Help to Legalize, this election...
Letter from DPA (drug policy alliance)...
Dear MMJ Patients...and friends, etc...:thumbsup:
On Election Day, the citizens of Colorado, Oregon and Washington will vote whether to legalize marijuana in their states. And in Arkansas, Massachusetts and Montana, voters will have the opportunity to pass medical marijuana initiatives. But hardliners in the federal government are standing in the way of marijuana reform.
Our opponents are so afraid that the public will vote to legalize marijuana that they are pressuring the Department of Justice to oppose statesā?? marijuana legalization ballot initiatives. Former heads of the DEA and drug czars are trying to scare voters away from legalization. They're arguing that even if voters pass the ballot measures, marijuana will remain criminalized under federal law. But states can and should use their authority to end these failed marijuana policies.
A bill in Congress could allow states to decide their own marijuana laws once and for all. Write your representative today! This groundbreaking bill will let states and voters decide their own marijuana policies without the threat of federal interference.
This election could be a game-changer for our movement when citizens in Colorado, Oregon and Washington vote on marijuana legalization ballot initiatives next week. But our opposition is standing in the way of reform and will do anything they can to block marijuana legalization.
Voters should be able to make their own decisions without being threatened by federal drug war proponents and their desperate scare tactics. Thatā??s why we need your help to ensure nothing stands in the way of states voting to legalize marijuana next week.
Tell your legislators to end the federal war on marijuana and allow states to decide their own marijuana laws - free from federal interference.
Together, we can legalize marijuana and make history on Election Day.
Sincerely,
Jasmine Tyler
Acting Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance :rasta::rasta: pr
Help to Legalize, this election...
Bill Summary & Status - 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) - H.R.2306 - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
here is the thomas link to it. should of known, good old Barney! :cool:
Here is a list of sponsors. Please vote for these guys and email your congressman and urge them to end the nanny police state.
H.R.2306
Latest Title: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011
Sponsor: Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] (introduced 6/23/2011) Cosponsors (20)
Latest Major Action: 8/25/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.[HR] COSPONSORS(20), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)Rep Blumenauer, Earl [OR-3] - 9/7/2011
Rep Capuano, Michael E. [MA-8] - 9/21/2011
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 6/23/2011
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] - 6/23/2011
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] - 9/21/2011
Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 8/19/2011
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 7/29/2011
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] - 11/14/2011
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 6/23/2011
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 7/13/2011
Rep Moran, James P. [VA-8] - 11/14/2011
Rep Nadler, Jerrold [NY-8] - 7/28/2011
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - 7/8/2011
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] - 6/23/2011
Rep Pingree, Chellie [ME-1] - 11/30/2011
Rep Polis, Jared [CO-2] - 6/23/2011
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] - 7/28/2011
Rep Rohrabacher, Dana [CA-46] - 7/13/2011
Rep Schakowsky, Janice D. [IL-9] - 11/14/2011
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] - 7/28/2011
Help to Legalize, this election...
:jointsmile:Legal Medical Use in MASS!!!:thumbsup:
:)my favorite vacation state! Colorado..nice work! And Washington, as well...Now, Oregon and Arkansas..we need to do some work! ;) pr
the following is from NBC.com
:thumbsup:Colorado, Washington approve Recreational Marijuana Use!:smokin:
By Allison Linn, NBC News
Voters in Colorado and Washington on Tuesday approved measures allowing adults to use marijuana for any purpose, NBC News projected, marking an historic turning point in the slow-growing acceptance of marijuana usage.
In Massachusetts, voters also approved an initiative allowing people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, NBC News projected. In Arkansas, a similar initiative failed, according to NBC News projections.
In all, voters in six states were being asked to decide on a wide array of laws around legalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.
In three of those states – Colorado, Oregon and Washington – voters were deciding whether to allow people over 21 to use marijuana for any purpose. In Oregon, NBC News projected that the initiative to legalize marijuana had failed.
In Montana, NBC News projected that voters had approved a plan to to revamp an existing medicinal marijuana law to make it more restrictive.
NBC's Lester Holt takes a look at states where voters approved recreational use of marijuana.
The laws legalizing marijuana for recreational or other purposes could face federal challenges, because marijuana possession is still a federal crime. But so far, the Justice Department has declined to discuss how it might react if the laws pass. Late Tuesday, a spokesman said in an e-mail that they were reviewing the Colorado initiative and had no immediate comment.
Proponents say it’s about time pot was made legal and that it would create new avenues of tax revenue. But opponents say legalization would lead to more drug abuse and concerns about things like driving while impaired.
Opponent Kevin Sabet, a former senior advisor to the Obama administration and an assistant professor at the University of Florida’s college of medicine, said he was expecting legal challenges at the state and federal level.
“This is just the beginning of the legalization conversation, so my advice to people who want to toke up legally or think that they can buy marijuana at a store tomorrow is that we’re a very long way from (that),” Sabet said.
