Marijuana Legalization/Decriminalization Efforts

[hey]

Terrible double negative shit going on there, but long story short the D.C. court of appeals decided that the DEA has proven successfully that pot has no medical benefits whatsoever.

Thanks for that, it'd have taken for forever to decipher what the fuck they were trying to say.

[Boyiee]

My wife is good friends with a DEA agent and he says they spend next to no time on marijuana, other than what they find along with other drugs.

Most of the cops and ATF around here can care less about it as well, they usually only get it when busting for other drugs. In fact, a dealer I know as well as a headshop I know get a lot of customers that are police or some type of law enforcement. The headshop gives discounts to fire/police, really cool place.

[Roranora]

dug up from page 2 mini necro

so i know this mj mayors thing was posted in the GD marijauna thread, but.. that's also 70% people asking if they good for their upcoming UAs. ( http://marijuanamajority.com/mayors/ and http://marijuanamajority.com/ )

The U.S. Conference of Mayors will vote on this resolution at its annual meeting, June 21-24.

If you are a mayor and wish to add your name as a co-sponsor, please email [email protected] prior to June 21. You do not need to attend the annual meeting to be listed as a co-sponsor.

PRIMARY SPONSOR:
The Honorable Bob Filner
Mayor of San Diego, California

CO-SPONSORS:
The Honorable Mike McGinn
Mayor of Seattle, Washington

The Honorable Jean Quan
Mayor of Oakland, California

The Honorable Steve Hogan
Mayor of Aurora, Colorado

The Honorable Marilyn Strickland
Mayor of Tacoma, Washington

The Honorable Tom Bates
Mayor of Berkeley, California

The Honorable Stephen Cassidy
Mayor of San Leandro, California

The Honorable Matthew Ryan
Mayor of Binghamton, New York

IN SUPPORT OF STATES SETTING THEIR OWN MARIJUANA POLICIES WITHOUT FEDERAL INTERFERENCE

WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors has long advocated for a fair and effective criminal justice system; and

WHEREAS, despite the prohibition of marijuana and the 22 million marijuana arrests that have occurred in the U.S. since 1965, including 757,969 marijuana arrests in 2011 alone, federal studies estimate that 42 percent of Americans have used marijuana, including over 18 million people who admit to having used it within the past month; and

(more)

Spoiler: show

WHEREAS, enforcing the costly and ineffective prohibition on marijuana drains limited resources that could be better spent on programs that more effectively serve the public and keep our cities safe from serious and violent crime; and

WHEREAS, the impact of these costs are felt particularly strongly on the local level due to the fact that 97 percent of marijuana arrests are conducted by municipal or state law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, the illegal market for marijuana is dominated by organized crime: The U.S. Department of Justice reports that Mexican cartels operate drug distribution networks in more than 1,000 U.S. cities and that “marijuana distribution in the United States remains [their] single largest source of revenue,” while drug policy and law enforcement officials, including former White House drug czar John Walters and former Arizona attorney general Terry Goddard, have estimated that cartels make as much as 60 percent of their profits from marijuana alone; and

WHEREAS, rates of marijuana sales and use are similar across racial and ethnic groups, but people of color are arrested, convicted, sentenced and incarcerated at higher rates and for longer periods of time; and

WHEREAS, during the 2012 election, Colorado and Washington State voters strongly approved measures to tax and regulate adult use of marijuana, while 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing marijuana for medical purposes and 16 states do not treat possession of small amounts of marijuana as a criminal offense; and

WHEREAS, several other states are considering reforms that will allow them to more effectively and responsibly control marijuana use and sales among adults in their jurisdictions in a way that reduces costs and crime and improves public health and safety; and

WHEREAS, federal law prohibits the use of marijuana for any reason, and federal agencies have regularly interfered with the operation of state medical marijuana laws – despite President Obama’s comments that such actions are “not a good use of our resources” and his administration’s pledge not “to circumvent state laws on this issue”; and

WHEREAS, a recent Gallup poll found that 64 percent of Americans believe that states should be able to reform their marijuana policies without federal interference; and

WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution at its 75th Annual Meeting declaring the war on drugs a failure and calling for a health-centered reorientation of drug policy that gives “cities, counties and states the flexibility they need to find the most effective way to deal with drugs, save taxpayer dollars and keep their communities safe;” and

WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution at its 78th Annual Meeting recognizing that, for many people, medical marijuana is the safest and most effective medicine to treat their conditions, including returning veterans suffering from PTSD, chronic pain or other service-related injuries and illnesses; and

