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© 2011 Americans For Safe Access Colorado
In times past, most people didn’t associate marijuana with the wholesome all-American holiday of Mother’s Day, annually celebrated on the second Sunday in May. But the advocates of Yes on 64, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, are challenging that notion by running a subtle yet effective TV ad today entitled “Dear Mom.”
In the 30-second spot, a woman in her mid- to late-twenties is seen in a park typing on her laptop, composing a letter to her mother. Using both voiceover and printed graphics, we hear and read the “letter” the woman writes to her mom. In it, the young woman confesses while in college she used to drink a lot – “it was kind of crazy” she admits. But now that she is older, she prefers to use marijuana.
The 20-something woman then lists the benefits of using pot over booze, noting it’s less harmful to her body, it doesn’t give her hangovers, and that she frankly feels safer around marijuana users. The latter comment being particularly insightful and impressive that it was included in a TV commercial, given that it’s a less discussed issue even among pot smokers – that violent, or at least unpredictable behavior is much more likely to break out among those who’ve been excessively drinking compared to those who’ve gotten too stoned.
In concluding, the daughter writes: “I hope this makes sense. If not, let’s talk.” Here we see the daughter demonstrating her willingness to engage in an open and honest dialogue with her mother as to why she favors marijuana over socially acceptable alcohol.
The ad is understated, rather than over the top, which is the right strategy to reach more mainstream voters who may be on the fence when it comes to Yes on 64, especially in light of the ad being aired on NBC’s long-running Today and on the popular talk show Ellen, both mainstream programs reaching a cross-section of viewers.
In a prepared statement, Betty Aldworth, advocacy director of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said: “Our goal with this ad is to start a conversation – and encourage others to start their own conversations – about marijuana.”
And to all the moms out there who read and support HIGH TIMES, thank you as always and have a Happy Mother’s Day!
More @ www.huffingtonpost.com
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by Mark Miller
A restrictive Colorado DUI bill that would have made it easier to convict drivers who used marijuana (but were not necessarily stoned when arrested) died in the state House of Representatives in Denver on Tuesday evening with an indirect assist from a legislative impasse over the controversial gay marriage issue.
Senate Bill 117 would have made it a misdemeanor with a possible jail sentence of up to six months and a fine of up to $500 for anyone caught with five or more nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood, an unreasonably low amount that would have assured the unjust conviction of completely sober drivers.
SB 117 had passed the State Senate and appeared to be headed for victory in the House when, in what the Denver Post described as a “dramatic game of political chicken,” House Speaker Frank McNulty (R-Highlands Ranch) called a impromptu recess. This prevented a final vote on a bill that would have legalized same sex civil unions. However, it also meant SB 117 was dead in the water, along with thirty other bills.
SB 117 sponsor Steve King (R-Grand Junction) told the Post he was “disappointed” with the abrupt demise of his bill, but that he plans to re-introduce it in 2013 if the medical marijuana community doesn’t more effectively police itself when it comes to stoned driving.
The Medical Marijuana Industry Group, lobbyists in opposition to SB 117, released a statement declaring that Colorado’s current laws are sufficient in preventing true drugged driving.
Sonny Smith, 59, spends some time with a cigarette on the patio of a Boulder nursing home, which allows him to smoke medical marijuana outside as well. (Seth A. McConnell, The Denver Post)
Medical-marijuana policy in long-term-care facilities across Colorado is hazy at best.
From state law and patients’ rights to federal law and liabilities, regulations on how marijuana may be used by nursing-home residents who suffer from eight specific medical conditions — set out in a 2000 state constitutional amendment legalizing the use of medical pot — run the gamut.
For every facility that would discuss the matter, about a half-dozen declined, saying the topic was too controversial. The push and pull among federal, state and local regulation — possession of pot and distribution of it are crimes under federal law — has some long-term-care facilities playing it safe.
QP Health Care Services, which operates 25 facilities in Colorado, does not allow medicinal marijuana because of feared consequences.
“We follow federal law on that because these are Title 19 homes, which are Medicare-certified,” QP Health Care spokeswoman Nancy Schwalm said.
Policy could change
Times, however, are changing dramatically, and should more potential clients request to use the medication, policy could change, she said. “The senior population is growing larger because of the baby boomers, so we would be open to the idea.”
North Star Rehabilitation and Care Community in Denver has taken a zero-tolerance stance, and because the topic has come up with potential residents, the community advises on the issue during the admissions process.
