New Hampshire House Passes Recreational Pot, Legalization Unlikely
by Elizabeth Renter
Natural Society
Jan 25, 2014
Last week, the New Hampshire House gave preliminary approval to legalize recreational pot. And though the measure isn’t likely to become law, with a state Senate opposed to ending marijuana prohibition, the passage by the House marks a significant step and a sign that things are changing.
The bill is reportedly modeled by those in Washington and Colorado and would allow people to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. It would tax and regulate pot and also allow citizens to grow a total of six plants.
The first attempt to pass the measure failed, with two lawmakers tipping the scales to the opposing side. Only an hour later, they tried again and the bill passed 170-162, according to AlterNet. The House voted 170-162 after a 2 ½-hour heated debate to send the bill to its tax committee to review before taking a final vote.
Senate committee OKs industrial hemp bill
Sun-Commercial: News
Jan 26, 2014
Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Allowing farmers to grow hemp in Indiana could help boost the economy and dispel myths about a crop that can be used to make everything from paper to car parts, supporters told lawmakers Friday.
The testimony helped convince the Senate’s agriculture committee to unanimously approve a bill that would enable farmers to legally grow industrial hemp, but only if they or the state gets federal approval. Hemp is marijuana’s non-intoxicating cousin but it cannot be grown under federal law, though many products made from hemp, such as oils and clothing, are legal.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Richard Young, D-Milltown, said hemp fields flourished in Indiana before and during World War II, but petrochemical industries and other industries later lobbied against hemp — which can also be used to make fuel — to cut competition.
“This is a plant that has been used for centuries throughout the world and has tremendous potential,” Young said.
But lingering stereotypes have haunted efforts to legalize the crop ever since, said Neal Smith, chairman of Indiana National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He wore a pin with showing the five-branched hemp leaf, which looks almost identical to a marijuana leaf but has two fewer branches.
Kentucky passed similar legislation last year, and eight other states have done the same, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The 1970 Controlled Substances Act requires hemp growers to get a permit from the Drug Enforcement Administration. The last permit was issued in 1999 — and expired in 2003 — for an experimental plot in Hawaii. U.S. Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky are co-sponsoring legislation that would federally legalize industrial hemp farming.
The economic benefits remain unclear, however, and whether Indiana would receive a permit is uncertain.
[…CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE]
[h/t: ActivistPost]
Cannabis Decriminalization Bill Introduced In Alabama
The Joint Blog
Jan 11, 2014
A proposal to decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of cannabis has been formally introduced in the Alabama House of Representatives.
The proposal, House Bill 76, was introduced by Representative Patricia Todd, and has been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.
Under the proposed law, anyone 21 and older caught in possession of up to announce of cannabis will no longer be committing an arrestable offense, but instead can be given a ticket of roughly $100.
Under current Alabama law, the possession of any amount of cannabis can result in up to a year in prison, and a fine of $6,000.
– TheJointBlog
Book by B.C. researcher says media, police not talking straight on pot
By James Keller, The Canadian Press
OttawaCitizen.com
Dec 25, 2013
A demonstrator smokes a marijuana joint on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 20, 2010. Police would have the option of ticketing people for a range of minor offences, instead of laying criminal charges, under a plan that could yield significant savings for the cash-strapped justice system. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Pawel Dwulit
VANCOUVER – As it turns out, Nov. 6, 2012, was a big day for marijuana laws.
Voters in Colorado and Washington state approved initiatives to legalize pot, setting the stage for the regulated production and sale of the drug. Several other jurisdictions in the U.S. have since followed suit.
In Canada, the same day two American states were effectively abandoning part of the war on drugs, provisions of a new federal law came into effect that imposed strict mandatory minimums for drug-related crimes, including marijuana production.
The contrast, says University of Victoria professor Susan Boyd, could not have been greater.
“This new law and our revived war on drugs in Canada is so contrary to what’s going on around the world,” says Boyd, who specializes in drug law and drug policy.
“It seemed like Canada was veering towards a very punitive model while the rest of the world was taking a closer look at mandatory minimums and abandoning them.”
