South Dakota's most well-known marijuana legalization advocate, Bob Newland, was sentenced yesterday to a year in the Pennington County Jail with all but 45 days suspended for felony marijuana possession--a little less than four ounces. Once he does his time, he'll be on probation for a year. Newland can, I suppose, consider himself fortunate. According to the South Dakota Department of Corrections, there are currently six people imprisoned for possession of less than half a pound and seven for more than half but less than one pound, as well as 14 doing time for distribution of less than an ounce and another 25 doing time for distribution of less than a pound.

But in another respect, Newland is not so lucky. He has basically been stripped of his First Amendment right to advocate for marijuana legalization while he is on probation. As the Associated Press reported:

A longtime South Dakota supporter of legalized marijuana has been sentenced to serve 45 days in jail for possessing the illegal drug.

Authorities say Bob Newland of Hermosa was found with four bags of marijuana, a scale and $385 in cash when he was stopped for speeding in March.

He pleaded guilty in May to a possession charge under a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed to drop a more serious charge of possession with intent to distribute.

Newland will be on probation for the rest of the year following his jail term. During his probation, he is barred from publicly advocating the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Newland, understandably, is not inclined to challenge the probation condition. There's something about staring at the walls of a jail cell that does that to a guy. But that doesn't mean others shouldn't raise a stink about this arguably unconstititional sentence.

I'll be looking into this and will have a Chronicle story about it on Friday.

The Oregon House Monday passed SB 676 by a veto-proof margin of 46-11.

As the Rhode Island General Assembly rushed to adjourn last Friday, the Senate approved a resolution introduced that same day to create a nine-member commission to study a broad range of issues aro

Voters in Oakland, California, will decide this month whether to create a new business tax aimed at the city's four medical marijuana dispensaries.

In the first ruling of its kind, the California 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento held Wednesday that medical marijuana patients and growers can sue police for illegally raiding their prop

On the heels of its successful effort to allow medical marijuana dispensaries, the Rhode Island Senate has voted to launch a comprehensive study of marijuana laws in general. They'll seek to answer these questions, among others:

Whether and to what extent Rhode Island youth have access to marijuana despite current laws prohibiting its use;  

Whether adults' use of marijuana has decreased since marijuana became illegal in Rhode Island in 1918;  
 
Whether the current system of marijuana prohibition has created violence in the state of Rhode Island against users or among those who sell marijuana;  
 
Whether the proceeds from the sales of marijuana are funding organized crime, including drug cartels;

The costs associated with the current policies prohibiting marijuana sales and possession, including law enforcement, judicial, public defender, and corrections costs;

Whether there have been cases of corruption related to marijuana law enforcement;

The experience of individuals and families sentenced for violating marijuana laws;

The experience of states and European countries, such as California, Massachusetts and the Netherlands, which have decriminalized the sale and use of marijuana;

Hmm, I think I can tackle this one: Yes, No, Yes, Yes, Enormous, You don't even want to know, Heartbreaking, Impressive.

This is yet another superb effort from RI legislators and it really sets the standard for how public representatives ought to be examining these laws. These are central questions that, if answered honestly, will drive a stake through the heart of marijuana prohibition once and for all.

I wrote about the Will Foster case in the Chronicle last week. Here's a brief summary: Foster had a small medical marijuana garden in Tulsa that was raided in 2005. Two years later, he was sentenced to an insane 93 YEARS in prison. Only after a publicity campaign in which DRCNet played a vital role was he resentenced to merely 20 years, and after being twice denied parole, he was paroled to California.

Although Oklahoma thought Foster should be on parole until 2011, California decided he didn't need any more state supervision and released him from parole after three years. That wasn't punitive enough for Oklahoma. Although Foster had left the Bible Belt state behind with no intention of ever returning, Oklahoma parole officials issued a parole violation warrant for his extradition to serve out the remainder of his sentence. When Foster had to show ID in a police encounter, the warrant popped up, and he was jailed. Desperate, Foster filed a writ of habeas corpus and won! A California judge ruled the warrant invalid, and Foster was a free man again.

But not for long. It's thirst for vengeance still unslaked, the state of Oklahoma issued yet another parole violation warrant for Foster's extradition because he refused to agree to an extension of his parole to 2015--four years past the original Oklahoma parole date. Then he got raided in California, thanks to bad information from an informant with an axe to grind. Foster had a legal medical marijuana grow, but it took a hard-headed Sonoma County prosecutor more than a year to drop charges, and Foster has been jailed the whole time.

