Washington DC Medical Marijuana Program Finally Making Progress

The District Of Columbia will begin accepting formal applications to grow or dispense medical marijuana Aug. 5, a significant step toward establishing the long-awaited program to aid the sick and dying, reports Tom Howell Jr. of The Washington Times.

Earlier this year, the D.C. Department of Health received 170 letters of intent — 64 for dispensaries and 106 for cultivation centers — from more than 80 separate entities, said agency Director Dr. Mohammad Akhter. City agencies vetted the letters of intent Tuesday, disqualifying 14 dispensary letters and 18 cultivation letters, Dr. Akhter said. That leaves 50 dispensary and 88 cultivation candidates to vying for five and 10 permits, respectively. Qualifying candidates have until Sept. 9 to submit their applications.

In February, Akhter promised the system would be up and running in 60 to 90 days. But concerns about federal or congressional intervention have slowed down the process.

“We’ve received information from the USDOJ, USAO expressing their concerns about this and we want to frankly be sure we acknowledge all the concerns that exist so that when we have a program to move forward it is sound as we can possible make it,” Mayor Vincent Gray said.

“The bottom line is we will be issuing licenses in the middle of December,” Akhter says.

Advocates counter that the process has stretched on too long and the regulations are too restrictive.

“The patients who are going to benefit from this program are fed up and are sick and tired of waiting. They’re sick of it. They want their medicine now,” says Adam Eidinger of the Medical Marijunana Service.

It’s been 13 years since D.C. voters approved medical marijuana, but legal blocks have slowed progress.

Marijuana Legalizaiton Advocates Hound Rep. Lamar Smith

They call Congress’ stance ‘Reefer Madness,’ but decriminalization bill appears doomed.

By Gary Martin

WASHINGTON — Worried that marijuana decriminalization dreams could go up in smoke, advocates are targeting a Texas congressman who has vowed to kill a bill that would remove pot from the federal list of controlled substances.

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said his panel will not take up the bipartisan legislation, which would effectively kill it for lack of action.

“Instead of encouraging the use of marijuana, we should strengthen enforcement of federal drug laws to protect Americans from the devastating effects of drug use,” said Smith, R-San Antonio.

Smith’s stance has prompted a backlash organized by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Legalization.

NORML has launched a letter and telephone campaign that swamped Smith with more than 9,000 messages and calls and forced him to take down his Facebook page.

The sheer number of the responses does not surprise NORML, but the group is under no illusion that it will see the legislation passed any time soon.

“This Congress is a ‘Reefer Madness’ Congress,” said Allen St. Pierre, NORML executive director, referring to the 1936 morality film that portrayed users of the herb descending into mental illness.

Still, St. Pierre said changing public attitudes on cannabis use and its acceptance in some parts of the country should at least require Congress to hold a hearing on the merits of the legislation. The authors say the bill is no half-baked idea.

The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act was filed by Rep. Ron Paul, the Texas congressman seeking the Republican presidential nomination, and Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee.

Paul, who has a national libertarian following, and Frank, one of the most liberal members of Congress, say the bill is a reasoned approach to getting the federal government out of the regulation of marijuana.

Under the bill, HR 2306, marijuana would be removed from the federal list of controlled substances, ending federal enforcement and allowing each state to address how it could be used and distributed.

NORML is airing announcements about the bill on its web site and YouTube, urging people to contact Smith and other members of Congress.

In one, country music icon Willie Nelson, a Texan and a board member of NORML, pleads that current drug laws need to be changed to match public attitudes.

With his hit “On the Road Again” playing in the background, Nelson says 850,000 citizens will be arrested this year on cannabis-related charges: “That’s another marijuana smoker busted every 35 seconds.”

Advocates of pot use note that 14 states have passed decriminalization laws, and 16 states and the District of Columbia permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Texas is not one of those states, and it is not likely to be one soon, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas and a former state attorney general and state Supreme Court justice.

“I would be surprised if it has much in the way of public support, which would be the biggest obstacle, since I doubt the members of the Texas Legislature would take this matter up and pass it,” Cornyn said.

There is no companion legislation in the Senate, but Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would join Smith and House colleagues in opposing similar measures.

Cornyn said he worries that decriminalization, medical usage and removing marijuana laws from federal enforcement is a slippery slope “where a similar attitude would be embraced with regards to other illegal drugs and dangerous substances.”

The Obama administration also opposes decriminalization of marijuana, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Marijuana use is harmful and should be discouraged, according to the White House drug czar, and legalization would lower the price and increase usage.

St. Pierre said it is likely to take another decade for Congress to catch up to public attitudes and develop a more relaxed attitude on marijuana use, but he predicted federal decriminalization would come eventually.

