Hawaii: Hawaii’s decade-plus medical marijuana law is under fire. The chairman of the Senate Health Committee, Sen. Josh Green (District 3, West Hawaii), is pushing for additional amendments to SB 1458 (which NORML already opposed) that would eliminate chronic pain, nausea, and Crohn’s disease as qualifying conditions under the state’s medical marijuana program. Lawmakers will decide on these draconian proposals this Thursday. Our allies at the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii are encouraging advocates to contact Sen. Green and urge him to withdraw his amendments. Please contact the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii for further information on how you can take action to preserve Hawaii’s medical cannabis law.

Illinois: Members of the House of Representatives are anticipated to vote next week on House Bill 30, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act. In the previous session, similar legislation was approved by the Senate but was narrowly defeated by the House. You can contact your member of the House regarding HB 30 via NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here. You can further support this effort by contacting Illinois NORML.

Montana: Montana’s patients are once again in legal jeopardy. House and Senate lawmakers this week approved Senate Bill 423, which seeks to severely curtail the number of state-authorized patients who have legal access to medical cannabis. According to a recent summary in The Billings Gazette: “The latest version of SB423 seeks to greatly limit the number of people licensed to use medical marijuana, now at 28,300, with backers hoping to bring that number fewer than 2,000. SB423 first would repeal the current law and shut down medical pot growing and dispensing operations on July 1.”

Our allies Patients and Families United have accurately labeled SB 423 “Repeal in Disguise.” It would “require the Board of Medical Examiners to review the practices of any physician who recommends marijuana for more than 15 patients in 12 months. Furthermore, the bill would require the physician to pay the cost of the board’s review.” Montana NORML has an action alert here urging the Gov. Brian Schweitzer to veto or amend SB 423 here. Montana activists may also wish to leave a message for the Governor urging him to stand up for Montana’s patients by rejecting SB 423. Call to leave your message here: 406-444-3111.

Pennsylvania: Legislation to allow for the physician supervised use of marijuana has been re-introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate. Senate Bill 1003 would allow state-authorized patients to possess and cultivate cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The measures also seek to allow for the state-licensed distribution and sale of medical marijuana by authorized ‘compassion centers.’ For more information, or to become involved in this campaign, please contact Philly NORML or Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana.

Washington: Lawmakers in both chambers have approved an amended version of Senate Bill 5073, which seeks to provide state licensing to medical marijuana producers and dispensaries in order to assure that qualified patients “will have access to an adequate, safe, consistent, and secure source of medical quality cannabis.” The proposed law does not amend patients’ existing rights to possess up to 24 ounces of marijuana for medical purposes and cultivate up to 15 cannabis plants. The measure now awaits action from Gov. Chris Gregoire, who has expressed concerns regarding the measure and has threatened to veto it. Washington advocates may contact the Governor’s office and leave her a message in support of this bill by calling 360-902-4111 or via email here. Additional information and up-to-date information regarding this measure is available from the Washington state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) here, or by contacting Washington NORML here or visiting them on Facebook here.

For a listing of all of the pending marijuana law reform proposals that NORML is tracking, please visit NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here. (For a map of pending legislation, please visit here.)

** Remember: NORML can not introduce legislation in your state. Nor can any other non-profit advocacy organization. Only your state representatives, or in some cases an individual constituent (by way of their representative; this is known as introducing legislation ‘by request’) can do so. NORML can — and does — work closely with like-minded politicians and citizens to reform marijuana laws, and lobbies on behalf of these efforts. But ultimately the most effective way — and the only way — to successfully achieve statewide marijuana law reform is for local stakeholders and citizens to become involved in the political process and make the changes they want to see. We can’t do it without you.

Washington, DC: Members of the DC City Council voted unanimously today in favor of legislation (The Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative Amendment Act 0f 2010) to establish medical marijuana dispensaries in the District of Columbia. The Council had given preliminary approval for the measure in April.

As approved, Health Department officials would regulate up to five facilities to dispense medical cannabis to authorized patients. Medical dispensaries would be limited to growing no more than 95 plants on site at any one time. Patients are expected to be able to obtain up to four ounces of dispensary-provided marijuana per month. Patients would not be permitted to privately cultivate their own supply of medicine. Low-income patients will be allowed to purchase medical marijuana at a greatly reduced cost under the plan.

