NORML is pleased to announce that Senate Bill 349, an act to reclassify the possession of minor amounts of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction, has been referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary.
Under state law, the first-time possession of small amounts of marijuana is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1000 fine. Senate Bill 349 would amend Connecticut law so that adults who possess one ounce of marijuana or less will be issued tickets and assessed a nominal fine in lieu of criminal charges.
NORML is also pleased to announce that House Bill 5175, an act to exempt qualified medical cannabis patients from state arrest and prosecution, has been referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary as well.
The medical marijuana debate is a familiar one Connecticut. The Connecticut State Nurses Association has gone on record supporting patients’ “safe access to therapeutic marijuana,” and in 2007 the Connecticut legislature also backed the medical use of marijuana under appropriate supervision – only to have this measure vetoed by the Governor. With your assistance, we hope top make 2009 the year Connecticut becomes the fourteenth state to legalize the medical use of cannabis.
Please take a moment today to contact your elected officials and urge them to support SB 349 and HB 5175. You can also contact the Judiciary Committee here. A pre-written letter for each bill is provided after the break.
SUBJECT: Please Support Senate Bill 349
I’m writing to urge your support for Senate Bill 349, which seeks to reclassify the possession of minor amounts of marijuana from a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1000 fine to a fine-only infraction.
According to a report published by the Connecticut Law Review Commission, ”The legislature should review and further consider as a strategy option establishing the offense of infraction for adults twenty-one years of age or older who possess one ounce or less of marijuana.” The Commission stated that enacting this policy would greatly reduce state expenses, and would have “virtually no effect” on the use of marijuana, alcohol, or other drugs in Connecticut.
Senate Bill 349 is strongly supported by the public. In November, 65 percent of voters in Massachusetts endorsed a similar statewide initiative reclassifying marijuana possession as a fine-only offense under state law. To date, thirteen states — including Nebraska, Ohio, Maine, and Mississippi – have enacted marijuana decriminalziation laws. Passage of this legislation in these states has not led to increased marijuana use or altered the public’s perceptions regarding the potential harms of drug use.
In fact, the only U.S. government study ever commissioned to assess whether the enforcement of strict legal penalties positively impacts marijuana use found, “Overall, the preponderance of the evidence which we have gathered and examined points to the conclusion that decriminalization has had virtually no effect either on the marijuana use or on related attitudes and beliefs about marijuana use among American young people.”
Senate Bill 349 is a common sense, fiscally responsible proposal that will cut costs without altering the publics’ attitudes or use of marijuana. I urge you to vote yes on SB 349.
Topics: Connecticut, CT HB5175, CT SB349, decriminalization bill, medical marijuana billSUBJECT: Please support our patients: Yes on House Bill 5175
I’m writing to urge your support for House Bill 5175.
This bill seeks to enact statewide legal protections shielding those seriously ill patients who use cannabis therapeutically with a doctor’s recommendation from criminal prosecution. At the same time, it will not alter or interfere with already existing state laws discouraging the non-medical, recreational use of marijuana.
The use of marijuana as medicine is a public health issue; it should not be part of the war on drugs. According to a recent national survey of U.S. physicians conducted for the American Society of Addiction Medicine, nearly half of all doctors with opinions support legalizing cannabis as a medicine. Some 80 state and national health care organizations, including the American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association and The New England Journal of Medicine, support immediate, legal patient access to medical cannabis.
Most recently, the largest association of doctors of internal medicine and the second largest medical association in the country, the American College of Physicians, released a policy paper in support of medical cannabis, stating, “The ACP strongly urges protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as permitted under state laws.”
Locally, the Connecticut State Nurses Association has gone on record supporting patients’ “safe access to therapeutic marijuana.” In 2007, the Connecticut legislature also backed the medical use of marijuana under appropriate supervision, only to have this measure vetoed by the Governor.
Thirteen states – Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington - have enacted laws protecting medical marijuana patients from state prosecution. These laws are operating primarily as lawmakers intended and have not led to widespread abuses among adolescents or adult recreational users.
I believe it is unconscionable to deny this effective medicine to sick and dying patients. I strongly urge you to support the medical use of marijuana in Connecticut and to vote ‘yes’ on HB 5175.
out of my nose 3 [...]
RSS Feed
Loading ...
