Rutgers Chickens Out On Governor’s Request To Grow Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 26, 2010 Dispensaries, Growing

Scarlet Knights or Yellow Frights? Rutgers University has fearfully turned down a request from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to grow medical marijuana as part of the state’s new medicinal cannabis program.

The university said that, if it were to grow the herb, which is illegal for any purpose under federal law, it could lose out on millions of dollars of government funding, reports Richard Perez-Pena of The New York Times.

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).

Nebraska Pharmacy Board Urged To OK Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 13, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: NORML Blog

More than a dozen people on Monday asked the Nebraska Board of Pharmacy to reclassify marijuana so it can be authorized as medicine.

Those testifying included a medical doctor, a lawyer, one of the original Yippies from the 1960s and an Iowa trucker wearing a “Reverend Reefer” t-shirt, reports Paul Hammel at the Omaha World-Herald.

They urged the board to help Nebraska join 14 other states the allow medicinal cannabis to relieve pain and ease the symptoms of diseases such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

CA Sen. Feinstein Opposes Marijuana Legalization

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 13, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: Transylvania Phoenix

Dianne Feinstein must be tired of being a senator. She does some really dumb stuff sometimes — like opposing pot legalization.

Ol’ Di-Fei once again looks a lot like a LINO — Liberal In Name Only.

California’s senior senator, Dianne Feinstein, has lent her voice and support to the effort to defeat Proposition 19, the marijuana legalization measure on the state’s November ballot, reports John Hoeffel at the Los Angeles Times.

Feinstein, a prominent Democrat who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992, has signed the ballot argument against Prop 19. On Monday, she made a statement through the opposition campaign calling the measure “a jumbled legal nightmare that will make our highways, our workplaces and our communities less safe.”

N.Y. Patients Call On Governor To Include Marijuana In Budget

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 22, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Matt Deturck/Rochester City Newspaper

Chronically ill patients from across New York state gathered in Albany on Tuesday to make a final plea for Gov. David Paterson and the Legislature to include a compassionate medical marijuana program in the state’s budget.

An overwhelming 71 percent of New York voters think medical marijuana laws are a “good idea,” according to a February 4 Quinnipiac University poll.

On Monday, the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York became the latest state health group to endorse New York’s medical marijuana bill.

“Lawmakers need to stop playing games while patients’ lives hang in the balance and include medical marijuana in the budget,” said Richard Williams, a Richmondville, N.Y., resident who suffers from HIV and hepatitis C.

“I have found marijuana to be the best available treatment for the joint damage, nausea and appetite loss caused by my HIV medication, but I am forced to break state law and become a criminal if I seek such relief,” Williams said. “Along with countless other patients, I have waited for more than a decade while other states have passed medical marijuana laws protecting patients and New York has refused. The time is now.”

N.J. Won’t Roll Out Medical Marijuana Program Until 2011

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 18, 2010 Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Clipart ETC

The administration of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will get an extension — until January 2011 — to roll out the Garden State’s medical marijuana program, already the most restrictive in the nation, according to the state senator who sponsored the law.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) also said is “considering” another request to change the law to allow just one centralized marijuana growing operation that would supply the six “alternative treatment centers” (dispensaries) that would sell cannabis to patients, reports Susan K. Livio at NorthJersey.com.

“They are looking at one secure location where the product is grown so you know what you are producing,” Scutari said.

According to the Christie Administration, Rutgers University’s agricultural center should grow the marijuana, and hospitals should dispense it under the state’s medical marijuana program, according to three people brief on the proposal, Livio reports.

N.J. Patients Have To Wait For Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 16, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Photo: AC Weekly

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been asking for more time to implement the state’s new medical marijuana law, and now it appears the bill’s chief sponsor, state Senator Nicholas Scutari, is going to give it to him.

Back in January, New Jersey became the 14th state to legalize marijuana for medical uses. A last-minute change to the legislation — as part of a deal which made the law more restrictive in terms of who qualifies for medical marijuana, and how much they can get each month — speeded up the timeline for implementation from one year to six months after it was signed into law, reports Jonathan Valania at the Philadelphia Weekly.

As passed, the law directs the state Health Department to devise rules by July 1 that would control the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana. After a 60-day comment period, the state would then have until November to open the first six nonprofit marijuana dispensaries.

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.

Medical Marijuana Bill 420 Introduced In Guam — At 4:20

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2010 Dispensaries, Global, Legislation

Photo: KUAM

Senator Rory Respicio of Guam introduced Bill 420, the Compassionate Healthcare Act of 2010, to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana on the island. The bill was introduced at 4:20 Monday afternoon.

“We want to file this at 4:20 p.m. to tie in with the symbolism and the whole meaning behind 420,” Respicio, a veteran Democrat lawmaker, said, reports Nick Delgado of KUAM.

While Senator Respicio introduced his bill at the traditional time for recreational pot smoking, he said his bill only allows for medical use of marijuana.

Montana Group Claims Medical Marijuana ‘Breeds Lawlessness’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 14, 2010 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: The Weed Blog

A group which claims medical marijuana “breeds lawlessness” is trying to repeal Montana’s law legalizing medicinal cannabis. The group received their approved petition Friday afternoon, and can now begin collecting signatures to place the misguided initiative on the November ballot.

The so-called “Safe Community Safe Kids” proposal needs to collect at least 24,337 signatures by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 18, reports KVTQ News.

“It’s perfectly clear,” said attorney and state Senator Jim Shockley (R-Victor), who helped rewrite the statement. “You are either for the current medical marijuana act or you’re against it, and that’s the choice the voter gets.”

The proposal calls for repealing the initiative legalizing medical marijuana, which was passed by an overwhelming 62 percent of Montana voters in 2004.

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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.