The bill now goes to Mayor Adrian Fenty for his signature. Congress will then have 30 working days to either approve or reject the measure.

Additional information on this measure is available here and also from NORML’s ‘Take Action’ Center here.

Pennsylvania: Democrat Sen. Daylin Leach held a press conference today to mark the introduction of Senate Bill 1350, The Compassionate Use Act, which seeks to make Pennsylvania the fifteenth state to legalize the physician-supervised use of marijuana.

The bill is a companion bill to House Bill 1393, which awaits action by the House Health and Human Services Committee. (Read NORML’s testimony before the Committee here or watch video here.)

The measures would allow state-authorized patients to possess and cultivate cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The measures also seek to allow for the state-licensed distribution and sale of medical marijuana by authorized ‘compassion centers.’ Nearly 60 percent of Pennsylvanians support the measure according to a December 2009 Quinnipiac University poll.

To support this campaign, please contact Philly NORML or Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana, or visit NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here.

Illinois: House lawmakers may finally decide this week the fate of Senate Bill 1381, which seeks to regulate the physician-supervised use of medical marijuana. The measure was passed by the Senate in 2009 and is believed to be only one vote shy of majority support in the House. However, the 2009-2010 legislative session ends this Friday. If you live in Illinois, it is vital that you contact your House member today and urge him or her to end the prohibition of medical marijuana.

Tennessee: Members of the House Committee on Health and Human Resources unanimously voted last week to establish a task force to study the issue of legalizing medical marijuana, and to report back to the legislature with recommendations. While this outcome is not ideal for seriously ill individuals who desire immediate legal protections, the members’ action is a significant step forward in the campaign to ultimately provide legal and safe access to medical cannabis for authorized Tennessee patients.

NORML retained a state lobbyist this legislative session to represent the interests of our statewide affiliates, and to argue on behalf of legal access to medicinal cannabis. NORML and its affiliates will continue to actively lobby the legislature in 2011 and beyond in support of enacting common sense access and protections for Tennessee’s medical marijuana patient community.

New Hampshire: Members of the Senate have rejected, on a voice vote, House-backed legislation (House Bill 1653) that sought to decriminalize minor marijuana possession offenses. The Senate vote came almost a month after House lawmakers overwhelmingly (214 to 137) voted in favor of the measure, which would have reduced the penalties on minor marijuana possession offenses from a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine to a nominal monetary penalty of no more than $200.00.

Although some Senators acknowledged their private support for decriminalization (Read NORML’s testimony here), several committee members said the veto threat from Democrat Gov. John Lynch “convinced them that pursuing the bill was a fool’s errand.”

Gov. Lynch last year vetoed legislation that sought to legalize the medical use of marijuana.

To learn about pending legislation in additional states — and how you can get involved, please visit NORML’s ‘Take Action’ Center here.

** Remember: NORML can not introduce legislation in your state. Nor can any other non-profit advocacy organization. Only your state representatives, or in some cases an individual constituent (by way of their representative; this is known as introducing legislation ‘by request’) can do so. NORML can — and does — work closely with like-minded politicians and citizens to reform marijuana laws, and lobbies on behalf of these efforts. But ultimately the most effective way — and the only way — to successfully achieve statewide marijuana law reform is for local stakeholders and citizens to become involved in the political process and make the changes they want to see. We can’t do it without you.

Washington: Democrat Gov. Christine Gregoire signed legislation into law last week that expands the state’s nearly twelve-year-old medical marijuana law. Senate Bill 5798 allows additional health care professionals including naturopaths, physician’s assistants, osteopathic physicians, osteopathic physicians assistants, and advanced registered nurse practitioners to legally recommend marijuana therapy to their patients. Presently, only licensed physicians may legally recommend medicinal cannabis.

Washington is the first state to codify these recommendation rights into law. Senate Bill 5798 takes effect on June 10, 2010.

Maine: State lawmakers approved legislation this week establishing guidelines for the establishment of state-authorized medical marijuana distribution facilities. As approved by the legislature, LD 1811 authorizes the creation of up to eight nonprofit medical cannabis dispensaries – one for each of the state’s public health districts. Under the measure, dispensaries may legally “acquire, possess, cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, sell, supply or dispenses marijuana or related supplies and educational materials” to state-authorized medical marijuana patients.

Patients and/or their caregivers will still be allowed to cultivate their own medical cannabis under state law. However, patients will now be required to join a confidential state registry in order to be able to legally possess and grow marijuana for medicinal purposes. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services will oversee the new medical marijuana programs.

