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• Colorado Legalization Effort Comes up 2400 Valid Signatures Short
• Washington State Bill Asking Government To Reclassify Marijuana Moves Forward
• Ballot Measures Competing for Funds from Big Backers
• Firefighters Mistake Butane Hash Oil Extraction Equipment for Pipe Bomb
• “Fast and Furious” Program Sparks Lawsuit and House Hearing for the Attorney General

Daily Toker Tunes

Rockin’ Friday: Brought to you by Urb Thrasher from Urb Age Designs

• Lionize – “Superczar”

Legislative Update with NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano

• ALABAMA: The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act (HB 25) which seeks to enact legal protections for authorized medical marijuana patients, has been marked for reintroduction in the Alabama Legislature for the session starting on February 7th. It is currently assigned to the House Committee on Health. A separate medical cannabis bill, House Bill 66, has also been prefiled in the House and is also before to the House Committee on Health, while a third measure that seeks to reduce penalties on adult cannabis possession is anticipated to be introduced shortly. You can learn more about these efforts via NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here.
• INDIANA: Senate lawmakers heard testimony on Tuesday, January 24, in favor of legislation, SB 347, to decriminalize marijuana possession penalties in Indiana. Lawmakers on Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters did not vote on the measure. Therefore, there is still time for constituents to contact their Senate members and encourage them to support marijuana law reform. You can do so via NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here. A separate House measure, HB 1370, that seeks to legalize the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, is pending before the House Committee on Public Policy.
• KANSAS: House Bill 2330, which seeks to enact legal protections for authorized medical marijuana patients, was heard by the House Committee on Health and Human Services on Tuesday, January 24th. You can read media coverage of the hearing here and here. You can track the progress of this measure and contact your state elected officials regarding HB 2330here.
• NEW HAMPSHIRE: Members of the House Criminal Justice Committee heard testimony on Thursday, January 25, in favor of House Bill 1705, which seeks to allow adults age 21 or over to use marijuana legally in their home. The measure also seeks to establish a regulated cannabis market governing the wholesale production and sale of marijuana. Non-commercial transactions involving less than one ounce of cannabis would not be subject to state taxation or regulation under the measure. You can watch clips from the hearing here and you can contact your elected officials in support of the measure here.
• The House Criminal Justice Committee is also scheduled to hear testimony this Thursday in favor of separate legislation, HB 1526, which seeks reduce the penalties on minor marijuana possession offenses (up to one ounce) from a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine to a nominal monetary penalty of no more than $100.00. To contact your House representative regarding HB 1526, please visit NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here.
• VIRGINIA: Legislation seeking to establish a joint study committee to investigate the fiscal impact of regulating the production and sale of marijuana to adults 21 and over is anticipated to be heard by the Virginia House Committee on Rules as soon as this Thursday. You can read NORML’s published op/eds in support of this measure here and here. To learn more aboutHouse Joint Resolution 140, please visit Virginia NORML or contact your state officials here.

NORML Newsmakers

• Mark Pedersen from Sensible Missouri and Show-Me Cannabis Regulation

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1. Attorney General Holder grilled by House Republicans over testimony in Operation Fast & Furious investigation
2. Oregon case reiterates that freshly harvested marijuana is neither plant nor usable marijuana under Oregon’s medical marijuana law
3. Update on Veterans for Weed story – they’ve changed their name to Veterans for Weed United

Daily Toker Tunes

Groovin’ Thursday: Brought to you by The Ganja Jon Show

• Wiz Khalifa – “You Take Me (feat. Wale)”

Southern California Scene with Hollywood Hemptress Tere Joyce

• Dan Hanken from the Cannabis Clubs United with Community activist group

Grassroots Activism

• Cultivation legend Jorge Cervantes promoting new DVD via Skype in Barcelona, Spain

Video streaming by Ustream

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1. Harborside Health Center hit with huge tax bill; IRS rules dispensaries can’t deduct expenses
2. Seized marijuana grow equipment in Maryland used to grow vegetables
3. Montana Attorney General lashes out at BATFE MedMJ Gun Memo
4. Michigan busts caregiver tending multiple patient gardens

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by NorCalPurps in the California Bay Area

• Irie Wednesday: Slightly Stoopid – “2am”

Cannabis Science with Dr. Mitch Earleywine

Cannabis Conversations

Cannabis Community

• Russ Belville on ReThink Reviews on the Young Turks Network

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1. The difficulty of designating any marijuana “organic”
2. Montana dispensary owners facing charges
3. Michigan’s attorney general worried medmj law is “abused, exploited, and hi-jacked”
4. Operation Full Court Press hauls in 632,000 marijuana plants… yet people can still find marijuana
5. Patricia Spotted Crow’s letter to NORML

Daily Toker Tunes

• Irie Wednesday: K-Boy – “Da Rite Herb”

Cannabis Science with Dr. Mitch Earleywine

• What is THCV?

