The adult use of marijuana is now legal in nine states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington — as well as the District of Columbia. Come November, additional states may be joining them.
Voters in North Dakota and Michigan will be deciding on marijuana legalization initiatives on Election Day. If past is precedent, these measures likely will emerge victorious at the polls in at least one, if not both, states.
But the fact remains that majority support for ending cannabis criminalization extends far beyond the boundaries of those individual states that have voted for it. In fact, according to statewide polling data compiled from throughout the year, if direct votes on the issue were held today, a majority of the country would be legal.
Specifically:
1. Sixty-two percent of Maryland adults support “making marijuana legal for recreational use,” according to the results of a September 2018 Goucher College poll.
2. Fifty-six percent of likely voters in Minnesota believe that the adult use of marijuana ought to be legal, according to the findings of September 2018 Survey USA poll.
3. Sixty-one percent of Wisconsin voters say, “Marijuana should be fully legalized and regulated like alcohol,” concludes an August 2018 Marquette University survey.
4. Fifty-nine percent of voters in Connecticut support “allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” according to survey data released in August 2018 by Quinnipiac University.
5. Fifty-three percent of Arizona voters “support legalizing marijuana for adults 21 and over,” according to the results of a June 2018 Emerson College poll.
6. Fifty-three percent of registered voters in Texas approve legalizing either small amounts of marijuana (30 percent) or any amount (23 percent), concludes a June 2018 University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.
7. Sixty-three percent of New Mexicans support regulating and taxing adult use marijuana sales, according to the results of a May 2018 poll conducted by the firm Research & Polling Incorporated.
8. Fifty-five percent of Georgia voters endorse legalizing the use of marijuana by adults, according to a May 2018 Survey USA poll.
9. Sixty-three percent of New York voters support "allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” according to the findings of a May 2018 Quinnipiac University poll.
10. Fifty-nine percent of New Jersey residents support "legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use" and 60 percent believe that "legalizing marijuana in New Jersey would help the state's economy,” according to the results of an April 2018 Monmouth University survey.
11. Sixty-six percent of Illinois voters support "the legalization of recreational marijuana if it is taxed and regulated like alcohol,” according to survey data compiled in March 2018 by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
12. Fifty-six percent of New Hampshire residents support the passage of legislation to eliminate criminal and civil penalties for the possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use, according to a February 2018 UNH Granite State poll.
13. Sixty-two percent of registered voters in Florida support "legalizing and regulating marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol,” according to the results of a February 2018 poll conducted by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Laboratory.
Evident from this state-specific data is the reality that Americans’ desire for cannabis legalization is bipartisan — with voters in blue and red states alike expressing majority support. Voters support for legalizing marijuana for medical purposes is even more strongly bipartisan, with super-majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and Independents endorsing reform.
As many federal politicians approach the upcoming midterm elections, and as state lawmakers look ahead to their 2019 legislative sessions, they ought to keep in mind the simple fact that marijuana legalization likely remains far more popular with their constituents than they are — and they ought to legislate accordingly.
Paul Armentano is the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He is the co-author of the book, Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? and the author of the book, The Citizen’s Guide to State-By-State Marijuana Laws.
Source
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Friday, April 20, 2018
Koch Brothers Encourage Republicans To Support Federal Legalization of Marijuana
Since the Koch brothers’ call for a repeal of federal marijuana prohibition, more Republicans have felt emboldened to stand up to the current administration.
The Koch brothers are one of the Republican party’s biggest donors. In fact, they have pledged to donate up to $400 million to Republicans running for office in the 2018 midterm elections. That kind of money carries a lot of weight with the party.
In January, the brothers began throwing that weight around in favor of states’ rights, the legalization of cannabis, and the end of the War on Drugs.
Sent in response to the Attorney General’s ditching of the Cole memo, the statement had some harsh words for Sessions.
“That Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a Republican appointee in a Republican administration, is undoing a Democratic appointee’s work from a Democratic administration is irrelevant,” the letter stated, adding, “Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the decision, and for good reason: It does little to improve the lives of people in our communities.”
Going beyond just defending states’ rights, the statement also labels the war on drugs “misguided” and calls for a “new, smarter approach to drug policy.”
“The administration would be better suited working with members of Congress to reform outdated sentencing laws,” the statement reads. “However well-intentioned these laws were upon implementation, they have ruined lives, torn apart families and communities, and have burdened taxpayers, doing little to keep people safe.”
