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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1002 -- 12/21/17
Phillip S. Smith, Editor,psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1002

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director,borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. THE THREE STATES BEST POSITIONED TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA IN 2018 [FEATURE] Next year should see more legal marijuana states and also the first state to legalize it at the statehouse.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/20/three_next_likely_legalization_states

2. PLEASE RENEW YOUR SUPPORT OR BECOME A NEW MEMBER
Member support has made StoptheDrugWar.org's work possible for 24 years. As hardliners in the administration and Congress push to ramp up the drug war again, we need your support now more than ever at this dangerous but still promising time. We hope you'
ll take this opportunity to renew your support or become a new member. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/20/please_renew_your_support_or

3. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
A leading Senate Republican calls for removing obstacles to medical marijuana research, a Florida judge decides to take up a case over the state's ban on smoking medical marijuana, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/20/medical_marijuana_update

4. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
A Tennessee deputy goes down for bribing a drug dealer and then trying to kill him, a former South Carolina narcotics commander gets nailed for stealing money from the department, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/20/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

5. CHRONICLE AM: NORWAY MOVES TOWARD DRUG DECRIM, WHO GIVES THUMBS UP TO CBD, MORE... (12/14/17)
Norway moves down the path toward drug decriminalization, a New Hampshire legislative committee votes down a legalization bill, the WHO gives a thumbs up to CBD, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/14/chronicle_am_norway_moves_toward

6. CHRONICLE AM: CA LICENSES FIRST LEGAL MARIJUANA SHOPS, US ODS AT RECORD HIGH, MORE... (12/15/17)
California starts rolling out recreational marijuana business licenses, Maryland approves more dispensaries, Michigan starts accepting dispensary applications, the Mexican Senate approves a bill letting the military keep playing a policing role, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/15/chronicle_am_ca_licenses_first

7. CHRONICLE AM: ND MJ INITIATIVE CAN SEEK SIGNATURES, SEN. HATCH DECRIES MEDMJ OBSTACLES, MORE... (12/18/17)
A Republican grandee complains about obstacles to medical marijuana research, a Florida judge will take up the state's ban on smoking medical marijuana, a North Dakota pot legalization initiative is approved for signature gathering, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/18/chronicle_am_nd_mj_initiative

8. CHRONICLE AM: WYDEN SIGNS ON TO BOOKER POT BILL, ITHACA SAFE INJECTION SITE TALKS, MORE... (12/19/17)
Cory Booker's federal marijuana bill finally finds another sponsor, Kentucky's ag commissioner pronounces himself "dumbfounded" at the DEA's recalcitrant position on industrial hemp, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/19/chronicle_am_wyden_signs_booker

9. CHRONICLE AM: NJ, PA MOVE TO INCREASE OPIOID SENTENCES, CANADA LEGAL POT DELAYED?, MORE... (12/20/17)
Mid-Atlantic state politicos are moving toward harsher sentences for some opioid offenses, Canada's July 1 marijuana legalization date may get bumped back, California's Humboldt County rejects safe injection sites, and more.
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/20/chronicle_am_nj_pa_move_increase

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================

1. THE THREE STATES BEST POSITIONED TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA IN 2018 [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/dec/20/three_next_likely_legalization_states

This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here (https://www.alternet.org/drugs/3-states-best-positioned-legalize-marijuana-2018).

Election Day 2016 was a big day for marijuana: Voters in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada all supported successful legalization initiatives, doubling the number of states to have done so since 2012 and more than quadrupling the percentage of
the national population that now lives in legal marijuana states. Only Arizona lost, and it garnered a respectable 48.68% of the vote. Medical marijuana passed in four states too.

Marijuana momentum was high, national polling kept seeing support go up and up, and 2017 was expected to see even more states jump on the weed bandwagon. That didn't happen.

There are two main reasons this year was a dud for pot legalization: First, it's an off-off-year election year, and there were no legalization initiatives on the ballot. Second, it's tough to get a marijuana legalization bill through a state legislature
and signed by a governor. In fact, it's so tough, it hasn't happened yet.