Now that the charges have been dropped, Foster still isn't free because Oklahoma still wants him back. Extradition warrants have been signed by the governors of both states, and he was days away from being extradited in shackles when he filed a new habeas writ this week. Filing the writ will stop him from being sent back to Oklahoma, but it also means he's stuck in jail for the foreseeable future. The writ is a legal strategy; his real best hope is to get one of those governors to rescind the extradition order.

You can help. Click on this link to find out how to write the governors. I think a campaign of letters to the editor of Oklahoma papers might help, too. Those letters might ask why Oklahoma wants to continue to spend valuable tax dollars to persecute a harmless man whose only crime was to try to get some relief for his ailments--and who has no intention of ever returning there.

...So, anyway, I went to see Will at the Sonoma County Jail Saturday night. But I didn't get in. The steel-toes in my footwear set off the metal detector, and I quickly found out such apparel was a security risk. Who knew? I'll go back later this week. I guess I'll wear sandals.

In the meantime, there are letters waiting to be written. Keyboard commandos, saddle up!

You Can Make a Difference

Dear friends,

Right now the DC Council is considering wasting time and money on criminalizing a substance called khat.

Khat has effects similar to a cup of coffee. Tell them that criminalizing khat is wasteful and unnecessary!

Email the DC Council

What if you woke up one morning and suddenly your daily cup of coffee was illegal?

It probably sounds like a joke, but don't be too sure.

Even as the rest of the country is beginning to rethink its drug policies, DC is considering a bill that would take the drug war to an even more ridiculous extreme.

Right now, the DC council is considering pouring countless hours and your tax-payer dollars into banning a substance that has effects similar to a cup of coffee.

For thousands of years, East African communities have carried on the custom of chewing or making tea with a plant called khat. There is no good reason for the Council to single out this one community by banning a harmless plant that comes from their home country.

This ban is a mistake, but today you can do something to stop it: Write to the DC Council today and urge them to stop the prohibition of khat.

This ban is up for a discussion on June 30, so your letter now could make all the difference.

In just a few minutes, you can help defend our local communities from needless harassment and discrimination. Thank you for joining us in this fight!

Sincerely,

Naomi Long
Director, DC Metro Project
Drug Policy Alliance Network

The New Hampshire legislature Wednesday approved revised medical marijuana legislation that would allow seriously ill patients to use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation, but not to grow it.

The Prince Georges County, Maryland, Sheriff's Department has finished its investigation into a drug raid last summer in which deputies charged into the home of the mayor of Berwyn Heights and kill

Will Foster became a poster child for the mindless cruelties of the drug war more than a decade ago.

Yesterday, we were approached at our movable art display, voter registration and information kiosk in Washington, DC by a policy advisor for a reputable candidate for governor in the state of Georgia. He wants to create a platform for his candidate that will incorporate realistic ideas for prison and re-entry improvements. If you have any ideas for him, please send them to us and we will pass them along. He particularly wants to hear from people who have had experience with the prison system/re-entry process in Georgia. Please email us at staff@prisonsfoundation.org  

"The Safe Streets Arts Foundation, incorporating both the Prisons Foundation and the Victims Foundation, is proud to sponsor the annual From-Prison-to-The-Stage Show at the Kennedy Center and the Prison Art Gallery at 1600 K Street. NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC, three blocks from the White House."

The Rhode Island legislature Wednesday easily overrode Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri's veto of a bill that will create medical marijuana dispensaries in the state.

From the 1970s until 2000, anyone caught possessing, distributing, or producing heroin in Louisiana was eligible for a prison sentence of life without parole.

Talk about marijuana legalization is at a level never seen before this year, and nowhere is that more strongly the case than in California.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JUNE 18, 2009

Committee Approves Revised Medical Marijuana Bill

Legislators Worked to Address Governor Lynch's Concerns, Eliminate Possibilities for Diversion

CONTACT: Matt Simon, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, (603) 391-7450

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — All seven legislators who were tasked with crafting a compromise on the medical marijuana bill signed off on the revised version today. A vote to approve the new language is expected June 24 in the House and Senate, after which the bill will proceed to Gov. John Lynch's desk.

