Voters approved initiatives to legalize medical use of marijuana by a margin of 417-296, to legalize industrial use of hemp by 403-308 and to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest police priority in the city by a margin of 381-331.
Turned down once again was an initiative to require the city to regulate and tax distribution of the drug. It failed 386-323.
Pro-marijuana advocate Ryan Davidson, a former Bellevue man who now lives in Garden City, filed petitions to place the initiatives before the voters once again after Hailey city officials threatened to file a lawsuit to have the three previously approved initiatives declared illegal in court. That lawsuit was filed earlier this month in Blaine County 5th District Court.
Davidson, chairman of The Liberty Lobby of Idaho, said passage again of the initiatives would make it “politically less viable” for the city of Hailey to ignore the will of the electorate.
Prior to the election, neither Davidson nor city officials were willing to predict the outcome, though Davidson said, “I’d think it’s going to be close to the same percentages as last time.”
Last November, 1,288 voters, about 37 percent of the city’s registered electorate, showed up at the polls.
The medical marijuana and industrial hemp initiatives were approved in that election by about 53 percent of voters. About 51 percent of voters approved the lowest-police-priority initiative, while the regulation and taxation measure failed with only 47 percent voter approval.
Hailey Mayor Rick Davis said he had “no idea” as to the outcome of pot election No. 2.
“There’s been a lot more publicity this time about the initiatives,” he said. “I think people are a lot more educated now about the issues. But I don’t know if it will have a different outcome or not.”
Nov ‘07 Election: medical marijuana = 53%, industrial hemp = 53%, lowest priority = 51%, tax and regulate = 47%, turnout = 1,288 votes
May ‘08 Election: medical marijuana = 58%, industrial hemp = 57%, lowest priority = 54%, tax and regulate = 46%, turnout = 713 votes
Hailey city officials, the people are trying to tell you something…
The latest round in the city’s ongoing cannabis dispute will be settled Tuesday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. when the same initiatives voted upon last November will once again be put to the ballot-booth test.
Three passed last time and one failed. Approved were initiatives to legalize medical use of marijuana, to legalize use of industrial hemp and to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority for the Hailey Police Department.
Not approved was an initiative to require the city to tax and regulate distribution and use of the drug.
So why a second vote?
“Cause I knew that the city would pull something like this,” said Ryan Davidson, a former Bellevue resident and the man who got the initiatives on the ballot. He is chairman of The Liberty Lobby of Idaho and is often referred to simply as “the pot guy.”
Davidson, who now lives in Garden City, was referring to the lawsuit that the mayor, the police chief and a city councilman filed against the city in Blaine County 5th District Court to have the previously approved initiatives declared illegal.
Davidson described the new vote as “kind of an insurance policy.”
“If I hadn’t put them on the ballot again, they probably would have killed them all by now,” he said. “It makes it politically less viable for them to do something if they pass twice.”
It’s Thursday, May 22nd and it’s 4:20 somewhere in the world. I’m your host, “Radical” Russ Belville and this is your NORML Daily Audio Stash.
Don’t forget to get on the phone and call your Congress at 202-224-3121. Tell your representative to support Ron Paul’s HR5842, the bill to end DEA raids in medical marijuana states, and Barney Frank’s HR5843, the bill to end federal penalties for personal possession of marijuana.
Today on the Daily Audio Stash we’re traveling across the pond to speak with Steven Rolles, the research director of the Transform Drug Policy Foundation in London, England. We’re talking about the recent reclassification of cannabis from Class C back up to Class B and the overall UK reefer madness obsession with the dreaded “skunk”.
For our musical break today, Cannabis Karri brings us some smooth funky jazz from Yamasaki, with a song he calls “Herbal Remedy”.
Then we’ll finish up with Ryan Davidson from the Liberty Lobby of Idaho. Ryan’s the man behind three initiatives passed in Hailey that legalize medical marijuana and industrial hemp and direct police to treat cannabis law enforcement as the lowest priority. You’ll hear about the latest crazy twist in this story coming up in our Hemp Headlines.
We’re also playing Pass the Stash – you could win a free autographed DVD of the movie “Totally Baked” – keep listening for details.
We’ve got a lot to cover, so sit back and relax with a meeting of your Joint Subcommittee and enjoy your NORML Daily Audio Stash…
Leave it to my birth state to bring us the latest in the altered reality we call Reefer Madness - a trial where the defense and the prosecution both want the same outcome, in order to ignore the will of the voters.
