April is Alcohol Awareness Month, which in Portland means it’s time for the annual Spring Beer & Wine Fest. Locals may notice something different about this year’s festival: a massive sign reminding onlookers that marijuana is safer than alcohol.

MPP’s latest billboard, located at Southwest 13th and Alder Streets, features a glass of beer, a glass of wine, and a marijuana leaf below the words "Beer," "Wine," and "Safer."

"Our goal is to make this year's beer and wine festivals as educational as they are enjoyable," said Roy Kaufmann, MPP’s Oregon representative. "We know Oregonians are proud of our craft beer, wine, and spirits, but the objective fact remains that marijuana is less toxic and less addictive than alcohol, and it is far less likely to contribute to violent and reckless behavior.”

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Despite what some may think, marijuana reform is not a rallying cry for simply one side of the political spectrum.

[caption id="attachment_6159" align="alignleft" width="190"] Sen. Rand Paul[/caption]

In response to a comment from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on "Fox News Sunday" that marijuana use wasn't worth throwing people in jail for, Bryan Fischer, the director of issues analysis for the socially conservative American Family Association, tweeted: “Sen. Paul doesn't want [to] send folks to jail for marijuana beef. Fine. Make 'em pay a fine, like we do for speeding tickets.”

TV evangelist Pat Robinson has also spoken in favor of marijuana reform, publically endorsing ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington state.

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The elderly represent the largest medical marijuana consumer group. However, more and more senior citizens are turning to marijuana for recreational purposes — and it’s not just the aging baby boomers that left the substance behind in college. Some retirees are trying marijuana for the first time.

In 2011, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 6.3% of adults between the ages of 50 and 59 used marijuana, more than double the percentage that reported it 10 years ago.

HuffPost Live streamed “Grandparents & Ganja,” a discussion about marijuana’s unexpected clientele. Speakers included: MPP’s communications director, Mason Tvert; Mason’s grandmother, Helen Shuller; Keith Stroup, the founder of NORML; and former Washington State Senator George Rohrbacher.  During the conversation, Helen was asked if older voters would be in favor of legalizing and regulating marijuana like alcohol. “[T]here’s a great deal of money to be raised by taxing marijuana,” she replied. “If that will relieve the worries about future social security and Medicare, older people will be very much in favor of it.”

The New York Times also explored marijuana’s popularity among the elderly. The newspaper spoke with a number of retirees, including Mason’s grandparents. “Most of us are either retiring or are retired,” Helen told the Times. “You don’t have to worry about your job knowing, so it’s a little easier for us. I don’t care if you use my name, I don’t care if they know!”

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A medical marijuana bill that could allow academic medical centers to provide marijuana to patients whose doctors recommend it took a significant step toward becoming law minutes ago when it was approved by the Maryland House of Delegates. In a sign of just how uncontroversial this bill is, there was no debate and the vote was an overwhelming 108-28! The bill now moves over to the Senate, so you know what to do.

If you live in Maryland, please ask your state senator to support HB 1101.

Unlike medical marijuana programs you’ve heard about in other states, HB 1101 would allow academic medical centers, like Johns Hopkins, to apply to an independent commission for the ability to administer a research-focused program through which participating patients could obtain marijuana without fear of arrest and prosecution. The bill is far from perfect – it could take years to get up and running and would require either federal cooperation or medical centers in Maryland to violate federal law – but it’s a start. The bill could be amended down the road if the current version proves unworkable.

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[caption id="attachment_6143" align="alignright" width="198"] Sen. Richard Segerblom[/caption]

Until recently, things had been all quiet on the marijuana front in Nevada. That changed suddenly last week when Sen. Richard “Tick” Segerblom introduced SB 374, a bill to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada, and Assemblyman Joe Hogan introduced AB 402, which would regulate marijuana like alcohol.

We’re already halfway through Nevada’s scheduled session, with adjournment slated for June 3, so time is short. If you live in Nevada, please contact your elected officials today and urge them to support the dispensary bill and to support removing criminal penalties and regulating marijuana like alcohol.

[caption id="attachment_6144" align="alignleft" width="240"] Assemblyman Joe Hogan[/caption]

Sen. Segerblom’s bill would fix current Nevada law, which prohibits buying or selling marijuana. Last year, a Nevada judge called that “ridiculous” and “absurd” and called upon the legislature to pass a bill much like SB 374. And of course, Hogan’s bill would be a financial boon for the cash-strapped state. Rather than spending millions locking up adults for using a substance safer than alcohol, the state could make millions in tax revenue.

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[caption id="attachment_6140" align="alignright" width="214"] Rep. Lou Lang[/caption]

Medical marijuana bills are circulating in Illinois and Florida. In Illinois, HB1, authored by Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), will soon be voted on in the House. According to Rep. Lang, the bill is just "one or two" votes short of passage. As for Florida, the Health Policy Committee has been assigned “The Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act,” named for the president of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, who has ALS. Police raided Jordan’s house earlier this year and seized the marijuana she was using to treat her condition.

