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I was ten years old and living at the Jersey shore when I heard the song “Someone Saved my Life Tonight” by Elton John. I curled up on my bedroom floor and cried my eyes out. For a long, long time. Too long for a little girl who didn’t even understand the gravity of the lyrics. I knew, even then, something was wrong.

Due to the passing of my father several years before, I also became obsessed with death and the supernatural, thinking ghosts were constantly around me. Darkness was terrifying, so I slept with the lights on until I was a teen. I was perpetually afraid of being left, in any manner. Bleak thoughts seemed to chase after me like hungry dogs.

It was the beginnings of depression.

As a young adult, I tried several anti-depressants. I desperately wanted to live a normal life and thought that was the path. I experimented with four different kinds in total, each with their own specific insidious side effects (including one that caused my face to twitch when I discontinued it. Fun stuff.)

Sure, on some levels, I felt better on them – but I didn’t feel like me. Instead, I felt like a cartoon version of myself, existing about a foot above the earth. When I found out that my happy pills could affect my sex drive, I parted ways with them. My sex drive defines who I am. I refused to live life without it..or have it altered in any way.

So instead, in my twenties, I self-medicated and disassociated with the best of them, via hard drugs and alcohol. I was surviving, not thriving. Marijuana had been in my life since my early teens so I can’t say I used it effectively to treat depression. It simply helped in the numbing out process.

It took some time (and therapy) until I figured out ways in which marijuana could help my depression. (I stress “my” for a reason: I don’t think it’s a solution for everyone.) I suffer from anxiety-based depression, where I can get stuck in “thought loops” as I call them. These loops can leave me standing in the middle of a room, unable to take a single step forward for fear that I’m going to do the wrong thing. (Crippling indecision is a nasty and often under-discussed aspect of depression.)

After a particularly bad break-up about 10 years ago, the thought loops were growing worse. Just as some people envision a warm beach to relax, I pictured a shiny gun in my mouth. Seriously. That’s what I did to relax. Something had to change.

I still remember the afternoon I used marijuana – not to escape, not to “party” – but to help me.

I lived in San Francisco at the time, a beautiful city. I smoked some pot and forced myself outdoors. The sun was crystalline bright, the breeze so light. Everyone was bustling about Castro Street. I couldn’t help but smile, something I hadn’t done in months.

Then I hit the yard sales. (I love yard sales – a therapy in and of itself. Another blog entry.) Soon, I found myself chatting it up with my neighbors, laughing, telling jokes. When I came back home, loaded with bags of who-knows-what, I let out a deep and profound sigh of relief. The spell had been broken. The loops had stopped. I actually enjoyed my afternoon!

I’m sleeping with myself tonight
Saved in time, thank God my music is still alive.

I don’t advocate weed for everyone’s depression. As a matter of fact, I think there is a tendency to use it too much as a form of escape from pain or an inability to sit with one’s “ugly” emotions. I’ve worked hard, via traditional routes, to move past depression: therapy, creative expression, meditation, exercise, nutrition, etc. They all work. (As an aside, I’m constantly shocked by people’s resistance to therapy in this day and age. It’s just weird that there is still such a stigma attached to it.)

And I don’t smoke weed every day. It’s very important for me to spend time just “as is,” with the loops, the sadness, the dark and heavy thoughts. On those days, I cry as I did when I was a little girl, hearing that song. My life has not been easy and it deserves its due. It deserves tears and grief occasionally. It deserves some sobriety.

So save your strength and run the fields you play alone.

But I won’t suffer needlessly either. If I find myself spiraling, I will smoke pot to stop the cycle. Suddenly, instead of worrying, aching, dreading, I simply notice the clouds. Or that cheerful, focused way a dog walks. Or the rustling of leaves on a gray day. I can live in the moment and feel relieved of depression. My mind and body are given a break. And when I do feel depressed, I have a little more perspective, because I remember what its like not to feel that way. But that’s just my story.

