In 1977, New York State decriminalized possession of personal use amounts of marijuana. Nonetheless, researchers report that New York City is now the national leader in detaining individuals for possession of personal use amounts of marijuana.

Beginning with the advent of quality of life policing, the New York City Police Department dramatically increased the number of arrests for marijuana possession: from 1997 to 2006 the Department arrested over 353,000 people for misdemeanor possession of marijuana; in 2006 alone it arrested 33,000 people for possessing marijuana. The Department also commonly holds marijuana possession arrestees in detention for up to 24 hours pending arraignment.

Published research indicates that the marijuana possession arrests are not in central business districts, and that the police primarily make the arrests in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

Join the Committee on Drugs and the Law for a discussion of the costs and benefits of New York City’s marijuana possession arrest policy. This event is free and open to the public.

The event takes place tomorrow at the New York City Bar Association, 42 West 44th Street (between 5th & 6th Ave.) at 6:30 p.m.

Call your Congress today and tell your representative to support our two pro-marijuana bills in the House:

Washington, DC: US Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced legislation in Congress Friday to strip the federal government of its authority to arrest responsible adult cannabis consumers. The measure, H.R. 5843, known as an “Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults,” is the first federal decriminalization legislation introduced in 24 years. Frank’s pending bill, co-sponsored by presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), seeks to eliminate all federal penalties prohibiting the personal use and possession of up to 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of marijuana. Under this measure, adults who consume cannabis would no longer face arrest, prison, or even the threat of a civil fine. The bill also eliminates all penalties for the not-for-profit transfers of up to one ounce of pot. All are encouraged to write their representatives in support of this important legislation via NORML’s online advocacy system.

Washington, DC: Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced H.R. 5842, the “Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act,” earlier today. This bill would make federal authorities respect states’ current laws on medicinal cannabis and end DEA raids on facilities distributing medical marijuana legally under state law. Representative Paul, whose presidential campaign prominently featured the ending of the drug war as a platform plank, was joined by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) in sponsoring this bill. All NORML supporters are strongly encouraged to write their Representatives in favor of this important bill via NORML’s online advocacy system.

For the first time in 24 years, we have a bill in Congress to end penalties for personal possession of pot. Celebrating 4/20 was nice, but now it’s time to work for marijuana law reform, so nobody need ever be arrested, fined, or harassed for their private responsible use of the herb.

Call your federal representative now (and/or click here for an email form)! As NORML Board Member Madeline Martinez says, “Put down the joint, step away from the bong, for just the minute it takes to call your government!” Don’t be intimidated; they work for you, and calling a member of Congress is really easy:

Call 202-224-3121
Support HR5843

Just be brief and polite. The operator will ask for your zip code; this will allow them to find your particular representative*. When you get to the office of your representative, ask if you can speak directly to him/her. That probably won’t happen, as they are very busy, but they do work for you, right? Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and speak directly to them; in which case, email us at stash ‘at’ norml.org and tell us all about it.

More likely you’ll get a staff member. If so, just say to the staffer:

Hi, my name is ____ and I live in ____. I’m calling to tell Representative ____ that he/she should support HR5843.

You don’t have to tell them where you live, but they take calls from their constituents more seriously. So if you want to be more anonymous, you could say “____ county” or “the ____ district” or even just your state.

This will give them a moment to get a pen. They may not know what “HR5843″ is. So for your next sentence, restate the bill number and then describe it, like this:

HR5843 is the bill Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts introduced that would end federal penalties for small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

Now from here, depending on how busy/interested the staffer is, you can continue the conversation. Give them reasons to say “yes” to your proposal, let them know they are politically safe in doing so. The more you can put it in your words, the better, but say away from “man, we all have the God-given right to smoke the herb, dude” lines of reasoning, no matter how true that may be. They need concrete reasons to justify their vote; sadly, our “rights” aren’t often a good enough reason.

Here are some “talking points” that if you can work into the conversation in your own words, all the better:

• 830,000 people were arrested for marijuana in 2006
• 89% of those arrests were for possession only
• Adults who use marijuana responsibly are not part of the crime problem
• A marijuana arrest can needlessly cause the loss of a career, housing, student aid, and more.
• Twelve states already have decriminalized personal possession of marijuana
• Federal resources would be better spent on meaningful crime
• Current federal penalties call for up to a $1,000 fine and one year in prison for as little as a joint.
• One third of the US population live in states that have decriminalized marijuana

Most of all, be sure to let them know this issue is important to you and it will help determine how you vote in future elections.

