Legislation

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Officer Sues; Was Fired For Signing Legalize Marijuana Letter

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

Joe Miller, former Mohave County probation officer, was fired for publicly supporting marijuana legalization.

A probation officer says the state of Arizona and Mohave County fired him illegally to retaliate because he signed a letter in support of a California ballot measure to legalize marijuana. The ACLU of Arizona on Thursday filed a suit on his behalf.

Joe Miller, who lives in Needles, California, was one of 32 law enforcement officers and retired officers who signed the letter, “Law Enforcers Say Control and Tax Cannabis to Protect Public Safety,” in June 2010, reports Courthouse News.

The letter, from the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), endorsed California’s Proposition 19, a November 2010 ballot measure which would have allowed adults to grow and possess small amounts of marijuana. Prop 19 lost, 46.5 percent to 53.5 percent.

Read ‘Em Here: CA Guidelines For Federal Marijuana Prosecutions

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 18, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Seattle P.I.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner of the Eastern District of California is flanked by California’s other U.S. Attorneys, from left, Laura Duffy of the Southern District, Andre Birotte Jr., of the Central District, and Melinda Haag of the Northern District, at a news conference announcing the federal crackdown, Oct. 7, 2011.

The full text of a February 2011 memo outlining the California U.S. Attorneys’ guidelines for federal medical marijuana prosecutions in California has been obtained by Cal NORML.

“There may be slight errors in transcription because the source was not allowed to make a photocopy of the document, but we believe it is accurate in all major respects,” said Dale Gieringer of Cal NORML.

“It states that the minimum threshold for federal interest generally is 200 kilos or more for distribution and 1,000 plants or more (on private land) for cultivation, plus one or more additional factors such as involvement with an international drug cartel, poly-drug trafficking organization, significant distribution outside California, et cetera,” Gieringer said.

“Note however that the memo was issued early this year, before the recent crackdown by the four CA US Attorneys,” Gieringer said.

Disabled Cops Oppose City Ban On Marijuana Cultivation

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 17, 2011 Growing, Legislation, News

LPP

An organization of retired and disabled members of the law enforcement community who have become medical marijuana patients is joining with other cannabis patients and advocates in calling on the City of Live Oak, California to regulate medical marijuana cultivation instead of banning it.

“The City of Live Oak is going to force legitimate medical marijuana patients to put themselves in danger by buying their medicine from the underground market,” said Nate Bradley, executive director of Lawmen Protecting Patients (LPP).

Medical Marijuana Bill Will Be Introduced In Alabama

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 17, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Alabama Republican Party

Rep. K.L. Brown’s sister used cannabis medicinally to control her pain and nausea before she died of breast cancer 25 years ago

An Alabama legislator is going forward with his bill that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, and he expects to pre-file the legislation within a week.

Rep. K.L. Brown (R-Jacksonville) said on Wednesday that he had submitted the bill Monday to the state’s Legislative Reference Service, reports Patrick McCreless at The Anniston Star. Lawmakers submit their legislation to that department before filing it in the Legislature.

Brown said it should be about a week before he gets the revised bill back from the Legislative Reference Service.

“Hopefully I’ll have it in a week and get it filed,” he said.

Brown’s sister used cannabis medicinally to control her pain and nausea before she died of breast cancer 25 years ago, and the lawmaker said he sees the measure as a way to help many Alabamians who are in similar situations.

Rep. Brown emphasized that his bill is in no way part of an effort to legalize marijuana completely in Alabama.

Switzerland Legalizing Up To 4 Marijuana Plants January 1

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 17, 2011 Global, Growing, Legislation

Cannabis Culture

The Swiss cannabis strain “Walliser Queen” with the Alps in the background. Starting January 1, cultivation of up to four marijuana plants will be legal in the Alpine nation.

Citizens of Switzerland will soon be allowed to grow up to four marijuana plants each at home, according to government officials. Four people sharing a house can grow up to 16 plants, but only if each person tends to their own crop.