You’re a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye

Someone Saved my Life Tonight – Elton John

Read more in the Maryjane Category at Freedomisgreen.com

• Cannabis and Karaoke – Perfect Together
• Weed Makes You Crazy…Again
• Oklahoma, Patricia Spottedcrow and Excessive Sentencing for First Time Offenders

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished actor and director with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can often be seen surfing or singing karaoke at the local dive bar. Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

Other blogs:

Opensalon.com

Silly Lists of Nothingness

The Most Boring Blog Ever

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Chris worked at national NORML from 2005-2008 creating daily audio podcasts and continues as a media consultant. He volunteers with local groups to change prohibition laws including PhillyNORML and The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey.

Chris lives along the Delaware River in New Jersey.  He enjoys old school hip-hop, vintage airplanes and changing the world.

“Freedom Is Green Media Group was founded to grow the East Coast cannabis community. ”

chris { at  }freedomisgreen.com

Other blogs:

Philadelphia NORML Examiner

on www.celebstoner.com

on www.norml.stash.org

"Well there goes my high!"

I just finished a piece where a Saskatchewan driver was acquitted on impaired driving charges even though she admitted to using marijuana before she drove. It brought several questions to the judge’s mind:

1. What signs of impairment would one expect to see in someone who has been using marijuana?
2. How long after using marijuana would you expect to see these signs and how long would they last?
3. Can the results of drug evaluation tests taken over 1½ hours after the time of driving be reliably related back to the time the woman was stopped?
4. Was the woman’s performance in some of the tests an indication of poor balance or poor coordination?

It should be noted that this woman was stopped at a checkpoint. She had not exhibited any erratic driving. She was polite and accommodating when the officer requested her paperwork and conversed with him normally.

But she couldn’t touch her nose…and that’s where we enter the wild and crazy land of field sobriety tests where even the creator of these tests (Marcelline Burns) concluded that there is no direct correlation between field sobriety tests and impaired driving.

From my personal experience, I’ve watched a friend ace a field sobriety test while very intoxicated and another acquaintance fail it miserably after two drinks. If you asked me to say the alphabet backward, I’d get stuck somewhere around X.

So where do pot smokers fall in this spectrum? Obviously, alcohol affects your equilibrium far more than marijuana. But can you be too stoned to drive?

According to one study:

Both levels of THC cigarettes significantly affected the subjects in a dose-dependent manner. The moderate dose of alcohol and the low THC dose were equally detrimental to some of the driving abilities, with some differences between the two drugs. THC primarily caused elevation in physical effort and physical discomfort during the drive while alcohol tended to affect sleepiness level. After THC administration, subjects drove significantly slower than in the control condition, while after alcohol ingestion, subjects drove significantly faster than in the control condition. No THC effects were observed after 24 h on any of the measures.

After reading several other studies, I can’t help but wonder whose behind them. Certain findings just seem so radically unlikely (such as performance levels being affected 24 hours after smoking marijuana or that some effects of marijuana were on par with those under the influence of alcohol.) And then there’s more comprehensive studies that prove that drunk driving fatalities are less in states where marijuana is legal. (Because apparently, people will substitute marijuana for alcohol.)

Personally, I don’t think one should drive right after smoking pot. No, I don’t think your reaction time is that drastically affected but you are under the influence of a drug and hell, driving high just isn’t that enjoyable (to me). An hour or two later? Yes, I would, without thinking twice. Because most of us know, we’re capable of driving after smoking.

My bigger concern is this: in our increasingly over-reaching militaristic world, what kind of new laws will be enacted in order to target marijuana smokers? (Because heck, no one really cares about those cocaine-induced road ragers or asleep-at-the-wheel heroin-addicts, right? We can’t catch them easily with a piss test, so let’s let those seriously impaired folks off the hook.) Do we really want the police to obtain any more power to bully citizens? Will we have to take an “on the spot” swab test that will (again) unfairly target marijuana users? (You know, we’re about this close to that happening.)

Driving while stoned does not seem like a great idea. But driving after taking a couple Valiums doesn’t sound that wise either and I’m sure the “authorities” have no problem with that. This Canadian judge actually asked some smart questions and kudos to him for not doing the “throw the book at her” routine.

P.S. What about the really old people? Do we think for one second that some of our older citizens could pass these field sobriety tests? Where I live, they pose the most danger. The only fender bender I’ve ever had was when an elderly woman slammed on her brakes in the middle of a highway (55 mph) because she couldn’t merge into the right lane. I rear-ended her and was held entirely responsible. I’d trust a pot smoker over an 80 year-old with the beginnings of dementia any day of the week.