Last November, voters approved Question 5, the Maine Marijuana Medical Act, which amends existing state law by: establishing a confidential patient registry; expanding the list of qualifying conditions for which a physician may recommend medicinal cannabis; and by allowing for the creation of state-licensed nonprofit dispensaries. In 1999, 61 percent of state voters approved the physician-supervised use of medical marijuana. However, the law did not establish a state identification registry for qualified patients, nor did it address regulating the distribution of medical marijuana.

Democrat Gov. John Baldacci is anticipated to sign the dispensary measure into law imminently.

Ohio: House lawmakers this week introduced House Bill 478, the Ohio Medical Compassion Act. The act would allow state-authorized patients to possess and cultivate cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The bill allows for authorized patients or their designated caregivers to cultivate medical marijuana, but only at designated registered sites. Patients are allowed to possess up to 200 grams of usable cannabis (about six ounces) or 12 mature plants under this proposal. To support this measure, visit the Ohio Patient’s Network or NORML’s ‘Take Action’ Center here.

Pennsylvania: Minor marijuana possession offenses in the city of Philadelphia will be no longer be prosecuted as criminal misdemeanors, according to a policy change announced this week by new District Attorney Seth Williams. Philadelphia NORML had been lobbying for the policy change after publishing a report which found that African American males comprised an estimated 83 percent of all persons in Philadelphia arrested for minor marijuana possession offenses.

Under the new policy, which is anticipated to take effect later this month, prosecutors will charge minor marijuana possession (defined as 30 grams or less) as ‘summary offenses’ rather than criminal misdemeanors. Defendants will be required to pay a fine, but will not face incarceration or receive a criminal record. Under the previous District Attorney, the city criminally prosecuted some 3,000 minor marijuana possession cases per year.

You can read further details regarding this policy change here, here, and here.

To learn about pending legislation in additional states — and how you can get involved, please visit NORML’s ‘Take Action’ Center here.

Marijuana Law Reform in 2010 (March Update)

With New Jersey recently becoming the 14th medical marijuana state, activists in marijuana law reform have been celebrating. After all, over 82 million Americans now live in states where medical use of marijuana is legal – that’s 27% of the US population! Last election, Massachusetts became the 13th decriminalization state, which means over 107 million Americans live in a state where possession of small personal amounts of marijuana no longer merit an arrest – that’s 35% of the US population.

Population of States with Medical Marijuana Laws

Population of States that have Decriminalized Marijuana

However, after watching fourteen years of marijuana activism focused solely on those who use cannabis for medicine, I must warn activists that medical marijuana is not getting any better and the time for re-legalization of cannabis for all adults – even the healthy ones – is now.

Comparison of five core rights found in existing medical marijuana law

California legalized medical marijuana in 1996. That initiative, Prop-215, established what is clearly the most liberal medical marijuana statute to date:

• A doctor can recommend for any condition;
• You needn’t have a “bona fide” doctor/patient relationship;
• Dispensaries are allowed;
• Self cultivation is allowed;
• Patients are protected from arrest.

Comparison of plant and possession limits and qualifying conditions in medical marijuana law

If we consider these five attributes of the law the baseline, then in the past fourteen years, all thirteen medical marijuana states that have followed have failed to achieve all five. Eight states only offer three or four of those liberties and the rest offer two or only one. Most disturbingly, the right of patients to grow their own medicine (or have a caregiver do it for them), which has been a bedrock principle in medical marijuana law, was taken away from patients in the most recent medical marijuana state, New Jersey. Bills that were considered but vetoed in 2009 in Minnesota and New Hampshire, and those moving forward in New York, Pennsylvania, as well as an initiative in Arizona, all sacrifice this core right.

New Jersey - The (No Medical Marijuana) Garden State

A comparison of plant and possession limits also shows the decline from the original starting point in California, where 12 plants and 8 ounces are allowed. Oregon and Washington passed their laws next and have the highest statutory limits: 24 plants and 24 ounces in Oregon and 15 plants and 24 ounces in Washington. (To be fair, all the West Coast states started with lower limits or more vague limits that were modified by the legislature.) But since then, only one state has allowed more than 3 ounces (New Mexico with 6 ounces) and average number of plants allowed is a little less than ten.

