OFF THE WIRE
Washington, DC: United States Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), along with a bipartisan coalition of three Republicans and three Democrats, introduced legislation in Congress last week to protect those who engage in the state-authorized use and/or distribution of cannabis.
House Resolution 1523, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act, amends the federal Controlled Substances Act to exempt from federal prosecution those individuals and businesses, including marijuana dispensaries and/or retail outlets, who are compliant with the marijuana laws of their state.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia regulate the consumption of marijuana for therapeutic purposes and several of these states also license facilities to produce and dispense cannabis to qualified patients. Two additional states, Colorado and Washington, allow for the adult, non-medical use of marijuana and are in the process of finalizing regulations regarding the licensed commercial production and retail sale of the plant.
"This bipartisan bill represents a common-sense approach that establishes federal government respect for all states' marijuana laws," Rohrabacher said in a prepared statement, "It does so by keeping the federal government out of the business of criminalizing marijuana activities in states that don't want it to be criminal."
Full text of HR 1523 is not yet available on the Library of Congress' legislative website, Thomas.loc.gov.
House Resolution 1523 is one of several marijuana law reform bills now pending before the United States Congress, including House Resolution 499: The Ending Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013, House Bill 689: the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, and Senate Bill 359: the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Director, at (202) 483-5500.
Legal Issues
House Resolution 1523, the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act, amends the federal Controlled Substances Act to exempt from federal prosecution those individuals and businesses, including marijuana dispensaries and/or retail outlets, who are compliant with the marijuana laws of their state.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia regulate the consumption of marijuana for therapeutic purposes and several of these states also license facilities to produce and dispense cannabis to qualified patients. Two additional states, Colorado and Washington, allow for the adult, non-medical use of marijuana and are in the process of finalizing regulations regarding the licensed commercial production and retail sale of the plant.
"This bipartisan bill represents a common-sense approach that establishes federal government respect for all states' marijuana laws," Rohrabacher said in a prepared statement, "It does so by keeping the federal government out of the business of criminalizing marijuana activities in states that don't want it to be criminal."
Full text of HR 1523 is not yet available on the Library of Congress' legislative website, Thomas.loc.gov.
House Resolution 1523 is one of several marijuana law reform bills now pending before the United States Congress, including House Resolution 499: The Ending Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013, House Bill 689: the States' Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, and Senate Bill 359: the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, or Erik Altieri, NORML Communications Director, at (202) 483-5500.
Legal Issues
Driven by the Drug War, the U.S. prison population is six to ten times as high as most Western European nations. The United States is a close second only to Russia in its rate of incarceration per 100,000 people. In 2006, more than 829,000 people were arrested in this country for marijuana-related offenses alone.
Marijuana prohibition causes far more problems than it solves, and results in the needless arrest of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law abiding citizens each year. The NORML Legal Committee provides legal support and assistance to victims of the current marijuana laws. NORML also monitors developments in state and federal law, and files appellate and amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs in cases which may affect the interpretation of existing marijuana laws, or which will, hopefully, change them.
In 2001, NORML filed an amicus curiae brief in a case before the Supreme Court which involved patient support groups ("buyers' clubs") that provide medical marijuana to seriously ill patients in California. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's decision was not favorable to the buyers' clubs, and now tens of thousands of seriously ill patients who use marijuana to relieve their pain and suffering will no longer have a safe and secure source for their medical marijuana.
In 2002, NORML filed another amicus curiae brief in support of students at an Oklahoma public high school who did not wish to be drug-tested prior to participating in extra-curricular activities such as the chess club, the marching band, and Future Farmers of America.
This section of NORML's website provides important information for the marijuana consumer: state-by-state laws on marijuana penalties; state listings of attorneys on NORML's Legal Committee; a detailed description of your rights, including a NORML Foundation Freedom Card you may print out and carry with you; and information on drug testing and presenting a medical necessity defense.
If you need legal assistance, or have any questions regarding the legal material on this site, please contact the NORML Foundation, at 202-483-8751.
Marijuana prohibition causes far more problems than it solves, and results in the needless arrest of hundreds of thousands of otherwise law abiding citizens each year. The NORML Legal Committee provides legal support and assistance to victims of the current marijuana laws. NORML also monitors developments in state and federal law, and files appellate and amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs in cases which may affect the interpretation of existing marijuana laws, or which will, hopefully, change them.
In 2001, NORML filed an amicus curiae brief in a case before the Supreme Court which involved patient support groups ("buyers' clubs") that provide medical marijuana to seriously ill patients in California. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's decision was not favorable to the buyers' clubs, and now tens of thousands of seriously ill patients who use marijuana to relieve their pain and suffering will no longer have a safe and secure source for their medical marijuana.
In 2002, NORML filed another amicus curiae brief in support of students at an Oklahoma public high school who did not wish to be drug-tested prior to participating in extra-curricular activities such as the chess club, the marching band, and Future Farmers of America.
This section of NORML's website provides important information for the marijuana consumer: state-by-state laws on marijuana penalties; state listings of attorneys on NORML's Legal Committee; a detailed description of your rights, including a NORML Foundation Freedom Card you may print out and carry with you; and information on drug testing and presenting a medical necessity defense.
If you need legal assistance, or have any questions regarding the legal material on this site, please contact the NORML Foundation, at 202-483-8751.