Fourteen months ago, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee decided to withhold issuing certificates of operation to three prospective compassion centers (dispensaries) chosen by the governor’s own health department. This decision, made unilaterally by the governor, was Chafee’s reaction to a letter from Rhode Island United States Attorney Peter Neronha. The letter – one of several sent by United States attorneys across the country – reiterated the federal prohibition on marijuana, including for medical use. Additionally, it said Neronha’s office could prosecute people who violate the Controlled Substances Act. This stalled years of work done by the Rhode Island Legislature to give patients safe, regulated access to medical marijuana.

Needless to say, that day about 14 months ago wasn’t a good one around the MPP offices. MPP began lobbying to protect Rhode Island’s medical marijuana patients in 2004 and worked to allow compassion centers in the state since 2008. The legislature approved compassion center legislation in 2009, over then-governor Donald Carcieri’s veto. We watched with some frustration as the department needed two different application processes to determine who would operate the three compassion centers, but ultimately cheered the department when they finally approved the centers. We were on the verge of seeing compassion centers in Rhode Island, when Gov. Chafee received his letter. We were not pleased with Chafee or the federal government.

But then a funny thing happened up in Rhode Island: Chafee started feeling the heat of his decision. Patients would show up at his public events and hound him for restricting their access to a medicine that their physicians had recommended. Who is Gov. Chafee to refuse to implement duly enacted law anyway? Rhode Islanders demanded he reverse course. It was inspiring.

Over the course of the next months, MPP, along with our legislative champions, Sen. Rhoda Perry and Rep. Scott Slater, and patient advocates from the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition, engaged Gov. Chafee and his staff. An open dialogue was created and ideas were offered from both sides. The governor recognized the legitimate need for regulated safe access to medical marijuana but feared the program as written — with the possibility of thousands of plants per center and millions of dollars of revenue — would draw the ire of U.S. Attorney Neronha’s office.

Last night, Gov. Chafee signed into law legislation that resulted from those good faith negotiations. To limit the size of the centers, the law has been amended to restrict the centers to cultivating a maximum of 150 marijuana plants, no more than 99 of which may be mature. Additionally, the centers may possess no more than 1,500 ounces of usable medical marijuana at a time. To ensure the viability of the centers, the law will allow medical marijuana patients and caregivers to sell their excess medicine to compassion centers, but caregivers must first attest that their patients have had their medical needs met.

We certainly disagreed with Gov. Chafee’s decision to halt initial implementation of the compassion centers, and we recognize that the compromise legislation is not perfect. However, the ball has been moved forward. The long arm of the federal government started shaking its sword and frightened a governor into inaction. With the help of logic, reason, sincere compassion, and dogged stick-to-it-ness by legislative leaders, Rhode Island has been able to move past the fear and pass legislation that will bring safe access to medical marijuana patients.

We’ve got one piece of advice for U.S. Attorney Neronha: voters will remember if you continue to bully those who provide medicine to the seriously ill instead of focusing on prosecuting real crimes. Be careful how you proceed next.

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UPDATE: On May 15, 2012, Ellen Rosenblum defeated Dwight Holton in the Democratic primary for the Oregon attorney general race. On June 6, Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed Ms. Rosenblum to the office of attorney general, effective June 29. Ms. Rosenblum will finish Attorney General John Kroger's term who is stepping down to assume the role of president of Reed College. Ms. Rosenblum will still face an election in November, but there is no named Republican challenger.

MPP would like to congratulate the soon-to-be first woman attorney general of the state of Oregon and wish her the very best in November’s election.

"The rational and peaceable instrument of reform, the suffrage of the people."
~ Thomas Jefferson

Last night, the people of Oregon took to the ballot and utilized that rational instrument of reform, electing Ellen Rosenblum – champion of marijuana policy reform – to be the Democratic nominee for attorney general of the State of Oregon. With no Republican challenger in the field, Ms. Rosenblum’s victory means she will be Oregon’s next AG.

Ellen Rosenblum defeated Dwight Holton in the Democratic primary, 63% - 37%, in what many characterized as not only a primary election for attorney general, but also a referendum on marijuana policy. The candidates had similar stances on many issues, including environmental issues, consumer protection issues, and civil rights. Where they differed greatly, however, was on the issue of marijuana policy in the state of Oregon.