The "Big 8" Conditions for which marijuana is recommended in the states

Another decline in medical marijuana freedom appears when we look at the conditions for which medical marijuana protection is afforded in the various states. There are eight conditions which could be considered the “standard” ones: cancer; HIV/AIDS; seizure disorders, like epilepsy; spastic disorders, like multiple sclerosis; glaucoma; chronic nausea; cachexia; and chronic pain. Most medical marijuana states recognize all eight conditions; a couple (Vermont and Rhode Island) recognize seven of eight.

Other conditions recognized in state medical marijuana laws (not a complete list)

The latest law in New Jersey, however, eliminated chronic pain, chronic nausea, and cachexia, making it the most restrictive list in the nation. The bill proposed but vetoed in New Hampshire required one to try all other remedies for chronic pain before trying medical marijuana. The vetoed Minnesota bill wouldn’t even allow cancer and HIV/AIDS patients to use medical marijuana unless they could show they were terminal (about to die). The lists in the latest proposed bills continue to become more restricted.

Until we do have legalization for all, every medical marijuana law is going to fail to adequately serve all medical users and subject them to increasing restriction and scrutiny. Additionally, medical marijuana laws make patients an attractive target for criminals because prohibition maintains huge profits for stolen medical cannabis, as well as becoming targets for overzealous anti-marijuana cops and prosecutors.

The reason the recent medical marijuana laws are losing ground is not a failure of the medical marijuana strategy, but rather due to its success. Medical marijuana has portrayed the herb as “powerful and effective medicine”. Well, what do we do with powerful and effective medicines? We keep them under lock and key. We require people to visit doctors. We strictly monitor prescription pads. We bust people who have them without proper papers.

Rather than justifying the prohibitionists’ shibboleth of medical marijuana as “the camel’s nose under the tent” for legalization, I’m arguing it’s the opposite: that continuing the medical marijuana strategy further cements the “powerful and effective medicine” frame and takes us farther away from treating cannabis as a personal choice of relaxant. We’ll get to a point where the public accepts “powerful and effective cannabis medicine” and looks upon personal use like we look at someone getting fraudulent scrips for painkillers.

If one of the West Coast states doesn’t pull off legalization soon, the pendulum is going to swing back the other way on marijuana. The economic incentives may fade if the economy recovers and then the tax & regulate argument fizzles. And if we are going to continue working on medical marijuana, the bills and initiatives need to get better, not worse. The way it’s looking now is that the Northeast and upper Midwest are going to institute chronic conditions-only, 2 oz limit, strict registry, only personal doctor, no home grow, state-run dispensary medical marijuana for $15/gram in the next six years. How then do we approach those people and say, “Hey, you know that powerful and effective medical marijuana that you only let a few hundred really sick people use after jumping though a mile of hoops? We think everybody should have it and jump through no hoops!”

Medical marijuana would never have passed in any state if it were not for the votes of non-medical users of marijuana. I do believe it is time for medical marijuana patients in the states that have programs to “repay the favor” and fight as hard for legalization as social tokers fought for medical. Only patients can best make the argument that while prohibition exists, they will always face job discrimination, loss of child custody, high black market prices, housing discrimination, and the sneers of the Bill O’Reillys who think 99% of medical marijuana patients are faking. So long as the prohibition profit exists, there will always be these CBS Undercover investigations casting a pall on all legitimate medical marijuana because of the irresponsible acts of a few.

Maybe I’m just too much of a dreamer. I imagine acres and acres of hemp fields, huge indoor hydroponic cannabis warehouses, thriving cafes and coffeehouses, some folks growing their own in a garage or closet, regular outdoor festivals and special indoor events where cannabis smoking is permitted, buying and selling all varieties of cannabis from ounces at a farmer’s market to bulk bales at CostCo… and none of that is done with “powerful and effective medicines”.

I don’t think that it is reformer’s job to pass medical marijuana in all fifty states first and then worry about legalization in one. I think states that have medical should be moving forward on legalization, states without should focus on better medical laws by calling prohibitionists’ bluff on “marijuana outta control!” in the Western states with liberal medical laws.

Arkansas:

Looks like the ‘Natural State’ is joining the 20 or more states that will have cannabis law reform legislation in 2010 with a medical cannabis bill.

Rhode Island:

RI proposes new rules for medical marijuana stores

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Health officials have proposed new rules governing how up to three medical marijuana stores would operate in Rhode Island.

