T
The420Guy
Guest
#1: Europe Goes to Pot: Great Britain, EU Abandon Marijuana Prohibition
UK officials branded pot prohibition an endangered species in 2001,
announcing in October that police would no longer arrest individuals for
marijuana possession, and that pot would be federally reclassified as a
"soft" drug. Britain's new policy, expected to be formalized by spring
2002, is similar to those of its European Union neighbors, most of whom
no longer criminalize the use of marijuana or other drugs. Read the full
story at: NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#2: Zogby Poll Finds 61% of Americans Oppose Pot Prohibition
Americans' opposition to the government's war on pot rose significantly
in 2001, according to a national Zogby poll of 1,024 likely voters
commissioned by the NORML Foundation. Sixty-one percent of respondents
said they opposed arresting and jailing nonviolent marijuana smokers in
light of the increased threat of terrorism since September 11. In
addition, two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents said they opposed the
use of federal law enforcement agencies to close dispensaries that
distribute medicinal marijuana in states that have legalized its use.
Read the full story at: NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#3: Canada Legalizes Medical Marijuana
Canada became the first country in the world to sanction the use and
cultivation of medical pot by qualified individuals, enacting nationwide
regulations in August that enable patients and their caregivers to
legally grow and possess medicinal cannabis. Ironically, Canada's policy
change came mere months after the US Supreme Court affirmed federal
provisions in the Controlled Substances Act defining marijuana as having
"no currently accepted medical use." Read the full story in NORML's
Spring 2001 newsletter at: Oops! Page not found - NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws.
#4: Supreme Court Rules on Medical Pot Distribution
The US Supreme Court ruled in May that patient support groups who grow
and supply medical marijuana for the seriously ill are not exempt from
federal law by the defense of "medical necessity." Contrary to popular
interpretation, the ruling did not strike down or invalidate state laws
legalizing the medical use of marijuana by individual patients - a
separate issue that was not before the Court. Read the full story in
NORML's Spring 2001 newsletter at:
Oops! Page not found - NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws.
#5: Nevada Reduces Nation's Toughest Pot Laws to a Fine-Only Offense
Nevada's pot laws received a long-overdue overhaul in 2001, as
legislators reduced pot possession from a four-year felony to a fine-only
offense, and enacted legislation legalizing marijuana's medical use. The
legislature was the first in 24 years (and twelfth overall) to eliminate
jail time and criminal records for minor marijuana offenders, and the
ninth state since 1996 to legalize the use of medical cannabis under a
doctor's supervision. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#6: Pot Arrests For Year 2000 Hit All Time High
Clinton's parting shot to the marijuana community was one for the record
books. According to the FBI's Year 2000 Uniform Crime Report, police
arrested an estimated 734,498 persons for pot violations in 2000 - the
final year of the Clinton regime. The total is the highest ever recorded
by the FBI, and comprises just under half of all drug arrests recorded so
far this millennium. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#7: DEA Wages War on California's Medical Pot Clubs
In a major federal crackdown on California's medical marijuana providers,
law enforcement officials this fall raided a pair of state medical
marijuana dispensaries: the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center in West
Hollywood and the California Medical Research Center in Cool. Charges
have yet to be filed against either organization, though grand juries are
hearing testimony and both organizations have ceased distributing medical
pot to patients. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#8: New Mexico Governor Calls for Pot Legalization at NORML Conference
Challenging the myth that marijuana-law reform is the "third rail" of
politics, two-time Republican Governor Gary Johnson called for pot's
legalization at NORML's annual conference in Washington, DC. "I'm for
marijuana legalization," he told attendees during NORML's luncheon
address - broadcast live on C-SPAN. "I think that decriminalization
turns it back on half of the problem." Read the full story in NORML's
Spring 2001 newsletter at: Oops! Page not found - NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws.