The marijuana would have to be administered by nurses, said North Star help-information manager Kathy Szabo. “It is a liability issue, so we decided against allowing it.”
Less than 7 miles away, Sunrise at Cherry Creek permits medical marijuana and handles it like any medication. The only stipulation is that medical marijuana has to be ingested in a pill form or, in some cases, baked into food, said senior executive director Reema Chugh.
As with other controlled substances, nurses at the facility distribute medical marijuana.
“It is treated like any other narcotic,” Chugh said.
Emeritus Senior Living — which has 478 communities nationwide, including five in Colorado — has a systemwide policy that follows state laws governing the use of medical marijuana, spokeswoman Karen Lucas said.
Residents must self-administer the drug, and only in their rooms, Lucas said.
“The key word is resident’s choice,” Lucas said. “We will support whatever that may be.”
Sonny Smith, 59, a Boulder nursing-home resident, is grateful he can use medical marijuana where he lives. “It meant that I didn’t have to lie or leave the premises to use it. It is a huge inconvenience to leave, especially to take your own medicine.”
For various aliments, Smith takes numerous medications, which make him sick to his stomach unless he is able to smoke, he said.
Smith’s nursing home has a patio area where residents may smoke either cigarettes or medical marijuana. “I come out and take a few puffs when it is needed,” he said. “I am mindful of others and find an area to myself.”
Attorney Fred Miles has represented local and national long-term-care facilities concerning the issue and regularly gives a presentation titled “Are Nursing Homes Going to Pot?”
Until more clarity comes from the federal level on the matter, Miles said, most organizations will base policy on their use of Medicare and Medicaid funding.
“When I advise facilities, I share with them the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” Miles said.
While some have taken a stand on the issue, others said they will address the topic when it finally comes up at their location.
Following state law
Parkplace Denver is one of those facilities, which, when time comes for a decision, will follow state law, said director Paul Chinchilla. “If a doctor prescribes it, we would protect the patient’s rights.”
Sheryl Thompson, president of Assured Assisted Living, said the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment gave an advisory committee meeting on medical marijuana four years ago.
“All assisted-living locations were told there were no regulations against it, as long as it was no more than an ounce in possession and from a physician’s prescription,” she said.
Hospices, too, varied on what was allowed for those undergoing pain management.
The Denver Hospice allows patients to administer medical marijuana to themselves.
“If it’s part of the patient’s medical regimen as ordered by the patient’s own physician, the patient may continue to self-administer medical marijuana,” said spokeswoman Lynn Bronikowski. “Our staff does not provide nor administer medical marijuana in any form.”
Melody Stanton, administrator for Family Hospice of Boulder, said the organization has no specific policy on the issue. “We neither condone nor condemn the usage of it.”
Colorado Dispensary Services general manager Jill Lamoureux was not surprised many facilities were mum. She said they are in a tough spot, balancing their feelings with the law.
“Nursing homes have a conflict of conscience,” she said. “On the one hand, they want to help those in pain, but on the other hand, they fear what the government might do.”
Denver Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Robert Turner said long-term-care facilities are not necessarily part of the the federal agency’s “bigger picture.”
“We do not target sick people,” Turner said. “Never have and, as far as I can say, never will, unless they were involved with major trafficking.”
Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409 orrparker@denverpost.com
NO ON AMENDMENT 64!
FAKE LEGALIZATION INITIATIVE
SIGN THE REAL
COLORADO MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION
VIRTUAL PETITION
DON’T BE FOOLED BY COMPETITORS!
Fear not! For those of you who want to see cannabis taken out of the hands of the Department of Revenue armed regulatory agents and end the long compliance nightmare that is making it impossible for anyone but the very rich to participate in Colorado’s highly-regulated cannabis industry (oligopoly), the Legalize2012.com campaign is working to write a “true legalization” ballot initiative for the November 2012 ballot that will guarantee more reasonable regulations.
This is Not Initiative 30! The MPP/DPA/NORML/Sensible/SAFER Regulate Marijuana like “Alcohol” Fake Legalization ballot initiative gives sweeping authority to the Department of Revenue to control marijuana and is not true legalization and is not similar to alcohol. Read the history of how this group tries to divide cannabis supporters.
Polls show that 49% of Colorado citizens favor “legalization” of marijuana.
Let’s give the voters of Colorado what they want!
