Legislation

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Signatures Verified: Kern County Medical Marijuana Ban Blocked

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2011 Dispensaries, Growing, Legislation

Stacy McGee, left, Destiny Joy Brewer, right, and others deliver boxes of signatures on September 8 to the Kern County Elections Division challenging the county’s new ordinance outlawing storefront medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives.

Here’s how it’s done. Medical marijuana patient advocates have won a big victory in Kern County, California. Opponents of a county ordinance that would outlaw medicinal cannabis dispensaries and the sale of edible marijuana products have blocked the law from taking effect.

The Kern County Elections Division on Wednesday verified that the Kern Citizens for Patients’ Rights had collected 17,350 valid signatures from register voters in the county, reports James Burger at The Bakersfield Californian. That number is required to block the ban on dispensaries.

Elections workers counted the 17,350th signature around 11:37 a.m. on Wednesday, September 21, and stopped counting. About 2,662 of the original 26,326 signatures submitted remained uncounted, a cushion of support, as it turned out, that the Kern Citizens group didn’t need.

Governor Vetoes Bill Keeping Pot Shops Away From Homes

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 22, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, News

Americans for Safe Access

California Governor Jerry Brown wants to leave medical marijuana dispensary regulation up to cities and counties

California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday handed a defeat to anti-medical marijuana forces, vetoing a bill barring dispensaries from within 600 feet of homes in the state. Gov. Brown said the bill infringed on the powers of cities and counties that already have the authority to regulate the pot shops.

Brown noted he had already signed AB 1300, which gives cities and counties clearer authority to regulate the location and operation of marijuana dispensaries, reports Patrick McGreevey at the Los Angeles Times.

“This bill goes in the opposite direction by preempting local control and prescribing the precise locations where dispensaries may not be located,” the governor wrote in his veto message. “Decisions of this kind are best made in cities and counties, not the state Capitol.”

Ohio Medical Marijuana Ballot Issue Rejected For Content Flaws

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

CFCA America

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine: “I am unable to certify the summary as a fair and truthful statement of the proposed amendment”

The summary of a second proposed medical marijuana ballot issue in Ohio has been rejected by Attorney General Mike DeWine, who claimed it was rejected for a half-dozen “content flaws.”

In a letter Friday to the Ohio Coalition for Medical Compassion, DeWine admitted that 1,344 signatures were valid of 2,365 submitted with the proposal on September 7, reports Alan Johnson at The Columbus Dispatch. Only 1,000 valid signatures are needed.

But DeWine claimed a litany of problems, including numerous provisions that were left out of the proposed ballot summary, one section that was misstated, and one item included that was not part of the full amendment (a $2 million loan for the proposed Division of Medical Cannabis Control to hire personnel, lease office space and purchase equipment).

Cannajobs Fights For Arizona Medical Marijuana Patients’ Rights

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 20, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Protect Arizona Patients, Inc.

Cannajobs, a cannabis jobs service, has announced that they are founding members of Protect Arizona Patients, Inc., a nonprofit organization fighting the state’s refusal to fully cooperate with the will of Arizona voters by licensing medical marijuana dispensaries. Cannajobs said it has contributed financially to the nonprofit to help it file the first lawsuit against Arizona for ignoring the rights of medical marijuana patients in the state.

Arizona voters passed the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) last November, legalizing medical marijuana in the state. But Governor Jan Brewer in May blocked the rollout of the law, claiming clarification was needed about whether state employees would be subject to federal prosecution, as cannabis is still prohibited under federal law.

Gov. Brewer and the Arizona Department of Health (AZDHS) put all dispensaries on hold while they filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona seeking clarification about the potential federal response.

Montana Law: Fewer Legal Marijuana Patients, More Illegal Users

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 20, 2011 Legislation, Medical

KTVQ

A study on the effects of Montana’s tough new medical marijuana law, adopted by the Republican-controlled state Legislature last year, shows the number of patients and providers has dropped since the makeover of the law passed by voters in 2000.