The revised regulations released Friday explain in more detail how andwhen the stores would notify police and state officials in the event of emergencies. The public can comment on the draft rules during a Feb. 2 meeting.

Rhode Island lawmakers voted in June over the objection of Gov. Don
Carcieri (kuh-CHEHR’-ee) to allow up to three nonprofit stores to sell
marijuana to registered patients who use it for pain relief. The state
allowed patients to possess marijuana in 2006 but never made clear how they could legally get the drug.

Once the rules are approved, applications will be accepted to open
stores.

Pennsylvania:

Quinnipiac poll 59% say medical marijuana is a ‘good idea’

Philadelphia- A majority of Pennsylvanians favor passage of the medical marijuana bill according to a new Quinnipiac Poll released yesterday. Specifically asked about the current legislation, this is the strongest indicator yet of the tremendous popular support for safe, therapeutic cannabis access here in PA.

The greatest support came from Democrats with 67% in favor and from residents of the Northeast portion of PA who supported the issue at 72%.

Republicans were more evenly divided on the question 49% positive and 47% not. Women strongly supported medical marijuana at 57% ‘good idea’ and just 36% saying ‘bad idea.’

Nearly even support was found among all age groups 18 to 55+ and all income levels, with a close average of 60% saying ‘good idea’ to the concept of a state authorized medical cannabis program. The medical marijuana question was the last one posed to voters during the lengthy poll that mostly dealt with the PA gubernatorial candidates.

Comparatively, medical marijuana is more positively favored by every single category of voter than any of the gubernatorial candidates.

Therapeutic cannabis received significantly greater favorable poll support than Governor Rendell, Attorney General Tom Corbett or the job of the PA legislature.

Asked ‘how satisfied are you with the way things are going in Pennsylvania today’ the totals were equal ‘Smmwt Satisfied’ 38%, ‘Smmwt Dissatisfied’ 38%.

Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana (PA4MMJ) recently participated in the historic first hearings on HB 1393. The bill would legalize medical marijuana access in PA and create Compassion centers for cannabis to be sold, with a tax, to authorized patients.

More about medical marijuana in pa at www.pa4mmj.org

Wisconsin:

Three great Wisconsin medical cannabis patient heroes: Ryan Nofsinger, Christine Harrington and Jacki Rickert testify at the medical cannabis bill’s hearing this Tuesday in a video Mickey Kienitz did for madison.com.

Maryland:

Doctor-legislator eyes new medical marijuana measure; Positive signs from D.C., legalization in other states buoy pot advocates

by Alan Brody
Staff Writer

When Del. Dan K. Morhaim is in the emergency room, he can administer cocaine to anesthetize a patient. But he cannot write a prescription for marijuana as a pain reliever or nausea remedy.

That’s just one of the flaws in Maryland’s narrow medical marijuana law that Morhaim (D-Dist. 11) of Owings Mills, an emergency physician at Sinai and Northwest hospitals in Baltimore, is out to fix during next year’s legislative session.

“Physicians prescribe drugs that have risks and benefits, and we make those judgments all the time,” he said. “There’s a whole method of accountability and responsibility and constraints that control that.”

While budget discussions will take center stage in Annapolis, medical marijuana advocates believe the momentum for their cause has never been greater.

U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has said federal narcotics
agents will not crack down on pot dispensaries or prosecute users in states where the drug is allowed for medicinal purposes, reversing a Bush administration policy.

And last month the American Medical Association shifted its stance in urging the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II controlled substance, which is less restrictive than the Schedule I group it is currently in, alongside Ecstasy, heroin and PCP.

Under current state law, Marylanders can be arrested and charged for possession of marijuana, but they can avoid jail time and receive a maximum $100 fine if they can prove they have it for medicinal use.

Morhaim’s proposal would be set up similar to the state’s slots
legislation. Companies that want to grow the plant would have to bid for a license and be regulated by the state to ensure it is being done in a safe location and properly manufactured. The producers would then give a portion of its gross sales revenue to the state.

More…

United States Virgin Islands

USVI NORML Announces Citizens’ Initiative

St. Thomas, USVI, 12/18/09– USVI NORML, a local chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, is excited to announce the undertaking of a territory-wide petition to place the choice for the legal reform and legalization of cannabis on the November 2010 ballot.

