Happy 420

April 20 has evolved into a counterculture holiday in North America, where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis. Some events have a political nature to them, advocating for the decriminalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States.

Obama: Drug legalization not the answer to cartels



President Barack Obama participates in a three-way conversation with Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff and Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (not pictured) at the CEO Summit of the Americas, in Cartagena, Colombia, Saturday, April 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

(AP) CARTAGENA, Colombia - President Barack Obama said Saturday legalizing drug use is not the answer to trafficking in illegal narcotics in the Americas, countering a growing chorus in Latin America to discuss decriminalization as a way to ease deadly cartel violence.

Mr. Obama says he is open to having a debate about legalization, but he doesn't believe it will lead to an agreement to legalize drugs.

President Obama was speaking to an assembly of top executives from the hemisphere as part of the sixth Summit of the Americas here.

The president said the answer to the drug cartels is societies that have strong economics, rules of law, and a law enforcement infrastructure that is sound.

He said the responsibility also rests with countries that are big destinations for the drugs to reduce demand for illegal narcotics.

Rhode Island Marijuana Legalization and Decriminalization Bills Get Hearing Today

Legalization of Marijuana Act would regulate and tax marijuana like alcohol

PROVIDENCE, RI — A pair of bills, one that would legalize and tax marijuana and one that would reduce possession penalties by decriminalizing marijuana, are both scheduled to receive a hearing by the House Committee on Judiciary at the Statehouse Wednesday afternoon.

The first bill, HB 7092, would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Rhode Island. Under the proposed bill, marijuana would remain illegal, but penalties for possession would be significantly lessened. If passed, Rhode Islanders caught with an ounce or less would pay a $150 dollar fine, but face no jail time.

The second bill, HB 7582, the “Legalization of Marijuana Act,” would outright legalize marijuana, regulating it much as the state regulates alcohol. The bill, if passed, would allow anyone 21 years old or older to possess and grow small quantities of marijuana, and would impose a cannabis tax.

Get out there and show your support.

Amendment 64

Majority Of Denver Republicans Vote To Legalize Marijuana

Fifty-six percent of the delegates at the Denver County Republican Assembly voted in support of a resolution to regulate marijuana like alcohol in the Centennial State. While the initiative, known as Amendment 64, did not receive the two-thirds majority required to adopt it as a plank in the party's platform, advocates are hailing the vote as significant.

"It is impressive and encouraging that a majority of some of the most active Republicans in Denver voted to endorse the initiative," wrote the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in a statement. "As more and more Colorado citizens see their friends and neighbors voicing their opposition to marijuana prohibition, we expect support for the initiative will continue to grow."

The Assembly, which voted Saturday on the initiative, did adopt a resolution affirming that medical marijuana is a 10th Amendment issue that should be left to the states.

Under a medical marijuana law enacted in 2000, Colorado patients with a note from their physician can access marijuana from a dispensary. But federal prosecutors have ramped up enforcement around medical marijuana in recent months, resulting in the closure of dozens of dispensaries around the state.

The vote comes shortly after television evangelist Pat Robertson took to the airwaves on "The 700 Club" to condemn arrests for marijuana possession.

"On the heels of the Pat Robertson endorsement of Amendment 64, it is great to see increasing support for regulating marijuana like alcohol across the ideological spectrum," the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol added.

Speechless.....

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Open in Washington, D.C.

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Set to Open in Washington, D.C.

This summer, residents will be able to buy legal cannabis at dispensaries within a few miles of the White House, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Cultivation centers are leasing space, and the city will decide who will be able to open shops by the end of March.

“The DEA is based here. The drug czar’s office is based here. How is that dynamic going to work when some of these entities say marijuana is not a medicine” with lawful medical marijuana dispensaries nearby, said Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Washington’s law will be stricter than California’s. To purchase pot, patients must be diagnosed with HIV, cancer, glaucoma or other terminal or chronic illnesses and will be authorized to carry a maximum of 2 ounces. They won’t be allowed to smoke in public or at dispensaries.

Great step in the right direction, but full legalization will always be the goal.

DEA Admits THC is Medicine

If the Feds Get Their Way, Big Pharma Could Sell Pot -- But Your Dime Bag Would Still Send You to Jail | Drugs | AlterNet

The DEA initially made public its desire to recognize the use of marijuana plant-derived pharmaceuticals in a "notice of proposed rulemaking," which appeared in the November 1, 2010 edition of the Federal Register.


The agency posted, "This proposed rule is issued by the Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to modify the listing of the Marinol formulation in schedule III so that certain generic drug products are also included in that listing." (Marinol is the brand name for dronabinol, a prescription pill approved by the FDA in the mid-'80s that consists of synthetic THC in sesame oil and is encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule.)

Florida Medical Marijuana Bills Filed

Florida Medical Marijuana Bills Filed | The Daily Chronic

For the second year in a row, medical marijuana legislation has been filed in Florida, and for the first time ever, bills have been filed in both the House and the Senate. The bills, House Joint Resolution 353 and Senate Joint Resolution 1028, ask the legislature to approve a referendum on medical marijuana for the November ballot.

If the legislature approves the resolutions, the referendum must then win the approval of 60% of the voters. If 60% of the voters approve it, the state constitution would be amended to include medical marijuana language.

Under the resolutions, patients with a doctor’s recommendation and his or her primary caregiver would have an affirmative defense if charged with a marijuana offense as long as the amount of marijuana was not greater than the amount set by the state and could still mount an affirmative defense if it was, provided that greater amount is “medically necessary.” The amount is not set in the resolutions; instead, the legislature would be charged with setting quantity limits in the event the referendum passes.