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Currently, as most of you all know, the Drug Enforcement Administration considers cannabis to be a Schedule I controlled substance, giving it the notorious reputation harbored by some of the most dangerous of drugs. A Colorado spokesperson confirmed that his administration will be making this request by the year’s end.

It’s unclear as to how and when the request will be made, but one thing is clear, the request is a mandate hidden deep within House Bill 1284 from 2010, which originally established the statutes for medical marijuana in Colorado. A passage describing the duties of the state licensing authority states the following, under the heading of “The state licensing authority shall,”

IN RECOGNITION OF THE POTENTIAL MEDICINAL VALUE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA, MAKE A REQUEST BY JANUARY 1, 2012, TO THE FEDERAL DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION TO CONSIDER RESCHEDULING, FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES, MEDICAL MARIJUANA FROM A SCHEDULE I CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE TO A SCHEDULE II CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.

And just who might the state licensing authority be? Earlier in the same document, this position is designated to “the executive director of the Department of Revenue or the deputy director of the Department of Revenue if the executive director so designates.” Barbara Brohl was appointed to this role on June 30th by Governor John Hickenlooper, and is the person who will be making this request of the DEA.

Source: Westword

Due to the escalation persecution of California medical marijuana dispensaries by the Obama administration, several retired police offers and judges will hold a press conference in Santa Ana today to announce and garner support for a statewide ballot initiative to regulate marijuana in the same fashion as wine. These retired law enforcement officials propose that passing this voter initiative will give California a platform to opt out of the Controlled Substances Act entirely.

“For the federal government to interfere with state and local implementation of California’s medical marijuana law is tantamount to a government bailout for criminal gangs and violent drug cartels. For some reason the federal government wants to force legal medical marijuana patients toward a dangerous criminal market and away from an above-ground industry that pays over $100 million per year in state taxes and provides jobs for thousands of our citizens. California voters can tell the feds to back off and let Californians implement our own laws by voting to regulate marijuana like wine next November.” said James Gray, former superior court judge from Orange County.

The press conference will be taking place at the Plaza of the Flags, which is behind the Santa Ana Courthouse (Located at: 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701), it is scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM.

Source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/454723

Governor Gary Johnson recently subjected himself to an “IAMA” on popular crowd-sourced news and microcommunity website, Reddit. IAMA stands for “I Am A” and is a microcommunity (subreddit) that features people with real life experiences in a gamut of categories (celebrities, business professionals, Stephen Colbert, and victims of crime are just the tip of the iceberg, here) willing to share these experiences in open dialogue with Redditors.

In Gov. Gary Johnson’s IAMA (AMA), he gave viewers insight into his platform and policy, as he touched on some key topics, albeit lightly: the differences between his platform and that of Ron Paul’s, his views on his ability to handle foreign policy, and more. Perhaps the most interesting thing he stated was a vow to “defang the DEA” and issue an executive order to declassify marijuana as a schedule 1 narcotic.

If you’re curious and want to learn more about Gary Johnson, visit GARYJOHNSON2012.com.

City council members of Pullman, Washington shall gather Tuesday, 08/22/2011, to discuss the topic of medical marijuana and the possibility of regulating newly approved “community gardens” that have been sprouting up all across the Evergreen State. In a recent (July 22) law change, patients in groups of up to 10 are allowed to join together and cultivate “community gardens” for the benefit of supplying themselves with medical marijuana.

Each garden would be limited to a maximum of 45 marijuana plants. The law also authorizes cities and counties to adopt zoning regulations, business licensing requirements, taxes and health and safety regulations related to these dispensaries.

Source: Standard Examiner

One week ago yesterday the Washington D.C. Department of Health issued a series of strict guidelines and strictures that govern the application process and even acts as an initial screening process.

Potential applicants must consider a detailed security plan and outline the entire cultivation, harvesting and storage processes; then they must submit these along with a $5,000 application fee, $2,500 of which is non-refundable. Applications received are run through a vigorous and meticulous screening process.

Last month, the health department rejected 31 letters of intent to apply for one of 10 cultivation licenses or five dispensary licenses because of errors as simple as forgetting to put down an email address. [...] Applicants also must heed the finer points of the process, such as making 10 printed copies and one electronic PDF of all application materials. [...] No one can “amend, add to, correct, revise, or supplement” an application after it is submitted, so the health department advises applicants to take heed of revised rules in the regulations posted Friday.

You can view more information about the Washington D.C. Medical Marijuana Program at the Health Regulation and Licensing Administration website.

House Bill No. 00625 (The Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Act), sponsored by Democratic Representative Frank I. Smizik of Brookline, calls for the legalization of the consumption and cultivation of marijuana for medicinal use.

