Recreational

By Huffington Post Staff

Your plans to celebrate 4/20 this Friday could actually make the government some money, if only such activities were legal. That’s according to a bunch of economists, and some prominent ones too.

More than 300 economists, including three nobel laureates, have signed a petition calling attention to the findings of a paper by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, which suggests that if the government legalized marijuana it would save $7.7 billion annually by not having to enforce the current prohibition on the drug. The report added that legalization would save an additional $6 billion per year if the government taxed marijuana at rates similar to alcohol and tobacco.

That's as much as $13.7 billion per year, but it's still minimal when compared to the federal deficit, which hit $1.5 trillion last year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

While the economists don't directly call for pot legalization, the petition asks advocates on both sides to engage in an "open and honest debate" about the benefits of pot prohibition.

"At a minimum, this debate will force advocates of current policy to show that prohibition has benefits sufficient to justify the cost to taxpayers, foregone tax revenues, and numerous ancillary consequences that result from marijuana prohibition," the petition states.

By Ms. Sylence Dogood, Hemp News Correspondent

Those who continue to debate the issue of marijuana legalization in support of its prohibition by using false propaganda created in the 1930's to manipulate voters by fear, only succeed in talking themselves deeper into a hole, because research has shown that propaganda to be mostly lies. By educating yourself on the merits of the cannabis plant for its medicinal and industrial properties, you will learn that all of the wasted money thrown into the war on drugs must stop, and as a global community we should be harnessing the benefits to our community and our economy by openly allowing the growth, use and sale of industrial hemp and medical and recreational cannabis.

According to Paul Stanford, Chief Petitioner of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012 in the attached video from KATU Channel 2 News "Your Voice, Your Vote" debate, "We want to take the stigma out of marijuana and allow it to be a real medicine that doctors can prescribe through pharmacies." Taking the stigma from marijuana is a matter of education about cannabis and telling the truth rather than spouting propagandist lies.

Wasting Our Tax Money

By AP, Staff

RICHMOND, Va. - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says marijuana should be legalized and treated like alcohol because the government's war on drugs has failed.

The outspoken evangelical Christian and host of "The 700 Club" on the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network he founded said the war on drugs is costing taxpayers billions of dollars. He said people should not be sent to prison for marijuana possession.

The 81-year-old first became a self-proclaimed "hero of the hippie culture" in 2010 when called for ending mandatory prison sentences for marijuana possession convictions.

"I just think it's shocking how many of these young people wind up in prison and they get turned into hardcore criminals because they had a possession of a very small amount of a controlled substance," Robertson said on his show March 1. "The whole thing is crazy. We've said, `Well, we're conservatives, we're tough on crime.' That's baloney."

Robertson's support for legalizing pot appeared in a New York Times story published Thursday. His spokesman confirmed to AP that Robertson supports legalization with regulation. Robertson was not made available for an interview.

By Lauren Maschmedt, NBC Montana

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Montana medical marijuana supporters are campaigning for a new petition drive.

This one would legalize marijuana across the board.

The petition aims to put Constitutional Initiative 110 (CI-110) on the ballot in the 2012 elections.

CI-110 calls for an amendment to the 'adult rights' article in the Montana Constitution.

As it stands, the article states adults have the right to purchase, consume or possess alcohol.

Supporters want the article expanded to include marijuana.

It classifies adults as over 18, but of course under federal law, no one can possess alcohol under 21.

Trained petitioner Rick Whatman said the over 21 law would apply to marijuana, rather than allowing it over 18.

"I think with all the support that we have on this initiative, that we should do very well with it" Whatman said.

Whatman was a trained petitioner and supporter for Initiative Referendum 124, which was backed by grassroots organization Patients for Reform, Not Repeal and put Senate Bill 423 on the November ballot.

At the end of the 2011 session, state lawmakers passed SB 423, which placed strict new regulations on medical marijuana.

Seeing the success at gathering enough signatures for IR-124, Whatman said he has no doubt they'll be able to do it again.

And the process will be streamlined the second time around, he said.

