Drug War Chronicle, Issue #871 -- 1/29/15 - table of contents with live URLs plus lead articles.

[Bobbie Sellers]

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #871 -- 1/29/15
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psm...@drcnet.org
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/871

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director, bor...@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. SEVEN STATES THAT ARE NEXT IN LINE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA [FEATURE]
Four states and DC have already legalized. Here's the next batch.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/26/seven_states_are_next_line_legal


2. JAMAICA IS ABOUT TO DECRIMINALIZE GANJA
The home of Rastafari and Bob Marley is finally going to decriminalize
marijuana possession.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/22/jamaica_about_decriminalize_ganj


3. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
Medical marijuana is seeing lots of action at state houses around the
country, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has a new policy
statement supporting medical marijuana.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/28/med_marijuana_update

4. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
NYPD narcs gone bad, a Utah drug task force agent gets busted, and a
Colorado cop heads to federal prison.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/28/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

5. CHRONICLE AM: VA FORFEITURE REFORM, JAMAICA TO DECRIMINALIZE, SUPREME
COURT DRUG DOG CASE, MORE (1/22/15)
There's medical marijuana action in the states, the Supreme Court hears
a case about drug dogs, Jamaica is about to decriminalize ganja, an
asset forfeiture reform bill is moving in Virginia, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/22/chronicle_am_va_forfeiture_refor


6. CHRONICLE AM: WY DECRIM BILL KILLED, MORE MEDMJ BILLS, CDC WARNS ON
WOMEN AND PAIN RELIEVERS, MORE (1/23/15)
Marijuana-related activity is ratcheting up at statehouses across the
land, Massachusetts' governor rejects legalization, and the CDC issues a
warning on opiate pain reliever use among women of childbearing age.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/23/chronicle_am_wy_decrim_bill_kill


7. CHRONICLE AM: WY MEDMJ BILL KILLED, UKRAINE BLOCKS METHADONE TO REBEL
REGIONS, MORE (1/26/15)
Some pleasantly surprising poll results from Michigan, medical marijuana
bills are popping up all over the place, the Baby Bou Bou SWAT raid is
sparking bills to rein in over-the-top drug raiders, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/26/chronicle_am_wy_medmj_bill_kille


8. CHRONICLE AM: DEA LICENSE PLATE SPYING; FEDERAL ASSET FORFEITURE,
HEMP & STATE MEDMJ BILLS FILED (1/27/15)
A marijuana business groups predicts 18 states will legalize by 2020,
medical marijuana bills get filed in Florida and Pennsylvania, the DEA
is tracking your license plates, federal asset forfeiture reform and
hemp bills are filed, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/27/chronicle_am_dea_license_plate_s


9. CHRONICLE AM: BOEHNER NOT EAGER TO MESS WITH DC, NE AG EXPLAINS
LAWSUIT, FORFEITURE PRESSURE, MORE (1/28/15)
The House Speaker doesn't appear too interested in undoing legalization
in DC, Nebraska's AG explains his lawsuit against Colorado legalization,
good poll results from Virginia, more pressure for federal asset
forfeiture reform, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/28/chronicle_am_boehner_not_eager_m


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================

1. SEVEN STATES THAT ARE NEXT IN LINE TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA [FEATURE]
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jan/26/seven_states_are_next_line_legal


[Written in partnership with Alternet and originally published at
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/next-seven-states-legalize-pot.]

During a series of YouTube interviews Thursday, President Obama
demonstrated a remarkably laissez-faire attitude toward marijuana
legalization experiments in the states. And he signaled strongly that
the Obama administration wouldn't be taking to the hustings to try to
beat back legalization efforts, as previous administrations had been
wont to do.

"What you're seeing now is Colorado, Washington through state referenda,
they're experimenting with legal marijuana," the president said in
response to a question from YouTube host Hank Green. "The position of my
administration has been that we still have federal laws that classify
marijuana as an illegal substance, but we're not going to spend a lot of
resources trying to turn back decisions that have been made at the state
level on this issue. My suspicion is that you're gonna see other states
start looking at this."

