Are dispensaries losing their bank accounts?
|
|
|
Latest
In The Trenches
Latest News
Latest News
In The Trenches
Press Release: Historic Marijuana Reform Measure Qualifies for Californiaâs November 2010 Ballot
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
MARCH 24, 2010
Historic Marijuana Reform Measure Qualifies for Californiaâs November 2010 Ballot
Voters Will Decide If California Becomes First State in the Nation to End Marijuana Prohibition
CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 707-291-0076 or [email protected]
SACRAMENTO, CA â Today, a proposal that would tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in the state of California secured a place on the November 2010 ballot. Organizers of the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 had submitted nearly 700,000 signatures to state authorities in January, far exceeding the 433,971 required to place the question on this yearâs election ballot. Election officials validated the signatures today.
        The ballot initiative would make it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and allow cities and counties to impose a tax on the sale of marijuana. Â
        âIf passed, this initiative would offer a welcome change to Californiaâs miserable status quo marijuana policy,â said Aaron Smith, California policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project, which recently endorsed the initiative. âOur current marijuana laws are failing California. Year after year, prohibition forces police to spend time chasing down non-violent marijuana offenders while tens of thousands of violent crimes go unsolved â all while marijuana use and availability remain unchanged.â
        An April 2009 Field Poll showed that 56% of California support taxing and regulating marijuana. A 2009 report published by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice showed that arrests for every criminal offense decreased between 1990 and 2008 in California except for simple marijuana possession, which skyrocketed by 127%. In 2008, more than 78,000 Californians were arrested on marijuana charges â more than for any other offense. During the same year, the FBI reported that almost 60,000 violent crimes went unsolved.
        With more than 124,000 members and supporters 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 www.mpp.org.
####
Blog
The Real Reason Football Players Aren't Supposed to Use Marijuana
This Sports Illustrated piece on the growing prevalence of marijuana use among NFL prospects is such a carnival of mind-bending idiocy that I wonder if I'll ever enjoy the sport quite as much after having read it. The whole thing is just a series of anonymous quotes from NFL coaches and executives acting like marijuana is some sort of mysterious plague gripping professional sports. Yet for all the deep concern about it, you won't find any attempt at explaining why anyone even gives a sh*t about this to begin with.
So what if an athlete has a secret history of getting super baked. Does he have a secret history of sucking at football? That would be worth looking into. But the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the real story behind all this nonsense is actually rather simple and far too embarrassing to acknowledge.
I seriously doubt any of this has anything to do with concerns about the impact of marijuana use on an athlete's performance. The sport of football has a rich history of dominant players known for indulging in cannabis and it would be laugh-out-loud moronic to suggest that the stuff was gonna screw up anybody's stats. Nobody even bothers to argue that, because it's dumb and everyone knows it's dumb.
The real issue is that you have to worry about these guys failing drug tests or getting arrested and then having to deal with seismic media attention and pissed off corporate sponsors. It's all about money, but you can't say that without revealing the mindlessness of marijuana policy in general, which the NFL isn't about to weigh into. Instead, we're stuck with marijuana-in-sports coverage that remains ubiquitous, yet utterly devoid of substance.
Meanwhile, as SAFER points out, the NFL is married to the alcohol industry and couldn't possibly do more to shove beer in everyone's face at every conceivable opportunity. It is unquestionably the best example that exists of an organization which simultaneously glorifies and promotes alcohol, while treating marijuana use as an intolerable vice.
I dare anyone to consume on a frequent basis all the nutritious food and beverages the NFL wishes to sell to you, and once you're sufficiently fat and drunk, you can then make it your business to lecture Rookie of the Year Percy Harvin about whether treating his migraine headaches with marijuana is a responsible choice.
So what if an athlete has a secret history of getting super baked. Does he have a secret history of sucking at football? That would be worth looking into. But the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the real story behind all this nonsense is actually rather simple and far too embarrassing to acknowledge.