TIMELINE FOR LEGALIZE2012.com True Legalization Initiative:
Feb. 2012: Collect virtual petition signatures online.
March 2012: Start collecting physical signatures, if funding is adequate
(about 80,000 valid signatures needed of Colorado registered voters)
Aug. 2012: Turn in signatures to Secretary of State for verification
Nov. 6, 2012: ELECTION DAY!
VOTE FOR LEGALIZATION
Does Colorado need an extra $18 million in sales tax?
Do you want to stop the funding of illegal drug gangs?
Do you want to make your community safer?
Then it’s time to end Prohibition — again!
Legalize 2012 is putting a citizen’s initiative on the ballot in Colorado in 2012 to amend the Constitution to re-legalize cannabis and hemp for all uses. The Legalize 2012 Project is a grassroots organization working with all cannabis activists in the state to write an initiative that has a broad base of support.
Cannabis Taxation Raises Money for State
CNN estimates that Colorado would gain an extra $17.6 million in tax revenue if marijuana were legalized today.
Practical Cannabis Regulation Helps Medical Patients
For medical cannabis patients, the Legalize 2012 Constitutional Amendment is an important step in fixing Amendment 20, Colorado’s flawed medical marijuana law that was passed by voters in 2000. Amendment 20 was poorly-written by out-of-state interests and has allowed the state to take over the medical marijuana program to the point where there is now a new branch of law enforcement dedicated to fingerprinting and videotaping patients and tracking every gram of cannabis from “seed to sale.” Citizens can write a better initiative that will allow all adult Coloradans to have safe access to cannabis, thus protecting the rights of sick people to also have unfettered, safe access. This includes the right to use cannabis on probation.
Get involved in the real grassroots effort to put an initiative on the ballot in Colorado: Legalize 2012.
Jack Herer (June 18, 1939 – April 15, 2010) was the author of The Emperor Wears No Clothesand the founder of the modern cannabis and hemp re-legalization movement. Since cannabis is one of the safest substances on the planet, he believed there should be no unreasonable restrictions on cannabis cultivation and use by adults. His freedom-based model rejects the sin taxes and over-regulation promoted in law enforcement models. Cannabis should only be subject to normal sales tax, like any other herbal product.
A ballot initiative is a citizen-initiated proposal for a new law. In Colorado, the General Assembly creates most new laws, but the citizens also retain the power to bring new laws directly to a vote of the people through the ballot initiative. The ballot initiative process was designed so that citizens could bring forth proposals that are too controversial or unpopular for the General Assembly to tackle. The process starts by the citizens getting together to write the law. Then they collect signatures on petitions. If enough signatures are collected (about 86,000 signatures of Colo. registered voters are required), then the law goes on the ballot to be voted on by the people.
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WATCH RECORDING FROM |
Colorado’s Leading Manufacturer of Edible Medical Marijuana Products Expands Patient Footprint with Federally Legal Hemp Extract (Cannabidiol) Products to Address Pain Relief, Mental Focus and Sleep Regularity
DENVER, CO — MAY 2, 2012 – Dixie Elixirs and Edibles, Colorado’s premier Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC-infused products company, today announced a new line of products which will break entirely new ground for the company in the category of non THC-infused product development. Following closely on the heels of its’ acquisition by cannabis and hemp industry innovators, Medical Marijuana, Inc. (OTC: MJNA), today’s announcement consists of three new hemp-based Cannabidiol (CBD) products that contain no THC:
- DixieDewDrops: a sublingual glycerin-based tincture designed for pain relief
- DixieBotanicals: a topical pain relief salve and massage oil
- DixieScrips: a pharmaceutical grade CBD capsule in two varieties; one for daytime focus/mental energy and the other a night time sleep aid.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently considers hemp based cannabinoids, including CBD, to be “food based” and therefore legal without a medical marijuana license. Amongst the many potential uses for CBD-based products that are currently under evaluation,CBD’s have been shown to relieve convulsion, inflammation, anxiety, and nausea. Based on medical potential and the federally legal status of hemp-based CBD products, Dixie and Medical Marijuana, Inc., estimate the market in the U. S. to be well over $5 billion. These three new products are the first of many that the companies intend to bring to the market in the coming year.
