cannabisnews.com: Hailey Delays Decision on Pot Initiatives





Hailey Delays Decision on Pot Initiatives
Posted by CN Staff on December 26, 2007 at 06:06:34 PT
By Terry Smith, Express Staff Writer
Source: Idaho Mountain Express
Idaho -- The Hailey City Council will scratch its collective head a little longer over three sticky marijuana initiatives approved by voters in November. "This is such a unique situation that I feel comfortable for you to take your time in dealing with it," Hailey City Attorney Ned Williamson told the council Thursday evening after discussing a report on the initiatives from the Idaho Attorney General's Office.
The report identifies three legal conflicts with the initiatives. One, marijuana is illegal in Idaho and cities do not have the authority to override state law; two, provisions of the initiatives that require city officials to lobby for reform of marijuana laws violate constitutional free speech rights; and three, the initiative that makes enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest police priority inappropriately meddles with administrative matters. "The observations contained in this letter identify the clearly unlawful provisions of these initiatives," states the report, signed by Deputy Attorney General Mitchell E. Toryanski and dated Dec. 20. "In addition, there are other issues, some of a constitutional nature, that will be problematic if these initiatives are enforced." Williamson told the council that he "literally just got this before the meeting." "The bottom line is that they (the attorney general's office) conclude that major issues of the provisions are illegal," he said. Hailey voters approved three controversial marijuana or hemp initiatives in the Nov. 6 city election. One would legalize medical use of marijuana, a second would legalize the production of industrial hemp and a third would make enforcement of marijuana laws the city's lowest police priority. Based on the attorney general's report, Williamson told the council that it now has three choices. It can either start litigation over the initiatives, repeal them or amend them. Williamson said that if the provisions the attorney general's office determined to be invalid are removed from the initiatives, then all that's left are some policy statements and the establishment of a Community Oversight Committee. All three of the initiatives provided for the establishment of a Community Oversight Committee to iron out the details of implementation, but Williamson said the committee could also be used to make recommendations to the council or even to advocate stricter marijuana laws in the city. Councilman Don Keirn said that establishing the committee didn't seem like a good idea. "If everything else is illegal, what the hell are they going to talk about?" Keirn asked. "I don't think anybody's going to want to sit on a committee that's going nowhere. I go around and talk to people and they say, 'Why would I want to be on that stupid thing.'" The council decided to table the issue until its next meeting, in early January 2008. Source: Idaho Mountain Express (ID)Author: Terry Smith, Express Staff WriterPublished: December 26, 2007Copyright: 2007 Express Publishing, Inc.Contact:  letters mtexpress.comWebsite: http://www.mtexpress.com/Related Articles:Hailey Tables Marijuana Ordinanceshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23508.shtmlHailey Council To Discuss Marijuana Ordinanceshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23503.shtmlKudos To ‘Grass Roots’ Movementhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23478.shtml
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on December 27, 2007 at 12:59:21 PT
potpal
Thank you. I am watching it now. Love and Mercy what beautiful words. 
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Comment #19 posted by potpal on December 27, 2007 at 12:50:20 PT
love and mercy
Didn't take that long to make youtube!http://youtube.com/watch?v=RhldJfHxu88 Enjoy, the power of muzzic.
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Comment #18 posted by OverwhelmSam on December 27, 2007 at 07:46:04 PT
Indecisiveness
I can't decide if we, the people, should take control of the state governments first, or just go straight for the DC politicianss. I'm sure some combination of both are in play now.
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Comment #17 posted by potpal on December 27, 2007 at 05:57:24 PT
fom 
Enjoy your friend's visit! 'tis the season.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7161196.stmCannabis prohibition is a crime against humanity.Peace. Bhutto assassination in very sad.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on December 27, 2007 at 05:34:22 PT
potpal
I didn't know it was on tv. We had a wonderful Christmas. We have a really good friend coming in from Arizona today and it will be fun to see him again.On sad news they just killed Bhutto in Pakistan. 
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Comment #15 posted by potpal on December 27, 2007 at 05:24:00 PT
fom - indeed
It was on TV. But I did enjoy it very much. Excellent muzzic to boot.Hope you had a nice Christmas and here's wishing you a great '08...everyone!
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 26, 2007 at 20:29:30 PT
potpal
It sounds like you had a great time.
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Comment #13 posted by potpal on December 26, 2007 at 19:58:40 PT
kennedy honors
Wow. The boys choir from south London blew me away...Awesome production.
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Comment #12 posted by HempWorld on December 26, 2007 at 19:05:16 PT
Headline Should Be: Hailey Delays Democracy ...
For the umpteenth time, our rulers and masters are subverting the popular vote. No matter how you vote, eventually WE (your rulers and masters) will decide what is good for you!Now run along, go get drunk and smoke 2 or 3 packs of cigarettes a day, you rascals!Go figure ...
On a mission from God!