     This special seven-member "committee of conference," chaired by House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee Chairwoman Rep. Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua), was formed to address eight specific concerns that were expressed by Lynch. The bill had passed both Houses in slightly different forms and was scheduled for final approval in the House when Lynch's office reportedly informed Rosenwald that the bill would be vetoed if passed in its original form.

     Since then, the bill has been rewritten to address all eight concerns. Most significantly, the new bill will not permit patients or their caregivers to cultivate their own marijuana plants, as patients are permitted to do in all 13 states that currently protect medical marijuana patients from arrest. Instead, the amended bill would allow for the creation of up to three nonprofit "compassion centers," which could legally cultivate medical marijuana and dispense it to patients.

     Rather than creating a new model from scratch, the committee of conference produced a bill similar to legislation that passed in Rhode Island Tuesday. That state's bill, which adds compassion centers to its already existing medical marijuana program, will become law now that legislators overrode Gov. Donald Carcieri's veto, 67-0 in the Rhode Island House and 35-3 in the Senate. New Hampshire’s bill is much more restrictive than Rhode Island's law, which also allows patients and their caregivers to cultivate medical marijuana.

     Advocates were confident that the amendment would remove all reasonable objections to HB 648.

     "As amended, HB 648 would create the most tightly crafted medical marijuana law in the country," said Matt Simon, executive director for the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. "Some legislators voted against the bill initially because they felt that distribution of medical marijuana should be tightly controlled. If these legislators truly believe patients should not have to live in fear of being arrested by New Hampshire police, they should be willing to support this version of the bill."

     In the coming week, advocates will present legislators with a document – available online at www.mpp.org/states/new-hampshire/hb-648-has-been-amended-to.html – detailing the committee's changes and specifies how all eight of the governor's concerns have been addressed.

###

It's official:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The House and Senate on Tuesday each overrode Governor Carcieri's veto of legislation allowing three "compassion centers" to dispense medical marijuana.

The Senate vote was 35 to 3. The House vote was unanimous, 67 to 0.
For the bill to become law, both houses were required to overide the veto of their own and the other house's bill. The measure is now in effect.

It's just inspiring to see an entire state legislature stand up in unison to protect patients. Carcieri's veto was driven by the same petty, false, and widely-refuted propaganda that's been deployed in desperation against medical marijuana legislation for more than a decade now:

In vetoing the bills, Carcieri said he thought "the increased availability, along with a complacent attitude, will no doubt result in increased usage, and will negatively impact the children of Rhode Island" and complicate the jobs of law enforcement officers.

Think about how remarkable it is that virtually the entire House and Senate of Rhode Island have come forth and firmly rejected this garbage. There was a time when reformers were all alone on this issue, yet today it is our opposition that stands isolated and estranged from public opinion.

The folks at the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition deserve a big round of applause for taking on this battle and winning by knockout.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 16, 2009

Rhode Island to License Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Move Hailed as Historic
Legislature Overrides Veto; Rhode Island Is First State to Expand an Existing Medical Marijuana Law to Permit Dispensaries

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND -- In a historic first, Rhode Island legislators today made their state the first ever to expand an existing medical marijuana law to allow for state-licensed compassion centers to grow and distribute marijuana to registered patients. Legislators easily overrode the veto issued by Gov. Donald Carcieri with override votes of 68-0 in the House and 35-3 in the Senate.

     Rhode Island's medical marijuana law, like most such state laws, did not set up a formal distribution system, but simply allowed patients to grow a limited quantity of medical marijuana for their own use or designate a caregiver to grow it for them. In March, New Mexico became the first state to grant a state license to a medical marijuana producer, pursuant to legislation passed last year.

     "We are seeing a historic shift to allowing state-licensed, regulated medical marijuana production and distribution," said Karen O'Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "Combining regulated distribution with provisions for patients to grow a limited quantity for themselves is the best way to assure safe access for patients, with solid safeguards to prevent abuse." States where medical marijuana bills that include a dispensary provision are under consideration include Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and a similar ballot initiative is now being circulated in Arizona. This November, Maine voters will vote on a ballot initiative to add dispensaries to the state's medical marijuana law.