By Keith Coffman

(Reuters) - Colorado voters will be asked to decide whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in a November ballot measure, setting up a potential showdown with the federal government over America's most commonly used illicit drug.

The measure, which would legalize possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults, is one of two that will go to voters in November after a Washington state initiative to legalize pot earned enough signatures last month to qualify for the ballot there.

"This could be a watershed year in the decades-long struggle to end marijuana prohibition in this country," Art Way, Colorado manager of the Drug Policy Alliance, said in a statement. The Alliance supports the initiative.

"Marijuana prohibition is counterproductive to the health and public safety of our communities. It fuels a massive, increasingly brutal underground economy, wastes billions of dollars in scarce law enforcement resources, and makes criminals out of millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens."

Colorado is one of 16 states and the nation's capital that already allow marijuana use for medical purposes even as cannabis remains classified as an illegal narcotic under federal law - and public opinion is sharply divided on the merits of full legalization.

By Jake Ellison, KPLU

In his "State of the City" address, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn made an impassioned plea today for the legalization of marijuana saying in the illegal trade in drugs was fueling crime in the city.

"It is time we were honest about the problems we face with the drug trade. Drugs are a source of criminal profit, and that has led to shootings and even murders. Just like we learned in the 1920s with the prohibition of alcohol, prohibition of marijuana is fueling violent activity," the mayor said in the written version of his speech.

He added that the war on drugs "fuels a biased incarceration policy. The drug war's victims are predominantly young men of color."

In a speech that covered the decline and recovery from the recession and the pressure funding cuts have put on city services and workers, the mayor’s focus on crime in the streets brought out the most reaction, according to the Seattle Times.

From his speech:

By Rick Steves, Washington I-502

With a group of respected and caring citizens, I have co-sponsored Initiative 502 in Washington State (www.newapproachwa.org), which will legalize, tax, and regulate the sale of marijuana for adults. We worked very hard last year to gather more than 350,000 signatures. Last month, we turned them in, and last week, our state government certified that we had gathered enough good signatures. This means that (unless our legislature simply accepts the initiative outright), I-502 will be on the ballot in November of 2012.

I’m working with a wonderful group of activists who (like their counterparts did in the 1930s to end the prohibition against alcohol) endeavor to end the US government’s war on marijuana. We believe that it's not a question of if the USA will stop sending pot smokers to jail...it’s a matter of when. While there are many good reasons to be waging this battle, for me this is a matter of civil liberties and pragmatic harm reduction.

An initiative seeking to legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana will be decided by voters, Washington state lawmakers said Thursday.

By JONATHAN KAMINSKY, AP

OLYMPIA, Wash. — An initiative seeking to legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana will be decided by voters, Washington state lawmakers said Thursday.

If passed, Initiative 502 would make Washington the first state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. It would place the state at odds with federal law, which bans marijuana use of all kinds.

Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, who chairs the House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee that was considering the initiative, said the Legislature would not act on it, meaning it will instead automatically appear on the November ballot.

"We will have more opportunities on the campaign trail this year to discuss this issue," Hunt said.

Because the measure proposes new taxes on marijuana production and consumption, the Legislature would need a two-thirds majority to pass it.

The initiative was certified by the secretary of state's office last month after pro-legalization campaigners turned in more than the 241,153 necessary valid signatures.

Scott Gessler
Secretary of State

William A. Hobbs
Deputy Secretary of State

Denver, Colorado - Today Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced that the proposed ballot measure concerning "Use and Regulation of Marijuana" will require a line-by-line review of signatures.

Petitions for proposed initiative #30 were submitted to the Secretary of State’s office on January 4. The office immediately began verifying a random sample of the signatures as set forth in state statute. Section 1-40-116(4), C.R.S., requires the verification of each signature filed if the random sample shows the number of valid signatures falls between 90 percent and 110 percent of the signatures needed.