*You only have one. You also have two Senators. You can call them and ask them to sponsor companion legislation to Barney Frank’s HR5843 to end federal penalties for personal marijuana possession.

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — The New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday to consider a bill – already passed by the House – to reduce penalties for smalltime marijuana violations.

HB 1623 would eliminate the possibility of jail time for possessing less than one-quarter of an ounce of marijuana, reducing the penalty to a maximum fine of $200. Current penalties for such a violation in New Hampshire include up to one year in jail and a maximum $2,000 fine, in addition to carrying a conviction that can bar people from opportunities including student financial aid, employment and housing assistance. The proposed change would reduce the conduct from a serious misdemeanor to a violation, which carries few collateral sanctions.

• WHAT: Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on HB 1623
• WHO: House bill sponsor Rep. Andrew Edwards (D-Nashua), NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy’s Matt Simon, and Cheshire County Dept. of Corrections Superintendent Richard Van Wickler are scheduled to testify.
• WHEN: Tuesday, April 22, 3 p.m.
• WHERE: Legislative Office Building, Concord

The legislation received a boost recently with the release of a Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc., telephone survey of 625 registered New Hampshire voters showing that 53 percent of Granite Staters favor similar reform. In fact, the poll asked voters to consider an even higher threshold amount of one ounce of marijuana and a lower fine of $100. Only 34 percent of those polled opposed such reforms. The poll was conducted April 7 to 8 and commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., and the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

Click the MoneyBomb! Today and today only you can join NORML for the amazing low price of $4.20 (usually $35). You’ll get a special sticker, your NORML Freedom Card, and the satisfaction of knowing you’re a part of ending adult marijuana prohibition with the oldest, largest, best-known and well-respected organization dedicating to fighting for the equal rights of cannabis consumers to be treated like beer drinkers.

It’s an exciting time to be a part of NORML.

• Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) has introduced the first pot legalization bill in 24 years, HR5843, which would make possession of 3½ ounces and non-profit transfers of up to 1 ounce of marijuana completely legal under Federal law.
• Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) has introduced HR5842 which would end the DEA raids on the twelve medical marijuana states.
• Michigan will be voting on medical marijuana this election through a citizen initiative.
• Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and Kansas are considering or have considered medical marijuana bills.
• Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Vermont are considering marijuana decriminalization (fine only).
• Colorado is beginning to get marijuana dispensaries. Rhode Island is considering legislating dispensaries.
• Hawaii, Oregon, and California are fighting for improvements to their medical marijuana programs.
• We’re even seeing pro-marijuana movement in places you might not expect, like Texas, Idaho, and Alabama.

So be a part of the 420 MoneyBomb and join NORML for just $4.20. We need your grassroots support and activism to make this happen - we don’t have any billionaire backers; our efforts are mostly funded by the small donations of cannabis consumers and reform supporters just like you. Help us help you!

NORML To Hold First Annual 4/20 Moneybomb - Organization’s Facebook Supporters Reach 420,000
NORML is offering supporters the opportunity to join NORML for only $4.20 this Sunday, April 20th, available exclusively at www.420moneybomb.com.

All supporters who take advantage of this celebratory, one-day-only offer will receive a special NORML sticker, Freedom Card, and a one-year NORML membership, which usually costs $35.

“4/20 is a special date when cannabis consumers celebrate marijuana and all of its various unique cultural interpretations and accoutrements,” NORML Outreach Coordinator Ron Fisher said today. “With the introduction of two new federal pro-reform bills, this year’s 4/20 celebrations provide citizens nationwide who support cannabis law reform unique opportunities that NORML strongly encourages them to exercise: join NORML for $4.20 on 4/20, celebrate 4/20 responsibly, and, most importantly, lobby for reforms on 4/21.”

NORML’s 4/20moneybomb, inspired by Representative Ron Paul’s fundraising success in his recent presidential campaign, is only one part of NORML’s online outreach strategy, which includes a daily podcast, NORML’s blog, and popular pages at Facebook and MySpace.

Started only last September, NORML’s Facebook Cause group, the largest group of self-identified cannabis law reform supporters in the world, reached a membership total of 420,000 members Tuesday. “Coincidence? A propitious omen to say the least,” commented NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre.

