State & Local Legislatures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

JUNE 7, 2010

Colorado Gives Marijuana Dispensaries Legal Status

Governor Signs Regulations for State’s Medical Marijuana Industry

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

DENVER, COLORADO —Today, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) signed legislation that will regulate the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries through a system of local and state licenses, but still allow individual localities to ban dispensaries. Currently there are an estimated 1,100 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Colorado — the most in any state other than California, which does not have statewide dispensary regulations. Colorado officials estimate that about half of current dispensaries will be able to comply with new regulations.

         “By approving a statewide system of dispensaries through which patients can safely acquire marijuana, Colorado is taking a significant amount of revenue away from the dangerous, illicit, and unsanctioned market created by prohibition,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. “Instead, patients will now be able to obtain marijuana from a sensible and orderly system of law-abiding and regulated providers. The scope of this newly regulated industry makes it the largest ever in the United States.”

         Under the regulations, dispensary owners will be subject to licensing fees and criminal background checks. Dispensaries will be required to grow 70 percent of the marijuana they sell and, like liquor stores, could not operate within 1,000 feet of a school.

         A state-regulated medical marijuana program is up and running in New Mexico and similar programs will soon be operational in Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. — but the number of sanctioned dispensaries to be allowed in each of those states is fewer than 10. Colorado’s law will authorize hundreds, and potentially more if future demand increases.

         A Rasmussen telephone poll released May 15 showed that there is also plurality support among Colorado voters for further expanding the state’s marijuana laws. Forty-nine percent of likely voters said they support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, with an additional 13 percent still undecided. 

         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                                                                                                                                 

MAY 4, 2010

D.C. Council Approves Medical Marijuana Law

Measure Finally Implements 1998 Initiative Supported by 69 Percent of District Voters; Adds D.C. to List of Medical Marijuana Jurisdictions

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, by a unanimous vote, the D.C. Council approved amendments to a medical marijuana law first passed in 1998 by 69 percent of District voters. Congress had blocked implementation of Initiative 59 for more than a decade, until it lifted its ban last year. With today’s vote, the District of Columbia joins 14 states across the country in allowing qualified patients to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest.  

         “Today marks a long overdue victory for D.C. voters and potentially thousands of chronically ill residents who will benefit from legal access to medical marijuana,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. “It has taken nearly 12 years, but the District will at last have a law that recognizes the mounting scientific consensus that, for many conditions, marijuana can be safe and effective medicine.

         “A well-working medical marijuana program in the nation’s capital will also provide members of Congress who have never seen such programs up close with a unique opportunity to do so,” O’Keefe said. “Once they see for themselves that these laws do nothing but provide compassionate care for seriously ill patients, hopefully they will understand the need to create a federal policy that no longer criminalizes patients in any state who could benefit from this legitimate treatment option.”

         Under the District’s law, physicians will be able to give medical marijuana recommendations to patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and other serious conditions that can be alleviated through marijuana. Qualified patients will have safe access to their medicine through a limited number of dispensaries within the District.

         Currently, 14 states have effective medical marijuana laws and more than a dozen others are considering them. In November, South Dakotans will vote on a medical marijuana ballot initiative, and Arizona is expected to have one on the ballot as well. Eighty-one percent of Americans support medical marijuana laws, according to a January ABC News/Washington Post poll.    

         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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

MAY 4, 2010

Rhode Island Committee Holds Hearing Today on Marijuana Decriminalization Bill

S 2786 Would Remove Criminal Penalties for Adult Possession of One Ounce or Less of Marijuana and Replace with a $150 Fine

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

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — Today, May 4, the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on S 2786, a bill that would remove the state’s current criminal penalties for adult possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and instead replace them with a civil fine of $150.

         In March, a Senate commission tasked with studying the effects of marijuana prohibition in Rhode Island voted 11-2 to recommend that the state decriminalize marijuana possession in order to free up law enforcement and reduce costs. Decriminalizing marijuana could save the state up to $11 million annually in law enforcement, judicial and corrections costs, according to Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, who testified before the commission.

         Last month, the state House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on a similar marijuana decriminalization bill.

WHAT: Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on S 2786, a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession in Rhode Island

WHEN: Rise of the Senate, Tuesday, May 4.