I seriously doubt any of this has anything to do with concerns about the impact of marijuana use on an athlete's performance. The sport of football has a rich history of dominant players known for indulging in cannabis and it would be laugh-out-loud moronic to suggest that the stuff was gonna screw up anybody's stats. Nobody even bothers to argue that, because it's dumb and everyone knows it's dumb.
The real issue is that you have to worry about these guys failing drug tests or getting arrested and then having to deal with seismic media attention and pissed off corporate sponsors. It's all about money, but you can't say that without revealing the mindlessness of marijuana policy in general, which the NFL isn't about to weigh into. Instead, we're stuck with marijuana-in-sports coverage that remains ubiquitous, yet utterly devoid of substance.
Meanwhile, as SAFER points out, the NFL is married to the alcohol industry and couldn't possibly do more to shove beer in everyone's face at every conceivable opportunity. It is unquestionably the best example that exists of an organization which simultaneously glorifies and promotes alcohol, while treating marijuana use as an intolerable vice.
I dare anyone to consume on a frequent basis all the nutritious food and beverages the NFL wishes to sell to you, and once you're sufficiently fat and drunk, you can then make it your business to lecture Rookie of the Year Percy Harvin about whether treating his migraine headaches with marijuana is a responsible choice.
Blog
It's Official! California Marijuana Legalization Initiative Qualifies for the November Ballot
Californians will be voting on whether to legalize marijuana in November. The California Secretary of State's office Wednesday certified the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 initiative as having handed in enough valid voters' signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
The initiative is sponsored by Oaksterdam medical marijuana entrepreneur Richard Lee and would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults and allow for personal grows of up to 25 square feet. It also provides for the taxed and regulated sale of marijuana by local option, meaning counties and municipalities could opt out of legalized marijuana sales.
Some 433,000 valid signatures were required to make the ballot; the initiative campaign had gathered some 690,000. On Tuesday, state officials had certified 415,000 signatures as valid, but that didn't include signatures from Los Angeles County. Initiative supporters there Wednesday handed in more than 140,000 signatures. With an overall signature validity rate of around 80%, that as much as ensured that the measure would make the ballot.
Late Wednesday afternoon, California Secretary of State's office made it official. Its web page listing Qualified Ballot Measures now includes the marijuana legalization under initiative approved for the November ballot. The 104,000 valid signatures from Los Angeles County put it well over the top.
"This is a watershed moment in the decades-long struggle to end marijuana prohibition in this country," said Stephen Gutwillig, California director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Banning marijuana outright has been a disaster, fueling a massive, increasingly brutal underground economy, wasting billions in scarce law enforcement resources, and making criminals of countless law-abiding citizens. Elected officials havenât stopped these punitive, profligate policies. Now voters can bring the reality check of sensible marijuana regulation to California."
"If passed, this initiative would offer a welcome change to Californiaâs miserable status quo marijuana policy," said Aaron Smith, California policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project, which recently endorsed the initiative. "Our current marijuana laws are failing California. Year after year, prohibition forces police to spend time chasing down non-violent marijuana offenders while tens of thousands of violent crimes go unsolved â all while marijuana use and availability remain unchanged."
Proponents of the measure will emphasize the fiscal impact of taxing marijuanaâthe state Board of Equalization has estimated that it legalization could generate $1.3 billion in tax revenues a yearâas well as the impact of regulation could have on reducing teen access to the weed. They can also point out that by now, California has lived with a form of regulated marijuana distributionâthe medical marijuana dispensary systemâfor years and the sky hasn't fallen.
Opponents, which will largely consist of law enforcement lobbying groups, community anti-drug organizations, and elements of the African-American religious community, will argue that marijuana is a dangerous drug, and that crime and drugged driving will increase.
