatives of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) on Monday sent a stern letter to U.S. Attorney John Walsh, pushing back against his recent threats to medical marijuana centers that operate legally under state and local law.

The letter, signed by 26-year veteran Denver cop Tony Ryan and former Lafayette Judge Richard Frieling, along with LEAP Executive Director Neill Franklin, says Walsh’s actions are “a disservice to the state of Colorado” and “undermine state and local regulations in a manner that will likely increase the underground distribution of marijuana.”

The Elegant Solution: End Cannabis Enforcement In Colorado

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 22, 2012 Legislation

Michelle LaMay

Michelle LaMay founded Cannabis University™ and is author of The Colorado Relief for the Possession of Cannabis Act of 2012

Guest Editorial

By Michelle LaMay

Author, The Colorado Relief for the Possession of Cannabis Act of 2012

One of the most viable seeds of the passionate intolerance for pot — amongst my peers, and now their sons and daughters — sprouted when the men came home from Vietnam. My other peers, “hippies,” spat on them! Hate and extreme prejudice quickly took root and thrived on a haze of titillating propaganda sucked up by the exploitative media.

“Hippies use cannabis”… and if it is discovered that cannabis becomes a drug of choice, that cannabis user is condemned by two generations of biased zealots at home and, most damagingly, by prohibition laws.

Ohio’s 2nd Medical Marijuana Ballot Issue Certified By AG

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 21, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

OMCA 2012

Ohio’s second proposed medical marijuana ballot issue took a step forward Friday when it was certified by Attorney General Mike DeWine.

The Ohio Medical Cannabis Amendment to the Ohio Constitution contains a “fair and truthful” summary and has the necessary 1,000 signatures of Ohio registered voters, DeWine decided, reports alan Johnson of The Columbus Dispatch.

Next up for the ballot issue is the Ohio Ballot Board, which will determine whether it should appear on the November 6 general election ballot as a single issue or as multiple issues. Secretary of State Jan Husted set a board meeting for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 25.

Virginia To Study Benefits Of Selling Marijuana At Liquor Stores

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2012 Legislation, News

examiner.com

All those bottles, and not a single bag of weed. But that could change at Virginia liquor stores under a new plan suggested by Delegate David Englin

At least one local lawmaker believes Virginia should explore the idea of selling marijuana at state-run liquor stores.

Delegate David Englin, a Democrat, is calling for a study to look at the potential benefits, reports NBC Washington. Liquor sales generate millions of dollars of revenues for the commonwealth every year.

Part of the legislation reads, “As society changes, products that were deemed illegal at one time are made legal and even sold by stores that are operated by government agencies in the attempt to control the sale of the products,” reports Katie Pyzyk at ARL now.

Polish MP Could Get A Year For Even Talking About Smoking A Joint In Parliament

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

AFP

MP Janusz Palikot, the leader of a new left-wing party in Poland, launched a drive on Friday to legalize marijuana in the Eastern European country

The leader of an up-and-coming new left-wing political party in Poland threatened to light up a joint in Parliament on Friday — but ended up just burning what he said was cannabis-scented incense after being reported to prosecutors.

The prosecutors have opened an investigation into whether MP Janusz Palikot broke a Polish law against “promoting or advertising” drugs with his threat to smoke cannabis in Parliament, according to news agency PAP. That’s a crime that could carry a prison sentence of up to a year, reports Vanessa Gera of the Associated Press.

Judge To Arizona Gov: Open The Marijuana Dispensaries Already

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

weGrow

Arizona officials must allow medical marijuana dispensaries under the 2010 voter-approved medicinal cannabis law, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ruled.

In his Wednesday ruling, Judge Richard Gama struck down some restrictions that state officials had planned to use to determine which applicants were eligible for dispensary licenses, report Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Mary K. Reinhart of the Tucson Citizen.

Judge Gama noted that Arizona voters wanted the Medical Marijuana Act implemented 120 days after it passed and that “this has not been done,” reports Ray Stern at Phoenix New Times.

The reason it wasn’t done, Stern reports, is that Governor Jan Brewer — who spoke out against Proposition 203 before voters approved it in November 2010 — halted the dispensary portion of the new law at the same time she filed an unsuccessful federal lawsuit against it. Brewer decided on Friday that she wouldn’t refile that lawsuit and that the state should begin accepting applications once a lawsuit by Compassion First AZ was resolved.

Judge Gama’s ruling resolved that lawsuit, but it will still be months before the state’s 18,000-plus medical marijuana patients can walk into a dispensary and get their medicine, Phoenix New Times reports.

Cannabis Legalization Signatures Getting Line-By-Line Review

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

The Weed Blog

Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced on Thursday that the proposed ballot measure concerning “Use and Regulation of Marijuana” will require a line-by-line review of all signatures.

Petitions for proposed Initiative 30, Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, were submitted to the Secretary of State’s office on January 4. The office immediately began verifying a random sample of the signatures, as required by state law. Section 1-40-116(4), C.R.S., requires the verification of every signature filed if the random sample shows the number of valid signatures falls between 90 percent and 110 percent of the signatures needed.

Campaign To Legalize Marijuana Kicking Off In Michigan

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

Cannabis Fantastic

A press conference will be held in Detroit Friday to officially kick off a campaign to amend the Michigan State Constitution to repeal marijuana prohibition for adults 21 and older.

Executive members of a grassroots committee working toward passage of the amendment — which renders every anti-marijuana statute unconstitutional — said it will not apply to or change workplace or driving issues regarding cannabis.

“Michigan led the way in ending the failed experiment known as alcohol prohibition, and we likewise intend to put an end to the wasted resources, skewed police priorities and very real collateral damage of marijuana prohibition,” said Matthew Abel, campaign director for the Committee for a Safer Michigan.

CA Supreme Court To Review Controversial Medical Marijuana Cases

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

The Weed Blog

Advocates Applaud Decision to Review Long Beach and Riverside Dispensary Regulation Cases

The California Supreme Court issued an order on Wednesday indicating it will review two controversial medical marijuana cases that have resulted in the suspension of several local dispensary ordinances across the state.

As a result of Wednesday’s order, Pack v. City of Long Beach and City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient’s Health and Wellness Ctr., Inc. have both been vacated in anticipation of the High Court’s ruling. The Pack decision held that some dispensary regulations may be preempted by federal law and the Riverside decision held that localities could legally ban distribution altogether.

STRIKE: Stop SOPA, Stop PIPA, Preserve Freedom Of Speech

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 18, 2012 Legislation

Electronic Frontier Foundation

███ ██ █ ████ the Drug War ███ █████ is █████ ████ ████ good ████ and you ███ █should ██████ trust █████ ██████ ███ your █████ ████ government.

(Parts of this comment have been found in violation of H.R. 3261, S.O.P.A and Senate Bill 968, P.I.P.A. and has been censored for your benefit.)

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