On Tuesday, January 12, members of the California Assembly will hold a historic vote on statewide marijuana policy. Members of the Public Safety Committee will decide on Assembly Bill 390, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, which seeks to regulate and control the production, distribution, and personal use of marijuana for adults age 21 and older.
[UPDATE from Russ Belville: NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano and MPP’s California director Aaron Smith join me this afternoon’s NORML SHOW LIVE, airing at 1pm Pacific / 4pm Eastern, to discuss this historic vote in California. Call in with your questions to 347-994-1810]
Tuesday’s vote will mark the first time since 1913, when California became one of the first states in the nation to enact cannabis prohibition, that lawmakers have reassessed this failed policy.
If a majority of the Public Safety Committee votes ‘yes’ on AB 390, the bill will immediately face a separate vote in the California State Assembly Committee on Health. (I have been tentatively invited to testify before this committee; you can read my prepared testimony here.) In short, members of both committees will likely be voting on this historic measure next week. That is why we need your support in contacting the members of these legislative committees today!
To date, over 8,000 of you have contacted your California Assemblymembers via NORML’s Capwiz ‘Take Action’ Center. This is a tremendous outpouring of public support, but we need to ramp up our advocacy before next week’s vote.
If you reside in California please click here to find a list of Assembly members who sit on the key committees overseeing AB 390. Constituents in their districts are urged to phone or fax support their for AB 390 today. Lawmakers’ district phone numbers, fax numbers, and e-mail contact information appears here.
If your member of the Assembly does not appear on this list, please take a moment this week to call and leave a polite, concise phone message voicing your support for AB 390 with the Assembly Committees of Public Safety and Health. You can find the direct line for these committees, as well as for their Chair and Vice-Chairs, here and here.
Finally, Californians can also send a letter of support directly to their individual member of the Assembly by using NORML’s pre-written letter service here.
Let’s begin 2010 by letting California’s politicians know that the time to end the state’s nearly 100-year failed experiment with marijuana prohibition is now!
Certainly want to believe Californian’s will get off their hind-ends and get this done.
Thanks Paul and all of NORML.
wish this was happening in michigan, maybe someday soon, but until than good luck to all you in cali.if you pass this it will be great and maybe speed it up for the rest of us, come on voters.
Dear God, may CA free the weed and thus lead the way to freeing us all. Amen
Dear Paul,
I’m writting from France, to give you my personnal testimony about the crasyness of the prohibitionnist system.
On this link, you can learn why since nov.2005 I’m registered into the US security files, barred from participating to DPA conference which I was invited to attend… FOR 0,0001G of cannabis.
Finally, I was supposed to represent a coalition of european organisations into the largest international meeting on Drug Policy in Long Beach-California ; and I flought around the planet to testify that I discover “crack” in US jails, during my cell custody in Santa Clara !
http://www.encod.org/info/IMG/pdf/WelcometoUSSA.pdf
I’m interested to follow up you work and vote. I hope that USA will …change.
Yes, we can.
Best regards from Paris under snow.
FARId
If all goes well and if it does happen then maybe we will see other states do the same thing. At the moment in the upper michigan their are no doctors that I know of who would perscribe MJ for medical reasons from what I heard is their in lower michigan. If I am wrong please let me know being I and many of people up in the upper part of MI do need mj for medical reasons and majority of the people who are up here who can not find a 420 friendly doctor to get perscribed med mj are just doing it with out a doctor due to the fact that some if not most people in the upper MI can not take a special trip to lower MI to see a doctor to get perscribed med MJ. With this being said it is far past time for MJ to just become legal and regulated where such problems in mi and other states would and can be prevented.
p.s. attn: to any NORML member if you happen to know of a doctor / doctors that are in upper mi that is 420 friendly would you please send me the information on where they are at as well as the names of the doctor where I may help those of us who are having problems finding a 420 friendly doctor in the upper Mi area…
There is just to many resources’ and positive gain from the bill being passed. True they can delay all the want but for how long? especially at a time like this.
The thing is to get the ball rolling and then comes progress. You have people now not being scared to get behind the med marijuana movement and take a stand.
