Vermont Decriminalizes Marijuana Starting Monday

Phillip Smith

As of Monday, Vermont will be the 17th state to decriminalize marijuana possession. A bill passed earlier this year goes into effect then.

The measure, House Bill 200, was sponsored by Rep. Christopher Pearson (P-Burlington), with a tripartisan group of 38 cosponsors. It ends criminal penalties for the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana or five grams of hashish and replaces them with fines of $200 for a first offense, $300 for a second offense, and $500 for subsequent offenses. Possession of more than an ounce remains a criminal offense, as does cultivation of any number of plants.

People under 21 caught with decriminalized amounts of marijuana or hash will have to undergo substance abuse screening.

Vermont Governor Signs Marijuana Decriminalization Law

Phillip Smith

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) signed into law Thursday a bill decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. That makes Vermont the 17th state to decriminalize, including all of its neighboring New England states except New Hampshire.

Introduced by Rep. Christopher Pearson (P-Burlington) and passed with tripartisan support, House Bill 200 removes criminal penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and replaces them with a civil fine, similar to a traffic ticket. People under 21 will be required to undergo substance abuse screening. Under current state law, possession of up to two ounces of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail for a first offense and up to two years in jail for a subsequent offense.

"This change just makes common sense," Shumlin said as he signed the bill. "Our limited resources should be focused on reducing abuse and addiction of opiates like heroin and meth rather than cracking down on people for having very small amounts of marijuana."

Progress Map of Marijuana Laws

Enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Be the Change! Share this using the tools below.

Three Michigan Cities Quietly Decriminalize Marijuana Too

Activist Post

After a monumental Election Day that saw two states,Colorado and Washington, legalize marijuana, few people paid attention to similar measure that passed in three large Michigan cities.

Detroit's Proposal M, which allows people 21 and older to possess one ounce or less of marijuana on private property, passed overwhelmingly with a 65% to 35% victory (115,346 to 61,317 votes).

Prop M essentially amends the city's code to remove criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.  The formal language of the amendment was short and to the point:

Division 1 – Controlled Substances 

Sec. 38-11-50.Applicability.
None of the provisions of this article shall apply to the use or possession of less than 1 ounce of marihuana, on private property, by a person who has attained the age of 21 years.

Belize Ponders Marijuana Decriminalization

Phillip Smith

Stop The Drug War

The government of Belize is studying the possible decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana in a bid to unclog its courts and jails. In a Monday press release, the government said it had appointed a committee headed by a former national police chief to review the issue.

The English-speaking Central American nation becomes the latest in the region attempting to find new, more effective ways of dealing with drug use and drug trafficking. Earlier this year, Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina spearheaded legalization discussions at the Summit of the America, a process that will continue next month.

Legal Weed: States Where Cannabis is Decriminalized

NORML image

Activist Post

The legalization and decriminalization of marijuana is an issue that has been making more and more appearances in legislative agendas throughout the America. What was once a taboo topic that kept supporters closeted with their opinions has made its way into open forums. 

Lawmakers around the country are laying the groundwork to make way for legal weed states. The strict laws that today put many people into jail may soon be tossed aside in the same way as alcohol prohibition from the 1920s. The government saw back then that prohibition was a failed legislation and that there were benefits to be had by legalizing and regulating the sale of alcohol.

Many states are in the process of decriminalizing cannabis. This is not the same as legalization. With decriminalization, lawmakers are ending the arrest of individuals who are found in possession of small amounts of weed, typically an ounce or less. Instead of imprisonment and a criminal record, the person will be given a fine and the cannabis confiscated. It makes the enforcement of laws pertaining to marijuana a low priority for law enforcement.

Ron Paul Says Legalize Marijuana (Video)

Youtube

Enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Lawmakers to introduce bill to legalize marijuana

A group of US representatives plan to
introduce legislation that will legalize marijuana
© AFP/File Luis Robayo

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A group of US representatives plan to introduce legislation that will legalize marijuana and allow states to legislate its use, pro-marijuana groups said Wednesday.

The legislation would limit the federal government's role in marijuana enforcement to cross-border or inter-state smuggling, and allow people to legally grow, use or sell marijuana in states where it is legal.

The bill, which is expected to be introduced on Thursday by Republican Representative Ron Paul and Democratic Representative Barney Frank, would be the first ever legislation designed to end the federal ban on marijuana.

Connecticut: Lawmakers Vote To Decriminalize Adult Marijuana Possession

NORML image

Paul Armentano, Deputy Director
NORML

Connecticut lawmakers moments ago voted 90 to 57 in favor of Senate Bill 1014, decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use by adults. Senate lawmakers had narrowly approved an amended version of the measure on Saturday; House lawmakers concurred with the Senate today, sending the measure to Democrat Gov. Dannel Malloy — who will sign it into law.

As amended, SB 1014 reduces the penalties for the adult possession of up to one-half ounce of marijuana from acriminal misdemeanor (punishable by one year in jail and a $1,000 fine) to a non-criminal infraction, punishable by a fine, no jail time, and no criminal record. (This measure would similarly reduce penalties on the possession of marijuana paraphernalia.)