But if opponents want to play the cop card, initiative organizers have some cards of their own. In a press release Wednesday evening, they had several former law enforcement figures lined up in support of taxation and regulation. "As a retired Orange County Judge, I've been on the front lines of the drug war for three decades, and I know from experience that the current approach is simply not working," said Retired Superior Court Judge James Gray. "Controlling marijuana with regulations similar to those currently in place for alcohol will put street drug dealers and organized crime out of business."
"The Control and Tax Initiative is a welcome change for law enforcement in California," said Kyle Kazan, a retired Torrance Police officer. "It will allow police to get back to work fighting violent crime."
Jeffrey Studdard, a former Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff, emphasized the significant controls created by the Control and Tax Initiative to safely and responsibly regulate cannabis. "The initiative will toughen penalties for providing marijuana to minors, ban possession at schools, and prohibit public consumption," Studdard said.
The campaign should be a nail-biter. Legalization polled 56% in an April Field poll, and initiative organizers say their own private research is showing similar results. But the conventional wisdom among initiative watchers is that polling needs to be above 60% at the beginning of the campaign, before attacks on specific aspects of any given initiative begin to erode support. But despite the misgivings of some movement allies, who cringe at the thought of defeat in California, this year's legalization vote is now a reality.
"California led the way on medical marijuana with Prop 215 in 1996,â said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Now itâs time again for California to lead the way in ending the follies of marijuana prohibition in favor of a responsible policy of tax and regulation."
In The Trenches
This Week: Statewide Events and Update
First, a big "thank you" to everyone who contacted their legislators concerning HB 1284-- the dispensary regulation bill. Your efforts made a big difference (See legislative update below)
Upcoming Events
DURANGO:Â Two free events this week featuring attorneys from Sensible Colorado!
(1) This Thursday (3/25), Know Your Rights training at Ft. Lewis College starting at 6:30pm. Room TBA. For more details contact: [email protected]
(2) This Friday (3/26), Medical Marijuana Legal Seminar from 1-4pm at the Durango Public Library.Â
DENVER: Sensible Colorado will be tabling and giving a presentation at the Colorado Cannabis Convention on April 2-3 in Denver. See details here.Â
Statewide Legislative Update
On Monday, March 22, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee passed HB 1284, which will now continue to wind its way through the state house. Thanks to pressure from Sensible Colorado and other activists, HB 1284 is in better shape and does not include a number of onerous provision including local dispensary bans and limits on where patients can live (i.e. near schools). An updated version of this bill is available here.Â
However, our fight is not over. This bill still has a number of provisions which hinder safe access for patients, and we will continue to monitor and influence this bill moving forward. Please consider supporting our important work by becoming a monthly donor today.
Finally, despite hearing from many concerned citizens, the provision which would have allowed veterans and other victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to access medical marijuana, lost by one vote. You can read an overview of this vote, with a quote from Sensible's Brian Vicente blasting the Health Department's opposition to this amendment here.In The Trenches
Press Release: California Ballot Measure to Tax and Regulate Marijuana Expected to Qualify for Ballot Today
MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                                                                               MARCH 24, 2010California Ballot Measure to Tax and Regulate Marijuana Expected to Qualify for Ballot TodayMPP Spokespeople Will Be Available to the Media to Discuss Initiative CONTACT: Mike Meno, assistant director of communications â¦â¦â¦â¦â¦ 202-905-2030 or [email protected]
SACRAMENTO, CA â Today, a proposal that would tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in the state of California is expected to secure a place on the November 2010 ballot.         The Marijuana Policy Project, which has endorsed the initiative, has spokespeople available in California and Washington, D.C. to discuss this historic breakthrough in the campaign to end marijuana prohibition. In California: Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director, 707-291-0076. In Washington: Steve Fox, MPP director of state campaigns, 202-905-2042.        Organizers of the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 had submitted nearly 700,000 signatures to state authorities in January, far exceeding the 433,971 required to place the question on this yearâs election ballot. Election officials are expected to validate the signatures today. The ballot initiative would make it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and allow cities and counties to impose a tax on the sale of marijuana.      Â
        With more than 124,000 members and supporters 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 www.mpp.org.####In The Trenches
Last chance to vote
Dear friends:
This is your last chance to vote for a new member of MPPâs board of directors. You can qualify yourself and vote here.Â
(We hold this election every three years, when an elected board memberâs term ends.)
