Law Enforcement

Police and prisons have been fighting legalization for some time. Many marijuana activists believe this is an attempt to keep the war on drugs alive. This is due the the fact that the war or drugs has been a great source of income for law enforcement.

Since cannabis legalization has spread, private prison companies in the U.S. have gone down $2 billion in value. Programs like the DEA’s Cannabis Eradication Program provide local and state police with large sums of cash for cracking down on drugs like marijuana.

Big Pharma

The pharmaceutical industry has been dropping big bucks to keep medical marijuana as inaccessible as possible.

What they fail to mention is how marijuana use is linked to a reduction in opioid abuse while individuals are dying from opioid overdoses across the U.S.

In states which have legalized marijuana, many people suffering from debilitating pain are choosing marijuana as a pain reliever instead of prescribed medicines. Is Big Pharma trying to protect people or are they going after the money?

Alcohol Industry

Drinking alcohol is 114 times more dangerous than smoking cannabis. With statistics like this surfacing, it’s really no surprise that the alcohol industry is trying to keep marijuana illegal.

According to a document published by Wikileaks, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America to get funding for combating marijuana’s legalization.

WSWA cited a report on increased drunk driving incidents involving marijuana in Colorado. The Study they cited didn’t conclude marijuana was the cause of any fatalities, just that more people involved in vehicular deaths had marijuana in their system.

The Beer Distributors PAC, representative of 16 beer distribution companies in Massachusetts, gave $25,000 to a campaign against marijuana legalization. Arizona Wine and Spirits Association also gave a group fighting legalization in Arizona $10,000.

Conclusion

It’s hard to believe these industries are fighting marijuana seriously if it’s the plant standing between them and their profits. One way you can fight back is by voting for one of the nine marijuana initiatives on the November ballot.

The post Top 3 Industries Lobbying Against Medical Marijuana appeared first on Pot My.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 258,582 petition signatures to the Secretary of State in late June.

According to the campaign website, only 150,642 signatures were required.

The campaign states Proposition 205 would:

• Allow adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and consume marijuana in private.
• Establish a regulation system similar to alcohol.
• Enact a 15% tax on marijuana sales, in addition to standard state and local sales taxes.
• Use tax revenue to fund regulation enforcement.

Proposition 205 would allocate the majority of tax revenues to schools. If passed, 40% of excess tax revenue would go toward The Department of Education for school construction, maintenance and operating costs.

It would allocate another 40% of excess revenue to The Department of Education for full-day kindergarten programs.

The remaining 20% would go toward The Department of Health Services for public education for alcohol, marijuana and substance education.

The owner of the local dispensary Purplemed Healing Center, Jean-Paul Genet, said he supports the initiative.

“I expect to see a huge leap in the standard of education in Arizona,” said Genet.

Genet said it’s going to positively impact the economy.

“It is going to provide more employment and there’s going to be more taxes collected as a result,” he said. “There will be more opportunities for business development.”

Resident, Arturo Valenzuela, said he does not think legalizing marijuana for recreational use is a good idea.

“Especially, for the people that are driving,” said Valenzuela. “I mean we already have a problem with alcohol and now legalizing this, it’s going to be even worse.”

Genet said it does pose some dilemma, but argued marijuana is nothing like alcohol.

According to the campaign website, driving while impaired by marijuana would remain illegal. Public marijuana use would also remain illegal.

The initiative would not change existing penalties for the possession of more than one ounce of marijuana.

Register to vote in the November 2016 Election

The post AZ Prop. 205 aims to legalize recreational marijuana appeared first on Pot My.

“Too many people are going to prison because of the use of very modest amounts or carrying modest amounts of marijuana, and that is clogging up our prisons, it’s destroying families, and it’s hurting our economy,” Governor Wolf said in an interview with Scott Lamaor of the program “Small Talk” on WITF.

“I think in a lot of local municipalities, decriminalization has already taken place,” Wolf continues in the interview. “I think we need to do that in a more systematic fashion.”

