potforfreedom.com » Uncategorized http://potforfreedom.com/main An Oklahoma based site dedicated to educating Oklahoma and the world about cannabis,hemp and marijuana. Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:10:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 en Take our survey!! http://potforfreedom.com/main/2010/02/23/take-our-survey/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/2010/02/23/take-our-survey/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:10:22 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?p=453 Marijuana

Should Oklahoma focus on medical marijuana, industrial hemp or complete legalization? Please rate: A number 1 being the least Important and the number 5 being the most important.

Take Our Survey Now

]]> Marijuana

Should Oklahoma focus on medical marijuana, industrial hemp or complete legalization? Please rate: A number 1 being the least Important and the number 5 being the most important.

Take Our Survey Now

Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/2010/02/23/take-our-survey/feed/ Links http://potforfreedom.com/main/links/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/links/#comments Sat, 13 Feb 2010 08:21:50 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?page_id=448 Be sure to thank Moms For Marijuana for the following links.Thanks!!

Educational Cannabis Cures Cancer

cannabiscurescancer.org

Information regarding Cannabis & Cancer

DEA Drugs of Interest - Marijuana

www.justice.gov/dea/concern/marijuana.html

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration viewpoint & Information on Marijuana

Green Passion

www.greenpassion.org/

Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation & Education

Hemp 4 Fuel

www.hemp4fuel.com

Renewable energy IS homeland security Hemp Car

www.hempcar.org/

Hemp car was an alternative-fuel project car that utilized [...]]]> Be sure to thank Moms For Marijuana for the following links.Thanks!!

  • Educational

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  • Personal Pages/Stories/Blogs/POW

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Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/links/feed/ Video Blog http://potforfreedom.com/main/video-blog/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/video-blog/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:12:32 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?page_id=428 Yes, I’ve brought back the video blog for all the obvious reasons. Here I will post cannabis,hemp,marijuana and other education video clips and documentaries. Of course the posts below is an rss feed from our Video Blog Site . You can receive e-mail updates of our Video Blog by subscribing below.

Enter your email address to [...]]]> Yes, I’ve brought back the video blog for all the obvious reasons. Here I will post cannabis,hemp,marijuana and other education video clips and documentaries. Of course the posts below is an rss feed from our Video Blog Site . You can receive e-mail updates of our Video Blog by subscribing below.

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Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/video-blog/feed/ New potforfreedom Tool Bar http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/12/20/new-potforfreedom-tool-bar/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/12/20/new-potforfreedom-tool-bar/#comments Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:54:33 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?p=407
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Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/12/20/new-potforfreedom-tool-bar/feed/ Important Update!! http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/28/important-update/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/28/important-update/#comments Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:24:15 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?p=390 We are changing the way you receive e-mail updates from our site to try and cut back on the spam request and returned e-mails that feel our inbox.  We will be deleting this old method soon but would like to give you a chance to keep receiving updates by e-mail. We will now be using [...]]]> We are changing the way you receive e-mail updates from our site to try and cut back on the spam request and returned e-mails that feel our inbox.  We will be deleting this old method soon but would like to give you a chance to keep receiving updates by e-mail. We will now be using the double opt in feedburner e-mail delivery system. If you already receive our updates through feedburner than you have nothing to worry about.

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Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/28/important-update/feed/ Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization Bills at the Statehouse This Year http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/27/marijuana-decriminalization-and-legalization-bills-at-the-statehouse-this-year/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/27/marijuana-decriminalization-and-legalization-bills-at-the-statehouse-this-year/#comments Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:39:08 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?p=373

Thirteen states have decriminalized marijuana possession so far; none have legalized it. This year, marijuana legalization bills have been filed in two states — California and Massachusetts — and decriminalization bills — loosely defined — were introduced in six states and passed in one, Maine. In Virginia, a bid [...]]]> from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #610, 11/27/09

Thirteen states have decriminalized marijuana possession so far; none have legalized it. This year, marijuana legalization bills have been filed in two states — California and Massachusetts — and decriminalization bills — loosely defined — were introduced in six states and passed in one, Maine. In Virginia, a bid to create a new marijuana offense was defeated.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/files/sacramentohearing1.jpg
press conference for California AB 390 hearing — Assemblyman Ammiano at right

We have tried to create a comprehensive list of marijuana reform legislation in the states — not medical marijuana, we did that last week — but we can’t be absolutely certain we’ve covered everything. If you know of a bill we missed, please email us with the details and we’ll add it to the list. (We compiled this list from our own coverage and a variety of other sources. The Marijuana Policy Project’s state pages were especially useful.)California: San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D) introduced a landmark legalization bill, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act, AB 390, in March. Under the bill, the state would license producers and distributors, who would pay an excise tax of $50 per ounce, or about $1 per joint. Anyone 21 or over could then purchase marijuana from a licensed distributor. The bill also would allow any adult to grow up to 10 plants for personal, non-commercial use. AB 390 got a hearing before the Assembly Public Safety Committee in October, but has not moved since.

