California Senate Approves Hemp Bill
UPDATE 9/27/2013 – Governor Brown signed the bill into law. SACRAMENTO, Sept 11th – The State Senate unanimously passed Sen. Mark Leno’s industrial hemp bill, SB 566. The bill would exclude hemp with THC content
Kharla Vezzetti
LEGISLATURE CONSIDERS MEDICAL MARIJUANA REGULATION BILL TO PROTECT CALIFORNIA FROM FEDERAL RAIDS
UPDATE 9/13 – Last-minute efforts to pass a medical marijuana regulation bill fell short as the California legislature wound up its session yesterday. Legislation proposed by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (AB 604) and Sen. Darrell Steinberg ran into opposition from local governments and law enforcement. Similar legislation can be expected to be re-introduced next year. In …
Cal NORML letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein re: Sept 10th Judiciary Committee Hearings on Marijuana
September 4, 2013 Dear Sen. Feinstein: Here are some questions for Attorney General Holder which we hope you will ask at the upcoming Judiciary Committee hearings on federal policy with regards to state marijuana laws. Cal NORML welcomes the A.G.’s announcement that DOJ will not seek to overturn state marijuana laws. We strongly support his …
Attorney General Holder Declares Feds Won’t Block Legal Marijuana in States with “Strong and Effective'” Enforcement
Cal NORML Backs Proposed Guidelines, Calls on State Legislature to Act August 29, 2013 – In a long-awaited announcement of federal marijuana enforcement policy, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice won’t “make it a priority” to block marijuana legalization in Colorado or Washington. Cal NORML welcomed the AG’s announcement, while cautioning …
Mixed Legislative News in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO August 14, 2013 – The California legislature delivered good and bad news for marijuana advocates after activists walked the State Capitol for a medical marijuana lobbying day this Monday. On the plus side, Sen. Ellen Corbett withdrew a bill (SB 648) that would have banned e-cigarettes and vaporizers in non-smoking areas. After being informed …
AG Holder Calls for Rethinking Mandatory Minimum Drug-Crime Sentences at SF ABA Meeting
UPDATED 8/14/2013 August 12 – US Attorney General Eric Holder was aware that coming to California’s Bay Area meant encountering drug policy reform advocates. His May appearance at UC Berkeley law school saw him greeted by medical marijuana advocates, including a banner in the sky saying, “Holder: End RX Cannabis War” In advance of his …
California’s 100-Year-Old Ban on “Indian Hemp” (aka Marijuana)
By Dale Gieringer, CalNORML director One hundred years ago, on August 10, 1913, an obscure law banning the possession of “Indian hemp” took effect in California. Also known as cannabis indica or hasheesh, Indian hemp had long been available in drugstores without causing any evident problems; hemp was also grown as a fiber crop in …
Writers, Starlets and Mexicans: The History of Hollyweed
Angelinos awoke to art student Douglas Finegood’s interpretation of the Hollywood sign on January 1, 1976, the day marijuana was decriminalized in California. Another “vandal” altered the sign in the same way on January 1, 2017 to celebrate the passage of Prop. 64, legalizing adult recreational use. Los Angeles has had a remarkable relationship with …
Over 21,000 Arrested in California on Marijuana Charges in 2012
The California Attorney General has released its 2012 Crime Report. According to the report, there were 13,434 felony marijuana arrests in California in 2012, continuing a downward trend from 14,082 in 2011. Hispanics were the most-arrested ethnic group, with 4953 felony arrests, followed by whites (4617), blacks (2745) and other races (1119). Juvenile felony arrests …
US/Mexico Summit Looks At Legalization, Research
CalNORML Director Dale Gieringer with former Mexican President Vicente Fox at the Summit San Cristobal, Mexico, Jul 18-20. This past weekend former Mexican President Vicente Fox hosted a symposium at Centro Fox, where delegates from the US, Mexico and Europe discussed legalizing and regulating marijuana as an alternative to Mexico’s bloody drug war. The symposium …