cannabisnews.com: Denver Prosecutors Dropping MJ Possession Cases
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Denver Prosecutors Dropping MJ Possession Cases
Posted by CN Staff on November 16, 2012 at 11:26:47 PT
By The Huffington Post
Source: Huffington Post
Colorado -- While the federal government remains silent about their intent to enforce marijuana law now that Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana, local prosecutors in the states are already reacting to the new laws by dropping some marijuana possession cases.The Denver Post reports that Denver prosecutors will no longer charge adults 21-and-older for carrying less than an ounce of marijuana. Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey and City Attorney Doug Friednash follow the lead of Boulder County DA Stan Garnett who announced this week that his office would drop all marijuana possession prosecutions for adults for less than an ounce of marijuana as well as possession of marijuana paraphernalia.
Garnett made the announcement via Twitter on Wednesday:Stan Garnett: Due to amendment 64, 20th JD DA's office dismisses pending possession of MJ less than an ounce/MJ paraphenalia cases for defendants over 21.Late last week, prosecutors in Washington State's two largest counties first announced that they would be dropping all misdemeanor marijuana possession cases.After Garnett made the announcement earlier this week, the pot advocacy group behind Amendment 64 called upon Morrissey and other Colorado prosecutors to follow the will of the voters and stop prosecutions of adult possession cases of up to an ounce of marijuana as the bulk of Colorado's marijuana possession arrests occur in Denver."A strong majority of Coloradans made it clear that they do not believe adults should be made criminals for possessing small amounts of marijuana," said Mason Tvert, a proponent of Amendment 64, in a statement. "Colorado prosecutors can follow the will of the voters by dropping these cases today and announcing they are no longer taking on new ones."In Grand Junction, the police have been told to stop issuing ounce-or-less marijuana tickets due to the passage of Amendment 64. The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel obtained a GJPD directive calling for the change in enforcement, which read:Effective immediately it is the policy of the GJPD not to cite persons age 21 or older that possess and/or consume 1 ounce or less of marijuana and/or cultivate and possess 6 or less plants as allowed by the Amendment.Ken Buck, Weld County DA and a vocal opponent of Amendment 64, said in a statement Thursday that his office intends to still prosecute cases that were crimes at the time they occurred. "Accordingly, we will not be dismissing existing marijuana possession cases. But more importantly, our office prosecutes low-level possession cases to get drug users help with their addictions. That practice will continue until state law changes.”Individuals with current possession cases of an ounce or less of marijuana in Denver or Boulder still have to go to court, but can expect a dismissal, 7News reports. The federal government's intent to enforce existing marijuana laws remains unclear, but legislators in Colorado and beyond are already putting pressure on the Obama administration to respect states' rights regarding marijuana legalization. Colorado Reps Diana DeGette (CD1), Ed Perlmutter (CD7) and Jared Polis (CD2) are working on independently and together on legislation that would exempt states that pass marijuana legalization measures from the federal Controlled Substances Act, The Colorado Independent recently reported.Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Ron Paul (R-Texas) announced this week that they are urging President Barack Obama to "respect the wishes of voters in Colorado and Washington" who voted to legalize marijuana."We have sponsored legislation at the federal level to remove criminal penalties for the use of marijuana because of our belief in individual freedom," Frank and Paul wrote in a letter to Obama. "We recognize that this has not yet become national policy, but we believe there are many strong reasons for your administration to allow the states of Colorado and Washington to set the policies they believe appropriate in this regard, without the federal government overriding the choices made by the voters of these states."Both Frank and Paul are ardent supporters of marijuana legalization. In 2011, the two pushed legislation to end the federal ban on marijuana and let the states decide on legalization.Read the full text of Frank and Paul's letter here: http://drugsense.org/url/gF6hhnWnA petition submitted to WhiteHouse.gov by Colorado politics columnist and KHOW talk-show host David Sirota requesting the president support a federal law to project marijuana legalization in Colorado, Washington and any other states that pass similar legislation in the future surpassed its 25,000 signatures goal earlier this week. Having reached its goal, the Obama administration is obligated to officially address the issues raised in the petition.Source: Huffington Post (NY)Published: November 16, 2012Copyright: 2012 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/PGkhagGnCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on November 22, 2012 at 05:45:25 PT
fight_4_freedom
It's been a good year. Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone. I think Ohio might have something on the ballot this coming year I saw on the news. I wish it had been during this past year because Democrats usually only vote in Presidential elections.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by fight_4_freedom on November 21, 2012 at 23:56:16 PT
This is all so surreal to me right now
I still can't believe we are finally at this point. And U really am curious as to why Mr. Obama hasn't said a word....I'm actually thinking (hoping) that's a good sign. Progression. Our state just 5 passed 5 new cannabis ordinances. I guess the the 6 wasn't enough so they wanna try more for the next voting period. I wish MPP would help out like last time. We have plenty of activists. We just need some funds. We could be state number 3 or 4. How's Ohio lookin FOM ?Haven't been keepin up much on that.Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. I love each and everyone of you for what you do and just know, together, we will set ourselves free. We must all stick together.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by Had Enough on November 18, 2012 at 19:52:10 PT
Comment #2
"Voters should remember Ken Buck next time around, and recall how his opinions trump your rights. I nominate Ken (WTF) Buck for Weld County dog catcher."Oh no…don’t wish something like that on the dogs…they didn’t do anything to deserve something like that… :)Voters should just fire that worthless drain on public funds and society…Hey !!!…Maybe he can find a job working in the hemp fields of the future…that’s if he can qualify to operate a rake…We all know he can operate a shovel just by the way he shovels his opinionated crap all over the place…***Dogs…People should be more like them…
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Comment #5 posted by Had Enough on November 18, 2012 at 16:28:35 PT
Ken Buck
I’d be willing to wager…If you were to look at Ken Buck’s personal collection of ‘reference’ material…you would find…Nixon, Vol. 2: The Triumph of a Politician 1962-1972Richard M. Nixon: A Life in FullNixonlandThe Moral Compass: Stories for a Life's Journey (Bill Bennet)************Books he should have read…and comprehended…Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard NixonThe Emperor Wears No Clothes (Jack Herer)
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Comment #4 posted by BGreen on November 18, 2012 at 15:54:46 PT
Ken Buck is just upset
because our karma ran over his dogma. :)The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #3 posted by Hope on November 18, 2012 at 10:33:13 PT
Ken Buck = omnipotent moral busybody
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live
under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.
The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may
at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good
will torment us without end for they do so with the approval
of their own conscience."
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #2 posted by schmeff on November 18, 2012 at 08:56:11 PT
Good Luck Finding a Jury
Ken Buck, Weld County DA and a vocal opponent of Amendment 64, said in a statement Thursday that his office intends to still prosecute cases that were crimes at the time they occurred. "Accordingly, we will not be dismissing existing marijuana possession cases. But more importantly, our office prosecutes low-level possession cases to get drug users help with their addictions. That practice will continue until state law changes.”Here's a guy who, given his way, would probably be out harpooning whales, while his black slaves rowed the boat.Voters should remember Ken Buck next time around, and recall how his opinions trump your rights. I nominate Ken (WTF) Buck for Weld County dog catcher.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by The GCW on November 17, 2012 at 06:14:29 PT
Editorial
Editorial: Colorado DAs right to drop charges for pot http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_22012312/editorial-colorado-das-right-drop-charges-pot
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