June, 07 2010, 02:07pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Mike Meno, MPP director of communications 202-905-2030 or mmeno@mpp.org
Colorado Gives Marijuana Dispensaries Legal Status
Governor Signs Regulations for State’s Medical Marijuana Industry
DENVER, Colo.
Today, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) signed legislation that will regulate the state's medical marijuana dispensaries through a system of local and state licenses, but still allow individual localities to ban dispensaries. Currently there are an estimated 1,100 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Colorado - the most in any state other than California, which does not have statewide dispensary regulations. Colorado officials estimate that about half of current dispensaries will be able to comply with new regulations.
"By approving a statewide system of dispensaries through which patients can safely acquire marijuana, Colorado is taking a significant amount of revenue away from the dangerous, illicit, and unsanctioned market created by prohibition," said Karen O'Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. "Instead, patients will now be able to obtain marijuana from a sensible and orderly system of law-abiding and regulated providers. The scope of this newly regulated industry makes it the largest ever in the United States."
Under the regulations, dispensary owners will be subject to licensing fees and criminal background checks. Dispensaries will be required to grow 70 percent of the marijuana they sell and, like liquor stores, could not operate within 1,000 feet of a school.
A state-regulated medical marijuana program is up and running in New Mexico and similar programs will soon be operational in Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. - but the number of sanctioned dispensaries to be allowed in each of those states is fewer than 10. Colorado's law will authorize hundreds, and potentially more if future demand increases.
A Rasmussen telephone poll released May 15 showed that there is also plurality support among Colorado voters for further expanding the state's marijuana laws. Forty-nine percent of likely voters said they support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol, with an additional 13 percent still undecided.
The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the number one organization in the U.S. legalizing cannabis. We passed 13 medical cannabis laws in the past 15 years, and we ran winning campaigns in eight of the 11 legalization states. No organization in the movement has changed as many cannabis laws, impacted as many patients and consumers, created as many new markets, or done more to end cannabis prohibition in the U.S. than MPP.
LATEST NEWS
East Palestine Soil Contains Dioxin Levels Hundreds of Times Over Cancer Risk Threshold
"I certainly wouldn't be comfortable living there," said one organic chemist.
Mar 17, 2023
East Palestine, Ohio residents' concerns about the enduring impact of last month's fiery train derailment are likely to intensify following the release of data showing that levels of dioxin in the soil near the wreck site are far higher than the cancer risk threshold recommended by federal scientists.
Dioxin is a toxic and carcinogenic byproduct of burning vinyl chloride, a hazardous chemical that at least five Norfolk Southern train cars were carrying when they derailed in early February, sparking a full-blown environmental and public health disaster.
Citing a report that Pace Analytical prepared for Ohio's neighbor Indiana, The Guardianreported Friday that "East Palestine soil showed levels of '2,3,7,8 TCDD toxicity equivalence' of 700 parts per trillion (ppt)," potentially stemming from the controlled burn of vinyl chloride in the wake of the crash.
"The level at which the EPA will initiate cleanup action in residential areas is 1,000 ppt," the newspaper explained. "However, the cleanup triggers are much lower in many states—90 ppt in Michigan, and 50 ppt in California... Moreover, EPA scientists in 2010 put the cancer risk threshold for dioxins in residential soil at 3.7 ppt, and the agency recommended lowering the cleanup trigger to 72 ppt."
The Obama administration tanked the EPA scientists' effort to formally lower the federal cleanup threshold, The Guardian noted.
Chemical experts and former EPA officials expressed alarm over the data while acknowledging it was limited to just two soil samples and more testing is needed.
"The levels are not screaming high, but we have confirmed that dioxins are in East Palestine's soil," Linda Birnbaum, former head of the U.S. National Toxicology Program, told The Guardian. "The EPA must test the soil in the area more broadly."
Carsten Prasse, an organic chemist at Johns Hopkins University, added that the dioxin concentrations in the soil samples examined are "actually concerning."
"My main concern is: is this reflective of the level in the area in East Palestine... and of the levels individuals who live near the rail are exposed to?" Prasse asked. "I certainly wouldn't be comfortable living there."
