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.]

Submitted by NORML on Feb 22, 2012
Marijuana law reform legislation is pending in nearly 30 states this 2012 legislative session. Is your state among them? Find out here.

More importantly, have you taken the time to call or write your state elected officials this year and urged them to support these pending reforms? If not, NORML has provided you with all of the tools to do so via our capwiz ‘Take Action Center’ here. (FYI: NORML’s capwiz page is specific to legislation only, not ballot initiative efforts. A summary pending 2012 ballot initiative campaigns may be found at NORML’s Legalize It 2012 page on Facebook here or on the NORML blog here.)

Below is a synopsis of statewide legislation pending in 2012. Detailed information on bill numbers, hearing dates, and how you can get involved to support these efforts is available here.

MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

The following 20 states have legislation pending to enact limited legal protections for medicinal cannabis users and/or to improve existing medical marijuana laws:

Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, West Virginia

DECRIMINALIZATION

The following states have legislation pending to reduce marijuana possession penalties to a non-criminal offense:

Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

REGULATION

Legislation that seeks to legalize and regulate the commercial production and distribution of cannabis to adults is before lawmakers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Legislators in Massachusetts have scheduled a public hearing on this measure, HB 1371, to take place on Tuesday, March 6.

(Also of note, legislation that NORML opposes is pending in Colorado and Florida.)

If your state isn’t listed above then please consider using NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ to send a message to your members of Congress in support of HR 2306, the ‘Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act.’ You can do so here. Then consider taking the next step and contacting your state elected officials and urging them to take action.

Get active; get NORML!

State legislatures have convened or are convening all around the country, and once again this year, marijuana decriminalization or legalization are hot topics at the statehouse.

February 14, 2012  |

State legislatures have convened or are convening all around the country, and once again this year, marijuana decriminalization or legalization are hot topics at the statehouse. Legalization bills are pending in three states (as well as on the ballot as initiatives in Washington and almost certainly Colorado), decriminalization bills are alive in nine states, and bills that would improve existing decriminalization laws have been filed in two states.

And this is still early in the legislative season. Bills can still be introduced in many states, and bills that have already been introduced can advance or be killed. By around the beginning of May, a clearer picture should emerge, but 2012 is already looking to be even more active than last year when it comes to decriminalization and legalization bills.

There’s a reason for that, said leading reformers.

“We’re seeing more bills introduced, and they’re having stronger and more sponsors,” said Karen O’Keefe, state policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). “We’re also seeing more and more public support for decriminalization and legalization. We’re approaching critical mass as more and more people see marijuana prohibition as a failed public policy, and in legislatures because of fiscal constraints and changing public sentiment.”

“Each year, these bills are easier to introduce, there is less controversy, and the media reaction is generally neutral to positive,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML. “Baby boomers, medical marijuana, the Internet, and the state of the economy have all had an impact, even, finally, on legislators and their staffs,” he explained.

“Before 1996, nobody invited NORML; now our staff is regularly going to meetings requested by legislators around the country,” St. Pierre recalled. “First, we couldn’t get them to return our phone calls; now they’re calling us. Everything is in play because of activists around the country doing years of work.”

That contact with legislators has led to results, St. Pierre said. “We’ve been involved in almost all of this legislation. Either we helped write it or legislators contacted us for deep background and we’re testifying at public hearings on these bills.”

MPP has been busy, too, O’Keefe said. “We have paid lobbyists in Rhode Island and Vermont, and one of our legislative analysts, Matt Simon, is from New Hampshire and has been working on bills up there,” she said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, O’Keefe thought the prospects of passage were best in Rhode Island and Vermont. “In Rhode Island, more than half of both chambers are cosponsors of the decriminalization bill, while in Vermont, Gov. Shumlin has been very supportive, and for the first time we have a Republican sponsor in the Senate — we already had one in the House,” she said.

Getting a marijuana bill through a state legislature is a frustrating, time-consuming process, and there is a chance that none of these bills will pass this year. But there is also a chance some will, and some will pass eventually, if not this year, next year, or the year after.

