cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - April 24, 2008 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - April 24, 2008 Posted by CN Staff on April 24, 2008 at 15:48:33 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML California Medical Cannabis Bill Headed to Assembly Floor -- Bill Would Forbid Employers From Firing Based on Medi-Pot Status April 24, 2008 - Sacramento, CA, USASacramento, CA: AB 2279, a measure that would protect Californians from being fired from their jobs for their state-licensed medical cannabis use outside of the workplace was approved by the Assembly Labor Committee in a 6-2 vote on April 17th. It will now head to the Assembly floor for a vote in the near future. The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) seeks to reverse a January California Supreme Court ruling in Ross v. RagingWire that held that an employer may fire someone solely on the basis of their medical cannabis use during non-work hours. In that decision, the Court ruled 5-2 against plaintiff Gary Ross.The measure would not change existing state law prohibiting medical cannabis consumption at the workplace, and would exempt safety-sensitive positions from the new requirements. Assemblymembers Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Lori Saldana (D-San Diego) are joining Assemblyman Leno in co-sponsoring this legislation."The California Supreme Court decision said that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace," said Leno in a previous statement. "Long ago, the legislature prohibited patient use of medical cannabis in the workplace or during working hours. AB 2279 is merely an affirmation of the intent of the voters and the legislature that medical marijuana patents need not be unemployed to benefit from their medicine."AB 2279 is supported by several nationwide organizations, including the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the National Lawyers Guild.California was the first state to enact medical cannabis legislation following the passage of Proposition 215 via initiative in 1996, and expanded the program with the passage of SB 420 through the legislature in 2003.Twelve states now have medical cannabis statutes on their books. Additionally, Michigan will vote on an initiative to adopt medical cannabis legislation this November. Minnesota and Rhode Island’s respective legislatures are also considering pro-reform medical marijuana legislation this year.For more information, contact NORML Legal Director Keith Stroup at (202) 486-5500. Constituents in California can write their Assemblymembers in support of this bill at: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=11090156DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7587 NYC Bar Association to Discuss Cannabis Prohibition in New York April 24, 2008 - New York, NY, USANew York, NY: The New York City Bar Association will host a lecture entitled ‘New York City’s Marijuana Arrest Policy: Thirty Years After Decriminalization,’ on Wednesday, April 30, at 6:30 PM. Based principally on the research of Professor Harry Levine, Ph.D of Queens College, and Deborah Small, Esq., head of the non-profit group Breaking the Chains, (along with the longstanding criminal justice research of Bruce D. Johnson, Ph.D) the lecture will review and discuss law enforcement patterns and motivations regarding targeting cannabis consumers and alternative policing policies and practices.Dr. Levine’s and Ms. Small’s research has previously been submitted as testimony to the New York Senate. In that testimony, they focused on cannabis law enforcement practices in New York City, and revealed that arrests for marijuana possession had risen from 39,000 arrests between 1987 and 1996 to 362,000 arrests between 1997 and 2006. In the latter period, 196,000 blacks and 108,000 Hispanics were arrested for cannabis possession, while only 52,000 whites were arrested on similar charges, despite the fact that whites have higher rates of cannabis use than blacks or Hispanics.Dr. Levine presented this testimony in an address at the 2007 NORML Conference in Los Angeles.For more information, contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500. The public and local media are invited and encouraged to attend the lecture at: The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036, at Wednesday, April 30, at 6:30 PM. Dr. Levine’s and Ms. Small’s research and testimony submitted to the New York Senate is accessible at: http://soc.qc.cuny.edu/Staff/levine/Marijuana-Arrests/HGLevine-graphs-and-testimony-NYState-Assembly-May31-07.pdf DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7589 Argentina Court Rules for Decriminalization of Cannabis Possession April 24, 2008 - Buenos Aires, ArgentinaBuenos Aires, Argentina: In a ruling on Wednesday, a federal court in Buenos Aires ruled that the criminalization of the possession of personal amounts of cannabis and other drugs is unconstitutional, according to the Argentinean newspaper El Financiero. The case stems from