Politics

(via chsarrow.com)

Alert I received out of North Dakota:

The North Dakota Democratic Presidential caucus is around the corner, and regardless of which candidate you’re supporting, we encourage our friends to caucus for sensible marijuana policy reform!

You can start by reviewing the responses of both Democratic presidential candidates to the following question, which was asked and addressed as a result of our partnership with Change Politics:

“If elected, how would your administration address the current tension between state and federal marijuana laws?”

If you’d like more in-depth information on the presidential candidates, please see MPP’s website, which has information about all of the remaining candidates. MPP has assigned Sen. Bernie Sanders an A and former Secretary Hillary Clinton a B for their views on marijuana policy reform.

Please feel free to share this with your friends and family across the state, and remember to get out to caucus on Tuesday, June 7!

Sincerely,

Robert J. Capecchi
Director of Federal Policies
Marijuana Policy Project

Source:http://www.theweedblog.com/north-dakota-caucus-for-marijuana-policy-reform/

Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee joined several of her colleagues and members of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) for a press conference on Capitol Hill demanding respect for state laws and fairness for the industry. She prepared this statement:

“Today, I’m pleased to join my colleagues and the National Cannabis Industry Association in making one simple request to Congress: “treat the industry just like any other business.”

It’s past time for the federal government to end its counterproductive overreach into state-legal cannabis markets.

Last week, I was proud to join Harborside Health Center in celebrating the U.S. Attorney’s decision to end its unnecessary case against this health center. While it was victory for Harborside, there are still centers in my district and around the country that continue to face harassment.

Additionally, outdated laws continue to prevent many state-legal businesses from thriving, including our arcane banking laws. These laws serve only to trap these businesses in the cash-only market, restrict their access to capital and prevent them from engaging in simple business-to-business transactions.

Read More:http://www.theweedblog.com/congresswoman-lee-joins-national-cannabis-industry-associations-press-conference/

With the sentence commutationsannounced last week, President Barack Obama has now cut more than 300 harsh drug war prison sentences, more than the previous six presidents combined. Thousands more could be eligible for commutations, but bureaucratic obstacles inside the Justice Department mean the clock is likely to run out before Obama gets a chance to free them.

As part of the Obama administration’s emphasis on criminal justice reform and reducing the federal prison population, then Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Assistant Attorney General James Cole called on nonviolent federal drug war prisoners to seek clemency in April 2014.

Read More:http://www.theweedblog.com/obamas-effort-to-free-drug-war-prisoners-hits-bureaucratic-roadblocks/

Longtime GOP congressman U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) announced his support for the statewide ballot measure known as the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA).

He is the second California Congressman to endorse the measure in as many weeks.  Respected military veteran U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) announced his support last Monday.

Rohrabacher is a 13-term Congressman who is a powerful voice for libertarian values.  He is the co-author of the bipartisan Rohrabacher-Farr amendment which has been passed as part of the Federal Budget and prevents the federal government from prosecuting medical marijuana patients or distributors who are in compliance with the laws of their state.

“As a Republican who believes in individual freedom, limited government and states’ rights, I believe that it’s time for California to lead the nation and create a safe, legal system for the responsible adult use of marijuana,” said Rohrabacher.

Read More:http://www.theweedblog.com/californias-adult-use-of-marijuana-act-auma-endorsed-by-congressman-rohrabacher/

At a rally on Sunday in Madison, WI, Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders reiterated his support for marijuana decriminalization at the federal level.

"We can argue about the science and the pluses and minuses about marijuana, but everybody knows marijuana is not a killer drug like heroin," Sanders said,  “And that is why I have introduced legislation to take marijuana out of the federal Controlled Substances Act. It should not be a federal crime."

Read More:http://www.hightimes.com/read/bernie-sanders-pot-should-not-be-federal-crime