Advocates for the legalization of marijuana plan to step up their political giving and lobbying efforts now that members of Congress are taking an interest in changing federal drug laws.

The lobbyists say lawmakers who wouldn’t give them the time of day are suddenly interested in meeting with them and introducing legislation following the approval of ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington that legalized recreational use of the drug.

“These were folks who wouldn’t take a call five years ago and now they are calling us and telling us to get up there with our PAC money and our expertise,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “For those of us who have been at this for the past 20 years, it has been nice to see the warm turn.”

Some pro-legalization groups are increasing their fundraising as lawmakers consider drug legislation. Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), said the group is planning more aggressive fundraising through its political action committee.

“Our hope is to exceed what we have done in any previous cycle,” Fox said.

The group is aiming to get more than $150,000 in contributions to its PAC for the 2014 election cycle — topping its previous record of more than $119,000 in donations for the 2006 campaign, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.

Further, the PAC is changing its name to the Marijuana Policy Project PAC, dropping a prior reference to medical marijuana. Fox, who also lobbies for the National Cannabis Industry Association, said the name change signals that a broader reform agenda is now on the table.

“The ground has shifted and we now see members of Congress wanting to regulate marijuana like alcohol. The name change reflects that our activity on the federal level is no longer just about medical marijuana,” Fox said.

But strategists looking to reform drug policies are choosing their battles carefully at the state level.

In a Nov. 28, 2012, memo obtained by The Hill, Rob Kampia, MPP’s executive director, said Oregon should wait until 2016 to for a marijuana legalization ballot drive, when another presidential election would boost turnout among young voters.

“Given that an initiative in November 2014 would be almost certain to lose, MPP would contribute no money toward a signature drive, paid staff, or advertising during the 2013-2014 cycle,” Kampia wrote to Oregon activists.

Kampia said MPP is interested in passing an Oregon ballot initiative in 2016 and would contribute $700,000 to the effort.

“There is going to be disagreement at times. That’s par for the course. It’s like any other issue advocacy group. We will agree on the objectives but we might disagree on how to get there,” said Roy Kaufmann, one of the activists who received the memo and is now MPP’s Oregon representative and agrees with waiting until 2016.

Kaufmann was the campaign strategist for Measure 80 in Oregon, the marijuana legalization ballot effort that failed in 2012.

“We can’t tell our funders in good faith that they should fund a 2014 initiative. We are not saying it’s impossible to win. We are just saying it’s a completely unnecessary risk,” Fox said. “The only thing that can keep Oregon from winning this in 2016 is a loss in 2014.”

As the movement for marijuana legalization spreads, competition for fundraising dollars is likely to grow. A number of well-heeled donors have already opened their wallets for the cause.

New Approach Washington, the main group that campaigned for legalization in that state, took in more than $6 million in contributions last election cycle.

The prolific liberal donor Peter Lewis gave more than $2 million to New Approach Washington for their legalization campaign, according to state campaign finance records. Drug Policy Action — the 501(c)(4) affiliate of Drug Policy Alliance — contributed more than $1.6 million. George Soros sits on Drug Policy Alliance’s board of directors and was a major donor to Drug Policy Action in 2012.

Lobbyists say the battle that is brewing over drug laws will be far-reaching and not confined to recreational use of marijuana.

“You going to see reform on federal drug policy in general,” said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. “It’s not just about marijuana. It’s about racial disparity, over-incarceration and saving money as well.”

Capitol Hill has certainly taken notice.

Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) each introduced separate bills this past week that would regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol. The two lawmakers also released a report on how to rethink federal marijuana policy.

On the other side of the Capitol, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, plans to hold a hearing on marijuana policy this Congress.

Drug laws are also getting a second look from the GOP, with Kentucky Republicans rallying behind industrial hemp. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced legislation this past week to exclude hemp from the Controlled Substances Act’s definition of marijuana.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has backed that effort, saying he became convinced that hemp production would be good for his state after long discussions with the libertarian Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

Lobbyists don’t expect a marijuana legalization bill will be on President Obama’s desk this Congress, but lawmakers know they will have to reconcile federal policy at some point with the legalization movement sweeping the states.