Dixie will initially offer the new products exclusively to their existing customer base which consists of over 400 dispensaries in the state of Colorado. This consumer base represents in excess of 70 percent of the addressable medical marijuana market inColoradoand over nine percent of theU. S.medical cannabis market. Within 90 days the Company intends to launch a mail order campaign and online e-commerce platform that will allow individuals throughout the U. S. to purchase these products since they contain no THC. TheU. S.availability will be followed closely by distribution in international markets includingEuropevia several key product distribution relationships that are currently under negotiation.
“From the day that we created our first medicated elixirs, we have known that as an industry we have only just begun to tap the very deep health and healing properties of cannabis,” said Tripp Keber, President and CEO of Dixie Elixirs and Red Dice Holdings, LLC. “These three new products open up a world of potential for Dixieand Medical Marijuana, Inc. to bring healthy alternatives to millions of patients who might otherwise never experience the tremendous benefits of cannabinoids. This is truly an exciting development for Dixie and we look forward to bringing Dixie Scrips, Dixie DewDrops, and Dixie Botanicals to patients around the country and around the world who are looking for a healthful alternative to mass-produced, man-made pharmaceutical products.”
About Dixie Elixirs
As Colorado’s premier THC-infused products company, Dixie Elixirs & Edibles™, based in Denver, COhas been providing alternative medicated relief for patients in Coloradosince 2009. Dedicated to providing the strength, taste and discretion required by medical marijuana patients, Dixie Elixirs & Edibles provide a complete line of smoke-free medical marijuana products including Dixie Elixirs™ medicated beverages, Dixie Edibles™ infused edibles, Dixie Scrips™ cannabis and herb supplement capsules, Dixie Botanicals™ all-natural transdermal topicals, Dixie Dew Drops™ concentrated tinctures, and Dixie Tonics™ medicated energy boosts. Dixie Elixirs & Edibles products are sold through licensed medical marijuana centers in Coloradoin compliance with CO HB 1284. Find out more at DixieElixirs.com.
About Medical Marijuana, Inc.
Our mission is to be the premier cannabis and hemp industry innovators, leveraging our team of professionals to source, evaluate and purchase value-added companies and products, while allowing them to keep their integrity and entrepreneurial spirit. We strive to create awareness within our industry, develop environmentally friendly, economically sustainable businesses, while increasing shareholder value. For more information, please visit the company’s website at: www.MedicalMarijuanaInc.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to theSafeHarborcreated by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein.
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) DISCLOSURE
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and DrugAdministration (FDA). These products and statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Corporate Contact:
Medical Marijuana, Inc.
Toll Free: 888-OTC-MJNA (888-682-6562)
www.medicalmarijuanainc.com
www.facebook.com/mjnainc
Investor Relations Contact:
Equiti-trend Advisors, LLC
Toll Free: 800-953-3350
admin1@equititrend.com
www.equititrend.com
By Chris Morris, cnbc.com
Whether the grower is licensed or not, pot is still a risky business in states that have approved its use for medicinal purposes.
Take California. While the state has had medical marijuana dispensaries for more than 15 years, it remains a target for federal law enforcement officials, where the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested nearly 8,500 people for marijuana-related offenses between 2004 and 2010.
California’s hardly alone. Several other states with dispensaries have seen an increase in both arrests and the confiscation of marijuana plants. However, a look at DEA records shows what appears to be an uneven enforcement policy among pot-friendly states over the past several years.
For example, while arrests and eradication in California climbed fairly steadily in the seven-year time frame, they remained essentially flat in Maine. Colorado, meanwhile, saw a reversal in both trends halfway through the time period.
Americans for Safe Access, which advocates the legalization of medical marijuana, says the Justice Department has conducted nearly 200 raids on dispensaries and growers since President Barack Obama took office.
“The assault on medical marijuana patients currently under way by the Obama administration is unprecedented in this country’s history,” said Steph Sherer, the organization’s founder and executive director. “The intensity and breadth of the attacks has far surpassed anything we saw under the Bush administration and has resulted in the roll-back of numerous local and state laws, not just in California.”
The government’s focus on the industry has taken many lawmakers and medical marijuana activists by surprise. During his presidential campaign four years ago, Obama vowed to maintain a hands-off approach toward pot clinics and dispensaries that adhere to state law.