Despite outside experts' fears, EPA regional administrator Debra Shore insisted that the dioxin levels detected in the Indiana report are "very low."
The Guardian's reporting came days after Ohio's Republican attorney general filed suit against Norfolk Southern, accusing the rail giant of "recklessly endangering" East Palestine residents.
"Ohio shouldn't have to bear the tremendous financial burden of Norfolk Southern's glaring negligence," said AG Dave Yost said. "The fallout from this highly preventable incident may continue for years to come, and there's still so much we don't know about the long-term effects on our air, water, and soil."
In Congress, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is working to build support for legislation that would impose more strict regulations on trains carrying hazardous materials such as vinyl chloride.
During Senate testimony last week, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw refused to endorse the bill.
"If Norfolk Southern had paid a little more attention to safety and a little less attention to its profits—had cared a little more about the Ohioans along its tracks, and a little less about its executives and shareholders—these accidents would not have been as bad, or might not have happened at all," Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the lead Democratic sponsor of the Railway Safety Act, said during the hearing.
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As Rail Industry Lobbies Against Safety Bill, Two Trains Derail in Arizona and Washington
"The longer we wait to act on rail safety, the deeper the railroad industry can dig in their claws and lobby against progress," warned Rep. Chris Deluzio.
Mar 17, 2023
Two trains operated by BNSF derailed in Washington state and Arizona on Thursday as the rail industry and its Republican allies in Congress fight bipartisan safety legislation introduced in the wake of the toxic crash in East Palestine, Ohio.
The Associated Pressreported that the Washington derailment spilled 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel on tribal lands along Padilla Bay. State authorities said the fuel spill does not appear to have flowed toward the water—though such an assurance is cold comfort amid the disaster in eastern Ohio, where residents' concerns about the long-term impacts of the wreck on local water, soil, and air quality remain high more than a month after the crash.
In Arizona, eight BNSF train cars derailed Thursday near the state's border with California and Nevada, though it's unclear whether any spills occurred. The crash reportedly involved a train carrying corn syrup.
More than 1,000 trains derail in the United States each year, but the Norfolk Southern disaster in East Palestine has brought greater scrutiny to the industry's dangerous cost-cutting and lax safety practices—turning wrecks that would typically be consigned to local news coverage into national headlines.
With each derailment since early February, calls for substantive action in Congress to rein in the powerful industry have grown louder.
Under pressure from rail workers and others, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation earlier this month that would impose stronger regulations on trains carrying hazardous materials—an effort that rail industry lobbying has defeated in the past.
While rail unions welcomed some provisions of the bill as decent starting points, they warned the measure has major loopholes and exceptions that rail giants wouldn't hesitate to exploit.
"If the language is not precise, the Class 1 railroads will avoid the scope of the law without violating the law, yet again putting the safety of our members and American communities into harm's way," said Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. "You can run a freight train through the loopholes."
Predictably, the rail industry is working to further water down the legislation or kill it entirely, pumping donations to Republican allies and running ads in major media outlets touting its supposedly ironclad commitment to safety.
Sludge's David Moore reported earlier this week that the PAC for Union Pacific—one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the U.S.—"made $15,000 in contributions last month, all to Republicans in the House and Senate, given less than two weeks after the Ohio derailment."
"Several House Republicans on committees that oversee transportation have sought to delay the bipartisan legislation to boost rail safety rules," Moore noted, "saying more information is needed after a potentially-lengthy study."
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, parroted industry talking points earlier this month when making the case against regulatory action, saying U.S. railroads have a "very high success rate of moving hazardous material—to the point of 99-percent-plus."
Days before Nehls' comment, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) declared in an ad appearing in a Politico newsletter that "while 99.9 percent of all hazmat shipments that move by rail reach their destination safely, we know a single incident can have significant impacts."
The AAR has dismissed demands for comprehensive rail safety reforms as "political."
In the Senate, meanwhile, John Thune (R-S.D.)—a former registered rail lobbyist—has emerged as a potentially key opponent of rail safety legislation, tellingThe Hill earlier this month that "we'll take a look at what's being proposed, but an immediate quick response heavy on regulation needs to be thoughtful and targeted."
