Thousands Of Californians To Have Their Marijuana Convictions Dismissed

(NORML) San Francisco city officials announced plans yesterday to begin reviewing and automatically expunging thousands of past marijuana possession convictions.

The District Attorney’s office says that it will review, dismiss, and seal an estimated 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions dating back to 1975. The office also intends to review and resentence many past felony convictions.

Provisions in the state’s 2016 voter-approved marijuana law allow those with past marijuana convictions to petition the court for expungement. However, because this process that is often time consuming and can cost hundreds of dollars in legal fees, San Francisco’s D.A. George Gascón says that his office will instead “wipe out convictions en masse.”

New Mexico Introduces Marijuana Legalization Bill

Santa Fe, NM (DPA) – Today, New Mexico State Representative Javier Martinez introduced House Bill 312 to tax and regulate marijuana. Rep. Martinez envisions an industry that will support economic growth and begins to dismantle failed drug war policies that hurt New Mexicans.

New Mexico’s current marijuana policies are widely recognized as broken. “The war on marijuana has been a miserable failure,’’ said Representative Martinez. “We spend millions of dollars criminalizing people who use marijuana without seeing benefits to public health or safety. We need to legalize marijuana in New Mexico and stop the harm that disproportionally impacts those who are living in poverty and those who are Black, Native and Hispanic/Latino. A marijuana conviction can have tragic long-term consequences for individuals and families. People may lose jobs or be unable to secure employment because of a criminal record. Students who incur a marijuana conviction can lose their student loans. The punishment doesn’t fit the offense and New Mexicans agree we should remove penalties and instead tax and regulate marijuana.”

Man accused of illegal grow faces child abuse charge because of trim found near dollhouse

(GreeleyTribune) A man accused of illegally growing 57 pot plants in his home in Greeley could face a heavier sentence because his alleged crimes occurred less than 500 feet from University Schools.

Graham Loines, 33, was arrested Thursday on five charges, including cultivation of more than 30 marijuana plants, distribution of marijuana and extraction of marijuana concentrate.

He also faces a child abuse charge because ATF and Weld County Drug Task Force agents found a box of trimmed plant parts and stems near a child’s play area and a pink doll house “as if the occupants were ‘trimming’ near the children’s play area,” according to the affidavit for his arrest.

Once weed-friendly California county bans marijuana

SAN FRANCISCO (Cannabist) — A previously pot friendly rural Northern California county has reversed course and banned commercial marijuana farms, paving the way for lawsuits from growers who previously received permits and paid taxes.

A newly constituted Calaveras County board of supervisors last week voted 3-2 to ban marijuana, giving some 200 farmers with permits about three months to wind down operations. The vote to ban occurred less than a month after California authorized retail sales of marijuana for recreational use in cities and counties that approve of pot operations within their borders.

Calaveras County growers with permits said Wednesday they are planning to sue. Each permit cost $5,000 and the county has collected more than $7 million in taxes from marijuana growers since 2016.

Florida Supreme Court Disbars Medical Marijuana Lawyer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida lawyer was disbarred Thursday for telling clients it was OK to possess, use and grow marijuana for medical use — more than two years before Florida approved medical marijuana.

The Florida Supreme Court said in its order that some of Ian Christensen’s clients were arrested and some lost their jobs because of his bad advice. One client who was provided a “grow sign” to announce he was cultivating marijuana at home was arrested after someone saw the sign and called 911. Another client growing marijuana had a SWAT team storm his home.

Man opens fire at West Hollywood hotel when staff tells him to lose his weed

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (Cannabist) — Authorities say a man fired a gun several times outside an upscale Los Angeles-area hotel in a fit of rage after staff told him to get rid of his marijuana.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Charles Duncan says the man in his 30s was asked to leave after a dispute over pot. Duncan says as the man was leaving he shot four or five rounds into the air. He then got into a silver hatchback, driven by a woman, and sped off.

Medical Marijuana Bills Introduced in Kansas

(MPP) Kansas lawmakers began their 2018 legislative session last week with several marijuana bills before them, including SB 187 / HB 2348, the Kansas Safe Access Act. This bill would create an effective medical marijuana program in Kansas.

These bills were introduced in 2017 (the legislative session carries over from 2017 to 2018), yet never even received a hearing. And, Kansas is one of only two states in the entire U.S. that does not even have a limited low-THC medical cannabis law. Seriously ill Kansans deserve better.

If you are a Kansas resident, please ask your representatives to show compassion and allow patients access to treatments that can help alleviate the suffering associated with serious conditions like cancer, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy. Medical marijuana can also help reduce patients’ use of dangerous opiates.