“I often tell elected officials that if you are going to remain relevant in politics, you are going to have to move towards drug policy reform because that’s where the younger voters are,” Piper said.

One Democrat said he’s made a personal appeal to Obama — who has admitted to smoking marijuana as a teenager — for changes to federal policy.

“I raised the issue myself with the president at the Democratic retreat [on Thursday]. … It should change,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), noting thousands of people are in jail for marijuana use.

Cohen plans to introduce legislation to create a commission to study states where medical marijuana and marijuana have been legalized. Advocates believe the bill could attract White House support.

“The commission gives the president some maneuvering room by affording him time and his administration acknowledges that public attitudes about this have changed,” St. Pierre said.

Source: Hill, The (US DC)
Author: Kevin Bogardus
Published: February 10, 2013
Copyright: 2013 The Hill
Website: http://www.hillnews.com/

Pennsylvania state Sen. Daylin Leach, a long-time supporter of marijuana reform and previous sponsor of several medical marijuana bills, announced Monday that he will introduce a bill that would make adult possession of up to an ounce of marijuana legal and would tax and regulate the substance. According to The Times Herald, the latter policy is what may eventually swing lawmakers in his state:

But money, more than moral appeals or anything else, might talk the loudest in the drive to decriminalize marijuana in Pennsylvania, particularly in the current era of budget shortfalls and lingering economic uncertainty. And with financial concerns helping to fuel the passage of historic pot legalization laws in Colorado and Washington State in November — as well as the introduction of a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that would legalize and levy an excise tax on the sale of the drug — perhaps now is a better time than ever to convince skeptical state lawmakers of the cash benefits of getting into the marijuana business.

Sen. Leach truly believes in this issue, and he wants people to start talking about it more. He tells Raw Story:

“This is inevitable. This will pass. It may take two, it may take four years,” Leach added. “A majority of people don’t support marijuana legalization simply because they haven’t really had cause to revisit the issue in their minds. Once you sit down with people and explain the harm it does in a wide variety of ways, and the be[ne]fits(sic) we can accrue through legalization, I think that people will very quickly change their minds.

…

… So there’s many who won’t put their name out front on an issue until it gets [mainstream] in their minds. If there was a secret ballot, I predict legalization would pass.”

If you want to help start this conversation with your members of Congress, it has never been easier.

The Michigan Supreme Court, in a 4-1 decision, ruled that medical marijuana cannot be sold through private dispensaries, affirming the state’s Court of Appeals’ finding.

“This is the end of the road,” said Matthew Abel, a Detroit attorney with the firm Cannabis Counsel PLC. “It will be a mess until the Legislature clarifies what kinds of business entities are allowed to exist.”

Michigan became the 13^th state to legalize medical marijuana in 2008. There are currently more than 124,000 registered medical marijuana users living in the state.

At a press conference Wednesday, Rhode Island State Rep. Edith Ajello (pictured at right) and State Sen. Donna Nesselbush announced the introduction of a bill to make marijuana legal for adults 21 and older and establish a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol. So far the bill has 19 sponsors, including Republican House Minority Leader Brian Newberry.

RIFuture.org reports:

Under the Marijuana Regulation, Control and Taxation Act, criminal penalties for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and for the home growing of up to three mature marijuana plants would be removed; a tightly regulated system of marijuana retail stores, cultivation and research facilities would be established; and the Department of Business Regulation would establish rules regulating security, labeling, health and safety requirements.

A story about the event in the Pawtucket Times conveyed Sen. Nesselbush’s strong case for the bill:

“Marijuana, like alcohol, has long been with us and is widely used,” Nesselbush told reporters at an afternoon news conference. “The question is: how are we going to deal with it?