Anyone who has donated to MPP or the MPP Medical Marijuana Political Action Committee in the last 365 days is eligible to vote. (Donations to MPP Foundation do not count for the purpose of determining eligibility for the MPP board vote.)Â Voting ends on Wednesday, March 31, 2010.
I invite you to participate in the governance of MPP by voting today. Together we will end marijuana prohibition.
Sincerely,
Director of Membership
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
Blog
California releasing prisoners
The NYT has an article titled California, in Financial Crisis, Opens Prison Doors.
Latest News
Latest News
Blog
Researchers Prove Definitively That the Drug War Sucks
In a sane world, this ought to be all the evidence you'd need to conclude that the drug war is just a complete unmitigated disaster:
So all we've ever accomplished here is getting a bunch of people killed for nothing? Yeah, that about sums it up. The question then is how much longer we'll continue causing constant and horrific violence while pretending to do the precise opposite.
Researchers at the Urban Health Research Initiative (UHRI), a program of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), conducted a systematic review of all available English-language scientific literature to examine the impacts of drug-law enforcement on drug-market violence.
The systematic review identified 15 international studies examining the impact of drug-law enforcement on violence. Contrary to the prevailing belief that drug-law enforcement reduces violence, 87% of the studies (13 studies) observed that drug law enforcement was associated with increasing levels of drug-market violence. [MarketWire]
So all we've ever accomplished here is getting a bunch of people killed for nothing? Yeah, that about sums it up. The question then is how much longer we'll continue causing constant and horrific violence while pretending to do the precise opposite.
Blog
The "Fake Marijuana" Situation is Getting Confusing
As efforts to ban fake marijuana products continue to escalate, I predict we'll be seeing a lot of this sort of thing:
My understanding is that JWH-018 is the active ingredient in question here, but is that the end of the story? Maybe there are 9 other similar compounds that will work as well. Maybe there are 100. I'm not a scientist, but I'm starting to get the impression that the whole synthetic marijuana substitution phenomenon is just getting started. Banning a single ingredient will not only fail for all the reasons that prohibition always fails, but it might not even succeed in making fake pot illegal. Don't be surprised to see the DEA intervene at some point wielding the broad Federal Analogue Act, but you can't possibly ban every random concoction someone might stuff in a bong.
Science is smarter than prohibition, so the longer we have stupid rules about what people are and are not allowed to ingest for their own amusement, the more loopholes will emerge to circumvent and trivialize those rules.
My understanding is that JWH-018 is the active ingredient in question here, but is that the end of the story? Maybe there are 9 other similar compounds that will work as well. Maybe there are 100. I'm not a scientist, but I'm starting to get the impression that the whole synthetic marijuana substitution phenomenon is just getting started. Banning a single ingredient will not only fail for all the reasons that prohibition always fails, but it might not even succeed in making fake pot illegal. Don't be surprised to see the DEA intervene at some point wielding the broad Federal Analogue Act, but you can't possibly ban every random concoction someone might stuff in a bong.
Science is smarter than prohibition, so the longer we have stupid rules about what people are and are not allowed to ingest for their own amusement, the more loopholes will emerge to circumvent and trivialize those rules.
Blog
New Jersey MS Patient Sent to Prison for Five Years for Growing His Medicine
New Jersey Multiple Sclerosis patient John Ray Wilson was sentenced last Friday to five years in prison for growing marijuana plants to ease his symptoms. Wilson, whose case we profiled in December, originally faced up to 20 years in prison, but a jury failed to convict him of the most serious, maintaining a habitation where marijuana is manufactured. He was convicted of manufacturing marijuana (17 plants) and possession of psychedelic mushrooms.
