4/3/2011 – The East Coast continues to come alive with bills to allow legal access to cannabis for seriously ill residents. House Bill 577 The North Carolina Medical Cannabis Act was introduced by sponsoring legislators on Thursday March 31. This is the third time in five years that the Tar Heel State has tried for similar legislation. Local media isn’t giving the current effort much of a chance, but regional support is trending in favor of the concept.
Asheville Citizen-Times: Rep. Patsy Keever, D-Buncombe, is one of three primary sponsors of the North Carolina Medical Cannabis Act filed on Thursday.
The legislation would allow patients with debilitating medical conditions to use marijuana to alleviate their symptoms. It would set up a system for operating medical cannabis centers and growing marijuana for medical use.
Keever said marijuana has proved to be a good, affordable pain reliever for people who suffer from chronic illnesses or are undergoing cancer treatments. She said the state could also make money from growing it.
“We’re not saying that we want everyone smoking weed,” Keever said. “We want people to be alleviated from their pain.”
Medical use and cultivation of marijuana is legal in 15 states and the District of Columbia, but no Southern states have legalized the drug for medical use.
Similar medical marijuana bills introduced in North Carolina have gained little traction. Previous legislation introduced in past sessions never made it to the floor. read more
NC joins over a dozen US States with active legislation considering safe access. Most of the states with existing laws operate some type of system for patients to grow, posses and/or purchase medical cannabis.
Many of you have followed Patricia’s Spottedcrow’s story here and on other sites. Perhaps because her story so aptly personifies a flawed system: a working mother with no prior convictions is sentenced to 12 years for selling $31 of marijuana. In potentially better news, Patricia has a hearing for a sentence modification set for Oct. 6, 2011. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed. Or better yet, send her a letter of support and show you care.
Patricia M. Spottedcrow, 26, received a 12-year prison sentence last October for selling a total of $31 in marijuana to a police informant in December 2009 and January 2010. Her mother, Delita Starr, 51, was also charged.
In blind guilty pleas before a judge, Spottedcrow received prison time, and her mother received a 30-year suspended sentence. Neither had prior criminal convictions.
Oklahoma City attorney Josh Welch said he has requested Spottedcrow be present to speak directly to the judge.
“Patricia wants to let the judge know what she has learned and been through,” Welch said. “She wants him to know she’s remorseful, accepts responsibility and it will not happen again. She doesn’t want a free pass or makes excuses for her conduct.
“With all things said, we disagree with the 12-year sentence, with it being excessive for this case.”
Spottedcrow was featured in a Tulsa World article on Feb. 20, published in media across the state through the nonprofit journalism group Oklahoma Watch.
The judge, who is now retired, said in a previous interview that Spottedcrow’s decade-long sentence was imposed because her four young children were in the home at the time of the drug buys. She said first-time offenders usually do not go to prison and alternatives including treatment are typically sought.
When Spottedcrow was booked into the jail after sentencing, some marijuana was found in a jacket she was wearing. She pleaded guilty to a drug possession charge and was given a two-year sentence to run concurrent with her other sentence.
The judge said she gave Starr a suspended sentence so she could care for Spottedcrow’s children, who are now 10, 5, 3 and 2.
In the filing, Starr reportedly earns about $800 a month from her job at a truck stop earning $8 an hour. Expenses for the children are a minimum of $500 for food, clothes, diapers and medicine, and $500 for utilities, water and home maintenance. She cannot drive because her license was revoked in her sentencing.
7/26/2011 – Medical marijuana legislation is nothing new to New York or Connecticut. A serious push was seen in Hartford earlier this year and Albany has considered bills for over a decade. Despite considerable public support and a growing choir of patient voices, neither state has passed a law. Now, statements from New Jersey’s conservative Governor Chris Christie have elected officials in NY and CT looking at their future cannabis options.
Rhode Island, Maine and Vermont have working medical cannabis programs and even some open dispensaries. But Gov. Christie was a federal prosecutor for seven years prior to being elected governor. During a July 19th press conference about medical marijuana he offered an insightful discussion of the various “intersections” between state and federal laws.
A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Connecticut kind of withered away in the 2011 General Assembly, never reaching a vote in the state House or Senate. The bill’s supporters say the intense focus on state budget problems and concerns about how to grow and regulate medical pot created roadblocks for a bill similar to one that passed and was vetoed by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell several years ago.
Gov. Dannel Malloy supports legalizing medical marijuana in Connecticut. His top criminal justice adviser, Michael Lawlor, says he expects new legislation modeled on the systems in New Jersey, Rhode Island and similar programs in other states will pass the legislature in 2012.
Lawlor says it’s very unlikely the new bill will be anything like the freewheeling medical pot program in California. “They’re selling pot brownies in the shop windows out there,” says Lawlor. read full
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made a slight shift in his medical cannabis position. Because he was so staunchly against the issue, his comments are notable. On 7/25 the Elmira Star-Gazette reported:
Cuomo, a Democrat, has not supported medical marijuana in the past, and he said he has not changed his position. He did, however, leave the door open on the issue.