“I will do my best to defend those laws,” Williamson told the Idaho Mountain Express in February, shortly after Hailey Mayor Rick Davis announced that the lawsuit would be filed.
Williamson was then asked if defending the marijuana initiatives would be difficult for him.
“I will do my best to defend those laws,” he said again.
HA! Excuse me, isn’t this like the old Western where the victims beaten by the railroad owner’s thugs find that the sheriff is in the pocket of the railroad owner, too?
The lawsuit, filed by Hailey attorney Keith Roark on behalf of Davis, City Councilman Don Keirn and Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter, seeks to have the obviously illegal pro-pot initiatives officially ruled illegal in Blaine County 5th District Court. The three initiatives, one to legalize medical use of marijuana, a second to legalize use of industrial hemp and a third to make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority for the Hailey Police Department, were approved by Hailey’s electorate last November.
Good job with the journalistic neutrality there - obviously illegal, huh? It might be a tough case to make for medical marijuana and industrial hemp, but lowest priority isn’t that clear. Lowest priority doesn’t make pot legal in any way, it doesn’t change the crime or the punishment for marijuana. It is just a prioritization of limited municipal resources. But that’s beside the point; if they were obviously illegal, we wouldn’t be going to trial.
Times-News: Magicvalley.com, Twin Falls, ID
Several Hailey city officials sued their city Friday over three pro-marijuana voter initiatives, a course of action aimed at getting a judge to rule against the legality of the measures and bring and end to the controversy.
This lawsuit, which has been in the works for 3 1/2 months, has allowed council members to freeze any implementation pending a judge’s ruling.
Plaintiffs Mayor Rick Davis, councilmember Don Keirn and police chief Jeffrey Gunter, all say the initiatives passed by voters in November violate their freedom of speech, conflict with federal law, state law or are otherwise illegal.
Those allegations assembled into a complaint by attorney Keith Roark, have already been raised by city attorney Ned Williamson and the Idaho attorney general.
A judge’s ruling, however, carries the force of a final verdict.
The initiatives would legalize medicinal marijuana and industrial hemp, and make the enforcement of marijuana laws a lower police priority. Voters did not approve a fourth initiative to legalize marijuana.
According to the text of their complaint, the city officials allege their freedom of speech would be abridged because the initiatives “require the City of Hailey and its officers to advocate for changes in marijuana laws”. What I don’t understand is how a city official acting under direction of the majority of the voters is afforded any free speech rights in the first place. Nothing is requiring the mayor to say he personally favors changing marijuana laws, merely that as mayor his duty is to express the will of his constituents.
We hope you enjoyed the Special 4/20 Music Stash. In case you missed it, I put together eighteen of the best tokin’ tunes from the past ten weeks! It’s a CD-length party Stash with a continuous and eclectic mix of marijuana music, unbroken by commercials.
As usual on Monday here on the Stash, it’s Political Activism day, so we’ve got our Reformer’s Calendar right after the news.
A big day of activism is planned for New Hampshire, where their senate will be hearing testimony on marijuana decriminalization. We spoke with Matt Simon from the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy for the details.
For our musical break on this Blues Monday, Cannabis Karri brings us a French-born bluesman named Jacques Grant and a happy little tune called “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”. Wait a minute. Happy blues from a French dude? Now I’ve heard everything.
To conclude our Stash today we trek out to my birthplace of Boise, Idaho. I spoke with Cameron Rose with Committed Americans for Marijuana, who is leading the organization of The City of Trees’ participation in the Million Marijuana March on May 3.
And remember, if you are a business or non-profit who’d like your message heard on the Daily Audio Stash or the NORML Weekly News, you can advertise with us. We have rates for every budget and a 10% discount for non-profits. You can target your message to the focused audience of enlightened cannabis consumers you’re looking for. With over 28,000 daily downloads and hundreds of thousands of embedded players on websites worldwide, advertising with NORML is the most effective way of reaching your potential customers. Just send us an email at stash ‘at’ norml.org and we’ll have you on the air in no time.
So sit back and relax with your favorite strain, it’s time for your NORML Daily Audio Stash.
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.
Industrial hemp fibers can be manufactured into fabrics for clothing, blankets, carpet, upholstery, sails, tarps, awnings, rope and numerous other items. It can be made into paper, plastic or hemp oil. British researchers have used it to manufacture surfboards. It’s used in some health food snacks, for lotions and in manufacturing car parts.Industrial hemp, advocates note, requires little or no herbicides or pesticides. Bugs don’t usually like to eat it and it grows thick enough and fast enough to block out would-be competitive weeds. It has good soil-restoration qualities.
