Marijuana law reform bills are now pending in nearly a dozen states. Here is this week’s summary of pending state legislative activity and tips on how you can become involved in changing the marijuana laws in your area.
Connecticut: Legislators introduced a bill this week to decriminalize the personal use of marijuana. Senate Bill 349 would amend Connecticut law so that adults who possess one ounce of marijuana or less will be issued tickets and assessed a nominal fine in lieu of criminal charges (up to one-year in jail, under current law). In the House, lawmakers will consider HB 5175, which seeks to legalize the medical use of cannabis. (The legislature passed a similar measure in 2007, only to have it vetoed by Gov. Jodi Rell.) Both bills are now before the Joint Judiciary Committee. Please show your support for these efforts here.
Montana: Legislators tabled a pair of bills this week pertaining to the state’s medical marijuana patient registry. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today killed SB 212, a measure that NORML strongly opposed. However, in the House, members of the Human Services Committee deadlocked on House Bill 73, which would have allowed patients greater access to medical cannabis. A separate, more comprehensive measure to expand Montana’s medical marijuana program is expected to be introduced imminently.
New Hampshire: House Bill 648, an act to legalize the medical use of marijuana, is now before the House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs Committee. A similar bill was narrowly rejected (186-177) by the House in 2007. For more information on this measure, please visit NHCompassion.org or click here.
South Dakota: Lawmakers will hold hearings next week on a pair of bills to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail. House Bill 1127, an act “to provide safe legal access to medical marijuana for certain qualified persons,” will be heard by the House Health and Human Services Committee at 7:45am on Tuesday, February 3. The House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony regarding a separate medical marijuana bill on Wednesday. To attend these hearings or to learn more about how you can support these efforts, please visit South Dakota NORML/South Dakotans for Safe Access or go here.
To learn about additional pending legislation in Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, please visit NORML’s Action Alerts page here.
Where’s Utah
What about indiana? Im stressed and in need of a blunt!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/strongmiddleclass/
Go now! Tell Biden you want the hemp and cannabis industry to thrive in our great nation. Tell them how it will create billions of dollars and millions of jobs! Tell them to legalize it now!
Their goal is to create “green” jobs for our nation. You can’t get any greener than marijuana!!
Any Chance you guys could come down south and help with the laws here? South Carolina and Giorgia inpaticular aka the bible belt? seems you guys are always helping the Northern States. We have a battle down here in the south. We had a bill in South Carolina for medical marijuana but the Senator or Congressman died before anything could be done.
Reforming Marijuana Laws Will PREVAiL!!!
Everyone Keep Spreading The Truth…
When is the east coast going to wise up and and start following our fellow states on the west. Here in Virginia it feels like all this Medical marajuana and reduced penalties in other states is in another country. I checked for a norml group in VA and there didnt appear to be one. I wish i could find some like minded people around here.
I sent an email about HB 2468 in virginia. Ty Norml this is very uplifting!
I hope this becomes a weekly segment. I think it’s great to get the legislative new out there, and I feel like this could help raise the awareness in states where rallying could result in actual reform.
I see Texas up there…hmmmmmm… i live Oklahoma but i will move to Texas.
The pending legislation in Texas is pitiful at best. Basically, once you’re arrested, you can go to court and say it was for medical use. It doesn’t get at the root of the problem. But hey, any progress is good progress.
there are bills working their way thru the legislatures of tenn and ohio
FLORIDA!!!
When the number of states is over 25 (50%), will that make the national law automatically nullified? Since the law was by majority (50%), and a majority has now decriminalized it, or allowed medical / medicinal / mediclinical / therapeutic use into law?
EG, Overrule by failure to represent states as they have voted, in a senate voice. (Senate says the state voted no, but the state law reflects that the states vote was yes.)
You would think that false statements and false facts in a law, would justify an overruling. (Pointing towards the governments patent on the medical use of cannabinoids/marijuana, and THC, which identifies and acknowledges an “Accepted medical use”. Technically, if being used for medicine, the law does not apply, since the law is for non-medical use. That line itself is unjustifiable, since it is impossible to determine medical use, since they also tell you that you can not use the term, “For medical use”, in any documentation.)
Who passes this junk? Where is the peoples rights to overturn these sour and unjust laws? What happened to checks and balances?
Teach everyone about “Jury Nullification”, the right to drop all charges, as the punishment is found to be too harsh for the crime. That is what stops murders from getting the death penalty, and what stops laws intended for real criminals, being abused on non-criminals, where punishment is mandatory or unjustly.
