House Passes Version of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act — Ask the Senate to Do Likewise

On Tuesday, June 27, House members passed by voice vote H.R. 5143, the House version of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010. The purpose of this bill is to initiate a comprehensive re-evaluation of America’s drug and prison policies. According to the measure’s House sponsor, Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA). “Today our prison population is expanding at an alarming rate, with costs to the taxpayers that are unsustainable. … The bill passed tonight will assess the current crisis, reverse these disturbing trends and help save taxpayer money.”

House Bill 5143 is a companion bill to S. 714, championed by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA). Senate Bill 714 will establish a ‘National Criminal Justice Commission’ to hold public hearings and “undertake a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system, including Federal, State, local, and tribal governments’ criminal justice costs, practices, and policies. … The Commission shall make findings regarding such review and recommendations for changes in oversight, policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice at every step of the criminal justice system.”

The measure awaits action by the full Senate.

Please take time today to urge your senators to support Senate Bill 714. For your convenience, a prewritten letter will be e-mailed to your member of Congress when you visit NORML’s ‘Take Action Center’ here:

http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=13046001

Thank you for assisting NORML’s federal law reform efforts.

Sincerely,
The NORML Team

July 30, 2010   Posted in: Legislation  No Comments

43% Say Marijuana Should Be Legalized, 42% Disagree

Americans are evenly divided over whether marijuana should be legalized in the United States, but most expect it to happen within the next decade.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Adults nationally shows 43% believe marijuana should be legalized. But 42% think it should remain an illegal drug. Another 15% are not sure.

These results show a slight shift toward legalization from February of last year.

However, 65% believe it is at least somewhat likely marijuana will be legalized in the United States in the next 10 years. Just 28% do not expect this to happen. Those numbers include 29% who say it is Very Likely pot will be legal in the next 10 years and five percent (5%) who say it is Not At All Likely.

In the latest survey, voters were simply asked whether or not they believed marijuana should be legalized. Voters were more divided on this question than they were in May of last year, when asked whether the drug should be legalized and taxed. At that time, 41% favored the idea of legalizing and taxing marijuana, while 49% were opposed.

Several cash-strapped states have been considering legalizing and taxing the drug in order to generate more revenue. In both Colorado and California, 49% of voters support legalizing and taxing the drug.

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on July 21-22, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.

Americans are much more supportive of adults being allowed to smoke marijuana if it is prescribed by a physician. Seventy-five percent (75%) support medicinal marijuana use, while only 14% say patients should not be allowed to smoke doctor-prescribed pot. Support for medical marijuana is even higher than it was in October, when 63% said it should be allowed. Read More

July 27, 2010   Posted in: Articles  No Comments

MED CAN University Medicinal Cannabis Seminars!

 Medicinal Cannabis Seminars!

Introduction into Lucrative career opportunities

in the Rapidly Growing Legalized Cannabis Industry

Medcan University is an innovative group of entrepreneurial professionals with over one hundred years of combined experience in the fields of medicine, science, marketing, federal law and business management. Our main focus and objective is to lobby for legislation that will help bring medical cannabis to those who need it in the state of Texas. For more information call (214) 494-4222 or visit medcanuniversity.com

   Medcan University’s primary objective is to provide our students with the most comprehensive information available on the subject of the medicinal cannabis industry; to apprise them of all of the legal ramifications and introduce them to the rapidly emerging medical cannabis industry. Medcan University seminars offer an outstanding curriculum designed for people working in the industry or potential patients wanting to be well informed on the subject. The seminars are the quintessential precursor to those either wanting to start their own business or work within the industry or patients in need of information about medical cannabis. As the State of Texas will hopefully draw closer to the legalization of medicinal cannabis, Medcan University is preparing a structure and a pathway to those interested in a profession within this newly emerging business. We have prepared and organized a group of educational seminars that can help interested people become a part of this exciting new industry, should they choose to do so. The opportunities brought about by this newly emerging phenomenon are limitless. Everything from owning or running your own clinic to becoming a caregiver or a grower, based on the history and track record of other states where cannabis has been decriminalized for medical purposes, the cannabis industry presents new opportunities where abundant success is inevitable.  The proof is highly visible by just witnessing the economic explosion that has happened in the states that have taken the step to legalize this much needed medical miracle. The time has come to stop denying wellness to those who need it because of outmoded thinking. If you are interested in any of the opportunities presented by this emerging new industry you will find our list of seminars informative and helpful. For more information please visit us at medcanuniversity.com or alternatively call (214) 494-4222

July 21, 2010   Posted in: News  No Comments

Feds Raid Legal Marijuana Farm, Destroy Crops

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has flouted Mendocino County, California’s newly enacted medical marijuana ordinance by raiding the first collective that had applied to the sheriff’s cultivation permit program.