It was grown extensively in the United States until laws in the 20th century made it illegal. It can be legally grown now, but only by permit from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Those permits are few and far between.
Several states, including North Dakota, Maine, Montana and West Virginia, have passed legislation to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp, but their efforts remain blocked by the DEA. California passed a bill to legalize hemp but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it.
Worldwide, the industrial hemp picture is different. Growing the plant is allowed in most countries, and 33 nations, including Canada, are developing industries centered on production of the crop.
Erwin A. “Bud” Sholts, of the North American Industrial Hemp Council, studied crop diversification while employed with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and found that industrial hemp was the only viable crop to fit in with corn and soybean crop rotations.
Sholts said the biggest problem with legalizing industrial hemp in the United States is because the DEA and other government entities continue to cling to an outdated definition of the plant that links it to marijuana. He said it will take either a presidential declaration or an act of Congress to change that definition.
“It’s going to happen, because American agriculture wants it, American industry wants it and the public wants it,” Sholts said.
Get involved in the cannabis civil rights movement and join us here at NORML – you can learn everything you need to know at NORML.org. Make a donation, write a letter, attend a rally, march for your rights – it all starts with you. Remember, the government estimates that there are millions of Americans that have smoked marijuana in the past month. If Congress had to hear a million phone calls asking for an end to adult marijuana prohibition, it would be a reality. Call your Congress at 202-225-3121 – they’ll ask your zip code and put you in touch with your elected officials. It still is a government of We the People, but you have to step up and do your part.
Tuesday is Government at Work day on the podcast, and coming up after the news, we’re going to look at the work being done in the state of my birth, Idaho, with Ryan Davidson of the Liberty Lobby of Idaho, who has successfully passed pro-marijuana legislation in the city of Hailey, Idaho.
After that Cannabis Karri brings us a nice slice of electronic with musician/programmer Ben Base and his tune, “I Smoke Herbs”.
So sit back and relax with your favorite strain – this is the Daily Audio Stash.
It’s good to see a headline like this coming from my home state of Idaho!
Boise Weekly - Idaho’s Only Alternative: News: News: Cannabis Crusader
Ryan Davidson has been a thorn in the side of city officials in Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey since he began his campaign to legalize marijuana in one of Idaho’s Democratic strongholds. It started with the 30-year-old’s desire to make politics a career and a chance discovery of the Marijuana Policy Project’s grant program.
He was awarded a $60,000 grant, but less than a month later, the group pulled his funding after giving him only $16,000.
Still, in the last four years, he took all three cities to court numerous times, managed to get four pro-marijuana initiatives on the ballot—three of which were passed by voters last year—and is now threatening to put all four initiatives back on the May primary ballot in an effort to force city officials to enact them.
The fact that the initiatives violate both state and federal law hasn’t seemed to faze him. In fact, he’s preparing for another round of lawsuits under the auspices of the Idaho Liberty Lobby, his one-man Libertarian juggernaut.
I always liked Mary Ann better. (C’mon most guys and some gals, you always liked Mary Ann more than Ginger, admit it. Certainly more than Mrs. Howell!) Now I know why.
‘Gilligan’s’ Mary Ann caught with dope - Yahoo! News
DRIGGS, Idaho - Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann on “Gilligan’s Island,” is serving six months’ unsupervised probation after allegedly being caught with marijuana in her car.
She was sentenced Feb. 29 to five days in jail, fined $410.50 and placed on probation after pleading guilty to one count of reckless driving.
Under a plea agreement, three misdemeanor counts — driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance — were dropped.
We’ll talk to Steve Bloom on Friday for the CelebStoner.com take on this. But as a native Idahoan, let me just say that Driggs is one of my favorite places in Idaho. It’s at the gateway to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone Park and it’s an absolutely beautiful part of the planet. During the summer there is a little-used road that crosses Granite Peak Pass at almost 12,000 feet; it’s one of my favorite drives - a real Rocky Mountain high!
Residents of the mountain town of Hailey, Idaho, will get to vote again soon on four new initiatives aimed at legalizing or reforming marijuana laws.Four new initiative petitions filed by an Idaho based pro-marijuana group have been certified, and scheduled to go on the May 27th primary election ballot in Hailey.The initiatives are identical to four other measures that were on the November 6th ballot. The initiatives for treating marijuana as the lowest law enforcement priority, the medical use of marijuana, and the legalization of hemp, passed by large majorities.The fourth initiative which would legalize marijuana for all adults was rejected.
