SAMHSA: One-Third Of Marijuana ‘Treatment’ Admissions Haven’t Used Pot!

According to a recent UPI news wire story, researchers are now proposing prescribing the psychoactive prescription drug Lithium to so-called ‘pot addicts’ to help them kick the habit.  But just who are these alleged ‘addicts?’    

According to the latest statistics from the US Department of Health and Human Services, a startling high number of US government-defined marijuana ‘addicts’ don’t even smoke pot! That’s right, according to a recent DHS report, more than one-third of Americans entered into drug treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana ‘dependency’ haven’t used pot in the month prior to their admission.

How’s this possible? It’s possible because the majority of folks admitted to ‘drug treatment’ for pot don’t need treatment at all, but were arrested and ordered by a judge to attend rehab in lieu of going to jail.

Nevertheless, the White House touts this phony ‘data’ as evidence that marijuana is allegedly more dangerous than cocaine or heroin, and NIDA touts these numbers as evidence to support multi-million dollar ‘Cannabis Addiction Centers.’

Looking for the truth about marijuana use and dependency? Look no further than my recent Alternet.org essay on the subject here, or you can ‘digg’ it here.

NORML Partners with Rep. Barney Frank (D, MA) to Introduce Federal Decriminalization Legislation!

For the first time in nearly 25 years, NORML is spearheading a campaign in Congress to end the federal prohibition of marijuana. Congress created cannabis prohibition, and the courts say time and again to reformers: ‘Congress is the place to change marijuana laws.’

Therefore, NORML has teamed up with Democratic Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts to draft legislation that would strip the federal government of its authority to arrest responsible cannabis consumers.

Yes indeed, for the first time in more than two decades, we will shortly have legislation in Congress that, if enacted, would end the federal prosecution of adult marijuana consumers! (more…)

NORML’s Weekly Legislative Round Up

Below is this week’s summary of pending state legislation and tips to help you become involved in changing the laws in your state. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE: No surprise the biggest political news of the week comes from New Hampshire, where the House voted Tuesday to decriminalize pot possession. Kudos to the nearly 700 NORML supporters who contacted their representatives in support of HB 1623. Our allies at NH Common Sense are now encouraging supporters to contact Governor John Lynch and urge him to rethink his position on HB 1623. Activists may also wish to give their two cents to Manchester Mayor (and wannabe Governor) Frank Guinta, who appears to have lost his mind following Tuesday’s surprise vote.

HAWAII: House Bill 2675, which seeks to establish a legislative task force to study issues pertaining to the legal supply of medical marijuana for authorized patients, continues to move forward in the Senate. (The bill already passed the House.) As recently amended by the Senate Health Committee, the proposal would establish a legislative task force to “study the feasibility of developing safe growing facilities” to provide therapeutic cannabis to state-qualified patients. To contact your elected officials in support of HB 2675, please click here. To watch excerpts from a recent legislative hearing, click here.

CALIFORNIA: California NORML’s Dale Gieringer, along with the owners of several medical cannabis dispensaries, testified before the state Board of Equalization on Tuesday in favor of legislation to tax the retail sale of medical cannabis. He said that sales tax revenue from cannabis could total more than $160 million annually. Legislation to tax and regulate medical cannabis sales is pending in the state Senate.

MASSACHUSETTS: The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony this week from supporters and opponents of an initiative petition that seeks to decriminalize the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. You can view excerpts from the hearing here. If legislators fail to approve the measure, it will go before Massachusetts voters in November.

Pot Makes You Lose Your Mind!

Following Tuesday’s surprise House vote in New Hampshire in favor of legislation decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of pot, many of the Granite State’s political leaders and pundits have come down with severe cases of ‘Reefer Madness.’  

Among the afflicted: Democrat Governor John Lynch who, immediately following Tuesday’s vote, threatened to veto any plan that would reduce criminal penalties for small-time pot offenders. “[This bill] sends absolutely the wrong message to New Hampshire’s young people,” the governor stated through his spokesperson. “If the bill were to reach the governor’s desk, … he would veto it.”

Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta also appears to have contracted the disease. Yesterday, the mayor demanded state Rep. David Scannell, one of the 193 elected officials who voted in favor of HB 1623, to resign from his full-time job as spokesman for the Manchester school district. In a letter from the mayor to the first-term representative, Guinta charged that Scannell’s House vote “permanently and irrevocably harms” Scannell’s ability to serve Manchester’s schools. The mayor further argued Scannell’s resignation is necessary to “help restore the integrity” of district anti-drug policies.

Wow! Somebody please notify the mayor that marijuana possession — even minor offenses — would still be illegal under HB 1623, and that in a democracy we don’t threaten legislators’ ability to earn a living when we disagree with their political viewpoints.

(more…)

New Hampshire House Votes 193-141 to Stop Arresting Pot Offenders

If you live in the Granite State, tonight you have reason to celebrate.  

New Hampshire House Approves Bill To Decriminalize Pot
via WMUR.com

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire residents could possess one-quarter ounce or less of marijuana without facing jail under a bill headed to the state Senate.

The House voted 193-141 Tuesday to decriminalize the small amount of the drug, making possessing it a violation subject to a $200 fine. Under current law, possessing that amount could mean spending a year in jail and paying a $2,000 fine.

Supporters argued current law costs youths who experiment with the drug all chances at receiving financial aid to attend college. They said it wasn’t fair to penalize them for life for a youthful mistake.

Read the full story here.

Kudos to Matt Simon, the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, and to all of you who contacted the New Hampshire House over the past two weeks. Now it’s on to the Senate — where the battle really begins.