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State & Local Legislatures

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.
Who would have thunk it? Corrections reform is moving in Oklahoma. (Image via Wikimedia)
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.
Neither Montana's reactionaries nor the DEA can make medical marijuana go away. (Image courtesy Coaster420)
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.

Marijuana Reform Hearings at Rhode Island State House Tomorrow (Press Release)

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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