Vermont On Course for Dispensaries
On Thursday, May 5, the Vermont House of Representatives voted 99-44 to approve an amended bill that would allow four well-regulated non-profit medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state.
I am pleased to announce that the Senate has approved the amendments, and the bill is now on its way to the governor to be signed into law!
It is expected that Gov. Peter Shumlin will approve the bill. He has stated his support for marijuana reform publicly in the past and has been a consistent ally.
Hopefully, with Gov. Shumlin’s help, medical marijuana patients in Vermont will soon be able to access the highest quality medicine safely and affordably.
May 6, 2011 5 Comments
Feds Continue Medical Marijuana Crackdown, Intimidation of Lawmakers
Once again, federal law enforcement is cracking down on medical marijuana businesses. On Thursday, just as Gov. Chris Gregoire was considering a veto of a bill that would establish the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington, federal agents raided several Spokane dispensaries.
Technically, these actions were in step with the Ogden memo, since Washington’s medical marijuana law does not explicitly allow and regulate dispensaries. Earlier this month, however, U.S. Attorneys warned Gov. Gregoire that they could still prosecute any medical marijuana businesses, even if they were allowed under the proposed bill. This prompted the governor to threaten a veto of the bill.
As if to illustrate their point, the DEA decided to start raids at a critical legislative juncture, which can only serve to compound the fears of nervous lawmakers and the governor.
Legislators should not allow this intimidation to affect their judgment. Several states have established licensed medical marijuana industries without seeing the type of aggression we are witnessing here. The key point to remember is that there is still no indication that the feds will go after medical marijuana businesses in states that have already established their legality. This means we need to pass laws protecting safe access as soon as possible!
April 29, 2011 21 Comments
DEA is On the Warpath
This week has seen a sudden explosion in DEA raids of medical marijuana businesses, leaving patients, caregivers, and activists reeling.
On Monday, 26 medical marijuana businesses throughout Montana were raided by task forces comprised of federal and local law enforcement. As usual, some arrests were made and anything of value seized as evidence under sealed warrants. Interestingly, these raids began within minutes of a vote that stalled the bill to repeal Montana’s voter-approved medical marijuana law. Patients and employees of medical marijuana businesses have been mobilizing with the help of Americans for Safe Access to respond to these strong-arm tactics.
This travesty was repeated Tuesday when the DEA and local law enforcement raided two West Hollywood dispensaries. This occurred shortly after a measure to tax medical marijuana businesses in Los Angeles passed, adding even more legitimacy to the industry there. (A video about the raids is at the bottom of this post, courtesy of ReasonTV.)
March 17, 2011 33 Comments
Hawaii Looks to Expand Medical Marijuana Program
Medical marijuana patients in the Aloha State could be looking at major improvements to their ability to access their medicine. Last week, two proposals were introduced in the state legislature to augment the 10-year-old law.
Sen. Will Espero proposed a bill that would increase the number of plants a patient can personally grow from four to 10. Patients would also be able to designate a caregiver to grow the same amount of plants instead, and each caregiver would be able to take on up to four patients. This bill would also keep patients’ names and grow site locations private, and would allow a person with a qualifying condition to get a medical marijuana recommendation from a doctor other than his or her primary care physician.
A bill that would set up state-licenced compassion centers was also introduced by Sen. J. Kalani English. While the licensing fees and taxes for these businesses would be large, this proposal would be the first of its kind to allow dispensaries to provide marijuana to non-Hawaii residents who are legal medical marijuana patients in their home states.
Of course, the police are fighting this tooth and nail, and are trotting out the same old predictable arguments. According to Sen. Espero, Hawaii lawmakers aren’t buying it anymore. And neither is the new governor.
January 25, 2011 13 Comments
New Mexico Expands Number of Medical Marijuana Providers
New Mexico’s Department of Health has announced the approval of six new nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries, bringing the state’s total number to 17. According to the New Mexico Independent, the department is also considering a number of proposed changes to its medical marijuana program, including:
*Implementing an annual fee for nonprofit producers based on how long the nonprofit has been operating (previously proposed 7 percent fee on gross annual revenue). The fees would be $5,000 for producers licensed less than one year, $10,000 for more than one year, $20,000 for more than two years and $30,000 for more than three years.
*Eliminating the proposed open and closed application periods
*Removing size requirements from definition of mature plant and size limits from definition of seedling
*Allowing nonprofit producers to get plants, seeds and useable cannabis from other licensed nonprofit producers
There are currently more than 2,800 registered medical marijuana patients in New Mexico, more than 1,200 of whom have individual permits to grow their own medicine.
Incoming New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) has vowed to repeal the state’s medical marijuana law, widely considered one of the tightest regulated in the country. Thankfully, such an act would first have to pass through the state legislature, which has remained supportive of the program.
November 11, 2010 8 Comments
