Alaska Follows Oregon's Footsteps to Become 3rd and 4th States to Legalize and Regulate Marijuana!

MEASURE 2 TO LEGALIZE, REGULATE MARIJUANA WINS IN ALASKA!

ANCHORAGE–Alaska passed Measure 2, an initiative to allow adults 21 and over to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and up to six plants by a slim margin early this morning. This measure will establish, license and regulate retail stores, cultivation facilities, product manufacturers and testing facilities so consumers will always know that what they're getting is safe, will allow police to focus on violent crime and will ensure that profits benefit the government, not drug cartels. Driving under the influence and public consumption will remain illegal and employers may restrict their employees’ use and localities can ban marijuana establishments though not private possession or cultivation.

The other measure to legalize, regulate and control marijuana on the ballot tonight, Measure 91 in Oregon, passed easily earlier tonight. This makes Oregon and Alaska the third and fourth states to legalize marijuana, after Colorado and Washington and caps off a wonderful night for drug policy reformists that included DC legalizing possession of marijuana and California defelonizing low-level nonviolent drug possession.

“This is a historic day for public safety and for civil rights,” said Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper (Ret.). “Clearly, the people demand change, and their leaders would be wise to follow.”

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is a 501(c)3 nonprofit of cops, prosecutors, judges and other law enforcement officials who want to end the war on drugs.

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California Defelonizes Minor Drug Possession!

PROP 47 TO DEFELONIZE LOW-LEVEL DRUG POSSESSION AND OTHER MINOR, NONVIOLENT CRIMES PASSES IN CALIFORNIA

SACRAMENTO–Proposition 47, the ballot measure to defelonize minor drug possession and other low-level nonviolent crimes passed easily tonight, with the San Francisco Chronice calling the race within an hour of the polls closing, despite dismal voter turnout in the state. The initiative will treat certain crimes as simple misdemeanors, reducing the future prison population and authorizing resentencing for those currently incarcerated for these offenses if they prove they are no longer a threat to public safety. The exemption is a limited one, and will not apply to registered sex offenders or anyone with prior convictions for child molestation, rape or murder. Savings are projected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars and will be redirected to K-12 programs, victim services and mental health and drug treatment.

“This is a win for everyone in California,” said Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Stephen Downing (Ret.). “We’ll save millions keeping nonviolent drug offenders out of state prison, and those resources will be redirected toward public education, victim services, and mental health treatment programs that actually address the problems of addiction.”

For media interviews, please contact 

Darby Beck

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Oregon Becomes the Third State to Legalize Marijuana!!!

MEASURE 91 TO LEGALIZE, REGULATE MARIJUANA IN OREGON PASSES!!!.

Oregon’s Measure 91, to legalize, regulate and control marijuana, though predicted to be a tight race, won by a handy margin in a race called by the Oregonian early in the night. The new regulatory system will be overseen by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, in consultation with the State Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Health Authority and will allow adults over 21 to possess up to eight ounces of marijuana and grow up to four plants. DUI and public consumption will still be illegal and localities may ban marijuana businesses through ballot measures. Revenue from the measure will first go to oversight of the industry and then to schools, mental health and drug treatment services, and local and state law enforcement.

Results for Measure 2 in Alaska, the other initiative to legalize, regulate and control marijuana have yet to come in.

“Having spent years as a prosecutor, I know that Oregon will benefit greatly from regulating marijuana, and that the example set here will influence future states in 2015 and beyond,” said Former Assistant State’s Attorney and Oregon resident Inge Fryklund.

For media interviews, contact Darby Beck

darby.beck@leap.cc

415.823.5496

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DC Legalizes Adult Marijuana Possession!

MEASURE TO LEGALIZE ADULT POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA IN DC PASSES

Washington DC – Ballot Initiative 71, which will legalize the adult possession of 2 ounces of marijuana and allow for home-cultivation of up to 6 plants, but not legalize sales, passed today by a wide margin. Additions to DC tax code cannot come from a ballot initiative, meaning that retail sales will still not be permitted. However, the D.C. Council held a public hearing last Thursday to discuss passage of a separate bill, the Marijuana Legalization and Regulation Act of 2013, which would implement a retail system for marijuana sales. The passage of this bill may delay activation of Initiative 71.

“Today the people have spoken, and right in the shadow of the Capitol, they have stated unequivocally that they want drug policy reform,” said Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. “Tomorrow each Congressperson must choose how he or she wants to be remembered in history: as someone who respected the people’s wishes and worked to end one of the most pernicious problems of the 21^st Century, or as an anachronism, like those prohibitionists who refused to see the writing on the wall in the 1930s.”

The measure will now undergo a 60-day Congressional review period before it becomes law. This article summarizes the possibilities for what happens from here.

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is a 501(c)3 nonprofit of cops, prosecutors, judges and other law enforcement officials who want to end the war on drugs.

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Amendment 2 for Medical Marijuana in Florida Garners Big Majority, Fails to Get 60%

November 4, 2014

AMENDMENT 2 TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN FLORIDA FAILS

Amendment 2, which would have protected patients and doctors from prosecution for using/recommending medical marijuana for serious medical conditions, has failed though it garnered a solid majority of votes. Covered conditions would have included cancer, AIDS, Crohn’s Disease, Parkinson’s "or other conditions for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient," but would not have allowed patients to operate a motor vehicle under the influence, consume marijuana in public or on the job and would not have required insurers to pay for the treatment. Unfortunately, because the initiative was for a constitutional amendment, it needed 60% to pass and looks like it will fall just short of that number.

“This is a loss for the sick, for the elderly, and for all those who care about public safety,” said Special Agent Raymond Strack (Ret.), a Florida resident and spokesperson for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. “The only people who have benefitted from this election are the violent gangs who continue to make money on marijuana’s prohibition.”

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition is a 501(c)3 nonprofit of cops, prosecutors, judges and other law enforcement officials who want to end the war on drugs.

Contact Darby Beck

darby.beck@leap.cc                                                           

415.823.5496

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