I am sick and tired of being chased around the corner because I had a little herb, I am! But if they did stop busting fining and jailing harmless and mostly helpless citizens. They’re Injustice System would go broke fast and they’re monstrosity they are building and enlarging by leaps and bounds in the expected food and race riots that are to come in the cities. And control the exoduses from the city That takes real money, incarceration is the leading industry in the land of the free. We have more people locked up then anyone. I’m sure some people went to jail because of a few jays and meets up with others of the lost and forsaken, which anyone of them can and would try to increase your sentence because he is a long timer lets say! How many lives have been lost in that darkness! For the sake of a few jays? It’s a true nightmare our land of the free government has inflicted on the people in the name of Justice! I think not, it’s the money! It’s worth more to our land of the free government to continue to pump and ruin the helpless citizen. Sadly, the bottom line is that as always, it’s the money with our sadazzed Land of the free government. :{( Duke Deltree
This is a response to James:
Your not talking in the language they {the bible belt} understand. try this, maybe they {the bible belt} will understand this.
I have asked myself, of what am I accused, have I injured any man or offended my Lord God. There is no man before me that I have injured and have not offended my Lord. But the Lord has kept his promise, for the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. { ACTS 2:39}
What is the promise and the Covenant, In my understanding; and God said; Let the earth bring forth grass, and herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and God saw it was good.
Man’s wisdom alone with out the Father’s wisdom is a shallow and usually wicked and self serving of man. The Father’s wisdom is given to men, so he may live well in his garden, and in his garden the Father put all things that are good, of him, not of man.
It is not the herbs that are evil, the Father saw it was good green and seed bearing. Its man’s law that makes greedy and evil men try to make the Lord’s promise a lie.
But the Lord said that no promise of his will be made a lie.
And God said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepth upon the face of the earth.
So God created man in his own image, In the image of God he created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which
is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. { GENESES 1:26-29 }
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. And every plant of the field before it it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. { GENESES 2:4-5 }
The Lord God is of all things and had all things before it grew.
For the earth which drinkth in the rain that come oft upon it, and bringth forth herbs meet for them by whom it was dressed receveth blessings from God.{ HEBREWS 6:7 }
Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputation. For one who beliveth that he may eat of all things; another who is weak eateth herbs, Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth; for God hath received him.
{ ROMANS 14:1-3 }
And God blessed Noah and his sons; and said unto them. Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the face of the earth. And upon all of the fishes of the sea, into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even the green herb have I given you all things. { GENESES 9:1-3 }
The herb that has offended the State, not a man, a thing, a faceless system that is somehow offended by the benign herb marijuana, promotes strong drink and its sin to humanity is not in question. For it makes money for the State in more Police, Lawyers, Court cost, and most important fines, ruining lives. I do not know how many marijuana users you know of, but I am sure you all know a drunken fool or worse someone killed by an alcoholic.
What makes you think that the Lord would dwell in anything created by the hand of man.
The righteous perish and no man lay it to his heart; and the merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil that is to come. { ISAIAH 57:1 }
The only way the herb marijuana has ruined lives is when man in his wisdom has decided that the Father’s wisdom that God said; It was good. Man said; It was bad and passed a law on a benign herb from the Father, openly given in Scripture.
Arrested and ruined countless lives with an unjustifiable prosecution of the innocent. The Teacher
The Lord Jesus the Christ said; Judge not according to the appearance, But judge righteous judgment. { JOHN 7:24 }
The State, not a man, a thing, not the Lord says that I have done evil, but no man injured by me accuses me. The Father is not offended if I have his gifts. I have done no evil, I am blameless before my Creator and man. The scripture says, My defense is of God which saveth the upright of heart.
{ PSALM 7:10 }
I used to live in South Dakota for 4 years, and the lessons you all need to learn there is:
1- You can leave, I know it sounds crazy, new concept, but yes there is a big world out here and it does exist.
2- If you can’t leave because family, which lets be honest that’s just an excuse, then maybe stop bitching and start a revolution. Do something! Join a norml chapter, become a member of the MPP, it’s all very accessible if you want it bad enough.
3- Stop doing so much coke as well, clear your heads and fight harder for your rights. Put the bottle down, your all so drunk all the time getting cheap DUI’s and killing each other with your car you have no insight to the realistic progressing society.
4- Check your facts, look into the different studies on the many uses for marijuana. Marijuana can be used for medicines, essential oils, paper products, textiles, food, moulded plastics, body care products, construction, nutritional supplies, livestock feed, livestock bedding, etc.
5- Look into the different strains and their effects. You will see that the marijuana of today is cleaner, more efficient, and targets specific and different needs. This isn’t your mom and dads swag dude. These are revolutionary farmers, scientists, and doctors growing now.
I’m going to start you Northerners off with those 5 things, I just hope you can handle that much. Good luck to you all and good day dudes.
The TAX MAN commeth………………….
Look around .More over in michigan with the new medical marijuana act ready to go I propose the taxation of at 10% on all marijuana products that would support in effect the state of michigan government .
Just keep it in mind its not so far fetched considering the the drug wars adverse effects.
Im paul jensen
Do you really think the obama administration is hip to the trick on weed I dought it. Remember this is still America
My Motto : Tha’ Boo-Dah is Goo-Dah. Nuff’ said.