Doug and Patricia Rohrick are embroiled in a custody battle over their great-granddaughter. The Colorado couple told reporters that the El Paso County Department of Human Services denied their requests to adopt 10-month-old Saya because they were medical marijuana patients.

[caption id="attachment_6697" align="alignright" width="240"] Doug Rohrick with great-granddaughter Saya[/caption]

Mr. Rohrick said that he and his wife have been open about their legal medical use since the beginning of the adoption process – and even cared for the child without incident for several months - and that it was not a problem until a DHS employee’s intervention on Monday, June 8.

“They walked in with a cell phone in the air and handed it around to everybody and said the deputy director of DHS has stated that anybody with a medical marijuana card could not have custody of any children,” Rohrick said.

The El Paso County DHS has released conflicting statements regarding their policy of placing foster children with medical marijuana patients. In response to Rohrick’s claim, Executive Director Rick Bengtsson said there is no policy denying relatives custody because of marijuana use. Instead, he stated that custody decisions are made on a case-by-case basis with a premium on the child’s safety and well-being.

However, in 2010, Bengtsson issued a directive to the El Paso County DHS clarifying the organization’s policy as one of zero-tolerance. The directive stated: “EPC will not place children in licensed foster homes if a foster parent is using or intends to use medical marijuana, even though under state law they may do so legally.”

Child custody problems have become increasingly common among medical marijuana patients and advocates, due to the intolerance of state and local officials who think that marijuana use automatically makes one unfit to raise children. Recent victims include California mother Daisy Bram and outspoken Idaho activist Lindsey Rinehart.

On July 2, an article by Dr. Samuel T. Wilkinson was published in the Wall Street Journal positing that marijuana use can drastically increase one’s predisposition towards schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. Dr. Wilkinson cites research stating that teenage and early 20s use of marijuana holds a causal link to later development of schizophrenia. However, this data is simply not a credible argument against making marijuana legal.

Within his own article, Dr. Wilkinson discusses the “cliff of sanity,” a metaphorical line between sanity and mental illness, and he claims that those with a pre-existing tendency towards mental illness may be “pushed over” by marijuana use. However, if marijuana use before the age of 21 is riskier as a result of a developing brain, then legalization and regulation is the solution.

In response to the article, MPP’s Mason Tvert said, “Legalization would involve carefully controlled outlets that would not sell pot to minors, as opposed to the current situation where illegal dealers will sell pot to anyone, including schoolchildren. The net effect would be less exposure to the drug by our young people at a time when they are most vulnerable.”

In Mason’s letter to the editor, he states that a 2009 study from the journal Schizophrenic Research found that “the prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses has remained stable or declined during periods in which marijuana use increased significantly among the general populace.”

A predisposition to mental illness is a preexisting condition that is not created by marijuana use. In fact, any chemical substance introduced into the body may very well exacerbate the issue, including alcohol. Marijuana does not cause mental illness for users, either occasional or frequent, and making marijuana legal poses the best chance for a safer marijuana market that more effectively limits access to people aged 21 and over.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board released its final proposed regulations for the state’s adult marijuana industry on June 3.

Among the proposed rules are requirements that the industry ensure public and consumer safety through strict surveillance and transportation practices, criminal background checks, and packaging and labeling requirements.

[caption id="attachment_6688" align="alignleft" width="192"] Sharon Foster[/caption]

"Public safety is our top priority," said Board Chair Sharon Foster. "These rules fulfill the public expectation of creating a tightly-regulated and controlled system while providing reasonable access to participation in the market."

The Board also proposed several revisions from previous plans. In an effort to alleviate concerns that the state may earn an objectionable reputation, the Board abandoned the official regulatory logo of a marijuana leaf inside an icon of Washington state. Additionally, in order to expand regulatory flexibility, the Board proposed that the state allow marijuana to be grown outdoors, and not just indoors or in greenhouses.

Public hearings on the proposed rules will be held from August 6 – 8. The final rules will be adopted by August 14 and will go into effect in September of this year. Retail stores are expected to open as early as March 2014.

A study looking at survey data pooled in 2010/11 comes from Northern Ireland and reveals that marijuana use rates tend to be greater for those engaged in higher education, and are also consistently lower in groups that left education before age 15.

As it turns out, the group most frequently using marijuana in their lifetime is a composite of professionals and managers, whereas marijuana useage is lowest among semi-skilled and unskilled laborers. This information is also consistent with data gathered in the United States.

42.9% of Americans surveyed have admitted to trying marijuana at least once. Info gathered by the U.S. government in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive reveals that of those surveyed who had attained less than a high school education, 25% have tried marijuana and 75% have not. 41.6% of high school graduates have tried marijuana, and 58.4% have not tried it. For those who have received between one and three years of college education, 49.8% have tried it and 50.2% have not. Finally, those who received four or more years of college education had a 45.5% population who have used marijuana, and 54.5% have not used marijuana.

This data holds that a predisposition towards marijuana use does not exist for those who are uneducated. In fact, the exact opposite is quite apparent. While the study only shows that increased education is an indicator of potential marijuana use, it is possible that with increased education comes more knowledge about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol and other drugs.

It is clear, however, that the many of the negative stereotypes of marijuana users are proving to be nothing but myths.

While many spent the past few days celebrating with friends and family, the Oregon Legislature was still hard at work in Salem. Last Wednesday the state Senate passed an amended version of HB 3460 – a bill to allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries. On Saturday the House agreed with the Senate version, meaning the bill is one signature away from bringing safe and consistent access to the nearly 55,000 medical marijuana patients in Oregon. The bill is now awaiting Gov. Kitzhaber's signature.

