| Texas Gov. Rick Perry. |
Things we did not expect to happen yesterday: Pigs to begin flying, ten inches of snow in Jamaica and the Governor of Texas saying that he favors decriminalization of certain amounts of cannabis in his state. One of those things actually did happen though, and no we aren’t packing our snowboards for a flight aboard Wilbur to Kingston tomorrow.
In a move that pretty much came as a surprise to everyone including his staff, Texas Gov. Rick Perry yesterday said he wants to start his state down the road to decriminalization to “keep people from going to prison.” Even more shocking, he made the announcement on the national stage at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
| Indiana state Sen. Karen Tallian. |
Up to two ounces of marijuana would be decriminalized and ticketed similar to a parking ticket in Indiana under a new proposal from state Sen. Karen Tallian. Currently, possession of thirty grams or less is a misdemeanor in the state with up to a year in jail and $5,000 in fines and the loss of your driver’s license. The most jailtime you could face for pot in the state would be eight years for cultivation of over ten pounds.
“We need to stop putting our kids in jail for what is becoming legal all over the country,” Tallian told a local news station this week.
After New Jersey Governor Chris Christie caught his breath from the walk to the podium to give his 2nd-term inauguration speech on Tuesday, he made a lot of headlines by vowing to “end the failed war on drugs”.
His plan, an inevitable failure in its own right like so many others’ before him, is to treat “addiction” with treatment, rather than incarceration. Of course, he makes no mention of those already unfairly incarcerated in New Jersey on trumped up drug charges, and how to…ahem… balance those scales. As Jacob Sullum writes for Forbes, why should otherwise law-abiding citizens be forced into a situation where they may be forced to decide between rehabilitation and incarceration?
| MBPD. |
Justin Bieber was arrested on underage drunken driving charges earlier this morning in Miami after cops say they caught him street racing in a Lambo.
Normally we couldn’t give even a single fuck about this, but the Canadian also admitted to cops that he had been smoking herb, which is illegal in Florida and – more importantly – illegal federally. If those statements end up being upheld in court, it could prevent the pop icon from entering the U.S. in the future.
| Seantrel Henderson. |
Seantrel Henderson came to Coral Gables as a recruiting miracle. He leaves with a reputation of wasted potential and a string of unexplained suspensions from the team. Now Henderson has his eyes on the NFL and has admitted to teams that most of his suspensions with the Miami Hurricanes were due to marijuana use.
Henderson was ranked the best and second-best prospect in the class of 2010 by two separate recruiting services. He had originally committed to USC, but after the school was hit by sanctions he jumped ship to Miami. It was an exciting recruiting coup for the ‘Canes, but it didn’t translate to on-the-field success. Miami New Times has the full story.
| Big photos below. |
As everyone from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to the nation’s memes-makers have noticed, the upcoming Super Bowl features teams — the Broncos and the Seahawks — from the two states that have legalized recreational marijuana sales. So you had to know entrepreneurs would want a piece of the action. We found multiple sites selling either “Stoner Bowl” or “Pot Bowl” T-shirts in a wide variety of designs and styles. Look below to see fifteen of the most memorable, complete with links in case you want to buy one to commemorate the big game.
Denver Westword has the full story.
Some Democratic lawmakers are proposing that marijuana possession in Arizona should no longer be a felony.
It’s not legalization, but it is decriminalization — 13 Democrats have teamed up to offer a bill that proposes the penalty for possessing less than an ounce of pot be a “civil penalty” of $100 or less.
Phoenix New Times has the full details.
| Charlie Crist. |
Maybe the Florida Governor’s race isn’t totally over before it even began. Last time Public Policy Polling asked Floridians whether they plan to vote for pro-pot Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist or sitting Gov. Rick Scott, Crist has a 12 point lead. That was back in August. Now, for their first poll in the new year, PPP has found Crist’s lead has shrunk too w just two points. That’s in the margin of error, and is a statistical tie. Could that also represent how Floridians feel about a medical pot proposal?
Our friends at the Miami New Times have the details.
While many states are easing up on marijuana possession penalties, Wisconsin lawmakers feel the need to make their state tougher on pot. The Wisconsin Assembly this week approved a bill that would allow local municipalities to levy heavier penalties against cannabis users.
As it stands now, pot (and synthetic smokable drugs commonly called “synthetic marijuana”) possession of up 25 grams or less is enforceable at the city level. Anything more than that, and the charges have to be brought by the state or county prosecutors. Republicans, however, want to change that.
| Florida Gov. Rick Scott. |
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said yesterday that he would vote against a medical marijuana ballot initiative that could come before voters this fall, but that’s about all he can do. A ballot initiative approved by voters can’t be vetoed by Scott’s office.
Scott, the former head of Columbia/HCA hospitals, says he has empathy for sick Floridians, but that he can’t bring himself to approve of a freely available plant to help them. Instead, he conflated the issue and associated medical cannabis with alcohol and other illegal drug use.