#9: Bi-Partisan Bill to Legalize Medical Pot Introduced in Congress
For the first time in nearly 20 years, politicians from both sides of the
aisle - Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) - joined forces to
introduce legislation in Congress to legalize medical marijuana. Their
bill, H.R. 2592 (the "States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act"),
presently awaits action from the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
Subcommittee on Health. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#10: DEA Okays State-Sponsored Medical Marijuana Trials
Ending nearly two decades of de facto prohibition on medical marijuana
research, the DEA in November approved three state-sponsored patient
trials on the therapeutic potential of smoked marijuana. The trials will
begin next year at the University of California's Center for Medicinal
Cannabis Research (CMCR). Eight other FDA-approved protocols remain
pending before the DEA. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
NORML Foundation
1001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Ste. 710
Washington, DC 20036
202-483-8751 (p)
202-483-0057 (f)
www.norml.org
foundation@norml.org
UK officials branded pot prohibition an endangered species in 2001,
announcing in October that police would no longer arrest individuals for
marijuana possession, and that pot would be federally reclassified as a
"soft" drug. Britain's new policy, expected to be formalized by spring
2002, is similar to those of its European Union neighbors, most of whom
no longer criminalize the use of marijuana or other drugs. Read the full
story at: NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#2: Zogby Poll Finds 61% of Americans Oppose Pot Prohibition
Americans' opposition to the government's war on pot rose significantly
in 2001, according to a national Zogby poll of 1,024 likely voters
commissioned by the NORML Foundation. Sixty-one percent of respondents
said they opposed arresting and jailing nonviolent marijuana smokers in
light of the increased threat of terrorism since September 11. In
addition, two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents said they opposed the
use of federal law enforcement agencies to close dispensaries that
distribute medicinal marijuana in states that have legalized its use.
Read the full story at: NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#3: Canada Legalizes Medical Marijuana
Canada became the first country in the world to sanction the use and
cultivation of medical pot by qualified individuals, enacting nationwide
regulations in August that enable patients and their caregivers to
legally grow and possess medicinal cannabis. Ironically, Canada's policy
change came mere months after the US Supreme Court affirmed federal
provisions in the Controlled Substances Act defining marijuana as having
"no currently accepted medical use." Read the full story in NORML's
Spring 2001 newsletter at: Oops! Page not found - NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws.
#4: Supreme Court Rules on Medical Pot Distribution
The US Supreme Court ruled in May that patient support groups who grow
and supply medical marijuana for the seriously ill are not exempt from
federal law by the defense of "medical necessity." Contrary to popular
interpretation, the ruling did not strike down or invalidate state laws
legalizing the medical use of marijuana by individual patients - a
separate issue that was not before the Court. Read the full story in
NORML's Spring 2001 newsletter at:
Oops! Page not found - NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws.
#5: Nevada Reduces Nation's Toughest Pot Laws to a Fine-Only Offense
Nevada's pot laws received a long-overdue overhaul in 2001, as
legislators reduced pot possession from a four-year felony to a fine-only
offense, and enacted legislation legalizing marijuana's medical use. The
legislature was the first in 24 years (and twelfth overall) to eliminate
jail time and criminal records for minor marijuana offenders, and the
ninth state since 1996 to legalize the use of medical cannabis under a
doctor's supervision. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#6: Pot Arrests For Year 2000 Hit All Time High
Clinton's parting shot to the marijuana community was one for the record
books. According to the FBI's Year 2000 Uniform Crime Report, police
arrested an estimated 734,498 persons for pot violations in 2000 - the
final year of the Clinton regime. The total is the highest ever recorded
by the FBI, and comprises just under half of all drug arrests recorded so
far this millennium. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#7: DEA Wages War on California's Medical Pot Clubs
In a major federal crackdown on California's medical marijuana providers,
law enforcement officials this fall raided a pair of state medical
marijuana dispensaries: the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center in West
Hollywood and the California Medical Research Center in Cool. Charges
have yet to be filed against either organization, though grand juries are
hearing testimony and both organizations have ceased distributing medical
pot to patients. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#8: New Mexico Governor Calls for Pot Legalization at NORML Conference
Challenging the myth that marijuana-law reform is the "third rail" of
politics, two-time Republican Governor Gary Johnson called for pot's
legalization at NORML's annual conference in Washington, DC. "I'm for
marijuana legalization," he told attendees during NORML's luncheon
address - broadcast live on C-SPAN. "I think that decriminalization
turns it back on half of the problem." Read the full story in NORML's
Spring 2001 newsletter at: Oops! Page not found - NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws.
#9: Bi-Partisan Bill to Legalize Medical Pot Introduced in Congress
For the first time in nearly 20 years, politicians from both sides of the
aisle - Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) - joined forces to
introduce legislation in Congress to legalize medical marijuana. Their
bill, H.R. 2592 (the "States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act"),
presently awaits action from the House Energy and Commerce Committee,
Subcommittee on Health. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
#10: DEA Okays State-Sponsored Medical Marijuana Trials
Ending nearly two decades of de facto prohibition on medical marijuana
research, the DEA in November approved three state-sponsored patient
trials on the therapeutic potential of smoked marijuana. The trials will
begin next year at the University of California's Center for Medicinal
Cannabis Research (CMCR). Eight other FDA-approved protocols remain
pending before the DEA. Read the full story at:
NORML - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws Since 1970.
NORML Foundation
1001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Ste. 710
Washington, DC 20036
202-483-8751 (p)
202-483-0057 (f)
www.norml.org
foundation@norml.org