Perhaps not surprisingly, California, which legalized marijuana in 1996 and has long been considered a hub for the pot community, has been the state most targeted by federal officials. In 2004, the DEA made 869 marijuana-related arrests, seizing 1.2 million plants that were cultivated to produce marijuana buds. Both numbers climbed steadily through 2009, according to statistics provided by the DEA, peaking at 1,738 arrests and 7.5 million plants. (In 2010, the numbers slipped slightly to 1,591 arrests and 7.4 million plants.)
California and federal officials have been at odds for years over medical marijuana, since the Controlled Substances Act still classifies the drug as illegal. Federal prosecutors have frequently targeted dispensaries that make profits, noting California law requires those facilities to run as not-for-profit collectives. Those dispensaries, though, are often significant sources of tax income.
Michigan may not boast the hard arrest and confiscation numbers that California does, but federal officials have been even more active there since medical marijuana was legalized in 2008. Arrests have climbed 223 percent since legalization (from 290 in 2007 to 647 in 2010). Plant seizures have increased by 68 percent in that time, according to the DEA.
Similarly, Montana, which legalized medical usage in 2004, saw a slight increase in arrests (with the biggest spike coming the year dispensaries opened) between 2004 and 2010. Last year, though, federal officials executed a series of raids that largely shut down pot providers in the state.
Since New Mexico legalized medicinal marijuana in 2007, however, arrests (which were never noteworthy to begin with) have dropped — from 16 in 2006 to just 4 in 2010 — while confiscations have generally fallen over the years, but spiked in 2010, with more than 8,400 plants destroyed.
It’s worth noting that these DEA statistics, while interesting, do not paint a complete picture. The agency focuses on big targets and distributors (including growers who work within the boundaries of the state law as well as those who do not). Its numbers do not include individuals who are arrested on possession charges, something that’s largely done on a city and county basis.
DEA officials play down the numbers, noting there are intangible factors that cause them to fluctuate each year.
“It’s difficult to draw conclusions based on the superficial data you’re looking at,” says Todd Scott, an agent who has worked with the DEA for 17 years. “What prompts a raid on [a dispensary] is a whole host of factors. I think there’s a misconception that a particular raid is a medical marijuana raid. If you find a grow, you don’t often know prior to that that it’s a ‘medical marijuana grow’.”
The reasons for the raids vary, as they do with any criminal investigation. There are some red flags, though. For instance, if a dispensary is suspected of illegally trafficking pot to people without prescriptions, that could attract federal attention. If a grow operation is of a substantial size (with tens of thousands of plants), that too can turn heads (since it’s such a flagrant violation of the Controlled Substances Act). Growers and dispensaries, though, say there has not been an obvious pattern to recent raids.
Nowhere is the fluctuation more in evidence than Colorado, where medicinal pot has been legal since 2000. From 2004 to 2007, arrests and eradications varied somewhat, but not wildly. They peaked at 341 in that period, while the DEA destroyed between 5,000 and 7,500 plants per year. In 2008, though, things changed considerably.
Plant eradications skyrocketed to over 30,000, while arrests fell to just 36. The numbers ebbed and flowed a bit more in the following two years, but arrests remained low, while more plants were destroyed.
Meanwhile, in Rhode Island (which legalized the drug for medicinal purposes in 2006), the threat of raids and employee prosecution from the U.S. Attorney’s office has kept dispensaries from opening. But looking at the DEA’s arrest record, no one seems to be taking much notice of the pot trade in the state. Through 2010, federal officials had only made nine arrests — and destroyed just 16 plants.
The DEA notes that cases tend to roll from one to another. An arrest in one incident can lead to tips about other illegal activity, which can explain the discrepancies. And since federal officials focus their efforts on larger busts, some operations might be too small to capture their attention.
“We are a proactive agency,” says Scott. “We don’t have to wait for a bank to get robbed or a car to get stolen to launch an investigation. As a federal agent, is it a productive use of my time to investigate a guy with five plants? Probably not. Is it worth my time for a guy who’s growing 500 plants? Well, probably so. But is there a number [that constitutes a cut-off point]? No.”
This article, “Risky business, even in pot-friendly states,” first appeared on CNBC.com.
When Massachusetts voters head to the polls this November, marijuana legalization will be high on the agenda. As long as advocates collect enough signatures by July — which looks likely — Bay Staters will be able to vote on whether pot can be used for medical purposes.
If the cannabis reform ballot succeeds, one man will be able to take much of the credit: Peter Lewis, the billionaire behind insurance giant Progressive, who’s put forward almost every penny being spent on pro-legalization lobbying.
