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© 2011 Americans For Safe Access Oregon
Oregon — In a primary election race for Oregon’s top law enforcement post, the candidate who pledged to protect medical marijuana patients scored a decisive victory Tuesday night over a rival who led a cannabis crackdown last year.
Retired judge Ellen Rosenblum, strongly backed by proponents of liberalized marijuana laws, captured 63 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary for state attorney general, trailed by former U.S. Attorney Dwight Holton with 36 percent, according to early returns.
Because no Republicans sought their party’s nomination for attorney general, the Democratic primary victor, Rosenblum, becomes the presumptive winner in November’s general election, making her the first woman to claim that office.
With Rosenblum and Holton taking similar stances on issues such as consumer protection, civil rights and the environment, their diametrically opposed views on medical marijuana emerged as a key point of contention in the race, so much so that the campaign was seen largely as a referendum on drug policy generally.
“As attorney general, I will make marijuana enforcement a low priority, and protect the rights of medical marijuana patients,” Rosenblum said on her website before the election.
By contrast, Holton called Oregon’s medical marijuana law, which has left distribution and cultivation of pot largely unregulated, a “trainwreck” that was putting pot “in the hands of kids” and others who are using it for purposes other than pain management.
In a brief victory statement issued shortly after election officials began to tally the ballots, Rosenblum said she was “honored to have been selected by the voters of Oregon as their choice for the Democratic nominee (for) Attorney General of Oregon.”
She made no mention of marijuana or any other specific issues. Nor did Holton, who in his concession statement thanked, among others, the coalition of organized labor groups that backed his candidacy.
But medical marijuana advocates seized on Rosenblum’s win as a sign that voters were at odds with the federal government’s recent crackdown on storefront cannabis shops in states that have legalized personal use, possession and cultivation of pot for healthcare reasons.
As Oregon’s chief federal prosecutor last year, Holton was in the vanguard of that crackdown, sending letters to owners, operators and landlords of storefront pot outlets warning they faced prosecution and civil enforcement actions for involvement in the sale of cannabis.
While medical marijuana is legal in Oregon, the sale for profit of cannabis to any of the state’s 55,000 registered cannabis patients is considered illegal, although growers can be reimbursed for supplies and utilities.
Even so, some medical marijuana “cafes” have sprung up in the state, drawing the ire of groups opposed to drug use.
The primary contest unfolded as two groups in Oregon are racing to collect enough signatures for two separate ballot initiatives seeking to legalize marijuana for recreational use in the state.
If their efforts are successful, Oregon voters will join those in Colorado and Washington state who will decide on the matter in November. A total of 16 states, plus the District of Columbia, allow medical marijuana, though cannabis remains classified as an illegal narcotic under federal law.
Some experts predicted a Rosenblum triumph could resonate well outside of Oregon’s largely Democratic-registered electorate.
“A victory for Rosenblum could have symbolic power which would reach beyond the state into the national debate,” said University of Oregon political science professor Joe Lowndes.
Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Shumaker
Source: Reuters (Wire)
Author: Teresa Carson
Published: May 16, 2012
Copyright: 2012 Thomson Reuters
Co-owner Kevin Wallace prepares a bowl of medical marijuana stir-fry at the Earth Dragon Edibles Restaurant & Lounge in Ashland. Owners had hoped they were within the law by not charging for the marijuana, but have hit a snag on their city business license over federal drug laws. / AP
ASHLAND — After scraping together a mound of zucchini, broccoli, beef, pineapple and noodles on a big round Mongolian grill, Kevin Wallace measured out a shot of grapeseed oil infused with hashish and poured it over the steaming food, setting off a sizzle.
Thirteen years after Oregon became one of the first states to make medical marijuana legal, Wallace and business partner Michael Shea think they’ve found a way to fit in the big gray area between making a living from medical marijuana and going to jail.
Marijuana is indelibly associated with food, whether it is chemotherapy patients using the drug to try to develop an appetite, or, farcically, a couple of stoners with an overpowering case of the munchies in “Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle.” Secret “herb dinners” with appetizers, entrees and desserts are reported in newspaper food sections. One restaurant chain, CHeBA HUT, is based on a marijuana theme. And patrons of the World Famous Cannabis Cafe in Portland can get a burger or lasagna packing a pot punch in between choruses of karaoke.
