Maryland -- The move to legalize marijuana in
Maryland has a powerful ally: Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.
Miller (D-Calvert), who has presided over his chamber for more than a
quarter century, said in an interview Friday that he would support
legislation allowing the regulated sale of marijuana, similar to what is
now taking place in Colorado.
“I favor the legalization and taxation of
marijuana, with restrictions,” Miller said, adding that he thinks his
position will only grow in popularity in coming years. “I know where
people are going to be a generation or two from now.”
Albany -- Joining a growing group of states that
have loosened restrictions on marijuana, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New
York plans this week to announce an executive action that would allow
limited use of the drug by those with serious illnesses, state officials
say.
The turnabout by Mr. Cuomo, who had long resisted
legalizing medical marijuana, comes as other states are taking
increasingly liberal positions on it — most notably Colorado, where
thousands have flocked to buy the drug for recreational use since it
became legal on Jan. 1.
New Mexico -- A day after Colorado opened its doors
to the legalized sale of recreational marijuana, a state senator said
New Mexico should consider following suit.
Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, an Albuquerque Democrat,
said he will introduce a constitutional amendment proposal to legalize
recreational marijuana when the Legislature convenes this month.
Albany -- New York appears poised to join the 20
other states and the District of Columbia in allowing the use of
marijuana for medical purposes. Gov. Andrew Cuomo – who in the past had
opposed medical marijuana – reportedly will announce his support in his
State of the State address this week.
As first reported by the New York Times, Gov.
Cuomo’s plan will be more restrictive than other states permitting
medical marijuana use for minor ailments, allowing 20 hospitals across
the state to prescribe marijuana to patients with cancer, glaucoma or
other diseases that meet standards to be set by the New York State
Department of Health.
USA -- Launching 17 million “Rocky Mountain High”
jokes, Colorado has become the first state to make the prudent choice of
legalizing the consumption and sale of marijuana, thus dispensing with
the charade of medical restrictions and recognizing the fact that, while
some people smoke marijuana to counter the effects of chemotherapy,
most people smoke marijuana to get high — and that is not the worst
thing in the world.
Florida -- Organizers of a Florida campaign for
medical use of marijuana say they expect to submit enough voter
signatures this week to get the issue on ballots in time for the
November election, adding further momentum to a national campaign to
reform laws banning the drug.The campaign
hopes to obtain as many as 1.1 million signatures before a February 1
deadline, said Ben Pollara, campaign manager of People United for
Medical Marijuana. State law provides that campaign organizers have to
get 683,149 voter signatures validated by the counties, and almost one
in three are rejected to failing to meet requirements, such as residency
and age.
USA -- In a dramatic switch from recent decades, a
clear majority of Americans say smoking marijuana on a recreational
basis should be legal. In fact, a new CNN-ORC International poll
indicates that the moral stigma attached with smoking the drug has
plummeted, too, and now fewer find fault with the activity in terms of
seeing it as a sign of subpar values.Specifically:
Fully 55 percent of survey respondents said marijuana should be legal.
Only 44 percent said it should remain illegal.
