The Burlington Free Press, the most widely circulated newspaper in Vermont, editorialized in favor of a bill that would remove the threat of jail for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The bill, known as H.200, would remove criminal penalties for possession of up to two ounces of marijuana or two mature plants for people 21 and older. The penalties would be replaced by a civil citation and a fine.

From the Free Press:

“Given the challenges facing law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and the courts, the added burden of treating minor possession as a criminal offense no longer makes sense.

Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donvan argues the current law that treats minor possession as a criminal midemeanor can leave an impact on a person’s life out of balance with the severity of the crime.

Downgrading the weight of the crime would allow police to better focus on more urgent threats to our well being even within the world of illicit drugs.

…

With Vermont’s prosecutors and many of the state’s law enforcement officials on board, there’s no longer sufficient reason for lawmakers to stand in the way of decriminalization.”

Former NFL defensive end and linebacker Jason Taylor appeared on CNN’s inaptly named roundtable show (Get To) The Point last week, where he said some cringe worthy statements about marijuana policy reform:

“Just because the status quo is not working on law enforcement right now does that mean that, ‘You know what we can’t beat it so let’s just legalize it and do it?’ … Well you know what, it’s against the law to rob banks. If we can’t control it, just legalize it. What’s next? What’s next? I mean really, what’s next?”

Aside from equating marijuana use to robbing banks, Taylor also likened it to crack and suggested that legalizing and regulating marijuana would result in the legalization of cocaine, ecstasy, and other “crazy outside-the-box drugs.”

In another bizarre – but this time awesome – moment in sports-related news, legendary sportscaster Bob Costas named Ludacris as his favorite rapper for being the first to “name check” him and then proceeded to quote the following lyric from Luda’s “Hip Hop Quotables” song:

“Now I roll up torpedoes, get blunted with rastas

For a hefty fee, I’m on your record like Bob Costas.”

On Tuesday, reported in the New Times Broward-Palm Beach, the Florida State Attorney’s office in Manatee Country dropped all charges against Cathy Jordan’s husband, Robert, once it was established that Cathy needs marijuana for medical reasons.

Law enforcement officers raided the Jordan home on February 25 after a state employee who was visiting a neighbor spotted some marijuana plants on their property. After confiscating the plants, deputies referred the case to prosecutors, listing Robert for potential cultivation charges.

Cathy, the namesake to medical marijuana legislation, the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act, has been using marijuana to alleviate her ALS-related symptoms since 1989. The bill, which would allow patients to possess up to four ounces of marijuana and grow up to eight marijuana plants, has stalled for the year in Florida’s GOP-controlled legislature.

If you are a Florida resident, please contact your lawmakers and ask them to support medical marijuana.

Maryland will become the 19th state, along with the District of
Columbia, to approve medical marijuana under legislation passed Monday
its State Senate and sent to Gov. Martin O

A North Shore couple hoping to receive one of the first licenses to produce medical marijuana under new federal regulations has run into a bureaucratic roadblock.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay last week denied a variance application to let the couple expand two outbuildings on their property to a combined 4,435 square feet ( 412 square meters ) – more than four times the maximum size allowed for a home-based business in a residential area – and increase the number of permitted employees from two to four.

One of the applicants, who spoke to the Star on condition of anonymity, explained that by applying for a variance rather than going through a rezoning process, they hoped to avoid a public hearing that would have made their location common knowledge.

“I didn’t want it put on the map where a large medical grow facility was,” he said.

They aren’t hiding the nature of their proposed business from the regional district or neighbours, he added, but do have security concerns if their address is widely advertised.

However, when the matter reached the regional district’s rural affairs committee this month, directors upheld a staff recommendation to reject the variance and suggested the applicants seek rezoning instead.

Committee chair Hans Cunningham said the decision was based both on the size of the proposed variance and their belief regulations to be introduced this year will insist that commercial medical marijuana operations be located in industrial or agricultural areas.

“I applaud [the applicants] in that they want to get a jump on what’s going on,” he said.  “But if we give them a variance and the government said ‘No, you have to be on agricultural or industrial land,’ they’re not going to get a license.  So it makes sense to do the rezoning.”