The further relaxation of the Alpine nation’s already liberal cannabis laws has been agreed upon by four regions in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, reports Ian Sparks at the Daily Mail.

“We have agreed these new rules to prevent drugs tourism between regions where the rules are different, and to stop them buying it on the streets,” said a spokesman for the Neuchatel region of Switzerland.

Cities Can Ban Medical Marijuana Dispensaries: Appeals Court

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 11, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Mark Zaleski/Riverside Press-Enterprise

Medical marijuana patient Abel Chapa demonstrates in front of Riverside 4th District Court of Appeal as arguments are heard in two medical marijuana dispensary ban cases, one in Riverside and one in Upland

In a decision that could have immediate effects, California cities and counties can ban medical marijuana dispensaries within their borders, a state appeals court has ruled.

Other courts have upheld local governments’ authority to restrict and zone the locations of the shops, or even declare temporary moratoriums, but Wednesday’s ruling, in a Riverside case, was the first to address a citywide ban, reports Bob Egelko at the San Francisco Chronicle.

The issue has made its way through the California courts for years, but the opinion issued Wednesday is the first one that directly addresses the issue in unambiguous language, reports John Hoeffel at the Los Angeles Times. The decision upholding Riverside’s dispensary ban will likely result in more cities and counties prohibiting the pot shops.

Michigan AG: Police Can Seize, Keep Legal Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 11, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

broadcast-everywhere.net

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette refuses to defend the laws he is sworn to uphold. Is this asshole Michigan’s attorney general, or is he a federal agent?

Hey Michigan, Your Attorney General Is An Asshole

Police are not required to return confiscated medical marijuana to a patient or caregiver — even though a state law prohibits medical pot seizures, according to an opinion issued by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette on Thursday.

Schuette, who has evidently mistaken himself for a federal officer rather than someone in charge of enforcing state laws, said the provision in Michigan’s 2008 medical marijuana law directly conflicts with, and is pre-empted by, federal law, reports Kim Kozlowski at The Detroit News.

“By returning marijuana to a registered patient or caregiver, a law enforcement officer is exposing himself or herself to potential criminal and civil penalties under the (federal law) for the distribution of marijuana or abetting the possession of distribution of marijuana,” Schuette’s opinion stated — despite the fact that this scenario has never happened in any state.

Cannabis Legalization Measure Could Outlaw Driving By Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 10, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Graham Lawyer Blog

Washington state marijuana advocates who are concerned about a cannabis DUI provision in I-502, a legalization bill backed by ACLU offshoot New Approach Washington, last week got some backing from a local medical doctor.

Dr. Gil Mobley, who runs a clinic catering to medical marijuana patients in Federal Way, a suburb of Seattle, said he recently tested several patients and found they passed cognitive tests even with THC concentrations of up to 47 nanograms per milliliter (47 ng/ml), reports Jonathan Martin at The Seattle Times. Nearly four hours after one patient medicated, they still tested at 6 ng/ml, according to Dr. Mobley.

“I told them they’d be legally unable to drive if this law passes,” Dr. Mobley said. “It’s philosophically, morally and legally wrong.”

Marijuana Momentum In Michigan: Legalization Vote In 2012?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 10, 2011 Legislation, News

Kalamazoo Gazette

Michigan is undergoing a groundswell of activism for a statewide vote on the legalization of marijuana, and voters could get a chance to have their say in November 2012.

There’s a strong popular will toward reforming the cannabis laws statewide, according to Kalamazoo defense attorney Louis Stocking, who ran the petition drive for that city’s successful citywide vote Tuesday to make enforcing the marijuana laws the lowest priority of police, reports Paula M. Davis at the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Following Michigan’s approval of medical marijuana in 2008, Tuesday’s ballot measure in Kalamazoo was “a way of keeping the tidal wave going,” Stocking sasid.

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