Legal Aid of Western Missouri, an organization that provides free, comprehensive civil legal services to low-income people, can now offer free legal services to indigent defendants charged with marijuana possession.
Category: Courts
Court Case Highlights Need For Continued Federal Protections
Last week, a US District Court blocked federal prosecutors from continuing a case against a medical marijuana cultivation company as a result of the current, albeit limited, congressional protections from the Department of Justice.
Massachusetts: Medical Marijuana Patients’ Afforded Workplace Protections, High Court Rules
State-registered medical cannabis patients may sue a private employer for discrimination if they are fired for their off-the-job marijuana use, according to a first in the nation ruling issued Monday by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. “It is our hope that courts in other jurisdictions begin to apply this same rationale to patients as well as to all adults who are using cannabis responsibly off-the-job in compliance with the laws of their states,” NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said
Analysis: Criminal Justice Referrals Driving Youth Marijuana Treatment Admissions
Over half of all young people entered into drug treatment for marijuana are placed there by the criminal justice system and this percentage is increasing, according to data published online in the journal Substance Use & Misuse.
Two Major Victories For Student Rights In Federal Courts
Federal courts have recently rejected the actions of university and college administrators who sought to inflict suspicionless drug tests on students at a public college and to restrict the First Amendment rights of marijuana law reformers at a public university. Both decisions have important national implications.
Social Consumption of Marijuana off to a Slow Start in Colorado
For more than a year, members of Denver NORML have advocated for the social consumption of marijuana in Colorado. In Denver, city officials were able to publish draft rules for I-300, but SB-184, a statewide effort to regulate social consumption died in committee.
California: Victims of Inconsistent Marijuana Laws
Local and state laws struggle to establish consistency for California marijuana farmers.
NORML Sues Over Missing Ballot Item in Florida
The Florida’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) has filed a civil lawsuit against the Broward County Commissioner of Elections, after media and news reports revealed that mail in ballots have been sent to voters omitting the state’s medical marijuana constitutional amendment. The claim was just filed by NORML’s national vice chairman, Fort Lauderdale attorney Norm Kent, and his law partner, Russell Cormican, on behalf of Florida NORML and Karen Goldstein, NORML Florida’s chair, a West Park, Broward County voter. The plaintiff’s are seeking a judicial declaration enjoining the Defendant’s from distributing any further ballots, and implementing an emergency plan to issue new ones which insure the inclusion of the proposed constitutional amendment on…
Tennessee: Cities Move To Reduce Marijuana Possession Penalties
Members of the Nashville metro council and the Memphis city council have given final approval to municipal legislation providing police the discretion to cite rather than arrest minor marijuana offenders.
Federal Court of Appeals Upholds Ban on Prosecuting State-Compliant Medical Marijuana Businesses
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, covering nine western states, earlier this week ruled unanimously that the Department of Justice is barred by federal law from prosecuting medical marijuana businesses if those businesses are operating in compliance with state law.