WHEREAS, the United States Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution at its 80th Annual Meeting noting that the growing state-federal conflict on marijuana policies “frustrates our citizens, costs cities significant time and resources to address, and prevents the establishment of a regulated and safe system to supply patients” who may need medical marijuana; and urging the federal government to reclassify marijuana “so qualifying patients who follow state law may obtain the medication they need through the traditional and safe method of physician prescribing and pharmacy dispensing;”

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors reaffirms its support of fair and effective criminal justice and drug policies and reiterates its previous call for the reclassification of marijuana under federal law; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors recognizes that its members have differing views on how to treat marijuana in their cities, and believes that states and localities should be able to set whatever marijuana policies work best to improve the public safety and health of their communities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Conference of Mayors believes that federal laws, including the Controlled Substance Act, should be amended to explicitly allow states to set their own marijuana policies without federal interference; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that until such time as federal law is changed, the United States Conference of Mayors urges the President of the United States to reexamine the priorities of federal agencies to prevent the expenditure of resources on actions that undermine the duly enacted marijuana laws of states.

Anyone in any of these cities with vocal/passionate mayors about mj reform? Could this thing Friday ever possibly lead to any resounding mayor effect or is the federal gov't predisposed to be like lolmayors?

[zoobernut]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3433806.html

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- After 13 years of waiting, medical marijuana patients in Nevada will soon have a legal way to obtain the drug without growing it themselves.
Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval signed SB374 into law Wednesday evening. The measure establishes the framework to make pot available to medical marijuana card holders, and imposes fees and requirements for growers, processors and dispensaries. It also contains provisions to continue to allow home-growing until 2016.
The tax revenue created will first fund the regulation of the dispensaries. Any remaining revenue will be funneled to education.
According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, Nevada is the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries, and one of 19 states to allow medicinal pot, along with the District of Columbia.

Article related as well. I am surprised this made it all the way through but Nevada will now have the framework for dispensaries for medical marijuana.

[Roranora]

bump for gj Uruguay and José Mujica

from fb everywhere:

[Acevalefor]

bump for gj Uruguay and José Mujica

from fb everywhere:

There was an article about this on Huffpost that talked about the massive blowback they will get from Brazil, Venezuela and the USA for going against their war on drugs. There are trade agreements and foreign aid contracts that specifically stipulate cooperation with said countries among others in keeping drugs criminalized and prosecuting users. Makes me wonder what exactly Uruguay stands to lose for taking a different approach.

[SamanosukeShiva]

[Acevalefor]

Yeah, that's the video that the Huffpost article referenced.

[Salodin]

There was an article about this on Huffpost that talked about the massive blowback they will get from Brazil, Venezuela and the USA for going against their war on drugs. There are trade agreements and foreign aid contracts that specifically stipulate cooperation with said countries among others in keeping drugs criminalized and prosecuting users. Makes me wonder what exactly Uruguay stands to lose for taking a different approach.

They just legalized weed...how much money do you think they'll be getting from that? Plus you know well still give them aid, it would look terrible if we didn't.

[ronin sparthos]

Mexico should do this. The War on Drugs is a failure and shit is out of control down there.

[Salodin]

I'm pretty sure I read mexico did try this, but the cartels waved their hands and prevented it.

[Kohan]

I'm pretty sure I read mexico did try this, but the cartels waved their hands and prevented it.

No. It's still ongoing.

http://world.time.com/2013/10/14/nor...-legalize-pot/

[djzombie]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4442077.html

Uruguay's Prez Rips Into U.N. Official Over Marijuana Law: ‘Stop Lying'

José “Pepe” Mujica shot back on Friday at the president of the International Narcotics Control Board, a U.N. agency, for saying that his administration refused to meet with the agency’s officials before legalizing marijuana this week.

Mujica batted down the criticism, insisting that his administration is open to discussing the law and accusing the INCB President Raymond Yans of applying a double standard by criticizing Uruguay, even as U.S. states pass laws to legalize recreational marijuana consumption.

“Tell this old guy not to lie,” Mujica told reporters, according to Colombian daily El Espectador. “Any guy in the street can meet with me. Let him come to Uruguay and meet with me whenever he wants… He thinks that because he’s in an international position, he can tell whatever lie he wants.”

Yans had said that the law passed by the Uruguayan legislature this week legalizing the consumption and government-controlled production and sale of marijuana would violate the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which Uruguay has signed.