Cannabis Conversations

• Candid conversation with TGA Genetics breeder Subcool

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1. San Diego Mayor won’t be going after the cannabis dispensaries, passes buck to zoning enforcement
2. Arizona Attorney General goes after illegal cannabis clubs that sprung up when he and the governor wouldn’t open the legal medical marijuana dispensaries
3. Israel’s government moves forward with medical marijuana program
4. Angus Reid’s latest poll shows 55% national support for legalization of marijuana
5. 2008-2009 State NSDUH data shows decline in teen pot smoking in all medical marijuana states except California and Colorado

Daily Toker Tunes

• Electric Tuesday: Ron Jenkees – “Disorganized Fun”

Reefer Madness Debunked

• “Gateway” Gil Kerlikowske and Bill “Snake Eyes” Bennett discuss legalization on CNN’s Situation Room

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1. Utah Attorney General welcomes legislative action to create medical marijuana law, just completed colon cancer treatments and “understands”
2. Korean rapper Crown J. gets 8 months in Korean jail for using marijuana… in Atlanta, Georgia.
3. Michigan reaps $8 million in medical marijuana program profits in just two years
4. Grants Pass woman rolls over in Portland-to-Boston trafficking scheme

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by CannaBob and The Viper Hour on The NORML Network

• Roots Monday: Ian Moore Band – “Champagne and Reefer”

NORML Legal Committee

• Keith Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel and Founder, on Aspen Legal Seminar, Kentucky v. King, Washington State’s employment discrimination case against medical marijuana patients, update on federal legalization bills

Radical Rant

• Oregon legislators sneak 2X-4X fee increase on medmj patients into budget

US Attorney Dwight Holton threatens Oregon cannabis clubs AND the First Amendment

Dwight Holton, the US Attorney for Oregon, tried to silence a lawful protest by marijuana legalization activists on City Hall steps in Portland this morning, according to attorney Paul Loney.

Holton recently authored a letter circulated to cannabis patients’ clubs threatening federal law enforcement action.  The letter was endorsed by 33 of the 34 Oregon county district attorneys.  Multnomah County D.A. Michael Shrunk declined to sign on, saying, “I don’t like to threaten things that we realistically are not geared up to do,” and “combating this cannot be termed a critical priority when balanced against others.”  From the Holton letter:

“Oregon and Federal law make it illegal to sell marijuana – period, end of story,” said Holton. “The breathtaking surge in manufacture and distribution of marijuana in Oregon is putting marijuana in the hands of more and more healthy kids — and dispensaries are fueling this crisis. We are confident that responsible landlords and property owners will remove the operators of illegal dispensaries and ‘cannabis clubs’.”

In response to the crackdown, Madeline Martinez, proprietor of one of the threatened clubs, the World Famous Cannabis Cafe, called a press conference Friday afternoon at the Portland City Hall steps.  The permit had been turned in on Monday, according to Oregon NORML Legal Counsel Paul Loney.

Speaking to NORML SHOW LIVE, Loney explained, “We got word that [US Attorney] Holton contacted [Portland City Councilman] Nick Fish and told him, ‘you shouldn’t let those guys [the marijuana advocates] have their press conference at City Hall.’”  According to Loney, “Fish told him that we turned in our permit on Monday and what they’re doing is perfectly legal.”

Loney continued, “I think this is more of a story than the letter – a US Attorney, sworn to uphold the Constitution, trying to squash the First Amendment rights of Oregonians!  We are going to be investigating this and bringing it up with his boss, [Attorney General] Eric Holder.”

Martinez, who also serves as director of NORML’s state affiliate, Oregon NORML, and on the board of directors of the national organization, stated, “Between the recent report from the United Nations recommending full legalization of cannabis, Eric Holder’s vague comments about working with medical cannabis states and the recent decree from the Oregon Department of Justice, many Oregon Medical Marijuana Program registrants are confused and worried for their safety.”

Loney told the assembled protestors, a crowd of roughly forty, that nobody has yet shown the cannabis clubs to be operating outside the law.  “Judges decide the law in this county,” said Loney, “not sheriffs, not district attorneys.”

Patients in Oregon are permitted to reimburse any cardholding grower for the supplies and expenses involved in producing medical marijuana, but reimbursement for labor is forbidden by law.  Cannabis clubs in Oregon claim to be operating on the principle of reimbursements and unsolicited donations.  Loney, speaking on local television news Thursday, said explicitly that these cannabis clubs are not selling.