The interest surrounding each bill has inspired editorial boards in both states to throw their support behind the issue of marijuana reform.

Illinois’ Daily Register put a face on medical marijuana. Twenty-five-year-old Ana DeVarose, an MS sufferer, spoke candidly about her debilitating symptoms and deleterious medication, which almost took a lethal toll on her body in 2011.

Like the lawmakers who have continuously voted down medical marijuana legislation, DeVarose’s grandparents oppose marijuana — at least they did until their granddaughter showed them the impact marijuana had on her symptoms.

The Prairie State’s oldest newspaper, the State Journal-Register, not only came out in favor of medical marijuana but also endorsed regulating recreational marijuana. “None of the harm from using marijuana is worse than … alcohol and tobacco. It’s hard to take anyone who argues otherwise seriously.”

In Florida, the Sun-Sentinel confronted lawmakers who treat legislation as political tug-of-wars and not statutes that impact lives:

[V]oter turnout might benefit Democrats if the medical marijuana issue is on the ballot. But that's not why the Republican-led Legislature should derail the constitutional amendment drive by instead passing a law that allows sick or dying people to smoke marijuana. The legislature should legalize medical marijuana because it shouldn't be a crime for doctors to help desperately ill patients find relief, perhaps eat a meal, or find some rest. It is the compassionate thing to do.

Hopefully more papers devote some ink to promoting reform.

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Today is the 40^th anniversary of the Shafer Report, the extensive study commissioned by Richard Nixon to advise him on drug policy. Surprisingly, both to Nixon and to most readers today, the report suggested making marijuana legal all the way back in 1973!

Nixon did not approve and ignored the findings of the report, having already decided to embark on a disastrous “War On Drugs” that continues to this day, with increasingly devastating effects on society.

Eric Sterling covers the report extensively at the Huffington Post, but just think: we could have stopped all this nonsense 40 years ago if our politicians had listened to the evidence instead of reactionary political pressure.

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[caption id="attachment_6123" align="alignright" width="251"] Sen. Chuck Winder: Don't even THINK about reform![/caption]

Senate Concurrent Resolution 112 (PDF) is set for a final vote on the Idaho House floor. Already approved by the Senate, if passed it would officially proclaim that the current Idaho Legislature opposes marijuana legalization “for any purpose.” What a curious way to spend their time and residents' tax dollars considering a February 2011 poll found that nearly three quarters of Idahoans favor allowing “terminally and seriously ill patients to use and purchase marijuana for medical purposes.” Apparently, the author of the bill, Sen. Chuck Winder (R-Boise), thinks reform is a problem and he wants none of it in Idaho.

If you are an Idaho resident, please urge your representative to stop wasting your money on uncaring resolutions.

The good news is – even if passed – this resolution can’t stop the will of the people from prevailing. In fact, the group Compassionate Idaho has just released a new petition to place a medical marijuana initiative on the November 2014 ballot! If they gather enough signatures by April of next year, the voters will be able to teach their lawmakers a thing or two about compassion.

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[caption id="attachment_6112" align="alignright" width="180"] Rep. Cory Williams[/caption]Oklahoma has some of the harshest penalties for marijuana possession in the nation. A second offense for possession of any amount of marijuana is a felony punishable by a mandatory minimum of two years imprisonment and a maximum of 10.

Fortunately, legislation awaiting action on the House floor would introduce a dose of sanity. H.B. 1835, sponsored by Rep. Cory Williams (D-34), would make first and second offense possession of marijuana a misdemeanor. Subsequent offenses would remain a felony, but the possible jail time would be reduced to a maximum of five years.

If you live in Oklahoma, please ask your representative to support this sensible reform.

Although this change is modest, it is still a significant improvement over the status quo. It’s a change that makes both common sense and fiscal sense. It would mean fewer adults would be jailed simply for choosing to use a substance less harmful than alcohol. It would also free up prison space for people who commit serious and violent crimes.

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Sometimes in this movement, it’s feast or famine. Right now in Maryland, we’re feasting. Yesterday, the media was busy covering a hearing on legislation to tax and regulate marijuana and the Maryland Senate passing legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Today, they will be writing about committee votes all but certain to lead to medical marijuana legislation passing in Maryland.

[caption id="attachment_6107" align="alignleft" width="270"] Maryland State House (Photo by Matt Bush)[/caption]

Late last night, I received word that the House Judiciary and Health & Government Operations (HGO) Committees each approved legislation to set up a first-of-its-kind medical marijuana program in Maryland. The votes were overwhelming: 22-1 in HGO and 17-4 in Judiciary. I’m very optimistic, but let’s leave nothing to chance. If you live in Maryland, please ask your delegates and senators to vote “yes” on H.B. 1101. The bill isn’t perfect — marijuana will only be provided through academic medical centers, and it will take some time for the program to be implemented — but this is a big step forward. What’s important is that medical marijuana will be in the hands of doctors, not dealers, and people with debilitating illnesses will no longer be thought of as criminals.

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