COLORADO: Last week the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice recommended legislators to substantially reduce marijuana penalties so that the possession of up to four ounces of pot would classified as a petty offense. Offenses involving greater amounts of cannabis (up to 16 ounces) would be reduced to a misdemeanor. State Attorney General John Suthers told the Denver Post that he supports the Commission’s recommendations which, if enacted, would make Colorado’s pot possession laws among the most lenient in the nation.

RHODE ISLAND: A special nine-member Senate panel met for the first time this week to debate revising the state’s criminal marijuana policies. The panel’s chair, Democrat Sen. Joshua Miller, said that the task-force will primarily focus on the subject of decriminalization, but that members will also likely debate the merits of taxing a regulating the adult use of cannabis. The panel’s recommendations to the legislature are due on January 10, 2010. In 2009, Rhode Island’s legislature became only the second to approve legislation licensing the establishment of medical cannabis dispensaries.

WISCONSIN: Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle recently announced his support for legislation that seeks to make Wisconsin the fourteenth state to allow for the legal use of medical cannabis. Both the Assembly and the Senate Public Health Committees are scheduled to hear testimony in favor of the legislation, known as the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, on Tuesday, December 15, 2009.

WASHINGTON: Incoming Seattle city attorney Peter Holmes announced this week that his office will no longer charge anyone with simple marijuana possession offenses. “We’re not going to bring any more (marijuana possession) charges,” he said. There are other more important, more pressing public safety matters in need of attention with the limited resources we have.” Holmes added that he supports legislation that stalled in 2009 that seeks to depenalize marijuana. Those proposals are expected to be heard by the legislature in 2010.

PENNSYLVANIA: Next month legislators will hold their first hearing — ever — on legalizing the use of medical cannabis. The House Committee on Health and Human Services will hear testimony on HB 1393, The Barry Busch Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act of 2009, on Wednesday, December 2, at 11am in Room 140 of the Main Capitol. Contact Philly NORML for further details.

ARKANSAS: Democrat Senator Randy Laverty announced this week that he is considering introducing legislation to lessen or eliminate criminal penalties for marijuana possession offenses. Legislators in several other states, including New Hampshire and Texas, are also expected to debate marijuana legalization proposals in 2010.

CALIFORNIA: In the coming months legislators are expected to hold additional hearings on Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, which seeks to tax and regulate the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis to those age 21 or older. The California Assembly Committee on Public Safety is anticipated to vote on the measure by late January. The vote will mark the first time that California, or the legislature of any state, has voted on the issue of cannabis regulation in over three decades.

By any standard, 2010 will be a historic year for legislative activity regarding marijuana law reform. Will you play a role in bringing common sense marijuana regulations to your community? Get active, get NORML, and be the change you want to see!

Members of the California Medical Association’s (CMA) House of Delegates have endorsed a resolution stating that the criminal prohibition of marijuana is a “failed public health policy.”

As enacted, Resolution 704a-09, the “Criminalization of Marijuana” states: “[The] CMA considers the criminalization of marijuana to be a failed public health policy, … and encourage[s] … debate and education regarding the health aspects of changing current policy regarding cannabis use.”

The California Medical Association has more than 35,000 members statewide.

The newly adopted resolution coincides with the scheduling of legislative hearings regarding Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, which seeks to tax and regulate the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis to those age 21 or older.

The California Assembly Committee on Public Safety is anticipated to vote on AB 390 by late January.

Last week, the American Medical Association resolved that “marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines.” The organization had previously called for cannabis to be “retained in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act,” a legal classification that defines the substance and its natural compounds as possessing “no currently accepted use in treatment in the United States.”

A revised budgetary analysis by the California State Board of Equalization (BOE) estimates that taxing and regulating the retail sale of cannabis by adults would raise approximately $1.4 billion in annual new state revenue.

The BOE’s estimate, released late yesterday, assesses a $50 per ounce tax on the retail sale of cannabis (among other state-imposed costs), as recommended under Assembly Bill 390: The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act.  This act seeks to license and tax the commercial production, packaging, and retail sale of marijuana to those 21 years of age or older.

As introduced, AB 390 would not impose taxation or licensing requirements on the non-commercial production of cannabis (up to ten mature plants), or on the not-for-profit distribution of pot.  Further, the bill would not alter existing legislation on the use of medicinal cannabis, nor would it impose new taxes or sanctions on the medical cultivation of cannabis.