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Comment #11 posted by The GCW on December 26, 2007 at 17:11:05 PT
Supreme Court Justice Gerald Eric Le Dain - DEAD
Canada: Former Supreme Court Judge Probed '60s, '70s Drug Use (Died)Pubdate: Mon, 24 Dec 2007Source: Province, The (CN BC)http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1489/a07.html?397Former Supreme Court Justice Gerald Eric Le Dain, who also led a landmark commission into drug use in Canada in the '60s and '70s, has died. Le Dain, who died in Toronto last week, was 83. Appointed to the Supreme Court in 1984 by Pierre Trudeau, the Montreal-born Le Dain was a law professor and dean of the Osgoode Hall law school. But before being named to the country's top court, the Second World War veteran steered a commission of inquiry into the non-medical use of drugs, from 1969 to 1973. The commission's report recommended marijuana be removed from the Narcotic Control Act and that the provinces control possession and cultivation, similar to government controls on the use of alcohol. The LeDain commission also interviewed Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, for the report. "The one thing that can be said about marijuana is it's non-violent," Lennon said. "If any government wanted to use it to calm people, they have got the ultimate weapon." Le Dain served on the Supreme Court for four years and retired in 1988. His funeral will be held on Dec. 28 in Ottawa. -0-The LeDain commission has been mentioned so many times by cannabis activists to stop the persecution of cannabis, and this is the guy that made it happen.Since then, a host of other studies have come up with the same findings:Even Canada’s 2002, Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs’ unanimously recommended to regulate cannabis the same way as alcohol. -0-There are so many studies that call for re-legalizing the God given plant that it exposes the opposition as a combination of IDIOTS, IGNOIDS, PROFITEERS, REEFER MADNESS PROPAGANDISTS, ANTI-AMERICANS, ANTI-CHRISTS, !MISNOMER!-CHRISTIAN RIGHT, MENTALLY DEFICIENT REPUBLICANS AND WEAK DEMOCRATS ETC. ETC. doing the works of the devil.
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Comment #10 posted by Had Enough on December 26, 2007 at 16:48:15 PT
Re: #6
Thanks Paul, Good work. Keep on keeping on.Can you do one on the Rainbow Farm?
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on December 26, 2007 at 16:09:41 PT
BGreen
We saw that too. I really don't understand the amount of drug use in teens. Don't their parents notice changes in the children's behavior? Diet pills were about all that was used and not all the time either for my generation and they were from the doctor. 
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Comment #8 posted by BGreen on December 26, 2007 at 16:04:39 PT
"Cheese" is another product of prohibition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_(recreational_drug)I saw this on tonight's NBC news and it really pisses me off.Kids are now dying from heroin combined with "Tylenol PM," which is the deadly poison acetaminophen combined with diphenhydramine, the antihistamine sold as "Benadryl." Any one of these three substances can cause death, but mixed together and sold for as little as $2 per "hit," this is a deadly mix.This new deadly product of the war against cannabis is killing kids and making addicts out of eighth graders in North Texas. I'm sure it's coming to the rest of our neighborhoods before long.The NBC story said that three years ago the treatment facilities in N. Texas were filled with marijuana users but now 90%+ are there for "cheese."Well, the vile, repulsive prohibitionists have once again sentenced more kids to death while trying to eliminate cannabis, the only so-called "drug" that has never directly killed anyone.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 26, 2007 at 14:34:27 PT
OT: Mexican Marijuana is Still Plentiful and Cheap
The popular drug's prices have changed little in 25 years.December 24, 2007 
A car, a home, a gallon of milk — most everything costs more now than a generation ago. Except a baggie of Mexican marijuana.Give or take a few dollars, authorities say, pot grown in Mexico and sold in Houston and other Texas cities still goes for about the same price as 25 years ago: $60 to $80 for an ounce.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5401314.html
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Comment #6 posted by paul armentano on December 26, 2007 at 13:47:46 PT
Counterpunch.org: No-Knock, You're Dead
December 26, 2007Ending America's Domestic QuagmireNo-Knock, You're DeadBy PAUL ARMENTANOA growing number of political pundits are questioning America's military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some are beginning to draw parallels to lawmakers' much longer domestic war effort: the so-called war on drugs. The comparison is apropos.READ THE FULL TEXT AT:http://www.counterpunch.org/armentano12262007.html
http://www.counterpunch.org/armentano12262007.html
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Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on December 26, 2007 at 10:00:43 PT
How it used to be:
1883: Hashish smoking parlors are open for business in every major American city. According to police estimates, in 1883 there are 500 such parlors in New York City alone.http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/mj004.htm
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Comment #4 posted by dongenero on December 26, 2007 at 08:16:51 PT
Bogus excuses.
No need to reinvent the wheel. There have been a number of these resolutions passed and implemented in other communities. Figure out which approaches are already working in these communities, pick the ball up there and move forward.Put your big brains to use!Obstructionist Attorney Generals and committee members lead nowhere. For some poeple, their sole contribution is to determine all the reasons why something will never work rather than finding ways to make things work. This is not the mindset that made America great.
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Comment #3 posted by Richard Zuckerman on December 26, 2007 at 07:41:33 PT:
CORRECTION: THEIR RESOLUTION WAS IN 2004.
Berkeley, California's local RESOLUTION came out in 2004, not 1994.
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Comment #2 posted by Richard Zuckerman on December 26, 2007 at 07:39:43 PT:
WHEN ITS LEGAL EFFECT IS THAT OF A RESOLUTION!
Even if the local law may not be binding on the State and federal government, it is nevertheless useful as a form of RESOLUTION.RESOLUTIONS can be educational, too. Berkeley, California, came out with a RESOLUTION back in 1994 calling for the overruling of the United States Supreme Court case holding a Corporation is entitled to protection under the United States Constitution as a "person". Their RESOLUTION cites the full title of the Santa Clara case, which I have not been able to find anywhere, though I have looked that hard.
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Comment #1 posted by Treeanna on December 26, 2007 at 07:25:56 PT
So?
Since when is the AG allowed to pass binding decisions on what the law is?
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