Connecticut: Senators Martin Looney (D-New Haven), the Senate Majority Leader, and Toni Harp (D-New Haven), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced a marijuana decriminalization bill, SB 349, in January. It would have made possession of less than half an ounce an unclassified misdemeanor with a maximum $250 fine. The measure passed the Joint Judiciary Committee in March on a 24-14 vote, but it was filibustered to death in the Senate Finance Committee by Sen. Toni Boucher (R-New Canaan) in May.

Maine: The legislature passed in March and Gov. John Baldacci (D) signed in May LD 250, which increases the amount of marijuana decriminalized in the state to 2.5 ounces. Previously, possession of up to 1.25 ounces was a civil offense, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, but possession of between 1.25 and 2.5 ounces was a misdemeanor that could get one six months in jail. Unfortunately, the bill also increased the penalty for possession of more than eight ounces from six months and a $1,000 fine to one year and a $2,000 fine.

Massachusetts: — At the request of former StoptheDrugWar.org and NORML board member Richard Evans, Rep. Ellen Story (D-Amherst) introduced another landmark legalization bill, AN ACT TO REGULATE AND TAX THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY — H 2929, that would remove marijuana offenses from the criminal code and allow for the licensed production and sale of marijuana. The bill was assigned to the Joint Committee on Revenue, where it got a public hearing in October.

Montana: A marijuana decriminalization bill, HB 541, was introduced by Rep. Brady Wiseman (D-Bozeman). It would have made possession of up to 30 grams a civil infraction punishable by only a $50 fine. Under current law, that same amount can get you up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. The bill got a House Judiciary Committee hearing in March, but failed to get out of committee on a straight party-line 9-9 vote.

New Hampshire: In January, Rep. Steven Lindsey (D) introduced a bill that would decriminalize the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. Under the bill, HB 555, persons over the age of 18 would face no more than a $100 fine. Simple possession would also be decriminalized for minors, but they would be subjected to community service and a drug awareness program at their own expense or face a $1,000 fine. While the House passed a similar measure last year (it died in the Senate), this year the bill never made it out of committee. The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee deemed it “inexpedient to legislate” in February.

Rhode Island: In July, as the General Assembly rushed to adjourn, the Senate approved a resolution introduced that same day to create a nine-member commission to study a broad range of issues around marijuana policy. The resolution, which did not require any further approval, set up a “Special Senate Commission to Study the Prohibition of Marijuana,” which is charged with issuing a report by January 31. The panel met for the first time last week.

Tennessee: — A bill, SB 1942, that would have made possession of less than an eighth of an ounce of marijuana a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of between $250 and $2500 died after being deferred by the Senate Judiciary Committee in May. Companion legislation, HB 1835, met a similar fate in the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Criminal Practice and Procedure in March.

Vermont: Led by Rep. David Zuckerman (P-Burlington), 19 members of the Vermont legislature introduced in February a bill that would decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. Under the bill, HB 150, small-time possession would have become a civil infraction with a maximum $100 fine. But the bill was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee, where it has languished ever since.

Virginia: It was not decriminalization but increasing marijuana penalties that was on the agenda in the Old Dominion. Delegate Manoli Loupassi (R-Richmond) introduced HB 1807, which would create a new felony offense for people caught transporting more than one ounce but less than five pounds of marijuana into the state. The bill was filed in January and sent to the Committee on Courts of Justice, where it died upon being “Left in Courts of Justice” on February 10.

Washington: A bill, S 5615, that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana was introduced in January and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee a week after a public hearing in February. It then went to the Senate Rules Committee, where it stalled. A companion bill in the House, HB 1177, was referred to the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness, which effectively killed it by refusing to schedule it for a hearing before a legislative deadline in March.

Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/27/marijuana-decriminalization-and-legalization-bills-at-the-statehouse-this-year/feed/ Will foster is now free…Oklahoma did the right thing!! http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/27/will-foster-is-now-freeoklahoma-did-the-right-thing/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/27/will-foster-is-now-freeoklahoma-did-the-right-thing/#comments Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:35:20 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?p=370 This just in…Will foster is signing papers as we speak to be released from prison.Thanks you all for your help!! Please read the post below!!

Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 6:01pm

Medical marijuana patient Will Foster is a free [...]]]>

Will Foster is Free! He Walked Out of Prison in Oklahoma Today

This just in…Will foster is signing papers as we speak to be released from prison.Thanks you all for your help!! Please read the post below!!