Republican support is growing
Since the Koch brothers’ statement, more and more Republicans have felt emboldened to stand up to the administration in this matter without fear of losing the support of GOP donors such as the Koch brothers.
Just last week, a bipartisan bill meant to replace the protections provided by the now-defunct “Cole memo” was introduced jointly by Representatives Lou Correa (D-CA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL). The bill is entitled the “Sensible Enforcement Of Cannabis Act.”
Earlier this month, Senator Thom Tillis, another powerful Republican from North Carolina, in a letter addressed to an advocate for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) wrote, “Proposals to legalize marijuana should not be taken lightly. As you may know, I am a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and this issue will likely be discussed this Congress. If this issue comes before the Judiciary Committee or the full Senate, I will carefully consider everything you have said in making a decision on what is best for North Carolina and the country.”
And in late January, a bipartisan group of 54 lawmakers sent a letter to President Trump urging him to call off Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who seems intent on harassing states which have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes.
That letter was not the first action taken by joint members of Congress in reaction to Sessions’ threats. Just days after Sessions announced the death of the Cole Memo in early January, 69 members of Congress signed onto a letter proposing an amendment to the current spending bill that would include recreational marijuana protections.
Top Republicans support ending federal prohibition
In a recent article on Civilized entitled “8 Republicans Who Broke from the Party on Marijuana Legislation,” cannabiz journalist Joseph Misulonas wrote, “The Republican Party tends to adopt the old-school philosophy that marijuana is evil and legalization will be the downfall of society. But there are a few members of the GOP who are willing to speak out and break with the party on the issue.”
In the story, Misuloans discusses the stances of several Republicans, including Senator Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), a former doctor who supports legalizing medical marijuana, Senator Steve Daines (Montana), who once prominently supported a bill that would prevent the DEA from interfering with states with medical marijuana laws, and Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah), one of the oldest members of Congress, who recently came out as a pro-cannabis politician.
Also mentioned in Misuloans’ piece are Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), one of the first people to denounce Sessions’ trashing of the Cole Memo, and Senator Cory Gardner (Colorado), who has been blocking the Department of Justice from receiving any new nominees until Sessions’ reverses his marijuana policies.
In at number one and two on the list are Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) and Dana Rohrabacher (California). Paul supported legalizing medical marijuana nationally while denouncing the War on Drugs. Rohrabacher was a co-author of one of the most important pieces of cannabis legislation currently in play, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, which prevents the federal government from interfering with states that legalize medical marijuana.
While Republicans seem to be warming up to the idea of ending federal prohibition and the War on Drugs, according to a report in Forbes, marijuana legalization “is quickly becoming a mainstream consensus position in the Democratic Party.”
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who introduced the Marijuana Justice Act last August, says that “Legalizing marijuana isn’t a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
Source
Now you are going to see some major changes. For those of you who remember the '80's drug war. You know it was no fun and we also knew that the tide went the other way in favor of prohibition. People losing their homes and families over marijuana,a plant that is lot safer than alcohol and anything the pharmaceutical companies put out.
There is going to be a lot of flip flopping. GOP prohibitionists are going to be scared shitless. They will see that times have changed and that they must make a choice. Side with the Koch brothers and abandon Jeff and Pete Sessions or side with Jeff and Pete Sessions and say goodbye to that Koch brother money. GOP candidates who do not receive Koch brother money don't do so well on election day and it's a little hard to run a campaign when you're broke. Times have changed and they've changed for the better when it comes to marijuana reform.
The Koch brothers are one of the Republican party’s biggest donors. In fact, they have pledged to donate up to $400 million to Republicans running for office in the 2018 midterm elections. That kind of money carries a lot of weight with the party.
In January, the brothers began throwing that weight around in favor of states’ rights, the legalization of cannabis, and the end of the War on Drugs.
Sent in response to the Attorney General’s ditching of the Cole memo, the statement had some harsh words for Sessions.
“That Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a Republican appointee in a Republican administration, is undoing a Democratic appointee’s work from a Democratic administration is irrelevant,” the letter stated, adding, “Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized the decision, and for good reason: It does little to improve the lives of people in our communities.”
Going beyond just defending states’ rights, the statement also labels the war on drugs “misguided” and calls for a “new, smarter approach to drug policy.”
“The administration would be better suited working with members of Congress to reform outdated sentencing laws,” the statement reads. “However well-intentioned these laws were upon implementation, they have ruined lives, torn apart families and communities, and have burdened taxpayers, doing little to keep people safe.”
