Outside New York

Illinois Lawmakers Push For Legalization Task Force

Via the Chicago Tribune, "[c]iting strains on the criminal justice system and the economic costs of enforcing anti-marijuana laws, a group of Democratic lawmakers called Monday for the creation of a task force to pursue legalizing and regulating the drug in Illinois."

Some serious words from the Windy City about moving forward to legalization efforts. A notable, and honest assessment of what may be required:

""This is not something that's going to happen in weeks or months, but it's something that's never going to happen unless we start to take affirmative steps now," said [Cook County Commissioner John] Fritchey, a Democrat who helped push for the decriminalization of marijuana in Chicago."

Maryland Decriminalizes Marijuana

Maryland moves to decriminalize pot after "the Maryland Senate voted 34 to eight to decriminalize marijuana." Story here.

Ms. Desvarieux's write-up is excellent and offers an interesting discussion by Maryland lawmakers about the bill and the vote, as well as a move to decriminalize while much of America discusses tax benefits of legalization. The Maryland law "impose[s] only civil fines, rather than criminal offenses, on those caught with less than ten grams of marijuana."

 

 

New Jersey Legalization Bill Filed

Max Davidson over at The Daily Chronic filed a good article on a new marijuana legalization bill was introduced in New Jersey's legislature.

Senate Bill 1896, filed by Senator Nicholas Scutari, would "legalize cannabis in New Jersey and to create a taxed and regulated system like Colorado."

In pertinent part, the bill would establish the following:

Scutari’s bill calls for the legalization of possession of up an ounce of marijuana, transfer of up to an ounce between adults for no financial gain and the cultivation of up to 6 plants (only 3 mature).  The bill also allows for retail stores to be setup and for the formation of a division of Alcoholic Beverages and Marijuana Control.

Senate Bill 1896 also calls for  a tax to be established on marijuana.  This tax will be divided up in to 3 main sections:

·       70% of all monies collected going to a Transportation Trust Fund Account and that money  will be used fix the state road infrastructure.  Scutari has coined this as “pot for pot-holes” tax.

·       20% of the tax money collected would go to a “Drug Enforcement and Demand Reduction Fund”

·       Finally the last 10% of the tax money collected shall go to 43 programs addressing women’s health, family planning, postpartum depression awareness, smoking cessation, and HIV-awareness.

h/t Max Davidson at The Daily Chronic

Delaware Polling Re: Decriminalization

Strong support in Delaware for decriminalization, and a further push by activists for legalization.

"Medical marijuana was legalized in Delaware in 2011, and now cannabis consumers want state leaders to consider legalizing the drug for personal use. 

“We have decades of misinformation, the propaganda model has been rampant in this country for over 70 years,” said Zoe Patchell, spokeswoman for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana.

Patchell is among those in Delaware who are lobbying lawmakers to create legislation that would allow adults to legally purchase and consume marijuana. Supporters argue that the drug is natural, safe and less harmful than alcohol."

Though there may be a push to legalize marijuana in full, the state may only be ripe for decriminalization at the moment. The poll numbers suggest the state is ready for such a move.

"A recent poll commissioned by the Marijuana Policy Project found that 68 percent of Delawareans support removing criminal penalties for marijuana possession."

h/t Shana O'Malley at Newsworks

DC Legalization Update

Aaron Davis over at the Washington Post provided an update on the marijuana legislation effort in Washington DC, one of the first east coast communities looked to put marijuana legalization on the 2014 ballot.  

"The District should set aside the warnings of its attorney general and let voters decide whether they want to legalize marijuana possession in the nation’s capital, advocates for the measure argued Tuesday before the D.C. Board of Elections.

The band of marijuana advocates is seeking to make the District one of the first East Coast cities to legalize marijuana possession. If it successfully gets the measure on the November ballot, legalization has a strong chance of being approved, according to a recent Washington Post poll, and it could hasten the arrival in Washington of a debate that has simmered mostly in Western states." h/t Washington Post

There is arguably no better place in the United States to make clear the discrepancies between federal law and local law on the subject, and a progressive move in Washington DC may put legalization advocates one step closer to their goals on a federal level (perhaps the first step: delisting marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act, among other things).

Oregon Moves Forward with Legalization Bills

Meanwhile, in Oregon, "a bill that would ask Oregon voters if they want to legalize marijuana while leaving the regulations up to the Legislature passed its first committee last Thursday.

Senate Bill 1556 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 3-2 vote, with all Democrats supporting it and all Republicans opposing, reports Jeff Mapes at The Oregonian. The bill now goes to the Senate Rules Committee." h/t Salem News

This isn't especially surprising given the progressive bent of Oregon residents and voters. Still, in the event that Oregon legislators do pass one of the two competing legalization bills, Oregon would be only the 3rd state, after Colorado and Washington, to legalize marijuana.

Onto the 2 bills in question:

"Initiative 21 would amend the Oregon Constitution, ending criminal penalties for cannabis and permitting adult recreational marijuana use, possession and cultivation. Initiative 22, the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2014, creates a commission to regulate the cultivation, processing, and sale of marijuana, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the Oregon General Fund, helping to pay for schools, roads, and social services." h/t Salem News

Between the two bills, Initiative 22 seems like the better choice in light of the federal government's seeming interest in a bona fide development plan rather than outright decriminalization. Having said that, as well-stated by David Sarasohn in a column over at the Oregonian, the federal government's marijuana policies and public statements on legalization (or even an updated drug classification) evidence a myriad of conflicting ideas.