Random Sample Summary:

• Total number of qualified signatures submitted: 163,598
•5% of qualified signatures submitted (random sample): 8,180
•Total number of entries accepted (valid) from random sample: 4,436
•Total number of entries rejected (invalid) from random sample: 3,744
•Number of projected valid signatures from random sample: 88,719
•Total number of accepted entries necessary for placement on ballot: 86,105
•Percentage of presumed valid signatures: 103.04%

Because the 103 percent projection falls between the 90 and 110 percent described in statute, the Secretary of State’s office has notified the proponents the petition will require a line-by-line review. The office has until February 3 to complete the review.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Rich Coolidge

By Kim Kozlowski, The Detroit News

It may be a lot of smoke in the air, but an effort is in the works to try to make it legal for Michigan residents over age 21 to smoke marijuana.

A petition drive is expected to launch this week aimed at asking voters in November amend the state constitution and legalize marijuana.

If enough signatures are collected and the measure were to pass, Michigan would become one of the first states in the nation to abolish criminal penalties for anyone using, growing, selling and delivering what has been a federally controlled substance for decades.

The move also would put Michigan in the forefront of a national movement to end the prohibition on marijuana.

Legalizing marijuana is Michigan's next frontier, activists say, since the state's 2008 medical marijuana law is vague and has lead to chaos among patients and medical authorities and police and court officials in the implementation and enforcement of the law.

Proponents for a change contend that many judicial officials have used their authority to limit the law for those who need it. Meanwhile, they add, the state Legislature has not responded to the confusion.

"The medical law is not working," said Matthew Abel, an attorney who is coordinating the petition campaign. "Rather than try to rebuild that and have more of the same type of problems, we needed to go something broader than that.

By Ryan J. Stanton, Ann Arbor Political Reporter

A grass-roots group operating under the name Repeal Today For A Safer Michigan 2012 is hoping to put the question to voters in November 2012.

A draft version of the petition obtained by AnnArbor.com seeks to amend the Michigan Constitution to make pot legal for people 21 and older.

It reads as follows:

A Petition to amend the Michigan Constitution Article 1, to add:

Article 1 Section 28. Repeal of Marihuana Prohibition.

For persons at least 21 years of age who are not incarcerated, marihuana cultivation, possession, bodily internal possession, sale, acquisition, transfer, delivery, transportation, religious, medical or personal use, or possession or use of paraphernalia shall not be prohibited, abridged, or penalized in any manner; nor subject to civil forfeiture; provided that no person shall be allowed to operate a motor vehicle while impaired by any substance.

Kestenbaum said he hadn't thought much about whether such a proposal would pass, but he doesn't discount it considering the medical marijuana initiative won voter approval in 2008.

"I think this is going to be very interesting," he said. "I'm intrigued."

By Capitol Television News Service (CTNS)

Re: "Reefer Madness"(Op-Ed, Nov. 7)

By NEILL FRANKLIN, NY Times Op-Ed Contributor

The Obama administration's crackdown on state medical marijuana laws, as Ethan Nadelmann pointed out, does not make "any sense in terms of public safety, health or fiscal policy." Medical marijuana is consistently supported by more than 70 percent of voters. A recent Gallup poll shows that more Americans now want to legalize marijuana altogether than support continued prohibition on adult use.

In an earlier era it may have been a smart move for politicians to act "tough on drugs" and stay far away from legalization. But today, many voters recognize that our prohibition laws don’t do anything to reduce drug use but do create a black market where cartels and gangs use violence to protect their profits.

While some fear that legalization would lead to increased use, those who want to use marijuana are probably already doing so under our ineffective prohibition laws. And when we stop wasting so many resources on locking people up, perhaps we can fund real public education and health efforts of the sort that have led to dramatic reductions in tobacco use over the last few decades — all without having to put handcuffs on anyone.

Ben Deci, FOX40 News

It's the next big salvo in the push to legalize pot; petition takers are out now, getting signatures for an initiative to appear on next November's ballot.

The people who wrote this initiative say they are against minors and motorists using pot, and people at work too. But they also say you have to make one type of marijuana legal for everyone.