The INCB president said on Wednesday he was “surprised” that the Uruguayan government “knowingly decided to break the universally agreed and internationally endorsed legal provisions of the treaty.

But Mujica dismissed the criticism as a double standard, pointing out that the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington have already legalized weed and that both of the states’ populations individually exceed Uruguay’s 3.4 million inhabitants.

“Do they have two discourses, one for Uruguay and another for those who are strong?” Mujica asked.

Uruguay’s Senate gave its final approval Monday to a law legalizing the consumption of marijuana creating a government-controlled market for the soft drug’s production and sale. Those wishing to smoke marijuana recreationally must register with the government and limit their intake to 40 grams per month, or whatever they can reap from up to six plants they may grow at home.

Mujica and his supporters argued that regulating marijuana consumption and production would take the profits out of the hands of criminals, rather than continuing using soldiers and police to enforce a prohibition policy that fails to keep people from smoking weed.

The United States has largely refrained from publicly criticizing Uruguay’s actions, though State Department Spokesman Pooja Jhunjhunwala also said the new law would violate the 1961 U.N. convention on drug control in comments to the Washington Post.

But Uruguay’s president said he’d faced international pressure, including from neighboring Brazil, for pushing ahead with his effort to end marijuana prohibition.

“There’s always going to be pressure,” Mujica told Brazilian daily A Folha de São Paulo before the law passed. “There’s an apparatus in the world that lives by repressing, and it costs a lot of money.”

[djzombie]

My wife is good friends with a DEA agent and he says they spend next to no time on marijuana, other than what they find along with other drugs.

http://blog.norml.org/2013/09/16/us-...anged-in-2012/

The FBI released their crime and arrest statistics for 2012 today and, despite the fact that a majority of Americans believe that marijuana should be legalized, the total marijuana related arrests in the United States is largely unchanged year over year.

In 2012, marijuana arrests as a percentage of all drug arrests dipped very slightly from 49.5% in 2011 to 48.3% last year. This puts the total number of marijuana arrests at about 749,825 (compared to 757,969 arrests in 2011). 87% of these arrests were for possession only, meaning that about 658,231 Americans were forced into handcuffs last year for nothing more than simple possession. Another 91,593 were arrested for sale or manufacturing charges.

That means a marijuana consumer is arrested for possession every 48 seconds. In the time it took you to read this short blog post, another marijuana consumer was taken to jail. Meanwhile, the occurrences of violent crime ticked up to 1,214,462 reported incidents, an increase of 0.7% over 2011 totals.

- See more at: http://blog.norml.org/2013/09/16/us-....c0y9Ux5y.dpuf

[archibaldcrane]

Not sure why you quoted me there, the vast, vast majority of weed arrests are done by local cops, not DEA.

[6souls]

The US state of New York is planning to relax its marijuana laws to allow limited use by seriously ill patients

Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo - long opposed to the legalisation of medical marijuana - is to make the announcement this week, the New York Times says.

Twenty US states have already gone down the same road.

On Wednesday, Colorado became the first US state to allow shops to sell cannabis for recreational purposes.

Washington state is expected to allow the sale of marijuana later in 2014.

The drug is still illegal under federal law.

New York's new policy is expected to be far stricter than in California or Colorado, which had already loosened rules around the use of medical marijuana.

In California, people suffering from mild medical complaints can obtain prescriptions for the drug.

But in New York, the drug will be made available in only 20 hospitals across the state for people with cancer, glaucoma or other serious diseases that meet standards to be set by the state department of health.

Mr Cuomo is to formally announce his plans in his state of the state speech on Wednesday.

He is expected to make the change through administrative rather than legislative action, according to Associated Press.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25611412
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/ny...a-laws.html?hp

[Quixon]

While it's a pretty weak step forward for Cuomo, any step is a good step for that hard headed fuck.

This gets the ball rolling in NY, and this ball has a hell of a lot of momentum once it starts.

[Roranora]

So I made my first legal market purchase this afternoon, a couple of chocolate truffles. 50mg x2 -- ate them both within 5min of store. Never have I been so happy to pay 25-30% tax on something.

[Not Kuno]

How much do they charge?

[Roranora]

I paid 16 USD for the 2 truffles, significantly overpriced. So few of the stores have the license for recreational transactions still. The game will change a lot by Feb even. Much more so throughout 2014. Price will settle to more like 9 bucks for the edibles I ate. (redundant?)

If you have the medical recommendation, your tax rate is only like 8%. And you can get concentrates and higher mg edibles.