Oklahoma: Voters To Decide In June On Sweeping Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative

Oklahoma voters will decide this June on State Question 788 — a statewide ballot measure legalizing the use, cultivation, and distribution of medical cannabis to qualified patients.

Oklahomans will vote on the issue on June 26 during the primary election. Republican Mary Fallin set the date via an executive proclamation, issued yesterday.

State Question 788 permits physicians to recommend cannabis therapy to patients at their discretion. Patients possessing a state-issued medical license are permitted to engage in cannabis possession or cultivation, or they purchase marijuana products from a licensed dispensary.

Initiative proponents gathered sufficient signatures to place the issue before voters in 2016. However, the vote was postponed because of litigation over contested ballot title language. In a 7 to 1 ruling in April, justices rejected the state attorney general’s rewording of the initiative’s ballot title, which proponents had argued was purposely misleading, and ordered that the measure’s initial language be restored.

Under Oklahoma law, the cultivation or distribution of cannabis is classified as a felony offense punishable by up to life in prison.

Proponents of separate statewide medical cannabis initiatives are gathering signatures in Missouri and Utah. Proponents of a medical marijuana initiative in South Dakota have turned in their signatures and are awaiting a review by the Secretary of State’s office. In November, proponents of a voter initiative effort to legalize and regulate the personal use and retail sale of cannabis in Michigan turned in more than 360,000 signatures in an effort to qualify the measure for the November 2018 ballot.

Source: http://blog.norml.org/2018/01/05/oklahoma-voters-to-decide-in-june-on-sweeping-medical-marijuana-ballot-initiative/

The following post Oklahoma: Voters To Decide In June On Sweeping Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative is republished from The Giggles N Dimples Blog

source https://gigglesndimples.com/2018/01/05/oklahoma-voters-to-decide-in-june-on-sweeping-medical-marijuana-ballot-initiative/

Cannabis Leaders Weigh in on AG Sessions’ Decision to Rescind Cole Memo

On Jan. 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that he’s rescinding a number of Obama-era memos written by David Ogden and James Cole. The 2013 the Cole Memo discouraged federal prosecutors from enforcing the prohibition laws in states that have legalized marijuana, as long as cannabis businesses in those states followed guidelines to prevent diversion to other states, underage use and other concerns.

In a Department of Justice memo on marijuana-law enforcement, Sessions reminded all federal prosecutors that cannabis is prohibited because of Congress’ “determination that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that marijuana activity is a serious crime,” adding that “previous nationwide guidance specific to marijuana enforcement is unnecessary and is rescinded, effective immediately.

“Therefore, today’s memo on federal marijuana enforcement simply directs all U.S. Attorneys to use previously established prosecutorial principles that provide them all the necessary tools to disrupt criminal organizations, tackle the growing drug crisis and thwart violent crime across our country.”

With California having begun legal sales of cannabis on Jan. 1, this is clearly a shot at the growing legal marijuana industry.

Here’s what a number of major cannabis-legalization advocates and industry players are saying about the announcement:

Maria-McFarland Sanchez-Moreno, executive director, Drug Policy Alliance: “Sessions has been making a lot of noise about marijuana for a long time, so it’s consistent with that. I think, politically, he’s making a huge mistake, and I had hoped that he would have had more sense than to go up against such massive public support for marijuana legalization, but clearly his ideology has won out. If Sessions does rescind the Cole memo, it’s up to Congress to act quickly to limit Department of Justice’s authority to act against states that have legalized marijuana, as they did with the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment.”

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR): “This is outrageous. Going against the majority of Americans—including a majority of Republican voters—who want the federal government to stay out of the way is perhaps one of the stupidest decisions the Attorney General has made. One wonders if Trump was consulted—it is Jeff Sessions, after all—because this would violate his campaign promise not to interfere with state marijuana laws. It’s time for anyone who cares about this issue to mobilize and push back strongly against this decision.”