the conviction of two teenagers arrested for possession of marijuana cigarettes and ecstasy at a rave in May of 2007. The Argentinean Supreme Court still must review the case before it becomes law.Should the Supreme Court rule in accordance with the lower court, it would pave the way for the striking of the convictions of thousands of Argentinean citizens for minor marijuana possession offenses, which would ultimately result in the suspension of their sentences and their release if still imprisoned.The law, when drafted, was based on the concept that the arrest of drug consumers attacked the base of a chain that led to narcotraffickers. However, in its ruling, the court stated that the law had generated "an avalanche of cases targeting consumers without climbing up the ladder of drug trafficking."The ruling is in accordance with the political views of Argentinean president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who favors decriminalizing the consumption of drugs. Last month at a UN meeting in Vienna on drug laws and enforcement, Argentina’s Minister of Justice, Anibal Fernandez, said that the policy of punishing drug consumers was a "total failure."In contrast, Thomas Shannon, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said that cooperation on fighting drugs is an area of converging interest for the United States and Argentina after meeting with President de Kirchner earlier this month.For more information, contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7588Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: April 24, 2008Copyright: 2008 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #15 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 27, 2008 at 04:44:26 PT Had To Watch DEA Once I watched the first episodeof DEA partly out of curiosity and partly because it comes on after UFC. Decided it's just a glorified COPS. I doubt I'll ever watch it again. People are so sick of seeing COPS beat up Americans with serious drug addictions. The whole thing is so divisive. I wonder how the ratings are doing? I wouldn't mind at all if this series were cancelled for lack of interest. LOL [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on April 25, 2008 at 16:55:58 PT Sam Thank you. My father that was an Accountant told me to invest in a home because it will rise in price over the years and it is real property. What we pay now on our home is less money then a low end apartment in our state. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by sam adams on April 25, 2008 at 16:46:57 PT ohio FOM I'm glad you guys got your own place. If we do have severe inflation I think a house is a fairly good investment, it still has physical value that won't drop as fast as other investments. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on April 25, 2008 at 14:00:22 PT Sam We will become poorer as a nation then ever. I hope people are planning for what is ahead at least emotionally. We've been thru it before back in the 70s so we know how it will be. My husband and I were talking last night about how we made it and have our own home. We moved to Ohio with $400 and my husband had a truck driving job lined up. We bought our first home which was financed by FHA. If we had stayed in PA we would still be renting. If times get tough people often move to where it is more affordable to live. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Sam Adams on April 25, 2008 at 13:46:36 PT NY Bar Great to see these guys getting together to officially recognize cannabis prohibition as a Jim Crow system. Something we're taught to think of as far in the past and far away in the Deep South has actually re-emerged right in downtown Manhattan. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on April 25, 2008 at 13:44:03 PT DEA Our currency is tanking because we've got too many govt. employees running around making $100K+ per year adding NOTHING in terms of productivity.How long can we continue to have all this govt. waste, prison costs, lawyers on both sides, courts, violent crime, and Europe and Canada don't have it. It's no surprise our currency just went down about 50% relative to those to currencies.People don't understand the full ramifications of this. Everything is going to get a lot more expensive, it's only just begun, it will take a few years to happen. That is the cost of the DEA fools playing cops & robbers on Friday night at 4 in the morning. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by dongenero on April 25, 2008 at 09:59:52 PT DEA - Dumb Entertainment America This is a ridiculous propoganda commercial, I mean "reality show".There may be a few cretins that will sit and waste their time watching such crap. (And they talk about Pete's Couch!) These low brain power individuals are unwittingly in the Government's brain washing program for creating new cretin agents.This dumbass program for dumbasses will not last long. Kinda like the DEA. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on April 25, 2008 at 09:25:44 PT runruff That is a show I won't watch. Shows that seriously anger me are not good for my health so I avoid them. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by runruff on April 25, 2008 at 09:08:51 PT: DEA Have you seen the new program on Spike Channel it is called simply, DEA.Warning, do not attempt to view this show without a barfbag.They show these thugs busting into peaceful American homes, guns drawn and the narrator calls them heroes protecting our lives and safety.I thought I was gonna barf! Please have a bag or bucket handy if you decide to check out this dribble! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by The GCW on April 24, 2008 at 20:42:05 PT And think about the incredible reality... And think about the incredible reality... cops down to only being able to SERVE AND PROTECT!Freakin' cops with 10,000 cannabists (CU-420) and all they can do is serve and protect -what they were meant to do. And even then with all those people there is almost no work.No funking work for people paid to work. Standin' there arms folded; no crime - no fights - not even a smirk- what the hell do they do?One thing they do is worry about job security- they have a year to think up some way to create arrests... or the union faces loss of job security.& next year it's on a Monday-there might only be 5,000.-0-"Police and their unions know cannabis prohibition creates jobs they don't want to lose. It's time to stop persecuting, prohibiting and exterminating cannabis and live happily ever after." http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n399/a02.html?273313 [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by The GCW on April 24, 2008 at 20:23:19 PT & proof the wall is weak. The wall is frail and can not hold itself up on it's own. Prohibitionists need props to hold it up, namely the gun.With out their gun the wall falls.The ignoids need guns to hold up their man made wall that has leaks everywhere You look.(Even with their gun, the wall is on it's way down.)((Notice at CU there were 10k people and cops didn't dare pull anything.)) (((When 10K people say they're going to smoke a joint, it time for cops go enjoy another donut -huh?)))-0-The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class- it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.Anna Julia Cooper-seen on the inside of a passport.-0-SO WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF ANTI-FREEDOM? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by The GCW on April 24, 2008 at 19:55:24 PT The Cock Roach. The DEA (people) hunt down harmless humans that have the relatively safe God-given plant cannabis like they are cock roaches.It seems like the DEA is the real live cock roaches. The DEA's effort hunting the superplant is a menace to humanity and everything the Ecologician is about.For mammon; Collecting pay to do a morbid and luciferous deed. In the future, We may find the DEA works for the devil. I believe there are good and evil spirits influencing occurrences, and hunting humans for using what God says is good is the work of filthy evil spirits.I already believe the DEA works for and is controlled by evil spirits, but it may actually be confirmed later.There isn't any good spirit indicating it is ok or wholesom to cage human life for using the plant cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by ekim on April 24, 2008 at 19:45:09 PT and on it goes--when was the last time you danced more and more people are reporting how little it takes LEOs to enter-- just a call from some pay fone-- it use to take at least three peices -- now just a quarter--Richard Cowan reports on some sane and insane but prohibition is to blame.the San Diego police are now trapping medical cannabis delivery services, after having shut down the dispensaries. http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=1013 [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by John Tyler on April 24, 2008 at 17:43:38 PT tear down that wall Mr. Bush, tear down that wall.The other night on cable there was this show called DEA. The part that I saw was pretty sickening so I didn’t watch it long, was about these DEA guys and cops trying to bust a guy for dealing 6 ozs of cannabis. Really small time stuff. They had all of these cop guys wasting multiple man hours tracking down one guy for a few ounces of cannabis, and it was on cable. It just amplified what a cruel farce the drug war is and how it is applied. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by The GCW on April 24, 2008 at 16:14:25 PT The Wall. The wall is getting tired and weak.The wall is failing.Only the most ignorant selfish people wish to stick a finger in the hole to stop the leaks and keep the wall up to hurt their fellow human. They exist but their numbers are dwindling.People are getting wiser and the wall is getting weaker.-0-That means people that used to stuff a finger in the leaking hole in the wall are pulling their finger out, now. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment