People
Mexico City Mayor: Legal Marijuana Would Hurt Cartels, Is Issue of Freedom
Legalizing marijuana is an issue of personal freedom and would take money away from violent drug cartels, the mayor of Mexico City says in a new interview. “My position is always the defense of freedoms,” Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera told El Universal. “I do support legalization.” Under legalization, the marijuana trade “would not be attractive for purposes of drug […]
Will Sheldon Adelson Use Nevada Paper to Sink Legal Marijuana?
Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s recent purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper is generating headlines and controversy. But not much public attention has been drawn to the possible implications his owning of the newspaper could have on this year’s effort to legalize marijuana in Nevada. Adelson is the 18th richest person in the world, according to […]
Surgeon General Announces Review of Federal Drug Policies
The U.S. surgeon general is preparing a first-of-its-kind report “presenting the state of the science on substance use, addiction and health,” the federal government has announced. The report from Vivek Murthy, the nation’s top public health official, will “outline potential future direction” for drug policies and “educate, encourage and call upon all Americans to take action,” according to a […]
U.S. Senators Press Federal Agencies on Medical Marijuana Research
A group of eight U.S. senators, led by Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, is demanding answers from key federal agencies about why the government hasn’t yet enacted policies to better facilitate scientific research into the medical benefits of marijuana. “There are currently numerous federal and state regulatory barriers to researching marijuana,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter on Monday. “This regulatory […]
Jeb Bush Supports Decriminalization But Calls Marijuana a ‘Gateway Drug’
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush announced a slight shift in his position on marijuana laws on Friday. “It’s one thing to say we should have decriminalization of marijuana. I support that,” the former Florida governor said in an interview with Joe Mathieu of Boston’s WBZ NewsRadio. Bush had not previously endorsed a removal of criminal penalties for […]
Obama’s Drug Czar Lies to Congress About Drug War Budget
Federal drug policy officials in recent years have done everything they can to send the message that they have a balanced, health-focused strategy that acknowledges drug abuse is a medical problem we can’t arrest our way out of. While Obama administration officials often use fuzzy math or artful language to obscure the fact that most […]
CCPR’s Richard Lee Endorses Rival California Legal Marijuana Measure
A well-funded effort to legalize marijuana in California in 2016 just received a surprise endorsement from a key longtime movement player.
Marijuana.com has exclusively learned that Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam University and the chief proponent of an earlier legalization measure that Golden State voters narrowly defeated in 2010, is endorsing the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), an effort backed by a group of Silicon Valley funders led by Napster co-founder and early Facebook investor Sean Parker.
“It’s important that we all get together to support one initiative,” Lee said in an interview.
Lee is a board member of the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform (CCPR), which has been working to build support for a separate proposal through a campaign called Reform California. Despite working for years to craft a consensus measure that could earn support from the movement’s various constituencies, the group has struggled to secure the funding it would take to pay for the signature gathering needed to qualify for the ballot and for an effective campaign to win on Election Day.
“I believe a majority of the [CCPR] board is ready to endorse the Parker initiative at the next board meeting,” Lee said.
In addition to Parker, AUMA is reportedly being supported by Hyatt Hotel heirs Nick and Joby Pritzker as well as Graham Boyd, who advises the estate of late Progressive auto insurance chairman Peter B. Lewis.
Despite Lee’s call for unity, it appears that not all of CCPR’s key players are ready to line up behind the Parker-backed effort yet.
“ReformCA is the leading statewide campaign committed to working with all groups and stakeholders to ensure we have the strongest policy for our state, and the best chance to win at the ballot box next November, through a single, unified initiative,” CCPR Chairwoman Dale Sky Jones wrote in a fundraising email on November 2, just hours after media reports surfaced about the competing AUMA effort’s ballot language being filed with the state. [Bolded emphasis in original.]
Two days later, following the defeat of an investor-backed legalization measure in Ohio, Jones sent another fundraising pitch to the group’s list. “ReformCA has filed its initiative in an open, transparent process with scores of public meetings and thousands of discussions and consultations with every segment of the community,” she wrote in a message read by many recipients as drawing a comparison between the AUMA team and the group behind the failed Ohio effort, the latter of which wasn’t broadly supported within the marijuana reform community. “ReformCA remains committed to building a united movement for reform that benefits all Californians, not just ‘Big Marijuana.’”
Jones did not respond to Marijuana.com’s request for comment about Lee’s endorsement of the AUMA effort prior to press time.
Lee, in an interview on Tuesday, said that CCPR board members are working with AUMA’s drafters to “make some improvements that we think could be made” to its language, but he wouldn’t specify which provisions in particular were sticking points.
Nate Bradley, who is also on CCPR’s board and is the executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association, which endorsed AUMA on the day it was filed, said in an interview that he is “very excited” about Lee’s endorsement.
“It’s important for CCPR to join the coalition, so we can all stand in support as one unified voice,” Bradley said. “This will allow us to work together to make sure the AUMA is the best drafted initiative it can be.”
The Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Policy Project, two of the most well-funded organizations in the cannabis law reform movement, have also signed on to support AUMA. Previously the groups cooperated with CCPR’s Reform California effort as it held a series of listening sessions across the state, but they asked that their logos be removed from its website in the weeks leading up to the AUMA language being filed.
It is unknown when or whether CCPR will hold a board vote on formally endorsing the Parker effort.
Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and a CCPR board member, held out hope for unity. “One thing California has in abundance is smart, responsible reformists who have dedicated years of their lives to legalizing, regulating and controlling marijuana,” he said in an email, emphasizing he wasn’t speaking on behalf of any organization. “We’re all after the same thing and I hope we’re able to work together to achieve it.”