“The states are really driving this,” St. Pierre said.

Read more: 
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/article/Pot-advocates-hound-Rep-Smith-1453392.php

Philadelphia Saves Millions By Ceasing Criminal Marijuana Prosecutions

 

The city of Philadelphia saved an estimated $2 million last year by ceasing criminal prosecutions for minor marijuana offenses, according to comments made last week by District Attorney Seth Williams to the Philadelphia Daily News.

In April 2010, Williams publicly announced a citywide policy change whereby law enforcement officials would issue a summons rather than arrest and criminally prosecute minor marijuana offenders. Philadelphia NORML had actively lobbied for the policy change after finding that the city punished minor marijuana violations more severely than many neighboring counties. A February 2010 Philly NORML report also found significant racial disparities in the city’s marijuana prosecutions — noting that African American males comprised an estimated 83 percent of all persons in Philadelphia arrested for minor marijuana possession offenses.

The new enforcement policy took effect in June 2010.

Approximately 4,160 defendants were diverted under the program, called the SAM (Small Amount of Marijuana) program, during its first year, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. Defendants in the program pay a $200 fine and must attend a three-hour drug awareness class. Those who complete the class and pay the fine do not have to appear in criminal court and will not have a criminal record.

Previously, minor (under 30 grams) marijuana possession offenders in Philadelphia were criminally prosecuted with a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to 30 days probation or jail time, a $500 fine, and a criminal record.

“There’s no reason to waste tax dollars on harsh prohibition enforcement,” said Chris Goldstein, media coordinator for Philly NORML and publisher of FreedomIsGreen.com. “Removing the criminal penalties for marijuana possession helps to pay for firefighters, ambulances, and other necessary services. It’s that simple.”

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500, or Chris Goldstein, Philly NORML Media Coordinator at: media@phillynorml.org.

Seattle Committee Passes Bill to License Cannabis Dispensaries

Thursday, July 14, 2011, at 9:42 am

Photo: Steve Elliott ~alapoet~

​A Seattle City Council panel on Wednesday unanimously passed a measure licensing and regulating medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.

The ordinance now moves to the full City Council for consideration on Monday, July 18, reports Chris Grygiel at the Seattle P.I. But prior to the vote by the Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee, one attorney told the council members that the ordinance won’t stand up in court.

“I want to applaud the City Council for taking a look at this matter … unfortunately I must urge you to reconsider your proposal,” said activist/attorney Douglas Hiatt, who said he represents medical marijuana patients. “Go back to the drawing board. I do not believe there is any way you can pass your ordinance will stand under the law. The state’s controlled substances act pre-empts the field … Marijuana is still illegal … It’s illegal for all purposes, you cannot regulate an illegal business without a specific authority.”

Photo: Douglas Hiatt

Attorney Douglas Hiatt: “If you pass this, I will take you to court and do my very best to knock it out”

​ When Gov. Chris Gregoire line-item vetoed a bill earlier this year which would have allowed medical marijuana dispensaries statewide, she nixed language that would have allowed the Council to pass its own regulations, according to Hiatt.

“If you pass this, I will take you to court and do my very best to knock it out,” Hiatt told the Council.

Earlier this year, the Washington Legislature passed a medical marijuana bill, but Gregoire vetoed most of it, claiming she was worried the law would put state workers at risk of federal prosecution, even though that’s never happened in any medical marijuana state.

Washington has allowed patients with qualifying conditions to use medical marijuana since voters approved it in 1998, but the federal government doesn’t recognize any medicinal use for cannabis. The bill that passed in the Legislature was intended to set clearer regulations on dispensaries, establish a licensing system, and institute a patient registry with arrest protection.

Gregoire vetoed provisions which would have licensed and regulated marijuana dispensaries. She also vetoed the provision which would have created a patient registry under the Department of Health.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, along with the city attorney and King County’s executive and prosecutor had all supported establishing a legal framework for medical marijuana.

The ordinance before the Seattle City Council, sponsored by Councilman Nick Licata, would require medical marijuana dispensaries to get business licenses, pay taxes and fees and meet city land use codes. The shops would also be subject to the city’s Chronic Nuisance Property Law, which means if there were repeated complaints about their activity, they could be fined or shut down.

The “open use and display of cannabis” would be prohibited at the dispensaries.

Not all people testifying before the Council on Wednesday thought the effort was in vain. A University District resident urged the Council to come up with zoning rules so that neighborhoods like his aren’t “overrun” with dispensaries.

To read medical marijuana documents presented to the Council, click here and here.