In January the group behind the Mass. bill, the Committee for Compassionate Medicine, reported raising $526,000. Of that, $525,000 came from Peter Lewis.
This isn’t the first time Lewis has effectively bankrolled a state’s entire pot legalization movement, usually to the tune of at least six digits.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws estimates that Lewis has spent between $40 million and $60 million funding the cause since the 1980s.
This year, as well as the Mass. vote, he’s backing movements to get marijuana reform on the 2012 ballot in his home state Ohio as well as Colorado andWashington State.
When I interviewed Lewis for last fall’s Forbes 400, he said he’d fund research and lobbying in any state where pot legalization looked likely to get to the voting stage.
You might wonder why a super-rich insurance exec is concerning himself with the controversial politics of drug reform. Well, medical marijuana is personal, not just a pet cause: after chronic health problems, Lewis had part of his left leg amputated in 1998.
Lewis never hid his pro-pot stance, but it took anarrest for drug possession in New Zealand in 2000 for his efforts to gain widespread attention (even the newspaper at his alma mater, Princeton, reported the crime). The lawyer representing him during his New Zealand possession case told the court that he smoked marijuana for pain relief, following his doctor’s advice.
Since then, he’s put his money where his pipe is, taking an active role within the pro-marijuana lobby and planning to funnel his fortune into ensuring no-one else has to break the law to cure their pain.
Luckily, a younger generation of super-rich drug reformers is following Lewis’ lead: in 2010, Facebook billionaires Sean Parker and Dustin Moskovitz gave $100,000 and $70,000 respectively towards California’s Prop 19 legalization bill, which eventually failed. Not to be outdone, Lewis kicked in more than $200,000.
Read the full Forbes 400 story of Peter Lewis’ war on drug laws, in his own words, here.
Follow me on Facebook and Twitter.
***
See also:
What The People Want: Abolishment of the TSA and Marijuana Legalization
Obama Administration Shatters Campaign Promise, Escalates Crackdown on Medical Marijuana
An Assembly committee Tuesday passed a bill to create state oversight for pot businesses, as its chairman implored the Legislature to act to stave off federal raids on medical marijuana providers.
“The worst public policy choice for California is to sit idly by, doing nothing, and let this failed war on medical cannabis continue unchecked,” said San Francisco Democrat Tom Ammiano as his Public Safety Committee voted 4-2 along party lines to create a state bureau to police the California medical cannabis industry.
Despite clearing his committee, Ammiano’s Assembly Bill 2312 faces long odds of reaching the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown because of strong opposition from police.
John Lovell, a lobbyist for California narcotics officers and police chiefs, blasted the bill as failing to come close to stricter rules passed in Colorado. “This is not regulation,” Lovell said. “This is open-ended permissiveness.”
AB 2312 would charge fees to dispensaries and other medical cannabis businesses to create a policing agency – the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Enforcement – in the state Department ofConsumer Affairs. The board would approve licenses for businesses selling, growing or transporting marijuana for use by people with physicians’ recommendations.
The Ammiano bill doesn’t include many of the rules in place in Colorado, such as requiring every pot industry worker to be state licensed, mandating video surveillance of marijuana stores and requiring state pre-approval of transportation of medical cannabis.
While some Colorado dispensaries have been targeted for operating near schools, that state hasn’t been hit with a broad federal crackdown against cannabis outlets that’s unfolding in California.
The Ammiano bill would require cities and counties to allow at least one marijuana dispensary for every 50,000 residents – unless local voters approve a ban or tighter restrictions. It would leave it up to a nine-member state board to set rules for the industry.
Don Duncan, California director for Americans for Safe Access, said the bill is a key step for allowing people permitted to use medical marijuana under California’s 1996 Compassionate Use Act to obtain it at regulated dispensaries in their communities.
“There is strong support by voters in the state of California to finish this compassionate endeavor,” Duncan said. “Confusion has led to bans and moratoriums against dispensaries, and that’s bad for patients.”
But Cory Salzillo, director of legislation for the California District Attorneys Association, said the bill would require local governments to “comply with activity that is still illegal under federal law.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/18/4422108/assembly-panel-passes-medical.html#storylink=cpy
Mike Riggs | April 16, 2012
Members of the medical marijuana industry have come out against ballot initiatives in two states that would allow consumers over the age of 21 to legally purchase and consume small quantities of marijuana for recreational use.
