Hemp Legalization

Hemp Legalization

<B>CALIFORNIA<P>
60.8% IN FAVOR, 39.2% OPPOSED</B><P>

Proposition 36 will require that those convicted of nonviolent drug possession offenses for the first or second time be offered rehabilitation programs instead of state prison. The initiative technically does not require coerced treatment, but requires that treatment be offered to drug offenders who would otherwise have no choice but incarceration --essentially coerced treatment, but not exactly. Most drug reform organizations endorsed this measure as a realistic step away from incarceration as first choice after conviction.<P>

<B>MENDOCINO COUNTY, CA<P>
58% IN FAVOR, 42% OPPOSED</B><P>

Mendocino County Measure G will allow adults to grow 25 marijuana plants a piece, but not for sale. The measure further directs the county sheriff and prosecutor to make marijuana crimes their last priority and directs county officials to seek an end to state and federal marijuana laws. This measure is partially symbolic, since they could not utilize “Home Rule” like the Columbus, Ohio ordinance intends to do.<P>

<B>COLORADO <P>
54% IN FAVOR, 46% OPPOSED</B><P>

Amendment 20 provides for legal medical marijuana use by patients with serious illnesses. Following the Americans for Medical Rights template, the measure sets low limits of the quantity of marijuana and limits approved uses to certain illnesses or symptoms specified in the initiative or added later by the state.<P>

<B>NEVADA <P>
65% FAVOR, 34% OPPOSED</B><P>

Question 9 was the required second round of popular voting to approve this initiative. Any limits will be determined by the legislature.
<P>
<B>OREGON <P>
66% IN FAVOR, 34% OPPOSED</B><P>

Ballot measure 3 will hold the state government to stricter standards of proof that property was the proceeds of crime or used to commit a crime. It also bars forfeiture unless the owner of the property is first convicted of a crime involving the seized property. Law enforcement would be restricted to claiming no more than 25% of seized assets.
<P>
<B>UTAH <P>
68.9% IN FAVOR, 31.1% OPPOSED</B><P>

Initiative B will hold the state government to stricter standards of proof that property was the proceeds of crime or used to commit a crime. It also bars forfeiture unless the owner of the property is first convicted of a crime involving the seized property. Profits from seized asses will be deposited in the school fund.

Marijuana Law, From Decriminalization to Re-Criminalization

Laws regarding marijuana sale, possession and cultivation vary greatly from state to state. While federal laws such as the Controlled Substances Act and the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 have sought to consolidate laws regarding marijuana and narcotics, each of the 50 states have put into effect their own policies regarding marijuana. Because of this federalist approach to controlling drug policy, Ohio along with Oregon, Colorado, California, Arkansas, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina and Nebraska have passed laws decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

Smoking, Growing and Selling in Ohio

In 1975, the Ohio legislature joined California, Oregon, New York and several other states in de-criminalizing small amounts of marijuana. The Ohio revised code was amended to state that possession of less than 100 grams of marijuana is a civil citation carrying a fine of $100. The sale or delivery of 20 grams or less of marijuana, for no remuneration (payment), is also considered possession, and is a civil citation carrying a $100 fine.

Hempfest 2004

The Hempfest Journal is a trophy of the cannabis community in Columbus. Through the work of volunteers who organize local business owners to buy advertisements in these pages, the Journal’s printing costs are paid for with money leftover to make Hempfest bigger and better. The result is this handy book about the greenest subject in the world, Cannabis, and the biggest cannabis festival in Ohio, Hempfest. During my volunteer hours visiting shop owners innumerable times, I found that most of the local business owners, students, and community members that I talked to about the festival have only good stories to tell of past fests. The Ohio State University is also happy to deal with Hempfest. Even when Students for Sensible Drug Policy was under code of conduct review by the OSU administration, there was never any question that the Hempfest festival date was secure because there have never been any problems dealing with the Hempfest. Truly the Ohio Hempfest is a respected tradition in Columbus.

Drug War briefs

Since 1998, the Higher Education Act (HEA) has contained a provision that denies federal financial aid to student applicants who have drug-related convictions, including possession of marijuana. According to the U.S. Department of Education, this drug provision has harmed more than 128,000 students, particularly racial minorities and the underprivileged. (Please see www.mpp.org/USA/news_2471.html for one example of the damage done by the drug provision of the HEA.)

Now is the best opportunity to repeal the drug provision, as Congress is required to reauthorize the HEA this year. To that end, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), and other organizations are asking you to call on Congress to repeal the HEA drug provision.

Ohio awaits introduction of medical marijuana bill

Columbus, OH – Switchboards at Ohio legislator’s offices have been lighting up as activists and medical marijuana patients seek to garner support for a pending medical marijuana bill.

The Ohio Medical Marijuana Act, initiated by the Ohio Patient Network and sponsored by Rep. Kenneth Carano (D), would protect medical pot patients from prosecution if passed.

The bill awaits introduction to the Ohio House of Representatives because Rep. Carano has indicated that he intends to gain the support of four Republican cosponsors before the bill debuts in the House. In the meantime, activists and patients are busying themselves distributing educational materials and making phone calls to urge their representatives to support the Ohio Medical Marijuana Act.

