Search Results: penalties (363)

MMJ-guide.com

Legislative Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee To Hear Testimony On Decreasing Penalties for Adults Who Possess Small Amounts of Marijuana
DPA: Reducing Marijuana Penalties will Improve Lives, Save Taxpayer’s Dollars and Significantly Reduce the Burden on Law Enforcement Resources
The Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) on Thursday will be testifying to the New Mexico Interim Legislative Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee about the importance of decreasing penalties for adults who possess small amounts of marijuana. DPA is scheduled to present at 10 a.m. in Room 307 at the State Capitol in Santa Fe.

A Brookland Girl

D.C. Councilman Claims Federal Prosecutor Won’t Let Them Decriminalize

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Tuesday said District officials should focus on implementing the new medical marijuana program, but should also “keep open their options” when dealing with recreational users. But at least one member of the D.C. Council claims that a federal prosecutor won’t let the council decriminalize cannabis.

Currently, D.C. has the toughest marijuana penalties in the region, reports Tim Craig of The Washington Post.
First-time offenders possessing any amount of cannabis can get up to six months behind bars and a $1,000 fine. In next door Virginia, first time offenders caught with up to a half ounce of pot top out at just a month in jail and a $500 fine.

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.

Zazzle

​A January 25-26 Public Policy Polling survey found strong support for marijuana policy reform, including more than two-to-one support for reducing the penalty for possession of marijuana to a $150 civil fine. Marijuana possession is now punishable in Rhode Island by a $500 fine and up to a year in jail.
 
Of those polled, an overwhelming 65 percent supported decreasing the penalties for simple possession of less than an ounce of marijuana by removing the possibility of jail time and making the offense a civil citation. Such a change received support from across the political spectrum, with 73 percent of Democrats, 64 percent of Republicans, and 60 percent of independents in favor of the measure.
Two bills, H 7092 and S 2253, have been introduced in the Rhode Island House and Senate to remove the threat of arrest and jail for personal possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Graphic: Sheree Krider

​Kentucky, long known as a state where excellent marijuana is grown, has lowered its penalties for possession of up to eight ounces of the herb, effective Friday, June 24.

Back in March the Kentucky Legislature overwhelmingly passed (97-2 in the House; 38-0 in the Senate) House Bill 463, which was then signed into law by Governor Steve Bershear. The new law reduces the penalty for personal possession of up to eight ounces of pot to a Class B misdemeanor, carrying a maximum penalty of 45 days in jail.
But don’t get too carried away; those penalties are just for first offenses. Subsequent offenses with up to eight ounces are still felonies, for which you can get up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Graphic: disinfo.com

​The California Assembly on Friday rejected Assemblyman Tom Ammiano’s bill, AB 1017, to reduce marijuana cultivation from a mandatory felony to a “wobbler,” which would have allowed discretion on charging a misdemeanor. The vote was 24 yes to 36 no.

The bill had been supported by the district attorney of Mendocino County, but was opposed by the state D.A.’s association.
“The state Legislature has once again demonstrated its incompetence when it comes to dealing with prison crowding,” said disappointed California NORML Director Dale Gieringer.
“With California under court order to reduce its prison population, it is irresponsible to maintain present penalties for nonviolent drug offenses,” Gieringer said. “It makes no sense to keep marijuana growing a felony, when assault, battery, and petty theft are all misdemeanors.

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

​Maryland on Tuesday removed criminal penalties for the medical use of marijuana when Gov. Martin O’Malley signed SB 308 as promised. The bill allows seriously ill patients to avoid prosecution when charged with marijuana possession, and also creates a commission to study medical marijuana laws and make recommendations on how Maryland can institute such a program.

This is the first time since 2003 that additional protections were considered, and it’s an important step toward protecting medical marijuana patients from arrest and ensuring they have safe access to their medicine, according to the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

Graphic: Reality Catcher

​Two bills to broaden the decriminalization of marijuana in Maine got bipartisan support from lawmakers at public hearings Thursday, but were — surprise, surprise! — opposed by law enforcement officials.

One measure, L.D. 754, would double the amount of usable marijuana that individuals could possess and still have it treated as a civil, rather than a criminal, offense, reports Rebekah Metzler at Maine Today. The other, L.D. 750, would decriminalize possession of up to six cannabis plants.
“It is my fundamental belief that people who use marijuana for personal use on a recreational basis are not criminals,” said state Rep. Ben Chipman, an independent from Portland, when he spoke to lawmakers on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.
“I just do not think that it’s reasonable to allow 2.5 ounces to be a civil infraction but having zero tolerance for plants and forcing consumers to the black market,” Chipman said.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Maine since 1999, and voters legalized dispensaries in 2009. The Maine Legislature in spring 2009 doubled the amount of marijuana a person could possess without facing criminal charges from 1.25 ounces to 2.5 ounces. Chipman’s proposal would double that amount again, to five ounces.

Photo: Lash & Associates Publishing

​A Pennsylvania legislator intends to introduce a bill which would double penalties for first-time marijuana possession in the Keystone State.

Rep. Dick Hess, a Republican, wants to double penalties for first-time possession convictions for all Schedule I and Schedule II drugs, reports Derek Rosenzweig at Philly NORML. Marijuana is classed as a Schedule I drug, so the penalty for first-time pot possession would at one fell swoop go up from one year in jail and a $5,000 fine to two years and $10,000. For subsequent convictions it rises to three years and $25,000.
This backwards bill would also increase penalties for possession, distribution and manufacturing of “drug paraphernalia,” whatever the hell that is, to two years and $5,000 for the first offense. A second offense brings three years and $10,000 in fines.

Graphic: Cannabis Defense Coalition

​A bill has just reached the floor of the United States Senate that would double penalties for any edible products combined with medical marijuana in California and the 13 other states that provide compassionate relief for patients.

The worst part is that the bill was written and sponsored by Dianne Feinstein, a Democratic senator from California!
S. 258, the “Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act,” was introduced by Sen. Feinstein and is using a hyped-up media scare about “candy flavored methamphetamine” to attack medical marijuana patients and providers.
Since there is no national trend toward lacing candy and other edibles with meth or any other drug besides cannabis, this bill clearly targets legitimate medical marijuana dispensaries, caregivers and patients in states that have legalized it as medicine.
1 2 3 4 37