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Legal Pot Coming Soon? 50-State Marijuana Law Roundup.


bobandtorey

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The march towards good sense and marijuana freedom continues apace. To give a glimpse of what’s in store for 2014, here’s a 50-state guide to legislation and ballot measures that are in the works thus far this year.

 

 

By my count, 13 states may follow Colorado and Washington State’s lead and legalize recreational use—either at the ballot box or in state capitols. Medical marijuana is on the table in 16 states. Five states may decriminalize possession, replacing criminal penalties with civil fines.

 

Of the 20 states that do not have a push underway this year, 12 have already OK’d medical marijuana or decriminalization. Additionally, activists in at least three states with nothing currently underway are organizing 2016 initiative drives.

The following leans heavily on reportage from The Daily Chronic and an ACLU report, The War on Marijuana in Black and White.

 

Alabama – Decriminalization

Sponsored by Rep. Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham), HB 76 reduces the penalty for first-time possession of up to an ounce for weed to a civil fine that would not appear on one’s record.

 

Additionally, Todd is sponsoring HB 104 with former state trooper Rep. Mike Ball (R-Madison) and Allen Farley (R-Jefferson). The bill allows the patients with serious neurological conditions, or their parents, to seek relaxed sentencing when they are prosecuted for possession. Police in Alabama made 5,235 arrests for possession in 2010.

 

Current law
Recreational: No
Medical: No
Decriminalization: No

Alaska - Recreational

State election officials announced this week that an initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana has reached the required number of signatures. There are still more signatures to be verified, but at this point it looks like a near certainty that the measure will qualify for the August ballot.

“It’s clear to everyone that prohibition is a failed policy,” says Tim Hinterberger, a professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s School of Medical Education and an initiative co-sponsor.

In 2010, police in Alaska made 2,028 arrests for marijuana possession.

 

Read more here

http://reason.com/archives/2014/02/08/legal-pot-coming-soon-50-state-marijuana

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