Common sense at the statehouse in Little Rock (Image via Wikimedia.org)
Arkansas Unemployment Drug Testing Bill Dies
The perennial legislative impulse to drug test people receiving public benefits has petered out this year in Little Rock.
State & Local Legislatures
Rhode Island Looks at Legalizing Marijuana for Recreational Use
Rhode Island would become the first U.S. state to legalize marijuana for recreational use under legislation that would replace criminal penalties for possession with alcohol-style regulation and taxes on America's most widely used illicit drug. Cash-strapped Rhode Island would stand to make tens of millions of dollars off the deal. The legislation would allow individuals to grow up to three marijuana plants, but only if they've paid $100 per plant. Wholesalers would have to pay a $50-per-ounce excise tax, retail licenses would cost $5,000 annually, and all retail marijuana sales would be subject to sales taxes.
Washington State Marijuana Bill Should Reflect Shift in Culture (Editorial)
The Spokesman-Review opines that because Congress refuses to update the absurd Controlled Substances Act, states are trying to figure out the best ways to implement the sane and popular wish that marijuana be made available for medicinal purposes. The newspaper says Washington's bill should put patients first by not erecting barriers that make it more difficult to legally obtain medical marijuana, and that the House should strip the bill of these excessive limitations. It says the bill represents a cultural shift in attitudes toward marijuana, and that regulation and enforcement ought to reflect that reality.
Hawaii Medical Marijuana Bill Passes Committees with Major Amendments
Hawaii Senate Bill 1458 SD2, which creates medical marijuana compassion centers was heard by the House Committees on Health and Public Safety. The committees passed the bill with major amendments, so now it becomes SB 1458 SD2 HD1.
Who would have thunk it? Corrections reform is moving in Oklahoma. (Image via Wikimedia)
Oklahoma House Passes Corrections Reform Bill
One might have thought the Sooner state would start thinking about letting people out of prison only later, but a bill to reduce imprisonment is moving in Oklahoma City.
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Colorado Drugged Driving Bill Generating Confusion and Concerns [FEATURE]
A bill moving in Colorado would set threshold THC blood levels to determine whether drivers are impaired. The question is would exceeding that level cause an automatic conviction or just more evidence to convict? Right now, the bill does both.
Drug sentencing reform is moving in Dover. (Image via Wikimedia)
Drug Sentencing Reform Bill Passes Delaware House
Delaware is one key step closer to enacting drug sentencing reform.
Neither Montana's reactionaries nor the DEA can make medical marijuana go away. (Image courtesy Coaster420)
Montana Senate Nixes Medical Marijuana Repeal Amidst DEA Raids
Even as the Montana Senate was killing an effort to repeal the state's medical marijuana law, the DEA was behaving as if the law had never been passed by voters in the first place.
Former U.S. Attorney to Speak in Favor of Marijuana Legalization and Taxation Bill
Former federal prosecutor John McKay will join Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson of Seattle in speaking in favor of a bill to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana in Washington state.