But restaurants where marijuana is the focus have had trouble gaining traction. The customer base is, after all, limited to medical marijuana cardholders. And any enterprise associated with medical marijuana will quickly come under scrutiny.
At the Earth Dragon Edibles Restaurant & Lounge in Ashland, Wallace and Shea are trying to bring Mongolian barbecue dosed with medical marijuana to a higher level, though they are still feeling their way through the fuzzy legalities of it all.
An Oregon medical marijuana card is required to get in the door. Inside, the place looks and operates pretty much like any other little Asian-style restaurant, with the smells of teriyaki and sounds of the grill filling the air. A wall hanging at the back depicts ganja guru Bob Marley. Diners go through a checklist of vegetables, sauces, meats and tofu, and whether their bowl will be regular, large, or unlimited. One difference is the boxes to check for medicated or unmedicated. If medicated, there are three strengths. Cheesecake, candies and cookies, medicated or not, are also available.
While they wait, diners can use the hash bar, choosing from an assortment of glass pipes, a vaporizer, or a bong, hashish or bud. Marijuana donations are encouraged.
Operating under the theory that it is no crime for one patient to share medicine with another, all the marijuana — whether in the food or at the hash bar — is free. And unlike the marijuana cafes in Portland, there is no membership fee.
“I know it’s a little weird,” said Shea.
Ashland itself could be considered a little weird. Close to the California border and home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, it is an outpost of liberalism in conservative southwestern Oregon. It is within the Green Triangle, one of the nation’s best marijuana-growing climates. This corner of Oregon has the highest per capita rate of medical marijuana use in the state.
Wallace and Shea render their medical marijuana into hashish, infuse that into oil or glycerin, and eat it, believing that is healthier than smoking. With few patients able to do that, they felt they should share their skills to help others.
“That’s how Mommy raised me,” said Wallace.
Wallace, 45, was a carpenter until a 4-by-4 fell on his head, compressing his spine. He remains on disability, but marijuana got him off conventional painkillers. Shea, 52, taught at his wife’s preschool. He uses marijuana to treat pain from an old neck injury.
At the grand opening a week ago, staff had to ask one patient to put out his blunt — marijuana rolled in a tobacco wrapper — because it violated Oregon’s law against smoking in restaurants.
Otherwise, there was no heat until the city sent back their business license request, saying a local ordinance barred licenses for anyone violating state or federal law.
Police chief Terry Holderness said busting Earth Dragon Edibles is not a top priority.
“Nobody’s life is at risk here,” said Holderness. “We will prioritize this appropriately. But ultimately, if they are in violation of the law, they will be shut down.”
The owner of Denver’s Ganja Gourmet knows the feeling. Steve Horwitz said when he opened in 2009, people passed around a bong while dining on eggplant parmigiana and pizza made with cannabis. But Colorado changed its medical marijuana law, and he had to scale back to takeout and groceries.
“It was the future about five years before its time,” he said.
Wallace and Shea remain open while appealing. They hope that if they keep separate bottles of hashish-infused oil on hand for each member/patient, rather than sharing their own stash, the city will no longer object.
Christine Totten, 24, came in with two fellow volunteers from The Greenery, a local medical marijuana resource center.
“I like to support the cannabis community we have going on,” said Totten. “It’s kind of cool to have a place to hang out.”
After a couple hits off the bong at the hash bar, she sat down to a medicated bowl of beef and broccoli, pronouncing it delicious.
“You can’t really taste it that much,” she said of the hashish oil.
By Michael Russell, The Oregonian First it was Portland’s Cannabis Cafe, which sold Marsee Bakery pastries and sandwiches. Then last week, Cheba Hut, the “marijuana-themed” restaurant chain, opened a Corvallis location with munchies on the menu (and on customers minds). A Portland Cheba Hut is in the works.
Now, a restaurant serving actual marijuana-spiced food is planning to open in Ashland.
According to the Medford Mail Tribune, Earth Dragon Edibles will open for business on Friday serving medical marijuana card holders Mongolian barbecue made with cannabis-laced grapeseed oil. The article quotes Ashland Police Chief Terry Holderness saying Earth Dragon is of dubious legality.