Here is what is currently going on around marijuana law reform at the state house (compiled from our Legislative Center, with additional information from MPP’s list of bills and from cantaxreg.com):

Legalization Bills

Massachusetts

Thirteen months ago, Rep. Ellen Story introduced House Bill 1371, which would allow the legal and regulated sale of marijuana to adults. It was referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary then, and it is still pending. A hearing is scheduled on March 6.

New Hampshire

Last month, Rep. Calvin Pratt (R) introduced HB 1705, which would allow people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce and allow for regulated retail and wholesale sales. Marijuana would be taxed at a rate of $45 an ounce at wholesale and at 19% of the wholesale price at retail. The bill is now before the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

Washington

Last year, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D) and 13 cosponsors introduced House Bill 1550, which would replace prohibition with regulation. It and a companion bill, Senate Bill 5598, are still both alive. Dickerson’s bill is pending in the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

Decriminalization Bills

Arizona

On January 9, Rep. John Fillmore (R) filed House Bill 2044, which would make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana a petty offense punishable by up to a $400 fine. Simple possession is currently a Class 6 felony in Arizona.

Hawaii

In March 2011, the Hawaii Senate passed Senate Bill 1460, which would reduce the penalty for possession of less than an ounce to a civil fine capped at $100. The current law specifies a jail stay of up to 30 days and a $1,000 fine. That bill was carried over and is now before the House Health, Public and Military Affairs, and Judiciary committees. Also carried over is House Bill 544, which would make possession of less than an ounce a violation instead of a misdemeanor and impose a maximum $500 fine. That bill is before the House Judiciary Committee.

Illinois

In January 2011, Rep. LaShawn Ford introduced House Bill 100, which would reduce the penalty for possession of up to 28.35 grams of marijuana to a $500 fine for a first offense, $750 for the second, and $1,000 for a subsequent offense. It would also reduce the charge from a misdemeanor to a petty offense. Under current law, possession of up to an ounce can be penalized with up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine. The bill has been referred to House Rules Committee, and is still alive in Illinois’ two-year session.

Indiana

Last month, Sen. Karen Tallian introduced Senate Bill 347, which would reduce several marijuana-related penalties, including by making possession of up to three ounces of marijuana a civil infraction, punishable by up to a $500 fine and court costs. SB 347 was referred to the Committee on Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters.

New Hampshire

Last week, House Bill 1526, which would decriminalize possession of up to an ounce, got a hearing in the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. Sponsored by Rep. William Panek (R),the bill would mandate a maximum $100 fine. It also provides for notification of parents of minor offenders, who could be ordered to attend a drug awareness program.

New Jersey

Last month, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D) introduced Assembly Bill 1465, which would reduce the penalty for 15 grams or less of marijuana to a civil penalty. The first violation would be punishable by a $150 fine, $200 fine for a second offense, and $500 after that. Any adult caught three times would be ordered to undertake a drug education program, as would any minor regardless of prior offenses. The bill is currently before the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Rhode Island

Last month, more than half of the Rhode Island House of Representatives cosponsored Rep. John Edwards’ bill to fine adults for simple possession of marijuana and to sentence minors to drug awareness classes. The bill, House Bill 7092, was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Current law provides for up to a year in jail and $500 fine; the bill would make it a civil offense with a maximum $150 fine.

Tennessee

In February 2011, Rep. Mike Kernell introduced House Bill 1737, which would reduce the penalty for less than 1/8 of an ounce of marijuana to a fine between $250 and $2,500. Possession would remain a Class A misdemeanor, but the bill would remove the possibility of a year-long jail sentence. Fines would remain the same.  A companion bill, Senate Bill 1597, has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Both bills remain alive in the state’s two-year legislative session.

