Busy Week Ahead for Marijuana Legalization Efforts in U.S.
By Paul Armentano
January 2010 is off to a ’smoking’ start. Lawmakers in three key states — New Jersey, California, and Washington — are taking action this week on legislative measures that seek to significantly amend, or end, marijuana prohibition. Here’s a quick look at the week ahead.
Monday: Lawmakers in New Jersey are scheduled to vote on the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. This is the final day that lawmakers will be voting on issues from the 2008-2009 legislative session. This means that the bill must pass the Assembly floor, and then be rectified with the Senate version of the bill, before it can be sent to outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine for his approval. NORML’s local affiliates have spent months urging Assembly leaders to act on this legislation, and to expand upon several of its provisions.
New Jersey NORML and the Coalition for Medical Marijuana — New Jersey have scheduled a press conference to take place in the Capitol Rotunda following the vote. If you reside in New Jersey you still have time to make your voice heard by going to NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here and/or and by going to the State House in Trenton on Monday afternoon to show your support. (CMMNJ has reserved a room for patients and other out-of-town attendees who wish to participate in the day’s events).
Tuesday: Members of the California Assembly, Public Safety Committee will vote on Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, which seeks to regulate and control the production, distribution, and personal use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older. This vote will mark the first time since 1913, when California became one of the first states in the nation to enact cannabis prohibition, that lawmakers have reassessed this failed policy. (See my op/ed in today’s Sacramento Bee here.) A press conference is anticipated to take place immediately following the vote. You can read NORML’s prepared testimony here and here, and you can voice your support for this effort by going here.
Wednesday: Washington state House lawmakers will hear testimony at 1:30pm in favor of a pair of bills seeking to significantly reduce state marijuana penalties. Members of the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness will debate two pending proposals, House Bill 1177 and House Bill 2401. House Bill 1177 seeks to reclassify the possession of forty grams or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a class 2 civil infraction punishable by a $100 fine. House Bill 2401 seeks to “remove all existing civil and criminal penalties for adults 21 years of age or older who cultivate, possess, transport, sell, or use marijuana.” This will be the first time state lawmakers have ever debated regulating marijuana production, distribution, and use by adults.
NORML representatives will be testifying in Olympia on Wednesday (Read testimony here.), and NORML Advisory Board member Rick Steves will also be hosting a public forum on the topic at Olympia’s Capitol Theater on Tuesday evening. If you live in Washington, you can urge the Committee to vote ‘yes’ on one or both of these measures by going here and here.
For information on additional state and federal marijuana law reform legislation, please visit NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here.
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The trouble with the term " legalization " is that too often it is linked, as it is in some posts here, with "licensing" places where it will be sold. If it is to be decriminalized the laws should just go away.
If the government is involved it will be taxed and we are sick of taxes . This is a plant. growing and consumption on private property is no business of the government.
If you let the government in on this there will be regulations on strength, quality, production etc and you'll end up with 2000 pages of nonsense.
Also keep in mind that the " war " and the dealer never "go away". The best dope will still need to be brought in as the government is never going to allow the really good meth for instance to be sold at Walgreens.
Also, kids use drugs , in part, just because you're not supposed to. What kid is going to show up at the party with sissy dope from Dad's stash?
We here in America have created a Police State and a war on our own citizens over Marijuana. It is time we legalize and tax Marijuana and end this outdated MADNESS called the Prohibition of Marijuana. It is the greatest SCAM we have ever endured in America. Of course the Federal Government and Big Oil and the Prison Industrial Complex would love to keep Marijuana illegal . God forbid we grow our clothes and medicine rather than synthesize them out of petroleum so the super rich can keep buying off our Government.
"The war on drugs is the single most devastating, dysfunctional, harmful social policy in America since slavery."
Read this link and get angry
http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal /
more drug propaganda! i can't believe this site has turned into some giant hemp for victory rally. i hope your parents are reading your web histories.
I'm sorry I can't get the opinions of my parents, they have both been dead for years and I will be retiring early June this year and have " children " in their 40's!
Fear of change is common while dedicating oneself to ensuring there is no room for change in one's own tastes, life, opinions, political affiliation, religious beliefs, etc. and it often tends to turn one into someone who simply believes that anyone who disagrees him/her is wrong , childish or uneducated. It makes the world a lonely and scary place when we can't make room for more than one perspective or opinion.
I am not disappointed that you disagree with me, and I am happy that you know where you stand on this issue. I am even happier that we both live in a country where we can have and express our own opinions.
I believe in the creation theory. I believe that if there is something that could make it possible for me to open the door at my brother's house and hear him singing and playing his guitar that it would be wonderful if he could buy it, grow it, exchange singing for it, and on and on and on. He is suffering from a pain that is not reasonable or kind and that never sleeps.
He is a retired U.S. serviceman who did two tours in Viet Nam; he is a devoted and faithful believer, he is the father of a career military officer. Why don't you care that he is suffering and that the only thing that gives him any relief is to smoke a joint. This pain is debilitating him mentally and physically, and there is no way to heal it. He has suffered this pain for more than 30 years.
Yes I know, we all want to be right, but this time let's just think about someone else. I hope you are well and healthy and that you will never suffer because the only thing that makes life livable is illegal . I pray that your family will fight and speak so that you won't have to endure such pain.
I hope that you will realize that human beings are like diamonds. There are no two alike and with the right creator and room to grow and develop into who we are, we are all gems in our own right.
Opinions come and go, yet I believe that something that makes life a little more livable should be legalized and that we should all sit around finding out what others may instead of worrying about a pot plant growing somewhere nearby.