Wolf and LaMar also discussed the opioid crisis that exists in Pennsylvania and many other states and how cannabis could be alternative to opioid prescription drugs. Many heroin users initially develop their addiction by taking opioid such as OxyContin.

According to Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting statistics, simple possession arrests were down 15 percent in the state in 2015. One of the main reasons for this drop in arrests was likely the decriminalization policy in Philadelphia. Cannabis arrests by Philadelphia police went from 4,374 in 2013 to 784 in 2015, which is an 82 percent decrease. Pennsylvania as a whole saw a new low of 17,525 arrests in 2015. This is great progress and marks the first significant reduction of such arrests in the last decade.

Despite some states making progress when it comes to legalization, cannabis arrests still make up more than half of all drug arrests in the U.S., according to the ACLU in 2011, 88% of all cannabis arrests were made for simple possession.

“I think we can watch and see what happens in Colorado, Washington and Oregon,” Wolf said. “I think we have to wait and see.

This is not the first time that Governor Wolf has said that he supports the concept of statewide decriminalization. In April of this year, Governor Wolf signed legislation legalizing a medical cannabis program in the Keystone state. Only a handful or so diseases and ailments will be covered under PA’s medical program however, making it one of the most restrictive medical programs in the nation. The State Department of Health said it would take until early 2018 to make medical cannabis available to eligible patients, meaning patients will have to wait at least another year and a half to legally obtain their medication.

The post Pennsylvania Governor: State Can Do More to End Cannabis Arrests appeared first on Pot My.

According to the Denver post, “Jack’s Law,” the new legislation in Colorado, gives school districts options when it comes to medication. They can either write a policy detailing where non-smokeable cannabis can be consumed and what kind can be used, or it will be up to the students and parents and there will be no specific regulations in place.

In response to this, some of the local 179 school districts in the area have started writing their own policy, while others, like Denver Public Schools, refuse and claim that they do no want to allow cannabis at all, as it is still a Schedule I drug and federally illegal. Some are resisting because only about 350 school children are under the age of 18 are actually enrolled in the program, so there is a chance that none or very few students at a school will actually need to medicate.

“Marijuana is still a Class I controlled substance, and there are some nervous folks out there that don’t want to deal with that in the classroom,” Rep.Jonathan Singer, one of the sponsors of the bill, told Denver Post. “And school districts have a lot on their shoulders now, and my guess is that most will wait on dealing with a policy or student until it’s a pressing need or issue.”

Singer claims that he stood behind the bill because he wants to give parents and patients the right to medicate on campus, but also wants schools to be able to control how this happens. He realizes that despite the fact that Colorado is so accepting of cannabis, using it in schools is still a touchy subject, even in the form of medication. This school year, the cannabis policy will surely be tested, hopefully with positive results for schools and patients alike.

The post Colorado Schools Figure Out New Cannabis Policy appeared first on Pot My.

With the state preparing to license medical marijuana shops in 2018, the Assembly sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill Tuesday that would establish a tax amnesty program to help bring scofflawa into complaince with the law.

The measure would allow medical cannabis sellers to temporarily avoid a penalty of 25% to 50% on late taxes but would block the issuance of new state licenses to continuing violaters.

Assemblyman Mike Gipson (D-Carson), who introduced the bill, said many medical cannabis shops have not registered with the state and pain taxes for fear of criminal prosecution because marijuana remains an illegal substance under federal law.

“You have a lot of business that would like to come out of the shadpws and do the right thing,” Gipson said.

Voters legalized the medical use of marijuana in California two decades ago; the state has some 2,500 dispensaries.

A recent court decision said federal officials could not spend money to prosecute people who comply with state medical pot laws.

Getting businesses to comply with tax laws is also important because a measure on the November ballot in California would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, potentially resulting in many more businesses opening to sell cannabis.

But the main development that led to the amnesty proposal is a new regulatory scheme approved last year for the state to issue licenses to medical cannabis dispensaries starting in 2018.

