Source: @norml
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Sun, 29 Sep 2013 04:20:21 PST
DEA: Marijuana Plant Seizures Decline To Lowest Levels In Nearly A Decade
Washington, DC: Seizures of indoor and outdoor cannabis crops by the US Drug Enforcement Administration have declined dramatically from 2011 to 2012 and are now at their lowest reported levels in nearly a decade, according to statistics released online by the federal anti-drug agency.
According to the DEA's 2012 Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Statistical Report, the total number of cannabis plants eradicated nationwide fell 42 percent between 2011 and 2012. This continues a trend, as DEA crop seizures previously fell 35 percent nationwide from 2010 to 2011.
In 2010, the DEA eliminated some 10.3 million cultivated pot plants. (This figure excludes the tens of millions of feral hemp plants which are typically seized and destroyed by DEA agents annually, but are no longer categorized in their reporting.) By 2011, this total had dipped to 6.7 million. For 2012, the most recent year for which DEA data is available, the total fell to 3.9 million – the lowest annual tally in nearly a decade.
The declining national figures are largely a result of reduced plant seizures in California. Coinciding largely with the downsizing of, and then ultimately the disbanding of, the state's nearly 30-year-old Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) program, DEA-assisted marijuana seizures in California have fallen 73 percent since 2010 – from a near-record 7.4 million cultivated pot plants eradicated in 2010 to approximately 2 million in 2012. DEA-assisted cannabis eradication efforts have remained largely unchanged in other states during this same period.
The DEA's 2012 Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Statistical Report is available online @ https://www.justice.gov/dea/ops/cannabis.shtml
Michigan: Most Voters Favor Eliminating Criminal Penalties For Marijuana Offenses
Lansing, MI: Nearly 80 percent of Michigan voters favor eliminating criminal penalties for marijuana offenses, according to survey data released by Epic-MRA Polling and commissioned by the Michigan state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Forty-seven percent of respondents said that they backed legalizing marijuana "by taxing it and regulating it like alcohol." An additional 16 percent of respondents endorsed "replac[ing] criminal penalties for marijuana offenses with a fine" only. Another four percent of respondents supported an outright "repeal" of all state criminal penalties for cannabis offenses.
Only 26 percent of those polled said they supported continuing the present system of state criminal penalties for marijuana offenses. Under state law, the possession of marijuana for non-medical purposes is classified as a criminal misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Six hundred likely voters participated in the survey, which has a margin of error of 4 percent.
Lansing voters will vote this fall on a municipal initiative repealing criminal and civil penalties involving the possession of cannabis by adults on private property. Last year, voters in four Michigan cities – Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, and Ypsilanti – all voted overwhelmingly in favor of municipal measures to depenalize marijuana offenses.
Full text of the Epic-MRA poll is available online @ https://www.epicmra.com/press/Stwd_Survey_Sept2013_Media_Freq.pdf
New Jersey: Governor Signs Legislation Amending Aspects Of State's Medical Cannabis Program
Trenton, NJ: Republican Gov. Chris Christie has signed legislation, Senate Bill 2842, into law modifying aspects of the state's medical marijuana regulations.
Specifically, the law amends requirements that state-licensed medical cannabis producers and distributors be limited to providing patients with no more than three strains of the plant – a regulatory rule that has been in place since the program's inception some three years ago. Proponents of the rule change argued that lifting the three-strain cap will foster the production and distribution of varieties of cannabis high in CBD (cannabidiol) content. Cannabidiol is a non-psychotropic cannabinoid that possesses a variety of therapeutic properties. However, it is typically present only at low levels in conventional strains of marijuana, which typically are bred to possess higher quantities of THC – the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
Senate Bill 2842 also allows for cannabis distributors to produce marijuana-infused edible products. However, at the insistence of the Governor, consumption of such products will be limited to those aged under 18.
The Governor previously vetoed language that sought to streamline regulations so that qualified patients under the age of 18 could more readily access medicinal cannabis.
Under present New Jersey law, authorized patients may only obtain medical cannabis from state-licensed dispensaries. To date, however, few facilities are actively up and running. Earlier this month, the state's Economic Developmental Authority approved a $375,000 loan to the Compassionate Care Foundation dispensary, which plans to open its doors in mid-October.
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