[caption id="attachment_7087" align="alignright" width="114"] Sen. Mike Folmer[/caption] A new medical marijuana bill has been proposed in the Pennsylvania Senate by a longtime medical marijuana advocate, Senator Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery), and a socially conservative senator, Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon). Sen. Folmer’s conservative history makes him an unlikely supporter of the bill, however, after a battle with cancer and meeting potential medical marijuana patients, he has a new perspective. We're…

On January 30, 2013, the Senate of the Czech Republic approved a bill by a vote of 67-2 to allow medical marijuana throughout the country. Although support for the bill was high, the law does little to support patients who need medical marijuana. That is the frustration of Zdenek Majzlik, a 67-year-old man who grows marijuana to treat his 46-year-old daughter’s multiple sclerosis. Majzlik was a strong supporter of the bill and fought for lawmakers to allow medical marijuana; but he is still fighting…

[caption id="attachment_7073" align="alignright" width="141"] Anthony Kelly, sentenced to life without parole, with his mother[/caption] Many recent victories towards ending marijuana prohibition give hope that our justice system will stop incarcerating nonviolent adults who choose to use a substance safer than alcohol. However, even though there are now fewer people serving long prison terms for marijuana, our justice system still permits these sentences, and there are many being victimized by these…

On November 5, Colorado passed Prop AA, a measure that outlines the specific taxes to be imposed on the sale of recreational marijuana. The measure works in conjunction with Amendment 64, the ballot measure passed last year that taxes and regulates marijuana for adult use. Prop AA is an important step to establish taxes to fund the regulation of the marijuana industry.  Although Colorado has ended their prohibition of marijuana, it is still illegal under federal law. The DOJ announced in July that…

While election day saw an overwhelming amount of media coverage surrounding marijuana issues, some of the details were confusing to people not living in those states, so here are the details for Michigan. Three cities in Michigan voted to remove criminal penalties associated with possession or transfer of up to one ounce of marijuana.  The ordinances apply to those 21 and over on private property.  Ferndale and Jackson voters passed city ordinances by 69% and 61% respectively, while voters in the…

One year ago, Colorado and Washington became the first states to make marijuana legal for adults, and Massachusetts joined the growing list of states that allows marijuana for medical uses. We had a big night last night. Marijuana policy reform measures cruised to victory in states across the nation. • Portland, Maine became the first city on the East Coast to legalize marijuana. Voters approved Question 1 by a margin of 67-33, removing all penalties for possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana…

We are pleased to announce that Portland is on its way to becoming the first city on the East Coast to legalize marijuana for adults!  With 80% of precincts reporting, 70% of city voters have approved Question 1, eliminating all legal penalties for possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana by adults 21 years of age and older within city limits. Thank you to everyone who took part in this historic campaign! This was truly a grassroots effort and required a lot of hard work over the past several…

One of the many predicted benefits of regulating marijuana is to allow police to focus on solving violent crimes, and an investigation into the Oakland Police Department shows just how imperative that focus is. In 2012, OPD solved only 28% of homicides, a figure that is largely due to an incredible backup of untested evidence.  The OPD’s crime lab has yet to test evidence pertaining to 659 homicide cases, some of which are 10 years old. Furthermore, the crime lab has no idea which of the cases with…

[caption id="attachment_7061" align="alignright" width="132"] Rep. Lou Lang[/caption] Rep. Lou Lang recently introduced SB 1955, which would amend Illinois’ brand-new medical marijuana law. It would add important new protections for veterans and for patients who use non-smoked forms of marijuana, though it would also make some negative changes. Many patients rely on non-smoked forms of medical marijuana, including edibles, tinctures, and topicals. These products use extractions from the marijuana…

Last Sunday, the New York Times published an editorial that compared marijuana and alcohol use, particularly the relative harms of the two substances and the influence people substituting marijuana for alcohol could have on road safety.  But assuming the argument that alcohol and marijuana are “substitutes” bears out, that could be good news, especially for road safety. Of the two substances, alcohol is far more hazardous. For the most part, marijuana-intoxicated drivers show only modest impairments…