Vermont

Last year, a tri-partisan group of legislators led by Rep. Jason Lorber filed House Bill 427, which would reduce the penalty for adults’ possession of up to an ounce of marijuana to civil fine of up to $150. Minors would be sent to drug education and community service for a first offense, as would adults under 21 convicted of a second or subsequent offense. The current penalty for first offense possession of marijuana is a fine of up to $500 and/or up to six months in jail. Second offense possession is currently punishable by up to two years in prison and/or up to a $1,000 fine. The bill is still alive in the state’s two-year legislative session. Last month, Sen. Joe Benning (R) and Sen. Philip Baruth (D) filed Senate Bill 134, which would reduce marijuana penalties, including by reducing the penalty for possession of up to two ounces of marijuana to a civil fine of up to $100. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Decriminalization Improvement Bills

New York

Last year, legislators filed bills aimed at removing New York City’s reputation as the world’s marijuana arrest capital. The state’s current decriminalization law creates an exception for marijuana possessed in a public place and which is burning or open to the public view. The NYPD has used that exception to arrest more than 50,000 people a year on misdemeanor charges instead of issuing them tickets. In May, Sen. Mark Grisanti (R) filed Senate Bill 5187, while Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries introduced a companion bill, A 7620. Both bills were referred to their chambers’ Codes Committees and are still alive.

North Carolina

A bill that would reclassify possession of an ounce as an infraction instead of a misdemeanor has been filed in North Carolina. HB 324 increases the decrim amount from a half-ounce, but removes the automatic suspended sentence for a first offense.

Twelve states have decriminalized marijuana possession so far (and possession in small amounts at home is legal under the Alaska constitution), but between an initial burst of reform activity in the 1970s and Nevada’s decriminalization in 2002, there were three decades of stagnation. Since then, three more states- — California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts — have come on board, and chances are more will follow shortly, Legalization remains a tougher nut to crack, but so far, there are opportunities in five states this year.

A well-known public figure, Hilo gadfly Rev. Roger Christie ran for mayor of Hawai`i county — twice — on a Cannabis-libertarian platform

The priorities and actions of the so-called justice system in the United States today are so misplaced and abused that it has colored the entire process as systemically corrupt.

I was moved and made acutely aware of this in July of 2010 when a familiar figure in the Big Island community was arrested in what the government billed as a huge drug ring. That person was  Roger Christie — along with the “Green 13.”

We all knew Roger was involved with Cannabis. He was a well known activist and he had signs advertising the THC ministry on main street in Hilo for most of the last decade.

I also know Roger fairly well.  I have known him for at least 25 years, and had been to the THC ministry a few times. Roger had even offered me help one time when I ask for it. This was not a huge drug ring as the government claims. It was a small town marijuana dispensary operating openly and serving medical patients and members of the THC ministry—that’s it.

So why did the government spend two years and millions of dollars to arrest a guy they could have walked up the stairs and arrested any day of the week? I am convinced they saw him as a threat to their policy on marijuana. People were not only listening to him—they could see he was right. More on that later.

Is justice dispensed equally for all in the United States? Of course it isn’t: we all know the banks on Wall Street and the rich are treated differently. We know the prisons are full and most of us know they are full of poor people and most notably people of color. The imbalance is so profound that it is not even disputed by the government or the justice system. They admit it, in fact with little fanfare right now courts are letting people out of prison that are there for crack cocaine crimes because,  after 30 years, they could no longer justify the sentences they had handed out to the predominantly poor minority defendants.

Crack for the most part is just another form of cocaine, the biggest difference between the two being who uses it. Crack is smoked mostly by poor minorities, while powdered cocaine is snorted mostly by whites that are middle class or wealthy. There have been media reports that presidents G.W. Bush and Obama have both used cocaine. While we all have seen stories about movie or rock stars or Wall Street big shots and tycoons that are famous for parties that include cocaine use. Those people rarely go to prison, even if they are arrested, which almost never happens. The people that do go to prison are most often poor and in staggering numbers, minorities. Presidents Bush or Obama didn’t go to prison. When they use drugs (along with their rich friends), it’s called a “mistake” or “poor judgement”. Such indiscretions are not to be considered crimes apparently. No, they went on to be POTUS or to live in their mansions and estates while those not so privileged went to prison for doing pretty much the same thing.

