Today the Colorado Secretary of State’s office announced that the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign missed its mark by about 2,500 verifiable signatures. We have been tracking the progress of the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol ballot measure that would legalize marijuana for adults over the age of 21.

Just like the initiative’s name suggests, marijuana would be taxed and regulated in a similar fashion to alcohol. The bill would also open allow cultivation, processing and sales of industrial  hemp. Last month, a random sample of those signatures that the group turned in to qualify for the ballot –  signified only about 50% of them would be valid, so they were required to do a line by line, signature by signature count according to the rules of the state.  The Campaign needed 86,105 valid signatures to make the ballot, so they turned in almost 160,000, almost assuring them a spot on the ballot, or so we thought.

Supporters of the Initiative will now have 15 days to collect the remaining 2,409 valid signatures for one last shot at qualifying for the November ballot. Mason Tvert from Sensible Colorado said that he remains confident that collecting the remaining signatures is just a very small bump in the road.

On Friday’s NORML SHOW LIVE, Tvert came on air to say that this was all part of the ballot measure process, and his group can collect that many signatures in a few days. If put on the ballot, voters in Colorado would vote to pass a regulated legalized marijuana market that would allow limited home-growing and restrict its usage to those over 21. We will let you know as this story continues to develop.

External Links:
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_19885405

Weekdays 1pm, 4pm, and 10pm Pacific, on http://live.norml.org

This week on NORML SHOW LIVE we took a look at four states where activists are proposing multiple ballot initiatives to legalize… or “sensibly regulate”… marijuana for all adults, even healthy ones. We covered Oregon, California, Colorado, and Washington, click the Full Story link below to get the lineup of interviewees and videos.

Join us online for our live coverage this weekend at Seattle Hempfest.  We have interviews scheduled with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Councilman Nick Licata, City Attorney Pete Holmes, Washington Rep. Roger Goodman, Washington Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, and US Congressman Dennis Kucinich, plus all the activist luminaries and performing artists we can snag!  Check out our NORML Stage Schedule for more info.

OREGON

• Bob Wolfe from Oregon Marijuana Policy Initiative
• Jen Alexander from Oregon Cannabis Tax Act
• Leland Berger from Sensible Oregon

CALIFORNIA

• Dale Sky Jones from Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform
• Dr. Frank Lucido from Cannabis Law Institute

COLORADO

• Mason Tvert from Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

WASHINGTON

• Alison Holcomb from New Approach Washington
• Douglas Hiatt from Sensible Washington

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Hemp Headlines

Brought to you by Cannabis Fantastic

1. Oregon Ducks star players pulled over doing 118MPH on freeway, asked “who’s got the weed?” by trooper, let go with ticket
2. Montel Williams among investors in new DC dispensary plan
3. Moms unite to prevent opening of new tobacco shop, because it might sell K2 “synthetic marijuana”
4. President Obama’s pronouncements on marijuana 2004-2011

Daily Toker Tunes

Brought to you by NorCalPurps in the California Bay Area

• Irie Wednesday: J-Boog – “Ganja Farmer”

Cannabis Science with Dr. Mitch Earleywine

• Dr. Mitch responds to Obama’s Stammer; Q&A includes discussion of endocannabinoid system and receptors

Grassroots Activism

• Mason Tvert from Sensible Colorado on the “Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012″ in Colorado

"Preparing" for Seattle Hempfest involves more than just sunscreen, sensible shoes, and cash for vendors...

This weekend we prepare for Seattle Hempfest.  This 20th anniversary event will, for the first time, take place over three days at the Waterfront between Olympic Sculpture Park in the South and Centennial Park in the North (see hempfest.org).  It’s 1.6 miles, six stages, hundreds of vendors, and 150,000 or so attendees, all gathered to celebrate freedom, assemble peaceably, and petition our government for a redress of grievances; namely the prohibition of cannabis hemp.  We begin our live streaming of Hempfest on Friday at http://live.norml.org.

Legalization is no longer the forbidden topic (even if we’re playing it close to the vest and calling it “sensible regulation”) and this short week we are taking a closer look at the topic with the proponents of marijuana legalization in four Western states.  We’re calling it “Legalization Week” – it’s like “Shark Week”, but much mellower.