Republican support is growing
Since the Koch brothers’ statement, more and more Republicans have felt emboldened to stand up to the administration in this matter without fear of losing the support of GOP donors such as the Koch brothers.
Just last week, a bipartisan bill meant to replace the protections provided by the now-defunct “Cole memo” was introduced jointly by Representatives Lou Correa (D-CA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL). The bill is entitled the “Sensible Enforcement Of Cannabis Act.”
Earlier this month, Senator Thom Tillis, another powerful Republican from North Carolina, in a letter addressed to an advocate for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) wrote, “Proposals to legalize marijuana should not be taken lightly. As you may know, I am a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and this issue will likely be discussed this Congress. If this issue comes before the Judiciary Committee or the full Senate, I will carefully consider everything you have said in making a decision on what is best for North Carolina and the country.”
And in late January, a bipartisan group of 54 lawmakers sent a letter to President Trump urging him to call off Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who seems intent on harassing states which have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes.
That letter was not the first action taken by joint members of Congress in reaction to Sessions’ threats. Just days after Sessions announced the death of the Cole Memo in early January, 69 members of Congress signed onto a letter proposing an amendment to the current spending bill that would include recreational marijuana protections.
Top Republicans support ending federal prohibition
In a recent article on Civilized entitled “8 Republicans Who Broke from the Party on Marijuana Legislation,” cannabiz journalist Joseph Misulonas wrote, “The Republican Party tends to adopt the old-school philosophy that marijuana is evil and legalization will be the downfall of society. But there are a few members of the GOP who are willing to speak out and break with the party on the issue.”
In the story, Misuloans discusses the stances of several Republicans, including Senator Bill Cassidy (Louisiana), a former doctor who supports legalizing medical marijuana, Senator Steve Daines (Montana), who once prominently supported a bill that would prevent the DEA from interfering with states with medical marijuana laws, and Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah), one of the oldest members of Congress, who recently came out as a pro-cannabis politician.
Also mentioned in Misuloans’ piece are Senator Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), one of the first people to denounce Sessions’ trashing of the Cole Memo, and Senator Cory Gardner (Colorado), who has been blocking the Department of Justice from receiving any new nominees until Sessions’ reverses his marijuana policies.
In at number one and two on the list are Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) and Dana Rohrabacher (California). Paul supported legalizing medical marijuana nationally while denouncing the War on Drugs. Rohrabacher was a co-author of one of the most important pieces of cannabis legislation currently in play, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, which prevents the federal government from interfering with states that legalize medical marijuana.
While Republicans seem to be warming up to the idea of ending federal prohibition and the War on Drugs, according to a report in Forbes, marijuana legalization “is quickly becoming a mainstream consensus position in the Democratic Party.”
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who introduced the Marijuana Justice Act last August, says that “Legalizing marijuana isn’t a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.”
Source
Now you are going to see some major changes. For those of you who remember the '80's drug war. You know it was no fun and we also knew that the tide went the other way in favor of prohibition. People losing their homes and families over marijuana,a plant that is lot safer than alcohol and anything the pharmaceutical companies put out.
There is going to be a lot of flip flopping. GOP prohibitionists are going to be scared shitless. They will see that times have changed and that they must make a choice. Side with the Koch brothers and abandon Jeff and Pete Sessions or side with Jeff and Pete Sessions and say goodbye to that Koch brother money. GOP candidates who do not receive Koch brother money don't do so well on election day and it's a little hard to run a campaign when you're broke. Times have changed and they've changed for the better when it comes to marijuana reform.
62 Percent Of Americans Oppose Jeff Sessions’ War On Weed
The current U.S. administration’s stance on marijuana makes us feel like we’ve travelled back in time to the Nixon-era War on Drugs.
In fact, Donald Trump has expressed an interest in reviving the drug war, citing the Phillipines as an example of a place where strong penalties have worked to reduce the amount of drug-related crime (except it really hasn’t).
But almost two-thirds of Americans don’t agree with the position that the federal government has taken on marijuana enforcement federally.
According to the 2018 Civilized Cannabis Culture Poll, conducted with market research company PSB, 62 percent of Americans either oppose or strongly oppose Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ war on weed.
This is something that is evident when you look at the strides that individual states have made with regards to decriminalization and legalization, as the substance is still highly prosecutable under federal law.
Surprisingly, 27 per cent of cannabis users in the United States actually support the position that the federal government has taken with regards to marijuana, although it certainly seems like they’re shooting themselves in the foot there.