Portugal, The Prime Example of Marijuana Decriminalization

What’s good homies, before I start I just need to say, this is the greatest news I’ve heard in awhile. So Portugal celebrated 10 years of drugs being decriminalized on July 1st this year, and things could never be better. Most people believe if drugs in general were available to the public for recreational use it would cause more addiction, crime and violence, broken homes, etc. Well, Portugal says differently. Lets look at the stats in the past ten years, a little insight on the “horrors” that have been a result of  Portugal’s choices. Decreased youth drug use, less overdoses, HIV/AIDS rates are down, less crime, reduced criminal justice expenditures, greater access to drug treatment, and safer and healthier communities. Sounds like its about time we take the chance, don’t you think? Full story here.

“In Portugal’s thoroughly re-envisioned drug policy, police officers now issue citations – but do not arrest – persons found in possession of small amounts of illicit substances. People who receive these citations are ordered to appear at a ‘dissuasion commission,’ an administrative panel that operates outside of the criminal justice system.”

“Decriminalization in Portugal actually helped reduce the stigma around drug use (without increasing it) and made drug use less politically difficult to talk about. It encouraged better collaboration between law enforcement and service providers, and allowed law enforcement to focus on large-scale traffickers, resulting in increased seizures of commercial quantities of illicit drugs.”

“Our 40 year war on drugs is proof of failure. Portugal is an example of an alternative. It is time for an exit strategy from our longest, costliest war!”

Lets all take a real look at this, we have spent billion upon billions of dollars on the “War on Drugs,” and have yet to accomplish a damn thing. Now I don’t exactly agree with anybody doing meth, heroin or cocaine, but to each his own. What I do agree with is taking the chance of widening our great country’s freedoms just a bit more. Not just Marijuana, lets make the tweakers happy is well! Count on this, the war is almost over my fellow Greenies, and we are winning.

- From http://www.hailmaryjane.com

Marijuana Decrim Headed To The Ballot In Miami Beach

Graphic: CSMP

​Miami Beach, Florida voters may get a chance to vote on decriminalizing marijuana this fall, making it the first city in South Florida to reduce the penalty for pot to a $100 fine instead of criminal charges.

Sensible Florida (Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy), a group which works to legalize cannabis, said it has collected more than double the number of signatures needed to put the measure on the ballot, reports Tim Elfrink at Miami New Times; normally, doubling the required number all-but-ensures that enough valid names are present to qualify.

The group said it will present 9,000 signatures at Miami Beach City Hall on Wednesday, July 13.

Photo: The Lead Miami Beach

Ford Banister, Sensible Florida: “It’s a great day for the marijuana legalization movement in Florida”

​ “It’s a great day for the marijuana legalization movement in Florida,” said the group’s Chairman Ford Banister. “For the first time, Florida voters will soon decide a marijuana related question.”

Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman, the director and producer of Cocaine Cowboys and Square Grouper – a film about the South Florida marijuana trade in the 1970s and ’80s — has contributed thousands of dollars and publically backed the efforts of Sensible Florida, reports Perry Stein at The Miami Herald.

Spellman said the vote will be a chance for Miami Beach residents to decide if they want to stop pursuing a “failed war on drugs.”

“Is it in the public interest to arrest, detain and process somebody in the system for small amounts of marijuana?” asked Spellman. ”Is that what we want cops, prosecutors and investigators to be focusing on?”

Victory Rally Planned for 4:20 Wednesday, July 13, Miami Beach City Hall

If at least 4,300 of the group’s 9,000 signatures are valid, a citywide vote on the issue will take place in November.

The group is staging a victory rally at Miami Beach City Hall at 4:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

“We are working to generate a huge crowd for this historic event,” said campaign organizer Eric Stevens of Sensible Florida. “We need to get as many people as possible at the rally.”

“One of our plans is to have planes with banners flying all around Miami Beach to let people know that this is happening,” Stevens said. “Imagine how cool it would be to see a plane flying overhead announcing a marijuana rally at City Hall on Miami Beach as we work to present the voices of thousands of people who signed the petition to change the marijuana laws!”

Florida NORML, People United For Medical Marijuana (PUFMM), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), Sensible Florida Miami Beach, and others have all worked hard for more than a year to make this event happen, activist/Black Tuna Diaries author Robert Platshorn, one of the 1970s marijuana smugglers featured in the film Square Grouper, told Toke of the Town on Monday.

What: Rally to support petition submission to decriminalize marijuana on Miami Beach

When: July 13, 4:20 p.m.

Where: Miami Beach City Hall, 1700 Convention Center Drive (on the corner of 17th Street & Convention Center Drive)

Federal government says marijuana has no accepted medical use

LA-Marijuana has been approved by California, many other states and the nation’s capital to treat a range of illnesses, but in a decision announced Friday the federal government ruled that it has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a dangerous drug like heroin.