War on drugs not working, says global commission

Governments should decriminalise drug use, according to high profile panel, including Kofi Annan and Richard Branson

Guardian/AP

The global war on drugs has failed and governments should explore legalising marijuana and other controlled substances, according to a commission that includes former heads of state and a former UN secretary general.

A new report by the Global Commission on Drug Policyargues that the decades-old "global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." The 24-page paper was released on Thursday.

"Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will not solve the drug problem, and that the war on drugs has not, and cannot, be won," the report said.

Read Full Article

Enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter:


Delivered by FeedBurner

The Cost of NYC's Marijuana Possession Arrests in 2010: $75 Million

Marijuana Possession #1 Arrest in NYC, Comprise 15% of All Arrests; City Council Members, Community Groups Held Press Conference at City Hall to Issue Major Report, Discuss Economic and Human Toll of Skyrocketing Arrests.

Jesse Warren Image

Drug Policy Alliance

NEW YORK: A new report released today at City Hall finds that arrests for marijuana possession cost New York City taxpayers approximately $75 million each year. The report, titled "$75 Million A Year", documents the astronomical financial costs of marijuana possession arrests in New York City. Major findings from the report include:

• A single arrest for marijuana possession, including all police and court expenses, costs from $1,000 to $2,000 or more, conservatively estimated.
• In 2010, New York City spent approximately $75 million arresting and jailing people, mostly young people, simply for possessing small amounts of marijuana.
• During Bloomberg’s tenure – from 2002 through 2010 – the NYPD made nearly 350,000 arrests for marijuana possession – costing taxpayers $350 million to $700 million.
• Marijuana possession arrests also have serious human costs and consequences. They create permanent criminal records that can be easily found on the Internet by employers, landlords, schools, credit agencies, licensing boards, and banks.

The Incredibly Simple Case for Decriminalizing Marijuana

NORML image

Scott Morgan
Stop the Drug War

It's so easy and obvious, even politicians can use it. In fact, here's Connecticut's Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney demonstrating how to discuss marijuana reform in terms almost anyone can understand.

“Our state should not encourage illegal drug possession and use; however, possession of small amounts of illicit substances and related paraphernalia for personal use should not leave a person with a life-long criminal record.” (NBC Connecticut)

That pretty much sums it up. No shortage of drug war scumbags have come forward to insist eagerly that wedon't need decriminalization because "hardly anyone goes to jail for marijuana," but the idiocy of prohibition doesn't begin when the iron bars slam shut.

Every last aspect of marijuana enforcement is an exhibit in mindless injustice, whether it's digging in people's pockets, testing urine specimens, sniffing around doorways, pulling guns on people, or condemning our youth to a lifetime of criminal stigma over a $10 stash. The very idea that we keep records of the people we've identified as marijuana users is so damagingly and unfathomably stupid that one can't help but marvel at how accustomed to it we've become.

The opportunity to end this terrible embarrassment is upon us at last, and it's exciting to see the Connecticut Legislature learning the right lesson from what decriminalization has accomplished for their neighbors in Massachusetts. This is how it starts.

Support ending insane prohibition by Donating to StopTheDrugWar.org or by Subscribing to their website.

RELATED ARTICLES:
Is New England The New Hotbed For Marijuana Law Reform?
Insurgent Candidate for KY Governor Says Legalize Hemp

Enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Why Pot Legalization Is the Most Important Issue Before Voters This Election Day

Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch
Huffington Post

Forget about what's happening in the partisan battle for control of Congress and statehouses across the country. The single-most important issue that will be decided on November 2 is California's Proposition 19, a ballot initiative that would legalize the cultivation, consumption, and sale of marijuana and allow municipalities to regulate and tax the stuff.

Though limited to voters in a single state, Prop. 19 is the only policy matter on the table with the potential to restructure the lives of virtually all Americans. If Prop. 19 passes, it will force, at long bloody last, an honest reconsideration of failed prohibitionist policies throughout the United States. In fact, given the drug war's influence on our foreign policy in Latin America and central Asia, Prop. 19's reverberations would even be felt far outside our borders.

Despite overt similarities to liquor prohibition in the 1920s, the drug war actually functions more like the Cold War used to. It's an almost-hidden, infrequently debated structuring device that affects every aspect of American politics, culture, and society. Just as Cold War anxieties transformed educational priorities and politicized everything from the Olympics to fluoridated drinking water, the drug war is everywhere with us. The same schools that plead poverty in teaching basic literature or math still all find time and money for D.A.R.E. and other drug-education classes, despite iffy results. Video games, public-service announcements, and even urinal-cake holders in men's rooms still implore us to just say no. Some 40 million workplace drug tests are administered each year, and even legal prescription drugs are getting some employees fired.

Read Full Article

RELATED ARTICLE:
Can Legalizing Marijuana Save California, Our Republic? 

Fresh food that lasts from eFoods Direct (Ad)

Live Superfoods It is time to Wake Up! You too, can join the "Global Political Awakening"!

Print this page