Washington State’s Initiative 502 and Colorado’s Amendment 64 would regulate pot similarly to alcohol and tobacco, according to their backers. In Washington, even home growers producing for personal use would have to seek a license from the state liquor board, and consumers would be allowed to possess only an ounce at a time. Colorado’s initiative would have the same possession limit, and would allow home growers to have up to six plants.
The bills, in other words, don’t treat pot exactly like alcohol, of which a consumer can own as much as he likes and brew at home without a license, but they’re being sold by their proponents as better than the status quo. For some medical marijuana activists, better than the status quo is not good enough.
Here’s what Washington’s I-502 would do, in the words of Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes and former U.S. Attorney (and drug warrior) John McKay, who are the initiative’s most well-known proponents:
This measure would remove state-law prohibitions against producing, processing, and selling marijuana, subject to licensing and regulation by the liquor control board; allow limited possession of marijuana by persons aged twenty-one and over; and impose 25% excise taxes on wholesale and retail sales of marijuana, earmarking revenue for purposes that include substance-abuse prevention, research, education, and healthcare. Laws prohibiting driving under the influence would be amended to include maximum thresholds for THC blood concentration.
Gil Mobley, a Washington physician who owns a medical marijuana clinic, created Patients Against I-502 to oppose the initiative. The name has since been changed to No on I-502. It sums up its opposition to the bill simply: “I-502 is not legalization.”
It simply creates a legal exception for possession of an ounce and a few other minor cannabis related crimes. Under this initiative it would still be illegal for individuals to grow any amount. In addition, hemp would still not be explicitly legal, passing a joint would still be felony distribution, and a new form of prohibition will be introduced that will cause cannabis consumers to be wrongfully convicted and imprisoned (the per se DUID mandate). People under 21 have the potential to be convicted of a DUID simply for being in the presence of cannabis smoke for an extended period of time. Beyond this, the entire distribution system will be federally preempted (rendered invalid in court) due to the fact that it creates a positive conflict with our federal Controlled Substances Act (you can’t force a state to accept taxes from a federally illegal substance).
Mobley and his allies received a drubbing last week when The Stranger’s Dominic Holden criticized No on I-502 in a New York Times op-ed, writing, “I haven’t found a single scientific study showing that even the heaviest of pot users would exceed the five-nanogram [DUI] cutoff after 24 hours. And the civil liberties attacks are simply dishonest. The rules would remain the same as they currently are for medical marijuana—no registration requirements and no database.”
Holden went on to say that “it’s more than a little strange to defend the status quo, in which nearly 10,000 people are arrested in Washington for possession each year, on civil liberties grounds. And it’s not as if voters would accept a law that didn’t include restrictions on smoking and driving.” His op-ed also featured an appearance by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws’ Allen St. Pierre, who said, “The medical marijuana industry is driven by profit…It’s not driven by compassion anymore. It is driven by the need to make money.”
(St. Pierre expressed a similar sentiment earlier this year when he wrote that “Cannabis consumers…want good, affordable cannabis products without having to go through the insult and expense of ‘qualifying’ as a ‘medical’ patient by paying physicians and/or the state for some kind of get-out-of-jail-free card. How intellectually honest is all of this?”)
I reached out to a Washington-based marijuana activist about opposition to the bill. He was at odds with both St. Pierre and No on I-502:
Of course there are some bad apples that only care about profit, but they are usually weeded out (no pun intended) by patients themselves and market forces. Others are able to turn a tidy profit while still providing a valuable service to their patients. This is America. What is wrong with wanting your business to make money? As long as no one is being exploited, particularly patients, who is getting hurt? This is the only industry that is being punished by the federal government for being too successful.
When people lump all members of the industry together, it makes it that much easier for prohibitionists to dismiss calls for policy change and gives the feds carte blanche to shut them all down because they are just ‘greedy drug dealers’.
In terms of politics, I would have to say that when it comes to the opponents of I-502 within the marijuana industry, there are certainly some that are looking out for their own financial interests, while others don’t necessarily understand the initiative. Still others simply don’t care about full legalization and are convinced that they will lose their driving privileges, or think that this initiative is too restrictive in one way or another.
It is unfortunate that some within the industry do not realize that the best way to ensure safe and affordable medical access for patients is to remove criminal penalties for all adults, or that they will continue to be able to make a living under a taxed and regulated legal framework. That does not make the whole industry a sham.