That is what passes for “justice” in America today. The system is devastating for those that are prosecuted under these laws, and quite accommodating to those not really subject to the law at all. The sentencing difference was so unfair at 18 to 1 in the case of crack verses powdered cocaine, that after decades of locking up poor minorities behind these racist laws, Congress finally stepped in. They really had no choice—people were starting to notice. Trouble makers like Roger Christie and L.E.A.P. (law Enforcement Against Prohibition) and others were drawing negative attention to the war on drugs. To put this in perspective, if you were caught with 1 gram of crack cocaine you went to prison, equal to a person that had 18 grams of powdered cocaine.

The United States jails fully 25% of all the people on the entire planet that are in prisons while we only have about 5% of the world’s population. Why? How could the land of the free become the home of the prisons? I believe justice has become a business, it is traded on the stock market with companies like Correction Corp of America, producing a good return for share holders on the backs of the ever growing non-violent offenders. They need the drug laws to put people in prison so they can make a profit, and anyone that threatens that is dangerous to their bottom line.

Prison has become a growth industry, it’s big business and with that comes the lobbyist, political contributions, media campaigns, and money to keep pushing for more and more laws to fill the ever-expanding private prisons. Non-violent drug offenders are easier to manage than violent or dangerous criminals they have become the prisoners of choice for the justice industry. Prisoners in fact have been reduced to a commodity. There is a never-ending supply of people produced/manufactured even by a drug war that is designed to be never-ending. It’s the perfect war—it just keeps getting worse, and more people are using drugs under current policy than ever before, particularly young people. The next generation of prisoners to feed the bottom line of the Wall Street prisons. Prohibition has been the policy in this country going on a hundred years and in that time the problem has gotten a hundred times worse. We have to assume the government knows that—yet here we are.

What many people may not be aware of and the point of this article is there is no justice at all in America for a certain class of our people, non-violent drug offenders. Their fates for the most part are sealed long before they ever receive a trial by a jury of their peers and in fact the vast majority of these “criminals” will never see a jury. How could that be happening in the land of the free, the home of the brave, where justice and liberty for all is the law? We are told we fight wars to free the oppressed people’s around the planet, while at the same time millions of our own people are being oppressed. We are fighting a war right here at home, aptly named  the drug war, it is being waged in large part against people that use cannabis. Our friends, families and neighbors, people like Roger Christie, who is non violent, friendly, and well liked in the community. Ironically the drug war was declared against us by Richard Nixon who may be the most notorious presidents in modern history. A criminal driven from office, forced to resign for his crimes, but of course pardoned by his successor. As is the norm in America the privileged again escaped the punishment the rest of us face for far less serious acts. The largest segment of the population targeted in the war Nixon started against the American people so long ago are people that use cannabis, or what most people now call marijuana.

A name most of Hawaii county knows by now is Roger Christie — a first time marijuana offender with no prior criminal convictions at all.  Yet the courts (our “justice” system) has determined that Christie is so dangerous that “no terms of release would be sufficient to protect the community” from him. He has therefore been denied bail, visitors, or the means to mount any kind of reasonable defense for a marijuana crime where not a single victim has been named.

A comparison to a few recent cases easily exposes the political nature of holding Christie without the same protections and rights afforded even the most dangerous defendants in our community.

In December, 2011, Waylen Keone Carenio Jr. had been involved in a violent fight where a man was killed. He was released on bail even though he had a prior criminal record. He is now accused on a whole new list of violent felonies committed while free on bail – yet the courts have set bail for him again. If he has resources he will be released — again. Even this multiple violent offender is allowed to have visitors that provide him comfort, but most importantly the ability to prepare the best possible defense as provided for by our system. Compare that to Roger Christie a first time non violent marijuana defendant who is not allowed to have any visitors. How could anyone explain that, they can not of course as there is no legitimate purpose served in this. They are afraid of what Roger has to say so they have effectively bound and gagged him with out a trial at all.

