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Stunning Reversal At N.J. Medical Marijuana Trial!

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2009 Legislation, Medical, News

MS patient John Ray Wilson, left, and a supporter

In a move that could be huge for the medical marijuana movement, a New Jersey judge reversed course today, allowing a multiple sclerosis patient on trial for growing 17 marijuana plants to testify about his medical condition, Brian Thompson of NBC New York reports.

Although Judge Robert Reed had earlier ruled defendant John Ray Wilson couldn’t present a defense based on medical necessity, Wilson was allowed to mention his MS after multiple conferences among lawyers and the judge.

“I told them [the arresting officers]I was not a drug dealer and I was using the marijuana for my MS,” Wilson was allowed to tell the jury.

“I think it carried weight, even though it was one sentence,” said Chris Goldstein of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana in New Jersey.

No follow up on Wilson’s MS was allowed.

He faces up to 20 years in prison on the “drug manufacturing” charge.

Marine Surge Won’t Target Afghan Opium Crops: General

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2009 Global, News

Photo: pavric

An opium poppy field in Afghanistan. Slit marks on the bulbs are where raw opium has been harvested.

Thousands of additional Marines flooding into Afghanistan’s opium-growing interior won’t go after those growing the crops, the commander in the area said, according to Reuters.

“The reality we have to face right now is that the number one cash crop in this area is still the poppy,” said Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, who commands 10,000 Marines in opium center Helmand.

Nicholson said he didn’t want to “alienate” local farmers by targeting their opium poppies.

Washington Attorney General ‘Not A Big Fan’ Of Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 16, 2009 Legislation, News

Office of the WA Attorney General

Atty. Gen. Rob McKenna: “Not a big fan of making marijuana available”

Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna said Tuesday he opposes attempts to legalize marijuana in Washington, Chris Grygiel reports at the Seattle P.I.

McKenna was reacting to a a bill introduced by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle) to legalize pot for those 21 and older in the state.

“Like most of my colleagues in law enforcement, like my father who was in law enforcement, I’m not a big fan of making marijuana available without a prescription,” McKenna said.

“It is legal today if you have a prescription. That’s fine; the voters approved that law and people who are really sick with cancer, for example, or glaucoma seem to derive real benefit from the medical or medicinal use of marijuana. But making it available generally without a prescription I don’t support,” he said.

McKenna’s opposition to legalizing cannabis comes as no surprise. McKenna is definitely not cool. The only surprise in his statement was his downright reasonable-sounding words on medical marijuana — since up until now, he’s had a tin ear when it comes to hearing the concerns of patients.

Seattle City Council Unanimously Supports Marijuana Decriminalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 15, 2009 Legislation, News

Photo: Seattle P.I.

THC-attle loves cannabis: Comely reveler at Seattle HempFest

They don’t call it THC-attle for nothing. The Seattle City Council has voted to officially support bills currently before the Washington Legislature which would decriminalize adult possession of marijuana.

“[…]We support reclassifying possession of small amounts of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction,” the council’s official statement said.

Council members Monday unanimously passed Resolution 31174, which sets the 2010 state legislative agenda for the city. The agenda includes support of SB 5615 and HB 1177, the decrim bills introduced by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Rep. Dave Upthegrove.

Marijuana Legalization Will Be On California’s 2010 Ballot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2009 Culture, Legislation, News

photobucket.com

California’s 2010 election: Be there, or be square.

Californians will get a chance to vote on legalizing marijuana next November.

The Tax & Regulate Cannabis 2010 ballot initiative has gathered the 650,000 signatures it needs to get the issue on the November 2010 ballot, according to Daniela Perdomo at AlterNet.

If passed, the initiative would legalize marijuana for all adults in California.

“This is the next step to sane cannabis policies and the end to the hypocrisy and unjust prohibition of cannabis,” sponsor Richard Lee told AlterNet.

One recent poll showed 54 percent support among Californians for legalization.