ITs time to decriminalize
Yes it is time for a change. Plus there is ALOT of money wasted in destroying peoples lives, money wasted in enforcement that can be put to more serious and useful situation. Responsible adult use of marijuana is no different that the current 2 biggies that are condoned due to their “Population control”
It’s really hard to be a professional and be open about smoking pot. I’m a great employer, father, and husband. I even volunteer my time to help the children in the state. Peoe ask why I’m so chill and not get stressed over work. I wish I could tell them the truth but I can’t. Some people drink a glass of wine, I smoke a joint. I pay my taxes, I donate money so why can’t I be open about it? Why am I considering moving out of Connecticut to a state like Colorado? I don’t want to do that but wish I could help this stte some how without my identity from being known? I don’t want to lose a great job that supports my family. My emouers don’t want to lose me either. I tried not smoking but that led to drinking rum daily and taking xanex(sp?). I’m killing myself so now I just smoke once a week and drink when the stress gets to me. Sorry for the long post but I’m too late to help. If anyone know how I can help without being identified then please reply to my post and tell me. Thanks and I apologize for the rant and any typos since I’m writing this on my iPhone.
Corporations and states have discovered that when they have gay-friendly policies, they attract more and better talent. I anticipate that pot smoking is soon going to have the same effect, as talented people like you leave their state and company for a place more tolerant of their lifestyle… if only the state and company knows why you’re leaving.
Give up the Xanax and alcohol and move to Colorado. You’ll be glad you did and your liver will thank you.
was is not a NORML chapter leader who helped derail this movement not too long ago with an unnecessary email???
I agree with James C.
I also find it completely ridiculous that Jodi Rell is willing (as she’s done in the past) to veto a bill that would generate a significant amount of revenue for the state, and then turn right around and discuss a tax increase. (http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localnews/ci_12220731). A tax increase in Connecticut. The U.S. state where the only reason “We’d Tax The Oxygen In The Air If You’d Let Us Get Away With It” isn’t the official motto is simply because it won’t fit on a license plate.
We’re missing out on a tremendous opportunity here. The decriminalization of marijuana would help to ease an overburdened judicial system. No longer would peaceful marijuana smokers be thrown in prison with true criminals, the costs of which passed on to the taxpayer.
If you look at the situation logically, it almost becomes absurd to the point of hilarity. A normal, average man is caught with a bag of marijuana. He’s convicted and sentenced using the current draconian law, and is ordered to serve the maximum sentence, and pay the $1000 fine. We spend $40,000 on average to keep him there for a year. Most fail to consider that Mr. Normal Average man is now in prison, and thus no longer employed, and not paying income tax. He’s no longer buying things, which means he’s not paying sales tax. He’s not spending any money to stimulate the local economy. He’s in prison.
The new proposal would eliminate all of this. Mr. Normal Average would cut a check for $250 to his local judicial clerk, and call it a day. The way I see it, we’re up $250 bucks. Some might say that this is the equivalent of cashing in. It’d be a good argument, if New Britain Superior Court didn’t have a room of cashiers with registers happily waiting to take my $120 for “driving while using a handheld electronic device”.
While I admit that the tone of this post has been overly financial, that’s really the topic du jour, isn’t it? I’ve never really been vocal about marijuana reform, even though I’m a regular smoker. It’s probably because legal or not, I’ll buy it and smoke it. It’s that simple. It’s that simple for a lot of people. You can spend the equivalent someone’s salary to keep me in prison for a year (you can just lay somebody off though, no worries), or you can make me write a check for a couple hundred bucks, confiscate what I’ve got, and call it a day.
- A voting, taxpaying, marijuana-smoking, otherwise law abiding Connecticut resident
FUCKIN DECRIMINALIZATION IS GOOD AND ALL BUT I HAVE SUMTHING BETTER…LEGALIZATION!!!!
I agree with you guys, but ‘Hartford CT” you are the exact kind of person that would make it harder for this law to get passed because you are obviously not an adult. As an adult who chooses to smoke marijuana after work to relax and sleep, this bill would really help people like me and I know there are thousands like me wanting this passed. Helps control the huge prison system in CT, save money, and stop otherwise innocent people from going to jail for smoking a joint. I stand with the rest of Connecticut asking why the hell would the governor shoot down this bill years ago when it passed both houses. We need to write the governor and be reasonable, not YOOOO DOOOD LEGALIZE WEEEED I LOVE SMOKING POT!!! No, I could do without pot if I had to but I am not hurting anyone and I am of age so whats the problem?
I LOVE MARIJUANA AND WE NEED THIS BILL TO B PASSED. ILL KILL FOR IT OPPSS ALREADY DID
i have sent a event for all my friends on facebook to see and attend to; this event is to get people to read this article and spread the word; i’m working on spreading the word through uconn’s campuses; both west hartford campus and storrs.
this is the event; take a look at it and spread the word
http://www.facebook.com/wall.php?id=1196237814&banter_id=1086600150&show_all#/event.php?eid=51942592170&ref=mf
Fellow Connecticut residents, I urge you all to please send letters you our congressmen and women.
[...] Connecticut (and its lucky inhabitants) may one day be joining the “cool kids club,” as the state moves closer to the passage of a marijuana decriminalization and medical marijuana bill. [...]