Ellen Rosenblum has taken a good long look at the problems facing Oregonians and has carefully considered how the attorney general can address those problems. Weighing the pros and cons, Ms. Rosenblum has decided that it makes little sense to divert precious state resources – both in time and money – enforcing outdated, illogical, and draconian marijuana policies. As attorney general, Ms. Rosenblum has also committed to protecting the rights of Oregon’s medical marijuana patients.

Contrast her reasonable approach with that of her challenger: Holton, in his capacity as the interim United States attorney for the District of Oregon, threatened state legal medical marijuana providers with federal criminal charges. His hostilities toward reasonable marijuana policy seeped into the election when he called the medical marijuana program – enacted by the people in 1998 – a “train wreck” and attacked Ms. Rosenblum for putting marijuana law enforcement low on her priority list.

This is a not only a major victory for Oregonians, but for all individuals who yearn to see our state and federal governments finally listen to logic, science, and their constituents and reform our country’s failed marijuana policies. Research comes out daily verifying the efficacy of medical marijuana on many aliments, yet President Obama’s Justice Department continues to interfere with state medical marijuana programs. Polling shows that 74% of the American public wants the federal government to respect state medical marijuana laws. It’s about time the politicians realize that honesty, compassion, and listening to logic and science play well among the American electorate. It’s about time we get more politicians like Ellen Rosenblum.

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On May 5, the Orioles’ 2006 first round draft pick, Billy Rowell, tested positive for marijuana and received a 50-game suspension. Following the suspension, Billy called Major League Baseball “hypocritical” for their treatment of him. While that may not be the most appropriate word, the MLB policy on drugs and other illegal activity is certainly inconsistent.

In February 2011, Miguel Cabrera, the current Detroit Tigers’ third baseman, was arrested for DUI after being found in a disabled S.U.V. after he allegedly forced other vehicles off the road and threatened to blow up the bar he had been drinking at previously. While Cabrera rightly faced legal repercussions, the league was mysteriously quiet on the issue. Cabrera did not receive any disciplinary action from the league; he was not suspended, and he did not receive a fine. Cabrera also has a history of both alcohol abuse and violence. In 2009, he was arrested after a domestic disturbance where he had been under the influence of alcohol. I do not mean to single out Miguel Cabrera. Many MLB players have had problems with alcohol in the past. My intention here is to illustrate the bias regarding the penalties given to players by MLB – penalties which are not given out based on the severity of the player’s behavior, but simply on which substance the player puts in his body.

The league policy on alcohol abuse and violence off the field may be far less stringent than its marijuana use policy, but the difference in how these two cases were treated is astonishing.

Billy Rowell tested positive for marijuana, a harmless substance that he used presumably in the privacy of his own home. No one was hurt. For this, he received a 50-game suspension from the league.

Miguel Cabrera, while under the influence of alcohol, has assaulted his wife, wrecked his car, threatened to blow up a bar, and endangered the lives of other drivers by forcing them from the road. He received no suspension.

It certainly seems as though MLB needs to reconsider its priorities.

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UPDATED: This blog post was updated to more accurately reflect the position of the Marijuana Policy Project.

At the Center for American Progress on May 1, Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske answered a question from MPP’s Steve Fox regarding marijuana prohibition. Or did he? What Steve essentially asked is that if a great many Americans use both marijuana and alcohol, and alcohol causes disease, violence and death while marijuana is not responsible for any of these problems, why are there laws prohibiting the use of marijuana, if alcohol is legal?

Now, with the exception of some brief gibberish about alcohol prohibition, the issue of allowing a harmful substance (alcohol) to be legally consumed by adults while outlawing a much less harmful substance (marijuana) was completely ignored. What was addressed, however, was the issue of prescription drugs.