But it seems that Jeff Sessions doesn’t really need our permission: he’s still working at a total crackdown of marijuana usage and distribution, even though it’s not what most Americans want.
Source
I suggest sharing this with our elected officials in the House,Senate and even the Donald himself. Especially Trump because Trump has the power to snap Sessions back into line. The more of us they hear from the better so let's contact them right away.
In fact, Donald Trump has expressed an interest in reviving the drug war, citing the Phillipines as an example of a place where strong penalties have worked to reduce the amount of drug-related crime (except it really hasn’t).
But almost two-thirds of Americans don’t agree with the position that the federal government has taken on marijuana enforcement federally.
According to the 2018 Civilized Cannabis Culture Poll, conducted with market research company PSB, 62 percent of Americans either oppose or strongly oppose Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ war on weed.
This is something that is evident when you look at the strides that individual states have made with regards to decriminalization and legalization, as the substance is still highly prosecutable under federal law.
Surprisingly, 27 per cent of cannabis users in the United States actually support the position that the federal government has taken with regards to marijuana, although it certainly seems like they’re shooting themselves in the foot there.
But it seems that Jeff Sessions doesn’t really need our permission: he’s still working at a total crackdown of marijuana usage and distribution, even though it’s not what most Americans want.
Source
I suggest sharing this with our elected officials in the House,Senate and even the Donald himself. Especially Trump because Trump has the power to snap Sessions back into line. The more of us they hear from the better so let's contact them right away.
There may be hope
Like I said there may be hope. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX32),Chairman of the Congressional Rules Committee,has power but not absolute power. There is a way to defeat him. The following will explain it all:
The House may under certain rules remove the bill or measure from committee (known as "discharging the bill from committee") if the committee fails to report the measure to the House Rules Committee or to the full House and a negative report to the full House does not terminate the bill. The phrase that a "bill has been killed in committee" is not completely accurate as the full House always has options under the rules to remove the bill from Committee and to take action.
Source
Contact your Congressional Representative and tell them to take pro-legalization bills out of the hands of Pete Sessions. We've got to get serious about this. The more of us they hear from the better so contact them right away.
The House may under certain rules remove the bill or measure from committee (known as "discharging the bill from committee") if the committee fails to report the measure to the House Rules Committee or to the full House and a negative report to the full House does not terminate the bill. The phrase that a "bill has been killed in committee" is not completely accurate as the full House always has options under the rules to remove the bill from Committee and to take action.
Source
Contact your Congressional Representative and tell them to take pro-legalization bills out of the hands of Pete Sessions. We've got to get serious about this. The more of us they hear from the better so contact them right away.
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Kevin Sabet-Sharghi royally steps in it
Marijuana legalization is up for a vote in Illinois. Both sides are present in Illinois to lobby for or against marijuana legalization. Guess who else was out there? Our old friend Kevin Sabet-Sharghi. Leader of Smart Approaches to Marijuana aka SAM. Using the word "smart" to describe this group is like using the word "tiny" when discussing a large person. To prove it the Kev himself made the following statement:
“We think marijuana is taking cues from Big Tobacco,” Sabet said. “This is not about mom and pop stores growing weed, this is all about Wall Street and Silicon Valley, rich white guys who want to get richer off marijuana.”
“I hope we’ll have more balance in this debate, we talk about both revenue and cost, we do a comparison,” Sabet said. “We’re advocating to slow down legalization, smarter policies, more prevention, a holistic way to look at substance abuse.”
Source
2nd paragraph: IOW blah blah blah.
I don't usually take this route but it is difficult to take this guy seriously. Yes he made both a racist and sexist statement. Has anyone else brought this up? As of right now at posting time: no they haven't. I guess the anti-choice,anti-freedom types like the Kev and his cohorts have to rely on both racism and sexism to promote their cause. The more things change the more they stay the same.
“We think marijuana is taking cues from Big Tobacco,” Sabet said. “This is not about mom and pop stores growing weed, this is all about Wall Street and Silicon Valley, rich white guys who want to get richer off marijuana.”
“I hope we’ll have more balance in this debate, we talk about both revenue and cost, we do a comparison,” Sabet said. “We’re advocating to slow down legalization, smarter policies, more prevention, a holistic way to look at substance abuse.”
Source
2nd paragraph: IOW blah blah blah.