The decision comes almost nine years after medical marijuana supporters asked the government to reclassify cannabis to take into account a growing body of worldwide research that shows its effectiveness in treating certain diseases, such as glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.

Advocates for the medical use of the drug criticized the ruling but were elated that the Obama administration had finally acted, which allows them to appeal to the federal courts, where they believe they can get a fairer hearing. The decision to deny the request was made by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and comes less than two months after advocates asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to force the administration to respond to their petition.

“We have foiled the government’s strategy of delay, and we can now go head-to-head on the merits, that marijuana really does have therapeutic value,” said Joe Elford, the chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access and the lead counsel on the recently filed lawsuit. Elford said he was not surprised by the decision, which comes just after the Obama administration announced it would not tolerate large-scale commercial marijuana cultivation. “It is clearly motivated by a political decision that is anti-marijuana,” he said. He noted that studies demonstrate pot has beneficial effects, including appetite stimulation for people undergoing chemotherapy. “One of the things people say about marijuana is that it gives you the munchies and the truth is that it does, and for some people that’s a very positive thing.”

DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart sent a letter dated June 21 to the organizations that filed a petition for the change. The letter and the documentation that she used to back up her decision were published Friday in the Federal Register. Leonhart said she rejected the request because marijuana “has a high potential for abuse,” “has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States” and “lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.”

This is the third time that petitions to reclassify marijuana have been spurned. The first was filed in 1972 and denied 17 years later. The second was filed in 1995 and denied in 2001. Both decisions were appealed, but the courts sided with the federal government.

Pursuit of Misdemeanor Marijuana Possession Costs Vermont Over $700K Annually

REP. LORBER CALLS FOR DECRIMINALIZATION….

(BURLINGHAM, Vt.) – New data unveiled today shows that Vermont state government spends over $700,000 annually to pursue Vermonters for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Based on the new findings, Rep. Jason Lorber (D-Burlington) today announced plans to introduce a bill that would decriminalize the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.

“We should stop wasting $700,000 a year on a failed policy,” said Rep. Lorber. “It’s time for a smarter approach. That means decriminalization for an ounce or less of marijuana.”

“In a time of great fiscal strain, it is critical that we focus law enforcement resources on offenses that pose the greatest threats to public safety,” said Windsor County State’s Attorney, Robert Sand. “Possession of small amounts of marijuana does not fall into this category. Converting misdemeanor marijuana crimes into civil violations is an appropriate and laudatory legislative endeavor.”

Today’s announcement follows the release of a memo written for Rep. Lorber by the non-partisan Vermont Legislative Joint Fiscal Office (JFO). The report detailed costs totaling $716,021, broken into categories of Police ($45,257), State’s Attorneys ($10,429), Defender General ($19,768), Court Diversion ($169,500), Judiciary ($105,344), and Corrections ($365,725). It involves 801 arrests, 76 Vermonters serving time behind bars, and 270 on field supervision. JFO estimates that the true costs could be 20% more or less than the $716,021 figure. The study focused on cases in which possession of up to 2 ounces of marijuana was a stand-alone charge.

CT Senate Decriminalizes Marijuana Possession

Afer five hours of debate, on Tuesday Connecticut became the 13th state in the Union to decriminalize marijuana. The state’s House of Representatives passed new legislation and Governor Dan Malloy is expected to sign off on it.

The House voted 90 to 57 in favor of SB 1014.

According to the new rules first-time offenders caught in possession of less than a half-ounce of pot will be hit with a 150 ticket; repeat offenders would get at least $200 but a maximum of 500 per offense. If you’re under 21, you’ll get a two-month suspension of your driver’s license.

“Final approval of this legislation accepts the reality that the current law does more harm than good — both in the impact it has on people’s lives and the burden it places on police, prosecutors and probation officers of the criminal justice system,” Malloy said in the statement.

State Sen. Toni Boucher (R-Wilton) in a statement on her website said that decriminalization sends the wrong message to the state’s youth about the risks of marijuana use.

“What kind of message does this send to our children?” Senator Boucher said in the statement. “This law undermines a fundamental lesson that our schools, social service programs and parents teach our children: that taking drugs is bad for you.”

Connecticut’s non-partisan Office of Fiscal Analysis however estimates the bill will save the state nearly $1 million in court costs and attorney salaries and net upwards of $1.4 million in new fines and fees.

read more:
http://www.thcfinder.com/marijuana-blog/legalization/2011/06/ct-senate-decriminalizes-marijuana-possession#ixzz1Ou3YnfIL