The drug czar argued that there is no reason to tax, regulate, and control marijuana because legal prescription drugs take over 15,000 lives a year, saying, “we do a very poor job of keeping them out of the hands of abusers and young people.” This is interesting for several reasons, the first of which being that marijuana has not been responsible for any deaths in recorded human history. Also, medical marijuana patients are able to substitute marijuana for many of the dangerous prescriptions Gil is talking about, thereby minimizing their risk of becoming one of the 15,000 killed each year by legal prescription medications. Another reason for skepticism, and probably the most obvious: why should responsible users of a less harmful substance be penalized because the ONDCP is bad at its job? By keeping marijuana illegal, Gil and the Obama administration are giving drug dealers and cartels responsibility for deciding who can and cannot buy marijuana instead of an objective system of regulation, and to be honest, I’ve never heard of a drug dealer who checked IDs.

You can see the full video here. This kind of doubletalk is disrespectful to both the audience and the American people. If someone cannot be trusted to be honest enough to answer a simple question, how can that same person be trusted to make decisions that impact the lives of private citizens?

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Last week, Scott Morgan at StoptheDrugWar.com made the argument that it may be premature to think that Mitt Romney would be worse than President Obama when it comes to marijuana policy. He accurately pointed out that Romney was not in favor of medical marijuana, but that he also hadn’t really explained his position clearly. Romney certainly was not openly suggesting the kind of attacks perpetrated by the Obama administration over the last few years. To assume that he would be worse than Obama simply because he is a Republican, the party traditionally most opposed to marijuana policy reform, would be reactionary.

Well, Romney still has not clearly laid out his position, but he gave us all some hints in an interview published the following day. He only spoke about the issue under duress and berated the reporter for bringing it up, saying that marijuana policy reform was not a significant issue.

Here is the gist of what he said:

“I think marijuana should not be legal in this country. I believe it’s a gateway drug to other drug violations. The use of illegal drugs in this country is leading to terrible consequences in places like Mexico and actually in our own country,” said Mr. Romney. “I oppose legalization of marijuana. I oppose legalization of other kinds of drugs, but I can tell you that I have a plan to get this economy going.”

What can we tell from this? Well, most obviously, Mitt Romney does not support making marijuana legal. He outright opposes it.

He is also woefully uninformed of the research showing that the gateway theory is junk science and that prohibition brings marijuana users in contact with harder drugs. In previous interviews, he has also stated that he does not think marijuana is medicine, despite the mountains of research to the contrary.

He does not understand that since marijuana has never killed a single user in recorded history, it must be our marijuana policies that are causing “terrible consequences” in Mexico

He does not understand that making marijuana legal could help get our economy going. In fact, if states were only free to develop their medical marijuana industries without federal interference, they could reap the economic benefits the way Colorado, which has more than 4,000 marijuana industry workers, has done.

That’s all pretty bad. But does it mean that President Romney would use federal resources to interfere with state medical marijuana laws?

Maybe not. In the same interview, Romney also says, “I’m not running on marriage and marijuana. Those are state issues.”

Dare we hope that Romney believes in states’ rights to such an extent that he would respect state medical marijuana laws, even though he feels so negatively about marijuana?

You be the judge. Just take a look at his other positions on states' rights issues first.

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Nearly Three-Quarters of Democrats Break with Administration Policy, Vote to Prevent Federal Agencies from Targeting Individuals in Compliance with State Medical Marijuana Laws

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An amendment to the 2013 Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill in the U.S. House that would effectively end federal interference in medical marijuana states is being considered today, and we need your help!

The Rohrabacher-Hinchey-Farr-McClintock Amendment would stop federal agencies from spending any funds to target individuals acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws. This would include patients and providers, so long as those providers were following the law within their respective states.

If this passes, providers will no longer have to live in fear that the businesses they worked hard to build and keep in compliance with their state and local laws will be arbitrarily raided and destroyed by federal agents. Patients will no longer be forced to buy inferior medicine from dangerous criminals at the whim of U.S. attorneys. States will finally be free to determine the marijuana policies that work best for the seriously ill among their residents.

We need your help to make this happen. Please follow this link and call your member of Congress TODAY! Tell them that they need to support this amendment and make the federal government stop wasting its time and resources on medical marijuana.

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President Obama owes a debt of gratitude to the medical marijuana community for his election in 2008 — a debt that patients, providers, and businesses hoped would be fulfilled by the president following through on the promises he made to respect state medical marijuana laws.

