Kharla Vezzetti An electoral showdown is looming in California this November over Proposition 36, which would end prison sentences for non-violent drug users (www.drugreform.org). Modeled on Arizona’s successful Proposition 200, Prop. 36 would allow most offenders charged with simple possession of drugs to opt for a diversion program instead of imprisonment. Criminal charges would be dismissed upon …
UPDATE: BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE MINOR POT POSSESSION OFFENSES SIGNED BY GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER SACRAMENTO Aug 30: The California state Assembly voted 43-33 to approve Sen. Mark Leno’s bill SB 1449 downgrading petty marijuana possession from a misdemeanor to an infraction. The bill passed thanks to support from the CA district attorneys and courts; similar legislation had …
SACRAMENTO Aug 30: In a disappointing display of legislative perversity, the California Assembly rejected State Senator Mark Leno’s medical marijuana resolution SJR 14. The Assembly may still have a chance to revisit the resolution in the coming extraordinary session. SJR 14 would call on the President and Congress to end federal raids and interference with …
State Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello) is seeking to push through a last-minute bill to establish a statewide BOE tax registration system for medical marijuana sellers, distributors, growers and transporters. In order to bypass the normal legislative hearings, Sen. Calderon has sneakily devised the bill as a “gut-and-amend” to another bill, SB 1131, which has already …
August 18 – In its long-awaited ruling in Qualified Patients Association vs. the City of Anaheim, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Anaheim could not use federal pre-emption as a grounds to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. The court struck down a lower court decision that had sustained a demurrer to QPA’s suit against Anaheim …
Opponents of this November’s Prop 19 initiative are blowing hot air about the supposed impacts of marijuana legalization on highway safety. The opposition has shrewdly named itself Public Safety First, in line with opinion polls that show driving under the influence of marijuana is a major public concern. Opponents have lined up the support of …
Cal NORML Release – July 21, 2010 CONTACT: Dale Gieringer, Director (415) 563-5858 mailto:[email protected] CAL NORML Joins Coalition Opposing President Obama’s Pick To Head The Drug Enforcement Administration DEA raid on Mendocino licensed MMJ grower shows agency out of control Citing the raid by DEA agents on Joy Greenfield, the first patient to register in …
The Control and Tax Cannabis initiative to legalize marijuana for adult use in California will appear on the November 2nd ballot as Proposition 19. Coincidentally, this was the number of the original California Marijuana Initiative of 1972, the first-ever marijuana decriminalization initiative. The CMI fell short with 33% of the vote but set the stage …
UPDATE: July 19, 2010 Oakland City Council Weighs Industrial Grows, Big Tax Hike for MMJ Oakland’s contentious cultivation ordinance to license four industrial-size grows will be up for a vote before the full City Council this Tuesday, July 20th. Opponents will be arguing for modifications to permit smaller-scale grows along the line proposed in Berkeley, …
COVELO, Cal, Jul 7th 2010: The DEA flouted Mendocino County’s newly enacted medical marijuana cultivation ordinance by raiding the first collective that had applied to the sheriff’s cultivation permit program. A multi-agency federal task force descended on the property of Joy Greenfield, 68, the first Mendo patient to pay the $1050 application fee under the …