We know the names of the victims in Mr. Carenio’s cases–and in the case of Konrad Mossman, who also took a life, but who is free after serving just 20 weekends in jail for the death of Tim Sing, run down in the dead of night by Mossman who after drinking at a County of Hawaii party left him there on the side of the road to die. Again compare that to Roger Christie who has already spent over a year and a half in prison held without bail, trial, or any conviction of any kind. How can our so – called justice system rationalize this disparity, it makes no sense at all to most of us?

Question: Was he ever accused of killing anyone?
Answer: No.

Question: Was he ever accused of assault or intimidation or any violent thing at all?
Answer: Nope.

In Roger Christie’s case, there is no allegation of violence or mayhem, and certainly no victim has ever been named. (Unless you count Christie himself as the victim of a broken legal system.)

But surely he must have threatened someone? After all, isn’t he “too dangerous to release”? The courts have said so five times.

In fact, Christie is dangerous — but to who? He is certainly no danger to this community–but he is a real and present danger to the government’s coveted policy of marijuana prohibition. The one feeding the bottom lines of the for profit Wall Street prisons. This is the policy–based on lies–that Roger Christie was exposing. He threatened a policy that the government wants–even though it does not meet its own definition of what constitutes a Schedule 1 drug. It is a policy that by every measure of its stated goals is a total and complete failure.

Roger Christie was instrumental in organizing and getting passed the Lowest Law enforcement Priority for Cannabis Ordinance in Hawaii county. Not coincidentally, shortly after the LLEPC passed in Hawaii County, the federal government began its 2 year investigation. The timing is significant in the bigger picture to help us understand what this is really about. Roger helped turn public opinion against the government’s failed and destructive marijuana policies. And that is why he is in prison without bail: he is a political prisoner , the government is punishing Roger selectively for being effective, for telling the truth, and for helping turn public opinion against cannabis prohibition.   The government has so perverted the justice system in this country that they can and do simply lock up political troublemakers—particularly those that are effective in influencing public opinion—like Roger Christie.

Something is very wrong with a justice system that prioritizes the suppression of people that threaten their policies over protecting the community from violent defendants.

by Phillip Smith, February 09, 2012, 10:31am, (Issue #720)

State legislatures have convened or are convening all around the country, and once again this year, marijuana decriminalization or legalization are hot topics at the statehouse. Legalization bills are pending in three states (as well as on the ballot as initiatives in Washington and almost certainly Colorado), decriminalization bills are alive in nine states, and bills that would improve existing decriminalization laws have been filed in two states.

And this is still early in the legislative season. Bills can still be introduced in many states, and bills that have already been introduced can advance or be killed. By around the beginning of May, a clearer picture should emerge, but 2012 is already looking to be even more active than last year when it comes to decriminalization and legalization bills.

There’s a reason for that, said leading reformers.

“We’re seeing more bills introduced, and they’re having stronger and more sponsors,” said Karen O’Keefe, state policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). “We’re also seeing more and more public support for decriminalization and legalization. We’re approaching critical mass as more and more people see marijuana prohibition as a failed public policy, and in legislatures because of fiscal constraints and changing public sentiment.”

“Each year, these bills are easier to introduce, there is less controversy, and the media reaction is generally neutral to positive,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML. “Baby boomers, medical marijuana, the Internet, and the state of the economy have all had an impact, even, finally, on legislators and their staffs,” he explained.

“Before 1996, nobody invited NORML; now our staff is regularly going to meetings requested by legislators around the country,” St. Pierre recalled. “First, we couldn’t get them to return our phone calls; now they’re calling us. Everything is in play because of activists around the country doing years of work.”

That contact with legislators has led to results, St. Pierre said. “We’ve been involved in almost all of this legislation. Either we helped write it or legislators contacted us for deep background and we’re testifying at public hearings on these bills.”