To get around state laws restricting the sale or purchase of marijuana, Earth Dragon owner Mike Shea told the newspaper he plans to instead accept suggested donations for different items — $8 for a regular bowl of Mongolian barbecue and $10 for a large.
Suggested donations for marijuana cookies range around $4. Honey, pies and other goods are also available.
Shea calls the food “medibles,” or medicated edibles.
As my colleague Noelle Crombie wrote in this well-researched piece about loopholes in Oregon’s medical marijuana system, federal authorities suspect more than 50 new businesses in Oregon of selling marijuana in the past year. Oregon has has more than 55,000 registered medical marijuana patients.
Attorney general candidates Dwight Holton and Ellen Rosenblum at Salem City Club in
joint appearance at the Willamette Heritage Center in April. / DANIELLE PETERSON | Statesman Journal
PORTLAND — Of the thousands of laws that Oregon’s attorney general enforces or interprets, the one allowing medical marijuana has lit up the campaign for that office more than any other.
In a Democratic primary where the candidates agree on many things, their differences over marijuana stand out.
It’s anyone’s guess whether the pot vote will be enough to tip the scales. But no Republicans are seeking the job, so Democrats alone will choose the state’s top lawyer the May 15 primary.
Former federal prosecutor Dwight Holton has called Oregon’s marijuana law a “train wreck,” and he was the U.S. Attorney for Oregon when federal agents raided marijuana farms that were legal under state law.
His rival, retired Court of Appeals judge Ellen Rosenblum, has staked out a mellower view, saying she’ll make marijuana enforcement a low priority.
She’s hammered Holton over the issue with the help of a political action committee that wants to legalize the drug.
“Mr. Holton is out of step with his own party on this issue,” said Bob Wolfe, director of Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement. “He’s trying to climb the career ladder on the backs of medical marijuana patients, and I don’t find that acceptable.”
Wolfe’s committee was fined last week for allegedly violating initiative laws while gathering signatures for a ballot measure to legalize marijuana. He disputes the allegation.
There are 55,000 registered medical marijuana users in Oregon, and countless others who smoke weed illegally.
Holton has established himself as a tough-on-crime supporter of law enforcement, and touts endorsements from most of Oregon’s sheriffs and district attorneys. He’s long complained that Oregon’s lax marijuana regulations make it too easy to get a card and give traffickers cover to grow marijuana that ultimately ends up on the black market.
Oregon allows medical marijuana patients to grow their own pot or to designate someone to grow it for them. Unlike many other medical marijuana states, Oregon doesn’t allow dispensaries that distribute weed.
“I would welcome a conversation about how to do this better, how to meet the will of the voters better,” Holton said. “But I’ll gladly enforce the law.”
He slams Rosenblum for telling marijuana advocates she’ll make pot enforcement a low priority.
The tough talk aside, Rosenblum, like Holton, sees deficiencies in the law. She described it as “an adolescent with growing pains.” Rather than a train wreck, it’s “a bumpy ride,” she said, and the law could use a look at improving the way patients get access to their marijuana.
She said she can’t recall if she voted for the 1998 ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana, or for a 2010 initiative funded by pro-marijuana groups that would have allowed marijuana dispensaries.
“We have a lot of pioneering laws in this state. And this is one of them,” Rosenblum said, citing Oregon’s first-in-the-nation assisted-suicide law and a bottle-recycling program that’s been replicated globally.
Holton, 46, was a federal prosecutor for 15 years, first in Brooklyn before transferring to Portland in 2004 and, later, running the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Oregon on an interim basis for nearly two years. Before becoming a lawyer, he worked on presidential campaigns — Michael Dukakis’ in 1988 and Bill Clinton’s in 1992 — and in the Clinton White House.
Holton’s father, Linwood Holton, was a Republican governor of Virginia, elected in 1969, and his brother-in-law, Tim Kaine, is a former Democratic governor of Virginia and chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Rosenblum, 61, has emphasized her Oregon roots and portrayed Holton as an outsider, pointing out that he joined the Oregon State Bar just three years ago. She joined in 1975.
She was a federal prosecutor in Eugene and Portland for nine years before she was appointed a trial-court judge in 1989. She became an Oregon Court of Appeals judge in 2005 and stepped down from the bench earlier this year.
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AP
Marijuana
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Oregon is perhaps the Shangri-La of the “legalize marijuana” movement — but there’s a potential storm on the horizon that could ruin its tranquility.