The decision followed a presentation by the proponents, who came with several letters of support from neighbours and a petition of 30 names.  ( A staff report also listed objections from other neighbours, but they mostly related to the operation’s size, not its purpose.  )

“They made a hell of a presentation,” said director Larry Binks.  “Letter perfect.  It was well written and well documented.” He was one of three directors who spoke against denying the variance, believing the subject of marijuana clouded the discussion.

The proponents had no obligation to disclose what sort of business they were planning, he noted.  Still, he too believes rezoning is the right path – but wishes the applicants had been warned at the outset the variance had little chance of succeeding.

‘EPICENTRE OF MARIJUANA’

The applicant who spoke to the Star said they’re considering their options and haven’t decided whether to apply for rezoning.  “I don’t feel I’ve been treated badly by the regional district,” he said.  “It turned out my variance was too big.  I was asking for a lot.”

Even so, they would still be among the smallest license-seekers, he said.

He also said this area is already home to a high density of marijuana grow-ops as part of an illicit “black and grey marketplace” and called the federal government’s new rules the first “white regulations,” which he hopes are the first step in legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

“This new well-regulated industry will simply absorb the black market in time as it takes the profit out of growing and selling marijuana in the black market,” he said.

“We believe Nelson is the epicenter of marijuana and that reputation can be exploited for the benefit of our entire community.  Our leaders should wake up to this fact and see that there is an incredible opportunity for our community in particular to reap huge benefits.”

He urged local politicians to welcome and encourage medical marijuana entrepreneurs with “open door policies, rules, zoning, and investment,” and avoid making decisions “out of ignorance, fear, and the propaganda they have been fed for years.”

WIDER DISCUSSION

The North Shore application, the first to reach the regional district, comes as local government considers its role in policing medical marijuana operations.

The new federal regulations – originally expected to be unveiled next month but apparently now delayed until October – are intended to license commercial production and distribution of medical pot while eliminating personal grow ops.

But a recent memo from RDCK planning staff asks how Health Canada’s procedures will mesh with the regional district’s permitting process and whether building and bylaw officers will inspect commercial operations.  It also wonders about the potential effect on neighbours and whether locations will be made public.

Staff consulted other jurisdictions and concluded the most practical solution is to focus on agricultural zones where licensed producers can operate in stand-alone buildings well away from homes.  They suggest existing operators not zoned agricultural could stay put but would be required to apply for rezoning.

The board referred the memo to its April meeting, when Kootenay Columbia MP David Wilks, who is helping draft the new legislation, will be present.

But the North Shore proponent said he’s disappointed the RDCK is “playing follow the leader” when he believes it should be setting the precedents.  “Our municipalities should be looking for ways to keep our cottage industry, by working with the new regulations for maximum Kootenay benefit,” he said.

Source: Nelson Star (CN BC)
Section: Front page
Copyright: 2013 Black Press
Website: http://www.bclocalnews.com/kootenay_rockies/nelsonstar/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4866
Author: Greg Nesteroff

For the first time, a major US poll has found that a majority of Americans support legalization of marijuana.

The Pew Research Center announced Thursday that 52 percent of Americans say that marijuana use should be made legal, versus 45 percent who say it should not. The trend line has been moving gradually in the direction of majority support for more than 20 years. In 1991, only 17 percent supported legalization, while 78 percent opposed.

As with gay marriage, which has also seen a sharp rise in support in the past few years, the Pew poll found major generational differences in views on marijuana. Among Millennials – those now aged 18 to 32 – support is at 65 percent, up from just 36 percent in 2008. Among Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, support has risen dramatically, from 28 percent in 1994 to 54 percent today.

Half of Baby Boomers support legalized marijuana today, and among the over-65 Silent Generation support has doubled since 2002 – from 17 percent to 32 percent.

Among other noteworthy findings in the Pew poll:

Nearly three in four Americans (72 percent) say government efforts to enforce marijuana laws cost more than they are worth.

Sixty percent say the federal government should not enforce federal laws prohibiting marijuana use in states that have legalized it. Last November, voters in Colorado and Washington state approved the personal use of small amounts of marijuana.

Some 48 percent of Americans say they have tried marijuana, up from 38 percent a decade ago.

