Search Results: congress (388)

D.C. Patients Can Expect To Buy Legal Marijuana In Early 2011

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 28, 2010 Dispensaries, Medical

According to political leaders in the District of Columbia, it will be months before D.C. begins allowing the sale of medical marijuana from licensed dispensaries, even though the law authorizing up to eight of the pot shops took effect Tuesday after the Democratic-controlled Congress declined to intervene.

The delay is caused by a lack of detail about how the city will operate the program, which includes a very cool, first-in-the-nation provision requiring dispensaries to price their marijuana on a sliding scale so the city’s poorest patients can get their medicinal cannabis for free, reports Tim Craig at The Washington Post.

Council member David A. Catania, chairman of the Health Committee, said he doesn’t expect the first dispensaries to open until early next year, and that would be a best-case scenario.

“I know people are eager for this to go forward, but I think we have to do this judiciously and slowly and carefully,” Catania said.

Where Is Marijuana Reform Heading? Seattle Forum Sept. 12

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 26, 2010 Culture, Legislation

Photo: ACLU-WA

Famed travel writer and TV host Rick Steves will be among the panelists at “Where Is Marijuana Reform Heading?”, a public forum in Seattle on September 12 sponsored by the WA ACLU.

Sure, it seems that the wind is at our backs. The tantalizing possibility of marijuana legalization looks more possible than it ever has before. But what comes next?

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington on September 12 will present a discussion on the history, current status, and future of marijuana-law reform in Washington and the United States.

The event will be Sunday, September 12, 2010, 7 pm – pm (doors open at 6:30 pm), at the Great Hall at Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Avenue at Seneca Street. Enter on 8th Avenue. (Directions and Parking)

Local and national panelists include travel writer Rick Steves; Keith Stroup, founder of and legal counsel to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML); Washington state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles; Rob Kampia, co-founder and executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP); and Ethan Nadelmann, founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA).

Portland, Maine Accepts Marijuana Dispensary In Business Zone

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 20, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

The City Council of Portland, Maine has unanimously agreed to include a medical marijuana dispensary in the city’s business zoning ordinance.

Three companies have been selected by the state Department of Health to dispense cannabis to authorized patients in Maine. The state-licensed dispensaries will be in six locations around the state, including downtown Portland, reports Amanda Hill at WLBZ2.

The state of Maine has agreed to allow Northeast Patients Group to open dispensaries in Portland, Thomaston, Augusta or Waterville, and Hermon.

The group is looking at a number of locations in Portland, now that the zoning ordinance allows it to open a dispensary within the business 2, 3, and 7 zones of the city.

One key location under discussion is the former location of a Key Bank on the corner of Congress and St. John Streets, but one concern is that it’s too tight an area to accommodate a lot of traffic.

House Republicans Move To Block D.C.’s Medical Marijuana Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 24, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: You Are Hated!

Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz wants you to stay off the pot.

Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) announced Wednesday afternnon that they have introduced a resolution to disapprove the District of Columbia’s city law legalizing medical marijuana, reports Mike DeBonis of The Washington Post.

“While derivatives of marijuana are available in pill form for medicinal purposes, smoked marijuana is a health danger, not a cure, and therefore remains a harmful and dangerous drug for people of all ages,” the clueless Chaffetz said.

Chaffetz, a Mormon convert, Brigham Young graduate and right-wing crank already known for opposing progressive legislation of any sort, is the creepiest sort of reactionary, the “I used to be a liberal” young kind of earnest, clean-cut, gay-marriage-opposing, pot-hating, wholesome-looking wingnut.

Palin: ‘Not For The Legalization Of Pot,’ But It’s ‘Minimal Problem’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 17, 2010 Culture, News

Photo: First Door on the Left

What’s Sarah Palin been smoking? The former Alaska Governor said Wednesday night that while she opposes marijuana legalization, law enforcement should not focus its energy on such a “minimal problem.”

Make up your mind, Sarah — should pot be legal, or not?

Palin made the comment during an appearance on the Fox Business Network with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), reports Andy Barr at Politico.

