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Senator Mitch McConnell Claims Marijuana Will Kill You

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 14, 2012 Culture, News

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: “Because of the harm that substances like marijuana and other narcotics pose to our society, I have concerns about this legislation”

From time to time we are reminded just how much work remains when it comes to educating politicians and the public about cannabis. One of those times is now: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has warned a constituent via a letter that he doesn’t support medical marijuana legalization because, among other reasons, smoking pot can lead to death.

In a February 4 reply to his constituent, McConnell ticked off some “serious concerns” he has about legalizing weed for medicinal purposes, the topic about which the constituent had written him, reports Jennifer Bendery at the Huffington Post.

Mississippi Senator Pushes To Legalize Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on February 9, 2012 Legislation, Medical

WLOX

Mississippi state Senator Deborah Dawkins: “I think most people want their doctors to help them make their own decisions”

Senator Deborah Dawkins of Pass Christian, Mississippi, for the fourth year in a row, is submitting another proposal to legalize medical marijuana in the Magnolia State.

According to the experts, when used for medicinal purposes, cannabis can be quite useful. And that’s why Senator Dawkins is working hard to legalize its medical use in Mississippi, reports Terrance Friday at WLOX.

“I think most people want their doctors to help them make their own decisions,” Dawkins said. “And to me, we’re taking something away from the patients and their physicians.”

A number of studies have shown that some attributes of the cannabis plant can help relieve pain, control nausea, and help with a long list of other ailments. As of now, 16 states and the District of Columbia have already legalized the medical use of marijuana for certain conditions.

Colorado State Senator Pushing Marijuana DUI Bill Again

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 30, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

The Denver Post

Rep. Steve King seems to cut a few corners ethically when it comes to finance. But you shouldn’t notice that, really! You should notice his great hair and his hare-brained idea to bust you for driving under the influence of marijuana.

For the second time in two years, Colorado state Senator Steve King is pushing a marijuana DUI bill that caps how much THC drivers can have in their system when behind the wheel. There would be zero tolerance for people without medical marijuana cards.

Last year, the bill drew stiff opposition as critics questioned the science of testing how high someone is — and how, exactly, that affects their ability to operate a motor vehicle, reports Don Coleman at KJCT 8.

“I hear this story about well the science isn’t there,” blustered King. “The science is there and it’s written in the blood if innocent people killed by DUI-D [driving under the influence of drugs]drivers.”

79-Year-Old Iowa State Senator Drafts Medical Marijuana Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 24, 2012 Legislation, Medical, News

Senator Gene Fraise

Iowa state Senator Gene Fraise says introducing a medical marijuana bill will force a conversation and help lawmakers come to a consensus on the topic

A new call for Iowa lawmakers to consider legalizing marijuana for medical uses is coming from an unlikely source. State Senator Gene Fraise, a 79-year-old Democrat from Fort Madison, has drafted a bill on the issue.

Fraise, who has been in the state Senate for 26 years, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is a member of several corrections-related committees, reports the Associated Press.

Senator Fraise is a busy man; he’s also vice chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee and serves on a justice budgeting committee.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy recommended in 2010 that state lawmakers reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug to allow its medicinal use, but the Legislature apparently hasn’t been able to summon up the cojones to act on the recommendation.

Fraise said he’s personally undecided on the issue. But he said introducing a medical marijuana bill will force a conversation and help lawmakers come to a consensus on the topic.

Florida State Senator Files Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on November 29, 2011 Legislation, Medical

The Weed Blog

Medical marijuana patients in Florida may be one step closer to lighting up legally thanks to a state senator.

State Senator Larcenia Bullard (D-Miami), recently filed Senate Joint Resolution 1028, a Senate bill to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes in the Sunshine State, in an effort to get it on the 2012 ballot, according to a Central Florida 13 news report by Troy Kinsey and Margaret Kavanagh.

Representative Jeff Clements of Lake Worth also introduced companion legislation, HJR 353, reports Kristal Roberts at ABC Action News.

Bullard’s bill creates an amendment that allows people with debilitating medical conditions to use marijuana as treatment on the recommendation of a doctor. The bill legislation would also allow medical marijuana farms and dispensaries to operate in Florida.

Indiana State Senator Gets Support For Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 12, 2011 Legislation, News

Photo: IN.gov

Cannabis grows beautifully in Indiana — witness the above, from Greens Fork last August (unfortunately busted after a tipster called it in).