For so long marijuana was looked down upon,even if you yourself medicated depending on what you do for work or your child’s school or after school sports/activities you were forced to hide that fact based on the media outlook on marijuana also the judgment that came with it.
Now its clear this isn’t the back alley drug they wanted everyone to believe it was,but an economical/medical alternative way to life..
-DRE420
I also believe there should be no restrictions on THC levels. legalize it and the label on the packaging will/should tell you its potency. Another benifit of legalization.
OMG! I love it, to see someone with some professionalism, and sense, now he says MJ is stronger than some users want, but like he refered to bootleggers, why can’t they (after they pass the vote to leglize it) just have different grades of MJ, just like you can go spend $5.70 for a 6 pack of domistic beer verses the higher acohol, vodka for example which will cost you more depending on the amount you purchase? I, for example enjoy the “stronger” ganga, I don’t have to smoke as much, and the taste is usually much more enjoyable, yes I want my cake and eat it to. Just like my undying hero, Bob Marley once said in an interview, smoking ganga is just another form of consciousness, it is not mind altering, you are still in full contact, just a differt level. Please if there is a Jah, let this pass in CA.
That guy knows what he is talking and this is good. I pretty much agree with everything he says, but hopefully they include decriminalization of it, bring our victim less criminals home(loved ones) whip their records clean of any Marijuana incident. When this spreads to Arizona, I’ll be sure to indeed vote for it as well. I’m proud to live in a time where there shall be a great changes in my life time. I believe that unless for a medical reason, anyone under 18 may not posses or use until 18 or older. On myspace, I’ve been spreading the word of this and raising awareness for my friends. I’ve seen some amazing things done with this stuff, to both have a good time when nothing to do and to help those with bad illnesses.
Nows the time to put the pressure on those kook lawmakers
IMO, the reason this is starting to take off is because the voter-initiative bill will likely pass but the state government won’t get as much money because local communities can keep the stores out. They pass this and it’s guaranteed revenue.
that was a beautiful five minutes of my life.
great news this is a step forward and a glimpse i believe of whats to come .I wish the state of texas would loosen up their stance i have several friends whos lives were destroyed by simple possesion charges all of which were >ounce this is a drain on our system Mr.Obaba
making it legal is a very smart choice
What a god send. If this passes I will pack my things and head west. I am sick and tired of dealing with black markets and not being able to grow my own. For such a great country we sure have had our head up our ass for a long long time. It is sertainly about time. GO CALI
FYI to all the people saying they will jsut throw it out, or delay it. Well over the required signatures have been gathered to put it as voter initiative on the November ballot, so whether they have more control over it through this bill or less control over it through our’s is up to them, this bill is a save face bill, whether it passes or not is really irrelevant for us,but for them, it will show how they snuff everyone if we pass it on a voter initiative,The time has finally come.
Happy 2010 everyone!
It passed the public safety committee vote today!4-3
good luck from vegas!!!
YEAHHHH!! WEEEEED!!!!!!
LEGALIZE IT. THERE IS NO REASON NOT TOO!!!
I will be moving to california once cannabis is taxed!
the current federal cannabis laws constitute CRIMES AGAISNT HUMANITY!!!
in 1974; the ‘national institute of health’ research found that THC killed BRAIN CANCER cells..the information was suppressed and further research was denied by the federal goverment.
that makes the federal government GUILTY of volintary (Mass)MANSLAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WE want those responsible imprisoned.
***the revolution WILL be televised!
I work in the prevention field and even I agree that it is gross misconduct to ruin a youths future by labeling them and enacting all the legal penalties onto them for just experimenting. It seems that weed is more enforced now than ever before. When I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s no cop would ever have arrested you for pot. You had to have coke or acid. Now I see dozens of good kids who are screwed because they got caught experimenting. I need to get a new line of work. I am growing tired of all these chruch goers I work with looking for a witch hunt.
You know its really nice to see a judge advocating the legalization of marijuana. A few years back, there was only negative feedback on the use of marijuana. So much progress has been made by supporters and patients. We really have to give it to them for all their effort.
Legalization will be on the upcoming ballot, lets all vote!
I think that it will help reduce the violence in Mexico if Cannabis becomes legal in this country. | I’m going to celebrate 420 with my friends and lite it up at 420pm. |
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