Erik Altieri, executive director, NORML: “By rescinding the Cole Memo, Jeff Sessions is acting on his warped desire to return America to the failed beliefs of the ‘Just Say No’ and Reefer Madness eras. This action flies in the face of sensible public policy and broad public opinion. The American people overwhelmingly support the legalization of marijuana and oppose federal intervention in state marijuana laws by an even wider margin. This move by the Attorney General will prove not just to be a disaster from a policy perspective, but from a political one. The American people will not just sit idly by while he upends all the progress that has been made in dialing back the mass incarceration fueled by marijuana arrests and destabilizes an industry that is now responsible for over 150,000 jobs. Ending our disgraceful war on marijuana is the will of the people, and the Trump Administration can expect severe backlash for opposing it.”

Aaron Smith, executive director, National Cannabis Industry Association: “This news from the Department of Justice is disturbing, especially in light of the fact that 73% of voters oppose federal interference with state cannabis laws. But, the rescinding of this memo does not necessarily mean that any major change in enforcement policy is on the horizon. This has been, and still will be, a matter of prosecutorial discretion. We therefore hope that Department of Justice officials, including U.S. Attorneys, will continue to uphold President Trump’s campaign promise to not interfere with state cannabis programs.”

Matthew Schweich, interim executive director, Marijuana Policy Project: “This extremely misguided action will enable a federal crackdown on states’ rights with regard to marijuana policy… A majority of Americans support legalization, and Attorney General Sessions has simply decided to ignore their views. In the states where marijuana is legal, voters approved those legalization policies at the ballot box. This is a direct attack on the will of the people. This decision may very well lead to federal agents raiding licensed, regulated and tax-paying businesses that are employing thousands of Americans and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue… MPP will be pushing Congress to pass legislation this year that establishes marijuana policy as a states’ rights issue and prevents federal interference.”

Brian Vicente, founding partner, Vicente Sederberg LLC in Denver: “The regulated marijuana market is steadily replacing the criminal market, while also creating tens of thousands of jobs and pumping hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue into state economies. It would be incredibly counterproductive for the federal government to roll back this progress and hand the marijuana industry back over to cartels and criminals. States like Colorado and Washington have demonstrated that regulating marijuana works. Officials in these states are doing more than ever before to control marijuana, and it would behoove federal authorities to work with them and not against them.”

David Rheins, executive director, Marijuana Business Association: “End this failed policy and join the majority of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum who recognize it’s time to move beyond the failed policies of America’s War on Drugs.”

Diane Russell, former Maine representative and gubernatorial candidate: “The decision by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to roll back the progress that has been made is antithetical to science, common sense and the State of Maine’s right under the 10th Amendment to self-governance. The people of Maine saw through the prohibition propaganda and voted for a more rational policy in the most direct form of democracy available—the ballot initiative. When politicians override the choices of the people, they risk an insurrection. If elected governor, make no mistake, the state’s law enforcement resources would not be used to aid and abet the Attorney General in his archaic and irrational crusade against common sense.”

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The following blog article Cannabis Leaders Weigh in on AG Sessions’ Decision to Rescind Cole Memo is courtesy of Giggles N Dimples

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Vermont State House Passes Marijuana Legalization

Montpelier, Vermont: Just hours after US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded Obama-era guidelines instructing US attorneys to take a ‘hands off’ approach in states with legal marijuana regulations, lawmakers in the Vermont state House voted to legalize the personal possession and home cultivation of marijuana by a vote of 81 to 63. The measure now goes back to the Senate for a concurrence vote before going to the Governor, who has indicated that he will sign the bill into law.

Passage of legalization in Vermont in 2018 would be a legislative first. To date, all eight states that have enacted adult use regulatory laws, as well as the District of Columbia have done so by a direct vote of the people.

The progress in Vermont is groundbreaking. Should the Green Mountain State’s leadership move forward as promised, it will mark a huge turning point in the national movement to end the criminalization of marijuana. 

One in five Americans resides in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal under state statute, and the majority of citizens reside someplace where the medical use of cannabis is legally authorized. As is evidenced by Vermont lawmakers’ actions, it is clear that the Trump administration is not going to be able to cease this momentum in favor of the enactment of rational marijuana policies.”

The political courage of Vermont’s lawmakers to break with nearly a century of legislative stagnation should be interpreted as a siren call in the halls of the state legislatures nationwide as well as the U.S. Capitol.

You can follow the progress of the legislation on our Vermont Action Alert by clicking here.