Republicans oppose legalization, while Democrats support it. Among Republicans, it’s 37 percent favoring legalization to 60 percent opposing. Among Democrats, 59 percent say legalize it and 39 percent say don’t.

Marijuana’s image as a “gateway” drug is fading. Today, 38 percent of Americans agree that “for most people the use of marijuana leads to the use of hard drugs.” In 1977, 60 percent felt that way.

Despite the trends, those opposed to legalization are not giving up. In a column in the Washington Post, former Bush administration official Peter Wehner writes that as Republicans search for new issues to champion, fighting drug use and legalization should be one.

“Today, many parents rightly believe the culture is against them. Government policies should stand with responsible parents – and under no circumstances actively undermine them,” writes Mr. Wehner, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.

“Drug legalization would do exactly that. It would send an unmistakable signal to everyone, including the young: Drug use is not a big deal.”

But in fact, Wehner writes, “the law is a moral teacher,” and government can play a role in the shaping of character. Therefore, “Republicans should prefer that it be a constructive one, which is why they should speak out forcefully and intelligently against drug legalization.”

Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Author: Linda Feldmann, Staff Writer
Published: April 4, 2013
Copyright: 2013 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Contact: letters@csmonitor.com
Website: http://www.csmonitor.com/

Rep. Lang and Sen. Haine

As Illinois lawmakers consider granting qualified patients legal access to medical marijuana, Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) and Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton) took time to support House Bill 1 in the State Journal Register.

The two Illinoisans comprehensibly expounded on the bill’s contents, describing a heavily monitored system that could not only serve as a national model, but also raise revenue, help offset regulatory and law enforcement costs, and finance effective anti-drug campaigns.

More importantly, they reminded readers that behind House Bill 1 were real people:

Medical marijuana isn’t as much an issue of law and order as it is of basic human rights. But patients using medical marijuana should not be treated any differently from those who use prescription drugs obtained from a pharmacy. Together, these polices recognize public will, the safety concerns of our communities, and above all else, the needs of those suffering Illinois residents for whom marijuana is the best medicine in providing relief to help them manage untreatable pain in their daily lives.

We’ve come a long way, but we need your help to get over the finish line. If you live in Illinois, please ask your legislators to support medical marijuana, then send this message to your friends and ask them to do the same. Thanks!

Congratulations to Liz Wohl, this year’s adult runner-up in the Denver Post Peeps diorama and sculpture contest. Wohl’s “Peeposition 64: Peeps’ Bake-Off” depicts Peeps responsibly enjoying the newly legalized marijuana in the comfort of their own home.

She says she thought about dressing her Peeps in tie-dye and dreadlocks, but “didn’t want to be cliche. It’s a nice house, they’re in compliance — they have their six plants,” says Wohl. She added a Gov. Peepenlooper to the party, complete with Goldfish crackers and Cheetos. Judges liked the topicality, details and humor of this one.

(Photo: Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

It used to be that if a celebrity were caught smoking marijuana, he or she would have to perform a whole song and dance to the tune of regret and shame. There’d be the pulled endorsements, the heartfelt public apology via print, the heartfelt public apology via talk show circuit, and the hefty donation to a drug rehabilitation center. And even after all the tears and penitence, some careers just couldn’t recover.

Luckily, more and more celebrities are refusing to apologize for using a substance that is safer than alcohol, and more sectors of society are refusing to stigmatize them for it.

With social followings in the millions, entertainers like Rihanna and Justin Bieber are in a unique position. They have a platform to educate people about the comparative dangers of marijuana versus alcohol and to reach out to elected officials to promote policy change. We can only hope that as the fear of ruined careers dissipates further, more celebrities will take advantage of that platform and help out the people who face much harsher consequences for making the safer choice: everyone else.

Some, such as Brad Pitt, have already started.

The Hawaii House of Representatives will soon vote on legislation that downgrades the penalty for possession of up to 20 grams of marijuana to a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine.

The Senate has already passed its own version of this bill. Should the House approve S.B. 472, HD 1, a conference committee will be appointed to work out differences in the legislation before passing a final version on to Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

If you are a Hawaii resident, let your representative know that possessing a substance that is safer than alcohol doesn’t warrant a criminal record and possible jail time.