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LEGISLATION
Federal, state, and local bills and initiatives
Full C-SPAN Coverage of House Debate to Defund DEA Raids in Medical Marijuana States
Debate from sponsors and opponents of an amendment to ban funding of the DEA’s raids into medical marijuana states
Colorado per se DUID bill killed by opponents of gay civil unions
A bill proposed and passed by ignorant people who are intolerant of marijuana consumers was left to die because ignorant people who are intolerant of homosexuality had to kill a bill to recognize even a second-class marriage right for gay people.
Montana voters can return medical marijuana law to pre-”repeal” language
While we have focused a lot on Washington and Colorado’s efforts to legalize marijuana for healthy adults this year, and while Oregon continues to push two initiatives to do the same, we would be remiss in not mentioning the IR-124 effort in Montana to undo the ghastly “repeal lite” that was rammed through the legislature last year.
Netherlands policy bans tourists from buying marijuana
A policy in the Netherlands that would ban foreign tourists from buying marijuana went into effect in parts of the country May 1st. Most of the law enforcement and media focus has been on the town of Maastricht, a border town with Belgium, a country that has strict policies against marijuana. Some activists in the border town held a march in protest of the new policy and about 200 people marched through the streets and chanted.
Once more into the breach: The lies of the No on I-502 campaign
Now that the No on I-502 PAC is officially taking contributions to help the Drug Czar defeat legalization, it’s time for me to review the latest half-truths, scaremongering, junk science, and outright lies being propagated by those who feel this legalization isn’t perfect enough.
Colorado per se DUID bill passes Senate on 18-17 vote
The bill, Senate Bill 117, is similar to last years, setting a 5 nanogram THC blood limit as a way to measure impairment as far as law enforcement goes. Activists argue that blood tests are faulty science at best; they are invasive, discriminatory and inaccurate gauges of levels of impairment. Opponents of legalizing marijuana say that drugged driving is a real threat, that there must be a measurable limit, and that science has shown that 5 nanograms shows recent consumption.
Colorado Senator’s deciding vote switch for 5ng per se DUID attributed to “abuse” by “medical marijuana industry”
Here we have a lawmaker who knows this issue needs more study and knows the 5ng/mL limit is problematic enough to vote against, yet who is willing to switch her vote in order to set a “bright line” to rein in “abuse” by the “medical marijuana industry”.
Drug Testing Fever… yet people still do drugs!
I don’t feel an ounce of pity for any business who is having trouble filling positions because of their drug testing program. You wanted a “drug-free workplace”? Fine, you may also end up with an “employee-free workplace”. How did we get to this place where America has gone from the land of the free and the home of the brave to the land of the pee from the government slave?
Arkansas would limit medical marijuana to “intractable” pain, bans home grow near dispensaries
So if you have, say, neuropathic pain, and you want medical marijuana after this Arkansas initiative passes, you’ll have to: Go see your primary care physician for a diagnosis of your pain ($), Get a prescription for some legal painkiller that is toxic to your liver ($), And if that doesn’t work, you’ll have to keep trying every other legal toxic painkiller, each one a risk for side effects and addiction ($), Then if none of those drugs work, you’ll have to try acupuncture ($), massage therapy ($), and any other treatment that might help the pain, Then if the drugs and treatments don’t work, you’ll have to try surgery or surgeries, each one a risk for complications and death, to help the pain ($$$), Finally, if all the drugs and treatments and surgeries haven’t worked and you’ve tried for at least six months, then you can try the medical marijuana that is superior to all those pills you tried, has very mild side effects (including a pleasant one), is not toxic or addictive, and has never killed anyone in recorded human history.
Thirteen states have marijuana per se DUID statutes (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Further research shows that in 2002, the year before the per se DUID went into place, only 3 Nevada law enforcement agencies reported their arrest data to the FBI. In the other years, there were 31 to 34 of Nevada’s law enforcement agencies reporting. If we’re willing to concede a pattern of an upward trend in DUID arrests 2001-2009, then it’s safe to say 2002′s complete data would be at least 8,824 (2001′s figure), if not more DUID arrests. So the actual increase 2002-2004 is more likely around +3.5% or lower, not +76%.