MPP has been busy, too, O’Keefe said. “We have paid lobbyists in Rhode Island and Vermont, and one of our legislative analysts, Matt Simon, is from New Hampshire and has been working on bills up there,” she said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, O’Keefe thought the prospects of passage were best in Rhode Island and Vermont. “In Rhode Island, more than half of both chambers are cosponsors of the decriminalization bill, while in Vermont, Gov. Shumlin has been very supportive, and for the first time we have a Republican sponsor in the Senate — we already had one in the House,” she said.

Getting a marijuana bill through a state legislature is a frustrating, time-consuming process, and there is a chance that none of these bills will pass this year. But there is also a chance some will, and some will pass eventually, if not this year, next year, or the year after.

Here is what is currently going on around marijuana law reform at the state house (compiled from our Legislative Center, with additional information from MPP’s list of bills and from cantaxreg.com):

Legalization Bills

Massachusetts

Thirteen months ago, Rep. Ellen Story introduced House Bill 1371, which would allow the legal and regulated sale of marijuana to adults. It was referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary then, and it is still pending. A hearing is scheduled on March 6.

New Hampshire

Last month, Rep. Calvin Pratt (R) introduced HB 1705, which would allow people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce and allow for regulated retail and wholesale sales. Marijuana would be taxed at a rate of $45 an ounce at wholesale and at 19% of the wholesale price at retail. The bill is now before the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

Washington

Last year, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D) and 13 cosponsors introduced House Bill 1550, which would replace prohibition with regulation. It and a companion bill, Senate Bill 5598, are still both alive. Dickerson’s bill is pending in the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

Decriminalization Bills

Arizona

On January 9, Rep. John Fillmore (R) filed House Bill 2044, which would make possession of up to an ounce of marijuana a petty offense punishable by up to a $400 fine. Simple possession is currently a Class 6 felony in Arizona.

Hawaii

In March 2011, the Hawaii Senate passed Senate Bill 1460, which would reduce the penalty for possession of less than an ounce to a civil fine capped at $100. The current law specifies a jail stay of up to 30 days and a $1,000 fine. That bill was carried over and is now before the House Health, Public and Military Affairs, and Judiciary committees. Also carried over is House Bill 544, which would make possession of less than an ounce a violation instead of a misdemeanor and impose a maximum $500 fine. That bill is before the House Judiciary Committee.

Illinois

In January 2011, Rep. LaShawn Ford introduced House Bill 100, which would reduce the penalty for possession of up to 28.35 grams of marijuana to a $500 fine for a first offense, $750 for the second, and $1,000 for a subsequent offense. It would also reduce the charge from a misdemeanor to a petty offense. Under current law, possession of up to an ounce can be penalized with up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine. The bill has been referred to House Rules Committee, and is still alive in Illinois’ two-year session.

Indiana

Last month, Sen. Karen Tallian introduced Senate Bill 347, which would reduce several marijuana-related penalties, including by making possession of up to three ounces of marijuana a civil infraction, punishable by up to a $500 fine and court costs. SB 347 was referred to the Committee on Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters.

New Hampshire

Last week, House Bill 1526, which would decriminalize possession of up to an ounce, got a hearing in the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. Sponsored by Rep. William Panek (R),the bill would mandate a maximum $100 fine. It also provides for notification of parents of minor offenders, who could be ordered to attend a drug awareness program.

New Jersey

Last month, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D) introduced Assembly Bill 1465, which would reduce the penalty for 15 grams or less of marijuana to a civil penalty. The first violation would be punishable by a $150 fine, $200 fine for a second offense, and $500 after that. Any adult caught three times would be ordered to undertake a drug education program, as would any minor regardless of prior offenses. The bill is currently before the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

Rhode Island

Last month, more than half of the Rhode Island House of Representatives cosponsored Rep. John Edwards’ bill to fine adults for simple possession of marijuana and to sentence minors to drug awareness classes. The bill, House Bill 7092, was referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Current law provides for up to a year in jail and $500 fine; the bill would make it a civil offense with a maximum $150 fine.