Let's polish the Do unto others idea and put ourselves into the shoes of others and then make a decision we can all live with!
Stephenson the reason we have open discusions is to hear the facts and form oppinions. So far you havent presented any facts to back up your disaproval. So hear is your opportunity im listening.
... let's first talk about alcohol . How many people are killed in alcohol-related accidents and alcohol-related violence each year? I don't know the answer, but I can assure you that number is greater than any other cause.
No one wants to give up the opportunity to have a beer, glass of wine or a cocktail yet many never stop with one or two. Many states very successfully regulate the sale of alcohol and enjoy enormous tax benefits of its sale. However, that also puts that state in the driver's seat in alcohol-related accidents, i.e. death and destruction of life and property, as well as the creation widows, widowers and orphans, etc.
I am not suggesting a new prohibition on alcohol, but I do think it would be reasonable to suggest that in comparison pot is preferable to alcohol. So why not legalize it? Why not let states with ABC laws manage its production and sales and states without ABC laws come up with a plan that fits that state.
I know that some states permit " medical marijuana " but what if you need it, as one of my close family member's needs it, and you don't live in a state that permits it's use? The answer is obvious, you suffer or you break the law .
Do pot smokers get in fights in bars? Probably not.
Do pot smokers get high and kill or beat their wife or children or husband for that matter? Probably not. It relaxes you and makes you feel mellow.
I really do not understand why folks think marijuana is so dangerous, yet they are OK with legalized alcohol. As one from a large family with alcohol issues, I've been at the death beds of three beloved aunts who died after years of using alcohol to help them cope [not saying they chose wisely] with the harsh realities of their lives. These were intelligent, giving, talented, beautiful and loving women . Their deaths were a huge loss to their children, grandchildren and nieces and nephews.
I wish my family members could have just smoked a joint and relaxed; they would still be alive today. I would not have been concerned that they would have gone from pot to something stronger, because they didn't jump from alcohol to heroine, cocaine , etc.
I do believe I would have had the benefit of enjoying the wonderful, caring, supportive love of these aunts for the years that alcohol stole from them and me.
Currently, I have another relative who is suffering extreme pain from a spinal injury as a result of military service to our country. The pain is wearing him down to nothing psycologically, mentally and physically. Pot helps him get relief, but because it is illegal he can't use it because that creates issues in his marriage . Believe it or not this relative is a right wing Republican and he and I disagree on almost everything political except this issue!
So, I pray for my relative to find relief from pain; I pray for pot to be legalized! Yes, I pray for its legalization . Don't be shocked, people who want pot legalized can be believers and even vote Republican sometimes,too.
Marijuana helps those who are suffering get some relief from excruciating pain, and I believe that if bars were serving joints instead of booze no one would decide to go to the car to get a gun or knife to settle the score. Besides, even if they did, they probably wouldn't remember why they were angry by the time they found it.
Legalizing marijuana would make life more livable for some, cut down on the profits of funeral homes while making Saturday nights in most towns and cities less dramatic while also making it possible for those who have a need to get some relief from pain without breaking the law and creating disharmony in the home.
Why don't companies that sell beer, wine and liquor have to put warnings on their labels?
"pot is preferable to alcohol . So why not legalize it? "
Because the corporations can't control it and, thererfore, can't gleen enormous profit from it. Not when the average citizen can grow their own supply for a modest investment.
... however, if federal/state government found a way to regulate and tax alcohol and cigarettes , I am absolutely certain they will find a way to regulate and tax pot.
My Dad used to make his own wine from his own grapes and sometimes even cherries. I don't know if that is illegal , but it certainly was a delicious. I didn't notice any revenuers trying to stop him. He used to give some away to friends at Christmas, one recipient was a member of my Dad's church as well as a local deputy. I've had a couple of relatives who enjoyed making and drinking their own home-brewed beer . While they enjoyed the making and the drinking, I absolutely hated that stuff!
So what is wrong with making it possible for folks to grow what they want like tomatoes, potatoes, corn and yes, even pot?
Maybe the law should be based on a legal amount of pot that be grown for personal use only. Then folks wouldn't need to buy it from what are often unsavory types who are running an illegal business. After all if it's permissible (is it?) for folks to make their own wine, why is it a big deal to be allowed to keep one pot plant in the flower bed or under a light? The crime should be the selling of its produce.
Does anyone out there think this is a Republican/Democrat issue?
Another thought, in the summer and early fall where I live there are roadside stands and farmers' markets everywhere. Who is regulating these businesses who are growing and selling corn, tomatoes, carrots, fresh baked bread, cookies, cakes, etc.? Is the local health department inspecting this food and the kitchens where the baking is taking place? Who is determining the sanitation issues of bringing these goods to the markets and how long the food stuffs are sitting around outside waiting to be bought?
Are local and state agencies insuring that income , state and local taxes are being paid by the sellers?
I really don't see pot as anything different from this locally grown produce if individual citizens are growing for their own use.and making sure these gardeners and farmers are collecting sales tax on these income producing ventures?
I am finding too much of the content on this site to be about drugs and supporting drug use in America. This is clearly illegal . And for anyone to argue otherwise, we'll you're crazy. Furthermore, it's a clearly indicated health risk. As a journalist, I have seen too many lives damaged by pot, children become confused, workers become lazy and this country suffers.
Alcohol and tobacco are far worse than marijuana . There is nothing wrong with trying to reform our drug laws that are so destructive. 69 mexicans died today!