Not only was it the first state todecriminalize pot in 1973, years before its glamorous neighbor to the south, but its medical marijuana program has operated with few glitches since it began in 1998. Now, in one of the nation’s most liberal states, medical marijuana is an issue in a top statewide election race.
“Because of a certain hippie ethos, some people think Northern California is too crowded, so they moved to Oregon,” says Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws, Norml. “The southern part of the state along the I-5 corridor is like California North. There is a big marijuana ethos out there.”
Oregon has 55,807 registered users in its medical marijuana program — an astounding 1.4 percent of its population. Out-of-state residents are even eligible for medical marijuana licenses a year at a time. Thus far, the state has denied only 1,373 application.
Oregon vs. Other States
So why has Oregon’s program managed to flourish with little or no controversy while those of Colorado, California, and Montana are under heavy fire?
St. Pierre says it’s because Oregonians never pursued the “dispensary” model of distribution, where licensed users show up to buy the drug in any number of forms. This helps citizens avoid the possibility of law enforcement raids, which has been the case in other states.
Dispensaries have drawn the ire of neighborhood groups that don’t want them operating near schools and other public places for children.
Oregon’s medical marijuana law essentially keeps the drug at home. Licensees are allowed to possess up to 24 ounces and 24 plants (six mature) at a time.
Experts say this works out to a fairly large bounty of weed to anyone who would qualify for the program, vastly reducing the need for black or gray market acquisitions. As a result, many consumers grow their own weed, and those who don’t are allowed to connect with one of the state’s many legally sanctioned growers.
“Basically the system has worked because of that high threshold,” says St. Pierre. “Had they set the threshold at a couple of ounces, the burgeoning retail market would have exploded five to 10 years earlier.”
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The swelling retail market to which St. Pierre refers is the fairly recent — though still small — phenomenon in which marijuana collectives, akin to farmers markets, have begun thriving in major Oregon cities. As for-profit sales remain illegal in Oregon, collective participants try to skirt the issue by either setting up a barter system for the weed, or by asking those who attend for donations.
Patients pay $150 per year to be part of the system, fattening state coffers to the tune of $8.4 million last year.
Pot, Politics and the People
Though profitable, popular, and largely successful, the state’s medical marijuana system is a hot issue in the race for state attorney general, which pits two Democrats, Ellen Rosenblum, a state judge and former assistant U.S. attorney, against Dwight Holton, whose career as a prosecutor includes a stint as U.S. attorney for Oregon.
In June 2011, while he was U.S. attorney, he and other state law enforcement officials served notice that the Oregon law protected medical marijuana users from state prosecution but not federal authority, and that neither state nor federal law permitted cultivation and distribution.
Holton, who once called the administration of the state’s law a “train wreck,” has addressed the complexity.
“Dwight Holton does not support repealing the law whatsoever,” says his spokeswoman Jillian Schoene. “[He] is the only one working to preserve the law and protect its integrity.”
On her website, Rosenblum says she won’t waste “limited tax dollars … prosecuting people for possessing small amounts of marijuana,” and will “protect the rights of medical marijuana patients.”
The race — which polls show to be close — has riled the pro-marijuana lobby and touched on key issues in the legalization debate:
- What’s the best use of limited law enforcement resources and what some consider a victimless crime?
- Collateral damage to communities from the manufacturing, trafficking and consumption of non-sanctioned individuals exploiting the medical marijuana law.
- And conflicting state and federal statutes and enforcement policies, which have created a problematic gray area.
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.]
By Steve Elliott
Country music legend Willie Nelson has endorsed the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012 (OCTA 2012), which is gathering signatures to qualify for the November general election ballot. If passed by the people of Oregon, OCTA 2012 would regulate the legal sale of marijuana through state-licensed stores, allow adults to grow their own, license Oregon farmers to grow marijuana for state-licensed stores and allow unlicensed Oregon farmers to grow hemp for fuel, fiber and food.
OCTA 2012 will raise an estimated $140 million a year by taxing commercial cannabis sales to adults 21 and older, and save an additional estimated $61.5 million as law enforcement, corrections and judicial attention can focus on violent crimes and theft.”We estimate this will amount to $200 million a year more funding for state government,” the Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp (CRRH) said. Ninety percent of those proceeds will go into the state general fund, seven percent for drug treatment programs, with one percent each going to drug education in public schools and to two new state commissions to promote hemp biofuel, hemp fiber and food.
