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Rhode Island Senate Votes to Open Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Legal access to medical marijuana could soon be coming to the east coast:
A veto from the governor is almost certain, but towering majorities in the House and Senate should make it possible to override the veto. That's exactly how Rhode Island's original medical marijuana law was passed. Maybe Carcieri should just sign the damn thing and save himself the double embarrassment of not only trying to stand between seriously-ill patients and their medicine, but also failing at it.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) â Rhode Island would be the third state in the nation and the first on the East Coast to allow nonprofit stores to sell marijuana to medical patients under legislation approved Tuesday by state lawmakers.
The state Senate voted 30-2 to adopt a measure permitting three stores to sell marijuana to more than 680 patients registered with the state Department of Health. It now heads to Gov. Don Carcieri, who has previously vetoed bills legalizing marijuana for medical use.
A veto from the governor is almost certain, but towering majorities in the House and Senate should make it possible to override the veto. That's exactly how Rhode Island's original medical marijuana law was passed. Maybe Carcieri should just sign the damn thing and save himself the double embarrassment of not only trying to stand between seriously-ill patients and their medicine, but also failing at it.
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Drugs and Terror on the Daily Show
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Gretchen Peters | ||||
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Did you notice anything missing from this conversation? Seriously, if we're concerned about the drug trade funding terrorism, the only answer is to fundamentally rethink our drug policy. This problem didn't just arrive on our doorstep last year. We've been fighting a hopeless and counterproductive war against these guys for decades and they're more powerful now than ever before. The solution is to do the opposite of what we're doing, not to make little adjustments or try a little harder.
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Wrong Door Drug Raids Are No Laughing Matter
I don't exactly understand what the agenda behind this video is supposed to be, but it kind of gave me the creeps. I think it's supposed to be funny and I wonder if the creators realize how true it really is.
In The Trenches
Safe Streets Arts Foundation: International Publicity for Our Prison Art Show
Canadian Radio Station Interview about our Upcoming Pano Prison Art Show (Listen to It at Your Leisure)
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Listen to our interview  live on Monday, June 8, 10:30 pm Eastern time on a prominent Vancouver, Canada radio station at www.coopradio.org or, if you miss it, listen to the podcast at www.rabble.ca.  The subject of the radio interview is  our upcoming free art show featuring "Pano" art created in prisons across America. This is a special show called "Pano in American Tradition" at Takoma Park Community Center (Gallery 3), 7500 Maple Ave, Takoma Park, Maryland from June 12 to July 25, 2009. The art is part of the collection of the Safe Streets Arts Foundation, which operates the Prison Art Gallery in Washington DC. The opening reception will take place on June 12 from 6 to 9 pm, and will feature live music by ex-prisoner guitarist Dennis Sobin, who has performed at the Kennedy Center.
"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." |
In The Trenches
FedCURE NEWS: NCJCA ~ LIVE WEBCAST: 3:00PM, THURSDAY -- Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing Scheduled on Webb Bill to Overhaul Americaâs Criminal Justice System
Media Advisory for: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 Contact: Jessica Smith â 202-228-5185
Thursday, June 11, 2007, 3:00pm                    Kimberly Hunter â 202-228-5258
*** LIVE WEBCAST: 3:00PM, THURSDAY ***
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing Scheduled on
Webb Bill to Overhaul Americaâs Criminal Justice System
National Criminal Justice Commission Act charges comprehensive
 review of system, concrete solutions for reform
Washington, DC â On Thursday, June 11, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs will hold a hearing on Senator Webbâs legislation to comprehensively review and reform the nationâs criminal justice system. The hearing entitled âExploring the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009,â will host a number of experts in the field to discuss the need for such legislation. Senator Webb will participate in the hearing.
On March 26, Webb introduced S.714 to create a blue-ribbon commission charged with conducting an 18-month, top-to-bottom review of the nationâs entire criminal justice system and offering concrete recommendations for reform. The legislation has received widespread bipartisan support and has 29 cosponsors in the Senate, including Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Ranking Member Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Judiciary Committee member Senator Orrin G Hatch (R-UT).
In the 110th Congress, Webb chaired two hearings of the Joint Economic Committee that examined various aspects of the criminal justice system. In October of 2008, he conducted a symposium on drugs in America at George Mason University Law Center.
