Massachusetts Decriminalization Initiative Polling Well

On August 29, 2008 in Government, In The News, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

A Massachusetts initiative that would decriminalize marijuana possession looks set to win in November, if polling numbers from this month are any indication. According to a 7NEWS/Suffolk University poll, the initiative now has the approval of 72% of voters. Only 22% of respondents said they opposed the decrim measure, while 6% had no opinion.

The initiative, sponsored by the Committee for Responsible Marijuana Policy, would replace current criminal penalties for marijuana possession with a civil penalty of forfeiture of the marijuana and a $100 fine.

It looks like the Massachusetts public is on board with decrim, said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University. “This issue suggests that there is a libertarian streak in the thinking of Massachusetts voters,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »

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California Supreme Court to Take Up Medical Marijuana Limits Issue

On August 29, 2008 in Courts, In The News, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

The California Supreme Court agreed to revisit the question of how many plants and how much marijuana medical marijuana patients may legally possess. It did so by taking up a prosecutor’s appeal of a May California Appellate Court decision that found a 2003 law designed to make the state’s medical marijuana law operational conflicted with the voter-approved Compassionate Use Act by setting fixed limits on how much marijuana patients may possess.

The state’s Compassionate Use Act does not specify the amount of marijuana a patient may possess. Instead, that law allows an amount of marijuana “reasonably related to the patient’s current medical needs.” Read the rest of this entry »

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