Legislation

Hey, Arkansas: Are You Ready To Legalize Medical Marijuana?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 30, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

There’s an initiative afoot in Arkansas to put medical marijuana legalization on the ballot in November 2012.

Arkansans for Compassionate Care is circulating a petition to allow the sick and dying to legally use cannabis medicinally with a doctor’s authorization for 16 different serious or chronic diseases and disorders such as cancer, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS.

The program would allow for 30 nonprofit dispensaries across the state. Those who live more than five miles from the nearest dispensary would be allowed to get a marijuana-growing permit.

“If we collect 62,500 signatures, the initiative will appear on the 2012 Presidential ballot in Arkansas,” Shannon Steece of Arkansans for Compassionate Care told Toke of the Town. “Currently we have less than 20,000 unvalidated signatures.”

Washington, R.I. Governors Ask Feds To Reclassify Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 30, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical, News

Seattle Weekly

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire: “Has anybody died from marijuana?”

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee have asked the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a drug that can be prescribed by doctors and filled by pharmacists, in a move that would require the federal Food and Drug Administration to conduct new studies.

The move by the governors gives new political muscle to the debate on the legal and medicinal status of marijuana, which has been raging across an American cultural divide for decades, reports Michael Cooper at The New York Times.

“The divergence in state and federal law creates a situation where there is no regulated and safe system to supply legitimate patients who may need medical cannabis,” the governors wrote on Wednesay to Michele M. Leonhart, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

“In the year 2011, why can’t medical cannabis be prescribed by a physician and filled at the drug store just like any other medication?” Gregoire said on Wednesday, reports Vanessa Ho at SeattlePI.com.

Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In Wisconsin

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 30, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Medical Marijuana Blog

The “Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act,” which would let seriously ill Wisconsin residents use marijuana to treat their illnesses, has again been introduced to the state Legislature.

The bill, LRB-2466/1, introduced at a Wednesday press conference by sponsor Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), would allow patients to grow small amounts of marijuana to treat specific conditions, as well as permit the establishment of regulated and licensed cultivation and distribution centers within the state.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Waunakee) is co-sponsoring the bill in the Wisconsin Senate. A similar bill was introduced last session but did not pass. Now Republicans control both the Senate and the Assembly and political observers say it’s unlikely to pass this time, either.

Rep. Pocan was joined on Wednesday by patients and medical professionals who support the right to have safe access to medicinal cannabis.

Weed Leads On ‘We The People’ Petition Website

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 29, 2011 Culture, Legislation, News

The Op-Toons Review

Obama’s response to calls from the public for marijuana legalization

Petitions relating to the legalization of marijuana far exceed those on any other subject posted to a U.S. government website designed to garner citizen feedback described as “an experiment in democracy.”

During the first two months since the Obama Administration launched the We The People petition website, 119 active petitions were posted on November 14; petitions that fail to meet the 25,000-signature threshold after 30 days are removed from the site and archived, reports Joseph Marks at Nextgov.

Florida State Senator Files Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 29, 2011 Legislation, Medical

The Weed Blog

Medical marijuana patients in Florida may be one step closer to lighting up legally thanks to a state senator.

State Senator Larcenia Bullard (D-Miami), recently filed Senate Joint Resolution 1028, a Senate bill to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes in the Sunshine State, in an effort to get it on the 2012 ballot, according to a Central Florida 13 news report by Troy Kinsey and Margaret Kavanagh.

Representative Jeff Clements of Lake Worth also introduced companion legislation, HJR 353, reports Kristal Roberts at ABC Action News.

Bullard’s bill creates an amendment that allows people with debilitating medical conditions to use marijuana as treatment on the recommendation of a doctor. The bill legislation would also allow medical marijuana farms and dispensaries to operate in Florida.

Banking Problems Could Kill Medical Marijuana In Colorado

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 28, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

CreditCards.com

Colorado medical marijuana business owners are desperately writing letters to every bank in the country asking if they can please, oh please, just have a bank account.

About 150 dispensary owners across the state are looking for banks that will take their accounts, said Tanya Garduno, president of the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council and owner of Medical Cannabis Center, reports Monica Mendoza at InsuranceNewsNet.

The medical marijuana industry has already survived regulations, licensing, security and thick stacks of almost impenetrable rules and legalese.

Canada Prime Minister: Govt. Will Never Decriminalize Cannabis

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 28, 2011 Global, Legislation

Let Freedom Rain

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper: “No, it will not happen under our government”

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday that his government will never agree to the decriminalization of marijuana.

Harper’s comments came in Vancouver in response to a question at a brief news conference following an event at a downtown science center, reports CBC News.

“No, it will not happen under our government,” Harper said. “We’re very concerned about the spread of drugs in the country and the damage it’s doing and as you know we have legislation before the House to crack down.”

Harper didn’t bother to detail exactly what kind of “damage” marijuana is doing to Canada, which has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in the world.

Sexy Pizza Creates Pie To Benefit Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 28, 2011 Culture, Legislation, Products

SodaHead

The love affair between pizza and marijuana is no secret, so Denver-based Sexy Pizza thought it would use this culinary romance to raise funds for a group of law enforcement officials dedicated to reforming failed drug policies in America.

Sexy Pizza has created the “LEAP Pizza,” a Hawaiian-style pie with Canadian bacon, pineapple and mozzarella cheese, which will benefit Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). In tribute to these brave cops who stand dedicated to the marijuana reform movement, Sexy Pizza said it will donate $1 from the purchase of each “LEAP Pizza” to their organization.

Petition Circulating To Legalize Marijuana In Missouri

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 25, 2011 Legislation, News

peter.a photography

A petition now circulating in Missouri would place a constitutional amendment on the November 2012 ballot to legalize marijuana for people 21 and older.

The “Show-Me Cannabis Initiative” calls for a repeal of marijuana prohibition in the state, reports Kevin Murphy at the South County Times.

The measure would regulate cannabis similarly to the way Missouri currently regulates alcohol. Marijuana would be legal and sold by licensed stores, or could be grown at home for personal use. Medical marijuana would be available to those with a physician’s recommendation, including those under 21 with parental consent and a doctor’s supervision.

Medical Marijuana Resolution Now In Florida Legislature

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical

The World

Resolutions to let Florida voters decide on an amendment to the state constitution which would legalize marijuana have now been proposed in both chambers of the state Legislature.

Sen. Larcenia Bullard (D-Miami) dropped Senate Joint Resolution 1028 in the hopper on Friday, and Rep. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth) had already introduced House Joint Resolution 353, reports Matthew Hendley at the Broward Palm Beach New Times. The resolutions would put a medical marijuana amendment up for a statewide vote next year.

But there’s one hurdle, and it’s a tall one: Both the Senate and the House have to pass the resolutions by three-fifths margins for the amendment to make it to the ballot.

Clemens’ bill was assigned to three House committees about a month ago, in late October, and chances don’t look very good of it making it out of any of those committees anytime soon.

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