I don't usually take this route but it is difficult to take this guy seriously. Yes he made both a racist and sexist statement. Has anyone else brought this up? As of right now at posting time: no they haven't. I guess the anti-choice,anti-freedom types like the Kev and his cohorts have to rely on both racism and sexism to promote their cause. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Top Senate Democrat Pushes Bill To End Marijuana Prohibition
In one of the clearest signs yet that the politics of marijuana are rapidly shifting in favor of those who support legalization, one of Congress's most vocal longtime proponents of the war on drugs is filing legislation to end federal cannabis prohibition.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced on Thursday that he will soon introduce a bill to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act altogether so that states can set their own policies.
"The legislation is long overdue," he said in an interview with VICE News. "I've seen too many people's lives ruined because they had small amounts of marijuana and served time in jail much too long."
The news comes on the same day that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joined two other potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates in sponsoring even more far-reaching marijuana legislation.
That bill, the Marijuana Justice Act, would not only exempt cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, but would also withhold funding from states that have racially disparate marijuana enforcement rates.
“With this announcement, Senator Schumer has effectively made it clear that a legislative priority for the Democratic Party is to end the federal prohibition of marijuana," Justin Strekal, political director of NORML, said. "As Democratic Leader, it is his role to ensure that the caucus as a whole falls in line with this public policy position -- a position that is held by more than 60 percent of Americans."
Schumer's bill would also "create some funding for minority and women-owned marijuana businesses, provide money for research into overall effects of marijuana and its specific effect on driving impairment," VICE News reported.
In 2004, Schumer was recognized by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America as a "Guardian of a Drug-Free America" for his work on drug enforcement legislation. In 2011 he sought to crack down on Bitcoin, seeing it as facilitating illegal drug transactions on the Internet.
Schumer first showed signs he was shifting away from his support for outright cannabis prohibition in 2014, when he said during an MSNBC interview that he supported letting states enact their own marijuana laws without federal interference.
Describing states as “laboratories,” he said, "I think having the states experiment is a good idea.”
The next year, in 2015, he started turning that talk into action by signing on as a cosponsor of legislation to allow states implement their own medical cannabis laws without federal interference.
Earlier this year, the Democratic Senate leader criticized the move by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to rescind Obama-era guidance that has generally allowed states to implement marijuana legalization policies.
Chuck Schumer
✔
@SenSchumer
6 Jan
The Attorney General’s decision to rescind the Cole memo was a very bad one & I oppose it.
Chuck Schumer
✔
@SenSchumer
I believe that the States should continue to be the labs of democracy when it comes to recreational & medical marijuana. Jeff, this is one place where states’ rights works. Let each state decide.
1:27 PM - Jan 6, 2018
1,959
723 people are talking about this
Now, Schumer is introducing a bill to end the federal war on marijuana altogether.
VICE News
✔
@vicenews
BREAKING: Senator Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) changes position and says he will submit a bill aimed at decriminalizing marijuana. See the exclusive interview on VICE News Tonight at 7:30PM on @HBO
1:17 PM - Apr 19, 2018
1,817
1,121 people are talking about this
By removing the drug from the Controlled Substances Act altogether, a process known as descheduling, states will be free to set whatever marijuana laws they want, and people following those laws will be protected from federal intervention as long as their cannabis activity doesn't cross state lines or violate local policies.
Schumer also told VICE News that he has no problem supporting legalizing marijuana on the state level in New York.
“My personal view is legalization is just fine,” he said. “The best thing to do is let each state decide on its own.”
But Strekal, of NORML, said that simply ending criminalization isn't enough, and that communities harmed by the drug war should be able to benefit from the newly legal economy.
“As states start dialing back their war on marijuana consumers, it is important that those who were impacted by this oppressive prohibition are able to see previous harms remedied, and be provided the opportunity to participate in the benefits that come along with legalization and regulation," he said.
Source
While I am not a fan of excluding white males this is a start and with Schumer leading the charge for the Democrats to legalize marijuana this is a tremendous boost. With Schumer backing this bill chances are it will get farther than it would otherwise. Schumer has done a good thing and for that we should thank him. Click here to contact Senator Chuck Schumer and thank him for backing this bill. The more of us he hears from the better so let's contact him right away.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced on Thursday that he will soon introduce a bill to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act altogether so that states can set their own policies.
"The legislation is long overdue," he said in an interview with VICE News. "I've seen too many people's lives ruined because they had small amounts of marijuana and served time in jail much too long."