But the new law has also created a lack of access and forced many patients to return to the black market, according to Kate Cholewa, policy director for the Montana Cannabis Industry, reports Ryan Whalen at Beartooth NBC. Cholewa who said patients were scared they won’t be protected from the federal government by the new Senate Bill 423.

“This doesn’t necessarily end up with fewer people using cannabis,” Cholewa said, reports Charles S. Johnson of the Helena Independent Record. “It just ends up with more people you can put in jail for it.”

Washington Democratic Party Endorses Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 19, 2011 Legislation, News

Graham Lawyer Blog

The Washington state Democratic Central Committee endorsed a marijuana legalization initiative in the state over the weekend, calling cannabis prohibition a waste of taxpayer money.

Simple marijuana possession charges now account for fully half of all drug arrests in Washington, according to the Democrats, who pointed out pot’s status as the second biggest cash crop in the state. reports Jonathan Martin at The Seattle Times.

The group said cannabis has the potential to raise $215 million in new tax revenues each year if a current legalization drive, Initiative 502, also known as New Approach Washington, passes.

I-502 is sponsored by the ACLU of Washington and endorsed by prominent figures including former U.S. Attorney John McKay (who was responsible for the prosecution of “Prince of Pot” Marc Emery), Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and travel host Rick Steves.

It is expected to gather enough signatures to go before the state Legislature in the upcoming session. At that point, the Legislature can either take action or, more likely, let the initiative be decided by the state’s voters on the November 2012 ballot.

ACLU Joins Drive To Legalize Marijuana In Colorado

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 16, 2011 Legislation, News

ACLU of Colorado

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado has joined the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a coalition supporting a 2012 ballot initiative to end cannabis prohibition in Colorado.

The initiative would make marijuana legal for adults, take it out of the black market, and establish a system in which it is regulated, taxed and sold similar to alcohol.

“In Colorado we believe our laws should be practical and they should be fair,” the group said in a statement. “Yet we are wasting scarce public resources in our criminal justice system by having police, prosecutors and the courts treat marijuana users like violent criminals.

Sweet Victory: Medical Marijuana Supporters Block County Ban

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 9, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Courtesy Craig Beresh

Craig Beresh, Randy Welty and Phil Ganong give last-minute instructions and prepare to turn in 26,000 signatures collected in 30 days to reverse the ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in Kern County, California. “We then started the victory party!” Beresh said.

It’s a huge victory for the medical marijuana community in Kern County, California. Cannabis proponents have met the deadline to gather enough signatures to block a county ordinance that would have banned dispensaries.

A ban on storefront sales of medical marijuana, approved by the Kern County Board of Supervisors on August 9, would have gone into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, reports Mark Christian at Turn To 23 in Bakersfield.

Late Thursday afternoon, Kern Citizens For Patient Rights marched to the Kern County Board of Elections to turn in the signatures needed to protest and block the ordinance, about one hour before they were due.

ACLU Challenging Florida Drug Test Law For Welfare Recipients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 7, 2011 Legislation, News

Sentimental Journeys

Florida Governor Rick Scott: “We don’t want to waste tax dollars.” The new welfare drug testing program costs about $5 for every $1 it saves.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it is filing a lawsuit challenging a Florida law that requires new welfare recipients to pass a drug test.

The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of a 35-year-old Orlando man, Luis Lebron, an ACLU spokesman told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The group said that Florida’s drug testing law is unconstitutional, violating the Fourth Amendment’s constitutional protections against search and seizure.

No further details of the ACLU lawsuit were immediately available.

Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the welfare drug testing bill into law in July, saying it is “unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction.”

Montana Medical Marijuana Backers Still Hope To Overturn Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 2, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Patients For Reform Not Repeal

Backers of medical marijuana in Montana say they are still making progress in their efforts to overturn the strict medical marijuana law recently passed by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature.

The group “Patients for Reform Not Repeal” said it has collected more than 30,000 signatures in their effort to second Senate Bill 423 back to the voters, reports Marnee Banks at KRTV. According to the group, SB 423 effectively shut down safe access to medical marijuana for Montana patients.

The group needs just more than 24,000 valid signatures, or 5 percent of the qualified voters in 34 House districts, to get the law on the ballot. They have until September 30 to gather the signatures.

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