According to the BOE’s revised calculations, the enactment of AB 390 would raise an estimate $990 million annually from the proposed $50 per ounce levy on retail sales of marijuana in addition to another $392 million in yearly sales tax revenues.

The BOE assessment did not assess whether the enactment of AB 390 would reduce existing law enforcement and prosecutorial costs, which have been estimated by California NORML to average some $200 million per year.  In 2007, a record 74,000 Californians were charged with marijuana offenses – the largest total since the state ‘decriminalized’ the personal possession of small amounts of marijuana in 1976.

The BOE report acknowledged that legalizing pot for adults would likely result in a “substitution effect” where consumers gravitate toward the use of marijuana “and away from cigarettes and alcohol.”

According to a May 2009 California Field poll of 901 registered voters, 56 percent of Californians say that lawmakers should “legalize marijuana for recreational use and tax its proceeds.”  Presently, the state is facing a $26 billion budget deficit.

Assembly Bill 390 is presently before the Assembly Committees on Public Safety and Health, which are expected to take up the issue early next year.

Specifically, SB 1058 called for the formation of a legislative task force to:

(1) Examine current state statutes, state administrative rules, and all county policies and procedures relating to the medical marijuana program;

(2) Examine all issues and obstacles that qualifying patients have encountered with the medical marijuana program;

(3) Examine all issue and obstacles that state and county law enforcement agencies have encountered with the medical marijuana program;

(4) Compare and contrast Hawaii’s medical marijuana program with all other state medical marijuana programs; and

(5) Address other issues and perform any other function necessary as the task force deems appropriate, relating to the medical marijuana program.

In her veto address, Gov. Lingle alleged — laughably — that the mere act of examining the medical marijuana laws of Hawaii and a dozen other states violates federal anti-drug laws.

“I am returning herewith, without my approval, Senate Bill No. 1058. … This bill establishes the medical cannabis task force … to review issues related to (Hawaii’s) medical marijuana program and make recommendations for any proposed legislation and rules. … The medical task force is unnecessary because it would attempt to deal with issues raised by medical marijuana users that can only be addressed by circumventing federal law.“

Keep in mind that just days earlier lawmakers in Rhode Island overwhelmingly approved legislation to allow the state to license nonprofit facilities to produce and dispense medicinal cannabis to qualified patients. Yet in Hawaii the Governor would have us believe that just gathering feedback from patients and local law enforcement regarding the state’s nearly ten-year-old medical cannabis program somehow violates federal law. It’s an absurd position and no doubt Gov. Lingle, who vetoed a similar task force bill last year, knows it.

Of course, the true motive behind Gov Lingle’s action — and the similar actions of her fellow prohibitionists — is to silence any sort of public or political debate surrounding America’s failed marijuana policies.

This was the motivation behind President Obama’s decision to ‘laugh off’ the issue of marijuana law reform during his online town hall this past March. Silencing free speech was also the driving force behind the actions of members of Congress who earlier this year threatened to withhold funding from the city of El Paso, Texas, if they so much as dared to hold an “honest, open national debate” regarding US drug policy. And surely this was the motivating force behind a South Dakota Judge’s decision this week to bar longtime NORML advocate Bob Newland from engaging in any public advocacy of marijuana law reform for one year. (Full disclosure: Bob Newland, under the banner of SoDakNORML, had been leading the petition drive to place a medical marijuana initiative on the 2010 state ballot. In other words, Judge Delaney’s decision isn’t simply limiting Mr. Newland’s constitutional rights to free speech, it’s also potentially limiting the voting rights of all South Dakotans.)

Today in California television ads were slated to begin running in support of Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act — which seeks to legalize, tax, and regulate the retail sale of cannabis to adults in California. I say “were” because many major television outlets have refused — without comment — to air the television spots. Keep in mind, this network blackout is taking place in a state that has already established a regulated market for the distribution of medical cannabis, and whose voters solidly support legalizing the personal consumption of pot by adults.

Frustrating? Most definitely. Disillusioning? Not really.

Prohibitionists will use any means necessary to stifle honest, open debate because they know that they have no legitimate basis to defend marijuana prohibition. Their ardent refusal to even discuss the issue — and their strong arm tactics to intimidate others from discussing it as well — confirm this fact.

Nevertheless, despite their underhanded stalling tactics, the ‘national debate’ that the prohibitionists have so long feared has already taken place. Granted it did not take place in  public forum; rather, and more significantly, it took place in the hearts and minds of the American voter. And we won — hands down. We know it and our opponents know it.

