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Search Results: governator (7)

Pot Possession’s Like A Parking Ticket Starting Jan. 1 In Cali

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By on Legislation, News

Graphic: Massachusetts Marijuana Movement Journal

​Starting this Saturday, January 1, 2011, possession of up to an ounce of marijuana in California will be a less serious offense, similar to a parking ticket. The fine cannot be more than $100, considerably less than most speeding tickets or running a red light.

Despite the failure of legalization initiative Proposition 19, Californians just aren’t that into punishing people for pot. Their relaxed attitudes about weed are reflected in the new state law, which downgrades possession of up to an ounce from a misdemeanor crime punishable with a $100 fine to an infraction, with the fine staying the same, reports Heidi Ross at Internetbits.
The bill, SB 1449, was introduced this year by state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). Sen. Leno said the state could no longer afford to go after people who had committed a crime that carries the same punishment as a parking ticket.
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Arizona’s Pot Patients Have Job Protection; California’s Don’t

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By on Legislation, Medical

Photo: Addiction Inbox

​​When Arizona in November became the 15th state in the union to legalize medical marijuana, with voters approving Prop 203 by a thin margin, they got something that perhaps no other state has: employment protection for patients.

It’s much more difficult to get a doctor’s recommendation for cannabis in Arizona, and possession is limited to only 2.5 ounces, nobody can grow more than 12 plants, and if you live within 25 miles of a dispensary, you can’t grow at all. But unless you show up at work noticeably impaired, you won’t be fired simply for being a medical marijuana patient, points out Joe Eskinazi at the SF Weekly.
In California, Oregon, Washington, and most or all other medical marijuana states — even though you aren’t breaking the law if you use marijuana medically with a doctor’s recommendation — you can still get your ass fired in a heartbeat if, say, you have a workplace accident and get the standard urinalysis that follows.
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Schwarzenegger: ‘No One Cares If You Smoke A Joint’

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By on Culture, News

Photo: Reason
Arnie burns one down in the documentary “Pumping Iron”

​In California, “No one cares if you smoke a joint or not,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday night on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The Governator made the remark while discussing Prop 19, which would have legalized adult recreational pot use in the state, reports Mary Dooe at CBS News.
“Proposition 19 went a little bit too far, I think,” Schwarzenegger said of the failed measure. But he added a note of hope for the future.
“Propositions don’t die because the idea is bad, it just dies because it is written wrong,” the Governor added.
Arnie said his decision to sign a bill last month that reduces marijuana possession charges for up to an ounce from a misdemeanor to a civil fine hurt Prop 19’s chances of passing.
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Decrim In Cali! Schwarzenegger Signs Bill: Pot Now $100 Fine

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By on Legislation, News

Photo: Salem News
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: “In this time of drastic budget cuts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement and the courts cannot afford to expend limited resources” prosecuting petty pot offenses

​A bill downgrading the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction has been signed into law by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The law, SB 1449 by Senator Mark Leno, means small-time pot offenders will no longer have to appear in court, and will no longer have a criminal arrest record. It will also save California millions of dollars in court and prosecution expenses, according to Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML.
The bill treats petty cannabis possession like a traffic ticket, punishable by a simple $100 fine and no arrest record.
“Gov. Schwarzenegger deserves credit for sparing the state’s taxpayers the cost of prosecuting minor pot offenders,” Gieringer said. “Californians increasingly recognize that the war on marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources.”
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Schwarzenegger Must Decide Marijuana Measure This Week

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By on News

Photo: Hawai’i News Daily

​Outgoing California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has until Thursday, September 30, to decide the fate of Senate Bill 1449, which would reduce adult marijuana possession charges from a criminal misdemeanor to a criminal infraction.

If you have not yet contacted the Governor in support of this historic legislation, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Toke of the Town encourage you to please do so today.
Senate Bill 1449 amends the California Health and Safety Code so that the adult possession of up to 28.5 grams of marijuana is classified as an infraction, punishable by no more than a $100 fine — no court appearance, no court costs, and no criminal record.
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California Marijuana Arrests Remain Near Record Levels

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By on Legislation, News

Photo: The November Coalition
Near-record numbers arrested for marijuana again in 2009… Hey, California! It’s time to STOP! Kandice Hawes of Orange County NORML protests the madness.

​The next time somebody tells you Prop 19 isn’t needed because “marijuana is already practically legal in California,” call ’em on their bullshit. California reported nearly the same number of marijuana arrests in 2009 as in the previous year, which set a record all-time high for pot busts.

In 2009, there were 17,008 felony and 61,164 misdemeanor marijuana arrests in California, for a total of 78,172.
In 2008, there were 17,126 marijuana felonies and 61,388 misdemeanors, for a total of 78,514. This was the highest number of marijuana arrests since pot was decriminalized in California in 1976, according to Dale Gieringer of California NORML.
“The record is clear that the war on marijuana has failed,” Gieringer told Toke of the Town Wednesday afternoon.
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CA: Pot Legalization More Popular Than Governor Candidates

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By on Culture, Legislation, News

Graphic: CBS/AP

​If popular online social network Facebook is any measure of things, marijuana legalization is way more popular than all three of the major California gubernatorial candidates combined, even with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger thrown in for good measure (take him, please).

Tax Cannabis 2010 has 57,244 Facebook fans as of early Wednesday afternoon, April 14, with another large influx of pot enthusiasts expected around the 4-20 marijuana holiday on April 20.
As pointed out by David Downs at East Bay Express, that’s more than all three major candidates for California governor — Jerry Brown, Meg Whitman, and Steve Poizner — combined, plus Schwarzenegger.
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