Bills, Laws, Court Cases
Ganja Court Cases
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Congress Holding Hearing On Justice Department’s Marijuana Decision
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is facing criticism over its attempt to straddle the federal law that makes marijuana illegal and state laws that permit recreational use of the drug. In the first congressional hearing since the administration announced a new, permissive enforcement policy, law enforcement and drug-prevention groups and their congressional allies see an
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Marijuana Activist May Run for Political Office
Small acts of defiance have sometimes sparked political infernos. December 1955: seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to sit in the back of the bus and touches off the Montgomery bus boycott. August 1980: electrician Lech Walesa hops a fence at the Gdansk shipyards and goes on to lead a strike that opens a crack that spreads
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Puerto Rico to Debate Medical Marijuana Legalization
SAN JUAN, PR — Legislators in Puerto Rico are preparing to debate a bill that would allow people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes in this conservative U.S. territory, officials said Thursday. The measure would create a system to legally produce the substance and allow state health officials to regulate it, said Rep. Jose Baez,
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Washington State issues how-to regs on growing, selling marijuana
With the eyes of other states – and the US Justice Department – upon them, officials in Washington State have issued draft regulations for growing, distributing, and selling marijuana meant for recreational use. The details announced this week include the number of shops that will be able to sell pot around the state (334, with locations based
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Smoke it if you got it
The Obama administration has acquiesced to movements across the country seeking legalized marijuana. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement last week that he’ll ignore federal law and not step in the way of states that have legalized marijuana, for medical purposes or otherwise, is another unmistakable sign of the strength of the pro-marijuana movement. Although
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Despite rulings in Colorado, Washington, medical marijuana still a legal risk in Arizona
PHOENIX — A decision Thursday by U.S. Department of Justice not to challenge marijuana legalization by two states does not make Arizona’s own medical marijuana law any more legal or acceptable, key prosecutors said. Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said he will not drop his bid to have the state’s 2010 voter-approved law declared illegal.
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Federal government eases stance on marijuana
By Joe Mozingo, Ari Bloomekatz and David G. SavageAugust 29, 2013, 7:25 p.m. In a significant policy shift by the Obama administration, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. signaled Thursday that the federal government would no longer interfere in states that allowed commercial marijuana sales as long as they were strictly regulated. The move comes two years after
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More states likely to change pot rules, both sides say
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, is joined by state Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson at a news conference to discuss the federal government’s decision not to interfere with marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado. (Rachel La Corte / Associated Press / August 29, 2013)SEATTLE — When the Justice Department announced Thursday that it would not interfere with the enforcement of
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Senate leader wants legal marijuana hearing next month
Senator Patrick Leahy wants to clear the air in the debate between states and the federal government over the legal use of marijuana, in what could be a significant hearing on the issue in September. Source: United States Fish and Wildlife Service On Monday, Leahy was reserving the oversized hearing room in the Hart Senate Office
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Medical Marijuana In Connecticut: Getting Down To Details
Can medical marijuana distributors advertise their product? (Yes, but with certain restrictions). How much can they charge? (Market forces will determine prices). These are just a few of the issues addressed in the 76 pages of regulations for the state’s new medical marijuana program. Tuesday, the General Assembly’s regulation review committee is expected to decide whether the
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Delaware governor renews medical marijuana effort
DOVER, Del. — Gov. Jack Markell said Thursday that he is moving forward with a medical marijuana program in Delaware after halting plans last year over fears that state officials could be subject to federal prosecution. Markell signed a medical marijuana bill in 2011 but halted implementation after federal officials indicated that people involved in
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Lawyers Debate Best Ways To Sell Marijuana–No Joke
No joke. At the recently concluded American Bar Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco–as at most other gatherings–lawyers like to talk. They may be contentious or cooperative, but they do like to talk. Especially about something controversial, and especially about outsmarting the government. From that viewpoint, medical marijuana is a perfect storm. And the lawyers
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Ohio Attorney General Rejects Proposed Marijuana Legalization Amendment
COLUMBUS, OH — Ohio’s Attorney General Mike DeWine has rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana saying the language in the bill was not “fair and truthful” and omitted key information. The petition for the proposed amendment, the End Ohio Cannabis Prohibition Act of 2012 [sic], was submitted by Responsible Ohioans for Cannabis on August 2, with 2,304 signatures from registered
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Alaska, Rhode Island Will Legalize Marijuana Next, Federal Pot Law Will Change In 2019: MPP’s Rob Kampia
As support for marijuana legalization continues to grow, Rob Kampia, the executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, believes that momentum will drive two more states to follow Colorado and Washington in legalizing recreational weed in 2014. In a recent interview with Reason, Kampia made several legal pot predictions. “I think the next state to legalize will
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Americans skeptical of value of enforcing marijuana laws
Attorney General Eric Holder’s proposal to rein in mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders comes at a time when American attitudes toward marijuana use are the most lax they’ve ever been and Americans are highly skeptical of the value of enforcing marijuana laws. A March Pew Research Center survey onchanging attitudes about marijuana found that nearly three-in-four
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Effort to legalize cannabis in Ohio up in smoke as DeWine rejects ballot issue
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An effort to put a constitutional amendment before voters that would make marijuana legal for adult use and clear the way for a hemp industry in Ohio suffered a setback today when Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine rejected the group’s summary language for the ballot. DeWine rejected a petition for the proposed
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Today’s Buzz: Should Florida legalize marijuana?
People United for Medical Marijuana, an Orlando-based group led by high-profile Orlando lawyer John Morgan, is gearing up its push to ask Florida voters to bless marijuana for medical purposes. The final language of a proposed 2014 ballot initiative would free doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat severe symptoms or side effects from drugs related
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Retail marijuana labels in Colorado will have to include potency, expiration dates, safety warning
DENVER – Colorado has announced detailed rules for how recreational pot should be grown and sold starting next year. The state department that will regulate marijuana released more than 60 pages of rules Monday for how marijuana sales will be licensed and regulated. The Colorado Legislature set broad parameters earlier this year, but the nitty-gritty
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Colorado Regulators Ditch ‘Absurd’ Rule Treating Marijuana Publications Like Porn
A photo of President Barack Obama, a former marijuana user, is seen on the cover of ‘Cannabis Now’ magazine at the HempCon medical marijuana show, May 24, 2013, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Marijuana-themed publications won’t be treated like pornography in Colorado, state regulators announced Thursday in the face of lawsuits. The rule
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Vermont Marijuana Decriminalization Signed Into Law, Reduces Penalties For Possession Up To An Ounce
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) signed a bill on Thursday decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, will remove criminal penalties on possession of up to an ounce of cannabis and replace them with civil fines. “I applaud the Legislature’s action to decriminalize the
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Vermont decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill Thursday that made the state the 17th in the United States to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Under the law, possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana (28.3 grams) would be treated as a civil penalty with fines akin to a traffic ticket. Previously, possession
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Taxes related to marijuana, schools and animal welfare working way toward ballot
Voters in Larimer County this November likely will be asked to pay higher taxes to pay for regulation of recreational marijuana, an increase in public school funding and a new local haven for wayward animals. Here’s a look at taxes working their way toward the ballot: MARIJUANA A $100 bag of marijuana would cost
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Legalizing Medical Marijuana Reduces Suicides And Traffic Fatalities
The benefits of legalization – whether for medicinal and/or recreational purposes – are more far-reaching than most people understand. As we continue to put an end to prohibition, we’ll continue to uncover new advantages of doing so. Two of the largest, most substantial benefits of legalization that recent studies have indicated; a drastic decrease in
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