A Kansas bill that would reduce harsh penalties for people found in possession of marijuana received a strong vote of support yesterday from the House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice. HB 2049 received a unanimous vote by the committee and will now be presented on the floor of the House for a vote.

If you are a Kansas resident, please take a moment and ask your representative to support this important legislation.

HB 2049 would drop the sentence range for first time offenders from a Class A to a Class B misdemeanor -- reducing the possible maximum jail sentence from a year to six months and reducing the maximum fine from $2,500 to $1,000. Second-time offenders would likewise see a reduction in penalties – taking them from a felony to a misdemeanor.

According to testimony by the Kansas Sentencing Commission, these simple changes represent over a million dollars in savings and would free up space in overcrowded jails. While a majority of Americans prefer a system that would remove criminal penalties entirely for adult consumers, these changes would represent a welcome improvement for those who choose a substance that is safer than alcohol.

[caption id="attachment_8515" align="alignright" width="220"] Sen. Liz Krueger[/caption]

New York State Sen. Liz Krueger, along with four of her colleagues, has introduced SB 1747, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.

The bill would treat marijuana like alcohol, similar to the laws of Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and Oregon, allowing adults to use, possess, and cultivate limited amounts of marijuana with no penalty. The bill would also set up a taxed and regulated market for marijuana production and sale.

If you are a New York resident, please urge your state legislators to support SB 1747 and sensible marijuana policy reform.

The following guest post, contributed by MedMen, is part of a series providing insights into the legal marijuana industry.

As the “wall” of prohibition begins to crumble, businesspeople are lining up to cross over into the world of legal marijuana. They would be wise to remember that one of the only reasons they are able to even peek over that wall is because they are standing on the shoulders of giants: giants who invested blood, sweat, and tears into grassroots activism, lobbying, and ballot initiatives; giants who risked (and in some cases served) prison terms in pursuit of helping seriously ill patients; giants who helped bring down that wall despite having little to gain on the other side.

Many of the entrepreneurs and investors coming into the industry have their sights set high and rightfully so. This is a unique moment in history, in which a widely demanded product is in the process of transitioning from an illegal marketplace to a legal one. There is nothing wrong with being business-minded, and it is this transition from basements to boardrooms that will make the dream of legal marijuana a reality (and become one in those states that have yet to end prohibition). The industry must remain compliant and sustainable if it is to ever get a federal green light.

But they must keep in mind that it’s not all just about dollars and cents. It’s about laws that make sense, and passing them is not always easy.

 The industry outlook is favorable today only because of the advocates who came before. In order to keep that outlook positive and to improve on its current position, industry leaders must commit to supporting advocacy efforts. Just as quickly as states approved laws making marijuana legal for adult and/or medical use, they could repeal them. And just as quickly as federal directives opened the door to state programs, banking, and the like, those orders can be rescinded if the next administration sees fit.

Only by continuing to support advocacy can members of the marijuana industry ensure that they will not find themselves on the list of those jailed due to outdated (or newly reinstated) prohibition laws.

Often, industry leaders lack the time, resources, or expertise necessary to effect change. Luckily, there are organizations dedicated to advocating for sensible marijuana policy at both the state and federal levels. By contributing money and other resources to these groups, industry leaders can keep the policy ball rolling forward — and ensure it doesn’t get rolled back.

Money everywhere is tight, but keep in mind it is these groups that are changing minds and changing laws. They are the ones ending marijuana prohibition and replacing it with new, legal markets. Today’s advocacy investments will pay dividends down the line for businesses and for society.

Learn more about MedMen at http://www.MedMen.com.

[caption id="attachment_8502" align="alignright" width="240"] Sen. Deborah Dawkins[/caption]

As marijuana policy reforms advance nationwide, Mississippi Sen. Deborah Dawkins has vowed to keep fighting for medical marijuana legislation. Last week, Sen. Dawkins introduced SB 2318, a bill that would allow seriously ill patients to possess and cultivate a limited amount of marijuana. Although SB 2318 would not allow for dispensaries to provide medical marijuana to patients, it would be an important step in ensuring that patients have safe and reliable access to the medicine they need.

Sen. Dawkins introduced a medical marijuana bill in the last session as well, and grassroots support for changing Mississippi marijuana laws continues to grow.

If you are a Mississippi resident, please ask your legislators your support for this important legislation.

A bill has been introduced in the New Hampshire House of Representatives that would remove criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. The House passed a nearly identical bill last year by a vote of 215-92, but the Senate refused to consider it.

[caption id="attachment_7408" align="alignright" width="167"] Rep. Adam Schroadter[/caption]

HB 618, sponsored by Rep. Adam Schroadter (R-Newmarket) and a bipartisan group of seven co-sponsors, would make possession of up to one ounce of marijuana punishable by a civil fine of up to $100. It would also make cultivation of up to six marijuana plants a Class A misdemeanor instead of a felony. Currently, possession of any amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000. New Hampshire is the only state in New England that treats simple marijuana possession as a criminal offense with the potential for jail time.