Marijuana law to be debated at MSU | News-Leader.com | Springfield News-Leader
With a moniker like “Heads vs. Feds,” it would be easy to make light of the marijuana legalization debate scheduled at Missouri State University tonight.

But members of the Student Activity Council, which organized the event, hope it does more than inspire pot puns or wagging fingers.

“Generally, when you get these things happening, you’ll have a lot of people turn out in support for legalization of marijuana,” said Gabriel Cassady, an MSU sophomore who serves on the committee that organized the debate.

“That’s not the goal here,” he said. “It’s not to bash the federal government by any means. It’s an intellectual debate.”

Both sides of the marijuana issue will be represented, Cassady said.

Steven Hager, a marijuana advocate and editor of High Times magazine, will argue in favor of legalization, facing off with Bob Stutman, a former supervisor for the Drug Enforcement Administration in New York who’s been called “the most famous narc in America.”

Cassady said he thinks the debate about marijuana legalization has evolved over the decades.

“In the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, right after the Marihuana Tax Act (of 1937), we had this view of marijuana where it was very much demonized — it was called demon weed, reefer makes you crazy, ‘Reefer Madness,’ ” he said. “A lot of that hype is gone, and we’ve really as a whole started to look at marijuana as a medicine and in terms of its use recreationally …

“The more prevalent issues today are: Is it a gateway drug, does it lead to more harmful things, does it cause apathy? More societal issues.”

While I welcome every public debate we can have about the War on Marijuana, I think it is a bit of a disservice to call it “Heads vs. Feds”. The term “heads” is loaded with connotations of bong-ripping wastoids, whereas support for ending adult marijuana prohibition comes from people running the spectrum from Congressman Barney Frank, entrepreneur George Zimmer, and the late conservative stalwart William F. Buckley, Jr. - hardly a group of “heads”.

I also don’t like the idea that we’re “versus” anyone. We’re not against regulations, laws, and government; we’re trying to take marijuana out of the hands of criminals and black markets and work with our “feds” to regulate and legalize marijuana.

Maybe this is nitpicky of me, but I think these frames matter. When we frame the marijuana legalization debate as “us vs. them”, we a subtly asking mainstream America to pick a side; the cops they respect and trust vs. what they imagine to be a bunch of long-haired tie-dyed hippie freaks looking for permissions to get high. We’ll lose that debate every time.

But if the debate were entitled: “Marijuana: Prohibition vs. Regulation”, now that’s a debate we will win every time. Take the issue away from the people and personalities and make it about the policies.

And one more thing: make it look professional. I was asked to speak at a local college for one of these events, and when I arrived on campus, the signs advertising the event were handmade on large strips of butcher paper, with “got pot?” as the hook (like the “got milk?” ad campaign) and looked very sloppy and were rife with misspellings, including “marijuan”. How do you have a serious debate about marijuana when you can’t even spell it?

Of course the big event taking place this week is Sunday, April 20, or as I like to call it, “Cannabis Liberation Day”.  If you’re not holding your own free screening of Doug Benson’s Super High Me, learn about how you can get your DVD copy and make 4/20 a fun event that’s also educational and helps raise funds for your local NORML chapter.

Saturday, April 19, 2008 - Moscow, ID: Northern Idaho Hempfest, East City Park at 3rd & Hayes St., Moscow, ID.  Come to the heart of Northern Idaho for hemp education and advocacy, live music, food, and all kinds of vendors! The theme for the Hemp Fest this year will be Hemp and Marijuana - the straight dope - dispel the myths - fact and fiction… Contact Arlene at tyedye@moscow.com for vending and volunteer information. For more information, see http://www.barterfaire.org/.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Nashville, TN: Nashville Marijuana Movie Festival at the Belcourt Theater, 2102 Belcourt Ave., Nashville, TN.  Starts at 4:20pm (of course) with Reefer Madness, followed by Ron Mann’s marijuana prohibition documentary Grass, FlexYourRights’ Busted video, and the new release from comedian Doug Benson, Super High Me.  Admission is $20 at the door or $18 online with a discount for students, and all proceeds benefit NORML.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Arlington, VA: 420 Comedy Hollidaze at the Arlington Cinema and Draft House, 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA.  Featuring Rob Cantrell from Last Comic Standing and Tony Camin from The Marijuanalogues and more.  Tickets are still available for $12 by calling 703-486-2345 or online.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 - Worldwide: Screenings of Super High Me are taking place at local NORML chapters from coast to coast.  Visit www.superhighmemovie.com/sample/screenings to find the showing near you.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008, Tucson, AZ. Toward a Science of Consciousness 2008, at the Tucson Convention Center, Tucson AZ. The eighth biennial Tucson conference continues an interdisciplinary tradition of intense, far-ranging and rigorous discussions on all approaches to the fundamental issue of how the brain produces conscious experience. An estimated 800 attendees from 6 continents will participate in 400 presentations included in 21 Pre-Conference Workshops, 12 Plenary sessions, 21 Concurrent Talk sessions, 2 Poster Sessions and, for the first time, an interactive Art and Technology of Consciousness Exhibit. For more info, see http://www.consciousness.arizona.edu/tucson2008.htm