Indeed. Legalization bills are already popping up in state legislatures
around the country, and while it's unlikely -- though not impossible --
that any of them will pass this year, 2016 looks to be the breakout year
for freeing the weed. One state is going to be the first to legalize it
through the legislature, and next year seems reasonable. And the
presidential election year is also likely to see successful legalization
initiatives in several more.

Currently four states -- Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington -- and
the District of Columbia have ended pot prohibition. But that's only
about 18 million people. By the time they quit counting the votes on
Election Day 2016, that number is likely to triple, and then some.

So, where's it going to happen? Here's where:

California

That California is the only state on the West Coast to not yet have
legalized pot is an embarrassment to Golden State activists. They were
first with medical marijuana in 1996, and they tried to be first to
legalize it with Prop 19 in 2010, but came up short, garnering 46% of
the vote on Election Day despite leading in the polls up until the final
weeks. In 2012, with the big players sitting on their cash stashes, none
of the competing initiative efforts even managed to make the ballot.

It will be different in 2016. The actors with deep pockets are all ready
to get involved next year, the polling is good (if not great, hovering
in the mid-50s), and the state's disparate and fractious cannabis
community is already working to forge a unified front behind a
community-vetted initiative. The main vehicle for activists is the
California Coalition for Cannabis Law Reform
(http://www.cannabispolicyreform.org), which has already started holding
meetings statewide to try to a unified marijuana reform community.

With 38 million people, California is the big prize. It's also an
expensive place to run an initiative, with the cost of getting on the
ballot alone at around a million dollars. And it'll take several million
more to pay for advertising in the key final weeks of the campaign. But
the money is lining up, it'll take fewer signatures to qualify for the
ballot (thanks to the dismal turnout in last year's midterms), and once
it qualifies, it will have momentum from (by then) four years of
legalization in Colorado and Washington and two years of it in Alaska
and Oregon. California will go green in 2016.

Nevada

Nevada is the state that is actually furthest down the path towards
legalizing it next year. The Marijuana Policy Project-backed Coalition
to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Nevada
(http://www.regulatemarijuanainnevada.org) has already qualified a
legalization initiative for the 2016 ballot. It would legalize the
possession of up to an ounce by adults 21 and over and allow for taxed
and regulated marijuana commerce.

Under Nevada law, the legislature now has a chance to approve the
initiative. If it does so, it would become law; if it rejects it or
fails to act on it, it then goes to the voters on Election Day 2016.

Nevadans approved medical marijuana in 1998 (59%) and again in 2000
(65%), but voted down decriminalization in 2002 (39%) and legalization
in 2006 (44%). But it has since then effectively decriminalized
possession of less than ounce, and it's now been a decade since that
last legalization initiative loss at the polls. Either marijuana will be
legal by Election Day 2016 thanks to the legislature or the voters will
decide the question themselves at the polls.

Arizona

In Arizona, possession of any amount of pot is still a felony, but
polling in the last couple of years (http://www.mpp.org/states/arizona/)
shows support for legalization either hovering around 50% or above it.
Those aren't the most encouraging polling numbers -- the conventional
wisdom is that initiatives want to start out at 60% support or better --
but a serious effort is underway there to put the issue before the
voters in 2016.

The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is teaming with Safer Arizona
(http://saferarizona.com) and other state activist groups for the 2016
initiative campaign and has formed a ballot committee
(http://blog.mpp.org/tax-and-regulate/arizona-marijuana-advocates-advance-2016-initiative/09232014/)
to begin laying the groundwork for a Colorado-style initiative.

The initiative language is not a done deal, and there are some signs
that local activists aren't completely happy with MPP's proposed
language, but that's why there are consultations going on.

Maine

The Marijuana Policy Project has been laying the groundwork for a
statewide legalization initiative in 2016 with local initiative
campaigns in some of the state's largest cities in 2014 and 2013 and is
working on final initiative language now. But it is also seeing
competition from a state-based group,Legalize Maine
(http://www.legalizemaine.net), that says it is crafting its own
initiative and is criticizing both MPP and Maine politicians for
advancing "out of state corporate interests" at the expense of Mainers.

