Stephen Downing,a retired deputy chief of police for the Los Angeles Police Department and Terry Nelson, retired from Department of Homeland Security on why they support treating addiction as a health problem and are for the total legalization of drugs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dgEunrhm4Ys
Category: Cannabis News Corner
Marijuana Activist Joe Grumbine Thrown In Jail At Court Hearing
By Steve Elliott
| Cheri Sicard/Facebook |
| Joe Grumbine — who has fought so hard for the right of California medical marijuana patients to safely access their medicine — has been thrown back in jail |
California medical marijuana defendant and activist Joe Grumbine was put in handcuffs and hauled off to jail at what was supposed to be a short scheduling hearing in court on Tuesday.
According to Cheri Sicard, who works with The Human Solution, a medical marijuana patient advocacy/court support group formed by Grumbine, the prosecutor brought up a traffic stop that happened in Riverside, Calif., a few months ago.
 |
| Cannabis Cheri/Facebook |
| Grumbine had cannabis in his possession — an amount he is legally allowed to have as a patient — according to Cheri Sicard, above, a fellow member of advocacy/court support group The Human Solution |
Grumbine had cannabis in his possession (an amount he is legally allowed to have as a patient), according to Sicard.
Judge Arthur Jean promptly rejected Grumbine’s current bail, then upped it to $250,000 — more than Riverside County recommends for child molesters, kidnappers and rapists — and remanded him into custody.
Grumbine’s legal battle began when he and Joe Byron were arrested for operating a medical cannabis dispensary in Southern California. The case attracted worldwide attention — make that horror and disbelief — for judicial and jury misconduct and prejudice.
The first trial was so flagrantly bad that Long Beach Superior Court Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani granted a motion for a new trial.
“This was a terrible, terrible trial,” Judge Comparet-Cassani said. “I read the transcript and I am appalled.”
The judge also said she was “speechless” at the judicial and jury misconduct, adding that the misconduct started at the preliminary hearing and “continued throughout the trial.”
Full Article:
Seattle Police Will No Longer Arrest Anyone For Marijuana Possession
JOHNNY GREEN
OREGON–(ENEWSPF)–November 13, 2012. It’s a great time to be living in King and Pierce Counties in Washington State. More than 220 misdemeanor marijuana possession cases are being dropped in response to the passage of I-502. Not only are current cases being dropped, but law enforcement in those counties will be treating the law as if I-502 was already implemented going forward.
“Although the effective date of I-502 is not until December 6, there is no point in continuing to seek criminal penalties for conduct that will be legal next month,” King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said in a statement published by the Seattle Times
“The people have spoken through this initiative,” said Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “And as a practical matter, I don’t think you could sell a simple marijuana case to a jury after this initiative passed.”
Full Article:
http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/police-reports/38283-seattle-police-will-no-longer-arrest-anyone-for-marijuana-possession.html
Group Plans Rally to Legalize Medical Marijuana in Alabama
(MONTGOMERY, Ala.) The Alabama Medical Marijuana Coalition is organizing a rally Wednesday in Montgomery, in hopes of legalizing marijuana in the state.
The rally will be held from noon until 3 p.m. Wednesday outside the Statehouse. There is also a hearing planned at 1 p.m. on HB2 The Alabama Medical Marijuana Patients’ Rights Act.
Full Article:
http://www.local15tv.com/news/local/story/Group-Plans-Rally-to-Legalize-Medical-Marijuana/aOPCcwSDV0SSrHHrmnr7GQ.cspx
Florida Cannabis Network to Hold Press Conference on Pot Legalization
Florida CAN Release
Tallahassee, FL -The Florida Cannabis Action Network is a statewide group, headquartered in Melbourne, Florida. FL CAN has spent over a decade promoting the value of the cannabis plant on our health, our economy and our environment. CAN members are concerned citizens using proven political tactics to implement sensible cannabis policies in their communities, around the state and at the federal level.
Florida CAN has a press conference at 9:45 am and will end their petition to the Attorney General at 11 am just prior to the meeting with the Attorney General’s team
Full Article:
http://www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/Florida-Cannabis-Action-Network–179114431.html
The Oklahoma Daily – Editorial – Follow Western states’ lead, legalize weed
Our View: Oklahoma should follow Colorado and Washington in legalizing recreational marijuana.