Congressman Paul, a libertarian, said that enforcing marijuana laws specifically and the War On Drugs in general is a “useless battle,” a point with which Palin partially agreed, although she made clear that she does not support legalization.

CA Bill Urging New Federal Marijuana Policy Close To Adoption

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: My Life, My Muse

Californians protest a DEA medical marijuana dispensary raid

California may soon urge the federal government to end medicinal cannabis raids and to “create a comprehensive federal medical marijuana policy that ensures safe and legal access to any patient that would benefit from it.”

The California State Assembly Committee on Health voted 10-3 Tuesday to pass the resolution, which urges the federal government to change its pot policy. The full state Senate already passed the measure in August 2009 by a vote of 23-15.

D.C. Could Collect $400K In Marijuana Taxes Over Next 5 Years

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 2, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: MaryjSpot.com

A medical marijuana tax could generate about $400,000 for Washington, D.C., over the next five years, according to an estimate from the city’s top financial officer released on Tuesday.

Washington’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer provided the estimate to the D.C. Council, which has proposed taxing marijuana as part of budget negotiations, reports Jessica Gresko at The Washington Examiner.

D.C. voters legalized medical marijuana in 1998, but Congress for more than a decade blocked implementation of the law, until last December.

Medical Marijuana Provider First To Be Tried Under New Policy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Movement In Action

A North San Diego County medical marijuana provider, James Stacy, will be the first such case to go to trial after the Justice Department issued its new enforcement policy in October 2009, a month after the raid.

The trial date will be scheduled on Wednesday for Stacy, whose Vista dispensary was raided on September 9, 2009. Stacy will argue at the hearing that he’s entitled to admit evidence of state law compliance, something which has been routinely denied to defendants in federal marijuana cases. Unlike the state laws in California and 13 other states, federal law classifies marijuana as a Schedule I “narcotic,” with no medical value.

Stacy’s dispensary, Movement In Action, was raided along with more than a dozen other San Diego County dispensaries as part of local-federal joint enforcement actions known as “Operation Endless Summer” which resulted in more than 30 arrests.

City Says Ruling Could Shut Down All Pot Shops In California

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 13, 2010 Dispensaries, News

Graphic: DispensaryFinder.com

A California Superior Court judge on Wednesday issued a ruling allowing the city of Lake Forest to shut down all medical marijuana dispensaries. An attorney representing the city said the ruling could eventually shut down every dispensary in California.

Jeffrey Dunn, an attorney who is representing Lake Forest, wasted no time in issuing an over-arching, hubristic crow of victory, saying that he believes Chaffee’s ruling could eventually force the closure of all marijuana dispensaries in the state.

The ruling only applies to Lake Forest for now, because it is only a trial court decision. Dispensaries located in the city limits will have to close down immediately unless they get a temporary stay.

Washington D.C. Legalizes Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 4, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Dave’s blog of random shit

Federal medical marijuana patient Irv Rosenfeld smokes a joint in front of the Capitol Building

The D.C. Council on Tuesday approved amendments to a medical marijuana law first passed in 1998 by 69 percent of District voters. Congress had blocked implementation of Initiative 59 for more than a decade, until it lifted its ban last year.

With Tuesday’s vote, the District of Columbia joins the 14 states across the country which already allow qualified patients to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest.

“Today marks a long overdue victory for D.C. voters and potentially thousands of chronically ill residents who will benefit from legal access to medical marijuana,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project.

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Search Results: congress (388)

Photo: ACLU-WA Famed travel writer and TV host Rick Steves will be among the panelists at “Where Is Marijuana Reform Heading?”, a public forum in Seattle on September 12 sponsored by the WA ACLU.

Sure, it seems that the wind is at our backs. The tantalizing possibility of marijuana legalization looks more possible than it ever has before. But what comes next?

Photo: ACLU-WA

Famed travel writer and TV host Rick Steves will be among the panelists at “Where Is Marijuana Reform Heading?”, a public forum in Seattle on September 12 sponsored by the WA ACLU.