Legalizing hemp and cannabis will create tens of thousands of new jobs, revitalize farming communities, and boost Oregon tourism, according to CRRH.
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| Paul Stanford |
| Paul Stanford, left, author of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012, and Willie Nelson |
In the early 1990s, OCTA 2012 author Paul Stanford accompanied Willie Nelson and Kentucky freedom fighter Gatewood Galbraith on part of their historic trip across Kentucky in Gatewood’s red Mercedes Benz station wagon, which ran on hemp biodiesel fuel in order to make a point and spread the word about the potential of the biodiesel industry in the U.S.
Stanford and Nelson struck up a friendship that lasts until the present day. “So when I recently got a chance to hang out with Willie on tour, I approached him about endorsing OCTA 2012,” Stanford told Toke of the Town on Friday afternoon.
Willie, a longtime supporter of cannabis freedom, was quick to accept. According to Stanford, Nelson also plans to do more for OCTA 2012 in the near future.
Stanford told me that he has spent much of the past 20 years crafting and fine-tuning the language of OCTA 2012, including public polling and adjustment of the language to give it a better chance of passage at the ballot box.
One interesting and possibly crucial fact about the language of OCTA 2012, Stanford told Toke of the Town, is that the initiative is crafted to resist any federal attempts to quash it.
“In fact, I included a ‘poison pill’ in the language so that if the feds try to stop it, we’re well positioned to win in court,” Stanford told me.
The certified ballot title of OCTA 2012 is as follows:
Allows personal marijuana, hemp cultivation/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultivation/sale
Result of a “Yes” Vote: “Yes” vote allows commercial marijuana (cannabis) cultivation/sale to adults through state-licensed stores; allows unlicensed adult personal cultivation/use; prohibits restrictions on hemp (defined).
Result of a “No” Vote: “No” vote retains existing civil and criminal laws prohibiting cultivation, possession and delivery of marijuana; retains current statutes that permit regulated medical use of marijuana.
Summary: Currently, marijuana cultivation, possession and delivery are prohibited; regulated medical marijuana use is permitted. Measure replaces state, local marijuana laws except medical marijuana and driving under the influence laws; distinguishes “hemp” from “marijuana”; prohibits regulation of hemp. Creates commission to license marijuana cultivation by qualified persons and to purchase entire crop. Commission sells marijuana at cost to pharmacies, medical research facilities, and to qualified adults for profit through state-licensed stores. Ninety percent of net goes to state general fund, remainder to drug education, treatment, hemp promotion. Bans sales to, possession by minors. Bans public consumption except where signs permit, minors barred. Commission regulates use, sets prices, other duties; Attorney General to defend against federal challenges/prosecutions. Provides penalties. Effective January 1, 2013; other provisions.
Hundreds of non-Oregon residents have obtained Oregon medical marijuana cards, the Oregonian reported Sunday. Since June 2010, when the state started issuing cards to non-residents, nearly 600 out-of-staters have traveled here to obtain one, according to the Oregon Health Authority, the agency that oversees the state’s medical marijuana program. Some 72,000 state residents also hold medical marijuana cards. Neighboring states account for nearly two-thirds of out-of-state card-holders, with 309 from Washington, 138 from Idaho, and 50 from California.
By: Phillip Smith
By PressTV – Monday, February 20 2012
Authorities said this week that hundreds of out-of-state residents have flocked to Oregon in recent years to obtain medical marijuana cards, which the state will issue to anyone with a doctor’s recommendation.
State health officials said that hundreds of people from out-of-state have made the annual pilgrimage since 2010, when they began issuing medical cards to anyone who meets their criteria. State officials finally acknowledging that the little-known loophole has sprung a leak in the law represents a unique trend that’s sure to grow some additional business for the state’s dispensaries.
The practice of narco-tourism is one that U.S. officials have long warned of when critiquing other nations’ drug laws, particularly the Netherlands, but many would be surprised to hear of the practice occurring between the states. Raw Story.