Friday, April 11, Portland, OR. - A double showing of the documentary film, Dispensing Cannabis: The California Story will be held at the Studio 6 Theater beginning promptly at 7pm and again at 10pm. In this hour-long documentary, voices from inside discuss practices and issues involved in distributing medical cannabis. Of the twelve states in 2006 that permit medical cannabis use, California is the only state that allows for the distribution of the medicine. How and where do people get their medicine? How does one insure that their medicine is clean, safe and is sufficient quality? Tours of five cannabis dispensary models provide an unprecedented look into this quasi-legal business. Doctors, lawyers, law enforcement, patients and caregivers share their perspectives and concerns.

Sunday, April 13, 2008, Los Angeles, CA. Medical Marijuana Comedy Show ExtravaGANJA at the Comedy Store (Main Room), 8433 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. This show will feature the comedic talents FreddyLockhart, Ngaio, Darwin Hines, Tere Joyce, Tasty Jeff (Jeff Richards of SNL fame) and more! There is also rumor of an appearance by Russell Peters himself. Meet Jack Herer, author of ‘The Emperor Wears No Clothes’ and help him with the California Hemp & Health Initiative 2008. Meet Richard Eastman and support the L.A. County Medical Marijuana Exposition & Patients’ Festival. Show time is 8:30 pm. Doors open at 8:00 pm. Tickets are only $20 w/ a $5 discount for members of compassion clubs. Additional details at HowardDover.com. This is a 21+ event with a 2 drink minimum.

Monday & Tuesday, March 31 - April 1, 2008, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Rethinking Treatment: Recognizing and Responding to the Spectrum of Substance Use, at Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC. For more info & to register, see www.keepingthedooropen.com, or contact Dave Peterson at dave@devonknight.com or 604-677-2759.

Thursday, April 3, 2008, New York City, NY.  Drop the Rock Coalition Meeting - Ending New York’s draconian Rockefeller drug laws, at the Correctional Association of New York, 2090 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd., Suite 200 (@ 125 th Street), NYC.  For more info, call Caitlin Dunklee at 212-254-5700 x339 or email cdunklee@correctionalassociation.org.

Thursday, Friday & Saturday, April 3-5, 2008, Pacific Grove, CA. The Fifth Annual Clinical Conference On Cannabis Therapeutics: Re-Entering Mainstream Medicine. At the Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove, CA. Hosted by Patients Out Of Time. For more info & to register, see www.medicalcannabis.com/

If you have events you’d like to hear featured on our NORML Daily Audio Stash Reformer’s Calendar, just send me an email with all of the relevant details.  Set the subject line to “Events” and email it to stash@norml.org.

Our allies at the Drug Policy Alliance are announcing the addition of new sponsors to medical marijuana legislation that will be introduced in the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate:

Medical Marijuana Closer in New Jersey
Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham, Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak, and Sen. Jim Whelan (who sits on the Health Committee, where the bill will initially be heard), have all signed on. With Sen. Nicholas P. Scutari as the prime sponsor in the Senate, these new additions make for a total of four sponsors in the Senate and seven in the Assembly!

As we build on this momentum, it is important to urge your local representatives and the members of the Assembly and Senate health committees to commit to the compassionate, common sense response to suffering by sponsoring A804 / S119. The more sponsors we have on this legislation, the better chance we have of making medical marijuana a reality in New Jersey.

The 5th National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics is taking place this next weekend, April 4 & 5, in the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. There will be meals and housing available, but you need to get in touch with Patients Out of Time today by clicking the graphic at the left. Today, March 24th, is the last day to pay the reduced advanced registration fees and to purchase meal tickets for the conference center, but full-price registrations for the conference itself will be taken up until the day of event.