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 5/10/2011

This year PhillyNORML has partnered with local sponsors and a high-quality group of local musicians for the Philadelphia Freedom Festival concert at the Theater of the Living Arts, a premier venue in the city. Bands include: Psychadelphia, Before the Accident Happens, The Primate Fiasco, I Yhan I Arkestra and headliners The Synth Circus. Local activists will deliver speeches throughout the night. A full list of speakers and additional information will follow next week.

PhillyNORML’s volunteers have been instrumental in recent efforts to reform local marijuana laws.

Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana (PA4MMJ) is supporting local legislation. State Representative Mark B. Cohen introduced a medical cannabis bill in the Pennsylvania Legislature in 2009. State Senator Daylin Leach re-introduced it as SB 1003 from the 2011 session. This bill would create legal protections for citizens with serious medical conditions to safely access or grow medical marijuana for therapeutic use. It also creates a statewide system if Compassion Centers for patient access.

April 2010 saw the news break on PhillyNORML’s efforts to work with city officials to change local pot procedures when District Attorney Seth Williams announced an easing of minor possession penalties.  The new Small Amount of Marijuana court program was put into practice in June of 2010 and has saved the city millions of taxpayer dollars. The procedure still requires an arrest but stops the criminal prosecution, collects a fine and automatically expunges the arrest once a weekend class is completed.

Over 800,000 pot arrests are performed each year in America with almost 30,000 in Pennsylvania and over 4,500 in Philadelphia. Ninety percent of these arrests are for minor possession.

PhillyNORML advocates for legalizing the regulated, responsible use of marijuana by adults.

CONTACT: Chris Goldstein [email protected]

ATTENDING: Please arrive at Broad and South no later than 5PM ET Saturday May 21, 2011

CONCERT TICKETS: Available through LiveNation $15 pre-event, $20 at the door

http://www.livenation.com/event/020046A49E2B7BED?artistid=1593008&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=766

ON FACEBOOK:

“Well, I didn’t really smoke it. My roommate blew it in my face. A bunch of times. Do you think I’ll pass?”

First I tried to figure out why my friend felt the need to have pot smoke blown repeatedly in her face. A fear of holding joints? A mating ritual akin to “Why don’t you give me a little massage”?

Then I had to wonder about the bigger issue: drug testing and all of its nefarious implications.

My friend is a geologist. She doesn’t operate heavy machinery. She doesn’t operate on hearts. She works with rocks and dirt. She writes reports about working with rocks and dirt. Why, then, does she have to pee for perfect strangers?

“I don’t know. I hate it too. I just have to.”

And again, we allow our constitutional rights go right up in smoke.

A few facts about drug testing:

• According the American Management Association, only 8 percent of companies with drug testing programs had performed any cost-benefit analysis.

• The National Academy of Sciences formed the Committee on Drug Use in the Workplace claims, “Illicit drugs contribute little to the overall rate of industrial accidents. This is because most workers who use illicit drugs never use them at work. And when they do so, it is in a way that does not affect their work performance.”

• The most common type of testing specimen is urine, followed closely by hair, saliva and breath testing. Blood testing is seldom used for employment testing, except in cases of accidents or court order.

• Most employers use a standard five-panel test of “street drugs,” consisting of marijuana (THC), cocaine, PCP, opiates (such as codeine and morphine) and amphetamines (including methamphetamine). Most drugs, as well as alcohol, are out of the system within days of use, except for marijuana.

• Urinalysis tests for marijuana, in their current form, are not suitable for detecting drug impairment or recent drug use because the procedure only looks for and detects drug metabolites, not the parent drug THC. Presently, no dose-concentration relationship exists correlating drug metabolite levels to drug impairment.

• Marijuana (or the metabolites created from it) can hang out in your body for quite some time because of its fat solubility. The amount of time ranges from several weeks to as long as 70 days, depending on body weight, frequency, etc. This means that drug testing in the workplace tends to discriminate against pot smokers most readily and easily. And, as mentioned above, pot smokers don’t tend to smoke on the job (unless they work for the arcades, movie theaters or the circus. I used to get stoned before working at this ice cream parlor at a mall. Good fun.)