"The fact is if you smoked a bail there just isn't any possibility of a psycho-active effect," said Steve Kubby, one of those who drafted the ballot initiative.

(CBS News) - Never before have more Americans believed legalizing marijuana was the right course for the country.

In a new Gallup poll, 50 percent of respondents in a nationwide survey said they believed it was time to make pot legal. About 46 percent came out against it.

Support for legalizing marijuana tended to be stronger among younger, more liberal groups, according to Gallup. Legalization received 62 approval among those aged 18 to 29, but got only 31 percent approval among those 65 and older. Liberals were twice as likely as conservatives to favor legalizing marijuana.

In a release, Gallup writes: "When Gallup first asked about legalizing marijuana, in 1969, 12 percent of Americans favored it, while 84 percent were opposed. Support remained in the mid-20s in Gallup measures from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, but has crept up since, passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009 before reaching the 50 percent level in this year's Oct. 6-9 annual Crime survey."

If the steady climb in public support for marijuana legalization continues at its current pace, politicians will soon have to address the laws that fly in the face of that movement in opinion.

Communist Bosses Won't Even Allow Book Inside The Country

By Steve Elliott, Toke of the Town/Special to Hemp News

The worldwide release of an American book on cannabis has been delayed, due to the refusal of the communist government of China to allow its binding on Chinese soil, according to the publisher.

The Little Black Book of Marijuana, by yours truly, Toke of the Town editor Steve Elliott, was scheduled for availability on August 1, but that printing schedule was thrown off after the totalitarian Chinese government decided the book was "too controversial" to even allow the printed pages inside the tightly-run dictatorship.

"Our printer is located in Hong Kong, with binderies in mainland China," production manager Ginny Reynolds of Peter Pauper Press explained to me Friday morning. "Usually it's no problem to move printed books from Hong Kong to China for binding.

"However, Chinese censorship is extremely tight," Reynolds told Toke of the Town. "Any content deemed 'sensitive' or 'controversial' by their standards is banned."

Steve Elliott: "You can always tell a totalitarian dictatorship, because they're afraid of the truth."

"We have the same problem with our books on sexuality," she told me. "The printer has to arrange for binding in Hong Kong, and facilities there are limited and overbooked in the summer season.

By CBS 13 Staff

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Marijuana is no medical marvel — that's according to a new federal ruling generating plenty of controversy across California.

The Drug Enforcement Administration decree states that "marijuana has no currently accepted medical use" – in other words, this bud is not for you.

Yet in California you can easily get pizza, brownies, even cannabis cookies because medical marijuana is incredibly edible and of course, smokable. And all you need is a medical marijuana card – it's easy to get – but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has ruled that “marijuana lacks accepted safety for medical use under supervision.”

"I’m here to disagree with the DEA," said Shane Randall, a medical marijuana patient at Alternative Medical Source (AMS) in Fair Oaks.

He told CBS 13, "I'm a type one diabetic. I also have auto-immune disease. I've been using medicinal marijuana for 5 years now."

Editor's note: Gary Johnson is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and served as governor of New Mexico from 1994-2003.

By Gary Johnson, Special to CNN

(CNN) -- In 2002, I became aware of a woman who had already served more than six years of a 25-year prison sentence. Her crime? She was addicted to codeine, and she had fraudulently written herself more than 100 prescriptions for Tylenol III.

It seemed to me that this woman had already served far too much time in prison -- in fact, more than a person would likely serve if convicted of second-degree murder -- so I used my authority as governor of New Mexico to release her.

By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

House lawmakers introduced legislation in Congress today to end the federal criminalization of the personal use of marijuana.

The bipartisan measure, HR 2306 – entitled the 'Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011' and sponsored by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank and Texas Republican Ron Paul along with Reps. Cohen (D-TN), Conyers (D-MI), Polis (D-CO), and Lee (D-CA) – prohibits the federal government from prosecuting adults who use or possess marijuana by removing the plant and its primary psychoactive constituent, THC, from the five schedules of the United States Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Under present law, all varieties of the marijuana plant are defined as illicit Schedule I controlled substances, defined as possessing 'a high potential for abuse,’ and ‘no currently accepted medical use in treatment.'

