Chronicle AM: Forfeiture Reform Moves in MI, Fails in TX; NH Decrim Bill Fails; LA MedMJ Advances, More (6/5/15)

No decrim for New Hampshire, but maybe for Miami; a pair of Colorado congressmen file a federal marijuana-impaired driving bill that would require science-based policies, Louisiana is about to become the first Southern state with medical marijuana dispensaries, and more.

Miami-Dade cops are tired of arresting people for this. (horsma hampuforum/wikimedia.org)

Federal Marijuana Impaired Driving Bill Filed. US Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) this week introduced the Limiting Unsafe Cannabis-Impaired Driving (LUCID) Act. "If passed, the law would include marijuana in the federal definition of impaired driving; it would make access to federal highway funding in states that have legalized recreational or medical marijuana contingent upon those states having laws against marijuana-impaired driving and methods for enforcing them; and it would mandate that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) do the necessary testing and research on marijuana and driving to help states determine the most effective means of enforcement," the representatives said.

New Hampshire Senate Blocks Decriminalization Bill. The state Senate Thursday killed a decriminalization bill, even rejecting a last-minute compromise amendment to House Bill 618. The measure had overwhelmingly passed the House in March. Now, instead of a ticket and a fine, people caught with small amounts of pot in the state still face a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to a year in jail.

Miami-Dade Police Brass Support Local Decriminalization Move. Miami's top cops are getting behind a plan to make small-time marijuana possession an offense that could bring a $100 fine instead of a criminal charge. Under the plan, people possessing up to 20 grams would be hit with a civil citation instead of being arrested and jailed.

Medical Marijuana

Louisiana House Approves Medical Marijuana Bill; Only Senate Clean-Up Vote Remains. The House Thursday approved Senate Bill 143, which would allow for the use of non-smoked marijuana for medical reasons and which would set up a system of 10 dispensaries statewide. The bill has already passed the Senate, but now returns there for a final vote after the house amended the bill. Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has said he will sign the bill.

Asset Forfeiture

Michigan House Passes Asset Forfeiture Reform Package. The House Thursday approved a bipartisan eight-bill package aimed at reining in law enforcement seizures of property without a criminal conviction. One bill would ban police from seizing the vehicle of someone trying to buy less than an ounce of pot, five bills would increase reporting requirements, while two bills would raise evidentiary standards in drug and public nuisance cases, making it easier for someone to get his property back if not charged with a crime. The package now goes to the state Senate.

Texas Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Dies. The legislative session in Austin has ended without a bill to end civil asset forfeiture ever getting a House floor vote. House Bill 3171 was snuffed out by law enforcement opposition and never made it out of the State Affairs Committee.