“Now that California has officially taken steps to establish a regulatory framework for cannabis, we have an opportunity to engage these businesses to ensure they pay their dues,” Gibson told his colleagues, who approved the amnesty program on a 46-to-43 vote.

The state Board of Equalization,which collects taxes, estimated that 66% rate of non-payment of taxes based on the experience of other states, including Colorado, officials said.

The six-month amnesty period would run from July 1, 2017, through Dec. 31, 2017, and apply to tax liabilities due before Jan. 1, 2018.

Last year’s approval of a state regulatory system requiring pot shops to get state licenses may be enough to persuade businesses “that previously operated underground” to “comply with state tax and regulatory laws,” David J. Gau, executive director of the board, wrote to lawmakers.

Industry officials, including Nate Bradley, Executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association, welcomed the amnesty offer.

“Due to the lack of legal framework and access to basic banking, paying taxes has been extremely challenging for our medical cannabis industry,” Bradley said. “The tax amnesty program proposed in Assembly member Gipson’s bill will help existing medical cannabis operators more easily transition from operating in an unregulated, gray market to a regulated one.”

Brown was also sent a bill that allows state licenses to be issue to 135 of dispensaries authorized in Los Angeles when voters approved Measure D in 2013.

State law requires those applying for state licenses to have a license from the city, but the L.A. ballot measure did not provide a city license so special eligibility was needed through legislation, according to Assemblyman Reggie Jones Sawyer (D-Los Angeles).

The post CA Lawmakers offer tax amnesty to pot shops appeared first on Pot My.

With five states voting to legalize marijuana, we could see recreational marijuana become available to about a quarter of the nation by the end of this year. Right now in the United States about 17 million people have access to recreational marijuana. That number could double from California voters passing their recreational marijuana initiative alone.

These are the next five states to vote on cannabis legalization on the ballot:

Arizona

Arizona’s Proposition 205 initiative is sponsored by the Arizona Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. If passed, the initiative would grant persons over the age of 21 the right to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants within enclosed, locked spaces in their homes.

The initiative would create the Department of Marijuana License and Control. The Department would limit the number of marijuana retail shops to a tenth of the number of liquor store licenses, which was less than 180.

Proposition 205 would impose a 15% excise tax on retail sales, with 80% of revenue going towards schools. The other 20% would go to substance abuse education to help prevent or remedy any of the negative side effects that may arise from marijuana legalization.

Arizona has a medical cannabis program with 90,000 patients but recent polls showed the state was not in favor of legalization.

California

California’s Proposition 64 will be on the ballot. The initiative is called The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). It is sponsored by Yes on 64 and would permit anyone over 21 to possess up an ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants much like the Arizona measure. Gifting of up to a quarter-ounce of marijuana will be allowed if the proposition passes.

The initiative would make California the first state to have “cannabis cafes” that allow on-site marijuana consumption, similar to the ones in Amsterdam. Marijuana commerce would be regulated by a new Bureau of Marijuana Control, which could replace the current Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation.

The measure would impose a 15% retail sales tax and a $9.25 per ounce cultivation tax paid for by wholesalers. It’s worth noting the initiative provides no employment protections for consumers of marijuana.

Recent polls illustrate that 60% of Californians support the legalization of marijuana.

Maine

The Marijuana Legalization Act or Question 1, sponsored by the Maine Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, will be on the November ballot. The initiative would allow people 21 and over to posses up to two and a half ounces of marijuana or six plants.

The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry would regulate marijuana commerce, taxing retail marijuana at 10%.

The measure would also for “cannabis cafes” to be run similarly to bars, because you will need to be 21 to enter and guests will not be allowed to leave with their unfinished marijuana.

So far, campaign supporters have raised more funds than opponents of the initiative. Recent polling showed 55% of Maine is in favor of legalization.

Massachusetts

The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act or Question 4, is a measure sponsored by the Massachusetts Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.

The Act would permit people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in public and up to 10 ounces at home. Residents of Massachusetts would be able to grow up to six plants. Legal marijuana commerce would be regulated by a Cannabis Control Commission. “Cannabis cafes” for indoor cannabis smoking would be permitted.