         WHERE: State House

WHO: Several speakers will testify in support of the bill, including Sen. Josh Miller (D-Cranston), the bill’s sponsor, who chaired the Special Senate Commission to Study the Prohibition of Marijuana.

The entire text of S 2786 can be read at http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText10/SenateText10/S2786.htm

         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                                                                                                                                 

APRIL 30, 2010

D.C. Council Expected to Vote on Medical Marijuana Law Early Next Week

Vote Will Finally Implement 1998 Initiative Passed By Nearly 70 Percent of District Voters; Advocates Still Concerned Over Details

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the D.C. Council prepares to approve and enact amendments to a medical marijuana law first passed in 1998 by 69 percent of District voters, advocates for sensible, compassionate, and responsible medical marijuana programs remain concerned with several components of the current proposal.  

         “In crafting this legislation, the Council has been responsive to many concerns raised by the community, so we thank and congratulate them for their work thus far. Still, a few amendments are needed in order to create a medical marijuana program that reflects the will of District voters,” said Dan Riffle, a legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project. “By adding these proposed amendments, the District would implement one of the best medical marijuana laws in the country, balancing the needs of patients with the safeguards necessary to prevent abuse.” 

         MPP believes the District’s law would be greatly improved by the following changes:

Remove the language prohibiting patients from using marijuana or paraphernalia not obtained from a licensed dispensary. The law should not criminalize use of items patients might already own, nor should it criminalize patients for using medicine not obtained at a dispensary, since it could take several months for dispensaries to begin distribution.  

Remove the limitation to home consumption in favor of a simple public smoking ban. Obviously, no one should be permitted to use marijuana in the workplace or undertake sensitive or dangerous tasks while under the influence. But those who take Oxycontin, Ambien, or any number of more dangerous drugs are allowed to do so at a friend, relative, or caregiver’s home, and there’s no legitimate reason to saddle medical marijuana patients with more onerous restrictions.

Include severe, chronic pain as a qualifying condition for patients. Thirteen out of the 14 current medical marijuana states include chronic pain among qualifying conditions. Given the strong scientific consensus in support of marijuana’s efficacy in pain relief, this legislation cannot be truly evidence-based if it criminalizes patients seeking relief from debilitating pain.

Do not limit cultivation centers to 95 plants. Such a low cap could make operating a cultivation center impracticable, drive up the cost of medical marijuana, and likely result in an inadequate supply, as has been the case in New Mexico, which has an identical restriction.

Increased possession/purchasing limits. Two ounces per month will not be enough medicine for some patients with chronic conditions, or those who choose to ingest medical marijuana through edible means such as baked goods. It is less than ¼ the amount of marijuana the federal government sends four patients each month pursuant to a program that is closed to new patients.

Include home cultivation. Nearly 70% of District voters approved Initiative 59, which included home cultivation. Allowing patients to cultivate their own medicine would not only respect the democratic process, but would help alleviate pressure on the program to produce enough supply to meet patient demand. All but one of the 14 medical marijuana states allow patient cultivation.

         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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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

APRIL 28, 2010

Senate Committee Considers Testimony on Bill to Study Drug Policies

After rejecting a marijuana decriminalization bill, senators contemplate proposal to study effects of current state and federal laws

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

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Today, one week after the Senate voted to defeat a marijuana decriminalization bill, the Senate Judiciary Committee considered public testimony on a bill that would permit a deeper study of drug policy questions by the New Hampshire legislature.  HB 1373, which passed the House in an uncontested voice vote Feb. 17, would create a study committee of three House members and two senators “to study the effects of current state and federal laws on illegal drugs and the possession and use of such drugs.”

Advocates cited growing support for marijuana policy reforms as a reason the bill should pass.  Matt Simon, executive director for the NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, touted the bill as an opportunity for the legislature to learn about successful reforms in other states and countries.  “Today, there is an enormous amount of data out there that suggests we need to reevaluate our current policies,” he said.  

“New Hampshire legislators have considered some important criminal justice and marijuana policy reforms this year, but we can’t stop there,” said Rep. Joel Winters (D-Manchester), prime sponsor of the bill. “As lawmakers, if we want to create smart, effective drug policies, we must not be afraid to ask the right questions, like who is being arrested and prosecuted, for what, and why. HB 1373 will help us get answers to those questions, and ultimately lead to better policies that will benefit our state’s residents.”

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