Not what gets me (and undoubtedly many of the readers here) is that you could be a complete drunk, pose a genuine threat to your workplace, and easily be overlooked by most drug tests. (Heck, it’s only booze, right? The most dangerous “drug” out there.)

But what do expect employers supposed to do? They don’t want to hire a bunch of druggies. Presumably, “potheads” and the like costs them money in missed hours, workplace accidents and, I don’t know, general stoney behavior. But it doesn’t take a scientist to realize that alcohol can be much more a problem in the workplace. Pot smokers don’t tend to suffer from crippling hangovers or the shakes at lunchtime. Pot smokers don’t tend to be full-blown addicts.

Here’s some possible alternatives to discriminatory drug testing, suggested by the Cannabis Consumers Campaign :

Rather than submit a person to drug testing, why not use the traditional method of checking references to find out about an potential employee?

Supervisors need to be trained to identify, confront, or refer impaired employees to Employee Assistance Programs or other intervention programs. Impairment testing not only detects people who are impaired by drugs and alcohol, but also by sleep deprivation, stress, fatigue, emotional problems, over-the counter medications and prescription medications. These tests, once administered, can improve safety far better than drug tests can. They are not discriminatory. Rather, they measure everyone equally by their performance, which is the most significant factor in employment.

That’s crazy talk. Call previous employers? Watch an employee’s behavior? Why, when strangers can examine your bodily fluids and make false judgments about your performance ability?

So to recap:

• Drug testing costs a lot of money and doesn’t prove to be effective.
• Drug testing discriminates against pot smokers.
• Drug testing leaves raging alcoholics, well, raging.

Where’s the cup? Sign me up!

My geologist friend has a good job now. (She passed.) It pays well, she’s insured, she’s doing what she likes, but she sacrificed privacy and her beliefs to get it. I, on the other hand, may never have that kind of career-advancing, well-paid job because I would never submit to a piss test. So a drug test means more than a humiliating piss in a cup; it has far-reaching implications that shape professional paths and money-making ability. And that pisses me off.

[Warning: Below is a photograph of a geologist high on the job. This could be you.]

Sources:

MAF Background Screening

NORML

CannabisConsumers.org

Jahan Marcu

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

6/30/2011 – UPDATE 7/1/2011 – Freedomisgreen.com obtained the new Department of Justice memo concerning medical marijuana. The communication is from US Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.  It was released on June 30th after New Jersey US Attorney Paul J. Fishman forwarded it to NJ state AG Paula Dow. The memo was sent to Dow in response to her multiple requests for federal clarification about medical marijuana operations authorized by state law.

Below is the full transcript. Link to original memo as a pdf

June 29, 2011

MEMORANDUM FOR UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS

FROM:                  James M. Cole
Deputy Attorney General

SUBJECT:     Guidance Regarding the Ogden Memo in Jurisdictions
Seeking to Authorize Marijuana for Medical Use

Over the last several months some of you have requested the Department’s assistance in responding to inquiries from State and local government seeking guidance about the Department s position on enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in jurisdictions that have under consideration, or have implemented, legislation that would sanction and regulate the commercial cultivation and distribution of marijuana for medical use. Some of these jurisdictions have considered approving the cultivation of large quantities of marijuana or broadening the regulation and taxation of the substance. You may have seen letters responding to these inquiries by several United States Attorneys. Those letters are entirely consistent with the October 2009 memorandum, issued by Deputy General Ogden to federal prosecutors in the States that have enacted laws authorizing the medical use of marijuana (the “Ogden Memo”).

The Department of Justice is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all States. Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime that provides a significant source of revenue to large scale criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels. The Ogden Memorandum provides guidance to you in deploying resources to enforce the CSA as part of the exercise of the broad discretion you are given to address federal criminal matters within your districts.

A number of states have enacted some form of legislation relating to the medical use of marijuana. Accordingly the Ogden memo reiterated to you that prosecution  of significant traffickers in illegal drugs, including marijuana, remains a core priority, but advised that it is likely not an efficient use of federal resources to focus enforcement efforts on individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or their caregivers. The term “caregiver” as used in the memorandum meant just that: individuals providing care to individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses, not commercial operations cultivating, selling or distributing marijuana.