The measure would impose an additional 3.75% to the states 6.25% sales tax, for a total tax rate of 10% . Localities can ban legal marijuana commerce or add local taxes. Pot smoking employees will not be protected under the new law.

The most recent polling in MA had 41% of residents in favor of legalization and 50% against it.

Nevada

The Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana or Question 2 is sponsored by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Nevada. The measure would allow people 21 and over to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. Residents who live more than 25 miles from a retail marijuana store will be able to grow six plants.

If the measure passes, the state’s Department of Taxation will create and oversee a system of licensed marijuana commerce. The initiative would impose a 15% tax on wholesale marijuana sales, retail sales will have the regular state sales tax.

A two week old poll has the Nevada Measure winning 50% to 41%.

The majority of states with legalization measures on their ballot seem to be in favor of legalization. The poll numbers don’t guarantee that three of the five states will go legal.The ballot takes place on November 9th.

The post Five States Set to Vote on Marijuana legalization appeared first on Pot My.

According to the advocacy group, law enforcement in the state made nearly half a million cannabis related arrests over the last decade. Although arrests fell last year, some patterns still exist.

Perhaps most worrying is the significant racial disparity in arrest rates. Despite similar use rates across groups, authorities disproportionately arrested black and Latino people. The DPA report found that black people are twice as likely than whits to be arrested for cannabis misdemeanors and barely five times more likely to be arrested on felony charges.

“While many people believe that marijuana is essentially legal in California, data show us that thousands continue to be arrested annually for marijuana activities,” said DPA staff attorney Jolene Forman. “These arrests fall disproportionately on black and Latino Californians. The only way to begin to repair these parities is to move marijuana into a fully regulated market and to reduce or eliminate criminal prohibitions for minor marijuana activities.”

The statistics might come as a surprise given California’s global reputation for cannabis tolerance. In 1996 the state become the first in the U.S. to legalize cannabis for medical use. Lawmakers further criminal penalties for cannabis in 2011, making possession of up to an ounce of cannabis for personal use a civil infraction rather than misdemeanor.

The change led to an 86& decrease in misdemeanors, but felony arrests remained relatively stable at roughly 14,000 per year. In 2015 that number fell by a third. The report, however, doesn’t attempt to explain why.

Unfortunately, youth under 18 now account for the majority of cannabis misdemeanor arrests. Prior to 2011, when possession was decriminalized, minors accounted for only a quarter of misdemeanor cannabis arrests. As of 2015, youth account for two-thirds of misdemeanor cannabis arrests.

California will have an opportunity to legalize cannabis for recreational use this fall. Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, contains sentencing reforms that would reduce or eliminate most criminal penalties around cannabis, Another load of good news is that these reductions would apply retroactively to past offenses.

The post California’s Law on Marijuana appeared first on Pot My.

In taking this step, the Obama administration is further relaxing the nation’s stance on marijuana. President Obama has said he views it as no more dangerous than alcohol, and the Justice Department has not stood in the way of states that have legalized the drug.

For years, the University of Mississippi has been the the only institution authorized to grow the drug for use in medical studies. This restriction has limited the supply of marijuana federally approved for research purposes that scientists said it could often take years to obtain it and in some cases it was impossible to get. But soon the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will allow other universities to apply to grow marijuana, three government officials said.

While 25 states have approved the medical use of marijuana for a growing list of conditions, including Parkinsons and lupus, to name a few, the research to back up many of these treatments is thin. The new policy could begin to change that.

The new policy will be published as soon as Thursday in the federal register, according to the three officials that spoke to the NY Times. They have seen the policy but spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

It is unclear how many additional universities would receive licenses to grow marijuana, but the new policy does not set a cap on the number who could qualify. Any institution that has an approved research protocol and the security measures needed to store dangerous drugs can apply.

Researchers will still have to receive approval from federal agencies to conduct medical studies of marijuana, including from the DEA and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). hose whose projects are funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse will also need its consent.

However, drug policy advocates, experts and researchers predict that increasing the number of institutions growing marijuana will have a significant practical effect. The University of Mississippi’s monopoly on that role has been a barrier.

Earlier this year, the DEA has suggested that it would possible remove marijuana from the list of the most restricted and danferous drugs by end of June. But this week, the agency dit not take such a step.

The federal government still classifies marijuana as a highly addictive drug without medical value, as it has for 46 years. The DEA did not say when it will answer two petitions demanding a change of that policy, filed separately in 2009 and 2001.

Others were relieved that the DEA had moved to allow more institutions to grow marijuana for research, but not taken it off the list of the most dangerous drugs.

The post Obama Administration Set to Remove Barrier to Marijuana Research appeared first on Pot My.

The house voted, 149-46, capping several years of door-to-door lobbying by parents andm ore than a year-and-a-half since the state Senate first approved a medical marijuana bill in 2014. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has indicated that he will sign it.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, lawmakers promised to legalize medical marijuana by the summer, before voters get a chance to decide a ballot question in the fall election.

Medical marijuanacoming to Pennsylvania

Over 2 years ago, in one of her first treks to the Capitol, Cara Salemme heard from her state representative would never legalize medical marijuana

Still, the York County mother came back again and again, patiently and persistently explaining how the medison could her her son Jackson cope with terrifying and recurring epileptic seizures.

“It’s your child,” she said. “What else are you going to change the world for?”

On Wednesday, after years of lobbying and a frantic final weeks of uncertainty, hundreds of advocates (including Salemme) couldcelebrate.

The House joined the Senate in agreeing to legalize medical marijuana which would give give citizens access to what they say is a safe and effective way to treat chronic annd painful ailments.

Gov. Wolf, who has always supported the initiative, said he would sign the bill into law on Sunday in the Capitol Rotunda. Pennsylvania would become the 24th state to approve medical cannabis.

The 149-46 vote followed whirlwind legislative session and the near-collapse of the bill – which passed the Senate earlier this year but was revised by the House, tweaked by the Senate, and again returned to the House

House majority Leader Dave Reed (R., Indiana) hailed what he said was a bipartisan effort to overcome years of obstacles.

“At one time, I was opposed to the idea of allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana,” said Reed, echoing a once-widely held Republican position. “But after researching the issue, reviewing the laws in other states, and reading about the struggles of families the drug would help, I came to realize that it is wrong to withhold something that could benefit so many.”

Watching Wednesday with tears in her eyes was Jessica Hawkins of Pittsburgh, whose 11-year-old daughter, Antania, has Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of intractable epilepsy that begins in infancy.

“It’s not like a scrape, where you can kiss it and make it better,” said Hawkins, who said she took Antania to Colorado to get medical marijuana, which she said helped cut down on the more than 100 seizures she has a day. “There’s nothing you can do.”

The law will alow people suffering from cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, seizures, and other conditions to access medical marijuana i pill, oil, or ointment form at dispensaries statewide. Smoking of marijuana will not be tolerated.

The Legislation calls for creating a complex regulatory process for what essentially would become a new industry in Pennsylvania, with dozens of dispensaries, a least hundreds of workers, and potentially thousands of patients. The Department of Health is expected to start the process with an advisory board; putting all the pieces in place means it could be 18 months or longer before patients actually have access.

But Senators Daylin Deach (D., Montgomery) and Mike Folmer (R., Lebaon) noted the law includes a “safe haven” provision to quickly allow families with children under 18 to access medical marijuana – for instance, from other states where it is legal – without fear of prosecution. Temporary regulations are also expected to be written to permit adults to access it if they can demonstrate they suffer from one of the 17 condition listen in the legislation.

Once the system is up and running, it would issue patients identification cards to access medical marijuana from one of 150 dispensaries statewide. These ID cards would have o be renewed annually. Doctors prescribing the treatment will have to register as practitioners.

Dispensaries, as well as growers and processors of medical cannabis, have to be licensed by the state, and pay hefty registration and renewal fees. A 5% tax would also be imposed on the gross receipts from the sale of medical marijuana by a grower to a dispensary.