HIGHLIGHTS
Idahoans join citizens from states across the country who make regular pilgrimages to Oregon – the only state in the country to issue medical marijuana cards to nonresidents. According to the Oregon Health Authority, nearly 600 out-of-staters have traveled to Oregon since June 2010 to obtain a medical marijuana license. boiseweekly.com
Of the out-of-state applications for Oregon medical marijuana cards, 309 came from Washington state residents, 138 came from Idaho came and 50 came from California. seattletimes.nwsource.com
Some of those cardholders hope their Oregon cards will provide some legal protection in states where medical marijuana is illegal. In the same period of time, 72,000 medical marijuana cards were issued to Oregonians. kdrv.com
Oregon’s policy is unique in the nation, though not widely known. For U.S. citizens, it effectively means that it’s easier for an outsider to get pot in Oregon than a coffee shop in Amsterdam, which used to be one of the best known spots in the world for narco-tourism due to its mostly libertarian drug laws. And for prohibition advocates like the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), that actuality is akin to rhetorical “proof” that medical marijuana is a sham cover for interstate drug smuggling and a hidden legalization agenda, which they’ve long argued is the case. Raw Story
- Article originally from: PressTV.
8 States May Legalize Marijuana This Year – Did Yours Make the List?
The calendar may say February, but 2012 has already been shaping up to become one of the most exciting years in marijuana law reform since Prohibition began in 1937. As days, weeks and months pass by, bringing us closer and closer to the November elections, it is clear that marijuana will become a highly debated, and heavily voted, issue.
Last week, we took a look at work that is being done by state legislators to reform marijuana laws at the state house, with several states deliberating medical marijuana, decriminalization or legalization bills, and others looking to expand on their existing medical or decriminalization laws.
In several states, voters are not waiting for their elected officials to end marijuana prohibition, and have taken to the streets to collect signatures to place marijuana legalization initiatives on their November ballots for voters to decide.
Many of these efforts are still gathering signatures, others are awaiting their signatures to be certified. In some states, like California, voters may have two separate questions to consider. Here are the states, and initiatives, that will likely come before voters in November:
California
One year following the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana in California, voters in the state that pioneered the medical marijuana industry 16 years ago could be voting on not one, but two proposals to legalize marijuana
Regulate Marijuana Like Wine
The “Regulate Marijuana Like Wine” initiative intends to repeal prohibition of marijuana for adults, strictly regulate marijuana, just like the wine industry, allow for hemp agriculture and products while not changing laws regarding medical marijuana, impairment, work place drug laws, or laws regarding vehicle operation. This initiative would also provide specific personal possession exemptions, require dismissal of pending court cases for marijuana possession, and ban the advertising of non-medical marijuana.
A recent poll shows that “Regulate Marijuana Like Wine” has 62% support among California voters.
Repeal Cannabis Prohibition Act 2012
The Repeal Cannabis Prohibition Act of 2012 aims to repeal current state criminal laws prohibiting the personal possession, use, transportation, and cultivation of cannabis by adults 19 years of age and older.
During the first 180-days following the passage of the Act, the Legislature would be authorized to create the California Cannabis Commission to develop appropriate regulations for the commercial production and sales of cannabis, including licensing and taxation.
Individuals are allowed to possess up to three pounds and grow a 100 sq. ft. canopy without being subject to regulations. It maintains penalties for possession by persons under 19, distribution to persons under 19, and driving while impaired.
Colorado
Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act
The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 makes the adult use of marijuana legal, establishes a system in which marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol, and allows for the cultivation of industrial hemp.
The initiative would legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and six pot plants for people 21 and over. It would also create a regulated legal framework for commercial marijuana operations, including retail sales.
The campaign fell about 2500 signatures short of the necessary amount to appear on the ballotwhen the signatures were first certified by state election officials, but there is still time to collect the necessary signatures to make it onto the November ballot.
Michigan
The 2012 Michigan Ballot Initiative to End Marijuana Prohibition
The initiative proposes a state constitutional amend that states: “For persons who are at least 21 years of age who are not incarcerated, marihuana acquisition, cultivation, manufacture, sale, delivery, transfer, transportation, possession, ingestion, presence in or on the body, religious, medical, industrial, agricultural, commercial or personal use, or possession or use of paraphernalia shall not be prohibited, abridged or penalized in any manner, nor subject to civil forfeiture; provided that no person shall be permitted to operate an aircraft, motor vehicle, motorboat, ORV, snowmobile, train, or other heavy or dangerous equipment or machinery while impaired by marihuana.”