Posted in Chronicle Blog by Phillip Smith on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 6:01pm

Medical marijuana patient Will Foster is a free man. According to a phone call I just received from his partner, Susan Mueller, Foster was released on parole and walked out of prison in Oklahoma today.

As you who have followed the Will Foster saga know, he became a poster boy for drug war injustice when he was sentenced to a mind-blowing 93 years in prison in Oklahoma back in the 1990s for growing a closet-full of medical marijuana. Thanks in part to the efforts of Stopthedrugwar.org (then known as DRCNet), Foster eventually got his sentence cut to a mere 20 years–for growing plants!–and was eventually paroled to the care of Guru of Ganja Ed Rosenthal in California, who had taken up his case.

Last year, Foster was raided and charged with an illegal marijuana grow in California, although his grow was perfectly legal under the state’s medical marijuana law. He spent a year in jail in Sonoma County before prosecutors dropped all charges, but by then, Oklahoma parole authorities demanded he return to the state to finish his sentence. Foster dropped his fight against extradition and returned in September.

A good sign occurred a few weeks ago, when the parole board decided he had not violated his parole and should be released. This week, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry must have agreed–he had the final say in the matter.

Right now, Foster is making his way to parole offices in Oklahoma City to sign the paperwork. He should be back with his loved ones in California in a matter of days.

Thanks to everyone who agitated for his release. Every once in awhile, we win one.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/27/will-foster-is-now-freeoklahoma-did-the-right-thing/feed/ Drug policy reform in the US Congress is moving along http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/16/drug-policy-reform-in-the-us-congress-is-moving-along/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/16/drug-policy-reform-in-the-us-congress-is-moving-along/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:38:42 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?p=364

US Capitol, Senate side

Ten months into the Obama administration, drug policy reform in the US Congress is moving along on a number of tracks. Here’s an update on some of the more significant legislation moving (or not) on the Hill. With a few exceptions, this report does not deal [...]]]> from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #608, 11/13/09

http://stopthedrugwar.org/files/capitolsenateside.jpg
US Capitol, Senate side

Ten months into the Obama administration, drug policy reform in the US Congress is moving along on a number of tracks. Here’s an update on some of the more significant legislation moving (or not) on the Hill. With a few exceptions, this report does not deal with funding issues that are tied up in the tangled congressional appropriations process.Next week Drug War Chronicle will publish a parallel report on the state of play for drug policy in the nation’s statehouses.

The Crack/Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity

After years of inertia, efforts to undo the 100:1 sentencing disparity in federal crack and powder cocaine cases have picked up traction this year. In July, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and 83 cosponsors introduced the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act, which would eliminate the disparity by treating all cocaine offenses as if they were powder cocaine offenses for sentencing purposes. That bill has passed the House Judiciary Committee and is now before the Energy and Commerce Committee. On the Senate side, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced companion legislation, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2009, last month. It is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Federal Needle Exchange Funding Ban

The longstanding ban on the use of federal AIDS grant funds to pay for needle exchange programs may soon be history. Although the Obama administration left the ban in its budget request, Obama pledged to eliminate it during his campaign, and his administration has signaled it wouldn’t mind seeing it go. The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies stripped out the ban language in a July 10 vote. A week later, the full Appropriations Committee approved the bill after voting down an amendment proposed by US Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX) that would have reinstated the funding ban, but accepted a poison pill amendment that would ban federally-funded needle exchange from operating “within 1,000 feet of a public or private day care center, elementary school, vocational school, secondary school, college, junior college, or university, or any public swimming pool, park, playground, video arcade, or youth center, or an event sponsored by any such entity.” The House later passed the appropriations bill with the 1000-foot ban intact, but defeated a floor amendment by Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) to reinstate the funding ban.

On the Senate side, the appropriations bill has yet to be passed, but the Senate committee working on the issue did not include language ending the funding ban. Reform advocates are hoping that the Senate will come on board for ending the ban in conference committee, and that committee members also strip out the 1000-foot provision.

The National Criminal Justice Commission

Introduced in March by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 would create a commission that would have 18 months to do a top-to-bottom review of the criminal justice system and come back with concrete, wide-ranging reforms to address the nation’s sky-high incarceration rate, respond to international and domestic gang violence, and restructure the county’s approach to drug policy. The bill is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where this week it was set to hear a raft of hostile amendments from Republican members. It currently has 34 cosponsors, including Republicans Olympia Snowe of Maine and Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Restoring College Aid to Students with Drug Convictions

The infamous Higher Education Act (HEA) anti-drug provision, or “Aid Elimination Penalty,” which bars students committing drug offenses from receiving financial aid for specified periods of time, is under fresh assault. In September, the US House of Representatives approved H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), one of the provisions of which restricts the penalty to those convicted of drug sales, not mere drug possession. The bill will next go to a conference committee, whose job will be to produce a reconciled version of H.R. 3221 and a yet-to-be-passed Senate bill. The final version must then be reapproved by both the House and the Senate. If that final version contains the same or very similar language, it will mark the second significant reduction of the penalty, the decade-old handiwork of arch-drug warrior Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN). In 2006, the provision was scaled back to include only drug convictions that occurred while students were enrolled in college and receiving financial aid (a change supported by Souder himself). Souder opposed this year’s possible change.