“We have proponents of the policy. I know New Jersey’s looking at it. We have opponents of the policy,” he said. “We’re talking to both sides of the issue, if you will, and we’re reviewing it, but we don’t have a final position.”
The governor said that while he hadn’t changed his stance, “We’re always learning and listening and talking and growing, we hope.”
New Jersey became the 16th state to legalize medical marijuana under legislation signed by Christie’s predecessor.
Legislation to allow patients with debilitating illnesses to use marijuana if they are registered with the state and receive a prescription from their physician has passed the Assembly before but never the Senate. Under the bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Sen. Thomas Duane, both Manhattan Democrats, hospitals and pharmacies would do the bulk of the dispensing. The maximum amount that could be dispensed would be 2.5 ounces. read full
Actually NJ was the 14th state to pass a medical marijuana law when legislation was signed in 2010; Arizona and Delaware were #15 and #16.
Will these heavily restrictive schemes for marijuana actually work for seriously ill patients? That remains to be seen.
What is more certain is that regulated medical cannabis growing in the Garden State – with the blessing of a former US Attorney – could have a significant influence on New York and Connecticut.
The traditionally conservative New York Post ran a piece today by Sara Stewart about the emerging trend of NYC-based mothers increasingly using marijuana as their drug of choice, in lieu of alcohol and pills. Considering the tone of the newspaper and the stringent NYC laws surrounding marijuana (which now arrests and jails more people for possessing marijuana than any city in the U.S.), perhaps this article indicates much-needed change to come.
Keep your eye out for mention of our very own marijuana media mogul, Chris Goldstein.
And kudos to pithy Stewart who noted, “Motherhood, a famously competitive sport in this city.” So true, woman.
Erica, a resident of the trendy DUMBO neighborhood, is just like any other busy Brooklyn mom with a small child, juggling play dates, naptime, temper tantrums and PB&Js. The difference: She counters the daily chaos by lighting up a joint.
“I think it’s a pretty common thing,” confesses 33-year-old Erica (not her real name), mother to a 4-year-old daughter. “That’s how some mommies cope with stress.”
Motherhood, a famously competitive sport in this city — especially in the tonier neighborhoods of Brooklyn — seems to be sending increasing numbers of stressed-out women bong-ward. As marijuana grows in acceptance (it was just decriminalized in neighboring Connecticut earlier this month, and is legal for medicinal purposes in 16 states and in Washington, DC), the leafy green drug is becoming a hipper alternative to that old standby, alcohol.
“Some moms are drinking very early in the day, starting around 4,” says Erica, who says she isn’t a fan of getting plastered. “I would rather smoke a bowl, take the edge off and go about my day.”
Whenever the mood strikes when she’s home — “I don’t travel with it,” she says — she’ll take a hit or two and transform into Mellow Mom. “When you’re smoking, you’re on a different level,” she says. “Things don’t frustrate you as much.”
Barack Obama and his administration seem to be a bundle of contradictions when it comes to regulations surrounding the production of medical marijuana in our country. In turn, states have been stymied (or chosen to stonewall, as in the case of New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie) by the confusion, when attempting to enact their own state laws, fearing possible federal prosecution.
Finally, Obama speaks directly in a recent Rolling Stone interview, clarifying his position:
In the Rolling Stone interview, Obama said his view has not changed. He noted that the raids in California have focused on large-scale commercial operations that fall outside the scope of doctors prescribing medical cannabis.
“What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana,” Obama said. “I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana — and the reason is, because it’s against federal law.”
Obama also pointed to presiding over a change in federal sentencing guidelines that shrank the disparity between mandatory penalties for crack and powder cocaine users. Crack users have long been hit with far harsher sentences, disproportionately affecting the minorities who are far more likely to use crack than powder cocaine.
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.
Patricia Spottedcrow puts her things away and greets other prisoners in her dorm-style building at the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center on the first day of her incarceration at the site. Spottedcrow received a 12-year prison sentence for selling a small amount of marijuana to a police informant with her children present in Kingfisher. ADAM WISNESKI / Tulsa World
The 25-year-old received a 12-year prison sentence in October after selling a total of $31 in marijuana to a police informant in December 2009 and January 2010. Her mother, Delita Starr, was also charged.
In blind guilty pleas before a judge, Spottedcrow received prison time while her mother received a 30-year suspended sentence.
The judge said Spottedcrow’s four young children being in the home at the time of the drug buys prompted the higher sentences. Neither she nor her mother had prior criminal convictions.
The judge said in a previous interview that first-time offenders are not usually sent to prison. Instead, other alternatives including treatment, are typically found.
Oklahoma City attorney Josh Welch read the story and said he decided to represent her without charge.
“I’m familiar with that county and had other cases there and what happened is so egregious and wrong,” Welch said.
Spottedcrow must serve at least 50 percent of her sentence before being eligible for parole, Welch said.
When Spottedcrow was taken from court to the jail to start her prison sentence, some marijuana was found in her jacket pocket. She received a two-year concurrent sentence for drug possession.
A state Department of Corrections pre-sentencing report stated Spottedcrow was highly likely to re-offend and did not seem to take the charges seriously.