MONDAY:  Oregon Cannabis Tax Act’s Jen Alexander, Sensible Oregon‘s Leland Berger, and Oregon Marijuana Policy Initiative‘s Bob Wolfe on marijuana legalization and medical dispensaries in Oregon.

TUESDAY: Oaksterdam University‘s Dale Sky Jones on marijuana legalization in California and Oaksterdam’s expansion into Michigan.

WEDNESDAY:  SAFER‘s Mason Tvert on the Sensible Colorado marijuana legalization proposal.

THURSDAY:  ACLU of Washington Drug Policy Project‘s Alison Holcomb and Sensible Washington‘s Douglas Hiatt on marijuana legalization in Washington State; plus Vivian McPeak, Executive Director of Seattle Hempfest, with a preview of the weekend.

We may add more guests for Legalization Week, so watch this post for updates.  We’re also taking your live calls at 971-533-7111 in Hour Two to discuss the various proposals.

Colorado cannabis activists have launched two separate campaigns to legalize marijuana for adults in the 2012 election.

Read the original here:
Colorado Cannabis Activists Think that Colorado is Ready to Legalize in 2012

Huffington Post

Our friend Mason Tvert at SAFER penned an excellent op-ed at HuffPo letting retailers know the peril of alienating responsible adult marijuana consumers:

Late last month, Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) — the organization I run — called for a nationwide boycott of Starbucks Coffee after it and other companies appeared on the “sponsor” page of the Colorado Drug Investigators Association (CDIA), a shady group of law enforcement officials lobbying to wipe out the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana system and keep marijuana as illegal as possible. With a board of directors composed almost exclusively of narcotics agents, along with a website and merchandise decorated in a skull motif with images of the grim reaper, military helicopters, and the slogan “Death on Drugs,” it’s safe to say these guys are not so much concerned with public safety as they are with fighting — and maintaining — an endless war against marijuana and other drugs. After all, it provides them with job security, and marijuana enforcement is their bread and butter.

Word of the boycott spread quickly across the web, and with a boost from some traditional media coverage (including some in Starbucks’s hometown of Seattle) resulted in thousands of Americans contacting CEO Howard Schultz to let him know they would not be giving their business to his company until it did some explaining. Not long after, Starbucks issued a formal statement in which it distanced itself from the CDIA and assured the Starbucks faithful it does not support such anti-marijuana crusaders. Another business listed as a “sponsor” on CDIA’s website was The North Face, one of the leading producers of hiking and mountain sports equipment and apparel. After receiving messages from people swearing off their products, the company took action to ensure everyone knows they are not actually a sponsor of the CDIA and do not support the group’s mission. In light of all the bad publicity and these major companies disputing any tie to the CDIA, the organization removed its Web site entirely. Apparently they do not have quite the level of support from the business community that they were suggesting.

As Mr. Dylan once said, “The times, they are a changin’”. Yes, they are indeed. This brings to mind what Admiral Yamamoto said of America after the Imperial Japanese fleet attacked Pearl harbor in 1941: “”I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” Cannabis consumers are legion in our country. We must never give up or surrender in the fight against this incredibly wasteful and tragic War on the American People.

Show 001: Steve Fox (MPP), Mason Tvert (SAFER), & Paul Armentano (NORML) discuss "Marijuana is Safer" book; NORML Exec. Dir. Allen St. Pierre; MMA Fighter Toby "Tigerheart" Grear

I am thrilled to be hosting our debut show tonight at 6pm PT / 9pm ET. I hope you all make it a regular Saturday night ritual.

You can listen to the show live three ways (and no, regular terrestrial or satellite radio is not one of those ways… yet):

1. Point your web browser to http://live.norml.org and follow the links to Show 001.  (Or use the link on the powder-blue BlogTalkRadio player you see there on the right…)
2. Point your mobile phone’s browser to http://m.blogtalkradio.com/norml.  Click the link at the bottom of the page for Shows and Blogs.  Click the link for Show 001. (I’m not completely sure the live show will play this way; it may only allow you to see the blog and comments.  If so, try…)
3. Call 347-994-1810 on your mobile phone.  (“347″ is a New York area code, so long distance charges, if any, would apply.  Probably only an option if you’ve got unlimited minutes and free domestic long distance.)