Proponents of the legislation also said they expected some legal wrangling.
“It sets up a clear and obvious challenge with the federal government,” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, which has fought for years to legalize cannabis.
But proponents also were celebrating what they saw as a turning point in a long-running battle to make marijuana more available to the general public.
“We are reaching a real tipping point with cannabis law reform,” said Steve DeAngelo, a longtime advocate for legalizing marijuana and the director of the nation’s largest medical cannbabis dispensary, Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Calif.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper acknowledged legal challenges but said the state would work to resolve the conflict between federal and state laws.
"It's probably going to pass, but it's still illegal on a federal basis. If we can't make it legal here because of federal laws, we certainly want to decriminialize it,” he told NBC’s Brian Williams.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia already have laws allowing for the medical use of marijuana, according to the National Council of Legislatures.
The initiatives in Washington, Oregon and Colorado would take things one step further, explicitly allowing people to smoke pot for more than just medicinal purposes.
The idea of legalizing marijuana has gained acceptance in recent years. A Gallup pollreleased in October of 2011 found that 50 percent of Americans now favor legalizing pot. A decade ago, only around 34 percent were in favor. Liberals and adults under 29 are the most likely to approve of legalizing use of the drug.
Here’s a look at the states considering marijuana laws Tuesday.
Arkansas: Voters in Arkansas will consider whether to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.
Colorado: Voters in Colorado are being asked to approve a bill that would allow people 21 and over to possess and use a small amount of marijuana for recreational purposes. A similar measure was defeated in 2006.
Massachusetts: Voters in Massachusetts are being asked to vote on whether it’s OK to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.
Montana: In 2004, voters in Montana approved a law allowing marijuana for medical purposes. Then, in 2011, the legislature approved replacing it with a new, more restrictive one. Voters on Tuesday will decide whether to allow those restrictions to be upheld.
Oregon: Voters in Oregon are being asked to decide whether to legalize marijuana use for people who are 21 years or older, and to tax and regulate it in the same way as alcohol.
Washington: The Washington bill would allow people over age 21 to possess a small amount of pot for personal use.
More election coverage from NBCNews.com:
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Help to Legalize, this election...
Marijuana's Victory in Colorado, Washington Means California Will Follow Soon - San Francisco - News - The Snitch
Marijuana's Victory in Colorado, Washington Means California Will Follow Soon
An end to America's experiment with marijuana prohibition is in sight, after voters in Colorado and Washington approved re-legalizing the plant Tuesday.
In California, where voters said "no" to adult-legal marijuana in 2010, the decisive passages of Amendment 64 in Colorado (54 percent yes to 46 percent no) and I-502 in Washington (55 percent to 45 percent), marijuana advocates watched the out-of-state action with delight. "Happy days are here again," said Ellen Komp, deputy director of California NORML, as she watched the results come in. "This is the win we need."
No legalization measures reached Californian's ballots this year, in large part because the requisite financial backers chose to put their money elsewhere. These two wins make it "exponentially" more likely big money will return to the Golden State, which means it's a matter of time for legalization here, too, Komp said.
After all, with support for marijuana legalization polling at 50 percent, marijuana is more popular than Mitt Romney.
Golden State denizens took a bite out of the Drug War just the same on Tuesday. Voters in California approved a revision to the state's three-strikes law. Now, a third-felony conviction for marijuana possession, cultivation, or sales won't saddle the offender with the possibility of life in prison.
In Colorado, Amendment 64 cruised to victory despite opposition from elected officials. Support from the Seattle City Council, the King's County sheriff, and a former United States prosecutor helped push I-504 to victory.
"The vote puts Washington and Colorado to the left of the Netherlands on marijuana law," The Seattle Times reported.
Medical marijuana was also on the ballot elsewhere in the country. A medical measure lost in deep Romney-red Arkansas, but by only 4 percentage points. But in Massachusetts, where Romney was hosting his Election Night party in Boston, voters approved the medical use of marijuana by an overwhelming margin, 63 percent to 37 percent, or by 700,000 votes out of 2.7 million cast.
Massachusetts is the 18th state to allow for the medical use of marijuana. California, where the Compassionate Use Act passed in 1996, was the first.
In 2010, opposition from California's medical cannabis providers hampered Prop. 19. But a letter in October from United States Attorney General Eric Holder, in which the nation's top cop warned that the Justice Department would "vigorously enforce" the Controlled Substances Act even if the state legalized marijuana, also had a chilling effect.
No such warning was issued to voters in Washington and Colorado, despite nine former DEA heads issuing Holder a plea to get involved.
A legalization measure in Oregon did lose. But Measure 80 had almost no campaign: only $500,000 to put it on the ballot, and no cash left to run a campaign.
"I'm smelling a mandate, even if we haven't swept," Komp said. "Two states at once? This is a game-changer."
