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Drug War Chronicle, Issue #974 -- 5/25/17
Phillip S. Smith, Editor,psmith@drcnet.org http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/974

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

Table of Contents:

1. VERMONT GOVERNOR VETOES MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION -- FOR NOW [FEATURE]
The legislature was the first in the country to approve marijuana legalization, but the governor has issues.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/24/vermont_governor_vetoes_marijuan

2. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
The nation's leading veterans organization wants the Trump administration to open up medical marijuana research for vets, Maryland regulators grant first medical marijuana business licenses, the Utah GOP rejects a resolution in support of medical
marijuana, and more. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/24/medical_marijuana_update

3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
The former Fresno deputy police chief is headed for federal prison, a former North Carolina cop is headed there, too, for running armed escorts for supposed traffickers, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/24/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

4. CHRONICLE AM: RI HOUSE PUNTS ON LEGALIZATION, LEADING MEXICAN JOURNO GUNNED DOWN, MORE... (5/17/17)
The Rhode Island House voted to study marijuana legalization instead of actually do it, Vermont newspapers pressure the governor to sign their legalization bill, the federal Justice Safety Valve Act gets refiled, Mexican journalist Javier Valdez Cardenas
is gunned down, and more. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/17/chronicle_am_ri_house_punts_lega

5. CHRONICLE AM: FEDERAL MJ BANKING BILL FILED, MORE WORKERS TEST POSITIVE FOR DRUGS, MORE... (5/18/17)
Marijuana policy continues to motivate members of Congress, a leading drug testing firm reports that positive worker drug tests are on the rise, Maryland's first medical marijuana cultivator gets final approval to grow, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/18/chronicle_am_federal_mj_banking

6. CHRONICLE AM: DRUG POLICIES FUELING HEP C RISE, MI INIT BEGINS SIGNATURE DRIVE, MORE... (5/19/17)
The CDC issues a damning report about drug policy and Hep C, the clock is ticking on the Vermont legalization bill as the governor ponders his choices, Michigan legalizers hit the streets with petitions for 2018, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/19/chronicle_am_drug_policies_fueli

7. CHRONICLE AM: AFGHAN OPIUM IS BOOMING, AMERICAN LEGION WANTS MEDMJ RESEARCH, MORE... (5/22/17)
We're starting to see 2018 pot legalization initiative action getting underway, an Ohio Supreme Court justice calls for freeing the weed, the American Legion wants the feds to get out of the way of medical marijuana research, Afghanistan has a bumper
opium crop, and more. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/22/chronicle_am_afghan_opium_boomin

8. CHRONICLE AM: VT GOV WILL ACT ON LEGALIZATION, TRUMP RETREATS FROM ONDCP DEFUNDING, MORE... (5/23/17)
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott says he will act on marijuana legalization tomorrow, the Trump budget reverses earlier plans to radically defund the drug czar's office, a new Michigan poll has good news for activists, and more.
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/23/chronicle_am_vt_gov_will_act_leg

9. CHRONICLE AM: VT GOV VETOES LEGALIZATION BILL, UCSB ECSTASY PILL TESTING, MORE... (5/24/17)
Vermont's bid to be the first state to legalize marijuana through the legislative process gets derailed by the governor, a judge rules a Rhode Island company discriminated against a medical marijuana patient, UC Santa Barbara students start an ecstasy
pill-testing program, and more. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/24/chronicle_am_vt_gov_vetoes_legal

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1. VERMONT GOVERNOR VETOES MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION -- FOR NOW [FEATURE] http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2017/may/24/vermont_governor_vetoes_marijuan

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) today vetoed a marijuana legalization bill, ending for now an effort that would have seen the state become the first to legalize pot through the legislative process.

But Scott left open a "path forward" for passing the bill later this year, saying that if a handful of changes were made in the bill, he could support it. He said he thought the legislature still has time to incorporate them and pass a revised bill
during this summer's veto session.

"We are disappointed by the governor's decision to veto this widely supported legislation, but we are very encouraged by the governor's offer to work with legislators to pass a legalization bill during the summer veto session," said Matt Simon, New
England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project. "Most Vermonters want to end marijuana prohibition, and it is critical that the legislature respond by passing a revised legalization bill this summer. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol,
and there is no good reason to continue treating responsible adult consumers like criminals," he said.

Marijuana is legal in eight states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington -- and the District of Columbia, but all of them legalized it via initiatives. Four states and DC did it in 2012 and four more last
year.

Senate Bill 22 (http://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2018/S.22) would have allowed people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce and four immature or two mature plants, effective July 1, 2018. But unlike the legal pot states, it did not include a
provision for taxed and regulated marijuana commerce. Instead it called for a legislative commission to study whether and how to put such a system in place, making it more akin to the DC law, which allows personal possession and cultivation, but not
legal sales, than to the tax and regulate states.

"Despite the veto, this is a huge leap forward," said Simon. "The passage of S. 22 demonstrates most members of both legislative chambers are ready to move forward with making marijuana legal for adults. Lawmakers have an opportunity to address the
governor's concerns and pass a revised bill this summer, and we are excited about its prospects."

Although marijuana legalization has strong support in the state -- it polled 55% in a February poll (http://digital.vpr.net/post/vpr-poll-majority-vermonters-say-legalize-pot) and 57% in a March poll (http://www.thedailychronic.net/2017/70789/vermont-
house-committee-approves-proposal-end-marijuana-prohibition-new-poll-shows-strong-public-support/) -- getting a bill through the legislature very nearly did not happen. While the Senate wanted a bill that would include taxing and regulating legal
marijuana sales, the measure passed by the House, House Bill 170 (http://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2018/H.170), only allowed for personal possession and cultivation. It took last-minute maneuvering in the Senate to arrive at an acceptable
compromise, incorporating HB 170 into the Senate bill and replacing the latter's tax and regulate provisions with the commission to study how to do it. After that, it took a final vote in the House Judiciary Committee to win passage.

But with the stroke of Scott's veto pen, all that work has come to naught -- at least for now.

Efforts to legalize marijuana via the legislature have made real progress in several states this year, coming very close in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and advancing in other states, including Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, and New Jersey, but no
other state has gotten over the final hurdle yet and its unlikely any others will this year.

Those efforts at various state houses will continue next year, and 2018 will also likely see more marijuana legalization initiatives on state ballots. Campaigns are already underway in Arkansas, Missouri, Michigan, and North and South Dakota.



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___________________

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>
___________________

bliss -- Cacao Powered... (-SF4ever at DSLExtreme dot com)

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"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
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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