     "During the Bush administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided medical marijuana patients and caregivers in California, leaving states hesitant to set up state-regulated distribution," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "Now that the Obama administration has announced a policy change, state legislators seem to feel safer adopting a sensible, regulated system of medical marijuana distribution that avoids the mistakes of California, where dispensaries sprang up with no rules. This is a historic step forward."

     With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

####

Dear Friends:

Great news! Rhode Island just passed a new medical marijuana law.

In landslide votes of 68-0 and 35-3, the Rhode Island General Assembly today overrode Gov. Donald Carcieri's (R) veto of legislation to allow the licensed, regulated sale of marijuana to seriously ill patients. Rhode Island will now become only the second state (after New Mexico) to license and regulate medical marijuana dispensing.

This expands the law that MPP passed in 2006, which protects medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail. Under that law, patients were allowed to grow their own marijuana or designate a caregiver to do it for them, but many patients didn't have regular access, and some were even assaulted trying to buy marijuana in the streets. Thanks to the new law, patients will now be able to obtain medical marijuana safely and legally from three state-regulated and licensed compassion centers.

MPP gives a special thanks to the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, an MPP grant recipient, for incredible organizing work.

If you support this work, would you please consider automatically donating $5 or more on your credit card each month to help us pass similar bills into law?

We're also making great progress in Delaware, Illinois, New Hampshire, and New York:

• On June 3, the Delaware Senate Health Committee voted 4-0 to pass the first modern medical marijuana bill ever introduced in Delaware. The bill is based on MPP's model legislation, and MPP's Noah Mamber testified in support of the bill. This is the first year MPP has funded medical marijuana work in Delaware, and we're making rapid progress.
• On May 27, the Illinois Senate passed a medical marijuana bill by 30-28. MPP has been lobbying and organizing in the state since 2004, and this year, we ramped up the pressure — running TV ads featuring two patients and generating more than 4,000 e-mails and 3,600 calls to legislators. After the Senate victory, a House committee swiftly approved the bill, but the legislature recessed only three days later. We have until the end of 2010 to pass the bill this session.
• In New Hampshire, MPP has retained a top lobbying firm and grassroots organizer to pass a medical marijuana bill, and it looks like the legislature will send Gov. John Lynch (D) the legislation to sign later this month. Back in March, the House passed the bill, 234-138, and on April 29, the Senate passed an amended version, 14-10. This is the first time either chamber has approved medical marijuana legislation, and we need your help for a final push, complete with radio ads, to urge Gov. Lynch (D) to let the bill become law.
• Our chances of passing medical marijuana legislation in New York this year got more complicated last week, when the state Senate tumbled into a major leadership battle. The Assembly has passed similar legislation twice (in 2007 and 2008), but it still needs to be voted on by the Senate, where it has already passed one committee. We've built an impressive coalition: Virtually the entire state medical community, including the state medical society, nurses' association, and hospice association, support medical marijuana access. And 76% of New Yorkers support the bill, including 55% of Conservative Party members (the state party to the right of Republicans).

This is amazing progress for just a few months. Our state lobbying efforts are costing quite a bit of money, but it's all paying off. Would you please donate today so we can continue pushing hard in these states?

Make a one-time donation to our work

Become a monthly pledger to provide us with ongoing funding for our work

Together, we're on the path to victory, but we need your help to keep going.

Thank you,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

You Can Make a Difference

Dear DC Friends,

Urge the City Council to pass a resolution now to assert our rights to make our own laws without congressional interference -- including protecting medical marijuana!

Email the Council.

Should the federal government have the right to say what laws we can pass here in DC?

You and I have been working together to help our city gain control over its own drug policy, and we're making progress!

Still, the District of Columbia can't fully make its own rules when it comes to things like medical marijuana or khat, a plant used as a mild stimulant, similar to coffee, among some of our African communities here.

This doesn't seem like democracy to me. But you can fight for DC sovereignty by urging the City Council to pass a new resolution asserting the District’s right to make its own laws without congressional interference.

If the council passes the resolution now, we can have a stronger impact on the part of the federal budget that concerns our city and our rights, and the budget will be finalized soon.

You can join me in working with partners like the Marijuana Policy Project. Take action today and urge your Council to pass this resolution before the summer recess. You deserve a free and just city, and together, we can build it!

Thanks for all you do.

Sincerely,

Naomi Long
Director, DC Metro Project
Drug Policy Alliance Network