Medical Marijuana

Late last month, Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) reintroduced H.R. 3939, the Truth in Trials Act, which would allow defendants in federal medical marijuana prosecutions to use medical evidence in their defense — a right they do not have under current federal law. The bill currently has 28 cosponsors and has been endorsed by more than three dozen advocacy, health, and civil liberties organizations. It is before the House Judiciary Committee.

That isn’t the only medical marijuana bill pending. In June, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the Medical Marijuana Protection Act, which would reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug and eliminate federal authority to prosecute medical marijuana patients and providers in states where it is legal. The measure has 29 cosponsors and has been sitting in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce ever since. Frank introduced similar legislation in the last two Congresses, but the bills never got a committee vote or even a hearing. Advocates hoped that with a Democratically-controlled Congress and a president who has at least given lip service to medical marijuana, Congress this year would prove to be friendlier ground, but that hasn’t proven to be the case so far.

In July, the House passed the District of Columbia appropriations bill and in so doing removed an 11-year-old amendment barring the District from implementing the medical marijuana law approved by voters in 1998. Known as the Barr amendment after then Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), the amendment has been attacked by both medical marijuana and DC home rule advocates for years as an unconscionable intrusion into District affairs. The Senate has yet to act. Among the proponents for removing the Barr amendment: Bob Barr.

Marijuana Decriminalization

In June, Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the Personal Use of Marijuana By Responsible Adults Act, which would remove federal criminal penalties for the possession of less than 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) and for the not-for-profit transfer of up to one ounce. The bill would not change marijuana’s status as a Schedule I controlled substance, would not change federal laws banning the growing, sale, and import and export of marijuana, and would not undo state laws prohibiting marijuana. It currently has nine cosponsors and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

And just so you don’t get the mistaken idea that the era of drug war zealotry on the Hill is completely in the past, there is Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL). In June, Kirk introduced the High Potency Marijuana Sentencing Enhancement Act, which would increase penalties for marijuana offenses if the THC level is above 15%. Taking a page from the British tabloids, Kirk complained that high-potency “Kush” was turning his suburban Chicago constituents into “zombies.” Nearly six months later, Kirk’s bill has exactly zero cosponsors and has been sent to die in the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

Industrial Hemp

Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ron Paul (R-TX) again introduced an industrial hemp bill this year. HR 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009would remove restrictions on the cultivation of non-psychoactive industrial hemp. They were joined by a bipartisan group of nine cosponsors, a number which has since grown to 18. The bill was referred to the House Energy and Commerce and House Judiciary committees upon introduction. Six weeks later, Judiciary referred it to its Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, where it has languished ever since.

Safe and Drug-Free Schools Funding

In May, the Obama administration compiled a budgetary hit list of 121 programs it recommended by cut or completely eliminated, including $295 million for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools community grants program. (It left intact funding for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools National Program). Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees agreed with the White House and zeroed out the program. The House education appropriations bill has already passed, but the Senate bill is still in process. Proponents of the program may still try to reinstate it in the Senate or during the conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate appropriations bills.

Next week, look for a report on drug policy-related doings in the various state legislatures.

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Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/11/09/find-us-on-facebook/feed/ Farmers Arrested Planting Hemp On DEA Headquarter’s Lawn http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/10/14/farmers-arrested-planting-hemp-on-dea-headquarters-lawn/ http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/10/14/farmers-arrested-planting-hemp-on-dea-headquarters-lawn/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:03:12 +0000 Administrator http://potforfreedom.com/main/?p=345 BIG NEWS. American farmers and business leaders were arrested Tuesday morning while digging up the lawn to plant industrial hemp seeds at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration read more here.

A video of the arrests can be found here

What an amazing act of civil-disobedience.. Thanks Guys!!!

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/13/farmers-arrested-planting_n_318808.html ]]> BIG NEWS. American farmers and business leaders were arrested Tuesday morning while digging up the lawn to plant industrial hemp seeds at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration read more here.

A video of the arrests can be found here

What an amazing act of civil-disobedience.. Thanks Guys!!!

Share/Save/Bookmark]]> http://potforfreedom.com/main/2009/10/14/farmers-arrested-planting-hemp-on-dea-headquarters-lawn/feed/