Marijuana

Earlier this month, a Louisiana judge sentenced a 35-year-old man to prison for the rest of his life—for marijuana. According to the Times-Picayune, Cornell Hood II was charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute after law enforcement found approximately two pounds of marijuana and $1,600 in cash in Hood’s home. The jury convicted him of a lesser charge, but the prosecutor used Hood’s prior convictions to seek a life sentence anyway, arguing Hood was a “career criminal.” What were Hood’s prior convictions? In 2005 and 2009, he pled guilty to selling marijuana. Obviously, Hood has been making his living selling marijuana for the past half-dozen years, and selling marijuana for recreational use is still a crime in this country. But Hood’s offenses involved no violence, no damage or theft of property. He was sentenced to probation in each of his prior cases. Setting aside the question of whether jailing a person for life for marijuana can be ethically justified, let’s look at whether it’s smart.

Today, two troubling news stories on medical marijuana are in the headlines in Washington. The first is the federal government's raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane. The second is Governor Gregoire's expected veto of SB 5073, the thoughtful and comprehensive medical marijuana bill passed by the state legislature with leadership from Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Rep. Eileen Cody.

Let’s be clear:Senate Bill 5073, the medical marijuana legislation moving through the state legislature, isn’t perfect.  Different stakeholders with different motivations have made a lot of changes to it along the way. It’s no one’s ideal bill.

Roger Roffman, professor emeritus at the University of Washington, offered a thoughtful piece in the Seattle Times yesterday, calling for more dialogue and less rhetoric in the debate over legalizing marijuana.

According to the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s recent online poll, over 70% of respondents support Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson’s bill to regulate and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older. HB 1550 directs the Washington State Liquor Control Board to regulate marijuana production and sales. According to the Chamber’s website, supporters noted that legalization and regulation “would raise revenue and allow law enforcement to concentrate its resources elsewhere.”

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has released its proposed budget through fiscal year 2012. It requests $26.2 billion to “reduce drug use and its consequences” in the United States, representing an increase of $322.6 million, or 1.2%, over the 2010 budget.  Once again, however, ONDCP is emphasizing the importance of treatment and prevention while spending the majority of it's money on conventional law enforcement programs. As this blog has pointed out previously, approximately 60% of the budget goes to law enforcement and only 40% to treatment and prevention.

Washington patients suffering from diseases like cancer, HIV, and MS do not have safe access to medical marijuana. We should not force seriously ill people and their families to turn to the black market. It doesn't have to be this way. Tell your senator to support Senate Bill 5073 which creates state-licensed dispensaries that will provide adequate, safe, and secure sources of medical marijuana. 

Last week the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee dedicated an entire two hour hearing to HB 1550, which would tax and regulate adult marijuana use. It seems that legislators are finally giving this issue the attention it deserves.

Tomorrow, the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee will hear testimony on HB 1550. This bill would regulate and tax marijuana for adults twenty-one and older. Marijuana production and sales would be regulated by the Washington State Liquor Control Board. The Senate Committee on Health and Long-Term Care will vote on Monday afternoon, whether to advance SB 5073, the Medical Use of Cannabis Act. This legislation would provide qualifying patients protection from arrest for their medical use of cannabis, and give law enforcement a bright line with comprehensive regulation of the production and dispensation of medical cannabis.