A Detroit Free Press/WXYZ-TV poll found that 45% of voters support legalization in Michigan.
Also in Michigan, voters in the city of Detroit may vote on a city ordinance that would legalize possession of less than an ounce of marijuana by adults on private property.
Missouri
Show-Me Cannabis Regulation
If passed, a the initiative would create a constitutional amendment which would regulate cannabis like alcohol, provide access to medicine for cannabis patients, and open a market for farming industrial hemp in Missouri.
The initiative calls for marijuana legalization for persons 21 and over, a process for licensing marijuana production and sales establishments, and allows the legislature to enact a tax of $100 a pound on retail sales. It also includes a provision lifting criminal justice system sanctions against people imprisoned or under state supervision for nonviolent marijuana offenses that would no longer be illegal and the expunging of all criminal records for such offenses. The initiative would also allow for the use of marijuana for medical reasons by minors with parental consent.
Montana
Montana First: Ending Criminal Penalties for Marijuana
Constitutional Initiative No.110 (CI-110) is short and sweet. It would add two sentences to the state constitution: “Adults have the right to responsibly purchase, consume, produce, and possess marijuana, subject to reasonable limitations, regulations, and taxation. Except for actions that endanger minors, children, or public safety, no criminal offense or penalty of this state shall apply to such activities.”
Provoked by heavy-handed federal raids and prosecutions aimed at medical marijuana providers and prodded on by the Republican-dominated state legislature’s virtual repeal-disguised-as-reform of the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law, this is largely the same group of activists and supporters who last summer and fall organized the successful signature-gathering campaign to put the IR-24 initiative on the November 2012 ballot. That initiative seeks to undo the legislature’s destruction of the state medical marijuana distribution network.
Nebraska
The Nebraska Cannabis Initiative
Add Proposition 19 to the Nebraska Constitution whose object is to regulate and tax all commercial uses of cannabis, also known as marijuana, and to remove all laws regulating the private, noncommercial use of cannabis.
Oregon
Activists in Oregon are serious about legalizing marijuana. There are currently three different marijuana legalization initiative campaigns aimed at the November 2012 ballot underway there and, this year, there are signs the state’s fractious marijuana community is going to try to overcome sectarian differences and unify so that the overarching goal — freeing the weed — can be attained.
Of the three campaigns, these two seem likely to make the ballot.
Oregon Cannabis Tax Act of 2012
The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2012 is a citizen’s initiative campaign to regulate marijuana and restore hemp. Just as ending alcohol prohibition and regulating that market has protected society, regulating marijuana will help wipe out crime.
Restoring hemp, made from the seeds and stems of the marijuana plant for fuel, fiber and food, will put Oregon on the cutting edge of exciting new sustainable green industries and create untold multitudes of new jobs.
Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement: Initiative IP-24 
Currently known as IP-24, the measure would allow adults over 21 to use marijuana for personal use without fear of criminal sanctions. The bill has substantial safeguards to protect children and public safety.
With hundreds of signature gatherers on the streets every day, CSLE is confident the measure will appear on the November 2012 ballot.
Washington
Initiative 502
Washington’s I-502 has already been certified to appear on the November ballot, and it is perhaps the most controversial legalization bill among the cannabis community.
Washington State Initiative Measure No. 502 (I-502) would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for persons over twenty-one; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues.
The initiative campaign is being run by New Approach Washington, which has brought together an impressive roster of endorsers and supporters, including TV personality and travel writer Rick Steves, former US Attorney for Western Washington, and a number of current and former state elected officials.
While most of the opposition to the initiative so far is coming from the usual suspects—law enforcement, drug treatment providers—some of it is coming from a segment of the state’s medical marijuana community, which worries that the measure’s setting a limit on THC levels to determine impairment in drivers could result in non-impaired patients being prosecuted.
But Dr. Kim Thorburn, Spokane County’s former top public-health official, who spoke in support of the initiative, said those concerns were overblown.”In order to be stopped for impaired driving you have to show impairment,” she said. “This is not a concern for medical-marijuana users and has been kind of a red herring that has been raised.”
Contributed by Blaiz Daley on February 12, 2012.