Source: http://blog.norml.org/2018/01/05/vermont-state-house-passes-marijuana-legalization/

The post Vermont State House Passes Marijuana Legalization was first published on The Giggles N Dimples Blog

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With One Foot Out the Door, AG Sessions Takes Action Against Cannabis

Any casual observer of Attorney General Jeff Sessions can’t fail to recognize his remarkably antiquated opinions and viewpoints about cannabis and its consumers. Sessions’ backward-looking views, along with whatever actions he undertakes against marijuana, may be the thing he will be most remembered for in his 40-year political career.

It’s not at all surprising that Sessions has finally articulated a policy on enforcing federal marijuana laws that seeks to turn the clock back to at least 2009, by revoking the Cole Memo about federal enforcement in states that have legalized adult use of marijuana. That memo, issued by then-Deputy Attorney General James Cole in 2013, sought to bring some clarity and consistency to how the federal government would handle those states.

The extensive and generally positive media coverage of California’s partial rollout of its voter-approved cannabis legalization on Jan. 1 was just too much for Sessions to bear. Recognizing that the sixth-largest economy in the world has opened the doors to commercial sales, he probably believed that if he did nothing now it would mar his short tenure as the nation’s top law-enforcement officer.

In effect, rather than have a policy that’s helped bridge the wide gap between state-sanctioned cannabis businesses and the total prohibition that remains at the federal level, Sessions’ actions create state-by-state and even intrastate confusion about policy.

The timing of Sessions’ decision is also telling, because, politically speaking, he’s a dead man walking, having lost the support of both the president and powerful members of Congress from his own party. Recently, the Freedom Caucus, the most strident minority among Republicans on Capitol Hill, called for Sessions’ resignation, complaining about perceived Department of Justice leaks and his failure to pursue criminal indictments against 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

With his time as Attorney General very likely limited, there apparently was no way Sessions could resist his most base instincts regarding federal cannabis policy. Now, he can retire and/or get fired, and be able to say that “on my watch, I fought against marijuana legalization.”

The extensive and generally positive media coverage of California’s partial rollout of its voter-approved cannabis legalization on Jan. 1 was just too much for Sessions to bear.

Numerous groups that advocate ending cannabis prohibition—both consumer-oriented ones like NORML and the Drug Policy Alliance, and trade association groups like the National Cannabis Industries Association—are criticizing Sessions’ efforts to stifle the state cannabis-law reforms enacted over the last 22 years, with eight states and Washington, D.C. having legalized cannabis and 21 more allowing some form of medical access.

Within a few hours after Sessions’ Jan. 4 statement revoking the Cole memo, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) publicly decried any federal efforts to interfere with their states’ autonomy. Gardner even threatened that he might hold up Senate confirmation of future Department of Justice nominees. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, told her staff and state agencies that “we will fight to continue Oregon’s commitment to a safe and prosperous recreational marijuana market.”

Regardless of whether Sessions stays in the Trump administration, any incursion by the Feds against state cannabis programs might very well provoke one or more of them to challenge the federal law in court. In an analogous case, states like New Jersey that have legalized online sports betting and are seeking to regulate and tax it sued the federal government to end its prohibition of online sports gaming. If the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on that case in December, strikes down that ban as federal overreach, that could be a helpful precedent if a cannabis case ever reached the Court.

With Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey and Vermont considering cannabis-legalization legislation or ballot initiatives this year, there will be more political pressure on the federal government to abandon its totally failed, unpopular and clearly unsustainable prohibition of cannabis, regardless of what Sessions says or does.

What Sessions Said

“It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the laws of the United States, and the previous issuance of guidance undermines the rule of law and the ability of our local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners to carry out this mission. Therefore, today’s memo on federal marijuana enforcement simply directs all U.S. Attorneys to use previously established prosecutorial principles that provide them all the necessary tools to disrupt criminal organizations, tackle the growing drug crisis, and thwart violent crime across our country.”

What the 2013 Cole Memo Says

“As several states enacted laws related to the use of marijuana for medical purposes, the Department in recent years has focused its efforts on certain enforcement priorities that are particularly important to the federal government:

• Preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors;
• Preventing revenue from sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels;
• Preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;
• Preventing state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;
• Preventing violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana;
• Preventing drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;
• Preventing the growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands; and
• Preventing possession or use on federal property.