Leach, among the bill’s biggest backers, called it “the most significant piece of social policy enacted in Pennsylvania” in generations.

“Marijuana is medicine and it’s come to Pennsylvania he said at a news conference with Wolf after the vote. “Everyone can get sick, and in such a circumstance everyone would want medicine that would make them better.”

To the end, the bill’s critics kept up their opposition – including arguing that the law conflicts with federal policy because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medicinal purposes.

“What an unprecedented thing we are doing here today, bypassing the FDA process,” Rep. Matt Baker (R., Bradford), who tried to block the legislation, said during the House floor debate Wednesday.

Baker said the state would soon face “many challenges and serious consequences and concerns,” including product safety and quality control.

He and others have also said they believe this will open the door to legalizing recreational marijuana.

Rep. Russ Diamond (R., Dauphin) disagreed.

“Sick people do not want to get high,” he said. “They want to get better.”

The post Pennsylvania set to green light medical marijuana appeared first on Pot My.

The voted ended 8-1, with Councilwoman Darlene Harris who consistently argues that decriminalization must happen o the state or federal level.

Mayor Bill Peduto is expected to sign the amended ordinance within 10 days, making it law.

Under the new rule, Pittsburgh police could issue a summary citation punishable by a fine of $100 for smoking or $25 for possession of a small amount of marijuana. This would appear on a criminal record as violating “certain defined conduct” rather than including words such as controlled substances or marijuana, making it harder to search for in a person’s criminal record.

Summaries can be expunged in five years if the defendant is convicted and do not require to be fingerprinted or to appear at a preliminary hearing.

“This is a small step – but an important – in helping young men who have a small amount of marijuana on them, not be entered into the criminal justice system,” Councilman Ricky Burgess said before the vote.

City Councilman Daniel Lavelle, who sponsored the legislation, said police officers will still have the option to levy a misdemeanor charge if they suspect more serious crimes are also occurring. He said he intends to draft a “will of council,” asking the county and state to consider decriminalization efforts.

City officials did not provide any details on what training officers would receive or when they could be enforcing the new ordinance. Lavelle, however, said he would like to see it in place by the end of April.

An earlier version, 7-2, was approved by the council in December, with Mrs. Harris and Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smmith objecting then as well. Mrs. Kail-Smith said that she was conflicted about the ordinance but none of her constituents asked her to vote against it.

The ordinance originally allowed police to issue a “civil fine” unsearchable in criminal records – rather than a misdemeanor for possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana or 8 grams of hashish, punishable in Pennsylvania by 30 days in jail or a $500 fine.

However, unlike Philadelphia, Pittsburgh cannot process such civil fines.

Proponents say Pittsburgh’s bill formalizes local prosecutors’ practice of reducing misdemeanor marijuana possession to a summary citation and eliminates strain on the local criminal justice system that processing such cases imposes, as well as wiping out collateral damage wrought on employment, housing and life opportunities by the relatively minor criminal conviction.

The post Pittsburgh Council approves lighter penalties for marijuana usage appeared first on Pot My.

It caused a huge uproar with the people who make a living in that industry.

The Citizens for a Healthy Pueblo is the group asking for the ban, citing multiple reasons for this request. This includes concerns over how recreational marijuana is changing the community of Pueblo.

Growing Pueblo’s Future, a group of people who make their living off of different parts of the cannabis industry in Pueblo, spoke out against the Petition on Wednesday.

They said that if this ban were to come into effect, a lot of good hard working people would be impacted negatively.

“Just for our company alone I think it would hurt probably over two hundred and fifty families,” said business owner Jeff Ayotte.

He said every one of those individuals contribute to the economy of Pueblo.

“How many people go out to dinner every night? How many cars have we bought? How many houses have we bought in the county? How many kids are here,” said Ayotte.

Former Pueblo Sherrif Dan Corsentino said he supports recreational marijuana and that people should look at how sage legalization has made the industry.

