| Metro |
| New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo |
NYC Mayor Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Kelly Follow Suit
Advocates Applaud Governor’s Leadership
Coalition Planning Massive Push for Next Two Weeks to Pass Marijuana Reform Law; Includes Major Online Advocacy Campaign Featuring Powerful Video Testimonials, and Hundreds Traveling to Albany to Pressure State Leaders
On Monday,, New York Governor Cuomo, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly all came out in support of ending the practice of arresting individuals for possessing small amounts of marijuana in public view.
| Cannabis Times |
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday proposed lowering the penalty for public possession of small amounts of marijuana, reducing the infraction from a misdemeanor to a violation.
“This proposal will bring long overdue consistency and fairness to New York State’s Penal Law and save thousands of New Yorkers, particularly minority youth, from the unnecessary and life-altering trauma of a criminal arrest and, in some cases, prosecution,” a Cuomo administration official said in an email to the New York Times, reports Bill Hutchinson of the New York Daily News.
The state decriminalized the possession of less than 25 grams of cannabis back in 1977, lowering the penalty to a violation carrying a fine for possession. If the marijuana is lit or in “public view,” the infraction rises to a misdemeanor, which leads to arrest.
| Hemp History Week |
Public Education Campaign to Bring Back Industrial Hemp Farming will Feature More Than 800 Grassroots Events and Retail Store Promotions Throughout All 50 States
Monday, June 4 marks the start of the third annual Hemp History Week, June 4-10, 2012. The national grassroots education campaign organized by Vote Hemp and The Hemp Industries Association is designed to renew strong support for the return of hemp farming to the U.S.
Hemp History Week 2012 will feature more than 800 events in cities and towns throughout all 50 states. The multifaceted campaign will feature more than 100 grassroots volunteer-led events; more than 700 retail promotions; a restaurant program; and a letter writing and email campaign to encourage Congress to change federal policy and allow American farmers to once again grow industrial hemp.
A new Web site, along with a promotional video for the 2012 campaign, is viewable at www.HempHistoryWeek.com.
The theme of the 2012 campaign is Hemp for a Healthy Future: Healthy Lifestyles, Healthy Economy, Healthy Planet.
I wish Marijuana could still be honored and treated like it was when I was growing up. In those days, life was delineated by politics and cultures; it was easy to know who your friends were. If they smoked grass, were against the Vietnam War and liked the new long-grooved FM music that was floating off the radio, they were cool.
You were either cool or uncool. Hard to believe how binary we were in those days.
The online activist organizations Anonymous and Team Vendetta have announced that Operation Cannabis 420 needs to evolve beyond marches, social networks, and campaigns. The team has told Toke of the Town it intends to concentrate on communications and outreach as a Phase 2 Upgrade of #OpCannabis420, including the establishment of a central information hub online.
| Steve Hunter/Kent Reporter |
| A woman opposes the Kent City Council’s proposed ban on medical marijuana dispensaries and collective gardens prior to a May 14 Council committee meeting. The full council votes June 5 on the ban, which is expected to pass. |
By Anthony Martinelli
Sensible Washington
“We’re getting dozens and dozens of phone calls and emails and most are from medical marijuana patients…. The number in favor [of the ban]I can count on one finger.”
This is a quote from Kent City Council President Dennis Higgins, in an interview with the Kent Reporter, in regards to the council’s plan to ban all medical cannabis safe access points within the city.
The vote is scheduled for Tuesday, June 5, and the ban is seen as a sure thing: The vote is planned to fall at 4-3, according to Higgins in the same interview.
Created by: OnlineNursingPrograms.com
Just because marijuana doesn’t hurt your lungs (and the latest 20-year study shows that not only does it not damage lungs, but it increases lung capacity), don’t assume that the same applies to tobacco.
| Citizes for Patient Rights |
| Citizens for Patient Rights, in association with the Patient Care Association, on Wednesday submitted 961 signatures to allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Del Mar |
Citizens for Patient Rights, in association with the Patient Care Association, on Wednesday, May 30, we submitted their signature petition to allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Del Mar, California, to the Del Mar City Clerk.
In total, the groups submitted more than 961 signatures in favor of their petition to allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Del Mar. In order to qualify an initiative for the November general election ballot in Del Mar, 303 valid signatures are necessary.
“We found wide public support for our initiative proposal which will give the public the option of common sense, fair regulation of medical marijuana that satisfies the needs of the patients and caregivers in Del Mar, as shown by the over 900 signatures collected since the petition began circulating less than six weeks ago,” Citizens for Patient Rights said in a press release.
| Sensible Washington |
Sensible Kitsap, a local group of volunteer cannabis activists, is hosting a march in downtown Bremerton, Washington, on Saturday, June 9 at 12 noon. The march is in support of Sensible Washington’s Bremerton Marijuana Reform Act of 2012. The petition needs 2,000 signatures by June 11 to meet a city deadline of June 13.
The Bremerton Marijuana Reform Act would make arrests for responsible adult use, and possession of marijuana, a low enforcement priority, as has been done in Seattle and Tacoma with great success.