The conference is entitled “Re-Entering Mainstream Medicine”. It is part of Patients Out of Time’s continuing mission to provide a compassionate, science-based educational forum for the restoration of medical cannabis knowledge. There will be an outstanding agenda featuring doctors, nurses, patients, social workers, professors, advocates, and veterans presenting lectures and demonstrations on the medical nature of cannabis.

After all, as one of the conference speakers, ML Mathre, told me during an interview, “Cannabis has been recognized as medicine worldwide for our entire history, save the past century or so.”

Today, Monday, March 24, 2008, Pacific Grove, CA. Today is your last day to register for meals and reduced price tickets to the Fifth Annual National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics - after today, tickets will cost $50 more and you’ll be on your own for meal purchases. The event takes place next weekend, April 4th & 5th, at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California. For more information, see MedicalCannabis.com

Tuesday, March 25, 2008, Hagerstown, MD. Medical Marijuana Training. 6:00 - 9:00 PM at Hempen Hill BBQ, 13208 Fountainhead Plaza, Hagerstown, MD. Sponsored by Drug Policy Alliance, Americans for Safe Access and the Marijuana Policy Project. For more info, contact nlong@drugpolicy.org.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008, San Diego, CA. Forum: Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed, and What We Can Do About It, featuring Judge Jim Gray; 5:00 - 7:00 PM at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Court Yard Building 100, 2121 San Diego Avenue, San Diego, CA. Presented by The Federalist Society and Students For Sensible Drug Policy. For more info, contact MargaretLee009@yahoo.com or see www.judgejimgray.com

Thursday, March 27, 2008, Colville, WA. Film Screening - Up The Ridge: A US Prison Story, 6:30 - 8:30 PM at The Colville Public Library,195 South Oak Street, Colville, WA (Use south basement entrance). Sponsored by November Coalition Foundation and Thousand Kites. For more info contact 509-684-1550 or e-mail tom@november.org. Due to the graphic nature of this film, it is not recommended for children. Admission is free; donations gladly accepted.

Sunday, March 30, 2008, Washington, DC. Justice Sunday: Free Reception Featuring Prison Legal News Experts, 2:00 PM at the Prison Art Gallery, 1600 K Street, NW, Washington, DC. Featuring Paul Wright and Alex Friedmann of Prison Legal News. For more info, call 202-393-1511.

Marijuana Laws on Trial - NORML
WHAT: A Press Conference on a Constitutional Challenge to Massachusetts’ Marijuana Laws and a Request for a Special Jury Instruction

On March 20, 2008, Keith Stroup, founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and Rick Cusick, associate publisher of High Times magazine, will discuss the constitutional challenge they are mounting to the marijuana laws of Massachusetts. This challenge is part of their defense against the charge of possessing a joint on Boston Common last fall at a public gathering to protest marijuana’s prohibition. Stroup and Cusick will also discuss their plans to request a special jury instruction on the right to jury nullification.

Their attorneys — Professor Charles Nesson of Harvard Law School, Matthew Feinberg of Feinberg and Kamholtz, and Steven Epstein from Georgetown, Massachusetts — will join Stroup and Cusick at the press conference. Retired Harvard Medical School Professor Lester Grinspoon, M.D., who is providing expert medical testimony in support of the constitutional challenge to the state’s marijuana laws, will also be available to answer questions.

WHEN: Thursday, March 20, 2008 — at the conclusion of the pre-trial motions hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 9:00am in Courtroom #10 at the Boston Municipal Court, 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114.

WHERE: The press conference will take place less than a mile from the Courthouse, at the Batterymarch Conference Center, 60 Batterymarch Street (inside the Hilton Financial District Hotel), Second Floor, Boston, MA 02110.

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE — House members today defied expectations and passed a bill to reduce the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana, 193-141, overriding the recommendation of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, which voted HB 1623 “inexpedient to legislate” last month.

Sponsored by Reps. Jeffrey Fontas (D-Nashua), Andrew Edwards (D-Nashua) and Charles Weed (D-Keene),

Seriously?  Chuck Weed sponsored the bill to decriminalize marijuana?  That’s funny… it would be like scientists named Blow, Fried, and Earleywine issuing research on cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol… what?  There are and they did?