Hailey city officials have said they plan to file a lawsuit in Fifth District Court seeking clarification on the three initiatives approved in November.The officials note that all three initiatives have possible conflicts with existing state and federal laws, which take precedence over local codes.
Good to see marijuana reform happening in one of the most conservative states – my homestate of Idaho! I played many gigs there with my band back in the longhaired club musician days. I can testify that there is a large pro-marijuana contingent in Hailey! The town has burst at the seams with growth. It’s just south of the glitzy ski resort town of Sun Valley, and many of the people who work the resorts, bars, and restaurants live in Hailey.
Hailey’s also famous for having been the home of Bruce Willis & Demi Moore, who bought up a lot of property in the small mountain town and renovated its downtown.
Matt Kruchak ,Canwest News ServiceSASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA - The scent of weed wafting from an open car window doesn’t give an officer the right to make an arrest and search a vehicle, according to a recent decision made by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal.The ruling is centred around the case of a driver who was pulled over by an RCMP officer. His truck had a broken headlight.The officer approached the vehicle and said he could smell burnt marijuana from a metre away. The driver was immediately arrested for possession of marijuana based only on the smell of the burnt narcotic.The officer then searched the vehicle and found eight grams of marijuana and what he thought was a list of contacts, which led to the driver being charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking.The case went to trial and the judge found the driver’s charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure had been violated. The scent of marijuana created a suspicion it was smoked, but didn’t provide reasonable and probable grounds for an arrest or a search, the judge concluded before excluding the evidence. The driver was declared not guilty.
The lawyer who defended the driver said, “The smell alone can’t constitute the grounds, because the smell of burnt marijuana - as opposed to raw marijuana - gives an inference that the material is gone, it’s dissipated into the atmosphere. So how can you say you’re in possession of something that doesn’t exist?”
Nice to see a court decision in favor of a cannabis consumer, but I can think of a better way to avoid being arrested for the smell of freshly-burnt marijuana coming from your car window… don’t smoke marijuana in your car!
The California Supreme Court voted 5-2 on Jan. 24 to allow employers to fire employees who legally use medicinal marijuana.Gary Ross sued RagingWire Telecommunications Inc., his former employer, for wrongful termination and employment discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act after he was fired in September 2001 after testing positive for marijuana. Ross was terminated despite having informed his employer at the time of hire about his status as a legal marijuana user and provided documentation to prove it, according to an appellate court brief.The California Supreme Court upheld the Third Appellate Court’s 2005 decision that “because the possession and use of marijuana is illegal under federal law, a court has no legitimate authority to require an employer to accommodate an employee’s use of marijuana, even if it is for medicinal purposes and thus legal under California law.”Due to injuries sustained during his service in the U.S. Air Force, Ross has suffered from lower back pain and muscle spasms since January.
“All I am asking is to be a productive member of society,” Ross said in a press release. “I was not fired for poor work performance, but for an antiquated policy on medical marijuana.”
Do we really want to be a country where the titans of industry get to make medical decisions for their employees?A nation where people have to choose between non-toxic effective herbal remedies and gainful employment?And those of you who don’t smoke marijuana, remember the Neimoller Poem… first they came for the trade unionists… Who’s to say the next thing they test for are anti-depressant drugs, under the theory that you’re a potential danger because you’re mentally unstable?
Join NORML In Berkeley For Our 2008 National Conference Register Today To Take Advantage Of Discounted Rates; Congress Fails To Adopt Appropriations Bill - No Opportunity to Vote on Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment; California: Medical Pot Statute Does Not Conflict With Federal Anti-Drug Laws; San Diego Supervisors To Appeal Ruling; interview with SSDP's Kris Krane
Members Of Congress Demand An End To Federal Pot Possession Arrests; National MS Society Makes Recommendations Regarding Therapeutic Use Of Cannabis; The Tragic Death Of Rachel Hoffman -- And The Tragedy That Is Pot Prohibition; Interview with Rep. Barney Frank.
Pot Compound Enhances Efficacy Of Anti-Cancer Agents, Study Says; California: Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act Qualifies For November Ballot; New Orleans: District Attorney Charging Minor Pot Offenders With Felonies; Kelly Maddy on Joplin MO Decrim Effort.
John Wesley Hall, president-elect of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, describes the case precendent in roadside traffic stops and search and seizure.
Seattle, Washington attorney Doug Hiatt explains the latest medical use issues in Washington State, including denial of transplant organs for medmj patients.