In order to collect the required amount of registered voter signatures the group will be hosting several voter registration drives so the voices of all Territorial citizens will be heard. Chapter President Linda Adler has stated that, “Although this will be a tremendous effort to empower the people of the Territory, it won’t take away from our continuing mission of education and independent economic development”.

For more information on upcoming events, petition locations, or membership/donation opportunities please contact the NORML offices at (340) 244-9179 or visit http://www.usvinorml.org/. Please direct all correspondence and membership applications to:

USVI NORML
P.O. Box 535
St. Thomas, USVI 00804

USVI NORML is a non-profit organization based in the US Virgin Islands. Their mission is to de-criminalize cannabis in the Territory as well as educate, protect our youth, reduce crime, and promote a healthy and positive lifestyle.

Contact Information:
Linda Adler
Executive Director, USVI NORML
(340) 244 9179 P.O. Box 535
St. Thomas, USVI 00804

It can readily be said that 2009 was one of the busiest and most productive years in cannabis law reform since NORML’s founding in 1970. However, it appears as if 2010 is going to be an even busier year–notably marked by the increasing number of actual state legalization bills and a voter initiative in America’s most important state.

Currently, there is legalization legislation pending in California, Massachusetts, Vermont, and a legalization bill was just introduced this week in Washington. Frankly, most of these bills do not have a strong prospect in passing this time out, however the immense public discussion that is generated is crucial for overall reform efforts.

The formula is simple: No public discussion or debate about legalization, obviously equates to no substantive law reforms. This is what regrettably happened in the United States, Canada and Europe from 1980-2000, buttressed by extreme federal anti-marijuanism in the form of the DARE program in the public school, the blitzkrieg of Partnership for a Drug-Free America ads polluting media airwaves and omnibus federal crime bills overloaded with severe and costly penalties (i.e., mandatory minimum sentencing, civil forfeiture, mass drug testing, etc…). However, since the turn of the century, there have been ever-increasing public discussions and debates about marijuana prohibition–principally driven by the creation and implementation of medical cannabis laws in thirteen states–which is leading to greater public support for reform.

Breaking News: NORML has just learned that the TaxCannabis2010 initiative in California has gathered more than enough signatures to qualify for the 2010 ballot and the announcement of such is imminent (like, this week!).

This coming year the following states will have numerous cannabis law reform legislation or initiatives:

Medical Cannabis

State legislation: MN, IL, MO, OH, TN, MD, NC, PA, DE, OH, WI, NY, CT, MA, NH and TX; NJ has a special legislative session going on right now until January 7, 2010 where a pro-reform medical cannabis bill is pending and the outgoing Governor assures a signature to passed legislation.

Voter Initiatives: AZ

Cannabis Legalization

State legislation: VT, MA, WA; CA’s legalization bill (AB 390) will kickoff a smoking hot year in cannabis law reform with a series of planned subcommittee hearings and testimonies currently scheduled for the first week in January.

Voter Initiatives: TaxCannabis 2010 appears ballot bound and this means that Californians will have the opportunity on November 9, 2010 to effectively end cannabis prohibition in the United States, and arguably most of the of the civil world. Also, Nevada and Oregon voters may also be voting on cannabis legalization initiatives in 2012.

In a country where one out of eight citizens live in a particularly state, and that state’s citizens democratically vote to end cannabis prohibition and replace it with tax-and-control measures, it is only a matter of time before a number of other states follow suit, then the federal government must end it’s failed three-quarter of a century social experiment of cannabis prohibition.

Kudos goes out to Philly NORML and their allies for working directly with Democrat Rep. Mark Cohen to introduce House Bill 1393, The Barry Busch Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act of 2009 and make today’s hearings a reality.

Pennsylvania lawmakers will talk about legalizing marijuana for medical purposes
via The Patriot-News

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today will hold its first-ever hearing on a bill that would legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

The House Health and Human Services Committee will hold a public hearing at 11 a.m. in Room 140 of the Main Capitol in Harrisburg on a bill from state Rep. Mark B. Cohen, D-Phila., H.B. 1393, which would permit the use of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.

“The time has come for Pennsylvania to join 13 other states that allow patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV or other physically painful diseases to use medical marijuana,” Cohen said in a press release. “It is important the committee and the public hear the powerful stories from these patients about the beneficial use of medical marijuana in treating pain and other symptoms of debilitating medical conditions.”

Web streaming of today’s daylong hearing is available here.

