Bill Would Have Ended Life Sentences For Marijuana In Louisiana

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Legislation that would have reduced Louisiana's draconian marijuana penalties found a majority of support in the state House of Representatives on a 46-45 vote -- but it failed anyway, because House rules require any bill to pass with a simple majority of total House members, making 53 votes necessary to enact a new law.

The bill would have greatly reduced prison sentences and fines for marijuana offenders in the state. On May 21 it went to the House floor for the third reading; the final 46-45 vote was tantalizingly close to changing the face of marijuana enforcement in Louisiana.

HB 103 would have concentrated more on fines and less on prison sentences than the current law, and thus would have helped reduce Louisiana's world-record prison population with more realistic sentencing guidelines, reports William Dilella at NOLA Defender.

The law, notably, would also have created separation between penalties for marijuana and its synthetic imitators such as Spice and K2, which have been shown to have actual side effects and can create legitimate health concerns.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A proposal to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada will get a vote by the full Senate.

The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday unanimously approved Senate Bill 374, reports Brian Duggan at the Reno Gazette-Journal. The measure would create a system of regulated storefront dispensaries which would be taxed by the state.

The stores would be authorized to sell medicinal cannabis to authorized patients who are registered with the state. The bill needs 14 votes -- two-thirds of the Nevada Senate -- in order to pass.

Nevada voters in 1998 and again in 2000 approved measures to amend the state constitution to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana.

But state law never established a legal way for medical marijuana patients to actually get cannabis, other than by growing it themselves (presumably, with seeds given to them by their Fairy Godmother).

About 3,600 Nevada residents have medical marijuana cards.

Earlier this year, SB 374 sponsor Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas) took a bipartisan group of Nevada lawmakers to Phoenix to observe a legal dispensary operating under Arizona's medical marijuana program.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A week after Washington state issued rules for its newly legal marijuana industry, Seattle is working on its plan for where cannabis growers and sellers will be allowed to do business.

The zoning law, currently under construction, will make residential areas, single-family and multi-famioly zones, off limits for pot businesses, reports Tim Haeck at MyNorthwest.com. Neighborhood commercial zones, as well as certain downtown zones and historic districts, will be off limits as well.

"It's our intent that we not have a concentration, not only in particular neighborhoods for that matter, we don't want a concentration in the city of Seattle," said Seattle City Council member Nick Licata. (Our question is, what would be wrong with a concentration of marijuana outlets?)

Licata said allowable locations include other commercial and industrial zones scattered throughout the city limits so as not to create a "pot zone" (hello, Aurora Avenue).

"We are not going through with a rubber stamp saying on a map these are marijuana districts," Licata said. "Eventually there probably will be a map produced that will show where marijuana enterprises can exist."

The original bill limited "marijuana manufacturers" -- growers, in the real world -- to spaces of 10,000 square feet, but that's too small, according to advisor Philip Dawdy, a longtime journalist and activist on the cannabis scene in Seattle.

New Poll: At Least 60% of All Voters Continue to Call for Fixing Marijuana Possession Laws, Including Half of Republicans; Poll is Third This Year Showing Strong Majority Support for Reform

Thousands More New Yorkers Have Been Arrested – at Cost of Estimated $7.5 Million – for Possessing Small Amounts of Marijuana Since April 1 When Reform Talks Failed During Budget Negotiation

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Members of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus on Wednesday gathered with community groups to demand an end to the biased, costly and deceptive practice of falsely arresting tens of thousands of people in New York for low-level marijuana possession every year.

Dozens of advocates and impacted people from around the state joined them at a press conference and rally to urge passage of sensible marijuana decriminalization legislation, A.6716A (Camara)/S.3105A (Squadron). The proposal would decriminalize possessing up to 15 grams of marijuana in public view; smoking in public would remain a misdemeanor.

Community members and elected officials are demanding that leadership in Albany make fixing this law a top priority. The bill would help end the practice of arresting tens of thousands of young people per year for possessing marijuana in public view when police demand that someone “empty their pockets” during a stop-and-frisk encounter.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that medical marijuana patients aren't automatically breaking the law against driving while impaired if they're caught driving after smoking pot.

The court, in a unanimous decision, overturned an appeals court decision in the case of Rodney Koon, a medical marijuana patient from Grand Traverse County, reports The Associated Press. Koon was stopped in 2010 for speeding, going almost 30 miles per hour over the limit.

He admitted having smoked medical marijuana earlier, and a blood test showed the presence of cannabis in his system.

It's illegal in Michigan to drive while under the influence of marijuana, but the state Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana patients have some protection. The court ruled that police must show a driver was actually impaired -- "under the influence" of marijuana for DUI charges to stick.

The medical marijuana law approved by 63 percent of Michigan's voters in 2008 "shields registered patients for the internal possession of marijuana," the judges unanimously ruled.