Lawmakers Tell Obama to Fire DEA Head Over Marijuana Comments
A bipartisan group of members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama on Thursday demanding that he fire DEA head Chuck Rosenberg for calling medical marijuana a “joke.”
Rosenberg’s “statements are indicative of a throwback ideology rooted in the failed War on Drugs,” the lawmakers, led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), wrote. “They do not reflect the overwhelming body of testimonial evidence, reforms happening across the country at the state level and in Congress, or the opinion of the American people – and they certainly don’t reflect statements you’ve made or actions you’ve directed your agencies to take. Rather, these statements demonstrate Mr. Rosenberg is not the right person to lead the DEA.”
The letter follows an impassioned floor speech Blumenauer delivered on Wednesday in which he called Rosenberg “an inept, misinformed zealot who has mismanaged America’s failed policy of marijuana prohibition.”
Joining Blumenauer in signing the new letter are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Sam Farr (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Jim McDermott (D-WA).
They wrote that Rosenberg’s comments “send a clear signal to the American people that the federal government isn’t listening to them. It erodes trust. Cavalier statements like these fly in the face of state policy and the experience of millions of patients. Over 75 percent of the public supports allowing for the use of medical marijuana if recommended by a physician and surveys have found that a majority of physicians also support legalizing medical marijuana.”
The letter comes after nearly 100,000 people signed a Change.org petition decrying Rosenberg’s comments and calling for him to be fired or resign.
“Through his statements, Mr. Rosenberg has demonstrated he is not the right person to hold the job as head of the DEA and we urge you to find new leadership that can work to develop the right tools to properly rationalize our treatment of marijuana,” the members of Congress wrote to the president.
A group of medical marijuana patients has announced that they will deliver printed copies of the petition to DEA headquarters on Friday.
Congressman Demands Change at DEA: Medical Marijuana Is No ‘Joke’
A member of Congress who is leading the fight to reform federal marijuana laws took to the House floor on Wednesday morning and called for the head of President Obama’s top drug war official.
In the speech, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) added his voice to tens of thousands of others that have demanded the firing or resignation of Chuck Rosenberg, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), following his description of medical marijuana as a “joke.”
More than 90,000 people have signed a petition demanding Rosenberg’s ouster.
“What is a joke is the job Rosenberg is doing as acting DEA administrator,” Blumenauer said. “He is an example of an inept, misinformed zealot who has mismanaged American’s failed policy of marijuana prohibition.”
The Change.org petition calling for Rosenberg’s firing was uploaded by the organization Marijuana Majority less than two weeks ago and already has more signatures than an earlier one that helped lead to the resignation of previous DEA administrator Michele Leonhart, who also opposed medical marijuana.
(Full disclosure: The author of this article is the founder of Marijuana Majority.)
Rosenberg’s comments are a “throwback ideology rooted in the failed war on drugs, which needs to stop,” Blumenauer said. “This culture needs to change. Leadership needs to change. Rosenberg is clearly not the right fit for the DEA in this administration.”
The congressman has sponsored and signed on to numerous marijuana policy reform proposals, including a measure that would prevent DEA from spending money to interfere with the implementation of state medical marijuana laws. He has also sponsored legislation to allow military veterans to more easily access medical cannabis by working with their doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I would hope that the president directs the heads of all relevant agencies to adjust their policies, clarify regulations that deal with marijuana laws, establish policies that reflect changing state laws and, most important, reflect the president’s own position,” Blumenauer said, referring to President Obama’s saying his administration has “bigger fish to fry” than going after low-level marijuana offenders.
“It’s time that the rest of his administration gets on board, and it should start with a new head of” DEA, Blumenauer said.
See video of his floor speech demanding change at the DEA here.
Bernie Sanders Pledges to Reform Federal Marijuana Laws
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, just endorsed ending the federal criminalization of marijuana.
“Right now, marijuana is listed by the federal government as a Schedule I drug—meaning that it is considered to be as dangerous as heroin. That is absurd,” Sanders said at a rally with a large group of college students on Wednesday night.
“In my view, the time is long overdue for us to remove the federal prohibition on marijuana,” he continued. “In my view, states should have the right to regulate marijuana the same way that state and local laws now govern the sale of alcohol and tobacco. And among other things, that means that recognized businesses in states that have legalized marijuana should be fully able to use the banking system without fear of federal prosecution.”
If Sanders turns his campaign proposal into legislation, it will mark the first time in history that a bill to end federal marijuana prohibition has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
Dan Riffle, a Congressional lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project, said on Twitter that legislation is coming, and that it will look similar to a 2011 House bill which would have exempted marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act except for maintaining a prohibition on transporting or shipping the drug to places that have not legalized it.
@_cingraham @germanrlopez His bill will look a lot like this: https://t.co/N8JGVN3a2C Possibly identical.
— Dan Riffle (@DanRiffle) October 28, 2015
“In 2015, it is time for the federal government to let states go forward as they best choose,” Sanders said at the rally. “It is time to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol. It is time to end the arrests of so many people and the destruction of so many lives for possessing marijuana.”
Earlier this month, Sanders made history at CNN’s Democratic debate by becoming the first major presidential candidate to indicate that he would personally vote for a legalization ballot measure if given the chance.
The time is long overdue for us to take marijuana off the federal government’s list of outlawed drugs.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 29, 2015
Sanders’s campaign also launched a marijuana petition on its website on Wednesday, indicating that top strategists surrounding the candidate see the inherent list-building and fundraising value in taking on a strong, visible leadership role on the issue.
Click here to find out what else Bernie Sanders and other presidential candidates have said about marijuana.