Election Officials Qualified the Initiative Based on a Random Sample of 606,520 Signatures Submitted in May Supporters Say Legalization Will Improve Upon an "Ineffective System of Prohibition" Law Enforcement Opponents Have Been Heavily Outraised So Far Californians' November ballot will include an initiative to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, with the coming campaign likely to reverberate nationwide given the state's size and implications for similar efforts elsewhere. A random sample of more than 606,000 signatures turned in by supporters last month cleared the required threshold, according to an updated tally posted Tuesday by the Secretary of State's Office. [continues 154 words]
As we all know, Gov. Christie is back. No more gallivanting around the country with delusions of the presidency. He's back in time for Bridget Anne Kelly's Bridgegate trial (this April); he's back to get an ear full from the teachers' union, to deal with the pension system, and every Thursday he will once again be confronted by medical marijuana activists who for two years have staged a weekly vigil in front of the State House in support of medical marijuana. [continues 825 words]
As much marijuana as I admit to smoking almost daily. I still loudly proclaim to anyone I am not addicted to marijuana and, as far as I know, no one is; because marijuana is not addictive, but Facebook is. Ibogaine is a cure for addiction (period), it not only works on drugs like heroin, meth, cocaine but addictive behavior like gambling too from what I've been told. Some say it's the best cure for tobacco use as well. Facebook has suspended my Facebook account for one week starting last Sunday 1/2/2016, and ending on Saturday 1/9/2016. I'm suffering big time cyber pains in Facebook jail. As you know I've been to real jail and in real jail people are there who are drug addicts and they suffer physically for lack of their substance it's called withdrawal. It's a horrible experience to be in a cell with a person suffering from withdrawal, the smells, and the dry heaves, the agony is horrible to witness. I admit to being highly addicted to Facebook and I'm going thru severe Facebook withdrawal right now, I'm not dry heaving or throwing up but......ugggh. As much marijuana as I admit to smoking almost daily. I still loudly proclaim to anyone I am not addicted to marijuana and as far as I know no-one is; because marijuana is not addictive but Facebook is. [continues 920 words]
You can read this and say I'm just a dumb stoner and a drug addict, but to be clear I'm far from stupid and I'm not addicted to anything. I don't do drugs; I only smoke "cannabis," which isn't addictive. I've known of the cure for addiction (ibogaine) since July 4, 1998, when I first met Dana Beal of the "cures-not-wars" organization at a legalize marijuana protest in Washington D.C. I admit when I first heard Dana rail on and on about ibogaine I was skeptical. My thoughts were, if there really were a cure for addictions it would be used empathetically across America to save lives. Over the years I learned differently. [continues 927 words]
Jennie Stormes Said Her Son Has Life-Threatening and Frequent Seizures. She's Held Weekly Protests. A nurse who has staged weekly protests about New Jersey's troubled medical marijuana program is joining an exodus of families with ill children for Colorado. Courtesy of Jim Miller Jennie Stormes organized weekly protests against medical marijuana rules she says are too restrictive. Jennie Stormes of Hope, Warren County, said she planned to move in a few weeks because she is "tired of being angry and fighting against Gov. Christie" to convince him that her severely sick son cannot get the relief that cannabis might provide because of the state's numerous restrictions. [continues 581 words]
She Protests Weekly for Changes in the State's Medical- Marijuana Program. Two high-placed advisers to Gov. Christie recently met with a pediatric nurse who has been staging weekly rallies at the statehouse this summer to protest the rules in the medical-marijuana program that she says hurt the patients, including her severely ill 15- year- old son. Jennie Stormes, of Hope, Warren County, has held demonstrations every Thursday since July 10, saying the restrictions make it difficult for her son, Jackson, a marijuana cardholder with epilepsy, to get the relief that cannabis can provide for his life-threatening and frequent seizures. [continues 879 words]
Grandfather Protests for Medical Marijuana and His Family. Frigid temperatures, a looming snowstorm, and a set of jitters did not stop the grandfather of a 2-year-old medical-marijuana cardholder from showing up at Gov. Christie's swearing-in this week. Gene Gatens, a carpenter from Brick, Ocean County, was among a small crowd of 30 protesters to stake out a spot Tuesday near the War Memorial. He hoisted a homemade plywood sign that read, "Don't Force Families to Move for Medicine." [continues 711 words]
SACRAMENTO - Legislation to impose statewide regulation on the storefront sale of medical marijuana advanced this week, but it's unclear how it would affect local ordinances in Inland Southern California and elsewhere that seek to ban the dispensaries. The California Supreme Court is expected to rule within days in a Riverside case that centers on whether local governments can use zoning and land-use authority to block marijuana dispensaries. Commercial marijuana sales continue to be illegal in the view of the federal government. [continues 599 words]
SAN FRANCISCO The California Supreme Court took issue Tuesday with critics of Riverside's ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, with several justices openly skeptical of claims that local governments lack authority to prohibit the storefront sale of pot. Yet some justices also noted that the state's medical marijuana laws, while never explicitly overriding local ordinances, nevertheless call for consistent and uniform application throughout the state. The Riverside case, coming more than 16 years after California voters decriminalized marijuana for medical purposes, could finally settle a thicket of conflicting court opinions about some local governments' attempts to use zoning and land-use authority to prohibit the storefront sale of medical marijuana. [continues 723 words]
It was hard reading Assemblyman Declan J. O'Scanlon Jr.'s July 20 commentary, , "Medical marijuana: the facts," with a subtitle stating that the "Christie administration has been responsive on (the) issue." First, the Christie administration has never responded to any potential medical marijuana patients or organizations that advocate for medical marijuana in regard to their specific concerns about the program's regulations, many of which were added on after the bill was signed into law over 2 1/2 years ago. [continues 181 words]