The show will also be archived about one hour following the live broadcast.  You’ll be able to hear it all week on the embedded player to the right or by subscribing to it as a podcast on iTunes.

Paul Armentano, Mason Tvert, Steve Fox

Guests for our premiere in the first hour are Steve Fox (MPP), Mason Tvert (SAFER), and Paul Armentano (NORML) discussing their new book, “Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?”.  Later in the hour, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre joins the discussion.

Toby "Tigerheart" Grear from True Warrior Fitness

In our 2nd hour, mixed-martial arts champion Toby “Tigerheart” Grear of True Warrior Fitness discusses being banned from fighting professionally in California because of positive tests for his legal medical marijuana.

We’re also taking your calls at the bottom of each hour.  Dial 347-994-1810 to listen in on your phone and press 1 at any time if you’d like to speak to the host or guests.  Your call will be screened and we remind you to have a question ready, keep it short and to the point, and avoid profanity (we’re not FCC regulated on the net, but if we want to take this to terrestrial radio, we need to act like it.)

(Denver Post) Denver’s marijuana policy review panel agreed Wednesday to send a letter to the presiding judge of Denver County Court urging a $1 fine as penalty for possession of marijuana of less than an ounce.

The current fine schedule indicates a $50 fine for such offenses, plus a $100 drug surcharge required by the state of Colorado and a $10 “bureau fee.”

Mason Tvert, a member of the panel and the executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, which has pushed decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, said state law requires the surcharge and the $10 bureau fee.

He said that if Presiding Judge Marcy Celeste accepts the recommendations, the penalty would still stand at $111.

Tvert said lowering the fine would send a message to police “that it is not worth their time or the court’s to issue any more citations.”

The panel agreed to send the letter to the judge on a 6-2 vote.

What can be done about this state law “$100 drug surcharge”?  What’s that all about?

[UPDATE 12:12pm ET: Up to #16 and it still says "1 day in Top 100", so maybe it goes by Pacific Time and not Eastern.]

[UPDATE 11:45pm ET:  Still at #17, but the price has dropped to $8.97.  Last chance to hit the bomb!]

[UPDATE 11:00pm ET: #17!!!  One hour to go... can we make the Top 15 at least?

[UPDATE 9:36pm ET: #20!!!  We did it!  Now keep pushing, West Coast, and let's aim for the Top Ten!]

[UPDATE 7:00pm ET: #22!...All right, West Coast, I'm calling you out to push it into the top 20!]

[UPDATE 6:02pm ET: #26... keep pushing to the Top Twenty!]

[UPDATE 5:15pm ET: #28 with a bullet!]

[UPDATE 4:20pm ET: #32 at 4:20]

[UPDATE 3:17pm ET: #38... I'm hoping Stashers getting off work on the East Coast will help push this into the Top Twenty.  West Coasters, when you get off work at 5pm, there will only be four hours left on the East Coast for the bomb, so buy early, buy often!]

[UPDATE 2:09pm ET: #47... keep on buying!]

[UPDATE 1:36pm ET: Up to #76 and rising!]

[UPDATE 12:42pm ET: The bomb is working!  "Marijuana is Safer" has risen from the #12,000's yesterday to above #200 already!  Make it happen!  Buy today!]

NORML’s Paul Armentano is the co-author of a remarkable new book, “Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?”.  It is available through Amazon.com and today, 8/20, is the Marijuana Book Bomb promotion.

The idea is to drive up Amazon’s sales rankings (they measure daily) to make a book about marijuana law reform #1 on the charts for the first time ever.  It is available today for 32% off the list price (only $10.17).  If you don’t think marijuana is safer, this book will convince you.  If you do think marijuana is safer, this book will provide the knowledge needed to make that case to others.  It is one of my favorite marijuana books ever and I don’t just say that as a colleague of Paul’s – I read a lot of these books and this is one of the best-written most-informative easy-reads in the set.

Also, help us make “Marijuana is Safer” the #1 book on Amazon.com by participating in tomorrow’s “Marijuana Book Bomb“. If you’re planning on purchasing the book, do it tomorrow (on 8/20) so we can jack up Amazon’s rankings and make a book about marijuana legalization #1 for the first time in Amazon’s hstory.