At the same time, the law forbids driving "while under the influence of marijuana." But it doesn't set a level above which drivers are considered to be "under the influence," the ruling said.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The citizens of Los Angeles on Tuesday voted to regulate medical marijuana by passing Proposition D, one of three medical marijuana regulation measures on the ballot. The Proposition received 62.57 percent of the vote.

Proposition D caps the number of collectives at those who opened prior to 2007, about 130, raises the gross receipts tax from $50 to $60 per $1000 of gross receipts, and establishes the distances they must keep from schools, parks, one another and residential neighborhoods. It also requires that collectives be closed between 8 p.m. and 10 a.m., prohibits the consumption of marijuana on the premises and requires background checks on managers.

Unfortunately, the Proposition also does not allow for a new collective to receive a permit if one of the pre-2007 collectives closes.

Proposition D was supported by several members of the City Council, the Greater Los Angeles Collective Association (GLACA), the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), both Los Angeles mayoral candidates and the current city attorney and his challenger. Under the Proposition, organizations consisting of four or more people who cultivate, process, distribute or give away medical marijuana must obtain a license from the city.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Acting as if cannabis were alone among all medicines in somehow being uniquely dangerous and simply unacceptable to give children, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Monday said he is "not inclined to allow" children to participate in the state's medical marijuana program, despite the fact that state law says the program is open to minors.

"I'm very concerned, if we go down this slope of allowing minors to use this, where does it end?" Gov. Christie said lamely in justifying his decision to allow children to continue suffering.

The governor was responding to a question concerning a New Jersey Star-Ledger story about Vivian Wilson, a two-year-old girl with a severe, rare form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome, reports Susan K. Livio. Vivian got a medical marijuana ID card from the New Jersey Health Department in February, but her parents, Brian and Meghan Wilson of Scotch Plains, have been unable to find a psychiatrist to support Vivian's enrollment in the program.

New Jersey law requires the approval of a pediatrician, a psychiatrist and the child's prescribing physician -- three separate approvals -- before the family may buy cannabis on a child's behalf. Some readers may remember certain New Jersey politicians bragging about having the "strictest medical marijuana law in the nation;" now the real-world consequences of such "strictness" are plain for all to see.

New Poll: At Least 60% of All Voters Continue to Call for Fixing Marijuana Possession Laws, Including Half of Republicans; Poll is Third This Year Showing Strong Majority Support For Reform

Thousands More New Yorkers Have Been Arrested – at Cost of Estimated $7.5 Million – for Possessing Small Amounts of Marijuana Since April 1 When Reform Talks Failed During Budget Negotiation

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Members of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus on Wednesday, May 22, will gather with commuity groups to demand an end to the biased and costly practice of falsely arresting tens of thousands of people in New York for low-level marijuana possession every year.

Dozens of advocates and impacted people from around the state will join them at a press conference and rally to urge passage of sensible marijuana decriminalization legislation, A. 6716A (Camara)/S. 3105A (Squadron). The proposal, introduced at the request of Governor Cuomo, would decriminalize possessing up to 15 grams of marijuana in public view, though smoking in public would remain a misdemeanor.

Community members and elected officials are demanding that leadership in Albany make fixing this law a top priority. The bill would help end the practice of arresting tens of thousands of young people per year for possessing marijuana supposedly "in public view" when police demand that someone “empty their pockets” during a stop-and-frisk encounter.

Meanwhile, L.A. Voters Weighing In Tuesday On Dispensary Regulations

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The California Senate on Monday approved a bill that would end all for-profit sales of medical marijuana in the state.

The proposed law would go further than then-Attorney General (now Governor) Jerry Brown's 2008 non-binding guidelines, in that it would make the nonprofit collective model mandatory for dispensaries, reports Stephen C. Webster at The Raw Story. Provisions in the bill, SB 439, would also put extensive records-keeping requirements on dispensary owners.

That would theoretically allow tax agents to look more closely at dispensary finances to ensure no profits are being taken; unfortunately, it would also expedite federal prosecutions if those records were successfully subpoenaed by the federal Department of Justice.

Brown issued the guidelines after law enforcement asked for clarification on who they could bust for medical marijuana. After California voters in 1996 approved medical marijuana, the Legislature in 2004 expanded and clarified the law in 2004 with SB 420, the Medical Marijuana Program Act, a system of voluntary regulations that established a licensing system and put limits on cultivation and sales.

But more than 200 cities around the state have banned medical marijuana dispensaries, actions which the California Supreme Court recently upheld.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner on Monday took on the federal government and its crackdown on medical marijuana. Filner held a press conference in support of medical marijuana patient Ronnie Chang, who was operating state-licensed dispensaries, calling for jury nullification in the case.

Chang's supporters say he was wrongfully arrested and persecuted in federal raids back in 2009, reports Sharon Chen at Fox 5 San Diego.