And so does Gov. Linda Lingle.

Today, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked about the Field poll result, which was the third poll of 2009 demonstrating majority support for legalizing pot among west coast voters.

His reply:

“I think it’s time for a debate (regarding taxing and regulating the sale of cannabis for adults). I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues, I’m always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did it have on those countries? It could very well be that everyone is happy with that decision and then we could look at that.“

What a difference eight weeks makes. After all, this is the same Gov. Schwarzenegger that said in February that he vehemently opposed California Assembly Bill 390: The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act, which seeks to impose a tax on the commercial production and legal retail sale of cannabis.

And today? Well, today the Governor is singing a different tune.

“It’s time for debate. … I’m always for an open debate on it.” (You can watch a video of Schwarzenegger’s remarks here. **Note, the comments come at the very end of the video.)

So are we!

Since March, NORML supporters have sent over 8,000 e-mails to their members of the California state assembly in support of AB 390, sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano.  Now it’s time to start directing those thousands of e-mails, phone calls, and letters to the Governor.

Tell Gov. Schwarzenegger: “I am one of the majority of California voters who supports taxing and regulating the use and sale of cannabis by adults. Studies consistently show that countries that have removed criminal penalties for the personal use of marijuana, such as Portugal and the Netherlands, have far lower rates of cannabis use than the united States. I agree that the time has come for an objective and public debate on this topic. I urge you to encourage the legislature to hold hearings on this important issue.”

You can also send an automated e-mail to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s office via NORML’s Take Action Center here.

If you have not yet gotten active in your state, now is most definitely the time to start. Here’s this week’s latest summary of how you can get involved!

California: California’s first-ever marijuana legalization bill, Assembly Bill 390: The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act, is tentatively scheduled for a hearing before the Committee on Public Safety and Health on Tuesday, March 31. The Committee is expected to vote on this proposal immediately following the hearing so it is vital that you contact your elected officials, and the members of the Public Safety Committee in particular, and urge them to support AB 390. Contact information for the Committee is available here. You may also send letters in support of this measure to your state assemblyman here. For additional information on this hearing, or if you are interested in attending, please contact California NORML.

New Hampshire: Earlier today, members of the House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs Committee voted 13 to 7 in favor of House Bill 648, which seeks to legalize the use of medical cannabis in New Hampshire. The bill will now go before the full House with an “ought to pass” recommendation. Two years ago the House narrowly rejected a similar bill by a margin of 186 to 177. If you live in New Hampshire, now is the time to contact your House members and urge them to support HB 648. You can write them here. Our allies NH Compassion have any additional information you may need here.

Montana: On Friday, March 20, members of the House Human Services Committee will hear testimony in support of Senate Bill 326, an act to provide greater access to medical marijuana for state-authorized patients. If approved, this proposal would: (1) Expand the number of qualifying conditions for which marijuana may be legally recommended; (2) Increase the amount of marijuana a patient may legally possess; (3) Prohibit employers and landlords from discriminating against medicinal marijuana patients solely because of their medical status. Thanks in large part to your support, the Senate previously voted 28 to 22 in favor of this measure. Please assure that the House does likewise. You can contact your representatives here. Local allies Montana Patients and Families United will be meeting with witnesses and attendees prior to the hearing. You may contact them here.

Kentucky: Finally, we have good news to report from Kentucky. Last week we asked for your help to kill an amendment that sought to criminalize anyone who operates a motor vehicle with any detectable level of marijuana in their blood. Many of you responded and as a result, the provision was withdrawn. While we’re not entirely out of the woods yet, it’s now looking far less likely that lawmakers will prevail in their attempt to misuse the state’s traffic safety laws to target marijuana consumers.

To learn about additional pending legislation in Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington, please visit NORML’s Legislative Action Alerts page here.

No longer are lawmakers’ marijuana-centric conversation based upon the notion of penalizing cannabis consumers. Today, an unprecedented number of politicians are contemplating a society that is no longer bound by the chains of marijuana prohibition.

Speaking live on CNN this morning, California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez cited the west coast’s majority support for regulating cannabis like alcohol — as acknowledged by NORML’s recent Zogby poll — and called for a statewide “pilot program” to objectively assess the impact of cannabis legalization upon adult society.