Staying true to the nature of “Compassionate Acts” in the other sixteen states with active medical marijuana laws, Representative Smizik has this to say:

“Marijuana has proven its medical efficacy,” Rep. Frank Smizik, D-Brookline, testified before the Legislature’s public health committee Tuesday. “This bill is about more than just commonsense; it’s about compassion.”

The Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Act would allow patients afflicted with (but not limited to) illnesses including cancer, HIV or AIDS, glaucoma, epilepsy and degenerative diseases would be allowed to obtain marijuana to ease symptoms of their illnesses after receiving a medical recommendation from their physician and registering with the Massachusetts Department of Health. In regards to cultivation and possession, it would allow for patients to grow up to 24 plants in an enclosed premises and possess up to 4 ounces of usable cannabis.

Source: Boston.com

In a newsletter this week, the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and the New Jersey chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML-NJ) announced the formation of a new coalition to garner support for the decriminalization of marijuana in the Garden State: Sensible New Jersey.

Bill A4252, sponsored by Assemblymen Reed Gusciora (D) and Michael Patrick Carroll (R), would stand to remove criminal penalties for adults found to be in possession of less than fifteen grams of marijuana. Reed Gusciora stated that a large majority of cannabis possession charges were for amounts under fifteen grams, and highlighted the fact that it is a huge drain on New Jersey’s already resource-taxed police force and court systems. In addition to a criminal record, adults found guilty of possession under the current law face possible loss of driving privileges for up to two years.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) has joined the efforts in New Jersey; Jack Cole, a 26-year veteran of the New Jersey State Police and also board chairman for LEAP, was quoted as saying, “As a former undercover narcotics detective in New Jersey, I now know that all the time and resources I spent arresting people for marijuana offenses over the course of my career didn’t accomplish anything good. In addition to being a waste of money that should have been spent solving and preventing violent crimes, these arrests in many cases ruined otherwise productive people’s lives. The marijuana decriminalization bill is a great first step to undoing some of the damage wrought by the failed ‘war on drugs.’”

If and when the New Jersey decriminalization bill passes, it will become the fifteenth state to declare safe harbor for adults in possession of minute amounts of marijuana.

“We are ready to begin this conversation in the legislature and will continue to lay the foundation for this groundbreaking effort. This is about cutting costs and ending the failed practice of criminalizing otherwise productive members of society for possessing a substance that is less dangerous than alcohol,” stated Victor Pinho, a Sensible New Jersey coordinator and NJ Chapter Coordinator for SSDP.

Since it’s acceptance in an emergency weekend session, Senate Bill 1014 has moved through the House this week as planned, after Connecticut law makers voted 90 to 57 in favor of the bill, which will decrease the penalties for possession of up to one-half ounce of cannabis from a misdemeanor punishable by jail time, to a non-criminal infraction, punishable by a fine.

Now that the bill has successfully moved through legislation, it will head to the desk of Governor Dannel P. Malloy to be signed into effect. Should the CT Governor pass the bill, it will make Connecticut the fourteenth state to remove criminal sanctions and arrests for minor possession of cannabis and opt for mostly non-criminal penalties.

You can stay apprised to the final status of Senate Bill 1014 at MyGov365, or of course, just check Potimus Prime for updates!

In today’s special session at Connecticut’s Capitol, the Connecticut Senate passed legislation (SB 1014) which will decriminalize the possession of smaller amounts of cannabis.

In hopes of pushing it to the House by next Wednesday’s adjournment, Senate Bill 1014 was modified by proponents for the bill recently to increase the fines incurred and removing medical cultivation from the decriminalized items after it received heat from other Senators concerned about the implications of increased usage in minors as well as marijuana cultivation.

The bill would make possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana punishable with a fine of $150 for a first offense and $200 to $500 for subsequent offenses. Anyone under 21 years old would face a 60-day driver’s license suspension.

(Source: NBC Connecticut)

If State Legislature passes a bill sponsored by Tom Ammiano to reduce the criminal penalties for growing marijuana, California could see marijuana growing turned into a wobbler offense — giving district attorneys the choice to charge the offense as a misdemeanor or a felony. AB 1017 cleared committee on Wednesday (05/18/2011) and will see its way to the Assembly floor.

Patrick Goggin, a San Francisco lawyer who has worked on hemp legislation in Sacramento, said Ammiano’s bill has a good chance of passing through the assembly and the senate. The question will be whether Gov. Jerry Brown, who is close with the prison guards union, is willing to sign it, he said. (Source: The Bay Citizen)

California seems to be gung-ho for legalization, and they appear to be on the right tracks. With luck and perseverance, other states will soon follow suit in wake of the Golden State’s actions: reducing possession of marijuana (up to 1oz) penalties to an infraction that surmounts to a $100 ticket and cultivation to a possible misdemeanor.

Remember to let your Assembly Member know you support AB 1017!