Wilson was convicted in December, before New Jersey recognized medical marijuana. Ironically, it became the 14th state to do so between the time Wilson was convicted and his sentencing. But the new New Jersey law would not have protected Wilson's marijuana growing because it only allows for patients to obtain it at state-monitored dispensaries.
State Superior Court Judge Robert Reed banned any references to Wilson's medical condition during his trial, finding that personal use was not a defense and that New Jersey had no law protecting medical marijuana use. Wilson was ultimately able to make a brief, one-sentence mention of his medical reasons for growing marijuana, but that wasn't enough to sway the jury.
Wilson's attorney, James Wronko, told the Associated Press that the outcome might have been different had the jury been allowed to hear more about his illness. "We're disappointed that he's in state prison for smoking marijuana to treat his multiple sclerosis," Wronko . "I think anytime someone using marijuana for their own medical use goes to state prison, it's clearly a harsh sentence."
Wilson's case became a cause célèbre for regional medical marijuana advocates, and also drew attention from the state legislature. Two state senators, Nicholas Scutari, sponsor of the medical marijuana bill, and Ray Lesniak, called in October for Gov. Jon Corzine (D) to pardon Wilson. But Corzine punted, saying he preferred to wait until after Wilson's trial had finished. Now, Wilson has been sentenced to prison, Corzine's term has ended, and new Republican Gov. Chris Christie is not nearly as medical marijuana-friendly.
Wronko said an appeal of the sentence was in the works.
Blog
Were You Strip-Searched After a Minor Bust in New York City Between 1999 and 2007? There Could Be $$$$ Waiting for You
As the Chronicle story below reports, New York City is about to pay yet again for unlawfully strip-searching minor offenders, including people busted for public pot possession. If this includes you, it just might behoove you to contact the law firm handling the lawsuit in question, Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff, and Abady.
Here's the story:
Law Enforcement: New York City to Pay Out $33 Million for Unlawful Strip Searches
For the third time in the past ten years, New York City has been forced to pay big bucks for subjecting non-violent prisonersâincluding minor marijuana offendersâto illegal strip searches. In a settlement announced Monday, the city announced it had agreed to pay $33 million to settle the most recent lawsuit stemming from the illegal strip searches.
The settlement applies to roughly 100,000 people who were strip-searched after being charged with misdemeanors and taken to Rikers Island or other city jails. These were people who were arrested and strip-searched between 1999 and 2007.
In 2001, under the Giulani administration, the city settled a similar lawsuit on behalf of 40,000 people strip-searched prior to arraignment for $40 million. In 2005, the city agreed to pay millions of dollars more to settle a lawsuit on behalf of thousands of people illegally strip-searched at Rikers and other city jails between 1999 and 2002.
The most recent settlement came from a lawsuit filed in 2005 by a local law firm. In 2007, the city acknowledged wrongdoing and agreed to hire monitors to ensure that the practice was stopped. But the settlement includes at least 19 people who had been illegally strip-searched after 2007.
Richard Emery, law lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the New York Times it had been settled law since 1986 that it was unconstitutional to require people accused of minor crimes to submit to strip searches. "The city knew this was illegal in 1986, they said it was illegal and they stopped in 2002, and they continued to pursue this illegal practice without justification," he said. "We hope the settlement constitutes some semblance of justice."
It is expected that about 15% of those illegally strip searched, or 15,000 people, will file claims seeking damages. If that's the case, each plaintiff who files would collect about $2,000, although at least two women subjected to involuntary gynecological exams will receive $20,000. The law firm will get $3 million for its efforts.
Emery said many of those strip-searched had been charged with misdemeanors like shoplifting, trespassing, jumping subway turnstiles, or failure to pay child support. Others were small-time marijuana offenders. Under New York law, pot possession is decriminalized, but the NYPD has a common practice of ordering people to empty their pocketsâwhich you are not required to doâand then charging them with public possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor.