“Well, certainly, I have seen in my own state of California, people over and over voting … [on] the whole issue of marijuana,” Sanchez said. “So maybe it would be a good pilot program to see how that regulation of marijuana might happen in California since the … majority of Californians believe maybe that should happen.”

Sanchez’s comments come two weeks after the introduction of proposed state legislation, AB 390: the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, which seeks to tax and regulate the adult sales of cannabis in California. So far, thousands of members of the cannabis community, as well as several pundits from the mainstream press, have voiced their support for AB 390. Are lawmakers listening?

U.S. Representative Sanchez most certainly is — and she’s not alone.

If you are reading this blog, then you already know that cannabis prohibition is a fraud and a failure. You know these facts, but today millions of your friends and neighbors — and even many of your elected officials — are just now waking up to these truths. And they, like Congresswoman Sanchez, are becoming more and more outspoken in their criticisms of prohibition.

Let’s encourage them to keep talking.

Here’s an excerpt:

Time has come to legalize pot
via The Los Angeles Daily News

Every year, the state shells out millions in taxpayers’ dollars to arrest, prosecute and imprison marijuana offenders in a vain attempt to stamp out its use. Meanwhile, legal and more dangerous drugs such as tobacco and alcohol are generating billions in revenues for the state.

… A new Zogby poll shows that 44 percent of voters now support taxing and regulating marijuana – and as many as 58 percent in the western states back legalization. As usual, California is ahead of the rest of the nation. Ammiano’s bill provides a path-breaking blueprint for change that would benefit our economy, safety and freedom by making marijuana a winning proposition for California.

This is the second major newspaper in California to publish NORML’s op/ed. Several other prominent papers, such as the Sacramento Bee and the Fresno Bee, have opined similarly in support of regulating pot like alcohol.

California’s cannabis community has also shown unprecedented support for AB 390: the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act. In the past two weeks, supporters have sent some 2,400 letters and e-mails to their state elected officials in favor of the proposal. Another 3,000 e-mails have been sent via MPP’s website. If each e-mail represents — politically speaking — 100 voters, then over half a million Californians have demanded an end to prohibition!

Our community is becoming more and more outspoken, and the mainstream media is listening. In recent days, NORML spokespersons have appeared on Air America radio, and have been quoted in MSNBC, U.S. News and World Report, and the world wide news wire Agence France-Press.

In short, our message is reaching more people than ever before, and the public is responding in record numbers.

2009 is truly shaping up to become an unparalleled time for marijuana law reform. NORML wants you to be a part of it. Will you join us?

California: On Monday, state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced AB 390, The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act — the first bill ever in legislature to legalize and regulate the commercial production and sale of marijuana in California. You can see local, network, and national media coverage of this effort here, here, and here. If you live in California, please go here to contact your state assemblyman and urge him or her to support AB 390.

New Jersey: Lawmakers took a major step on Monday toward making New Jersey the fourteenth state to legalize the medical use of cannabis. Senators voted 22 to 16 in favor of Senate Bill 119, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. But this battle is only half over. Members of the New Jersey Assembly must also vote on this issue. If you reside in New Jersey, please take a moment to contact your members of the state assembly and urge them to support companion bill, A804. You can further support this effort by contacting the Coalition for Medical Marijuana – New Jersey or NORML New Jersey.

**Note: Additional information and interviews regarding these breaking events in California and New Jersey are available here on the NORML Daily Audio Stash podcast.

Montana: Ready for even more good news? Senate lawmakers in Montana today voted 28 to 22 in favor of SB 326, which seeks to expand the state’s medical marijuana laws. As introduced, SB 326 (1) Expands the number of qualifying conditions for which marijuana may be legally recommended; (2) Increases the amount of marijuana a patient may legally possess; and (3) Prohibits employers and landlords from discriminating against medicinal marijuana patients solely because of their medical status. NORML thanks all of you who took the time to support this important measure, which now moves to the House for consideration. For more information about this and other statewide marijuana law reform efforts in Montana, please contact Montana Patients and Families United or Montana NORML.

Washington: Finally, last week the Senate Judiciary Committee approved SB 5615, which seeks to reduce the penalty for minor marijuana possession offenses to a civil fine of no more than $100. You can listen to audio from the hearing and vote here. This proposal now goes before the Senate Rules Committee, which must take action on the bill to put it before the full Senate. Tell them to do so by going here.

To learn about additional pending legislation in Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas, please visit NORML’s Legislative Action Alerts page here.