“Will the state determine the time, place and manner or will we leave it up to criminals to sell it anywhere at any time to anyone? Will the state act boldly to create a legitimate industry that creates jobs and generates legitimate tax revenue or will we continue to unwittingly support gangs and cartels? Are we going to spend the hard-earned tax dollars from hard-working taxpayers to punish and incarcerate individuals for consuming a substance that appears to be less harmful than alcohol?”

The Rhode Island bill was rolled out just one day after members of Congress introduced historic legislation to regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol at the federal level. If you have yet to do so, please contact your represenative totday and encourage them to support an end to federal marijuana prohibition.

(Photo courtesy of Rebecca McGoldrick, Coalition for Marijuana Regulation)

There’s some big news coming out of Washington, D.C.: On Tuesday, congressmen from Oregon and Colorado introduced two historic federal marijuana reform bills to Congress.

Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013. If passed, the bill would remove marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and institute a system similar to the alcohol regulatory structure that federally regulates marijuana. It would also transfer jurisdiction over marijuana from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to a newly renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana, Firearms, and Explosives.

Please take a minute to contact your representative today and encourage them to support the bill to regulate marijuana like alcohol at the federal level.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the Marijuana Tax Equity Act, which calls for an excise tax of marijuana at the federal level. It also requires the IRS to develop a steady understanding of the industry. After the first two years, and every five years following, the IRS would produce a study of the trade, offering recommendations to Congress so as to improve upon the administration of the tax. Who ever thought that the words “IRS” and “taxes” would be cause for celebration?

The introduction of these bills was largely inspired by the passage of legalization initiatives last November in Colorado – where MPP provided most of the funding for the campaign – and in Washington state.

For the first time, the California Supreme Court entered the medical
marijuana debate Tuesday and heard arguments on whether municipal
governments can ban retail pot dispensaries within their jurisdiction.

In the years since California voters legalized medical
marijuana in 1996, about 200 cities and counties have outlawed pot
shops, according to Americans for Safe Access, a pro-dispensary group.
But Tuesday

In what is surely a sign that serious change is on the horizon for marijuana policy across the nation, the magazine for the National Conference of State Legislatures featured a long cover story about reform efforts in their latest issue.

Given that lawmakers have traditionally lagged far behind public opinion on this topic, this is a pretty big step toward educating them about the need or alternatives to marijuana prohibition.

So far this year, more than 20 states have introduced marijuana reform legislation of some sort, and we will likely see more in the coming weeks.

Health professionals
in the nation’s capital will soon be able to earn education credits for
learning about medical marijuana. A certified medical education program
called "Cannabis in Medicine: A Primer for Health Care Professionals"
will take place at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel on Friday, February
22, 2013 from 2 pm to 6 pm. This course will present an expert overview
of the medical use of cannabis, including basic science, clinical trial
results, safety information and practical advice for physicians and
nurses. The program is accredited by the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). Health professionals who attend will receive 2.75 AMA PRA Category 1 credits.

Course
faculty includes academic researchers who conduct clinical trials of
the drug, as well as clinicians with years of experience monitoring
patients. Speakers hail from California and Canada, where patients have
long had access to medical marijuana. "We’ve seen the best and worst
examples of patient care. We hope to share what we have learned over the
years with physicians on the East coast, where there has been little
exposure to medical cannabis," said Dr. Donald Abrams, professor of
clinical medicine at UCSF and chair of the steering committee.

More than one-third of physicians in the United States now live in states with medical marijuana laws, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Timing for the program coincides with the long-awaited implementation of Washington’s medical marijuana program.

"The need for this type of education has never been greater," explained Dr. Mark Ware, executive director of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC) and associate professor of family medicine at McGill University. "Medical marijuana laws
are getting passed in more states every year. Yet the basic physiology
of our body’s own cannabinoid system is hardly covered in medical
school, and the clinical applications of cannabis are not discussed in
any professional training. Most people do not realize how much data on
medical cannabis has become available in recent years."

The program is jointly sponsored by the CCIC and the UCSF, in collaboration with the Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC), and is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from the Americans for Safe Access Foundation (ASAF).