TRENTON - Princeton resident Vanessa Waltz thought the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act would be flourishing by now. The law allows for New Jersey residents suffering from cancer, AIDS, Crohn's disease and other serious conditions to obtain and use therapeutic cannabis with a doctor's prescription. But two years after Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed the medical pot act into law, the program remains inactive. Waltz said she has Stage 3 cancer, and is out of work. "My job is fighting my cancer," she said. "If the marijuana program began operating, it would give me a great sense of relief." [continues 527 words]
John Wilson, a 38-year-old multiple sclerosis (MS) patient from Somerset, is appealing his recent marijuana conviction to the New Jersey Supreme Court. The trial judge kept crucial facts from the jury, yet an appellate court last month supported the judge's decision. Now the Supreme Court will determine if compassionate justice is possible in New Jersey. About 10 years ago, Wilson was diagnosed with MS, a progressive, neurological disease for which there is no known cure. Wilson's symptoms were headache, blurred vision and numbness from the waist down. Typically, the symptoms of MS worsen over time and may progress to total paralysis and death. [continues 691 words]
SACRAMENTO - California voters likely have not seen the last of efforts to legalize marijuana despite last week's defeat of Prop. 19. Legalization advocates are weighing a return to the ballot in 2012. And the author of an unsuccessful Assembly bill to legalize pot intends to introduce similar legislation early next year. "We had a debate that was just heard around the world. The conversation has only begun," Dale Jones, a yes-on-Prop. 19 spokeswoman, said after Tuesday's election. [continues 559 words]
For most California ballot measures over the years, the debate has been about whether the initiative is good or bad for the state. But what if supporters and opponents don't agree about what the initiative says? That's the case with Prop. 19. The measure, on next month's ballot, would make California the first state in the country to legalize marijuana. The measure would let people possess and cultivate pot for personal use. It also would allow, but not require, local and state governments to regulate and tax the commercial production, distribution and sale of marijuana. [continues 1030 words]
TRENTON -- Legal and medical marijuana advocates say they are gearing up for a court fight if the Legislature relents and gives Gov. Chris Christie the potentially year-long delay he wants before making the drug legally available to chronically ill patients. The New Jersey chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is "ready to fight the state of New Jersey," said Anne Davis, executive director and attorney from Brick. She spoke to a gathering of about 40 protesters and journalists outside the Statehouse today. "We will not accept any delay." [continues 389 words]
As Red Bluff gears up for its money maker, the Red Bluff Round-Up Rodeo, local medical marijuana advocates hope to create another. Plugging the boat hole Medical marijuana user and patient advocate Donna Will is planning the three-day World Hemp Expo Extravaganja 2010 for Memorial Day weekend on Riverside Avenue, just south of Red Bluff at Red Bank Creek. Will said she hopes the event will both ease local tensions over in medical marijuana use and bring in tourist dollars lost from the cancellation of the Red Bluff Nitro Nationals Boat Drag Race. [continues 1007 words]
It was incredible to stand with medical marijuana patients at the Statehouse when the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana bill passed. ("Medical marijuana bill approved in Legislature," Jan. 12.) I have been involved with this for 18 years, and so many people have suffered, waiting for this day. My wife died six years ago after a 32-year battle with multiple sclerosis. For almost a decade, she did everything she could to try to tell her state legislators how marijuana helped ease her spasticity and pain. But Assemblymen James Holzapfel and David Wolfe, as well as Sen. Andrew Ciesla, all R-Ocean, refused to even meet with her. Holzapfel led the charge against the bill on the Assembly floor. He talked about the association of needle exchange, reining in drug free school zones and medical marijuana. [continues 132 words]
RED BANK (Monmouth County, NJ) - Even after spending more than $50 billion a year on the drug war, drugs are more available and drug cartels are more wealthy than ever before according to Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) website. SSDP mission statement is an international grassroots network of students who are concerned about the impact drug abuse has on our communities, but who also know that the war on drugs is failing our generation and our society. SSDP will hold a free screening of the award-winning documentary, "The Union: The Business Behind Getting High" and host speakers Jim Miller, a medical marijuana patient's advocate and director of the non-profit, "Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey" whose late wife suffered from multiple sclerosis. [continues 192 words]
The debate over marijuana could get hotter in the Inland region. As local governments throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties continue pondering how to regulate medical-marijuana dispensaries, groups of San Francisco Bay Area activists are seeking to legalize the drug for all uses in California. The move, supporters say, would save money in reduced law-enforcement costs and allow the state to tax marijuana and collect more than $1 billion in revenue. "Once folks become better informed about how marijuana affects people, about the truths, I think they will be less opposed to the idea," said Scott Bledsoe, of Crestline, who sued San Bernardino County for balking at issuing medical-marijuana identification cards. [continues 960 words]
At first I felt badly about having to work on the Fourth of July. I need money pretty badly and I had an offer to disassemble a set of stairs to an upper deck for a fair price. I also did it in part because I know the Multiple Sclerosis patient who lives at that house couldn't do it by himself, although he could physically help me do it. Shortly after noon he had to take a break to take some medicine, as his muscles were becoming increasingly stiff and pain was creeping into the equation. Having lost my wife after her 32-year battle with MS, I am sensitive to the importance of the medicine my friend was about to take. After only a few puffs of marijuana he was ready to resume our chores. He was alert and without stiffness or pain. [continues 148 words]