“we have a regulated industry. We have an industry that is growing. It’s professional, it’s accountable and if we do it right the prosecution and law enforcement does not have to worry about the cannabis industry,” said Corsentino.

Some argued that without recreational pot, it would just open up the black market to fill the void.

“The Mexican drug cartels, they want to steal these jobs and I say we cannot let that happen. We need to protect the jobs that we have right here in pueblo,” said Pueblo County Commissioner Sal Pace.

One business owner says the way to defeat this petition is education.

“I really think we need to educate the public on what legalized regulated marijuana is. Show them the difference between illegal marijuana and regulated marijuana. We also need to educate the public on what legalized regulated marijuana is doing for our community,” said Ayotte.

The people who proposed the ban argued that the vote back in 2012 didn’t accurately represent what the people of Pueblo cCunty want and that those in rural parts of the county are extremely against recreational marijuana.

They said this issue should be decided by the voters once again.

The post Debate over recreational marijuana grows in Pueblo appeared first on Pot My.

The bill (LB643), introduced and fought for by Sen. Tommy Garrett of Bellevue, was stonewalled on the second round of consideration and then went down when 33 votes to end the extended debate became out of reach.

Garrett said he thought he had the votes, but several people backed out and in the end, he only got 30.

All along, Garrett initiated the vote for the families, children, and veterans that appealed for the opportunity to be allowed to have the treatment thet thought was right for them.

“We had an opportunity to help people,” Garrett said.

Garrett said the only explanation he had for the defeat of the bill was that some senators were “stuck on stupid.”

Opponents of the bill argued that it had been amended to he point where it wasn’t the same bill that was introduced and needed to go back to the Judiciary Committee for a new hearing. They also claimed that the science needed to catch up to the drug before it could be approved for medical use.

Making public policy is not easy, but it cannot be emotional, said Sen. Matt Williams of Gothenburg, who led the filibuster. In public policy, decisions should not be made for the few, but for the larger state.

Several senators who supported the bill said they believed that if it was defeated by the Legislature, it would be brought to voters through a ballot initiative. The Legislature would then lose control of its regulation.

“If this bill fails, it’s on the ballot,” said Lincoln Sen. Colby Coash. “And if it’s on the ballot, hold on to your hat.”

Senators adopted amendments to the bill before its ultimate defeat; one by Omaha Sen. Sara Howard would have tightly regulated the use of medical cannabis in the state, and another by Omaha Sen heath Mello would have allocated $2.4 million from the Nebraska Health Care Cash Fund for the bill’s implementation.

The bill as amended would have allowed medical cannabis in pill, oil or liquid form, but no smoking. Only a medical provider could certify a patient’s qualification for the medication.

Medical cannabis products would have to be acquired, possessed and dispensed through compassion centers, one per congressional district and registered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Garrett said he believed the majority of Nebraskans believe it to be a good idea.

He hopes it will be brought back as a ballot issue.

“Power to the people,” he said.

How they voted

A motion to stop a filibuster on a medical cannabis legalization bill (LB643) failed Tuesday night, putting the bill to rest for the session. Thirty-three votes were needed to stop debate and force a vote on the bill.

Details of the vote:

Voting yes (30): Baker, Bloomfield, Bolz, Campbell, Chambers, Coash, Cook, Craighead, Crawford, Ebke, Garrett, K. Haar, Hadley, Hansen, B. Harr, Hilkemann, Howard, Kolowski, Krist, Larson, Lindstrom, McCollister, Mello, Morfeld, Murante, Pansing Brooks, Shilz, Schumacher, Smith, Sullivan

Voting no (15): Brasch, Fox, Friesen, Groene, Hughes, Johnson, Kintner, Kolterman, Kuehn, McCoy, Riepe, Seiler, Stinner, Watermeier, Williams

Present not voting (2): Davis, Scheer

Excused (2): Gloor, Schnoor

The post Medical cannabis bill defeated in Legislature appeared first on Pot My.