Said Rep. Frank, "Criminally prosecuting adults for making the choice to smoke marijuana is a waste of law enforcement resources and an intrusion on personal freedom. I do not advocate urging people to smoke marijuana, neither do I urge them to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke tobacco, but in none of these cases do I think prohibition enforced by criminal sanctions is good public policy."

By Michael Roberts, Westword

Sensible Colorado's Brian Vicente has been talking about a 2012 ballot initiative to legalize marijuana for adult use here since at least this November 2009 post.

But his effort to accomplish this feat is one step closer to reality now that he's submitted eight variations on a legalization measure to the state's title-setting review board. Read them below.

"They all have the same basic framework," says Vicente about the documents, which were filed last week. "Essentially, what we're looking to do is regulate marijuana sales in a similar way that alcohol is regulated statewide. That way, adults 21 and over can purchase marijuana in regulated, state-licensed businesses where they have to show an ID before it can be purchased."

Among the main selling points, he continues, is that "it would free up law enforcement resources for far more important purposes -- and it would also produce a fair amount of tax revenue for the state."

View Larger Map

Press Release: News Conference

When: Monday, March 28th, 10 AM

Where: 2712 NE Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97232

Who: Paul Stanford, Chief Petitioner & Treasurer
Jennifer Alexander, Campaign Manager

By TONYA MOSLEY, KING 5 News

SEATTLE -- A group called "Grammas For Ganja" is fighting to not only have marijuana legalized but for users to be a part of the workforce without the fear of getting fired.

Jeanne Black-Ferguson, 70, is not your typical grandma. She is front and center in the fight, not for herself, but for her grandkids.

"I think when Washington legalizes cannibas across the board we will become one of the wealthiest states in America!" she said. "If one in five are going to be impacted by the criminal justice system for cannibus which one of my five [grandchildren] will be? I already know two of them that are using the plant!"

Black-Ferguson thinks they should be able to use it and get a job. The issue however, it's not that simple.

"I've gone on four interviews in the past two weeks," says Maggie, who did want to give us her last name.

Maggie uses marijuana to ease the pain of a brain tumor. Her doctor's note means nothing to most employers.

By KING 5 News

SEATTLE – The Seattle Times is endorsing a bill in the Washington state Legislature to legalize marijuana, in an editorial to be published this Sunday.

The paper is coming out in favor of House Bill 1550, which would make it legal to sell pot in liquor stores.

The editorial comes just days after Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said he has stopped prosecuting user-level possession cases.

Legalizing pot would be at odds with federal law and it goes against what most in law enforcement believe -- that pot is a dangerous drug. But the Times editorial board says legalization is really a pro-law enforcement move.

"If you legalize it, then the growers, the distributors, they become part of the regulated system where law enforcement has more control," said Kate Riley with The Seattle Times.


Source: http://www.king5.com/news/local/Seattle-Times-endorsing-marijuana-legali...

By Susan Gager, KEZI

EUGENE, Ore. -- Just months ago, a marijuana dispensary measure failed on the ballot in Oregon. Now the push is on to legalize the drug across the board.

The creator of the new initiative wants marijuana to be taxed just like cigarettes and liquor. He and its supporters say it would generate millions for the state. But does it have any chance of passing? That depends on who you ask.

"I think that it's time for the nation to take the demonization out of marijuana," said Phillip Allen, family nurse practitioner.

That's what the director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation intends to do with a new initiative to get marijuana legalized in the state.

"It really does relieve a lot of pain and it can really help a lot of people," said Eliza Williams, student.

The executive director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation says if it were taxed like cigarettes and liquor, it could generate millions of dollars in revenue for the state's general fund.

"Alcohol revenue brings in about $75 million. It will create lots of new jobs, and create all these new industries. We think it'll create billions and billions of dollars in the long run," said Paul Stanford, Hemp & Cannabis Foundation Executive Director.