But the revisions to Canada’s drug laws — contained in the Safe Streets and Communities Act, or Bill C-10, as it was previously known — did not happen in a vacuum, says Boyd.
Instead, Boyd argues in a forthcoming book that Canada’s recent tough-on-crime approach to drugs is, in part, the product of decades of skewed media coverage and police messaging that has routinely exaggerated the dangers of the marijuana industry and its connection to organized crime.
For the book, titled “Killer Weed: Marijuana Grow Ops, Media, and Justice,” Boyd examined 2,500 articles from four major daily newspapers in British Columbia from 1995 to 2009.
She found news coverage about cannabis enforcement in B.C. frequently contained inaccurate information or exaggerated claims about the size and scope of the underground marijuana industry, the sorts of people associated with grow-ops, and the industry’s connection to gangs.
Assertions by police – particularly the RCMP, which is responsible for policing in much of B.C. — were left unchallenged, she says, and politicians, in turn, relied on such misinformation to push for stricter drug laws.
For example, the news articles she examined repeatedly asserted marijuana grow-ops are inextricable linked to gangs and other criminal organizations. Police spokespeople were frequently quoted explaining that modern-day grow-ops are not “mom and pop” operations.
But Boyd says the federal government’s own research does not support that claim.
She cited a Justice Department study that was completed in 2011, obtained by a reporter through an access to information request, that examined a random sample of 500 marijuana grow operations. Of those, just five per cent had apparent links to gangs or organized crime.
“This study wasn’t released by our federal government, and you could see why,” says Boyd.
[h/t: Easton Ellis]
Food stamps won’t buy marijuana cookies in Colorado
RT
Jan 10, 2014
Marijuana laced cookies for sale at a medical marijuana “club” (AFP Photo / Robyn Beck)
A new bill that’s been introduced before the Colorado General Assembly will make sure residents there won’t be able to use their food stamp benefits to buy legal weed or marijuana-infused products sold in dozens of new state-sanctioned dispensaries.
Reports have yet to surface indicating that Coloradoans have used government-provided EBT cards to purchase pot products under new state laws, but lawmakers there want to make sure that won’t become a reality.
Under state law, residents can’t use their electronic benefit transfer accounts in liquor stores, casinos, gun shops and similar establishments. With recreational marijuana now legal for adults to buy and use in Colorado, though, state officials fear some of the new dispensaries may let customers cash out with their EBT cards.
“We need this bill, if for nothing else, as a statement,” State Rep. Jared Wright (R-Grand Junction) told the Associated Press this week.
“We shouldn’t be enabling anyone to buy a substance that is banned under federal law. It’s not a good use of taxpayer money,” he said.
Wright is intent on changing that, and is now proposing an amendment to state law that would add weed dispensaries to the list of establishments where EBT cards can’t be used.
VIDEO — Shop Owners- Colorado Marijuana Sales Surpass $1 Million On First Day
Before It’s News
Jan 3, 2013
Call it “Green Wednesday.”
Pot shop owners in Colorado claim they made over $1 million in sales statewide on the first day of legalized recreational marijuana sales alone, according to Denver’s 9News. Nationwide, the legalized pot industry is expected to bring in a reported $2.34 billion in 2014, including both medical and recreational sales.
Most of the 24 shops that opened Wednesday were in Denver. Owners in the city expressed concern about taking in large amount of cash, since federal banking regulations currently prohibit banks from working with the marijuana industry while the drug remains classified as illegal by the federal government.
“We all know this needs to be fixed because there is not one good reason why these businesses are not allowed to have banking accounts — only bad reasons: security concerns and accountability concerns,” Mike Elliott, executive director of the trade association Medical Marijuana Industry Group, told KDVR.
A solution may soon be reached, but while the industry grapples with how to handle its cash, Colorado is banking on pot: with an eighth of an ounce currently selling between $35 and $70 after taxes, the state estimates that the retail marijuana industry will bring in $67 million in tax revenue.
