Search Results: governor (548)

Photo: Loretta Nall
Loretta Nall: “We plan to keep fighting”

​Alabama is the last state many would expect to legalize medical marijuana; after all, the Heart of Dixie isn’t exactly known for its liberal ways.

But one determined group of Southerners there exemplifies the rebel stubbornness for which the state is famous — by refusing to give up their fight for the safe, legal, medicinal use of cannabis.
The brave efforts of Alabamians for Compassionate Care (ACC), ably led by legendary libertarian and former gubernatorial candidate Loretta Nall, have arguably made the state a good bet to be the first former member of the Confederacy to get a medical marijuana law.
For the past several years in a row, ACC has, against all odds, gotten a bill onto the floor of the Alabama Legislature, and 2010 is no exception. House Bill 642, the Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act is expected to come before the House Judiciary Committee later this month.
Toke of the Town got a chance to chat with Nall about the state of medical marijuana in Alabama.

Graphic: The Boston Phoenix

​New Hampshire’s House is considering decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults, a year after the Legislature voted to legalize medical use of the herb.

Governor John Lynch, who vetoed the medical marijuana bill last year, also opposes the bill to decriminalize a quarter-ounce (seven grams) or less of cannabis, according to the Associated Press.
The Legislature’s attempt to legalize medical marijuana last year fell just two votes shy in the Senate of overriding Gov. Lynch’s veto. The House successfully overrode the veto.

Graphic: Marijuana Policy Project

​A hearing to receive testimony on HB 712, a bill that would make Maryland the 15th state to legalize medical marijuana, will be held on Friday.

Supporters and opponents of the measure are scheduled to appear before a panel of Maryland House members Friday afternoon to discuss the bill.

The Maryland House Judiciary and Health and Government Operations committees will hold the hearing on the bill, introduced by Del. Dan Morhaim (D-Baltimore County).
Morhaim, an emergency room physician who drafted the legislation, said it would create strict conditions compared to the other 14 states where medical marijuana is allowed.

Photo: Lisa Provence/The Hook
Merchant Fred Carwile was surprised when eBay, without warning, removed his listings for back issues of High Times magazine

​​​​A Virginia man says eBay deleted his sales listings for back issues of High Times — which he’s sold for years at the online auction site — at the request of the federal government.

Fred Carwile of Crozet, Va., said he was “frustrated and angry” that eBay pulled the ads without warning. What’s worse, he said two different eBay customer service representatives told him the marijuana-culture magazines were pulled “at the request of the federal government,” reports Lisa Provence at The Hook.
“The federal government cannot ban books,” Carwile said, noting that High Times is sold at Barnes and Noble and at convenience stores across the United States. “They’re pressuring a business to ban books.”

Photo: Penny Ingram Vaughan
Members of Alabamians for Compassionate Care rally for medical marijuana in Birmingham, Saturday, February 13

​About two dozen members of Alabamians for Compassionate Care, a medical marijuana advocacy group, staged a march and rally in Birmingham Saturday afternoon.

The group is urging people to support a bill before the Alabama Legislature which would legalize the medical use of cannabis by seriously ill patients with the recommendation of their doctor, reports Roy L. Williams of The Birmingham News.
“Patients in Alabama should not be locked in prison for trying to ease their pain and suffering,” said Loretta Nall, executive director of Alabamians for Compassionate Care.

Graphic: thefreshscent.com
OK, quick: You’re head of the Department of Corrections. Officers under you misbehave and improperly arrest a medical marijuana patient. What do you do? Lie and cover up for them, if you’re Eldon Vail of the Washington DOC.

​The head of the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC), Eldon Vail, seems to put a lot more effort into covering up the lousy job his subordinates are doing, than in actually doing his own job.

The Washington DOC, following the example of the not-cool Attorney General Rob McKenna, is already notorious for its extremely hard line against the use of medical marijuana for individuals on probation.
Now, newly revealed documents show that Vail and the DOC have been involved in misconduct, cover-ups, and possibly outright law-breaking, reports Lee Rosenberg at the highly recommended Seattle political blog, Horses Ass.

Photo: www.liberty-lawyer.com
Indoor marijuana grow in Minnesota. Thanks to Governor Tim Pawlenty’s veto, patients still have to break the law to use medical cannabis.

​With Minnesota’s legislative session set to begin this week, the author of last year’s medical marijuana bill said he doubts he will introduce another bill this year.

“For right now, it looks a little discouraging,” said State Senator Steve Murphy, who authored and introduced medical marijuana bills in both 2007 and 2009, reports Kyle Potter at mndaily.com.
A medical marijuana bill actually passed the Minnesota Legislature last session, but was then vetoed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Photo: Madison NORML
Gary Storck has been using marijuana medically since 1972 — but 38 years later, it’s still illegal in Wisconsin. This newspaper clipping is from 2005.

​Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, who supports the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, will deliver his final State of the State address before a joint meeting of the Legislature on Tuesday night, January 26, at 7 p.m. local time.

Medical marijuana supporters will hold a patient vigil at Gov. Doyle’s last official speech. Supporters will gather outside the Assembly Chambers after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 26, for the address, according to Gary Storck of Madison NORML.

Gov. Doyle has been on record throughout his two terms as willing to sign medical cannabis legislation if it reached his desk. Since the introduction of JMMA, he has gone further in his support, calling it “senseless” to block safe access for patients.

Graphic: salem-news.com

​Monday was a day of celebration for patients and advocates as the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law by outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine.

The new law provides patients protection from arrest and prosecution for possession and transportation of marijuana, and establishes state-regulated distribution of medicinal cannabis by “Alternative Treatment Centers.”
New Jersey is the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana, and the third largest in population, after California and Michigan.
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