For more information, including course agenda, faculty and registration, go to: www.ccic.net/USACME

About the CCIC  The
CCIC is a nonprofit organization formed in 2000 to promote
evidence-based education concerning the endocannabinoid system and
therapeutic applications of cannabinoid agents to clinical audiences.
Its membership includes more than 200 basic scientists, clinical
researchers and healthcare professionals from around the world. The
organization conducts accredited cannabinoid education programs,
symposia and workshops in Canada, Europe and the United States.

About the SCC  The
SCC, formed as a project of the California Cannabis Research Medical
Group (CCRMG) in 2004, is dedicated to educating physicians and the
public about the medicinal properties of cannabis, conducting quality
clinical medical cannabis research, ensuring the safety and
confidentiality of all research subjects, and maintaining the highest
quality of practice standards.

About the ASAF  Founded in
2002, the ASAF is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating
patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens about
safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.
Together with their sister organization, Americans for Safe Access, ASAF comprises the largest medical cannabis education and advocacy team in the United States.

The California State Supreme Court today hears arguments on whether
cities can ban medical marijuana shops. Proposition 215 passed by voters
in 1996 gave patients the right to use medical marijuana, but many
cities and counties have effectively outlawed pot dispensaries by
adopting very restrictive zoning regulations for them. The group
"Americans For Safe Access" says more than 175 cities and at least 20
California counties have essentially banned retail marijuana shops, thus
rendering Prop 215 meaningless.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld medical marijuana provisions that require those with serious illnesses to obtain a physician’s approval before they can legally acquire cannabis to alleviate their pain.

The 3-0 decision overturned a lower court decision that had earlier struck down the laws as being impractical and difficult to comply with.

The appellate judges ruled that the case under appeal had failed to establish that patients at the heart of the case were systematically unable to obtain medical marijuana.

“In the absence of admissible evidence as to whether they qualified for exemptions and the reasons for which their requests for declarations were rejected, this court cannot accept that the difficulties faced by these individuals render the entire Marijuana Medical Access Regulations regime unconstitutional,” it said.

The ruling was a major disappointment to civil libertarians and advocates for HIV-AIDS patients, who had argued that it is virtually impossible to obtain the medical approval the law demands.

“Allowing the current regulations to stand unchanged will leave many people with serious health conditions without effective access to legal authorization to use cannabis as medicine, and this means they are exposed to the risk of criminal prosecution,” said Richard Elliott, Executive Director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.

“People shouldn’t have to risk going to prison in order to get the medicine they need,” he said.

Medical marijuana has proved helpful in reducing appetite loss, nausea, anxiety and depression associated with some medical conditions.

Created in 2001, the regulatory scheme was intended to help those who need cannabis for medical purposes to avoid criminal prosecution for production or possession of the drug.

The litigant at the centre of the case, Matthew Mernagh, was charged in 2008 with producing marihuana illegally.  At the outset of his trial, he applied for a declaration that the law violated his constitutional right to life, liberty and security.

Mr.  Mernagh, who suffers from fibromyalgia, scoliosis, epilepsy and depression, claimed that he was unable to obtain a medical marijuana exemption because no physician was willing to sign his medical declaration.

His lawyer also argued that doctors have refused en masse to co-operate with the medical marijuana regime.

However, the court majority concluded today that Mr.  Mernagh and several interveners in the case were unable to prove that access to the medical exemption scheme was illusory.

“Further, the evidence in this case fails to prove that the vast majority of physicians in Canada refuse to participate in the MMAR scheme,” the court majority said.

Mr.  Elliott criticized the medical regime for leaving many of those afflicted with serious illness in limbo.

“In practice, the requirements of the regulations are often unworkable, meaning people suffering with serious health conditions are unable to overcome the hurdles currently in place,” he said in a release.  “As a result, they are treated as criminals under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act , which makes it a crime to produce or possess cannabis without authorization.”

Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2013 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact: letters@globeandmail.com
Website: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Author: Kirk Makin