State & Local Legislatures

What? Nothing happened in California? It's a rare week, but the quiet in the Golden State is being made up for by action in state legislatures around the land. And more. Let's get to it:

Arizona

On Monday, a Senate panel voted to let police destroy seized medical marijuana. The Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 1414 on a 5-3 party-line vote. Under the law as interpreted by the Court of Appeals, police are required to give it back, but Sen. Kimberly Yee (R-Phoenix) said she believes that puts police in the position of violating the federal Controlled Substances Act, which continues to make marijuana illegal. Her legislation would let officers destroy the drugs once any investigation was completed, even if the person was entitled to have them in the first place. The vote came after the American Civil Liberties Union warned lawmakers they were courting legal action. The 2010 initiative specifically says that marijuana held by those who are entitled either to sell it as dispensary operators or possess it as patients "is not subject to seizure or forfeiture.'' The bill now goes to the full Senate.

Colorado

On Tuesday, the House passed House Bill 1061, the "Responsible Medical Marijuana Vendors" bill, which would create a training program of sorts for medical-marijuana workers. Companies that want to run training schools for employees would apply to the state Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division for certification. If all of a dispensary’s employees complete a training course with a certified school, the state would then grant that dispensary a "responsible vendor designation." The bill now goes to the Senate, which passed a nearly identical measure last year before it died in the House.

Maine

On Tuesday, a medical marijuana patient sued a staffing firm she said refused to hire her because she is a medical marijuana patient. Brittany Thomas filed the suit against Adecco Group North America, where she had been employed before being laid off. When more work became available, she told Adecco she would fail the drug test because she was a medical marijuana patient. She tested positive and was told she could no longer work for the company. She is seeking reinstatement and payment of back wages. She is being represented by the ACLU of Maine and a local law firm.

Massachusetts

On Tuesday, the Lowell city council delayed a vote on a zoning ordinance aimed at restricting where dispensaries can operate. Instead, the council Tuesday night sent the proposed ordinance back to the zoning subcommittee for further discussion. One reason mentioned for the delay was because the state's Department of Public Health is yet to promulgate regulations for the operation of the dispensaries. The proposed ordinance would allow dispensaries only in light industrial and high-rise commercial zoned districts and would mandate that they be at least 1,000 feet from a school or public library.

On Wednesday, the Department of Public Health held a "listening session" in Worcester about regulations for the state's new medical marijuana law. The sessions are designed to provide public input into the regulatory process. We have no information at press time on how the hearing went. Another is set for Thursday in Roxbury.

Montana

On Wednesday, the Human Services Committee heard testimony on four bills aimed at restoring the state's gutted medical marijuana program. The bills, House Bills 340 through 343, would eliminate board of examiners' review requirements, allow caregivers to be compensated, remove limits on the number of patients caregivers can serve, and eliminate some record-keeping and unannounced inspections. No word yet on how the hearing went.

New Hampshire

On Tuesday, a poll found that 80% of adults in the state support medical marijuana. The Granite State Poll was conducted at the end of January and the first days of February, and comes as the legislature prepares to deliberate on House Bill 573, a medical marijuana bill. The bill will have a hearing in the House Committee on Health, Human Services, and Elderly Appairs on Thursday, February 21.

New Jersey

Last Thursday, a bill to ensure that medical marijuana patients get access to organ transplants was introduced. The bill, AB 576, is sponsored by Majority Whip Peter Barnes, who said he introduced it after a medical marijuana patient was denied a liver transplant and died the following year.

North Carolina

On Tuesday, more than 200 people rallied in Raleigh in support of medical marijuana bills. Addressing the group in support of the Enact Medical Cannabis Act was Democratic Party chair Randy Voller. Past bills have been killed by Republican committee chairs, but GOP House speaker Thom Tillis said he wouldn't rule out a well-crafted bill that allowed cancer patients and others with serious illnesses from having access to marijuana as long as strong safeguards were in place to prevent widespread use.

Oregon

Last Thursday, a bill to make PTSD a syndrome treatable by medical marijuana had a hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The bill, Senate Bill 281, would add PTSD, to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana use in Oregon. The committee heard doctors testify that marijuana has been shown to soothe anxiety, help with sleep, and calm suicidal urges. The bill now heads to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A bill that would have lowered the maximum penalty for possession of two ounces of marijuana or less was killed Tuesday in a Senate committee. It died on a 5-2 vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee after law enforcement representatives testified against it.

In the language customarily used in Pierre, it was "deferred to the 41st legislative day." The South Dakota session has only 40 days.

The bill, Senate Bill 221, would have moved marijuana possession from a Class 1 to a Class 2 misdemeanor. That would have lowered the maximum penalty from a year in jail to 30 days in jail.

Both proponents and opponents of the measure agreed that the vast majority of people charged with pot possession serve little or no jail time, with most receiving only fines. Those fines can be significant, though. In east-central Beadle County, for instance, pot possession offenders are typically hit with a fine of $435, with some jail time thrown in for repeat offenders.

Attorney General Marty Jackley (R), the State's Attorney's Association's Paul Bachand, and lobbyists for sheriffs and police chiefs all opposed the bill, saying it would "send the wrong message" about a substance they consider a "gateway drug."