"Ronnie Chang has been in custody for about five months," said Terrie Best of San Diego Americans for Safe Access. "He has a very infirm mother he had been supporting and taking care of."

Chang's attorney, Michael McCabe, on Monday appeared before a federal magistrate judge to argue a temporary gag order against him be lifted. McCabe was criticized by supporters of the federal crackdown for appearing in a video blasting U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy, who has overseen the crackdown in Southern California.

The persecution of Chang is bias-driven and vindictive, according to McCabe.

Prosecutors wanted all material regarding the case removed from the internet and social networks, which makes one wonder why they are afraid of the truth. A federal judge wouldn't enforce the gag order, but instead McCabe agreed not to "try the case in front of the press."

The prosecutors came to their senses, backing down from their ridiculous request to remove information from the internet.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Former mayor and current city councilman Marion Barry -- who has supported marijuana law reform since the 1980s -- is one of two sponsors of a bill to decriminalize marijuana in the District of Columbia.

Barry (D-Ward 8) and fellow council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) are working on legislation that would reduce or eliminate criminal penalties for marijuana possession in the nation's capital city, reports the Huffington Post.

Barry said too many young African American men get criminal records because of minor marijuana possession cases. "These council members ought to stand up, and I think they will, on behalf of their constituency, who suffers mightily from this archaic situation," said Barry, who was busted for cocaine possession while serving as mayor of D.C. in 1980.

Barry said he and wells hope to get "six or seven" council members to cosponsor a decrim measure. David Grosso (I-At Large) on Wednesday pledged his support, but added that he wants to discuss outright legalization as well. Grosso was arrested at age 22 in 1993 in Florida for marijuana possession.

"It's time we enter the 21st century and stop criminalizing people... for what is not really a major crime," Wells told The Washington Post.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Governor Pat Quinn holds in his hands the fate of medical marijuana in Illinois, but so far will only say he remains "open minded" on the measure in a Monday appearance.

Quinn, a Democrat, on Monday told the City Club of Chicago he is currently reviewing the medical marijuana bill the Illinois Legislature sent to his desk last week, reports the Huffington Post. The governor would not say whether he would sign the bill into law.

The Illinois Senate on Friday passed the bill on a 35-21 vote; it had already been approved by the House.

The bill had some conservative supporters, including GOP state Sen. Jim Oberweis of Aurora, who voted for the bill after saying he was "honestly undecided about this" during the Senate floor discussion. Oberweis later told the Illinois Review he came around to supporting the bill after a strong majority of his constituents supported it in a tele-townhall (never underestimate the power of letting politicians know how you feel).

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon also supporters the bill, as well as a majority of Illinois voters, according to polling, and a coalition of almost 250 physicians.

It is "likely" Gov. Quinn will sign the bill, according to Chicago Magazine's Whet Moser.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A new study from Colorado State University estimates that Coloradans will use more than two million ounces of marijuana in 2014.

The study, from the Colorado Futures Center at CSU, predicts that some 642,772 state residents -- about 12 percent of the population -- will buy legal marijuana next year, reports Matt Ferner at The Huffington Post.

The researchers believe that each cannabis customer will purchase about 3.5 ounces of pot during the year (seems rather conservative to us), for a grand total of 2,258,985 ounces of weed sold -- about 142,000 pounds, or 71 tons.

The study estimates each ounce of weed will cost about $185; they arrived at that figure by averaging prices at the crowd-sourced website PriceofWeed.com. Based on that price, and with estimated taxes added, Coloradans will be spending about $420 million (yeah, $420 million) on marijuana in 2014.

But that figure, like Coloradans themselves, could get substantially higher. When the data were compiled, recreational marijuana was still illegal, and PriceofWeed.com currently shows the average price of "low quality" marijuana at $222.

Voter-approved Amendment 64 also allows Coloradans to grow their own cannabis, so the numbers could go down if more residents opt to do it the smart way rather than paying retail prices.

Medical Marijuana Patients and Advocates Call for Immediate Passage of New York’s Bill

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

A poll released on Monday by the Siena Research Institute found that 82 percent of New York voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill people to legally use marijuana for medical purposes if recommended by a doctor.

The poll of 623 registered voters also found that Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to support medical marijuana – for both groups, support registered at 81 percent. Meanwhile, members of the Independence and other parties showed even greater support (89 percent), and even 77 percent percent of self-described conservatives were in favor.

A proposal currently pending before the New York Legislature, the Compassionate Care Act – A.6357 (Gottfried) / S.4406 (Savino) – would allow healthcare practitioners to talk to their patients about medical marijuana and certify those with serious, debilitating illnesses so that they may have access to a small amount of medical marijuana to relieve their symptoms. The bill, which would create one of the nation’s most tightly regulated medical marijuana programs, also has the support of hundreds patients and healthcare providers and dozens of organizations across the state.