Breaking News: Rep. Barney Frank To Introduce Fed Decriminalization Legislation

[Cannabis_Rx]

Breaking News: NORML Teams Up with Rep. Barney Frank To Introduce Federal Decriminalization Legislation

Dear NORML Supporters:

NORML is pleased to announce that it has partnered with our longtime ally, Democratic Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, to introduce legislation in the House of Representatives that would strip the federal government of its authority to arrest responsible cannabis consumers.  The bill, referred to by Frank as the 'Make Room for Serious Criminals Act,' is the first federal cannabis decriminalization bill introduced in Congress in 24 years.

“It's time for the politicians to catch up with the public on this [issue],” Frank said Friday during an appearance on the nationally syndicated television program 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' in which he announced the imminent introduction of the measure.

As drafted, Frank's proposal would eliminate all federal penalties prohibiting the personal use and possession of up to 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of marijuana.  Under this measure (based on the recommendations of the 1972 National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, also known as the Shafer Commission), adults who consume cannabis would no longer face arrest, prison, or even the threat of a civil fine.  In addition, this bill would eliminate all penalties prohibiting the not-for-profit transfers of up to one ounce of cannabis between adults.  In short, for the first time since 1937, the possession, use, and non-profit transfer of marijuana by adults would be legal under federal law!

Marijuana decriminalization currently enjoys support from the majority of Americans.  According to a recent CNN/Time Magazine poll, 76% of US citizens favor a cannabis policy that does not place responsible adult cannabis consumers at risk of arrest and prosecution.  Nonetheless, nearly 830,000 Americans were arrested on marijuana charges this year, 89% of which were for personal possession.

Currently, twelve states, representing over a third of Americans - Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon, along with numerous major cities such as Seattle, Milwaukee, Madison, and Ann Arbor -- have enacted various forms of marijuana decriminalization, replacing criminal sanctions with the imposition of fine-only penalties for minor pot violators.  Similar proposals have passed this year in the House in New Hampshire and the Senate in Vermont, and Massachusetts will be voting on a similar initiative this November.

NORML is pleased to be leading the effort for sensible cannabis law reform at the federal level.  With your support, we look forward to ending the obsolete and destructive practice of arresting responsible adult cannabis consumers.

Regards,

Allen St. Pierre
NORML
Executive Director
director@norml.org

 

[Derek Rosenzweig]

This is better than people even know. This is FEDERAL DECRIMINALIZATION LEGISLATION. If it passes, it means full legalization is only five to ten years away. This is something that everyone needs to contact their representatives about soon. We will need to hammer them with letters and phone calls. This is where spreading the word really counts, so break out your contact lists :-D

[1puffer]

This is some great news....

1puff 

[1puffer]

Rep. Frank defends proposal to decriminalize marijuana
By Associated Press
Sunday, March 23, 2008

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/general/view.bg?articleid=1082344

Rep. Barney Frank is defending a bill he plans to file this week decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana, saying the federal law unfairly targets those using medical marijuana in California.

Frank, who filed a bill to decriminalize marijuana as a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in the 1970s, said the decision whether to make possession of the drug illegal should be left up to the states.

He also said the federal government shouldn’t have a law on the books that is rarely enforced and which doesn’t make sense to large portions of the public.

"Do you really think people should be prosecuted for smoking marijuana? I don’t think most people agree with that. It’s one area where the public is ahead of the elected officials," Frank said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It does not appear to me to be a law that society is serious about."

Frank said he was particularly troubled by federal law enforcement agencies targeting those using marijuana as a legal medical treatment under California law.

"I don’t think smoking marijuana should be a federal case," he said. "There’s no federal law against mugging."

Marijuana use is illegal under U.S. law, which does not recognize the medical marijuana laws in California and 11 other states.

The Drug Enforcement Agency and other U.S. agencies have been shutting down major medical marijuana dispensaries throughout California in the last two years and charging their operators with felony distribution charges.

Frank first announced the bill on the HBO show "Real Time," hosted by Bill Maher.

Frank’s comments come as pro-marijuana activists are pushing a ballot question that would decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana in Massachusetts.

Instead of facing a criminal record, those caught with a small amount of marijuana for personal use would instead pay a civil fine of $100 — much like a traffic ticket.

Supporters say the measure would save the state millions of dollars in law enforcement costs and spare thousands of state residents from the burden of a criminal record.

Critics, including the head of the anti-drug education group DARE-Massachusetts, say they oppose decriminalizing any amount of marijuana because it could send a signal to children that smoking pot is no big deal.

They say they while not everyone who smokes pot will end up shooting heroin, almost no heroin addicts begin with the more dangerous drug.