OSU Police shut down fundraiser: Undercover cops, shady tactics used in bust

On Tuesday, November 25, students and other members of the Ohio State community gathered for a fundraiser hosted by the local chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). In order to raise funds for upcoming events like Hempfest and the Million Marijuana March, organizers collected a plethora of pot-friendly gear to raffle after screening a marijuana prohibition documentary entitled “Grass.”

SSDP volunteers gathered before the show to prepare the setting by hanging banners and distributing educational materials to attendees of the fundraiser. But nobody was prepared for what would be the beginning of the end of SSDP’s successful movie/raffle fundraisers.

Reefer Rumble smokes out Ohio Valley

Cincinnati, OH – The second annual Cannabis Cup, renamed the Reefer Rumble after threats of legal trouble from High Times, took place on October 11th on the outskirts of the Queen City. Modeled after similar cannabis judging events like Amsterdam’s Cannabis Cup, the Reefer Rumble was a grand ball for cannabis growers and connoisseurs alike. Patrons sampled numerous varieties of the Ohio Valley’s finest strains of cannabis while enjoying an evening of everything pot.

The true value of the Reefer Rumble lay not in the copious amounts of cannabis consumed, but in the bold act of defiance that the celebration represented. In an age of unparalleled persecution of pot smokers the Reefer Rumble showed all who were in attendance that prohibition is but a passing nightmare.

California clarifies Compassionate Use Act

Sacramento, CA – On October 12th Governor Gray Davis signed S.B. 420 into law creating medical marijuana guidelines for the state of California.

Medical marijuana has been legal in California since voters enacted Proposition 215 in 1996, but until now there have been no guidelines as to what constitutes medical use.

The new law establishes a possession standard of eight ounces dried marijuana, six mature plants and twelve immature plants. Additionally, S.B. 420 establishes a voluntary statewide registry for medical cannabis users. The ID system has been created in an effort to protect legitimate medical marijuana patients from arrest.

Activists in California are split in their sentiments about S.B. 420. Ed Rosenthal, the self-proclaimed “Guru of Ganja” remarked, “I don’t believe that police, prosecutors or any part of the criminal justice system are stakeholders in making the policy decisions regarding people’s health.” Yet Jeff Jones, executive director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative, has called S.B. 420 “one of the best things that’s happened to our movement.”

Drug war Briefs: Supreme Court defends medical marijuana

Washington D.C. – On Tuesday, October 17th the Supreme Court declined to hear the Bush administration’s request to penalize doctors prescribing medical marijuana.

The Bush administration was seeking to revoke the licenses of doctors who prescribe medical marijuana in accordance with state law.

This is the latest chapter in the ongoing battle of states rights to medical marijuana. Since 1996, nine states have legalized marijuana for medical uses, but the federal government has insisted on enforcing federal marijuana prohibition despite voters’ efforts to determine their own laws regarding medicinal marijuana.

The decision by the Supreme Court is being heralded as a victory by the medical marijuana movement because doctors can continue to prescribe medical marijuana without fear of reprisal.

Q & A with ‘The Ganja Guru’ Ed Rosenthal

The legalization of medical marijuana is an issue that is gaining momentum on a grass roots and national level. I turned into a supporter after watching what the radiation and other drugs did to my grandfather Fred Luffman as he battled both cancer and the ‘medication’ he was given. The ‘medication’ along with the cancer robbed him of his ability to sleep and of his appetite. If you take sleep and food away from the human body it really cannot even fight more mundane illnesses such as the flu with much vigor, not to mention a disease as powerful and ravaging as cancer. Fred, in an effort to gain some appetite, sleep, and ward off the pain of his disease turned to medical marijuana. If John Ashcroft and President Bush had their way my grandfather would have spent his dying months in a penitentiary instead of with his family. While real life stories like these are compelling, every movement needs someone to stick their neck out. They need a person who is willing to call upon the powers that be and tell them to look at the issue from another perspective. That person, in the case of medical marijuana, is Ed Rosenthal.

HEMPSTERS: Plant the Seed

Dallas, TX - We are pleased to announce the completion and premiere of the documentary project, "HEMPSTERS: Plant the Seed," a passionate, outspoken and sometimes fiery treatise on industrial hemp and, specifically, on seven activists who, although separated by economics, geography and lifestyle, are allied in the fight to legalize the growing and utilization of Industrial Hemp. A project that has been in the works for seven years.

This film recently screened rough cuts of the project at The Santa Monica Film Festival and The Deep Ellum Film Festival in Dallas and is premiering in The Maui Film Festival June 11th-15th, 2003.

Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson, Stephen Jenkins (Lead Singer of Third Eye Blind), Merle Haggard, Gatewood Galbraith, and Ralph Nader, Craig Lee, Donna Cockrell, Andrew and Jake Graves, Alex White Plume, Julia "Butterfly" Hill, Milos Yellow Hair, Tom Cook and Joe American Horse are the notables speaking out in "HEMPSTERS: Plant the Seed," each with a vested interest in championing this cause.
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