David Sanchez, 39, of the Bronx, was one of the people strip-searched after a minor pot bust. He said he was searched twice by officers after being arrested in a stop and frisk outside a friend's apartment, but after he was arraigned and taken to Rikers Island, jail guards demanded he submit to a strip-search.
"I was put into a cage and told to take off my clothes," he said Monday, describing how he had to squat and spread his buttocks. "It was horrifying, being a grown man. I was humiliated."
"I donât know why it was done," Emery said, "but it seems like it was a punishment, a way of showing the inmates who is in charge."
And now the good burghers of New York City will pay yet again for the misdeeds of their public servants. Will the third time be the charm? Check back in a few years.
Blog
Were You Strip-Searched After a Minor Bust in New York City Between 1999 and 2007? There Could Be $$$$ Waiting for You
As the Chronicle story below reports, New York City is about to pay yet again for unlawfully strip-searching minor offenders, including people busted for public pot possession. If this includes you, it just might behoove you to contact the law firm handling the lawsuit in question, Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff, and Abady.
Here's the story:
Law Enforcement: New York City to Pay Out $33 Million for Unlawful Strip Searches
For the third time in the past ten years, New York City has been forced to pay big bucks for subjecting non-violent prisonersâincluding minor marijuana offendersâto illegal strip searches. In a settlement announced Monday, the city announced it had agreed to pay $33 million to settle the most recent lawsuit stemming from the illegal strip searches.
The settlement applies to roughly 100,000 people who were strip-searched after being charged with misdemeanors and taken to Rikers Island or other city jails. These were people who were arrested and strip-searched between 1999 and 2007.
In 2001, under the Giulani administration, the city settled a similar lawsuit on behalf of 40,000 people strip-searched prior to arraignment for $40 million. In 2005, the city agreed to pay millions of dollars more to settle a lawsuit on behalf of thousands of people illegally strip-searched at Rikers and other city jails between 1999 and 2002.
The most recent settlement came from a lawsuit filed in 2005 by a local law firm. In 2007, the city acknowledged wrongdoing and agreed to hire monitors to ensure that the practice was stopped. But the settlement includes at least 19 people who had been illegally strip-searched after 2007.
Richard Emery, law lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the New York Times it had been settled law since 1986 that it was unconstitutional to require people accused of minor crimes to submit to strip searches. "The city knew this was illegal in 1986, they said it was illegal and they stopped in 2002, and they continued to pursue this illegal practice without justification," he said. "We hope the settlement constitutes some semblance of justice."
It is expected that about 15% of those illegally strip searched, or 15,000 people, will file claims seeking damages. If that's the case, each plaintiff who files would collect about $2,000, although at least two women subjected to involuntary gynecological exams will receive $20,000. The law firm will get $3 million for its efforts.
Emery said many of those strip-searched had been charged with misdemeanors like shoplifting, trespassing, jumping subway turnstiles, or failure to pay child support. Others were small-time marijuana offenders. Under New York law, pot possession is decriminalized, but the NYPD has a common practice of ordering people to empty their pocketsâwhich you are not required to doâand then charging them with public possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor.
David Sanchez, 39, of the Bronx, was one of the people strip-searched after a minor pot bust. He said he was searched twice by officers after being arrested in a stop and frisk outside a friend's apartment, but after he was arraigned and taken to Rikers Island, jail guards demanded he submit to a strip-search.
"I was put into a cage and told to take off my clothes," he said Monday, describing how he had to squat and spread his buttocks. "It was horrifying, being a grown man. I was humiliated."
"I donât know why it was done," Emery said, "but it seems like it was a punishment, a way of showing the inmates who is in charge."
And now the good burghers of New York City will pay yet again for the misdeeds of their public servants. Will the third time be the charm? Check back in a few years.