The news comes on the same day that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joined two other potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates in sponsoring even more far-reaching marijuana legislation.
That bill, the Marijuana Justice Act, would not only exempt cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, but would also withhold funding from states that have racially disparate marijuana enforcement rates.
“With this announcement, Senator Schumer has effectively made it clear that a legislative priority for the Democratic Party is to end the federal prohibition of marijuana," Justin Strekal, political director of NORML, said. "As Democratic Leader, it is his role to ensure that the caucus as a whole falls in line with this public policy position -- a position that is held by more than 60 percent of Americans."
Schumer's bill would also "create some funding for minority and women-owned marijuana businesses, provide money for research into overall effects of marijuana and its specific effect on driving impairment," VICE News reported.
In 2004, Schumer was recognized by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America as a "Guardian of a Drug-Free America" for his work on drug enforcement legislation. In 2011 he sought to crack down on Bitcoin, seeing it as facilitating illegal drug transactions on the Internet.
Schumer first showed signs he was shifting away from his support for outright cannabis prohibition in 2014, when he said during an MSNBC interview that he supported letting states enact their own marijuana laws without federal interference.
Describing states as “laboratories,” he said, "I think having the states experiment is a good idea.”
The next year, in 2015, he started turning that talk into action by signing on as a cosponsor of legislation to allow states implement their own medical cannabis laws without federal interference.
Earlier this year, the Democratic Senate leader criticized the move by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to rescind Obama-era guidance that has generally allowed states to implement marijuana legalization policies.
Chuck Schumer
✔
@SenSchumer
6 Jan
The Attorney General’s decision to rescind the Cole memo was a very bad one & I oppose it.
Chuck Schumer
✔
@SenSchumer
I believe that the States should continue to be the labs of democracy when it comes to recreational & medical marijuana. Jeff, this is one place where states’ rights works. Let each state decide.
1:27 PM - Jan 6, 2018
1,959
723 people are talking about this
Now, Schumer is introducing a bill to end the federal war on marijuana altogether.
VICE News
✔
@vicenews
BREAKING: Senator Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) changes position and says he will submit a bill aimed at decriminalizing marijuana. See the exclusive interview on VICE News Tonight at 7:30PM on @HBO
1:17 PM - Apr 19, 2018
1,817
1,121 people are talking about this
By removing the drug from the Controlled Substances Act altogether, a process known as descheduling, states will be free to set whatever marijuana laws they want, and people following those laws will be protected from federal intervention as long as their cannabis activity doesn't cross state lines or violate local policies.
Schumer also told VICE News that he has no problem supporting legalizing marijuana on the state level in New York.
“My personal view is legalization is just fine,” he said. “The best thing to do is let each state decide on its own.”
But Strekal, of NORML, said that simply ending criminalization isn't enough, and that communities harmed by the drug war should be able to benefit from the newly legal economy.
“As states start dialing back their war on marijuana consumers, it is important that those who were impacted by this oppressive prohibition are able to see previous harms remedied, and be provided the opportunity to participate in the benefits that come along with legalization and regulation," he said.
Source
While I am not a fan of excluding white males this is a start and with Schumer leading the charge for the Democrats to legalize marijuana this is a tremendous boost. With Schumer backing this bill chances are it will get farther than it would otherwise. Schumer has done a good thing and for that we should thank him. Click here to contact Senator Chuck Schumer and thank him for backing this bill. The more of us he hears from the better so let's contact him right away.
Saturday, September 30, 2017
The Benghazi Attack Is Finally Being Properly Prosecuted
On the night of June 15, 2014, eight Americans—six Delta Force operators, an F.B.I. agent, and an Arabic translator—travelled in rubber boats across the Mediterranean and arrived on a beach in Benghazi, Libya. They hustled across the sand and snuck into a nearby safe house. Their plan was to lure and capture Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the alleged ringleader of the most politicized terrorist attack since 9/11.
Twenty-one months earlier, on September 11, 2012, Khatallah had, according to federal prosecutors, coördinated the assault on the American Consulate in Benghazi. Two State Department officials, including the U.S. Ambassador, Christopher Stevens, died in that attack, and two C.I.A. contractors were killed in a subsequent firefight at a nearby C.I.A. facility.
