Political

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 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.

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.

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Correspondent

Yesterday, the Illinois Senate voted 35-21 in favor of an historic bill that would allow people with certain ailments to use cannabis to ease their symptoms, if recommended by their doctor.

The bill, HB 1, which would allow Illinois residents with qualifying conditions the right to obtain 2.5 ounces every two weeks from a licensed dispensary, is expected to be signed by an "open-minded" Governor Quinn.

"We are embarking here on a way to achieve relief, compassionate relief, consistent with the law (with) a system which avoids abuse," according to the bill's sponsor, Democratic Sen. Bill Haine of Alton. "It's the tightest, most controlled legislative initiative in the United State related to medical cannabis."

"This is about individuals that are having a difficult time finding solutions to their cancer pains, that are finding other solutions and are going to the black market buying it anyway. We must find these solutions," Senator William Delgado, 2nd Legislative District (D), proclaimed on the Senate floor.

Proponents say cannabis can relieve continual pain without detrimental side effects of other pharmaceutical drugs.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Washington state's proposed rules for newly legal marijuana aren't even 24 hours old yet, but are already under attack by critics.

The draft regulations -- 46 pages of them -- were released on Thursday, reports Oregon Public Broadcasting, and they cover everything from where cannabis can be grown to the criminal history of those who apply for licenses.

Under the proposed rules, anyone who wants to be involved in the legal marijuana business would have to submit to a background check. This even includes the financial backers of marijuana businesses; any felony convictions in the past decade would likely disqualify applicants.

The locations where cannabis will be grown has resulted in much discussion. The Board wants to limit grows to secure buildings or greenhouses, indoor cultivation only.

Another limitation in the proposed rules -- a ban on hash, hash oil and other concentrates extracted from cannabis, unless they're infused into an edible product -- is generating lots of controversy.

"I believe that the products that we're producing have received a bad rap because of the nickname BHO, butane extracted hash oil," Jim Andersen, who works with a company called XTracted, said.

Butane is often used to extract the THC, Andersen said, but he claimed if it's done right it leaves no chemical traces; he plans to fight the ban on marijuana extracts.

Organization of American States Secretary General Presents Historic Drug Policy Report to President Santos of Colombia

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The Organization of American States (OAS) on Friday morning released a report that envisions possible scenarios for future drug control policy. The OAS secretary general, José Miguel Insulza, will present it Friday afternoon to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the Casa de Nariño (the Colombian White House). The report – “Scenarios for the Drug Problem in the Americas, 2013-2025” – presents four possibilities for how drug policy could evolve in the Americas, most of which break from the current U.S.-led approach. The report is the first of its kind, providing a thoughtful and detailed visualization of alternatives to the existing drug prohibition regime.

The OAS received its mandate at last year’s Summit of the Americas in Cartagena following a discussion among the presidents about the need for new drug control policies that could better reduce the violence and other negative consequences of prohibitionist policies.

With some presidents speaking openly in favor of legal regulation of currently illegal drugs, President Obama acknowledged that ending prohibition is “a legitimate topic for debate” and also stated: “I think it is entirely legitimate to have a conversation about whether the laws in place are ones that are doing more harm than good in certain places.”

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

Only six percent of Americans think minor marijuana possession should result in jail time, according to a new poll. The poll also found that a strong plurality of Americans think the use or possession of cannabis should not have any punishment at all.

Notably, the new Reason-Rupe poll is one of the few surveys in which the usual incarceration vs. treatment questions have been expanded to include no penalty at all, reports Mike Riggs at Reason.com.

When asked, "Which approach do you think government and law enforcement should take toward someone found smoking marijuana or in possession of a small amount of marijuana?", six percent said possession should be punishable with jail, 20 percent said it should result in mandatory substance abuse counseling, 32 percent said users should be fined, and 35 percent said people caught with small amounts of cannabis shouldn't be punished at all.

The results, according to Reason.com, suggest that Americans have grown comfortable with the idea of decriminalizing pot, that is, reducing the penalty for minor possession to a civil fine. They are also more sympathetic than ever to the idea of full legalization.

By Steve Elliott
Hemp News

The online cannabis activism site Marijuana Majority has launched a new tool which makes it easy for people to contact their mayors in support of marijuana reform.

"We've seen a number of individual mayors speaking up in recent months about the negative impact that prohibition has on their cities and towns, and we thought a focused action trying to get more mayors to add their voices to the debate might be fruitful," Tom Angell of Marijuana Majority told Hemp News.

"After people send a letter using our tool, they are then prompted to tweet to their mayor and also given the option to be connected with the mayor's office by phone," Angell told us.

To use the tool for contacting your mayor, visit http://marijuanamajority.com/mayors/.