[caption id="attachment_8497" align="alignright" width="225"] Rep. Helene Keeley[/caption]

Delaware State Rep. Helene Keeley, State Sens. Margret Rose Henry and Bryan Townsend, and 10 of their colleagues have just introduced legislation that would replace Delaware’s criminal penalty for marijuana possession with a simple civil fine, similar to a traffic ticket.

If you are a Delaware resident, please email your state representatives and ask them to support this modest reform.

Possessing one ounce or less of marijuana in the First State is currently classified as a unclassified misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail, a criminal fine of up to $575, or both! HB 39 proposes making possession of one ounce or less of marijuana punishable by a civil fine of $100. This modest change will allow law enforcement to focus on more serious crimes while ending the draconian practice of saddling Delawareans with a criminal record for simply possessing a small amount of a substance that is safer than alcohol.

Earlier this month, Gov. John deJongh Jr. of the U.S. Virgin Islands stated that he supported decriminalizing marijuana, despite the fact that he vetoed a bill that would reduce penalties at the end of 2014. The Senate overrode his initial veto, adding the Virgin Islands to the list of U.S. territories that are changing their marijuana policies.

Sen. Terrence Nelson sponsored the measure, which is now law, to decriminalize the possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana and make it a civil offense punishable by a fine of between $100 and $200, with the possible forfeiture of the contraband.

In the case that an offender is younger than 18, the offender could receive a $100 fine, the parents or guardians would have to be notified and the offender will be required to complete an approved drug awareness program within one year of the possession.

UPDATE: The bill was voted down in the House.

Last week, a bipartisan group of North Dakota state representatives introduced compassionate legislation that would establish a workable medical marijuana program in North Dakota. Under HB 1430, seriously ill patients would be able to possess and cultivate a limited amount of marijuana. It would also create a system of registered medical marijuana providers to ensure patients have safe and reliable access.

If you are a North Dakota resident, please tell your elected representatives to support this compassionate legislation.

Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. have compassionate laws on the books that protect individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer, ALS, and other serious medical conditions from arrest and prosecution for using marijuana medicinally under their doctors’ recommendations. Why should the seriously ill in North Dakota not be afforded the same protections? We trust our physicians to prescribe highly addictive and potentially lethal drugs to treat many of these same conditions, so why should they be prevented from recommending marijuana, which has never caused a lethal overdose, if they think it would work best? It's clear now more than ever: North Dakota should enact a workable medical marijuana program.

In a report released Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested removing marijuana from Schedule 1 in order to make further research easier to accomplish.

From the Associated Press:

To make it easier to study and develop marijuana-based treatments, the group recommends removing marijuana from the government’s most restrictive drug category, which includes heroin, LSD and other narcotics with no accepted medical use, and switching it to the category which includes methadone and oxycodone.

The recommended switch “could help make a big difference in promoting more research,” said Dr. Seth Ammerman, the policy’s lead author and a professor of pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Stanford University.

The report also recommended removing criminal penalties for simple possession:

Citing the lifelong negative effects of a criminal record on adolescents, the AAP strongly supported reducing penalties for marijuana possession and use to misdemeanors. This policy statement, The Impact of Marijuana Policies on Youth: Clinical, Research and Legal Update is a recent revision to its previous 2004 report about the drug.

"The illegality of marijuana has resulted in the incarceration of hundreds of thousands of adolescents, with overrepresentation of minority youth," wrote Seth D. Ammerman, MD, FAAP, of the 2014-2015 AAP Committee on Substance Abuse, and colleagues. Effects of marijuana-related felony charges include "ineligibility for college loans, housing, financial aid, and certain kinds of jobs," they said. The report also recommended pediatricians get involved and "advocate for laws that prevent harsh criminal penalties" for possession or use of marijuana.

The authors state in an accompanying technical report that studies have not shown decriminalization results in an overall increase in marijuana use by adolescents, which is a chief concern of those opposed to decriminalizing the drug. In fact, states with decriminalization laws experience similar rates of marijuana use as those with tougher penalties. However, the authors cite "significant savings in criminal justice cost and resources" in states with decriminalization laws.

A new study reports that long-term marijuana users have little to worry about in terms of lung damage.

Paul Armentano writes in Alternet:

The inhalation of one marijuana cigarette per day over a 20-year period is not associated with adverse changes in lung health, according to data published online ahead of print in the journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Investigators at Emory University in Atlanta assessed marijuana smoke exposure and lung health in a large representative sample of US adults age 18 to 59. Researchers reported that cannabis exposure was not associated with FEV1 (forced expiratory volume) decline or deleterious change in spirometric values of small airways disease.

Authors further reported that marijuana smoke exposure may even be associated with some protective lung effects among long-term smokers of tobacco. Investigators acknowledged, “[T]he pattern of marijuana’s effects seems to be distinctly different when compared to that of tobacco use.”