Marijuana Policy

MEDIA ADVISORY                                                                                                                                               

APRIL 5, 2010

New Hampshire Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Gets Senate Committee Hearing on Tuesday

Bill Has Already Been Passed By House, Would Reduce Penalty for Possession of Quarter-Ounce of Marijuana to a Fine of Up to $200

CONTACT: Matt Simon, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy…………………(603) 391-7450

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 6, New Hampshire’s Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on HB 1653, a bill that would remove criminal penalties for possession of up to one-quarter ounce of marijuana, and replace them with a fine of up to $200.

Under current law, possession of any amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor offense, carrying a potential penalty of up to one year in jail, a $2,000 fine, and a criminal conviction that could damage someone’s ability to find employment, secure government benefits, or qualify for student financial aid.

Sponsored by Rep. Steve Lindsey (D-Keene) HB 1653 would also require parents of offenders younger than 18 to be informed of the offense, and underage offenders would have to complete a drug awareness program within one year of the violation, or face a $1,000 fine.

            Last month, the bill passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan 214 to 137 vote.

WHAT: Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on marijuana decriminalization bill

WHO: Witnesses will testify in favor of the bill

WHERE: State House Room 103

WHEN: Tuesday, April 6, at 2:30 p.m.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

MARCH 24, 2010

Historic Marijuana Reform Measure Qualifies for California’s November 2010 Ballot

Voters Will Decide If California Becomes First State in the Nation to End Marijuana Prohibition

CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director …………… 707-291-0076 or [email protected]

SACRAMENTO, CA — Today, a proposal that would tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol in the state of California secured a place on the November 2010 ballot. Organizers of the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 had submitted nearly 700,000 signatures to state authorities in January, far exceeding the 433,971 required to place the question on this year’s election ballot. Election officials validated the signatures today.

         The ballot initiative would make it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and allow cities and counties to impose a tax on the sale of marijuana.  

         “If passed, this initiative would offer a welcome change to California’s miserable status quo marijuana policy,” said Aaron Smith, California policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project, which recently endorsed the initiative. “Our current marijuana laws are failing California. Year after year, prohibition forces police to spend time chasing down non-violent marijuana offenders while tens of thousands of violent crimes go unsolved – all while marijuana use and availability remain unchanged.”

         An April 2009 Field Poll showed that 56% of California support taxing and regulating marijuana. A 2009 report published by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice showed that arrests for every criminal offense decreased between 1990 and 2008 in California except for simple marijuana possession, which skyrocketed by 127%. In 2008, more than 78,000 Californians were arrested on marijuana charges – more than for any other offense. During the same year, the FBI reported that almost 60,000 violent crimes went unsolved.

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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First, a big "thank you" to everyone who contacted their legislators concerning HB 1284-- the dispensary regulation bill.  Your efforts made a big difference (See legislative update below)

Upcoming Events

DURANGO:  Two free events this week featuring attorneys from Sensible Colorado!

(1) This Thursday (3/25), Know Your Rights training at Ft. Lewis College starting at 6:30pm.  Room TBA.  For more details contact:  [email protected]

(2) This Friday (3/26), Medical Marijuana Legal Seminar from 1-4pm at the Durango Public Library. 

DENVER:  Sensible Colorado will be tabling and giving a presentation at the Colorado Cannabis Convention on April 2-3 in Denver.  See details here. 

Statewide Legislative Update

On Monday, March 22, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee passed HB 1284, which will now continue to wind its way through the state house.  Thanks to pressure from Sensible Colorado and other activists, HB 1284 is in better shape and does not include a number of onerous provision including local dispensary bans and limits on where patients can live (i.e. near schools).  An updated version of this bill is available here. 

However, our fight is not over.  This bill still has a number of provisions which hinder safe access for patients, and we will continue to monitor and influence this bill moving forward.  Please consider supporting our important work by becoming a monthly donor today.