Activists pushing the initiative point to more than two dozen nonbinding referendum questions placed on local ballots in Massachusetts in the past six years. In each, a majority of voters supported the idea of decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

About a dozen states have already adopted similar laws.

Asked about the marijuana ballot initiative last December, Gov. Deval Patrick said he had to consult with his Public Safety Secretary Kevin Burke and Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby before staking out a position.

"I think they are both skeptical," he said at the time.

The ballot question isn’t the only effort under way to ease the state’s drug laws.

A bill working its way through the Statehouse would also decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of the drug, but set a higher fine of $250.

[jackcat]

There really are enough votes if legislator's vote with courage and honesty to pass this law.  Its way, way over due. 

[m.justice]

"They say they while not everyone who smokes pot will end up shooting heroin, almost no heroin addicts begin with the more dangerous drug."

In the book Freakonomics, an economist and a journalist dispute the conventional wisdom that having a distinctly Afraican American name causes one to have less oppurtunities, despite statistics that suggest otherwise.  They argue that the envirnment one was raised in has more to do with oppurtunities than one's name, and that people with distinctly African American names are more likely to have been raised in an envirnment un-conducive to future success.  Thus, there is a correllation, but one does not cause the other.

So is there a correllation betwenn a junky's heroin use and his marijuana use?  certainly.  the desire to get fucked up led him to try both.  but the real question is, does one cause the other? Statements like the one quoted from the article offers no support for causation, but play into misconceptions created by wide spread reptition of a lie. 

I mean, the herion addict probably didn't begin with weed either: they started with cigarettes and booze.  but did the cigarettes cause the herion use, or did the factors that caused the cigarette use also cause the heroin use? 

 

[Cannabis_Rx]

AS FRANK PREPARES MARIJUANA BILL, STATES MAKE OWN EFFORTS



WASHINGTON -- Proponents of U.S.  Rep.  Barney Frank's proposal to legalize small amounts of marijuana are pointing to efforts in some states -- including Massachusetts -- to decriminalize the drug as evidence of public support for Rep.  Frank's plan.

Rep.  Frank, D-Mass., said recently that he will introduce two bills, one that would decriminalize possession of less than 100 grams -- or 3.5 ounces -- of marijuana and another that would grant protection to states that decide to allow medicinal use of marijuana.

"The public is now ready for this," Rep.  Frank said in a telephone interview.  "I have long thought it was foolish to have these laws on the books, but now as I look at the public opinion, it's clear that this is wanted."

Rep.  Frank said that although he does not support marijuana use, he believes that adults should be able to consume small amounts without facing criminal penalties.  He said prosecution of marijuana charges costs federal law enforcement agencies time and resources.  Rep.  Frank, who said he has no experience with marijuana, added, "I think marijuana is less harmful than alcohol."

As Rep.  Frank tries to drum up support for his bill in Congress, the Massachusetts Legislature is considering an initiative to decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana.  A person caught with an ounce or less would be fined but would not be charged with a criminal offense, which appears on employer background checks and is a disqualifying factor for receiving certain government benefits, such as subsidized housing and student financial aid.

If the state Legislature does not act on the initiative by May 6, supporters have until June 18 to get 11,000 signatures on a petition to put the initiative on the ballot in November.  If they succeed, it would require a majority vote to pass.

Whitney A.  Taylor, campaign manager for the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which drafted the Massachusetts initiative, said she supports Rep.  Frank's proposal.

"We are very excited that Congressman Frank understands the need for more sensible and sound marijuana policies," Ms.  Taylor said.  "The policies in Massachusetts do more harm than good, and I think the congressman realizes that on a federal level, as well."

State Sen.  Patricia D.  Jehlen, D-Medford, is sponsoring her own bill that would decriminalize possessing an ounce or less of marijuana.

"I'm not saying it's OK, but it's not a criminal offense," she said.  "It's a civil offense, but you don't get a criminal record and you don't use up court resources."

State Rep.  Martin J.  Walsh, D-Dorchester, who has led the opposition to marijuana decriminalization in Massachusetts, said he would instead favor adjusting laws for youths using alcohol and marijuana in order to protect their permanent records.

"People make mistakes," Rep.  Walsh said.  "I don't agree with them being penalized for an irresponsible decision."

Since 1973, 12 states, including Maine, have decriminalized marijuana in some form.  A bill that would decriminalize possession of a quarter-ounce of marijuana passed the New Hampshire House, although the governor and Senate president have vowed to defeat it.

"Almost half of the ( U.S.  ) population lives in states that have done this sort of thing," said Bill Downing, president of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition.  "Those states saved millions of dollars in law enforcement and marijuana usage rates did not go up as a result."

Allen St.  Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, pointed to those 12 states as proof of support for reforming drug laws.  Mr.  St.  Pierre said there is widespread public support for decriminalizing marijuana and allowing for its medicinal use, although many still oppose its full legalization.