HB 1623 makes possession of up to a quarter ounce of marijuana a violation punishable by a maximum fine of $200.

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Call your California State representatives now and urge their support for the following bills:

SJR 20: A resolution authored by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) that calls for an end to the DEA raids in California, the resolution also denounces the federal government’s recent tactic of threatening to seize the property of landlords who rent to medical marijuana facilities. Further, SJR 20 urges Congress and the President to enact federal legislation that would protect medical marijuana patients and providers from arrest and prosecution.

SB 1098: A bill authored by Sen. Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) that provides tax-amnesty to medical marijuana dispensing collectives for the period prior to October 2005, when the state was not accepting sales tax payments, making it impossible for dispensaries to pay.

AB 2743: A bill authored by Asm. Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego) that directs state and local law enforcement agencies to not cooperate with the DEA or other federal law enforcement agencies in their attack on sick and dying medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.

AB 2279: A bill co-authored by Asms. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), and Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego), and sponsored by Americans for Safe Access, prohibiting employers from discriminating against employees and applicants for employment based solely on their use of medical marijuana while away from work.

This just in from Matt Simon out in the Granite State:

Friends,

Contrary to what you may have seen on television, HB 1623 has not been voted on yet by the full House of Representatives. The vote is now firmly scheduled for TUESDAY, March 18. We are meeting at 8:30 a.m. in the state house cafeteria (downstairs), putting on stickers in support of the bill, and smiling for the representatives as they file into the hall for the session which begins at 10:00. Some of us will also be handing out flyers. Once the session starts, we will take seats in the balcony and watch the wheels of government spin into motion (for better or for worse).

If you can come, or if you have any questions, please email info@nhcommonsense.org.

A lot of representatives are still very undecided, and we have reason to expect this will be a close vote, so if you haven’t told your representatives how you feel about HB 1623 yet, please do so now!

Hope to see many of you Tuesday morning!

Matt

Matt Simon
Executive Director
NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy
NHCommonSense.org

HB 4715, the bill to ALLOW citations instead of arrest for misdemeanor cannabis possession charges will be brought up in the House Judiciary II Committee on Criminal Law at their 8AM meeting Thursday March 13.  The bills sponsor State Rep. Constance Howard is on the committee along with two State Reps. who voted against HB 1864 last year.  There is also Rep. Howard’s bill for 911 Good Samaritans at that same hearing.  The Democrats slightly control that committee 7-6 so hopefully we can get those through.

SB 2865 will have another hearing in the Senate Public Health Committee meeting at 10:30AM on Thursday March 13.  At the end of the last hearing it was mentioned that some details between Cullerton and a few other Senators would be worked out and I am assuming that is what this next hearing will be focused on.

The deadline for House bills to be out of committee is Friday March 14 and for Senate Bills it is March 13.

Last Tuesday, 2/26, twin bills were introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly that would regulate distribution of medical marijuana by allowing a non-profit Compassion Center, an independent state-regulated facility, to distribute medical marijuana to Rhode Island’s licensed patients. In the House, Representative Tom Slater introduced H7888, and in the Senate, Senator Rhoda Perry introduced S2693. Click here to read its text.

(2) “Compassion center” means a not-for-profit entity registered under section 21-28.6-10 that acquires, possesses, cultivates, manufactures, delivers, transfers, transports, supplies or dispenses marijuana, or related supplies and educational materials to registered qualifying patients and their registered primary caregivers who have designated it as one of their primary caregivers.

Bill would also allow RI to accept recommendations from CT and MA

The federal sentencing of medical marijuana defendants Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, Attorney Dale Schafer will take place on Thursday, March 6th at the US courthouse in Sacramento (5th and I St.). The sentencing is at 10 AM. There will be a press conference afterwards at Noon in front of the Court House. The couple was denied the right to defend their actions that were protected under the Laws of the State of California.

WHO: Sentencing in Federal Court of Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, Attorney Dale Schafer for cultivation and dispensing medical marijuana under the Laws of California.
WHAT: Press Conference to follow at NOON
WHEN: Sentencing is Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 10am
WHERE: Federal Court House, 501 I St., Sacramento, CA

“ We never would have grown marijuana had it not been sanctioned by the Laws of the State of California, the Attorney General of California and the District Attorney and Sheriffs’ of El Dorado County. Why aren’t they being charged with conspiracy to violate Federal Law?” Dr. Fry asks a group of patients who are waiting to see her at her clinic.

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