CONTACT: Mike Meno, assistant director of communications …………… 202-905-2030 or [email protected]

         Organizers of the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010 had submitted nearly 700,000 signatures to state authorities in January, far exceeding the 433,971 required to place the question on this year’s election ballot. Election officials are expected to validate the signatures today. The ballot initiative would make it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and allow cities and counties to impose a tax on the sale of marijuana.         

Dear friends:

This is your last chance to vote for a new member of MPP’s board of directors.  You can qualify yourself and vote here. 

(We hold this election every three years, when an elected board member’s term ends.)

Anyone who has donated to MPP or the MPP Medical Marijuana Political Action Committee in the last 365 days is eligible to vote. (Donations to MPP Foundation do not count for the purpose of determining eligibility for the MPP board vote.)  Voting ends on Wednesday, March 31, 2010.

I invite you to participate in the governance of MPP by voting today. Together we will end marijuana prohibition.

Sincerely,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

MARCH 23, 2010

MPP Urges Discussion on Marijuana Prohibition at Secy. Clinton’s Summit in Mexico Today

Secretary of State Expected To Ignore Only Rational Solution

CONTACT: Aaron Houston, MPP director of government relations …… 202-420-1031 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is leading a cabinet-level delegation, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, to Mexico City for a two-day conference that will focus on ways the United States and Mexico can “break the power” of drug-trafficking organizations. The talks come just one week after the execution-style killing of three people, including two American citizens and their unborn baby, linked to a U.S. Consulate in Mexico. Since Dec. 2006, there have been 18,000 killings in Mexico, with no end in sight. According to the Justice Department, Mexican cartels now operate in 230 American cities. 

         “Officials have already shown they are not serious about breaking the power of Mexican drug cartels, since they have refused to acknowledge the unrivaled role marijuana prohibition has played in lining the pockets of these murderous gangs who are now—by all indications—targeting Americans for assassination,” said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project. “The only way to ‘break the power’ of these gangs is to regulate marijuana and remove it from the criminal market. According to our own government, the cartels make 70 percent of their profits from marijuana sales in the U.S.  It is unconscionable that officials continue to support a policy that funnels billions of dollars to groups who are now murdering Americans.”

         During a visit to Mexico City in March 2009, Secretary Clinton said the United States has a “co-responsibility” to confront Mexico’s growing violence because “our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade.” Former leaders of Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia have all called for an end to prohibition in order to stem the violence. In December 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that growing numbers of U.S. and Mexican officials say privately that regulating marijuana may be the only solution to the current crisis.

         “No policy will ever extinguish the demand for marijuana,” Houston said. “Officials need to do the right thing by acknowledging prohibition’s role in this horrific carnage, and finally ending this failed policy.”   

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

MARCH 10, 2010

More States Embrace Marijuana Decriminalization

Measures to impose a fine for marijuana possession make key advances this month in New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Vermont

CONTACT: Mike Meno, MPP assistant director of communications …………… 202-905-2030

WASHINGTON, DC — With numerous states facing significant budget shortages, legislators and voters across the country this month have been giving overwhelming support to measures that would reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine.

         Yesterday in New Hampshire, the state House voted 214-137 to pass H.B. 1653, a bill that would reduce the penalty for possession of up to a quarter-ounce of marijuana with a civil fine of up to $200.

         In Hawaii, the state Senate voted 22 to 3 on March 2 to pass SB 2450, a bill that would eliminate criminal penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and replace them with a civil fine of up to $300 for a first offense and $500 for a subsequent offense.

         And in Vermont, 72% of voters in Montpelier approved a non-binding ordinance asking the state legislature “to pass a bill to replace criminal penalties with a civil fine for adults who possess a small amount of marijuana.”

         “Taken together, these developments demonstrate how an increasing number of voters and lawmakers across the country no longer support the notion that otherwise law-abiding citizens should be arrested, slapped with a criminal record and possibly thrown behind bars, simply for choosing to use a substance that is safer than alcohol,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. “We know from efforts in other states that decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana allows police to focus on more serious crimes and also produces a net financial gain through saved law-enforcement costs and the revenue generated by civil fines. Lawmakers everywhere should take heed of these examples, especially in these troubled economic times.” 