A multi-agency federal task force descended on the property of Joy Greenfield, the first Mendo patient to pay the $1,050 application fee under the ordinance, which allows collectives to grow up to 99 plants provided they comply with certain regulations.

Greenfield had applied in the name of her collective, “Light The Way,” which opened in San Diego earlier this year. Her property had passed a preliminary inspection by the Mendo sheriff’s deputies shortly before the raid, and she had bought the sheriff’s “zip-ties” intended to designate her cannabis plants as legal.

In the days before the raid, Greenfield had seen a helicopter hovering over her property; she inquired with the sheriff, who told her the copter belonged to the DEA and wasn’t under his control.

The agents invaded her property with guns drawn, tore out the collective’s 99 plants and took Greenfield’s computer and cash.

Joy was not at home during the raid, but spoke on the phone to the DEA agent in charge. When she told he she was a legal grower under the sheriff’s program, the agent replied, “I don’t care what the sheriff says.” Read More

July 14, 2010   Posted in: Articles, News  No Comments

Texas Oppresses the Sick and Weak

By: Stephen Carter
NORML of Waco Inc. Secretary & Asst Communications Director

Texas, the state I call home and many regularly call the land of the truly free where government tends to stay out of your business, why must you continue to oppress the sick and the weak?

Texas has been known to, for the most part, leave the regulation of private matters to the individual, rightly where it should. Aside from a corrupt governor and some unsavory legislatures, Texas is truly a great place to live. We have low tax burdens and quite a bit of “freedom” compared to other states. Don’t get me wrong, it could be a lot better, but its still better than the average.

There’s a problem in Texas though, a large one. Many people here believe that we are not entitled to true liberty, even though they say otherwise. So what’s not so free about the great state of Texas? The voters here believe in the heavy regulation of morality; in short, the restriction of individual freedom because a majority does not agree with a particular action, even if it causes no real problem. In fact, the real source of many of our woes stems from these laws dictated to us on the basis of “moral superiority.”

As many know, medical marijuana has been legalized in 14 states and even in our own nation’s capitol. The science and doctors that stand behind medical marijuana have provided more than enough proof of the plant’s medicinal properties. The state of Texas does not recognize medical marijuana, and routinely arrests and incarcerates sick patients that use marijuana for medicinal purposes. This regularly puts innocent people in dangerous situations as they are often housed with violent people, the type that the Texas justice system ought to be spending all of their time pursuing.

Recently Chris Diaz, a 20 year old man traveling through Brownwood to Austin from California, was pulled over by a DPS officer and his vehicle was searched, with the officer finding less than two ounces of marijuana and some hashish. Chris Diaz is a medical marijuana patient in California, with a legal prescription for marijuana, and had his medicine sealed in a medically sanctioned container labeled with the California State Seal. Texas does not recognize medical marijuana prescriptions from other states.

Diaz was arrested and charged with manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance greater than 4 grams under 200 grams and possession of marijuana under 2 ounces. He has remained in custody since June 27th on bonds totaling $40,000. He is not the first medical marijuana patient to be treated so inhumanely, and likely won’t be the last.

Brown County Sheriff Bobby Grubbs maintains that marijuana in any form is illegal in Texas. He states “We have a zero tolerance for any type of drugs in Brown County, the law says you ‘may’ issue a citation for possession of small amounts, but we go ahead and make arrests.”

Bobby Grubbs is one of those drug warriors with no compassion for the sick that are a part of the problem, not the solution.

Please help defend the sick and the weak by supporting medical marijuana in Texas. It is senseless to throw people in jail who are otherwise good upstanding citizens, just for taking their medicine.

July 13, 2010   Posted in: Articles  4 Comments

NORML of Waco Inc. 1St. Annual Birthday Bash

Come and celebrate our 1rst birthday with us! This has been a great year. We’ve had a few bumps in the road along the way, but have had some great successes.