When Indiana state Senator Karen Tallian first floated the idea of introducing a bill to legalize marijuana, her Statehouse colleagues warned her it could kill her chances of being reelected. After all, conventional wisdom holds that pot legalization is a political third rail.

But Tallian (D-Portage), 60, a mother of three, thought there might be some public support for taking the crime out of cannabis, so she sent out an informal email survey to her constituents in northeast Indiana, reports Maureen Hayden at the CNHI Statehouse Bureau.

Within 72 hours of sending the email, she got more than 2,000 responses. Almost all of them were supportive, and most of those said Indiana should treat marijuana like alcohol: Control its sale and tax it as a revenue source.

“I was floored by the response,” Tallian said. Encouraged by the support, she filed a bill last January to begin a serious conversation about the issue.

CT Senator Claims Cali Kids Openly Smoking Marijuana In Class

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 19, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Jesse Pearson

Dude! I knew it!

Connecticut state Senator Toni Boucher doesn’t like medical marijuana, and she seems proud of herself for trying to stop it in her state, according to a press release her office sent out on Thursday.

According to the breathless (and almost entirely brainless) release, Sen. Boucher “valiantly tried to stop a medical marijuana bill from getting out of the Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee.” See there? Trying to stop seriously ill patients from getting the only medicine that helps is “valiant” now, get it?

State Senator Asks: Should Indiana Legalize Marijuana?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 26, 2011 Legislation, News

Graphic: ReLegalize Indiana

An Indiana state senator is asking a question she hopes could spur debate over sentencing laws, and possibly save the state millions of dollars in the process: Should marijuana be legalized?

Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Portage) is sponsoring a bill that would direct the criminal law and sentencing study committee to examine Indiana’s marijuana laws next summer and come up with recommendations, reports Deanna Martin of the Associated Press.

“We need to think about this,” Tallian said. “We’re cutting essential services out of the budget now, and it may not make sense to spend millions of dollars prosecuting marijuana cases.”

Senate Corrections Committee Chairman Brent Steele (R-Bedford) said he would give Tallian’s proposal a legislative hearing, despite the fact that Democrats are badly outnumbered in the Senate. He said the study could help lawmakers decide if they should explore the issue, but noted that “even in California,” a proposal to legalize marijuana failed. (Yes, it’s coming true, as we predicted: The failure of Prop 19 is now being used as a talking point by prohibitionists.)

Democratic Senator Threatens To Block DEA Nominee Leonhart

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 1, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Politics of Pot

Michelle Leonhart’s nomination has hit a snag, and it’s not about marijuana, it’s about access to painkillers for nursing home patients

A Democratic Senator is threatening to block the Obama Administration’s pick to head the Drug Enforcement Administration due to a dispute over restrictions on how nursing homes dispense prescription drugs to patients.

The DEA has stepped up a crackdown on facilities allowing nurses or other nursing home staff to dispense powerful prescription drugs without a doctor’s authorization, reports Evan Perez at The Wall Street Journal.

The nursing home crackdown is supposedly part of a wider DEA effort to “prevent abuse” of prescription painkillers, which are often diverted to the black market for large profits.

Nursing home facilities aren’t staffed with enough doctors to be on hand to prescribe drugs every time they’re needed, according to industry groups. And nursing homes don’t seem inclined to change their “business models,” since keeping more doctors on staff would reduce profits.

Pair Accused Of Buying Marijuana With Senator’s Credit Card

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

Photo: News 10

Bernell Bryan Washington (left) and Sky Manriquez are accused of going on a spending spree, including buying $225 worth of marijuana withwith the senator’s credit card

A couple who investigators claim used a Virginia state senator’s American Express card to buy marijuana at a Sacramento dispensary have surrendered to authorities.

Bernell Washington, 24, and Sky Manriquez, 21, turned themselves in because of the intense publicity surrounding the case, according to Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force commander Capt. Jim Cooper, reports George Warren at News 10.

The pair is accused of going on a spending spree with Sen. Richard Saslaw’s credit card. Saslaw is Democratic majority leader in the Virginia State Senate.

The couple’s purchases included expensive restaurant meals, smoking paraphernalia and $225 worth of medical marijuana from the Fruitridge Health and Wellness Collective.

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