Marijuana Blog

SEATTLE -- A bill that would allow people to have their Washington state misdemeanor marijuana convictions vacated drew some interesting objections Wednesday at a hearing in Olympia.

 

Democratic Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon of Burien told the House Public Safety Committee that after Initiative 502 passed, allowing adults over 21 to have up to an ounce of marijuana under state law, he started thinking about the thousands of people who have criminal records for activity that is now legal -- criminal records that can keep people from getting jobs, housing or loans.

 

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

 

Fitzgibbon's bill would allow them to petition to have their convictions quickly vacated, rather than waiting the three years after completing their sentence that people typically have to wait before making such a request, he said. Since 2008, he said, 1,828 people in Washington have faced misdemeanor convictions where marijuana possession was their only offense.

 

"This is a bill about giving them a second chance," Fitzgibbon said.

 

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com

As anticipated, State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17), who represents parts of Montgomery County, has unveiled the full text of his controversial marijuana legalization bill, called the “Regulate Marijuana Act” — Senate Bill 528 in the current session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, according to a Leach spokesperson.

 

The bill states that “in the interest of the efficient use of law enforcement resources, enhancing revenue for public purposes and individual freedom, the people of this Commonwealth find and declare that the use of marijuana should be legal for persons 21 years of age or older and taxed.”

 

Under the proposed legislation, it would no longer be illegal for a person age 21 or older to possess, grow, process or transport up to six marijuana plants (with three or fewer being mature, flowering plants) and possess the marijuana produced by those plants where they were grown, “provided that the growing takes place in an enclosed, locked space, is not conducted openly or publicly, and is not made available for sale. Additionally, the transfer of up to one ounce of marijuana, without remuneration, to those 21 or older would be permitted.

 

Read more: http://www.thereporteronline.com