A day after the eight-man team beached on the coast, one of Khatallah’s associates unwittingly led Khatallah to the safe house. As soon as Khatallah stepped into the dark villa, several soldiers pounced on him. He tried to kick, punch, and bite his way free, without success. The F.B.I. agent present—who has been identified in court by only a surname, “Johnson”—brought Khatallah into a bathroom, where he covered the suspect’s eyes, plugged his ears, and stuffed a bit into his mouth. The team then hustled Khatallah across the beach, boarded its boats, and raced toward the U.S.S. New York, a twenty-five-thousand-ton* amphibious transport dock made, in part, with steel recovered from the World Trade Center towers, and waiting offshore.
The Benghazi attack has been thoroughly scrutinized. The Republican-led House of Representatives spent millions of dollars and held hearing after hearing on the matter during President Barack Obama’s second term. But the lawmakers leading the hearings seemed more focussed on Hillary Clinton and her colleagues—trying to find any missteps they made before, during, or after the attack that could be used for political purposes—than on the alleged perpetrators of the violence itself.
Meanwhile, the hunt for Khatallah was being pursued by operators and analysts from the C.I.A., Joint Special Operations Command, and the F.B.I. One of the biggest questions for them was what to do with Khatallah once they found him. Counterterrorism officials considered a drone strike or a lethal raid, a former military official told me, but President Obama and the Justice Department wanted to capture him alive and bring him to the United States to stand trial.
This was not a straightforward task. American officials did not have sufficient confidence in the Libyan police to coördinate with them for Khatallah’s arrest. And the F.B.I. wasn’t in a position to pursue Khatallah on its own. Moreover, the intelligence on Khatallah suggested that he could prove difficult to capture—he supposedly carried around a grenade like an explosive cyanide pill.
Officials hatched a hybrid plan: F.B.I. agents would accompany one of the military’s élite manhunting units on the mission for Khatallah. The agents would be present throughout the operation to preserve evidence, so that they, as law-enforcement officials, could later testify in civilian court.
This was a fairly radical concept. Plenty of terrorists had been indicted and tried in American civilian courts, but Khatallah would be the first known case of someone captured through a military mission, Mirandized by law-enforcement officials, and then tried in open court, before a jury. John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, was captured by military and intelligence officers in Afghanistan and charged in civilian court, but he pleaded guilty before going to trial. More typically, terrorists targeted during military raids have been either killed; detained in U.S.-run military prisons, such as Abu Ghraib; handed over, in the case of Iraq or Afghanistan, to local police or intelligence agencies; or, in the years immediately after 9/11, sent to Guantánamo Bay. Osama bin Laden was indicted by a federal court in 1998, three years before the September 11th attacks. But when American Navy seals finally confronted him in Pakistan, in 2011, they shot and killed him.
Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have been vocal critics of trying terrorists in civilian courtrooms. Trump described Obama’s stated desire to close Guantánamo as a “terrible decision,” and Sessions has called the military tribunals at Guantánamo the “perfect place” for terrorism trials.
After his capture, Khatallah was interrogated first by military and intelligence officials. Then, after five days, a “clean team” of law-enforcement officials took over. Michael Clarke, an F.B.I. agent, read Khatallah his Miranda rights and told him that he was entitled to an attorney. Khatallah asked if there was a lawyer on board. There was not.
Speaking through a translator, Khatallah gave Clarke a lengthy statement over the course of the thirteen-day trip across the Atlantic Ocean. In D.C. district court, Khatallah’s current attorney, Eric L. Lewis, has argued that his client’s “slow boat” extradition was unnecessarily drawn out. “The capture of Mr. Abu Khatallah was a spectacular logistical operation . . . [but] a legal failure,” Lewis said at a June hearing. He wanted Khatallah’s statement thrown out. The judge, Christopher Cooper, ruled against him.
Yet Cooper has set some limits to the proceedings. In the run-up to Khatallah’s trial, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, the judge decided that prosecutors would be unable to admit evidence purporting that Khatallah once told an associate that he was intending to kill Stevens’s replacement, too. Allowing such evidence, Cooper said, would heighten “prejudicial risk” and “do little to illuminate the formation and contours” of the actual 2012 attack. It seems, at long last, that someone is intent on paying attention to what actually occurred in Benghazi.
Source
I may disagree with Sessions on marijuana but we are on the same page here. The terrorists need to be held at Gitmo not in American jails.
Twenty-one months earlier, on September 11, 2012, Khatallah had, according to federal prosecutors, coördinated the assault on the American Consulate in Benghazi. Two State Department officials, including the U.S. Ambassador, Christopher Stevens, died in that attack, and two C.I.A. contractors were killed in a subsequent firefight at a nearby C.I.A. facility.
