Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year from Legal.Now!

It's the new year. Everyone has New Year's resolutions - and we at Legal.Now are no different. So here are our resolutions - may each and every single one come to pass before 2009 is out!



1. An end to federal raids on law-abiding medicinal marijuana patients.
Under Barack Obama's administration, this is easily the most significant and most 
accomplishable change we can expect this year. Obama has already promised to end federal 
raids of law-abiding medicinal marijuana patients, and with enough pressure from activists, he
can effect this change without any loss in political capital.


2. Proper enforcement of 'lowest priority' laws in districts such as Santa Cruz and Missoula County.
While 'lowest priority' laws are certainly commendable, reports such as the one released last month in Missoula County leave reason to doubt that they are actually being followed. When voters speak and legislation is enacted, law enforcement has an obligation to follow the legislation.

3. Successful decriminalization in Massachusetts.
Huh? Didn't they vote on this just two months ago? Well, yes, but just because a law is on the books doesn't mean anything actually changes.  As far as I am concerned, 'success' in Massachusetts will mean at least three things:

1. The law will not be repealed.

2. Violators will be charged with the appropriate offense (ie, not charged with intent to distribute when the real offense is clearly posession of a few grams in a single bag).

3. There are no negative consequences to the law (such as a sudden spike in violent crime).

4. The media does not portray the law unfavorably.

I am not particularly worried about #3, because every study shows that marijuana use is not connected to violent crime in any way. (Sale and traffiking is another matter). As for the media, while they have not been reporting the facts as faithfully as one would like, they have not been overly biased against the law either. Thus, I would expect that the media will slightly over-emphasize the possibility of negative ramifications, but not any more than they normally do. In all, as long as Massachusetts residents put enough pressure on the legislature not to repeal the law and there is enough pressure on the judicial side to enforce the law fairly, I think that the new law will be a successs.



As you can see, with these three resolutions, we have our work cut out for us, but all three are within the range of possibility. If you have any further ideas for resolutions, contact us, so that we may take proper action.


Happy new year to all!

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