Whether MPP and Legalize Maine can get together behind a single
initiative remains to be seen. If they can, good; if they can't, well,
Maine is a small and relatively inexpensive state in which to run a
signature-gathering campaign. There could be not one, but two
legalization initiatives in Maine next year.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Diane Russell has filed a legalization bill in the
legislature this year. Maine is one of the states where the looming
presence of legalization initiatives could actually move the legislature
to act preemptively to craft a legalization scheme to its own liking.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts is another. As in Maine, but to a much greater degree, Bay
State activists have been laying the groundwork for legalization for
years. Groups such as MassCann/NORML (http://masscann.org) and the Drug
Policy Forum of Massachusetts (http://www.dpfmass.org) have run a series
of marijuana reform "public policy questions" in various state electoral
districts each election cycle since 2000 -- and they have never lost!
The questions are non-binding, but they're a clear indicator to state
legislators where voter sentiment lies.

The state has also seen successful decriminalization and medical
marijuana initiatives, in 2008 and 2012, respectively. In both cases,
the initiatives were approved with 63% of the vote. And again as in
Maine, the Marijuana Policy Project is organizing an initiative, but
local activists with similar complaints to those in Maine are
threatening to run their own initiative. Organized as Bay State Repeal
(http://baystaterepeal.org), which includes some veteran Massachusetts
activists, the group says it wants the least restrictive legalization
law possible. Whether the two efforts can reach a common understanding
remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the issue could move in the legislature in the next two
years. New Republican Gov. Charlie Baker says he's opposed to
legalization, but is praising Democratic Senate President Stanley
Rosenberg's decision to appoint a special Senate committee to examine
issues around legalization. Rep. David Rogers (D-Cambridge) isn't
waiting. He's filed a legalization bill, and while previous such bills
have languished in the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, incoming
committee head Sen. Will Brownberger (D-Boston) has said he will give it
a hearing. Something could happen this year, although it's more likely
next year, and the voters doing it themselves on Election Day 2016 is
more likely yet.

Vermont

Vermont could be the best bet for a state to legalize it this year and
for the first state to legalize it through the legislative process.
There is no initiative process in the state, so that's the only way it's
going to happen. And the state has already proceeded well down that path.

Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) has endorsed legalization in principle -- the
devil is the details -- and the legislature last year approved a RAND
study on the impacts of legalization
(https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR864.html), which was just
released earlier this month. That study estimated that freeing the weed
could bring the state $20 to $70 million in annual pot tax revenues.

Other state officials have expressed openness to the idea, and a May
2014 poll (http://www.mpp.org/states/vermont/Castleton-MPP-results.pdf)
found 57% support for legalization. There's not a bill in the hopper yet
this year, but one could move quickly in this state where a lot of the
legislative groundwork has already been laid.

The Marijuana Policy Project has formed the Vermont Coalition to
Regulate Marijuana (http://www.regulatevermont.org) to help push the
process along. Stay tuned; this is one to watch.

Missouri

And there's a dark horse in the heartland. The Missouri activist group
Show Me Cannabis (http://show-mecannabis.com) has been running an
impressive educational campaign about marijuana legalization for the
past few years. The group tried to get an initiative on the ballot last
year, but came up short.

They've already filed paperwork for 2016 for a constitutional amendment
to make it legal to grow, sell, and use marijuana for people 21 and over.

One reason Show Me Cannabis came up short in 2014 was the lack of
support from major players outside the state. Given the lack of polls
showing strong support for legalization, the big players remain sitting
on their wallets, but that could change if good poll numbers emerge. And
there's still plenty of time to make the 2016 ballot.



================ ...


___________________

It's time to correct the mistake:
Truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

Cops say legalize drugs--find out
why:
<http://www.leap.cc>

Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________

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--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cacao that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
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