But that doesn't mean it isn't go to happen next year. Several states where legislative efforts were stalled last year are poised to get over the top in the coming legislative sessions, and it looks like a legalization initiative will be on the ballot in
at least one state -- maybe more.

There are other states where legalization is getting serious attention, such as Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island, but they all have governors who are not interested in going down that path, and that means a successful legalization bill might face
the higher hurdle of winning with veto-proof majorities. Similarly, there are other states where legalization initiatives are afoot, such as Arizona, North Dakota, and Ohio, but none of those have even completed signature gathering, and all would face a
tough fight.

We could be pleasantly surprised. But barring pleasant surprises, here are the three states with the best shot at legalizing next year:

Michigan

Michigan voters shouldn't have to wait on the state legislature to act because it looks very likely that a legalization initiative will qualify for the ballot next year. The Michigan Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has already completed a
petition campaign and handed in more than 365,000 raw signatures (http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/20/michigan-marijauna-proposal-signatures/107878992/) last month for its legalization initiative (https://www.regulatemi.org/
initiative/). It hasn't officially qualified for the ballot yet, but it only needs 250,000 valid voter signatures to do so, meaning it has a rather substantial cushion.

If the measure makes the ballot, it should win. There is the little matter of actually campaigning to pass the initiative, which should require a million or two dollars for TV ad buys and other get-out-the-vote efforts, but with the Marijuana Policy
Project on board and some deep-pocketed local interests as well, the money should be there.

The voters already are there: Polling has showed majority support for legalization for several years now, always trending up, and most recently hitting 58% in a May Marketing Resource Group poll (http://wlns.com/2017/05/23/poll-support-growing-for-legal-
pot/).

New Jersey

Outgoing Gov. Chris Christie (R) was a huge obstacle to passage of marijuana legalization, but he's on his way out the door, and his replacement, Gov.-Elect Phil Murphy (D), has vowed to legalize marijuana within 100 days (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/
2017/11/28/new-jersey-marijuana/) of taking office next month.

Legislators anticipating Christie's exit filed legalization bills earlier this year, Senate Bill 3195 (http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/S3500/3195_I1.PDF) and companion measure Assembly Bill 4872. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D) has
also made promises, vowing to pass the bill within the first three months of the Murphy administration, and hearings are set for both houses between January and March.

But it's not a done deal. There is some opposition in the legislature, and legalization foes will certainly mobilize to defeat it at the statehouse. It will also be the first time the legislature seriously considers legalization. Still, legalization has
some key political players backing it. Other legislators might want to listen to their constituents: A September Quinnipiac poll had support for legalization at 59% (http://www.phillyvoice.com/majority-of-new-jersey-voters-support-recreational-marijuana-
use-poll-finds/).

Vermont

A marijuana legalization bill actually passed the legislature last year -- a national first -- only to be vetoed by Gov. Phil Scott (D) over concerns around drugged driving and youth use. Legislators then amended the bill to assuage Scott's concerns and
managed to get the amended bill through the Senate, only to see House Republicans refuse to let it come to a vote during the truncated summer session.

But that measure, House Bill 511 (http://legislature.vermont.gov/assets/Documents/2018/Docs/BILLS/H-0511/H-0511%20Senate%20proposal%20of%20amendment%20Official.pdf), will still be alive in the second year of the biennial session, and Gov. Scott has said
he is still willing to sign the bill (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/vermont-will-legalize-marijuana-early-january-house-speaker-says/). House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D) is also on board, and the rump Republicans won't be able to block action next year.

Johnson said she will be ready for a vote in early January (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/vermont-will-legalize-marijuana-early-january-house-speaker-says/) and expects the bill to pass then. Vermont would then become the first state to free the weed
through the legislative process.


================  ...


                                         ___________________

                                          It's time to correct the mistake:
                                        Truth:the Anti-drugwar
<http://www.briancbennett.com>

                                      Cops say legalize drugs--find out
why:
<http://www.leap.cc>

                                       Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
                                       ___________________

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      It is by the beans of cacao that the thoughts acquire speed,
      the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
      It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
         --from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

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