MPP Insider Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 9
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Prop 19 polls on the rise
Ending prohibition makes cents (and dollars)
From the Director's Desk
MPP's Steve Fox featured in debate on Fox News
Ban on Fake Marijuana
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To contact MPP, please click here or reply to this e-mail. Our mailing address is Marijuana Policy Project, 236 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20002. Any donations you make to MPP may be used for political purposes, such as supporting or opposing candidates for federal office. | |||||||
In just the last week two new polls have come out showing California's Prop 19 has strengthened its position among that state's voters. In one instance, the highly respected Field Poll showed Prop 19 leading 49 to 42 percent, a marked increase from June when that same poll showed the initiative down 48 to 44 percent. Let's hope these polls hold true come November and California voters decide to make their state the first in the nation to end marijuana prohibition! 
A new study funded by the Cato Institute and conducted by former MPP grant recipient Jeffrey A. Miron shows that between savings and tax revenue the regulation of marijuana could bring $17.4 billion to government coffers annually. Although Miron's report notes that much of the savings would come from reducing the number of people in the criminal justice system it is nonetheless an affirmation of what MPP has been saying for years: ending marijuana prohibition saves lives AND dollars. 
MPP executive director Rob Kampia shares his latest Huffington Post piece on the pivotal role this year's gubernatorial election in Vermont will play in attempts to decriminalize marijuana in that state. Peter Shumlin (D), who pulled ahead in a very close primary race, has been supportive of marijuana policy reform since Rob's first encounter with him eight years ago and may now be the key to making great policy strides in Vermont. 
Steve Fox, MPP's director of government relations and co-author of 'Marijuana is Safer,' recently went on the morning show "Fox and Friends" to debate Bishop Ron Allen, an opponent of California's Prop 19. As always, Steve remained calm, cool, and collected in the face of far-fetched prohibitionist rhetoric while managing to explain why our marijuana laws need to change. 
MPP director of communications Mike Meno posted a great piece on the MPP Blog detailing the movement by states to ban artificial marijuana substitutes such as K2. Currently, 13 states have banned the substance and Michigan is expected to join that list as early as next week. Is this a sensible move to protect public safety, or a futile effort that misses the real issue? 
In January 2003, 19-year-old Webster Alexander of Alabama received a 26-year prison sentence for selling $350 of marijuana within three miles of a school.
Marijuana prohibition has once again been proven to be a failure by our own government with the release of two reports this week. While the FBI's Uniform Crime Report showed marijuana arrests rising to 858,408 in 2009, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated an eight percent rise in marijuana use among Americans. Given this kind of clear evidence that marijuana prohibition is not stopping marijuana use, why does our government want to continue to enforce policies aimed at arresting marijuana users? 
In what some may argue is a telling sign of their fear, the California Beer and Beverage Distributors made a $10,000 contribution to a committee opposing California's Prop. 19, a ballot initiative to tax and regulate marijuana in California. The alcohol lobby joins a large part of the state's law enforcement in opposing the bill, which could bring in more than $1 billion in revenue for the state. It would seem that having a safe alternative to alcohol and preventing the arrests of thousands of Californians each year just doesn't seem to be a priority for these groups. 
Kenneth Wells, a 57-year-old St. Charles man with no criminal record who was facing 5-15 years in prison for felony marijuana cultivation charges, has had the charges against him dropped. Mr. Wells suffers from chronic seizures and had been using marijuana to treat his symptoms with his doctor's recommendation. Although it was ruled that his doctor could not testify on his behalf, the charges were dropped when the prosecution determined it would be difficult to keep the details of his condition from the jury. 
In what can only be described as a step back for patients in Rhode Island, the health department there announced that it had rejected all 15 applications to open the state's first medical marijuana compassion centers. Among reasons cited for the rejections were that some applications had exceeded the allowable page limit. Setting and following guidelines can certainly be important in a process such as this, but should Rhode Island really be disqualifying applicants for being thorough? 
The two principal co-sponsors of federal legislation to allow a medical defense in federal marijuana trials are pushing for action on the bill. Reps. Sam Farr (D, CA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R, CA) have sent a letter to Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D, MI), chair of the Judiciary Committee, requesting immediate hearings.
Concerned California citizens have begun a campaign to educate voters about the candidates for state attorney general. While the AG rase typically gets little attention, the holder of the office holds enormous power of the implementation and enforcement of state medical cannabis laws. Democrat Kamala Harris, currently the San Francisco District attorney, is facing Republican Steve Cooley, the longest-serving district attorney in Los Angeles history.
In contrast, Cooley says he interprets the law to say that no one can legally buy or sell medical cannabis in California, and he has repeatedly tried to undermine the operation of patient collectives in LA County. When the LA city council was creating regulations for dispensaries, Cooley denounced the council as "irrelevant," saying he would ignore anything they passed, and prosecute anyone operating a dispensary. His official spokesperson has even said that, if Cooley is elected attorney general, he may find "rare exceptions" to enforcing the law.
alt="Newsletter V1_I4 Leonhart" border=0>The Obama administration has affirmed that it believes Michele Leonhart is the right person for the job as head of the DEA, despite a unified effort led by MPP to withdraw her nomination. Leonhart has shown that she is more interested in carrying out Bush-era raids on medical marijuana patients than she is in following a more reasonable policy of non-interference laid out by the DOJ last year.
Nearly four years after she was killed by police officers in an illegitimate raid on her home, the family of 
In an update to a story we brought to you in our very first issue of the Insider, activists in Detroit are now fighting to keep on the ballot a measure that would make marijuana legal for adults. Locals collected more than 6,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot, but in a shocking development, the city's election commission voted 3-0 to remove the measure. Supporters are now appealing the decision in an attempt to get the measure reinstated so that voters in Detroit can have their say in November. 
alt="Newsletter V1_I6 Calderon">The endless cartel violence in Mexico and on our southern border has convinced Mexican President Felipe Calderon to call for a debate on ending prohibition, while two of his predecessors say the time has already come, and U.S. officials sadly continue to deny reality. More than 28,000 Mexicans have died in prohibition-fueled violence since 2006, and the cartels now make more than 60 percent of their revenue from selling marijuana in the United States.
alt="Newsletter V1_I4 YouTube">Did you know that MPP has a YouTube channel? We do! In fact, we put all of the latest MPP Insider videos, our television appearances, and lots of other great content up all the time. Check it out and be sure to subscribe to our channel to be the first to know when we've added new content!
alt="Newsletter V1_I5 Victim">Peter McWilliams, stricken with both cancer and AIDS, died because the federal government prevented him from using the one thing that controlled his nausea.