Testifying in favor of the bill: Chris Goldstein and Derek Rosenzweig of PA4MMJ and Philly NORML; Ed Pane of Serento Gardens Treatment Center; Bradley Walter who lives with HIV; Andrew Hoover of the ACLU-PA, Criminal Defense Attorney Patrick Nightengale; MS patient John Wilson of New Jersey; Brian Gralnick of JSPAN; Bob Ceppecio of The Marijuana Policy Project along with other local patients and professionals. Signed written testimony from 26 PA residents will be presented by PA4MMJ and Philly NORML along with 19 written submissions sent anonymously. Expert written submissions and comments came from the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, the National Lawyers Guild Philadelphia Chapter, The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey and the National Organization for the reform of Marijuana Laws Deputy Director Paul Armentano.

You can read my written testimony here.

If you live in Pennsylvania and have not yet contacted your state officials in support of HB 1393, please do so here.

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!

(PhillyNORML: Chris Goldstein & Derek Rosenzweig) Philadelphia could save more than $3,000,000 annually by not taking pot smokers in for mugshots.

Minor marijuana possession arrests in Philadelphia are handled with mandatory custody; this is a different process than every other county in Pennsylvania costing the city millions of dollars. A disproportionate number of citizens (84%) arrested for marijuana possession in the city are black.

Research by PhillyNORML this year has uncovered these two disturbing trends that present serious challenges to the city. But in a sign of a pragmatic shift in attitudes, city officials have held an ongoing dialogue with reform advocates to proactively address these concerns.

In March of 2009 the Philadelphia chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws performed their annual observation of the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Report data for the marijuana arrest numbers. At the same time, the city was beginning to face a heartbreaking economic plight that pitted police jobs against a lack of Public Safety Budget funds.

Data indicates that 4,716 adults were arrested in 2008 on the singular criminal misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession less than 30 grams. In Philadelphia such arrests are required to be custodial. For even a single cannabis joint this means an offender must be handcuffed, transported to a holding cell, photographed and perhaps make bail before release. In every other county in Pennsylvania there is no mandate for the custodial arrest of citizens found with small amounts of marijuana. Instead, summary violations are issued along with a date to appear in court.

PhillyNORML is a sterling example of how ordinary cannabis consumers can band together under the NORML banner and affect real change at the local level. Reformers at the national level don’t have the on-the-ground knowledge of local politics like everyday citizens living in cities like Philadelphia. Local reformers can better cultivate personal relationships with mayors, city councils, and all their staff, as well as integrate with groups as disparate as unions and libertarian groups, parents and police, and churches and universities.

If you’re sitting around wondering when they are going to legalize pot, you’re part of the problem. YOU have to legalize pot. You and your like-minded pot smokers, cannabis consumers, medical marijuana patients, and lovers of liberty, peaceably assembled to exercise your free speech and to petition your government for a redress of grievances… there’s nothing more American than being NORML.

Marijuana chemical may slow multiple sclerosis
via insciences.org

Armed with a $1.5 million National Institutes of Health grant, Temple researchers are studying more effective ways to treat multiple sclerosis. And their research utilizes synthetic cannabinoids based on chemicals derived from the marijuana plant.

… Using a compound (O-1996) synthesized by scientists at the Medical College of Virginia and the company Organix, Tuma and Ganea performed animal studies and found that the synthesized chemical affected cannabinoid receptors present primarily on immune cells.

… “This is a totally new approach to treating this disease, “says Adler, director emeritus and senior advisor for CSAR and Laura H. Carnell professor of pharmacology research. “These cannabinoids hold enormous potential, and that’s encouraging since we’re limited in options when it comes to preventing or reversing MS.”

Okay, follow along with me if you can.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health appropriates over one million dollars to fund medical research — not to investigate the therapeutic effects of natural cannabinoids (bad!), but rather to investigate the therapeutic effects of synthetic chemicals (good!) that are designed to mimic the effects of natural cannabinoids.

Equally ironically, the research is taking place at Temple University in Pennsylvania — where any use of natural cannabis (bad!) as a medicine is criminally illegal, but where research into the use  faux cannabis (good!) is embraced.

Makes sense, right? Well about as much sense as the federal government claiming that pot (bad!) has no medical utility while simultaneously patenting certain natural occurring chemicals in the plant — those that the Feds hope to one day profit from (good!) — as, you guessed it, a medicine.

Any questions?