The hearing will be webcast online at the Senate Judiciary Committee website. The watch live, please go to: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=3906
WHAT: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Hearing: âExploring the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009â
WHEN: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Thursday, June 11th, at 3:00pm
WHERE: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC
                                   Or online at: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=3906
WITNESSES: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Pat Nolan, Vice President, Prison Fellowship
Chief William Bratton, Los Angeles Police Department
Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Harvard Law School
Brian W. Walsh, Senior Legal Research Fellow, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation
For background materials on Senator Webbâs legislation, please visit: Â http://webb.senate.gov/email/criminaljusticereform.html
For  additional materials or to RSVP, please contact Kimberly Hunter at: [email protected].
Event
Webcast: U.S. Senate Hearing -- Exploring the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009
On Thursday, June 11, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs will hold a hearing on Senator Webbâs legislation to comprehensively review and reform the nationâs cri
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Congress Calls on DOJ to Better Explain Medical Marijuana Policy
Via Ben Morris at MPP:
Although federal interference with state medical marijuana laws has been sparse since Obama took office, we have seen evidence of a potential loophole in the attorney general's pledge to respect state laws. As long as charges are brought in federal and not state court, there exists no mechanism for determining that state laws were ever violated, thus DEA could theoretically raid legitimate dispensaries based on unverified claims that local laws were being broken.
That's why Hinchey's effort to ensure accountability is so important. Although public outrage has been a powerful force towards pushing federal medical marijuana policy in a more reasonable direction, we simply cannot count on DEA to execute the new policy in good faith. The more pressure that's applied early on, the better our chance of ensuring that the worst excesses of the war on medical marijuana are behind us.
The House committee that oversees the Department of Justice (DOJ) passed an amendment today that adds language to the committeeâs report urging the DOJ to clarify its position on state-legal medical marijuana. The provision is a non-binding recommendation, but carries weight given the committeeâs role in funding the department.
â¦
The language, sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), states, âThere have been conflicting public reports about the Departmentâs [DOJ] enforcement of medical marijuana policies. Within 60 days of enactment, the Department shall provide to the Committee clarification of the Departmentâs policy regarding enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources against individuals involved in medical marijuana activities.â
Although federal interference with state medical marijuana laws has been sparse since Obama took office, we have seen evidence of a potential loophole in the attorney general's pledge to respect state laws. As long as charges are brought in federal and not state court, there exists no mechanism for determining that state laws were ever violated, thus DEA could theoretically raid legitimate dispensaries based on unverified claims that local laws were being broken.
That's why Hinchey's effort to ensure accountability is so important. Although public outrage has been a powerful force towards pushing federal medical marijuana policy in a more reasonable direction, we simply cannot count on DEA to execute the new policy in good faith. The more pressure that's applied early on, the better our chance of ensuring that the worst excesses of the war on medical marijuana are behind us.
Blog
No More $$$ = No More Prisons
Amidst the surging debate over our nation's draconian drug policy and general over-reliance on incarceration, there is one important factor that even the most diehard law & order ideologues can't just brush asideâ¦
If you can't afford to maintain giant iron cities full of people that must be fed, clothed and monitored 24-7, then you have to stop building them and start closing down the ones you have. This reality is finally beginning to sink in across the country:
Well, bring it on. This isn't exactly what we had in mind when we started calling for criminal justice reform, but we'll take it.
We should never underestimate the extent to which our hideously bloated prison population owes much of its existence to a reversible pattern of public hysteria and reactionary political idiocy. The number of inmates in U.S. prisons has increased more than five-fold in my lifetime, and I was born in the 80's. It just wasn't all that long ago that our prison population was relatively manageable and there's no real reason we can't return to that. Indeed, we may have no other choice.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Michigan officials said Friday that the state is closing three prisons and five prison camps in hopes of narrowing a $1.4 billion budget gap for fiscal 2010.
If you can't afford to maintain giant iron cities full of people that must be fed, clothed and monitored 24-7, then you have to stop building them and start closing down the ones you have. This reality is finally beginning to sink in across the country:
Michigan is not alone in turning to its prison system for savings. Some 25 states cut spending on corrections in fiscal 2009 and another 25 are proposing to do so in fiscal 2010, as they struggle to address massive budget shortfalls.
"It's a trend we'll be seeing more and more of in coming months given the dire revenue situation states are in," said Sujit CanagaRetna, senior fiscal analyst at the Council of State Governments, a research group.
Well, bring it on. This isn't exactly what we had in mind when we started calling for criminal justice reform, but we'll take it.
We should never underestimate the extent to which our hideously bloated prison population owes much of its existence to a reversible pattern of public hysteria and reactionary political idiocy. The number of inmates in U.S. prisons has increased more than five-fold in my lifetime, and I was born in the 80's. It just wasn't all that long ago that our prison population was relatively manageable and there's no real reason we can't return to that. Indeed, we may have no other choice.