You may have missed it amidst all the giddy cheers and apocalypse woes of election night, but voters in Washington and Colorado chose to legalize recreational marijuana use within those states.
It may seem that, left toitself, Oklahoma will be the very last state to consider such a move. But that shouldn’t be the case.
Oklahomans like to say they support limited government, and it certainly seems to be true in many circumstances. So shouldn’t the Sooner state rally around an individual’s right to control his or her personal behavior — just as the state recently rallied in support of open carry?
Though the field of research is complicated and in places incomplete, it is clear that marijuana is less addictive than cigarettes and less harmful to the body than both tobacco and alcohol. Given the similarities marijuana shares with these legal and largely culturally accepted products, marijuana prohibition seems irrational.
It looks even less rational when you consider the resources involved in the marijuana segment of the drug war. In 2010, police made 853,838 arrests for marijuana-related offenses, according to the FBI’s annual report. Of those charged with marijuana violations, 88 percent were arrested for offenses involving only possession, not manufacture or sale.
Full Article:
http://www.oudaily.com/news/2012/nov/12/ourviewmarijuana/
Alabama lawmaker seeks to legalize medicinal marijuana
By Alan Collins – bio | email
BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) –
Marijuana for medical purposes is legal in 17 states. Birmingham representative Pat Todd would like to see it legalized in Alabama for those in pain.
“When you are at end of life, going through cancer treatment, or your have seizures or MS there is a proven medical benefit from the use of marijuana,” Pat Todd said.
Under Todd’s bill, the Alabama Public Health Department would issue cards saying a patient had a right to use no more than 10 ounces of marijuana a month for medical reasons.
“If your child was dying of cancer and they were in extreme pain and discomfort, you do everything in your power to eliminate that,” Todd said.
Full Article:
http://www.wsfa.com/story/20077070/alabama-lawmaker-seeks-to-legalize-medicinal-marijuana
What progress has Indiana made in marijuana reform?
By JOSEPH GRAF
Courtesy of: www.businessweek.com
According to the Indianapolis Star, Senator Tallian said on November 9 that she plans to re-introduce S.B. 347 and feels that her fellow senators and other government officials in Indiana have been increasingly accepting in their attitudes towards marijuana reform over her last couple years in office.
In addition to Senator Tallian’s never-ending push to get Indiana to at least discuss and research the idea of how Indiana could use decriminalization of cannabis to its benefit, another state lawmaker wants to introduce a separate proposal. According to the Indianapolis Star, Republican Senator Brent Steele has stated that he plans to introduce a new legislation that would change marijuana possession of 10 grams or less to an infraction, a much lesser charge than the misdemeanor that it currently carries.
Full Article:
http://www.iusbpreface.com/life/what-progress-has-indiana-made-in-marijuana-reform-1.2951213#.UKHFVuTLdMJ
Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission will hold meeting after years of dormancy
The Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission will hold a special meeting after years of dormancy on Wednesday, Nov. 14 inFrankfort. This meeting was called at the request of a majority of the Commission’s members, including Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer.
Full Article:
http://www.kyforward.com/our-government/2012/11/12/kentucky-industrial-hemp-commission-will-hold-meeting-after-years-of-dormancy/
Gov. Brown tells the Obama administration to back off on marijuana
By Eric W. Dolan
California Gov. Jerry Brown said Sunday on CNN that the Obama administration should respect states that choose to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.
“It’s time for the Justice Department to recognize the sovereignty of the states,” Brown said, noting that a number of states had medical marijuana laws. “I believe the president and the Department of Justice ought to respect the will of these separate states.”
Colorado and Washington state both legalized the recreational use of marijuana on Election Day. However, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration still classifies marijuana as a schedule I drug: the most restrictive classification, reserved drugs with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medicinal value.
Brown said that federal law shouldn’t “nullify reasonable state measures” like regulated marijuana legalization.
“We are capable of self-government,” he added. “We don’t need some federal gendarme to come and tell us what to do. I believe in comity toward the states, that’s a decent respect.”
Complete article:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/11/11/gov-brown-tells-the-obama-administration-to-back-off-on-marijuana/