Wash. Senate approves fix to state marijuana law

In this photo taken Thursday, April 4, 2013, one- to two-week-old marijuana starts sit under lights at a growing facility in Seattle. Spreadsheets, statistics and bean-counting are Mike Steenhout's, comptroller of Washington’s Liquor Control Board, regular realm of expertise. Now, he’s a weed guy. Washington’s vote last fall to legalize marijuana for adults over 21 and set up a system of state-licensed pot growers, processors and retail stores left dozens of Liquor Control Board employees in the position of having to research and help regulate a substance that many knew little to nothing about. While the state has hired a Massachusetts firm to serve as its official marijuana consultant, the Liquor Control Board is also doing its own work--a cannabis crash-course. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The Senate approved a measure Saturday, that prosecutors and crime lab scientists say is needed because of concerns that a provision in Washington's new legal marijuana law jeopardizes their ability to go after any pot crimes at all.

The measure that passed unanimously defines marijuana as part of the cannabis plant containing more than 0.3 percent of delta-9 THC and THC acid. Supporters said the change was a technical fix needed to help police and prosecutors distinguish marijuana from industrial hemp, which is grown for its fiber. The House approved the bill on Friday and it now heads to the governor.

The recreational marijuana law currently defines marijuana only by its content of the intoxicating compound delta-9 THC. Scientists with the state crime lab say that often, even potent marijuana can have less than 0.3 percent of delta-9. It's only when heated or burned that THC acid turns into delta-9 THC, and they argue that marijuana should be defined by the combined amounts of both compounds.

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You Don't Have to Use Marijuana to Celebrate 4/20 or Support Legalization

This Saturday is April 20th, a date increasingly known as a holiday for celebrating marijuana.

But this 4/20 -- the first since two U.S. states voted to legalize marijuana -- don't just party. With momentum on our side, let's use the "holiday" as an opportunity to build the movement to change even more marijuana laws. Colorado and Washington State may have made history by voting to replace prohibition with systems to tax and regulate marijuana, but there are still 48 states to go.

Some people think that only marijuana users should worry about the impact of our marijuana laws. In truth, we all pay for the enormous costs of enforcing marijuana prohibition. Police made more than 750,000 marijuana arrests in 2011, and your tax dollars paid for it.

At a time when concerns about the deficit and debt are growing and policymakers are putting cuts to programs like Social Security and Medicare on the table, legalizing and taxing marijuana could generate billions of dollars a year in new revenue.

But it's worse than a money problem. While cops are busy arresting people for marijuana possession, nearly four of ten murders, six of ten rapes and nine of ten burglaries go unsolved. Allowing cops to re-focus their attention on protecting public safety and stopping real crime is something that should concern us all, tokers and abstainers alike.

And as long as marijuana remains illegal, gangs and drug cartels will control the market, oftentimes using violence as a means to protect their tax-free profits. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that Mexican drug cartels are operating drug distribution networks in more than 1,000 U.S. cities. We all want safe communities, but keeping marijuana illegal means more criminals setting up shop on our street corners.

Thankfully, many non-users are adding their voices to the debate about marijuana laws and are getting involved in the movement to change them. For example, we can be pretty sure that conservative evangelical Christian Pat Robertson doesn't smoke spliffs after taping episodes of "The 700 Club," but he does think "we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol" by legalizing, regulating and taxing it.

Similarly, no one suspects that people like California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, federal Judge Richard Posner or the editorial board members of the conservative magazine National Review are stoners, but they've all called for changes to our marijuana laws.

This growing anti-prohibition attitude among non-users extends beyond celebrities to the general public. Indeed, polls and federal studies reveal that the percentage of Americans who support legalizing marijuana (52 percent) is greater than the percentage who have ever used marijuana (42 percent) and much greater than the percentage who use it on a regular basis (just 7 percent have used in the past month).

You don't have to be a marijuana user to know it's time to change our failed, expensive and dangerous marijuana laws.

So this 4/20, please do celebrate how far the movement to change failed marijuana laws has come. But don't rest on your laurels or be fooled into thinking that legalization is inevitable. Get involved. Join an organization like Marijuana Majority so you can find out when your local policymakers are addressing marijuana laws. Share some marijuana reform news on Facebook and Twitter. And talk to your friends and family about the reasons even non-users should care about changing marijuana laws.

We're on track to end prohibition, but it's going to take hard work, money and constant pressure on politicians to enact the marijuana laws that voters want. We can do it, but only with your help.

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Illinois House Approves Use of Medical Marijuana

abcnews.go-The Illinois House Wednesday approved a measure to allow physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients with specific terminal illnesses or debilitating medical conditions.

Lawmakers voted 61-57 for legislation that creates a four-year pilot program that requires patients and caregivers to undergo background checks, limits the amount of marijuana patients can have at a time, and establishes cultivation centers and selling points.

The legislation now goes to the state Senate, where a version of the bill was approved in 2009. Senate President John Cullerton's spokeswoman said this week that he supports the legislation.

Gov. Pat Quinn hasn't said whether he would sign the measure should it reach his desk.

Supporters said marijuana can relieve continual pain without triggering the harmful effects of other prescription drugs. They touted the legislation as a compassionate measure that would save patients from the agony caused by illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV.

"I know every single one of you have compassion in your heart, this is the day to show it," said Rep. Lou Lang, the sponsor of the bill. "... Let people feel better, let them have a better quality of life."

The bill lists more than 30 medical conditions for which patients can be prescribed marijuana.

The legislative proposal prohibits patients from growing their own marijuana. Instead, the state must approve 22 cultivation centers, as well as 60 dispensaries where patients could buy the drug after getting a prescription from a doctor with whom they have an existing relationship. The legislation sets a 2.5 ounce limit per patient per purchase.

Lang, a Democrat from Skokie, said the bill is the strictest in the nation. Still, opponents say the program would encourage the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.

"It's going to cause confusion in our communities," said Republican Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro. "... I guarantee you that we will be back adjusting this legislation or we would be back in this floor for the legalization of marijuana."

Lang and other supporters have been trying to legalize medical marijuana for several years. A measure that had cleared the Senate failed in the House in 2011, when six Republicans and 50 Democrats voted yes.

Quinn on Wednesday said the bill's sponsor hasn't reached out to him to build support on the measure.

The Democratic governor said he was recently visited by a veteran suffering from war founds who was helped by the medical use of marijuana. Quinn said he was "impressed by his heartfelt feeling" on the issue.

"I'm certainly open-minded to it," he said.

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

A report issued earlier this month by the Pew Research Center poll showed that 77 percent of Americans say marijuana has legitimate medical uses.

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The bill is HB1.

Online: http://www.ilga.gov

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Indisputable Evidence That Cannabis May Be The Most Nutritional Vegetable In The World

Grow Cannabis Indoors