State & Local Legislatures

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
FEBRUARY 11, 2009

Medical Marijuana Bill Passes Senate Committee in Bipartisan Vote, 8-3

CONTACT: Former Rep. Chris DeLaForest (R-Andover)......................................................(763) 439-1178

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA -- Minnesota's medical marijuana bill, S.F. 97, cleared its first major hurdle this afternoon, passing the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee in a bipartisan vote of 8 to 3. The committee received spoken and written testimony from a number of patients and family members describing the relief provided by medical marijuana when conventional treatments had failed.

    "I believe this will be the year medical marijuana becomes law in Minnesota," said Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing), a sponsor of the bill. "We've seen now from the experiences of 13 states -- one-quarter of the country -- that these laws work well, and that the dire warnings of opponents simply don't come true. The voters understand that there is no reason to subject suffering patients to arrest and jail for using a doctor-recommended medicine."

    One of those testifying was Joni Whiting of Jordan, a disabled Vietnam veteran who had strongly disapproved of marijuana use until her daughter was diagnosed with melanoma and began suffering unbearable nausea and pain from the treatments. "I was opposed to marijuana," Whiting said, "but the nausea my daughter suffered from the chemotherapy was so bad she lost a lot of weight, and the pills the doctor prescribed didn't help -- including Marinol, the THC pill. Marijuana allowed her to eat and also helped ease her pain, and she looked better than I'd seen her in months. I would have rather spent the rest of my life in prison than have denied her the medicine that kept her pain at bay and allowed her to live 89 more days."

    "I'm pleased to co-author this important legislation that will empower doctors and patients while protecting sick and dying Minnesotans from the threat of criminal prosecution," said Sen. Debbie Johnson (R-Ham Lake). "Most FDA-approved drugs assist in managing short-term pain.  Chronically ill and terminal patients need alternatives. Medical marijuana is one of those alternatives."

    Written testimony from patients and others is available at http://www.minnesotacares.org/Health_Housing_and_Family_Security_Committee_Testimony.htm.

    Thirteen states, including one-quarter of the U.S. population, now permit medical use of marijuana under state law. The newest such law was enacted by Michigan voters last November, passing with a record-setting 63 percent "yes" vote. Medical organizations which have recognized marijuana's medical uses include the American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and American College of Physicians, which noted "marijuana's proven efficacy at treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity," in a statement issued last year.

####

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
FEBRUARY 3, 2009

Vermont Lawmakers to Consider Bill to Make Small Marijuana Possession a Civil Penalty

Recent Poll Shows 63 Percent Support for Modest Reform; Plurality of Vermonters Would Go Further, End Marijuana Prohibition Completely

CONTACT: Nancy Lynch, Vermont Alliance for Intelligent Drug Laws (VALID), 802-279-2486

MONTPELIER, Vt. — A bill to replace criminal penalties for personal possession of small amounts of marijuana with a simple fine was introduced in the statehouse today, coming on the heels of a recent poll showing overwhelming support among Vermonters for the reform.

    H. 150, sponsored by Rep. David Zuckerman (P-Burlington) and 18 other representatives, would end the arrest of adults caught with an ounce or less of marijuana, instead treating the infraction as a civil violation punishable by a $100 fine. Zuckerman said that under the bill, marijuana possession would still be illegal, but the punishment would more reasonably match the violation. He said the reform would also save tax dollars and law enforcement resources that would otherwise be wasted arresting those with small amounts of marijuana.

    "There is no reason an otherwise responsible adult should face the life-altering consequences of a criminal arrest for what amounts to a minor indiscretion," Zuckerman said. "This modest reform will allow our police to quickly deal with these situations so that everybody can move on to more important matters."

    According to a Mason-Dixon poll of 625 Vermont voters commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., and conducted by phone Jan. 9 and 10, 63 percent of respondents supported "a change in the law to provide for a $100 civil fine without jail time for those who possess an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use." This past Election Day, Massachusetts voters passed a law similar to the one introduced in Vermont today with 65 percent of the vote.

    The poll, which has a margin for error of plus or minus 4 percent, suggests that a plurality of Vermont voters would actually go much further in reforming the state's marijuana laws. Forty-nine percent of the respondents said they would favor "making marijuana legal for adults over 21, and regulating it similarly to alcohol," while only 37 percent said they would oppose the idea.

    "This poll supports what we've known all along," said Nancy Lynch, executive director for VALID. "Vermonters don't want to see people ensnared in our criminal justice system for possessing a small amount of marijuana, and they see decriminalizing these violations as a modest, uncontroversial solution. Our representatives should take note – passing this bill quickly is not only responsible, it's politically popular."

    If the bill passes, Vermont would become the 13th state to decriminalize small marijuana possession. According to government figures, marijuana use rates in decriminalized states are indistinguishable from those in states that arrest those caught with small amounts of marijuana.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
JANUARY 21, 2009

San Bernardino Supervisors Broke Open-Meetings Law in Medical Marijuana Case, MPP Charges

CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director ................................. 707-575-9870

SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA -- San Bernardino County supervisors appear to have violated the Brown Act, California's open-meetings law, in deciding to take their lawsuit aimed at overturning part of the state's medical marijuana law to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Marijuana Policy Project charged today.

    San Bernardino and San Diego counties first challenged the state's ability to force them to issue identification cards to state-legal medical marijuana patients in the San Diego County Superior Court in December 2005. After losing in the trial court, both counties took their case to the 4th District Court of Appeals, which unanimously rejected the challenge on July 31, 2008.

    Turning down pleas from local patients and advocates, San Bernardino County supervisors voted to take the case to the California Supreme Court during their Aug. 26 closed session. In violation of the Brown Act, the board failed to notify the public of the decision during the open session that followed the vote. Advocates do not know when the decision to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was made, because the public was never notified as required by the Brown Act.

    "I have never seen such utter disdain for voters and the rule of law as has been demonstrated by San Bernardino County's supervisors on this issue," said Aaron Smith, California policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "The board is so embarrassed by their decision to waste public funds fighting a popular law that they are trying to hide it from the public, in clear violation of another well-established law."

    Outraged by this failure to follow the law, Fontana resident and medical marijuana patient Craig Johnson filed a written complaint with the Public Integrity Unit at the county district attorney's office. MPP director of state policies Karen O'Keefe and Smith co-signed the letter, which was sent via certified mail on Sept. 15.

    Four months have elapsed and the county has not only failed to respond to the letter but have also formally taken their challenge to the United States Supreme Court.     

    "These supervisors work for the people and must be held accountable for breaking the law," Smith said.

    With more than 26,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers 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 http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

####