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.

Missouri: Joplin NORML and Sensible Joplin turned in over 6,000 signatures this week in favor of a municipal ballot initiative to reduce minor marijuana possession penalties to a fine-only offense. (Under Missouri law, marijuana possession is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.) The bill’s proponents were required to collect approximately 4,600 signatures from registered voters to qualify for the November 2008 ballot. The city has 20 days to verify the signatures. To learn more about the initiative, click here.

Rhode Island: Legislators are contemplating whether to override Gov. Don Carcieri’s (R) recent veto of legislation that sought to study whether the state should establish state-licensed ‘Compassion Clubs’ to provide medicinal cannabis to authorized patients. In 2005 and 2007, Gov. Carcieri vetoed legislation to legalize the medical use of cannabis by state-authorized patients. Both vetoes were eventually overridden by the legislature. For more information, please visit the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition here here. To hear comments from RIPAC Executive Director Jesse Stout on NORML’s Daily Audio Stash, please click here.

Hawaii: Republican Governor Linda Lingle vetoed legislation (House Bill 2675) this week that sought to establish a legislative commission to study ways to better provide medical cannabis to state-qualified patients. In her veto message, Gov. Lingle said she opposed the bill because “the use of marijuana, even medical marijuana, is illegal under federal law,” and because she believes that there are alternative prescription drugs available besides cannabis. Although the Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto, the House chose not to. To hear comments from Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii Executive Director Pam Lichty on NORML’s Daily Audio Stash, please click here.

Oregon: Oregon NORML held a press conference this week to announce the launch of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA), which seeks to regulate the sale of cannabis in state liquor stores. Proponents of the measure must collect 83,000 signatures from registered voters to qualify the initiative for the November 2010 ballot. To view the press conference, click here. To read media coverage of the campaign launch, please visit here.

California: Via CBS News — “The Berkeley City Council has placed on the Nov. 4 ballot [a measure that] would eliminate limits on the amount of medical marijuana that could be legally processed by patients or caregivers, establish peer review for medical marijuana collectives to police themselves and allow medical marijuana dispensaries to locate where permitted without a public hearing. The initiative failed by only 191 votes in 2004 but a judge nullified the results, ruling that Alameda County election officials mishandled a recount and ordering that the measure be placed back on the ballot in November.”

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.

California: The California Senate this week approved SJR 20, which seeks to halt federal law enforcement from prosecuting state-sanctioned medical cannabis patients and dispensaries. The measure passed by a vote of 24 to 15, and now goes to the state Assembly — where a similar proposal, AB 2743, was recently withdrawn from consideration.

Michigan: A statewide ballot measure seeking to legalize the possession and use of medical cannabis has been authorized to appear on the November ballot. According to a spring 2008 poll, two-thirds of Michigan voters back the measure. If passed, Michigan would become the thirteenth state since 1996 to enact legislation protecting medical cannabis patients from arrest and state criminal prosecution, and the ninth to do so via ballot initiative. For more information on the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, please visit here.

Massachusetts: Election officials on Wednesday certified for the November ballot a statewide initiative seeking to decriminalize the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. Since 2002, more than 480,000 voters in 127 Massachusetts communities have endorsed non-binding resolutions to liberalize local pot policies. More information on the initiative is available from the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy.

Rhode Island: Governor Don Carcieri — a longtime opponent of medical marijuana — vetoed legislation this week that sought to establish a legislative commission to study ways to better provide medical cannabis to state-qualified patients. Since the measure received strong support from both the House and Senate, it is possible that legislators may elect to override the Governor’s veto. For more information, please visit the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition here.

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.

California: The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Assembly Bill 2279 this week by a vote of 3-2. The measure now awaits action by the full Senate. (The state Assembly previously passed the measure 42-29 in May.) If enacted, AB 2279 would protect patients from employment discrimination on the basis of their state-licensed medical cannabis use in off-work hours. Californians are strongly encouraged to contact their Senators via NORML’s online advocacy system.

Hawaii: Governor Linda Lingle said this week that she may veto House Bill 2675, which would establish a legislative medical marijuana task force to explore ways to provide legal cannabis for Hawaii’s state-qualified medical cannabis patients. If you live in Hawaii, you may contact the Governor via NORML’s online advocacy system.

North Carolina: Lawmakers heard testimony this week in support of legislation (HJR 2405) seeking to establish a task force to study options for regulating the legal use of medical marijuana for qualified patients. House members did not vote on the bill. Residents in North Carolina are strongly encouraged to contact their House members via NORML’s online advocacy system.

New York: The Legislature adjourned this week without calling for a Senate vote on Assembly Bill 4867B, which sought to allow qualified patients to grow and possess medical cannabis under a doctor’s supervision. This marked the second consecutive year the Assembly had passed medi-pot legislation, only have it die in the Senate. 

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.

California: A statewide sentencing reform measure, the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA), has qualified to appear on the November 2008 ballot. If enacted, the proposal would amend the penalty for marijuana possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction – similar to a traffic ticket. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, which is backing the measure, “This single change will protect some 40,000 people a year convicted of simple marijuana possession from the serious and life-long collateral consequences of a criminal record.” You can learn more about NORA by clicking here.

California: Via: California NORML — Senate Resolution SJR 20, which seeks to halt federal law enforcement from prosecuting state-sanctioned medical cannabis patients and dispensaries, is expected to be voted on by the full Senate imminently. Californians may contact their state Senator via NORML’s online advocacy system here.

New York: The state Assembly passed legislation this week, A 4867B, which seeks to allow qualified patients to grow and possess medical cannabis under a doctor’s supervision. The proposal is now before the Senate Rules Committee which, unfortunately, has only hours to act on the bill before the legislature adjourns for the year. For further information on how you can become involved in this effort, please click here.

Florida: Governor Charlie Crist signed legislation into law this week enhancing criminal penalties for marijuana cultivation. As enacted, House Bill 173 (The Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act), allows judges to sentence those who cultivate more than 25 plants in their home to up to 15 years in jail (or up to 30 years in jail if a child is present.) NORML podcaster Russ Belville examines the obvious futility and unintended consequences of this new law here. 

San Diego NORML Lawsuit Argued On Appeal

A three-judge panel of the California appeals court in San Diego heard oral arguments on Tuesday, June 10, on the suit earlier filed by the counties of San Diego and San Bernardino against the state of California and San Diego NORML, claiming the state medical marijuana law was in conflict with federal law and therefore unenforceable. San Diego and San Bernardino Counties are appealing the earlier dismissal of their suit by a San Diego Superior Court judge, finding the state had acted properly.

San Diego NORML had been named in the lawsuit because the group had publicly threatened to sue the county for failing to implement the state’s medical marijuana law, Proposition 215 and SB 420. San Diego NORML was represented in this matter by Adam Wolfe, Esq., staff attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project based in Santa Cruz, CA. (more…)