A day after the eight-man team beached on the coast, one of Khatallah’s associates unwittingly led Khatallah to the safe house. As soon as Khatallah stepped into the dark villa, several soldiers pounced on him. He tried to kick, punch, and bite his way free, without success. The F.B.I. agent present—who has been identified in court by only a surname, “Johnson”—brought Khatallah into a bathroom, where he covered the suspect’s eyes, plugged his ears, and stuffed a bit into his mouth. The team then hustled Khatallah across the beach, boarded its boats, and raced toward the U.S.S. New York, a twenty-five-thousand-ton* amphibious transport dock made, in part, with steel recovered from the World Trade Center towers, and waiting offshore.
The Benghazi attack has been thoroughly scrutinized. The Republican-led House of Representatives spent millions of dollars and held hearing after hearing on the matter during President Barack Obama’s second term. But the lawmakers leading the hearings seemed more focussed on Hillary Clinton and her colleagues—trying to find any missteps they made before, during, or after the attack that could be used for political purposes—than on the alleged perpetrators of the violence itself.
Meanwhile, the hunt for Khatallah was being pursued by operators and analysts from the C.I.A., Joint Special Operations Command, and the F.B.I. One of the biggest questions for them was what to do with Khatallah once they found him. Counterterrorism officials considered a drone strike or a lethal raid, a former military official told me, but President Obama and the Justice Department wanted to capture him alive and bring him to the United States to stand trial.
This was not a straightforward task. American officials did not have sufficient confidence in the Libyan police to coördinate with them for Khatallah’s arrest. And the F.B.I. wasn’t in a position to pursue Khatallah on its own. Moreover, the intelligence on Khatallah suggested that he could prove difficult to capture—he supposedly carried around a grenade like an explosive cyanide pill.
Officials hatched a hybrid plan: F.B.I. agents would accompany one of the military’s élite manhunting units on the mission for Khatallah. The agents would be present throughout the operation to preserve evidence, so that they, as law-enforcement officials, could later testify in civilian court.
This was a fairly radical concept. Plenty of terrorists had been indicted and tried in American civilian courts, but Khatallah would be the first known case of someone captured through a military mission, Mirandized by law-enforcement officials, and then tried in open court, before a jury. John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, was captured by military and intelligence officers in Afghanistan and charged in civilian court, but he pleaded guilty before going to trial. More typically, terrorists targeted during military raids have been either killed; detained in U.S.-run military prisons, such as Abu Ghraib; handed over, in the case of Iraq or Afghanistan, to local police or intelligence agencies; or, in the years immediately after 9/11, sent to Guantánamo Bay. Osama bin Laden was indicted by a federal court in 1998, three years before the September 11th attacks. But when American Navy seals finally confronted him in Pakistan, in 2011, they shot and killed him.
Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have been vocal critics of trying terrorists in civilian courtrooms. Trump described Obama’s stated desire to close Guantánamo as a “terrible decision,” and Sessions has called the military tribunals at Guantánamo the “perfect place” for terrorism trials.
After his capture, Khatallah was interrogated first by military and intelligence officials. Then, after five days, a “clean team” of law-enforcement officials took over. Michael Clarke, an F.B.I. agent, read Khatallah his Miranda rights and told him that he was entitled to an attorney. Khatallah asked if there was a lawyer on board. There was not.
Speaking through a translator, Khatallah gave Clarke a lengthy statement over the course of the thirteen-day trip across the Atlantic Ocean. In D.C. district court, Khatallah’s current attorney, Eric L. Lewis, has argued that his client’s “slow boat” extradition was unnecessarily drawn out. “The capture of Mr. Abu Khatallah was a spectacular logistical operation . . . [but] a legal failure,” Lewis said at a June hearing. He wanted Khatallah’s statement thrown out. The judge, Christopher Cooper, ruled against him.
Yet Cooper has set some limits to the proceedings. In the run-up to Khatallah’s trial, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, the judge decided that prosecutors would be unable to admit evidence purporting that Khatallah once told an associate that he was intending to kill Stevens’s replacement, too. Allowing such evidence, Cooper said, would heighten “prejudicial risk” and “do little to illuminate the formation and contours” of the actual 2012 attack. It seems, at long last, that someone is intent on paying attention to what actually occurred in Benghazi.
Source
I may disagree with Sessions on marijuana but we are on the same page here. The terrorists need to be held at Gitmo not in American jails.
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