During congressional testimony last week, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw refused to endorse the bipartisan Railway Safety Act, another indication that rail giants will continue their longstanding opposition to popular regulatory changes.
Over the past two decades, according to a recent OpenSecrets analysis, the rail industry has spent more than $650 million on federal lobbying.
"The longer we wait to act on rail safety, the deeper the railroad industry can dig in their claws and lobby against progress," Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), a lead sponsor of separate rail safety legislation, warned Thursday.
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'Important Victory' for Florida Higher Ed: Court Upholds Block on DeSantis Censorship Law
"This is an important step in preserving the truth, civil liberties, and a better future," said one state ACLU attorney.
Mar 16, 2023
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday kept in place a preliminary injunction against Florida GOP policymakers' school censorship law in what rights advocates celebrated as "an important victory for professors, other educators, and students."
The appellate court denied a request from Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration and higher education officials to block a district judge's injunction that is currently preventing enforcement of the Stop Wrongs Against Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act—rebranded by its supporters as the Individual Freedom Act—in the state's public colleges and universities.
DeSantis' Stop WOKE Act "limits the ways concepts related to systemic racism and sex discrimination can be discussed in teaching or conducting training in workplaces or schools," parroting a Trump administration executive order that was ultimately rescinded by President Joe Biden, the ACLU explained last year.
The plaintiffs in one of the relevant cases, Pernell v. Florida Board of Governors, are represented by the national and state ACLU along with the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and Ballard Spahr, who first filed the federal suit last August—the same day U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued a separate injunction against the law related to employers.
The new appeals court order upholds the injunction Walker issued in November, which began by quoting George Orwell's novel 1984. Calling the controversial law "positively dystopian," the judge wrote at the time that "the powers in charge of Florida's public university system have declared the state has unfettered authority to muzzle its professors in the name of 'freedom.'"
"All students and educators deserve to have a free and open exchange about issues related to race in our classrooms."
Leah Watson, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program, said Thursday that "the court's decision to leave in place the preliminary injunction is a recognition of the serious injury posed to educators and students by the Stop WOKE Act."
"All students and educators deserve to have a free and open exchange about issues related to race in our classrooms," Watson argued, rather than censored discussions that erase "the history of discrimination and lived experiences of Black and Brown people, women and girls, and LGBTQ+ individuals."
LDF assistant counsel Alexsis Johnson similarly stressed that "institutions of higher education in Florida should have the ability to provide a quality education, which simply cannot happen when students and educators, including Black students and educators, feel they cannot speak freely about their lived experiences, or when they feel that they may incur a politician's wrath for engaging in a fact-based discussion of our history."
The order also pertains to a challenge filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in September.
"Professors must be able to discuss subjects like race and gender without hesitation or fear of state reprisal," FIRE said Thursday. "Any law that limits the free exchange of ideas in university classrooms should lose in both the court of law and the court of public opinion."
The Stop WOKE Act is part of a nationwide effort by Republican state lawmakers and governors—especially DeSantis, a potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate—to curtail what content can be shared and discussed in classrooms and workplaces.
"Since January 2021, 44 states have introduced bills or taken other steps that would restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism," according to an Education Week analysis updated on Monday. "Eighteen states have imposed these bans and restrictions either through legislation or other avenues."
ACLU of Florida staff attorney Jerry Edwards warned Thursday that "lawmakers continue to threaten our democracy by attempting to curtail important discussions about our collective history and treatment of Black and Brown communities."
"This is an important step in preserving the truth, civil liberties, and a better future," Edwards said of the 11th Circuit's decision.
Though legal groups welcomed the order, the battle over the law is ongoing. The court will eventually rule on the merits of the case—which DeSantis' press secretary Bryan Griffin highlighted Thursday, adding, "We remain confident that the law is constitutional."
Opponents of the law are also undeterred, as Ballard Spahr litigation department chair Jason Leckerman made clear.
"The movement to restrict academic freedom and curtail the rights of marginalized communities is as pervasive as it is pernicious," he said. "We are proud of the work we have done so far with our partners, the ACLU and Legal Defense Fund, but the fight is far from over. Today, we'll take a moment to savor this result—and then we'll keep working."
This post has been updated with comment from FIRE and Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary.
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