Our event will feature live music, guest speakers, and more. Entertainment by: Bay of Pigs, KNAEL, and Karma Gettin’, with special guest Paul Bullock. The doors will open at 7pm, with the music kicking off around 8. Only $5 to get in the door. All money raised will be put towards fighting for the legalization of marijuana.

Come on out for a great night with NORML of Waco Inc. and fellow marijuana supporters of Central Texas. The event will be Saturday the 24th of July at The Lone Star Bar & Grill on Hwy 93 in Temple, Tx.

July 4, 2010   Posted in: Events, News  No Comments

Where’s the beef?

by Pam Zubeck

Lock up the women and hide the cash and jewelry. A medical marijuana dispensary that moved in a block away might bring rapists, burglars, robbers and killers to your neighborhood.

Of course, that kind of hysteria is out-shouting reality. Truth is, statistics just don’t support it.

“Looking at the data, it doesn’t appear to be a crime wave to me,” says Colorado Springs Police Sgt. Steve Noblitt.

In fact, from Jan. 1 through May 22, medical marijuana dispensaries accounted for 1.5 percent of all business robberies in the city — 1 in 82, Police Department stats show.

Looking at residential burglaries, of the 830 reported throughout the city, 19 break-ins happened at MMJ dispensaries located in homes, or 2.3 percent of all residential burglaries. Noblitt says there were 289 burglaries of all other non-residences and only two were dispensaries.

As for vandalism, that’s the biggest laugh of all. Only one dispensary was vandalized among the 2,618 reported incidents of vandalism citywide from January through May 22.

The only statistic the police department is watching involves home invasions. During the period, 41 home invasions were reported, four of which happened at homes that house MMJ dispensaries.

“The numbers we have are pretty small, except the home invasion, which obviously is a concern to us,” Noblitt says. “I’d say the numbers are small enough [that] we’ll keep our eye on them. But if they were to grow to be a large portion of the crimes, that would be a concern to us.” Read the rest of this post »

July 2, 2010   Posted in: Articles  No Comments

There’s Been Over 20,000 Studies On Marijuana; What Is It That Scientists Do Not Yet Know?

By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

US News & World Report recently probed the subject of cannabis science, publishing a pair of stories on the subject here and here.

Neither story particularly breaks any new ground, though the author (who I spoke with extensively prior to the stories publication) does note that investigators are now assessing the use of cannabis for a wide range of disease conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and the so-called ’superbug’ MRSA (multi-drug resistant bacterial infections).

Quoted in the story is Columbia University researcher Margaret Haney. I’ve written about Haney’s clinical work with cannabis before. In particular, Haney was the lead author of a 2007 clinical trial concluding that inhaled cannabis increased daily caloric intake and body weight in HIV-positive patients in a manner that was far superior to the effects of oral THC (Marinol aka Dronabinol). The study further reported that subjects’ use of marijuana was well tolerated, and did not impair their cognitive performance. Read the rest of this post »

July 2, 2010   Posted in: Articles  No Comments

Portugal legalizes drugs, crime/usage falls

June 30, 2010   Posted in: Videos  No Comments

State NAACP backs marijuana legalization initiative

L.A. Times: Saying that prohibition takes a heavy toll on minorities, leaders of the NAACP’s California chapter announced Monday that they are backing passage of a marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot.

The war on drugs is a failure and disproportionately targets young men and women of color, particularly African-American males, said Alice Huffman, president of the NAACP’s state conference.

The group cited statistics from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice showing that in 2009, 62% of the state’s marijuana arrests were of nonwhite suspects and that 42% were under 20.

The pattern was consistent in the state’s 25 largest counties, with arrests of African Americans at double, triple and quadruple the rate of whites even though studies show that blacks use marijuana at lower rates than whites, NAACP officials said.

“We are joining a growing number of medical professionals, labor organizations, law enforcement authorities, local municipalities and approximately 56% of the public in saying that it is time to decriminalize the use of marijuana,” Huffman said in a prepared statement.

November’s measure, if approved, would allow people 21 and older to legally possess an ounce of cannabis. Marijuana sales would be taxed, potentially raising billions of dollars for government services. Opponents say legalization would increase crime and drug dependency.

– Catherine Saillant

June 29, 2010   Posted in: Articles  No Comments