Earlier in the session, legislators defeated a medical marijuana bill (again). The state also criminalizes having gotten high, even if having done so elsewhere. Its "internal possession" law is unique in the country. South Dakota remains one of the most pot-unfriendly places in the country, something that summer vacationers and fans of the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally would do well to keep in mind.

Pennsylvania will likely be the next state to see a marijuana legalization bill introduced this year, as state Sen. Daylin Leach (D-King of Prussia) announced at a Monday press conference that he would be filing one shortly.

After voters in Colorado and Washington approved marijuana legalization last November, the push is now on at the statehouse. Legalization bills have already been filed in Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, and bills are also expected shortly in Maine and Vermont.

The bill will propose a system of taxation and regulation of marijuana commerce.

"This past November, the people of Washington State and Colorado voted to fully legalize marijuana," said Leach. "It is time for Pennsylvania to be a leader in jettisoning this modern-day prohibition, and ending a policy that has been destructive, costly and anti-scientific."

Supporting the bill were drug reform groups and public health professionals.

"Our nation can acknowledge the dangers of cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana while still permitting their use," said Dr. David Nathan, MD, clinical associate professor at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "The only logically and morally consistent argument for marijuana prohibition necessitates the criminalization of all harmful recreational drugs, including alcohol, nicotine and caffeine. We can agree that such an infringement on personal freedoms is as impractical as it is un-American. The time has come to accept that our nation's attitude toward marijuana has been misguided for generations and that the only rational approach to cannabis is to legalize, regulate and tax it."

"Cops see the ineffectiveness and harms of marijuana prohibition up close, every day," said Neill Franklin, a retired Baltimore narcotics cop and the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. "Keeping marijuana illegal doesn't significantly reduce use, but it does give tax-free profits to violent gangs and cartels that control the black market. Now, thanks to Sen. Leach's proposal, Pennsylvania has a chance to join Colorado and Washington in letting police focus on the job we signed up to do -- keeping the public safe -- instead of being distracted by chasing down marijuana users."

"NORML applauds Sen. Leach for taking this important step forward to end the failed policy of marijuana prohibition in his state. Pennsylvania has long been considered a bellwether state that sets the precedent for politics across the country, as such it is both exciting and encouraging to see the Keystone State take up this crucial dialogue," said Erik Altieri, Communications Director for NORML, "Marijuana prohibition costs the state of Pennsylvania over $300 million a year in enforcement costs and tens of millions a year in lost potential tax revenue, while doing little to keep the substance out of the hands of children or lower use rates. It is time for a new policy that works for the state and its people. We encourage all of Sen. Leach’s colleagues in Harrisburg to join him in this call for rational marijuana laws."

It could be an uphill battle. Leach spent the last two sessions trying to get medical marijuana bills passed, to no avail, and that was with strong public support for medical marijuana. A recent Franklin and Marshall College poll had support for medical marijuana at 82%, but support for legalization at only 36%. That's up 14 points from 2006, but still well below majority support.

State Rep. Edith Ajello (D-Providence), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, announced Wednesday she had introduced a bill to make marijuana legal for adults 21 and over and to establish a system of taxation and regulation for marijuana commerce.

"It is time for Rhode Island to put the failed policy of marijuana prohibition behind us and adopt a more sensible approach just as our nation did with alcohol 80 years ago," Ajello said. "By keeping marijuana sales in the underground market, we are ensuring they will be uncontrolled and that those selling it are not asking for proof of age. Regulating marijuana like alcohol will take marijuana sales off the street and put them in the hands of legitimate businesses that would face real disincentives for selling to minors. These new businesses will also create jobs and generate much-needed new tax revenue."

Her bill, House Bill 5274, the Marijuana Regulation, Control and Taxation Act, would:

• remove criminal penalties for the private possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and for the            home-growing of up to three mature marijuana plants in an enclosed, locked space;
• establish a tightly regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, and testing facilities;
• enact an excise tax of up to $50 per ounce on the wholesale sale of marijuana applied at the point of transfer from the cultivation facility to a retail store (sales tax will also be applied at the point of retail sales); and
• require the Department of Business Regulation to establish rules regulating security, labeling, health and safety requirements, as well as rules requiring advertising of marijuana to be no less restrictive than advertising of tobacco.

The bill has the support of both local and national marijuana reform groups. 

"As a public health researcher, I know that regulation works," said Michelle McKenzie, a spokesperson for the statewide Coalition for Marijuana Regulation. "Over the past 20 years, we have reduced levels of teen cigarette use by nearly 50%, and we have done it through enacting strict regulations and providing comprehensive, evidence-based public education. We can do the same thing when it comes to marijuana. I am confident that regulating marijuana will make Rhode Island a safer and healthier place to live."

"State and federal lawmakers from around the nation are bringing forward proposals to regulate marijuana like alcohol, and they are being met with more public support than ever before," said Mason Tvert, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project. "Most Americans are fed up with laws that punish adults simply for using a product that is objectively less harmful than alcohol. The bill introduced today in Rhode Island presents a smarter, more responsible approach to marijuana."

The bill has been referred to the House Finance Committee.

Rhode Island is the fourth state to see marijuana legalization legislation filed this year. The others are Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Similar bills are expected to be filed in Maine, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.