“Let’s say everything said about this woman is true. … It’s barbaric and prehistoric to have a 12-year sentence for that and have to serve 50 percent,” Welch said. “It’s illogical.” Read more.
25 year-old Patricia Spottedcrow’s story typifies the excessive and unnecessary drug charges leveled against first time offenders. She’ll be spending the next 12 years behind bars for selling $31 worth of marijuana ($31? An additional buck for the baggie?). This video gives a face to an all too common story.
On January 11, 2010 the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act was passed by the Legislature and later signed by then-governor Jon Corzine. It marked the 14th US state to create legal access to cannabis for seriously ill residents.Lawmakers and advocates expected the program to be running by the fall of 2010 but the new governor, Chris Christie, has put up significant hurdles in the regulatory process.Currently there is no medical marijuana program running in the Garden State. The NJ Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) launched a controversial physician registry for doctors to begin recommending cannabis to their patents.DHSS representatives said in a phone call today that 69 doctors in 18 counties had registered so far, but the system to allow the registry of patients has not been brought online.
Diane Fornbacher with her family in NJ. Photo by Kevin Monko
7/17/2011 by Justin Escher Alpert – Last night may not have seemed unique in New Jersey, another pleasant and clear summer evening the likes of which fill my memories of The Garden State. After a day with the family trolling the shore for bass, or after a day with friends hitting a links in the lush green mountains, or after a day with the kids basking in the sun at the town pool, people gathered together under the stars and a nearly full moon.
Maybe they drank sangria and maybe they made fresh fish tacos. They shared and they talked and they gossiped and maybe they thanked God for the life that they were given, for the friends and family that they have, for their past experiences and future opportunities.
And maybe, as everyone relaxed, the sweet smell of Sensimilla filled the air.
They were your doctors, your lawyers, your bankers, your hairdressers… they were the clerk at that store you love and your trainer at the gym… they were Democrats and they were Republicans (definitely Libertarians), they were gay and straight, they were Christian and Jewish and Muslim and some other religions of which you may or may not have heard. They were parents and grandparents. They were friends and neighbors.
No, last night wasn’t particularly different than any other summer night in The Garden State. Last night was beautiful.
Do you know any of those people who got together last night? Those people who are adults and have lived their lives according to the rules, and studied hard, and married the right person, and are raising their kids properly, and are working real hard but don’t always get it right… do you know any of those folks? The folks navigating their lives pursuant to the sum of their past experiences and doing the best to captain their own ships?… do you know any of those folks?
Come in real close… I have a favor to ask. Do you think you could ask just a few of those folks to write to their State legislators?
We’re not asking them to light up a doobie on the State House steps in protest… No, just a simple email to their legislators.
Dear Senator _________, Assemblyman/woman __________, and Assemblyman/woman __________,
I support the intention of the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act and believe that safe, effective, and legal medicinal marijuana ought to be made immediately and readily available to those patients who might benefit upon the recommendation of their physician.
I also support Assembly Bill A4252, which would decriminalize possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana.
I am an adult and believe that other adults are capable of making responsible choices when it comes to the use of marijuana.
Sincerely,
Name
Address
Phone
Do you think you could ask them to do that?… Your friends and neighbors? They are adults now, with real jobs and real families and it is their real destiny to be in the place to make the decisions about the rules that will govern their real lives.
There is no telling what we will be able to accomplish together when we are honest with ourselves, and we ask others to be honest with themselves.
Read it, digest it, talk about it, copy it, paste it, email it, post it, share it, like it.
Today will be another beautiful summer day in The Garden State.
Justin Escher Alpert is an attorney, writer, musician, actor, activist, husband, father, friend, and neighbor, and he lives his life to the best of his abilities with his family in Livingston, New Jersey.
[Editor’s Note – Justin walks-the-walk by keeping up a regular email dialogue to NJ legislators and testifying in Trenton (video below). Freedomisgreen posts commentary and other submitted content that is exclusive to the site. If you are interested in sending text or photos please contact [email protected] .]
Marijuana reform signs at Occupy Philadelphia 10/10/2011 – Photo by Chris Goldstein
2/2/2012 – A progressive activist is getting national attention after announcing his run for US Congress in Pennsylvania’s 13th District. Nathan Kleinman, 29, is seeking the Democratic nomination from incumbent Allyson Schwartz. Kleinman has been consistently involved with Occupy Philadelphia on the front lines of many protest actions and in the General Assembly process.
Some of of Kleinman’s talking points as a potential candidate include ending marijuana prohibition and re-thinking the drug war.
A recent Times-Herald article pointed out:
Kleinman said he plans to stump on civil liberties issues, including marriage equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans, and advocates complete decriminalization of marijuana and drug policy reform. He said Schwartz has let down her constituents by being silent on topics that matter. read full
No stranger to politics, Kleinman worked on several high-profile campaigns and did a stint as a legislative assistant for a PA state representative. Still, this is his first run for office.
Freedomisgreen.com caught up with Nate yesterday; he was brimming with excitement while planning the next steps for the campaign. “It was really amazing when the first people came out to sign the petition…there’s so much support. That’s why we’re going to win this.”
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]