Tennessee

In February 2011, Rep. Mike Kernell introduced House Bill 1737, which would reduce the penalty for less than 1/8 of an ounce of marijuana to a fine between $250 and $2,500. Possession would remain a Class A misdemeanor, but the bill would remove the possibility of a year-long jail sentence. Fines would remain the same.  A companion bill, Senate Bill 1597, has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Both bills remain alive in the state’s two-year legislative session.

Vermont

Last year, a tri-partisan group of legislators led by Rep. Jason Lorber filed House Bill 427, which would reduce the penalty for adults’ possession of up to an ounce of marijuana to civil fine of up to $150. Minors would be sent to drug education and community service for a first offense, as would adults under 21 convicted of a second or subsequent offense. The current penalty for first offense possession of marijuana is a fine of up to $500 and/or up to six months in jail. Second offense possession is currently punishable by up to two years in prison and/or up to a $1,000 fine. The bill is still alive in the state’s two-year legislative session. Last month, Sen. Joe Benning (R) and Sen. Philip Baruth (D) filed Senate Bill 134, which would reduce marijuana penalties, including by reducing the penalty for possession of up to two ounces of marijuana to a civil fine of up to $100. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Decriminalization Improvement Bills

New York

Last year, legislators filed bills aimed at removing New York City’s reputation as the world’s marijuana arrest capital. The state’s current decriminalization law creates an exception for marijuana possessed in a public place and which is burning or open to the public view. The NYPD has used that exception to arrest more than 50,000 people a year on misdemeanor charges instead of issuing them tickets. In May, Sen. Mark Grisanti (R) filed Senate Bill 5187, while Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries introduced a companion bill, A 7620. Both bills were referred to their chambers’ Codes Committees and are still alive.

North Carolina

A bill that would reclassify possession of an ounce as an infraction instead of a misdemeanor has been filed in North Carolina. HB 324 increases the decrim amount from a half-ounce, but removes the automatic suspended sentence for a first offense.

Twelve states have decriminalized marijuana possession so far (and possession in small amounts at home is legal under the Alaska constitution), but between an initial burst of reform activity in the 1970s and Nevada’s decriminalization in 2002, there were three decades of stagnation. Since then, three more states- — California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts — have come on board, and chances are more will follow shortly, Legalization remains a tougher nut to crack, but so far, there are opportunities in five states this year.

House Resolution 1983 has been stalled in committee since Last June

HR 1983, the State’s Medical Marijuana Protection Act of 2011, introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), explicitly states it will exempt people complying with state medical marijuana laws from federal arrest and prosecution.

Officially titled “To provide for the rescheduling of marijuana and for the medical use of marijuana in accordance with the laws of the various states”, the measure also calls for an immediate rescheduling review by the federal government that would reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act, officially recognizing the plant’s accepted medical use and streamlining the federal approval process for medical marijuana research. It is cosponsored by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Rep. Fortney Stark (D-CA). and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA).

“The time has come for the federal government to stop preempting states’ medical marijuana laws,” Frank said. “For the federal government to come in and supersede state law is a real mistake for those in pain for whom nothing else seems to work. This bill would block the federal prosecution of those patients who reside in those states that allow medical marijuana.”

Sixteen states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington — and the District of Columbia have enacted laws protecting medical cannabis patients and often their providers from state prosecution. However, in all of these states, patients and providers still face the risk of federal sanction — even when their actions are fully compliant with state law.

Medical cannabis patients should feel safe from federal threats whether they are cultivating their own medicine, picking it up at a dispensary etc. When dispensaries are shut down, or gardens get plowed by the DEA, the real losers are the ill people using medical cannabis in order to treat their conditions. Often times these patients have already paid hundreds of dollars to be registered with the state, only to have the feds squash their efforts. Imagine having your local pharmacy getting shut down, terrorist style, leaving you without safe access to quality medicine. HR 1983 would provide the protection these patients need and deserve.

The time, money, and manpower spent by local, state, and federal authorities, to harass and prosecute medical cannabis patients is staggering, especially considering budget concerns in all parts of the U.S. In many states where medical cannabis laws have been passed, local municipalities have been collecting millions of dollars in taxes. So let’s see, less money out, more money in… HR 1983 absolutely makes sense for community budgets.

