Decriminalization

Dear Friends of Compassion and Common Sense:

The bill relating to decriminalize marijuana (H-427) is in the VT House Judiciary Committee NOW.

The bill relating to medical marijuana dispensaries (S-17) is in the VT Senate Health and Welfare Committee NOW.

This is the time to show your support and compassion to Fellow Vermonters who use marijuana for personal or medical reasons. Marijuana is known to be one of the safest “active substances known to man.” We all know nothing is really harmless. Nevertheless, nothing can compare to the kind of harm the criminal justice system can visit on you.

Decriminalization and medical marijuana dispensaries are steps of harm reduction to help keep adults free from the unwarranted horrors of arrest, prosecution and worse.

WHAT YOU CAN DO AT: www.marijuanaresolve.org

~Read entire text of H-427 bill to decriminalize marijuana (12 pages)
~Read entire text of S-17 bill for medical marijuana dispensaries (33 pages)
~Contact your legislators in the House and Senate to support these bills
~Thank the sponsors of H-427 and S-17
~ Call or Write Judiciary Chair Rep. William J. Lippert (D-VT Chittenden-1-1 District)

Vidda Crochetta

State Coordinator for Marijuana Resolve, Inc.

"When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point." – Barack Obama

MEDIA ADVISORY: March 15, 2011

Marijuana Reform Hearings at State House Tomorrow

Bills Would Remove Criminal Penalties for Marijuana Possession and Save Money for Rhode Island

CONTACT: Robert Capecchi, MPP legislative analyst……………………202-905-2007 or [email protected]

PROVIDENCE – Hearings are taking place at the State House tomorrow on bills that would reform the state’s marijuana laws. H 5031 would remove criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and replace them with a civil penalty of $150. The bill is sponsored by Rep. John G. Edwards (D-Tiverton) and others, and would make marijuana possession similar to a traffic violation, allowing people who are convicted of simple, non-violent marijuana possession charges to avoid the life-long stigma of a criminal record. This measure would also save the state millions of dollars on police and court time.

            What:    Hearing on RI H 5031, Decriminalization of Marijuana Possession

            When:  “Rise of the House” (~4:30 p.m.), Wednesday, March 16

            Where:  Room 313, Rhode Island State House

Marijuana Policy Project legislative analyst Robert Capecchi will be present and available for comment. Mr. Capecchi will also be presenting testimony to the House Finance Committee at an earlier hearing to discuss the benefits of H5591, which would remove criminal penalties for adults who use marijuana and establish a taxed and regulated system for its distribution. This is the second year in a row that Rep. Edith Ajello (D-Providence) has introduced this bill. This hearing will take place in the Trainor Hearing Room (Room 35) at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16.

The bill would create a system for the regulation and distribution of marijuana to responsible adults in Rhode Island. It would remove the lucrative marijuana market from criminal organizations and allow the state to regulate the sale of marijuana. Taxing and regulating marijuana sales would take away profits from the criminal market, while creating jobs and producing tens of millions of dollars in savings and revenue, according to a report by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron.

With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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