Americans are able to distinguish between decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and the complete legalization of marijuana, making it like alcohol and tobacco, Mr.  St.  Pierre said.

Tom Riley, spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said his agency would "oppose any changes that would make dangerous, addictive drugs widely available."

"Common sense shows that when you make something more available, people will use it," he said.

Mr.  Riley said that proponents of marijuana decriminalization are "using medical marijuana as a back-door solution to legalization," and that marijuana is a more harmful drug than people realize.  He said patients using medicinal marijuana are being used to invoke public sympathy.

"The state-level passage has been playing on people's good wills more than based on science," Mr.  Riley said.  "They go through the ballot process rather than the scientific process."

For the past 10 years, Rep.  Frank has unsuccessfully filed legislation during each two-year congressional term to loosen marijuana laws.  He has filed bills that would allow the unrestricted medicinal use of marijuana in states that have passed such laws, and he also has filed bills -- one as recently as January -- to repeal a law that prohibits college students who were convicted of drug offenses from receiving financial aid.  None of the bills has made it onto the House floor for debate.

U.S.  Sen.  Christopher J.  Dodd, D-Conn., filed legislation in the Senate last month that would allow judges to decide whether students who were convicted of drug offenses can keep their financial aid.

Tom Angell, spokesman for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a Washington-based lobbying group seeking to decriminalize marijuana, said more than 200,000 college students have lost financial aid in the past 10 years because of drug convictions.

Although Mr.  Angell would not say whether he would support Rep.  Frank's legislation until he sees the details of his proposal, he said he believes passing a law to reduce penalties for marijuana will "show a lot of momentum for reforming punitive drug policies."

"Congress will be on the record saying it doesn't make sense to punish people for what they're putting into their own body," Mr.  Angell said.

Mr.  St.  Pierre said Rep.  Frank's proposal does not promote the use of marijuana but instead encourages people who use it to consume the drug within reasonable limits.

"It will build consistency into drug policy that if you use something like cannabis, just like alcohol, you should largely be punished for the abuse of the substance, not the use of it," Mr.  St.  Pierre said.

"We all know there's a difference between use of alcohol and alcohol abuse."


http://www.mapinc.org/norml/v08/n363/a02.htm

[jackcat]

As for Mr. Riley, backdoor this!!!!!   I have more experience with marijuana then Mr. Riley, and I proably have more education then Mr. Riley so that qualifies me to say he's full of it.  the laws against marijuana have effected me in ways Mr. Riley just couldn't understand.  I guess that's because he seems to be extremely anal retentive regurgitating the same old bullshit line.   

[m.justice]

In the world of left blogs, people like Mr. Riley are known as "very serious people" whereas people such as yourself are known as "dirty fucking hippies"

for example, whenever the war in iraq has an anniversary or passes a watershed of bloodshed, the mainstream media invite on a bunch of people who support the war to argue about how bush blew it tactically while the majority of intellectuals in main stream academia who opposed the premise of the war never get the invite.  then the war pigs act as if opposition to war or interventionalism is a propostorous idea that only a deamy idealist could support.  people who support an aggressive foreign policy are "very serious people" while war opponents are "dirty fucking hippies." 

Riley's case is no different.  If only the electorate - those dirty fucking hippies who vote on things like freedom and justice - knew what the very serious Mr. Riley knew, we'd all be lined up behind him.  But we never will - so what choice do those poor serious people have but to congregate in washington, chuckle at the rest of us, and get paid for their wonderful oppinions by other serious people?

[Cannabis_Rx]

Federal Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced by Rep. Ron Paul

Washington, DC:  Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) introduced H.R. 5842, the “Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act,” earlier today.  This bill would make federal authorities respect states' current laws on medicinal cannabis and end DEA raids on facilities distributing medical marijuana legally under state law.

Representative Paul, whose presidential campaign prominently featured the ending of the drug war as a platform plank, was joined by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) in sponsoring this bill.

[Cannabis_Rx]

Congressman Barney Frank: “Whether Or Not To Smoke Marijuana Should Be A Personal Choice”


Barney Frank is a man of courage.

This longtime NORML ally is sponsoring legislation in Congress to allow for the medical use of marijuana, and to strip the federal government of their power to criminalize the possession and use of pot by adults.

In the video below, provided by Tom Gregory at Huffington Post, Frank explains why he believes, “There should be no federal laws against the personal use of marijuana, whether it’s for medical purposes or not.”



 

[1puffer]

Barney on CNN

Barney says the Federal Gov should stay out of peoples personal lives.

[DestroyDolly]

we should make up a letter that people can just fill out their name and adress and we can just hand them out.

[Cannabis_Rx]

Where's Barney ?

looks like Barney got his stumulus check