Cannabis Study House - NORML Weekly News in Audio 2008.4.24

Weekly News in Audio

April 24, 2008

"Radical" Russ Belville
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California Medical Cannabis Bill Headed to Assembly Floor -- Bill Would Forbid Employers From Firing Based on Medi-Pot Status

Argentina Court Rules for Decriminalization of Cannabis Possession

NYC Bar Association to Discuss Cannabis Prohibition in New York

Sacramento, CA:
California Medical Cannabis Bill Headed to Assembly Floor -- Bill Would Forbid Employers From Firing Based on Medi-Pot Status

AB 2279, a measure that would protect Californians from being fired from their jobs for their state-licensed medical cannabis use outside of the workplace was approved by the Assembly Labor Committee in a 6-2 vote on April 17th. It will now head to the Assembly floor for a vote in the near future.

The bill, introduced by Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) seeks to reverse a January California Supreme Court ruling in Ross v. RagingWire that held that an employer may fire someone solely on the basis of their medical cannabis use during non-work hours. In that decision, the Court ruled 5-2 against plaintiff Gary Ross.

The measure would not change existing state law prohibiting medical cannabis consumption at the workplace, and would exempt safety-sensitive positions from the new requirements. Assemblymembers Patty Berg (D-Eureka), Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) and Lori Saldana (D-San Diego) are joining Assemblyman Leno in co-sponsoring this legislation.

"The California Supreme Court decision said that an employer may fire someone solely because they use medical marijuana outside the workplace," said Leno in a previous statement. "Long ago, the legislature prohibited patient use of medical cannabis in the workplace or during working hours. AB 2279 is merely an affirmation of the intent of the voters and the legislature that medical marijuana patents need not be unemployed to benefit from their medicine."

AB 2279 is supported by several nationwide organizations, including the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and the National Lawyers Guild.

California was the first state to enact medical cannabis legislation following the passage of Proposition 215 via initiative in 1996, and expanded the program with the passage of SB 420 through the legislature in 2003.

Twelve states now have medical cannabis statutes on their books. Additionally, Michigan will vote on an initiative to adopt medical cannabis legislation this November. Minnesota and Rhode Island’s respective legislatures are also considering pro-reform medical marijuana legislation this year.

For more information, contact NORML Legal Director Keith Stroup at (202) 486-5500.
Constituents in California can write their Assemblymembers in support of this bill at:
http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=11090156.

Buenos Aires, Argentina:
Argentina Court Rules for Decriminalization of Cannabis Possession

In a ruling on Wednesday, a federal court in Buenos Aires ruled that the criminalization of the possession of personal amounts of cannabis and other drugs is unconstitutional, according to the Argentinean newspaper El Financiero. The case stems from the conviction of two teenagers arrested for possession of marijuana cigarettes and ecstasy at a rave in May of 2007.

The Argentinean Supreme Court still must review the case before it becomes law.

Should the Supreme Court rule in accordance with the lower court, it would pave the way for the striking of the convictions of thousands of Argentinean citizens for minor marijuana possession offenses, which would ultimately result in the suspension of their sentences and their release if still imprisoned.

The law, when drafted, was based on the concept that the arrest of drug consumers attacked the base of a chain that led to narcotraffickers. However, in its ruling, the court stated that the law had generated "an avalanche of cases targeting consumers without climbing up the ladder of drug trafficking."

The ruling is in accordance with the political views of Argentinean president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who favors decriminalizing the consumption of drugs. Last month at a UN meeting in Vienna on drug laws and enforcement, Argentina’s Minister of Justice, Anibal Fernandez, said that the policy of punishing drug consumers was a "total failure."

In contrast, Thomas Shannon, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said that cooperation on fighting drugs is an area of converging interest for the United States and Argentina after meeting with President de Kirchner earlier this month.

For more information, contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500.

New York, NY:
NYC Bar Association to Discuss Cannabis Prohibition in New York

The New York City Bar Association will host a lecture entitled ‘New York City’s Marijuana Arrest Policy: Thirty Years After Decriminalization,’ on Wednesday, April 30, at 6:30 PM.

Based principally on the research of Professor Harry Levine, Ph.D of Queens College, and Deborah Small, Esq., head of the non-profit group Breaking the Chains, (along with the longstanding criminal justice research of Bruce D. Johnson, Ph.D) the lecture will review and discuss law enforcement patterns and motivations regarding targeting cannabis consumers and alternative policing policies and practices.

Dr. Levine’s and Ms. Small’s research has previously been submitted as testimony to the New York Senate. In that testimony, they focused on cannabis law enforcement practices in New York City, and revealed that arrests for marijuana possession had risen from 39,000 arrests between 1987 and 1996 to 362,000 arrests between 1997 and 2006. In the latter period, 196,000 blacks and 108,000 Hispanics were arrested for cannabis possession, while only 52,000 whites were arrested on similar charges, despite the fact that whites have higher rates of cannabis use than blacks or Hispanics.

Dr. Levine presented this testimony in an address at the 2007 NORML Conference in Los Angeles.

For more information, contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500.

The public and local media are invited and encouraged to attend the lecture at: The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036, at Wednesday, April 30, at 6:30 PM. Dr. Levine’s and Ms. Small’s research and testimony submitted to the New York Senate is accessible at: http://soc.qc.cuny.edu/.

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