The first $40 million generated by the state excise tax is dedicated to school construction, and the rest is slated for marijuana regulation.
[related: History: First Legal Marijuana Shops Open in Colorado Jan 1]
Monsanto Marijuana Initiative Grows in Uruguay?
The Daily Bell
Dec. 13, 2013
Uruguay becomes first nation to legalise marijuana trade … The Uruguayan government hopes legalising the sale of marijuana will tackle drug cartels … Uruguay’s cannabis bill reflects liberal past … Uruguay has become the first country in the world to make it legal to grow, sell and consume marijuana. After nearly 12 hours of debate, senators gave the government-sponsored bill their historic final approval. The law allowing registered Uruguayans over 18 to buy up to 40g (1,4oz) of the drug a month is not expected to come into force before April. The government hopes it will help tackle drug cartels, but critics say it will expose more people to drugs. – BBC
Dominant Social Theme: This is great. Uruguay strikes a blow against prohibition.
Free-Market Analysis: Are considerations regarding Monsanto’s business progress in South America behind the legalization of marijuana in Uruguay?
George Soros was a significant supporter of marijuana legalization in Uruguay, and Soros is reportedly also a big Monsanto shareholder. Here, from a recent Guardian article, published just before the bill passed:
Rich countries debating legalisation of cannabis are also watching the bill, which philanthropist George Soros has supported as an “experiment” that could provide an alternative to the failed US-led policies of the long “war on drugs”.
[h/t: Jan Irvin]
Uruguay becomes first nation to legalise marijuana trade … The Uruguayan government hopes legalising the sale of marijuana will tackle drug cartels … Uruguay’s cannabis bill reflects liberal past … Uruguay has become the first country in the world to make it legal to grow, sell and consume marijuana. After nearly 12 hours of debate, senators gave the government-sponsored bill their historic final approval. The law allowing registered Uruguayans over 18 to buy up to 40g (1,4oz) of the drug a month is not expected to come into force before April. The government hopes it will help tackle drug cartels, but critics say it will expose more people to drugs. – BBC
Dominant Social Theme: This is great. Uruguay strikes a blow against prohibition.
Free-Market Analysis: Are considerations regarding Monsanto’s business progress in South America behind the legalization of marijuana in Uruguay?
George Soros was a significant supporter of marijuana legalization in Uruguay, and Soros is reportedly also a big Monsanto shareholder. Here, from a recent Guardian article, published just before the bill passed:
Rich countries debating legalisation of cannabis are also watching the bill, which philanthropist George Soros has supported as an “experiment” that could provide an alternative to the failed US-led policies of the long “war on drugs”.
– See more at: http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/34833/Monsanto-Marijuana-Initiative-Grows-in-Uruguay/#sthash.BV01moST.dpuf
Uruguay becomes first nation to legalise marijuana trade … The Uruguayan government hopes legalising the sale of marijuana will tackle drug cartels … Uruguay’s cannabis bill reflects liberal past … Uruguay has become the first country in the world to make it legal to grow, sell and consume marijuana. After nearly 12 hours of debate, senators gave the government-sponsored bill their historic final approval. The law allowing registered Uruguayans over 18 to buy up to 40g (1,4oz) of the drug a month is not expected to come into force before April. The government hopes it will help tackle drug cartels, but critics say it will expose more people to drugs. – BBC
Dominant Social Theme: This is great. Uruguay strikes a blow against prohibition.
Free-Market Analysis: Are considerations regarding Monsanto’s business progress in South America behind the legalization of marijuana in Uruguay?
George Soros was a significant supporter of marijuana legalization in Uruguay, and Soros is reportedly also a big Monsanto shareholder. Here, from a recent Guardian article, published just before the bill passed:
Rich countries debating legalisation of cannabis are also watching the bill, which philanthropist George Soros has supported as an “experiment” that could provide an alternative to the failed US-led policies of the long “war on drugs”.
– See more at: http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/34833/Monsanto-Marijuana-Initiative-Grows-in-Uruguay/#sthash.BV01moST.dpuf
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