HB 3460 – a summary can be found here (PDF) – would create medical marijuana facilities that will be allowed to transfer usable marijuana and immature marijuana plants to medical marijuana patients and their designated primary caregivers. If signed, Oregon will become the 13th state with legal medical marijuana dispensaries. If you are Oregon resident, please ask the governor to sign HB 3460.

Big thanks are in order to Sam Chapman and Oregonians for Medical Rights who orchestrated the lobbying effort to see this bill through.

Last week, the grassroots organization People United for Medical Marijuana filed a petition to allow medical marijuana for seriously ill patients in Florida.

The petition proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution that would permit the cultivation, purchase, and use of marijuana to treat a number of specified and severe diseases, including cancer, AIDS, and Crohn’s disease. Petition-gatherers will need to collect 683, 149 signatures from registered voters in order to make it onto next year’s ballot. If the signatures are collected and approved on time, the measure would require 60% of the vote to become law.

Although the petition has yet to garner a significant vote count, the group is optimistic that the recent addition of a wealthy donor to the organization will aid their efforts.

[caption id="attachment_6678" align="alignright" width="157"] John Morgan[/caption]

John Morgan, a personal injury attorney and business owner whose father used cannabis to cope with the pain of esophageal cancer, recently joined the advocacy group. In addition to his position as a committee member, he donated $100,000 to the campaign. Morgan has said that he will contribute $1 million if necessary. “I’ve seen people in pain who end up on oxycodone,” Morgan said. “And 16,000 people die from that every year. It’s highly addictive. Legalizing marijuana is a no brainer.”

In a recent poll, 61% of Floridians supported medical marijuana. That number rose to 70% when ballot language listed specific qualifying diseases like cancer.

The Colorado Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division released initial regulations for the state’s impending legal marijuana industry on Monday, bringing the implementation of Amendment 64 one step closer to completion.

Denver's Westword compiled a pretty good summary of the new rules, which cover the licensing and application process; production and sales models; and security and labeling requirements.

It is important to note that these are emergency rules that were created in accordance with the timeline established by Amendment 64. The Department of Revenue will now carry out a lengthier process to develop a final set of rules.

Marijuana retail shops will be able to begin opening in Colorado on January 1, 2014. Colorado residents age 21 and over will be able to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana from a licensed and regulated store; non-residents will be able to buy up to a quarter of an ounce at a time.

The NAACP of Pennsylvania endorsed a bill to regulate and tax marijuana last week.

Sen. Daylin Leach (D) introduced  SB 528, or the Regulate Marijuana Act, in early April. The bill would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of marijuana and to grow up to 12 plants. The bill includes safeguards to protect against driving under the influence and requires that the state develop a regulatory framework for overseeing marijuana sales. If enacted, Pennsylvania would become the third state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults.

The NAACP chapter of Pennsylvania released a statement of support for the bill, citing the disastrous impacts of marijuana prohibition on minorities.

“The war on drugs is a catastrophic failure, particularly for people of color,” said David Scott, a spokesman for the NAACP and a former deputy chief of police. “In Pennsylvania, blacks are 5.2 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites – even though they use drugs at the same rate.

This support comes in light of a shattering ACLU report, “The War on Marijuana in Black and White,” which found that there is significant, nationwide racial bias in marijuana arrests.

Sen. Leach has welcomed the group’s support.

On Monday, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law two bills that make sensible changes to Oregon’s marijuana laws. These new laws, which took effect immediately, reduce the severity of the punishment for certain marijuana crimes.

SB 40 reduces penalties for possession of more than an ounce of marijuana. SB 40 reduces the criminal penalty for possession of more than four ounces of marijuana from a class B felony, which carries up to 10 years in prison, to a class C felony, which has a maximum sentence of five years in prison. It reclassifies possession of one to four ounces of marijuana from a class B felony to a class B misdemeanor — reducing the maximum sentence from 10 years to six months. It also reduces the penalty for unlawful manufacture of marijuana from a class A felony to a class B felony — reducing the maximum prison term from 20 years to 10.

SB 82 eliminates a penalty for possession of under an ounce of marijuana, which is already a civil violation. The bill eliminates a section of law that forced courts to suspend the driving privileges of people found in possession of under an ounce of marijuana unless there were compelling circumstances not to. Please note that absent compelling circumstances, courts must still revoke the driving privileges of an individual found in possession of an ounce or more of marijuana.

Following the governor’s signature on Thursday, Vermont became the latest state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

On June 28, Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) signed House Bill 200 into law. The law, which goes into effect July 1, eliminates criminal penalties for the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and replaces them with civil fines. First-time offenders will face up to a $200 fine, while repeat offenders cannot be charged more than $500 per offense.

The governor has been a vocal proponent of marijuana policy reform for years, and announced his support for the bill after it passed through the Senate last month. “Vermonters support sensible drug policies, “ he said. “This legislation allows our courts and law enforcement to focus their limited resources more effectively to fight highly addictive opiates such as heroin and prescription drugs that are tearing apart families and communities.”

The measure has been popular among voters and state officials alike: the House and Senate approved the tripartisan-sponsored bill with large majorities; numerous public officials, including Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn and Attorney General William Sorrell, testified in its favor; and 63% of Vermonters expressed support for decriminalization in a 2012 poll.

[caption id="attachment_6661" align="alignright" width="180"] Gov. Shumlin and MPP's Matt Simon[/caption]

MPP’s Matt Simon applauded the law, saying, “This is a much-needed step forward toward a more sensible marijuana policy. Nobody should be subjected to life-altering criminal penalties simply for possessing a substance that is objectively less harmful than alcohol.”

Vermont legalized medical marijuana in 2004 and is now the 17^th state to eliminate the threat of jail for simple possession.