The poll was commissioned by Michigan NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana. It was the fourth poll performed by Lansing-based EPIC-MRA on legalizing marijuana in Michigan.

Fifty-three percent of respondents said they would support a ballot proposal if it collected enough petition signatures in the coming months.

Bill Laitner of The Detroit Free Press reported on the specifics of the ballot proposal and what changes it would include:

In short, the ballot proposal would allow Michiganders of 21 years or older to grow, possess and sell marijuana, let state and local governments pass regulations and impose up to 10% tax on non-medical pot with funding earmarked for education, road repairs and local governments. The lengthy proposal would also legalize the statewide cultivation of industrial hemp, a crop that once supplied raw material for everything from textiles to rope, but has been banned during the nation’s war on drugs because the hemp plant is related to marijuana.

According to a press release in November 2015 from EPIC-MRA, this latest poll follows a 2014 survey that gave 50% support to a similar question, and one in 2013 that revealed 47% support for the drug’s legalization.

The post Majority approves legalizing marijuana in Michigan appeared first on Pot My.

“When we said you would have no record if you are cited under Pittsburgh city ordinance, that is no longer entirely true,” said Patrick Nightingale, a Pittsburgh attorney and marijuana reform activist.

Pittsburgh police would instead issue a summary citation punishable by fine of $100 for smoking ot $25 for possession of a small amount of marijuana. This would appear on a criminal record as violating “certain defined conduct,” the amendment states, rather than including words such as “marijuana” or “controlled substance.”

Summaries can be expunged in five years if the defendant is convicted and do not require the defendant to be fingerprinted or to appear at a preliminary hearing, Mr. Nightinghale said, adding, “Practically speaking, I’d say we got about 80 percent of what we wanted.”

Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, the ordinance sponsor, said he’s pleased with its new iteration.

“This is the best that we as a city can actually do”, he said.

The updated version of the ordinance was scheduled to be presented to the council on Monday and it could be approved as soon as next Tuesday, after which the mayor would sign it. Mr. Lavelle said he would like to see the ordinance enforced “hopefully sooner than later” but could not provide a date.

Proponents say the bill formalizes local prosecutors’ practice of reducing misdemeanor marijuana possession to a summary and eliminates the the strain on the local criminal justice system that processing such cases impose, as well as wiping out collateral damage wrought on employment, housing and life opportunities by the relatively minor criminal conviction.

The ordinance originally allowed police to issue a “civil fine” unsearchable in criminal records; rather than a misdemeanor for possession of lest than 30 grams of marijuana or 8 grams of hashish, punishable in Pennsylvanian by a jail sentence of 30 days or a $500 fine.

However, Pittsburgh, unlike Philadelphia, cannot process such civil fines.

The Council approved the earlier version, 7-2, in December.

Theresa Kail-Smith and Darlene Harris, both councilwomen, opposed the proposal, arguing that these changes should be made at the state level. Ms. Harris voting against it said the city lacked the authority to pass the law.

Mr. Peduto approved it.

However, city police had not started enforcing the legislation by the beginning of March, at which point the mayor’s office said the police bureau and the city’s law enforcement department were looking for ways to do so.

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Sponsored by Washington Republican, Delegate Brett Wilson, the bill would roll back the decriminalization of marijuana last year and make it a misdemeanor to consume marijuana in a public place.

Delegate Marc Korman, Montgomery Democrat, said that smoking marijuana in public is already illegal under the decriminalization law, and the bill is harsh punishment.

Prince George’s Democrat, Delegate Joseline Pena-Melnyk, argued that such a law would disproportionate effect on black people and the criminal records it would create would prevent any young blacks from getting higher education and jobs.

However, Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary, Howard Democrat, claimed that she must avoid certain public spaces with her young children to prevent them from breathing in secondhand marijuana smoke.

She said in a passionate floor speech, “What are we saying if we don’t pass this?”.

The bill was approved 102 to 34, after a lengthy floor debate.

The bill was one of dozens of bills passed on “crossover” day, the deadline for each chamber to approve legislation and send it to the other chamber for consideration.

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