The Department’s view of the efficient use of limited federal resources as articulated in the Ogden Memorandum has not changed. There has, however, been an increase in the scope of commercial cultivation, sale, distribution and use of marijuana for purported medical purposes. For example, within the past 12 months, several jurisdictions have considered or enacted legislation to authorize multiple large-scale, privately-operated industrial marijuana cultivation centers. Some of these planned facilities have revenue projections of the millions of dollars based on the plant cultivation of tens of thousands of cannabis plants.

The Odgen Memorandum was never intended to shield such activities from federal enforcement action and prosecution, even where those activities purport to comply with state law. Persons who are in the business of cultivating. selling, or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities, are in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, regardless of state law. Consistent with the resource constraints and the discretion you may exercise in your district, such persons are subject to federal enforcement action, including potential prosecution. State laws or local ordinances are not a defense to civil enforcement of federal law with respect to such conduct, including enforcement of the CSA. Those who engage in transactions involving the proceeds of such activity may also be in violation of federal money laundering statutes and other federal financing laws.

The Department of Justice is tasked with enforcement of existing federal criminal laws in all states, and enforcement of the CSA has long been and remains a core priority,

Cc:  Lanny Breuer
Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division

B. Todd Jones
United States AttorneyDistrict of Minnesota
Chair, AGAC

Michele M. Leonhart
Administrator
Drug Enforcement Administration

H. Marshall Jarrett
Director
Executive Office for United States Attorneys

Kevin L. Perkins
Assistant Director, Criminal Investigative Division
Federal Bureau  of Investigations

Link to memo as a pdf

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]

In the eastern United States a dramatic change is stirring for cannabis laws. Medical marijuana, decriminalization and even fully taxed legalization are on the march forward from Maine to Florida. Backed by striking public support, new bills are being introduced and old ones are getting a second chance.

The surge in recent polling is important to note. Most polls show that 70% to 80% of voters (in all demographics) favor their local marijuana reform legislation.

To put this into perspective; the most popular individual politicians quickly open bottles of champagne when they break 45% in their approval ratings.  Soon there may be a safer, greener choice than the old bubbly.

It is not just about the future; existing laws are being implemented in three states. Just this week Maine opened their first medical marijuana dispensary and Rhode Island announced three medical marijuana operators will get permits.  Although legislators and advocates here in New Jersey are trying to fix some badly broken regulations, Garden State officials are set to announce the six Alternative Treatment Center sites on March 21st.

Here’s a rundown of cannabis reform on the East Coast. Most links go to NORML’s Take Action Center so if you are a resident of any of the states below take a moment to contact your elected officials.

Maine: Medical marijuana dispensary implementation, decriminalization bill LD754 & LD750

New Hampshire: Medical marijuana bill HB442 – Cleared committee on 3/10/2011

Vermont: Medical marijuana bill SB 17, decriminalization bill HB 427

Connecticut: Medical marijuana bill HB 6566, decriminalization bill SB953

Massachusetts: Medical marijuana bill HB 625, tax and regulate bill HB 1371

Rhode Island: Medical marijuana implementation, decriminalization HB 5031  tax and regulate bill HB 5591

New York: Medical marijuana bill S2774

New Jersey: Medical marijuana law implementation

Maryland: Medical marijuana bill HB 291, decriminalization bill HB 606

Delaware: Medical marijuana bill SB 17

Virginia: Decriminalization bill HB 1443 – stopped in committee 1/17/2011

West Virginia: Medical marijuana bill HB 3251

Florida: Medical marijuana resolution HJR 1407

North Carolina: Decriminalization bill HB 324 – (thanks to freedom readers for the NC update)

Keep up with the cannabis reform effort across the country in NORML Take Action Center.

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. He volunteers with local groups to change prohibition laws including PhillyNORML and The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey. He enjoys old-school hip-hop, vintage airplanes and changing the world. Contact chris { at } freedomisgreen.com

Ah stoners. They get a bad rap, for sure. But sometimes it’s well-deserved and just plain funny.

