Potimus Prime

During his back stage interview on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Presidential Candidate Ron Paul stated that he would not enforce any federal laws against marijuana, citing his belief that there is no authority in the Constitution to regulate anything a person puts into their own body. I’m sure you are all aware of Dr. Paul’s stance on marijuana, but it’s good to see him making the general public more and more aware of this fact, and even better to see him continue to gain favor.

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.

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)

I think marijuana aficionados everywhere are exhaling a collective toke of relief as news floods in that the Colorado Senate voted last night to extinguish HB11-1261, which sought to impose a “forced blood draw” for drivers thought to be under the influence of tetrahydrocannabinols (delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, natural or synthetic) and testing the drivers blood content for more than 5 nanograms per milliliter. William Breathes stated in report that even after fifteen hours of not “partaking” the THC levels in his blood came out to be 13.5 nanograms per milliliter, well over the “legal limit” while stone cold sober.

Source: Dever Post

Peter Lewis, Chairman of Progressive Insurance and long time supporter of the reform of marijiuana policies, has put out requests for proposals to pass the issue and “create a model for future campaigns in other states.”

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You have to wonder if he will be playing with fire in light of the recent federal warnings of a crackdown on users under the Compassionate Acts “umbrella”, if you will. Either way, it’s great that some more states closer to Washington are turning a leaf. (Hah, see what I did there?)

Source: Columbus Dispatch

Oklahoma Senators passed a bill Wednesday (yeah, on 4/20) that would mandate a sentence up to life in prison for creating hashish out of marijuana. Now that the measure has been approved by the Senate (the House had already approved), it must circle back to the lower chamber for a final vote.

House Bill 1798, spearheaded and sponsored by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, institutes new felony laws for converting marijuana into hash. First-time convictions could warrant a $50,000 fine and prison sentence of two years to life, while second or subsequent convictions would net doubled penalties.

Oklahoma legislative analysts said the bill would cost the state $56 per day, or more than $20,000 a year, for each day someone is imprisoned. At that rate, if Oklahoma imprisoned five hash makers for 10 years each, the bill to taxpayers would be one million dollars.

Source: Stop the Drug War

Tax Cannabis has helped helped ushered in (among other things, such as catastrophic events in the gulf, natural disasters, etc) an era of political and economic awareness like no other. People, young and old, are becoming conscious of the power that they have in unity to change our government and the world around us!

In a recent poll, held shortly after the 2010 Primaries, shows some promising results for voting in November.

• 76% say marijuana is already being used in the state and ought be regulated
• 61% say it’s easier for teens to get marijuana than alcohol (the initiative would make cannabis legal for all 21+, like booze)
• 74% say marijuana ought be regulated like tobacco and alcohol
• 69% say the initiative will bring the state needed revenue (60% say it will save the state money)
• 57% say it will put police priorities where they belong

Indeed, they are very slim majorities: 51% support the initiative when only hearing the title (”The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010?) and 52% support the initiative when they read the Attorney General’s summary of it. These are important numbers because the title and summary are the only things voters will read about Tax Cannabis when they are at the polls. (Source: Alternet)

One step closer, everybody!

California’s landmark marijuana legalization bill, AB 390, was approved 4-3 by a committee of the State Assembly on Tuesday. This is the first time in United States history that a state legislature has ever passed — or even considered — a proposal to make marijuana legal, taxed, and regulated.

Source: Toke of the Town

In figures released by the FBI yesterday, marijuana related arrests have dropped for the first time since 2002. Also, interestingly enough, the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed increases in the numbers of Americans who admit having tried marijuana before. I’ll leave you with some interesting statistics about the marijuana arrests that happened in 2008.

• 847,863 arrests on marijuana charges
• 89 percent of which were for posession ONLY
• One American was arrested for marijuana every 37 seconds
• More arrested for possession than for all violent crimes combined