Earl Ofari Hutchinson at New America Media notes that last week's major reform of crack cocaine sentencing guidelines failed to meet with much opposition from the right. It's another powerful sign that drug war politics are changing before our eyes.
Contact: Tom Angell – 202-557-4979 or [email protected]
Trevor FitzGibbon - 202-406-0646
US Law Enforcement Group Urges President Obama to Join Mexican President Calderon in Debate on Legalizing Marijuana
Responding to out-of-control violence related to the illegal drug trade, Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Tuesday said that he is open to a debate on the legalization of marijuana and other drugs. Calling the increasingly widespread public discussion of legalization “a fundamental debate,” Calderon said, “You have to analyze carefully the pros and cons and the key arguments on both sides.”
In response to President Calderon’s call for a debate on drug legalization, Norm Stamper, a 34-year veteran police officer who was Seattle’s chief of police and is now a speaker with the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and an adviser to the Just Say Now campaign, called on President Obama to join the debate on legalizing marijuana:
“President Calderon’s call for a debate on legalization is a big step forward in putting an end to the war raging in Mexico and along our borders. More than 28,000 people have been killed by Mexico’s drug cartels since 2006 – including 1,200 in July, the deadliest month yet in this drug war.
“Legalizing marijuana is the most sensible approach to stopping this border war. Cartels thrive on marijuana prohibition. Around 70% of the cartels’ profits come from the illegal sale of marijuana, which they turn around to buy guns that have killed thousands of Mexicans and that terrorize police on America’s streets.
“Just Say Now welcomes President Calderon to this debate. We hope that President Obama will join this debate to end the war on marijuana.”
Previously, Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, said that, “Those that suggest that some of these [legalization] measures need to be looked at understand the dynamics of the drug trade” and that the idea “needs to be taken seriously” by officials on “both sides of the border: both in producing, in trafficking, and in consumption countries."
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FireDogLake and Students for Sensible Drug Policy are officially launching the Just Say Now campaign this week. It's an exciting new effort to amplify the marijuana legalization debate and bring out the vote leading up to California's Prop 19 in November, as well as future initiatives in 2012.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 3, 2010
Colorado Nets $7,340,000 From Medical Marijuana Dispensary License Applications
Seeking Regulation and Legitimacy, More than 700 Apply for Licenses that Will Generate Millions in New Revenue for Colorado
CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or 443-927-6400
DENVER, COLORADO — More than 2,000 people in Colorado applied for licenses to run state-regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, growing facilities or related businesses before this weekend’s application deadline, according to state officials. In total, the state made $7.34 million from application fees alone.
More than 700 applied specifically for dispensary licenses, far exceeding the number expected by state officials, who estimated that only half of the state’s roughly 1,100 pre-existing dispensaries would apply for licenses. State officials will now conduct thorough background checks on applicants before awarding licenses, which are expected to generate additional millions in annual revenue for Colorado.
“This outpouring of applications is another sign of how willing and eager marijuana business owners are to be taxed, regulated, and given equal treatment to other legitimate establishments,” said Steve Fox, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project. “By sensibly regulating its medical marijuana industry, Colorado stands to gain untold millions in new revenue while at the same time providing legal clarity and rational oversight to what may soon be the largest regulated marijuana market in the world.”
In June, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) signed legislation designed to regulate the state’s medical marijuana industry through a system of local and state licenses. A state-licensed medical marijuana program is up and running in New Mexico, and similar programs will soon be operational in Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. – but the number of sanctioned dispensaries to be allowed in each of those states is fewer than 10. Colorado’s law will authorize hundreds, and potentially more if future demand increases.
A Rasmussen telephone poll released May 15 showed that there is also plurality support among Colorado voters for further expanding the state’s marijuana laws. Forty-nine percent of likely voters said they support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, with an additional 13 percent still undecided.
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.
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