Note this recent video I found on cleaning your pipe. (A little background: I had a persistent cough. A friend noticed the state of my pipe and suggested that could be to blame, which I hadn’t cleaned in quite a while. I’m guessing there may be some truth to it, since you’re smoking an old tar-like substance and particulates that probably can’t be that good for your lungs. I’ll have to ask Jahan Marcu about that.)

“So this is a new method I invented today. It’s called the “fishing line method.” First, you need….fishing line. You can find it in your basement or in any, I don’t know, fishing store.”

Anyway, laugh and learn:

(I went with the method my friend suggested. Soak pipe in rubbing alcohol then use pipe cleaners. I was surprised how much stuff came out.)

Beth Mann is a popular blogger and writer for Open Salon and Salon. She is also an accomplished artist with over 15 years of experience, as well as the president of Hot Buttered Media. She currently resides at the Jersey shore where she can be found surfing or singing karaoke at a local dive bar.

Contact: maryjane {at } freedomisgreen.com

8/12/2011 – Politics are staying green this summer as state legislators keep momentum on bills to legalize medical cannabis or decriminalize pot possession for adults. Extended debates continue for some legislation, but there is significant momentum behind new campaigns.

Here is a short rundown of what’s already on the books.

Massachusetts: It looks like there will be two chances in 2011/2012 for medical marijuana to become law. HB625/SB1611 had an important hearing in June before the Joint Committee on Public Health. Patients and advocates are preparing for an active fall session. At the same time, the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance has submitted language for a statewide ballot initiative on medical cannabis. Voters could have a say in the matter during the important 2012 election. Finally, the Bay State is also considering a bill to Tax and Regulate recreational marijuana for adults. HB1371 is supported by MASSCANN/NORML and is seeking a hearing before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in 2011.

The 22^nd Annual Boston Freedom Rally takes place on September 17, 2011. The largest marijuana reform event on the East Coast draws a crowd of 50,000 to the Boston Common. MASSCANN/NORML and other local groups helped to pass a statewide ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana in 2008.

New York: Two important bills remain active in the Empire State. Advocates have kept up the medical marijuana fight for thirteen years, now there are more co-sponsors than ever for HB2774. Unfortunately the language has evolved to be very limited, following New Jersey’s model of prohibiting home cultivation. The restricted scope may be more palatable to politicians. Legislators also took a strong step in June to bring New York City in line with the existing marijuana decriminalization policy.  A new bill, SB5187/AB7620, would stop more than 50,000 racially disparate pot arrests each year in the Big Apple.

Rhode Island: Advocates are continuing to pressure Gov. Lincoln Chafee to lift his suspension of medical marijuana dispensaries. Three compassion centers have been approved but have not been allowed to open.  A bill to Tax and Regulate marijuana remains on the legislative schedule. HB 5571 would set up at least one cannabis retail store per county.

New Jersey: Gov. Chris Christie announced that he would expedite the startup of medical marijuana Alternative Treatment Centers. Six have been approved and the Garden State government is working though final regulations for implementation. Concurrent resolutions are active in the Senate and Assembly that would revise the proposed rules. ACR188/SCR151 would remove some of the worst restrictions like the 10 percent cap on all THC potency.

New Jersey also got its first decriminalization bill this year. A4252 was introduced in June with the first reading and a committee assignment expected in the fall. The legislation would remove criminal penalties for adults caught with 15 grams or less. The effort has notably strong support right out of the gate with 18 bi-partisan co-sponsors.

Pennsylvania: The Keystone State will go into its third year of considering medical marijuana. SB1003/HB1653 were re-introduced and assigned to the Health committee in both houses. Favorable public hearings were held in 2009 and 2010.  Philadelphia has been making news about the Small Amount of Marijuana program. The new court diversion for minor pot possession cases has saved the city millions and measurably reduced the jail population.

Maryland: As mandated by the legislature this year, the state will continue a study phase for medical cannabis. A law allowing seriously ill residents to offer a positive medical necessity defense was passed as an interim measure to a full program.

East coast advocates are hopeful for some further reform activity in the fall such as marijuana bills in North Carolina, Connecticut, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Florida.

Check back for more updates on cannabis politics here at Freedomisgreen.

NORML’s Take Action Center

Chris Goldstein is a respected marijuana reform advocate. As a writer and radio broadcaster he has been covering cannabis news for over a decade. Questions?  [email protected]