In states where dispensaries are allowed to operate, the cost of opening one can be staggering. Regulations in states, such as Colorado, can push the cost into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is nothing new, there is always a cost to do business, but the difference between dispensary owners and most business owners is the constant threat of DEA raids and asset forfeiture. These operators are most often good people who really want to be an accepted part of the community, yet the federal government considers them drug dealers using it’s influence to manipulate local governments to go against the will of the voters. Add the legal costs to fight for your right to operate and I wonder how these people are able to stay open? Passing HR 1983 would allow them to fully integrate into communities without constant federal harassment.

The known benefits of medical cannabis are a proven reality and how many more unknown benefits could be discovered if legitimate research could be done openly. Just look to Israel as an example. Since their government loosened the restrictions on cannabis research, a couple real quality studies are in the works. It’s no secret research and development is expensive. Passing this resolution would help entrepreneurs feel far more comfortable about investing capital in cannabis research once they don’t have to worry about the Feds kicking down the door. Imagine if we could isolate each of the hundreds of psychoactive components contained in the cannabis plant and test each one for potential ways to treat incurable diseases and conditions. Do we really want all this work to be done overseas? What about all the potential high paying research jobs this could create? H. R. 1983 would help make cannabis safer and create jobs here in the United States.

As a cannabis law reform and legalization advocate, I can appreciate what enacting this resolution has to offer. I personally see the biggest hurdle for marijuana law reform as breaking the decades old negative stereotypes created by the government propaganda machine. If people where allowed to use medical cannabis and the public saw crime rates fall and heard miracle cancer stories, maybe it could change their perceptions. Additionally, many people who use medical cannabis recreationally might actually be using it for medical reasons and just don’t know they are. Depression, anxiety, and other conditions often go undiagnosed, often leaving people to “self-medicate” on their own.

Bottom line, this bill doesn’t have many glaring problems and if your state doesn’t have a medical cannabis law, then it doesn’t really effect you anyway. The bill is currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, chaired by Rep. Frederick Upton; it was assigned to the Subcommittee on Health and hasn’t budged since. Contact your congressman and tell them to co-sponsor the States’ Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act now!

Here’s a great video from friend of the blog, Jay Selthofner talking about HR 1983

And here’s a link to the full text of the bill:

Imprisoned Cannabis minister Rev. Roger Christie married his long-time sweetheart and co-defendant Share E. St. Cyr at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center today, Friday, January 6, 2012.

In a phone message to HawaiiNewsDaily.com, Mrs. Christie said that the ceremony took just 20 minutes to complete.

“It’s done,” said Share Christie. “I didn’t keep the ‘St. Cyr’ after all,” she said. “I was writing it down and said, ‘I don’t think I want all this’. So it’s just ‘Share’ with no ‘E’ on it. Share Christie.”

“What an experience,” added Rev. Christie, in a corrlinks.com email message to HND. “The Minister did a fine job, and the FDC staff was courteous.”

“The unusual location disappeared momentarily as we held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes and shared our vows,” Christie wrote. “Share looked like an angel to me, her eyes were so clear and beautiful to look into as her voice delivered words of love and support that went straight into my heart. The ceremony took me to a place of unknown emotions… with great promise for the future. We got to breathe deeply together and have a few kisses, too. We tied the knot by hand-fasting with a hemp cloth prayer shawl. I’m a very happy man to have Share in my life. And so it is.”

Both Rev Christie and the new Mrs. Christie were arrested by Federal authorities on July 8, 2010. Share was released within a few days of the arrest to prepare for her trail on marijuana trafficking charges, along with 12 other defendants in the case. Mr. Christie — an avowed pacifist with no prior arrest record — has been held without bail at the Honolulu FDC for the past 18 months.

“It was so good to finally touch Roger,” said Mrs. Christie.

The Christie’s Federal court trial has been tentatively scheduled for August 28, 2012.

Roger and Share Christie