These priorities will continue to guide the Department’s enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act against marijuana-related conduct.”

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Source: http://www.freedomleaf.com/one-foot-door-ag-sessions-takes-action-cannabis/

With One Foot Out the Door, AG Sessions Takes Action Against Cannabis is courtesy of Giggles N Dimples

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Women Grow & the New Rules of Diversity

Gia Morón

There’s a diversity problem in the cannabis industry. Many have already experienced the lack of diversity in other industries, so this story is not new. But why is this so important now? People of color, women and LGBTQ communities have decided about the cannabis industry, “Not again, not this time. We’re going to change this narrative.”

As a black woman of Afro-Latina decent, I’m unapologetic about entering a room and looking for color first. I’m seeking familiar faces, reflections of myself, a commonality and a welcoming nod that says, “I acknowledge you.” For far too long, whether in my professional or personal life, white people have ignored or overlooked me, so the nod lets me know I’m not alone. I also look for women and representation from the LGBTQ community. Yes, I conduct a tally, because I purposely want to know who’s in the room. The same is true when I attend conferences. I want to see who the speakers are and if they reflect our communities.

A Fast Company article in 2015 stated that millennials view diversity as blended experiences, cultures and perspectives. I agree. Our diverse cultures and backgrounds certainly bring a unique richness to the table. That said, it’s our responsibility to hold people and businesses accountable when there’s an imbalance. Being diverse is smart business; just look at TV commercials, and print and digital ads. Society has forced big business into diversity and inclusion—which ultimately benefits consumers and businesses’ global reach.

Many have asked me why I work for Women Grow. The simple answer is I saw where I could make a difference. Together with our CEO, Kristina Garcia (formerly Neoushoff), and our amazing market leaders, we’re committed to seeing change in the cannabis industry. This year, we’ve assembled the most diverse market-leadership and headquarters teams since our inception in 2014. We still have work to do, but I believe we will get there as a team. It’s never too late to change. This doesn’t apply to only women of color, but to a more inclusive business environment overall.

Recently, Women Grow partnered with New Frontier Data on its first report on diversity in the cannabis industry. It’s FUBU (for us, by us). I hope you’ll take the time to review this important piece of research at womengrow.com.

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Source: http://www.freedomleaf.com/women-grow-new-rules-diversity/

The post Women Grow & the New Rules of Diversity was originally published on The Giggles N Dimples Blog

source https://gigglesndimples.com/2018/01/04/women-grow-the-new-rules-of-diversity/

Microbiology 101 Part One

Sessions’ Actions Against Cole Memo Triggers Call to Action from Medical Cannabis Advocates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday January 4, 2018

CONTACT: Beth Collins | beth@safeaccessnow.org 571-499-1632

Steph Sherer steph@safeaccessnow.org 510-872-7822

Still Protected by the CJS Amendment, Patients Prepare for A Return to Pre-Cole World

Washington D.C. — As first reported by the Associated Press, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is planning on rescinding the 2013 memo created by then Deputy Attorney General James Cole. The Cole Memorandum highlighted eight priorities when it came to the federal enforcement of medical and recreational cannabis laws including preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors and preventing diversion.

A recission of the Cole Memorandum, which deprioritized prosecution of marijuana-related cases allows U.S. Attorneys to use discretion in the cases they prosecute. Sessions, an ardent critic of all forms of marijuana has repeatedly called on Congress to not extend the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Budget Amendment that provides protections to medical cannabis providers and individuals complying with state law by blocking Department of Justice funds.

“The Attorney General’s decision to rescind the Cole Memo shows his true intentions on cannabis ” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director for Americans for Safe Access.“While the Cole Memo was not perfect, it created a workable framework for states to regulate cannabis. States work within the Cole Memo, not against it. However, it is important to remember that this memo is not what provides protection to patients and providers. They are protected by the CJS Medical Marijuana amendment and it is more important than ever for Congress to renew these protections in the FY2018 Budget.”

Source: http://www.safeaccessnow.org/sessions_cole_townhall_press

The blog post Sessions’ Actions Against Cole Memo Triggers Call to Action from Medical Cannabis Advocates is courtesy of Giggles N Dimples Blog

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