In Colorado, medical marijuana dispensaries opposed to Amendment 64 are less organized, and less concerned with how the bill will affect users who drive. Here’s a sample complaint voiced last month:
Although he supports adult recreational marijuana use, Rocky Mountain Remedies co-owner Kevin Fisher said legalizing pot for all Colorado adults could jeopardize the business model he and other state dispensary owners have worked hard to create. Specifically, Fisher said he’s concerned approval of a system that permits recreational marijuana use would lead to increased federal intervention in Colorado.
“While we support adult access to cannabis in any form, we’re not sure supporting this initiative is right at this time,” Fisher said last week.
Fisher said the state’s medical marijuana industry has come a long way in a short time. He didn’t want anything to jeopardize his business, which now employs 40 people.
“We still have plenty of growing pains on the medical side on the local, state and federal levels,” he said. “Moving forward with the retail model for recreational use, I’m not sure where we sit. I don’t want to go to federal prison.”
The sense I get from some activists is that internecine fighting over the best way to make marijuana fully legal at the state level is a) limited to big-time activists and players in the medi-mari industry, not medical or recreational users; and b) bad for the movement.
And yet it seems as if the reform movement can’t progress until it addresses opposition from protectionists in the medical marijuana community, as well as people who want better protections for recreational users and home growers. A failure to address that first concern led growers in Trinity, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties to vote against California’s Prop 19 in 2010, and the inability of I-502 advocates to thoroughly address No on I-502′s complaints—the DUI aspect, the penalties for sharing marijuana—may seal the initiative’s fate long before November.
“Every recent poll except one has shown most Washington voters are now ready to pass the initiative,” Holden writes in his op-ed. “But support has slipped since last fall, down to only 51 percent, according to SurveyUSA. The flagging enthusiasm correlates with the escalating effort to stop the initiative.”
by Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive DirectorApril 11, 2012
From the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines
IACM-Bulletin of 8 April 2012
World: Increasing numbers of patients use cannabis for medicinal purposes
An increasing number of patients in the world are using cannabis for therapeutic reasons, with available data from countries, which have installed programs for their citizens. Good data are available for Israel, Canada, the Netherlands and many states of the US with medicinal cannabis laws and registries. In several more countries only a few patients are allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes, including Germany, Norway, Finland and Italy. In many other countries such as Spain and some states of the US without a registry such as California the number of medicinal users is estimated to be high, but no detailed data are available.
The numbers in California with hundreds of cannabis dispensaries and clinics that issue medical cannabis recommendations are unclear, since the state does not require residents to register as patients (see below**)
Most of the 16 states that allow the medicinal use of cannabis require a registration. Recently the press agency Associated Press published data on registered patients in different states of the USA based on state agencies responsible for maintaining patient registries:
State: Number of registered patients (per 1,000 of the whole population) –
Colorado: 82,089 (16.3)
Oregon: 57,386 (15.0)
Montana: 14,364 (14.5)
Michigan: 131,483 (13.3)
Hawaii: 11,695 (8.6)
Rhode Island: 4,466 (4.2)
Arizona: 22,037 (3.5)
New Mexico: 4,310 (2.1)
Maine: 2,708 (2.0)
Nevada: 3,388 (1.3)
Vermont: 505 (0.8)
Alaska: 538 (0.8)
Patient registration is mandatory in Delaware, New Jersey and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.), but their registries are not yet up and running. Washington State has neither voluntary nor mandatory registration.
Data from Israel show that in August 2011 6,000 patients got medicinal cannabis (0.8 patients in 1,000). It is estimated that the number increases to 40,000 in 2016 (5.2 patients in 1,000 citizens).
In Canada 12,116 patients were allowed to use cannabis on 30 September 2011 (0.35 patients in 1,000 citizens).
Numbers of patients using cannabis from the pharmacies in the Netherlands were estimated to be 1,300 in 2010 (0.08 patients in 1,000 citizens). However, many patients in the Netherlands use cannabis from the coffee shops or grow their own.
In Germany about 60 patients are currently allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes.
(Sources: Associated Press of 24 March 2012, website of the Israeli Prime Minister of 7 August 2011, UPI of 31 October 2011, Pharmaceutisch Weekblad No. 20, 2011)
**[Editor's note: CA NORML published a white paper last May estimating that California has 750,000 - 1,125,000 citizens who possess a physician's recommendation to use cannabis medicinally.]
