In the Nov. 4 elections, voters in Washington DC approved Initiative 71, a legalization measure allowing residents to grow up to six plants at home and possess up to two ounces. The victory portends a showdown with Congress, as the Republicans will now control both houses. Oregon approved Measure 91, a legalization measure giving regulatory control to the state liquor control agency and allowing Oregon citizens to grow up to four plants. We continue to await word on a legalization measure in Alaska. A medical marijuana measure in Florida was defeated. Guam became the first US territory to pass a medical marijuana measure. (Reuters, NPR, Smell The Truth)
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Measure 2 passes in Alaska
In Alaska Measure 2, which passed with 52% of the vote, legalized recreational marijuana use for adults over the age of 21, allowing adults to "possess, use, show, buy, transport, or grow set amounts of marijuana." The measure includes a ban on public use of marijuana and allows for adults to grow up to six marijuana plants, as long as they are not visible to the public without use of binoculars. It also allows adults to possess, transport, display, use, or purchase an ounce or less of marijuana. (Jurist)
California approves penalty reduction
California voters on Nov. 4 approved Proposition 47, reducing the penalties associated with certain low-level drug and property crimes, receiving 58% voter approval. Under the measure, crimes related to possession of drugs for personal use and theft of property worth $950 or less are to be charged as misdemeanors unless the defendant has prior convictions for certain serious crimes. Individuals currently serving sentences for the newly adjusted offenses will be able to petition the court to have their sentence reduced. California Secretary of State Debra Bowen's office expects Proposition 47 to affect around 40,000 offenders annually. The projected savings, totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars, will be used to fund school programs and mental health and drug treatment.
This measure comes at a time when California is still adjusting to a 2011 plan to reduce the state's prison population by over 30,000 inmates. Proponents of Proposition 47, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that the reform will improve schools, victim services, and health treatment centers by prioritizing funds to prevent only the most serious crimes. Opponents, including the California Police Chiefs Association, state that the measure includes multiple oversights such as reducing penalties for possession of predatory drugs and theft of a firearm worth less than $950. (Jurist)
Decrim in US Virgin Islands
The Senate of the US Virgin Islands voted Dec. 19 to override Gov. John deJongh Jr.'s veto of a measure to decriminalize cannabis. Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson sponsored the bill to decriminalize possession of less than 1 ounce, making it a civil offense punishable by a fine of between $100 and $200. (VI Daily News)
Florida low-THC law unfair to Black farmers
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act in June 2014, allowing cultivation of the low-THC Charlotte's Web strain for sufferers from epilepsy and ALS who can benefit from CBD. But s it stands, Florida’s law only considers farms that have operated for at least the past 30 years and produce a minimum of 400,000 plants to be eligible to become one of the five "dispensing organizations." Howard Gunn, president of the Florida Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, protests that not a single member of the Black farming community qualifies under these standards. Reports from the Florida Department of Agriculture corroborate Gunn’s claim— showing that of the 99 farms in the state that are eligible under the existing law, none are owned by Black farmers. (High Times, April 2)