Anna Diaz, a board member of Oregon NORML and NORML’s 2011 Pauline Sabin Award Winner, spoke to NORML SHOW LIVE and explained “Sensible Oregon”.  “It’s going to be an initiative like the ‘Sensible Washington’ one that will just remove marijuana from the criminal law, while still maintaining laws on DUI and not providing to children.”  Diaz said the initiative is still being conceived and written.  Once written, it will be circulated fo collect the one thousand signatures required in Oregon to begin official signature gathering.

If “Sensible Oregon” makes it to signature gathering, it will join the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA) as initiatve petitions to legalize marijuana in Oregon.  OCTA has already completed the certification of ballot title and is currently gathering signatures.

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Hemp Headlines

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1. Attorney General Holder says federal government will work with governors in medical marijuana states to clarify dispensary operations
2. Gov. Shumlin signs dispensary legislation in Vermont, home grow still allowed
3. Scottish pub assists police by testing patrons hands for “drug residue” before entering

Daily Toker Tunes

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• Rockin’ Friday: The Clintons – “Free Ride in a Cop Car”

CelebStoner.com Entertainment Report with Steve Bloom, co-author of Reefer Movie Madness: The Ultimate Stoner Film Guide

• “Mr. Nice”, the movie about famed British smuggler, Howard Marks, premieres
• “Hangover 2″ features cocaine use as major part of storyline
• Sir Richard Branson among luminaries at press conference announcing report on failure of war on drugs
• Kid Cudi declares his “Marijuana” video is the last time you’ll ever see him smoking pot, claims he’s quit… Steve and Ganja Jon say, “not so much…”

To be fair, this ability is not uncommon among politicians.

Remember Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer saying “For the state employees charged with administering the medical marijuana program or the Arizonans who intend to participate as consumers, it’s important that we receive court guidance as to whether they are at risk for federal prosecution.”

Remember her concluding those official remarks by saying, “The State of Arizona has worked to follow the wishes of voters.  But I won’t stand aside while state employees and average Arizonans acting in good faith are unwittingly put at risk. In light of the explicit warnings on this issue offered by Arizona’s U.S. Attorney, as well as many other federal prosecutors, clarity and judicial direction are in order.”

We sure do.  What we don’t remember is any direct threat to state employees by the US Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke… and neither does he!

(Yuma Sun) PHOENIX — The top federal prosecutor in Arizona said Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne are distorting the facts on the issue of medical marijuana and risks of federal prosecution of state workers.

Burke, in an interview with Capitol Media Services, said his letter simply spelled out the priorities his office has in going after those who sell, transport or use marijuana. More to the point, he said that letter never mentioned state workers.

“It’s fair to read into my letter what I included and what I didn’t,” he said. “And if I didn’t include state employees, I think that’s telling in itself.”

Gubernatorial press aide Matthew Benson said his boss does not believe that silence means state workers have nothing to fear.

“If that’s what he meant, why didn’t he say that?” Benson asked.

But Burke said there was a simple way of dealing with the question.

“You would think that a letter back from Attorney General Horne, as opposed to ‘I’m going to file a lawsuit and have a press conference’ might have been a better course of action,” he said.

Benson conceded that Burke’s letter never mentions state workers.

What Gov. Brewer was reacting to was the threat letters in Washington State over its proposed dispensary system.  So, a different state, different US Attorney, different governor, and a completely different law where the state employees would have had greater exposure to prosecution.  Sure, Gov. Brewer, you’re no trying to thwart the will of the people… you’re just scared of  threats a thousand miles away over some other law.

We won't go after state-legal medical marijuana. No, wait, I meant, we WILL.

The Obama administration has appeared to have flip flopped on it’s position on Medical Marijuana.  Let’s see if he responds.

mlive.com The American Civil Liberties Union is asking the Obama administration to clarify its policy on medical marijuana following apparent inconsistencies in recent months. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the ACLU sought assurance the government would keep its promise not to arrest and prosecute workers who are complying with the law in states where medical marijuana is legal.

Any use of marijuana is prohibited under federal law. In 2008, Michigan voted to legalize medical marijuana, joining more than a dozen other states. In 2009, the Obama administration said it would not seek to arrest and prosecute users and suppliers who were operating within state law.

However, the administration appears to have changed its position. Recent warning letters from U.S. attorneys are prompting some states to reconsider medical marijuana policies. An Associated Press report quotes one such letter (emphasis added):

We maintain the authority to enforce (federal law) vigorously against individuals and organizations that participate in unlawful manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.