         Currently 12 states have laws that reduce the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a civil fine. A decriminalization bill in Rhode Island is co-sponsored by 48% of House members.  

         With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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Dear friends:

New Hampshire took a major step forward today, passing a bill to decriminalize marijuana in the House by an overwhelming 214-137, thanks in great part to Matt Simon, MPP grant recipient and executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy! Having passed with equally impressive numbers (16-2) in a committee vote earlier this year, the legislation will now move on to the Senate for consideration.

Won't you consider helping MPP and our allies to continue to work towards ending marijuana prohibition?

It's not just New Hampshire — and not just decriminalization — that's making waves this year. Several other states are talking about not just decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, but taxing and regulating it as well. Legislators in Washington, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia all also sponsored decriminalization bills this session. In Hawaii, a Senate bill to decriminalize an ounce of marijuana recently passed with an amazing 22-3 margin!

On the tax and regulation front, we've seen a historic committee win in California, where voters will get the chance to vote to tax and regulate marijuana later this year, as well as a New Hampshire House vote to study a proposed tax-and-regulate bill there. Rhode Island has just introduced a tax-and-regulate bill, and Washington state saw a bill earlier this session, as well. This is a sea change of support that MPP, our allies, and you are helping to drive.

Red states, blue states, and every color in between are beginning to realize that ending marijuana prohibition is both fiscally and socially sound. Please, help support MPP's work so that we can continue to push for these sensible policies across the nation and end marijuana prohibition once and for all!

Sincerely,

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

MARCH 10, 2010

New Hampshire House Passes Bill to Reduce Penalties for Marijuana Possession

Nearly 61% of House Members Vote in Favor

CONTACT: Matt Simon, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy…………………(603) 391-7450

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – The New Hampshire House of Representatives today voted, as it did in 2008, to reduce the penalty for possessing one-quarter ounce or less of marijuana. House Bill 1653 passed by a 214-137 vote. Previously, the bill had been recommended “out to pass” in a 16-2 vote by the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee February 11.

            “This makes three years in a row that the House has passed a bill attempting to reform New Hampshire’s archaic marijuana policies,” said Matt Simon, executive director for the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. “Unfortunately, Gov. Lynch has continued to show little interest in learning what the House has learned about these issues.

            In 2008, a measure similar to HB 1653 passed the House in a 193-141 vote, and last year a bill allowing marijuana for seriously ill patients passed the House and Senate before being vetoed by Gov. Lynch.

            Advocates stressed that the proposed policy would continue to discourage marijuana use, especially by those under 18, who would be required to complete a drug awareness program and community service if caught with less than one-quarter ounce of marijuana.

            “This bill doesn’t make marijuana legal for anybody,” Simon said. “It just reduces the penalty and ends the wasteful practice of clogging up our criminal justice system with people whose only ‘crime’ is possessing small amounts of marijuana.”

            Rep. Joel Winters (D-Manchester) supported the bill in the floor debate. “Passage of this bill will simply mean we’ve gotten smarter—that police can now waste less time dealing with marijuana users and have more time and resources freed up for dealing with serious crimes,” he told his colleagues.

            Since 1973, 12 states have decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, including neighbor states Maine and Massachusetts, as well as North Carolina, Ohio, Nebraska and Mississippi.

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Dear friends:

MPP is in the process of choosing a new member of our board of directors.

Want to take part and vote for a candidate?

Qualifying to vote is easy: Anyone who has donated to MPP or the MPP Medical Marijuana Political Action Committee in the last 365 days is eligible to vote. (Donations to MPP Foundation do not count for the purpose of determining eligibility for the MPP board vote.)

If you don't currently qualify to vote and you'd like to participate, simply make yourself eligible by making a donation of $5 or more to MPP right now, and then you can cast your vote.

I invite you to participate in the governance of MPP by voting today. Together we will end marijuana prohibition.

Sincerely,

Marsha Wallen
Director of Membership
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.