Tuesday, thousands of signatures were submitted to South Dakota officials which could bring the issue of legalizing medical marijuana to a public vote in November. The South Dakota Coalition for Compassion turned in more than enough petitions to put the issue on the ballot. They’ve been collecting the petitions for over a year now with a door to door search for signatures as well as other methods.

Patrick Lynch is in support of legalizing medical marijuana and suffers from M.S., which can be treated by medical marijuana. His mother and sister also have M.S. and he’s hoping the issue is on the ballot and passes. “The pros far out weigh the cons on the medical marijuana issue to where if people really truly understood it they would be more receptive of it”

There were around 32,000 signatures collected which is almost twice when compared to what’s needed. The validation will be done by state officials with random sampling and if enough signatures are valid it will be on the November Ballot in South Dakota.

Darcy Jensen works with people dealing with drug addictions. She thinks that South Dakota would end up like other states when it comes to this issue and struggle to control is. She’s also worried about other issues that come with smoking marijuana. “When we have a pill we can take and know exactly how much we’d be getting, why would we get smoking something when how people inhale it how much they put in the joint, what was the quality of it, we can’t measure those things.”

Source

The One-Stop-Weed Shop – Now that medical marijuana is legal in California, people are jumping on the band wagon.

A Hawaii lawmaker plans to introduce legislation this week that would decriminalize adult possession of marijuana, and he’s pointing directly at the Obama administration to justify his decision, according to a published report.

But State Sen. J. Kalani English, a Democrat, isn’t stopping there. A second bill slated for introduction this week would also legalize and levy a tax on medical marijuana dispensaries, which are currently prohibited even though marijuana for medicinal use is not.

“My point is we already legalized medical marijuana, so we should allow the counties to (regulate) the dispensaries . . .” he told The Honolulu Advertiser. “(President Barack) Obama directed the Department of Justice to honor states’ rights, as it should be. It’s a complete reversal of the previous doctrine that the federal trumps the states.”

The paper noted that Hawaii is facing a $1.2 billion budget shortfall for fiscal year 2011. While English did not predict how much revenue would be obtained by taxing medical marijuana, he told the Advertiser that it would be “significant.”

In February, 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that it would be the Obama administration’s policy to not arrest medical marijuana patients, allowing states to determine how best to handle the issue.

The decision marks a shift from the Bush Administration, which was more draconian in its approach to hunting those who sought to dispense marijuana for medical purposes.

Over two dozen states are currently weighing marijuana law reforms ranging from decriminalization to outright legalization.

In California, which will likely vote on legalization in November, 2010, lawmakers predict marijuana taxes would raise at least $1.5 billion in their first year.

However, even if California does legalize marijuana, the plant is still prohibited on the federal level. President Obama has said that he opposes legalization.

via Raw Story

Stoners around the world should roll one up in celebration today.

California state lawmakers have just passed the “first formal consideration of marijuana legalization in American history.” Assemblymember Tom Ammanio’s Assembly Bill 390 – the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act – was heard and voted on in the Committee for Public Safety. The bill passed 4-3, and will next be heard by the Committee for Public Health.

But the vote was only a minor victory for the pro-legalization lobby. (AB 390 may very well die in the health committee.) The real test will come in November, when voters will consider the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, which, in a nutshell, will legalize pot for personal and agricultural use. (Recent polls show about 56 percent support the bill.)

It’s hard to argue that progress isn’t being made for the movement. As the old “Reefer Madness” stereotypes die away, several states are seriously considering marijuana legalization. Check out the headlines from the last few days: “Stiletto Stoners,” “It’s High Time for Debate,” and “Pot Town, USA.”

Clearly, marijuana prohibition has been a failure. Every U.S. citizen can get his or her hands on a baggie of marijuana if they want to, usually within 24 hours. The plant itself can be grown outside or inside by novices – because, frankly, it grows like a weed. A casual smoker is no different than a fan of Budweiser or Coors.

The pro-pot movement looks to California as the first battleground state, where medical marijuana is already generating millions of dollars a year in taxes. As Assemblymember Ammanio’s bill works its way through the red tape, more news is sure to come out about marijuana legalization. Stay informed!