As you can see in this recent op-ed in the Washington Post by MPP’s Rob Kampia, not only has the administration failed to keep its promise of respecting states’ rights on this issue, it is now the most hostile administration in U.S. history towards medical marijuana!

More than three out of four Americans support legalizing medical marijuana for serious medical conditions. With an approval rating of less than 50%, Obama needs to recognize the political ramifications of these continued attacks on the medical marijuana community. If he wants to hold on to the White House this fall, Obama needs to keep the promises he made four years ago, and end the crackdown. As his attorney general said a few days ago, all he has to do is say the word.

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News flash to the Obama administration: if your recent crackdown on medical marijuana was intended to discourage states from passing or considering laws that allow for dispensaries, it’s not working. Since a rash of intimidating letters from U.S. Attorneys were distributed early last year, state regulated dispensaries have opened in Maine, and laws that call for them were enacted in Vermont and Delaware. Four other “states” (Washington D.C. is one) are in some stage of implementing regulated dispensaries, and two states, Colorado and New Mexico, have regulated dispensaries that have been up and running throughout this time.

Now Michigan might be joining them. Earlier today legislation was introduced in Lansing that would explicitly recognize medical marijuana dispensaries—known as “provisioning centers” under the bill. It sets minimum statewide security and safety regulations, but allows local municipalities to regulate them further.  The bill aims to clarify what the Michigan press often calls a legal “gray area,” in which dispensaries currently operate but are often raided or shut down and subject to radically different treatment from one city to the next.

The irony of Obama's crackdown is that it uses the Controlled Substances Act to prevent states from doing just that - controlling substances. In fact, Representative Mike Callton, a Republican, says he's sponsoring the bill to help keep surplus marijuana out of the black market. “It also provides for local control,” Callton said. “A locality can determine if that’s right for their community and if that’s right for their community, how many do they want?”

Jimmy Kimmel drew laughs at this weekend’s White House Correspondent’s Dinner for calling out the president on his senseless crackdown. Let’s hope the continuing tide of states defying that crackdown shows the president this is no laughing matter.

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Republican legislators nationwide should perk up their ears and take notice of what is happening in New Hampshire, where a Republican-sponsored medical marijuana bill has blazed a trail of surprising successes.

SB 409 had already passed the Republican-dominated Senate March 28, and today the 400-member House, which is about 75% Republican, voted 236-96 in favor, with strong bipartisan support.

Unfortunately, Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, announced in advance of the House vote that he intends to veto the bill as he did a similar bill in 2009.

How can this be possible, some might ask? According to the bill’s prime sponsor, Senator Jim Forsythe (R-Strafford), support for allowing medical marijuana is perfectly consistent with Republican principles. “I’ve never used marijuana in my life,” the former Air Force pilot has often explained, “but as a matter of principle, I don’t believe it’s appropriate for government to interfere with choices that should be made between a doctor and a patient.”

Forsythe and his Senate cosponsors, Senator Ray White (R-Bedford) and Senator John Gallus (R-Berlin), began with support from the Senate’s five Democrats, but they had a tough hill to climb with their Republican colleagues. Previous bills had never received more than one vote from a Republican senator, but after a compelling public hearing in which patients shared their stories face-to-face with legislators, the bill quickly gained momentum.

The paradigm shift began to materialize in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee March 22, when two former opponents announced they would be supporting the bill. The committee chairman, Senator Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro), represented New Hampshire in Congress from 2003-2007, and Senator Gary Lambert (R-Nashua) is a retired Marine and a former prosecutor, so these were two very significant conversions.

The bill passed the committee that day in a 5-0 vote that sent shockwaves around the State House, and then, the following Wednesday, strong speeches on the floor by Senators Bradley and Lambert carried the bill to victory in a Senate comprised of nineteen Republicans and only five Democrats.

Has the world gone topsy-turvy? Or are Republicans in New Hampshire just getting on the right side of history in advance of some of their colleagues in other states?

Following today’s historic House vote and Governor Lynch’s heartless veto threat, all eyes will be on the eleven Republican senators who have not yet crossed the line from “undecided” to “supportive.” Three additional votes will be necessary to override the veto, but with the momentum SB 409 has shown so far, it would be tough to bet against the patients who are asking for this sensible, compassionate reform!

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