“I look forward to working closely with Congress and our allies to continue the efforts to end prohibition, repair the harms it has caused, and enact new policies centered on science, safety, and justice,” Fox said.
The post Longtime Cannabis Policy Expert Morgan Fox Hired to Oversee NORML’s Federal Advocacy Efforts appeared first on NORML.
Legislation permitting licensed retailers to sell marijuana products to those ages 21 or older took effect on Saturday, January 1.
The post Montana: Era of Adult-Use Marijuana Sales Begins appeared first on NORML.
“Tens of thousands of Americans unduly carry the burden and stigmatization of a past conviction for behavior that is no longer considered to be a crime. Our sense of justice and our principles of fairness demand that officials continue to take action in order to right the past wrongs of cannabis prohibition and criminalization.”
The post Colorado: Governor Issues Pardons to Over 1,300 Marijuana Offenders appeared first on NORML.
New state and local laws amending marijuana policies will take effect on the first day of the new year.
The post Several States to Usher In the New Year with Cannabis Liberalization Laws appeared first on NORML.
Let’s make 2022 a huge year for legalization. I’ll match all donations up to $20,000, double your impact!
The post Rick Steves: Let’s Win in 2022 appeared first on NORML.
Following the validation of 132,887 signatures by state officials, lawmakers will have up to four months to consider the legalization measure. If lawmakers fail to act on the proposal, organizers will then need to collect an additional 132,887 signatures to place it before voters on the November 2022 ballot.
The post Ohio: Citizens’ Petition Seeks to Compel Lawmakers to Hold Marijuana Legalization Vote appeared first on NORML.
“Virginians 21 and older ought to have access at the already-operational dispensaries sooner rather than later, and they have been very clear in their demands to move earlier the date of sales,” said Jenn Michelle Pedini, NORML’s Development Director and the Executive Director of Virginia NORML.
The post Virginia: Oversight Committee Urges Lawmakers to Expedite Launch of Retail Cannabis Sales appeared first on NORML.
Baltimore’s mayor, Brandon M. Scott, said: “[O]utdated and costly pre-employment drug and alcohol screenings only served to block qualified and passionate residents from obtaining employment with the City. … I am grateful that we are making this change now so that we can continue to improve local government operations and better serve the people of Baltimore.”
The post Baltimore: City Officials Move to Abolish Pre-Employment Drug Screens for Many Public Employees appeared first on NORML.
California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued an information bulletin to all district attorneys, chief justices, and court executive officers across the state calling for all prosecuting agencies and courts to “prioritize implementation of the cannabis resentencing process provided under Health and Safety Code Sec. 11361.9 so Californians can promptly obtain the relief to which they are entitled under the law.”
While serving in the state assembly, Bonta was the author of Assembly Bill 1793, which codified the law requiring the DOJ to identify cannabis cases eligible for expungement and send that information to county DAs by July 1, 2019. The DAs then had until July 1, 2020 to review all cases and inform the court and the public defender’s office in their county that they are challenging a particular case.
The bulletin states:
As of December 1, 2021, DOJ has identified that there are still past convictions in the state summary criminal history information database that are potentially eligible for recall or dismissal of sentence, dismissal and sealing, or re-designation pursuant to Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) (HSC section 11361.9.)…we are aware that there are some prosecuting agencies that have not provided a complete listing of cases to the court for processing. In this event, the court may not have been able to “reduce or dismiss the conviction” or subsequently “notify the department of the recall or dismissal of sentence, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation.”
Since AB1793 went into effect, many in CA have been able to make a fresh start, but there are still some waiting for relief.
I urge counties to prioritize updating outdated cannabis convictions. DOJ is here to help & we’re committed to seeing this through.https://t.co/kMrMl3AFVZ
— Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) December 15, 2021
Cal NORML has been tracking the expungement process whereby many DAs announced they had released cases to the courts for dismissal in 2020; however others did not. In any case, the courts must then act to clear records and there is no deadline in the law for them to do so. The state Judicial Council, which opposed AB 1793 and asked for $5 – $25 million to implement it (and reportedly received $14 million), released some preliminary, unvalidated information in March 2021 from a survey it did of state courts showing that many counties have yet to fully comply with the law. LA NORML director Bruce Margolin reported in October 2021 that a client of his suffered consequences of an unexpunged MJ conviction from Marin county.
“The DOJ is here to assist and ready to help,” says the AG’s bulletin. “All existing disposition reporting methods can be utilized to report this data to the DOJ. Additionally, the DOJ created a new data reporting method that can be used specifically for these cases.”
“We welcome AG Bonta’s leadership in moving prosecutors and courts in compliance with state law clearing or resentencing past marijuana convictions, and enabling California citizens to move on with their lives,” said Cal NORML deputy director Ellen Komp. People can check their criminal records via the DOJ site for $25 (and have that fee waived).
Specifically, the data identified a 38 percent year-over-year reduction in self-reported marijuana use among eight graders, a 38 percent decline among 10th graders, and a 13 percent decrease among 12th graders.
The post Government-Funded Study Shows Unprecedented Decline in Marijuana Use By Young People appeared first on NORML.