According to Lee, polls showing majority support for legalization and taxation of marijuana, along with the recession, mean that the initiative could be viewed as a watershed, and even a first step in changing federal marijuana laws.

More Teens Smoke Pot Than Cigarettes: Government Study

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 14, 2009 Culture, News

LaughParty.com

The federal government just released the latest ‘Monitoring The Future‘ survey of teen drug use, and as Bruce Mirken over at the Marijuana Policy Project wrote, “the results do not bode well for current policies.”

In the past 30 days, more high school seniors smoked marijuana (20.6 percent) than smoked tobacco (20.1 percent), according to the survey.

In 2009, marijuana use in the prior 12 months was reported by about 12 percent of the nation’s 8th graders, 27 percent of 10th graders, and 33 percent of 12th graders.

While teen marijuana use is slightly up, it’s in the same general range it’s been in for years; meanwhile, teen tobacco use continues to decline, and has dropped precipitously since 1990.

“Regulation of tobacco, combined with solid educational campaigns, has clearly cut youth access to cigarettes,” Mirken said, “It’s time for officials to take off their blinders and apply those same proven policies to marijuana.”

Congress Ends Ban On Medical Marijuana In D.C.

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 13, 2009 Legislation, Medical, News

theskunk.org

Congress respecting the will of the people? What’s next, democracy?

Eleven years later, it’s about time: The U.S. Senate today passed historic legislation to end the decade long ban on implementation of the medical marijuana law Washington, D.C., voters passed with 69 percent of the vote in 1998.

“This marks the first time in history that Congress has changed a marijuana law for the better,” said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), based in D.C.

The “Barr Amendment,” a rider attached to appropriations for the District of Columbia, has forbidden D.C. from extending the legal protection of Initiative 59, the “Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998,” to qualified medical marijuana patients.

The amendment has long been derided as an unconscionable intrusion by the federal government into the District’s affairs, according to MPP.

San Francisco Looks At Taxing (Recreational!) Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 11, 2009 Culture, Legislation, News

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering the taxation of marijuana — and, for once, we’re not talking about the medical kind.
S.F. Supevisor David Campos just introduced legislation top create a task force to look at recreational marijuana regulation and taxation, KGO-TV reports.
“The taxation of non-medical cannabis is something people have talked about,” Campos said. “I am someone who is very committed to making sure this industry is responsible.”
According to Campos, the task force would periodically report back to the Supervisors over the course of three years.

Holy Smoke! ‘Marijuana Minister’ Sentenced To Two Years Behind Bars

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 11, 2009 Culture, News

Graphic: Clint JCL

Self-proclaimed “marijuana minister” Steven Swallick of Brevard County, Fla., was sentenced today to two years in prison.

Swallick, who was arrested in May 2008 after police said they found more than 100 marijuana plants growing in his Palm Bay, Fla., home, says he is the minister of a church called The Hawai’i Cannabis Ministry (THC Ministry).

“Cultivation and enjoyment of Cannabis sacrament is a fundamental human right provided by God and protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” THC Ministry says on its website.

Police had testified they found dried marijuana inside Swallick’s oven and in baskets on top of kitchen cabinets.

Rev. Swallick, 53, showed no visible reaction upon his sentencing, according to WFTV. During his testimony in the trial last month, he had worn a white priest collar and a black suit jacket and shirt, with a black cross hanging from a black-beaded necklace.

Bill To Legalize Marijuana Introduced In Washington Legislature

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 10, 2009 Legislation, News

Photo: Public Domain

Federal government pot farm at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS. Under Washington state’s proposed legalization bill, pot would be grown by state-licensed farmers and sold only through state liquor stores.

Washington state pot advocates who thought they had to choose between a marijuana decrim bill ($100 fine for under 40 grams) and the status quo (including a mandatory night in jail for possessing any amount) just got another choice. A state lawmaker introduced a bill Monday to legalize marijuana in the state.

Under the bill, introduced by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle), marijuana would be legal for persons 21 and older to use and possess, subject to regulations similar to those controlling alcohol.

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