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California: Governor Permits Employment Discrimination Of Medi-Pot Patients
10-02-08|NORML

Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed legislation this week that sought to protect Californians from being fired from their jobs for their state-licensed medical cannabis use outside of the workplace.

As approved by the legislature, Assembly Bill 2279 would have declared it “unlawful for an employer to discriminate against” persons who are authorized under state law to use medical cannabis. The measure sought to reverse a January 2008 California Supreme Court ruling that held that an employer may fire someone solely on the basis of their therapeutic cannabis use during non-work hours.

“This bill attempts to shield qualified medical marijuana patients employed in non safety-sensitive positions from employment discrimination. However, I am concerned with interference in employment decisions as they relate to marijuana use,” Schwarzenegger declared in his veto message. “Employment protection was not a goal of the initiative as passed by voters in 1996.”

California NORML Coordinator Dale Gieringer criticized the Governor's veto, stating, “The goal of Proposition 215 was to treat marijuana like other legal pharmaceutical drugs.”

For more information, please contact Dale Gieringer, California NORML Coordinator, at (415) 563-5858, or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director.



Michigan: Two Out Of Three Voters Back Medical Marijuana Measure
10-02-08|NORML

Two out of three Michigan voters support a statewide ballot initiative that seeks to legalize the medical use of cannabis for qualified patients, according to a Detroit Free Press/Local 4 news poll of 602 likely voters Sixty-six percent of respondents said that they would vote "yes" on the November ballot measure (Proposition 1). Twenty-five percent opposed the proposal. Nine percent were undecided.

Since 2004, five Michigan cities - Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint, and Traverse City - have each enacted municipal initiatives endorsing the medical use of marijuana. If enacted, Michigan will become the thirteenth state since 1996 to authorize the legal use of medical cannabis, and the ninth state to do so by voter initiative.

For more information, please contact NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre at (202) 483-5500, or visit. - Welcome! | Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care



NORML Affiliates Celebrate Fall 'Harvest' Festivals
10-02-08|NORML

NORML chapters around the nation will be holding a series of 'protestivals' in the coming weeks in support of ending the criminal prohibition of cannabis.

Madison NORML will hold the 38th Annual Great Midwest Harvest Festival at the Library Mall in Madison, Wisconsin on Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5. The event is one of the longest-running marijuana law reform gathering in the United States.

Madison NORML and Is My Medicine Legal Yet (IMMLY) will also be holding an awards banquet on Friday night, October 3. Additional information on the Festival and banquet is available online.

North Ohio NORML will be holding the 2nd Annual NORML Harvest Fest at the Chippewa Valley Campground in Seville, Ohio on Friday, October 3 through Sunday, October 5. Information on Festival speakers, musical acts, and events is available online.

New York NORML will be holding the 14th Annual New York Harvest Festival and Freedom Fair in at Camp Minglewood in Hancock, New York on Friday, October 10 through Sunday, October 13. Scheduled speakers include Jack Herer and Ed Rosenthal. Musical guest include Murphy's Law, Chris Barron and the Time Bandits, and DJ Logic.Additional information is available online.

For more information, please see NORML.



Medical Journal Touts 17,000 Pot-Related Studies
10-02-08|NORML

Jerusalem, Israel: Cannabis is one of the most studied plants on the planet, according to a review published in the September issue of the journal Medicinal Research Reviews. "Research on the chemistry and pharmacology of cannabinoids and endocannabinoids has reached enormous proportions," the journal states. "[A]pproximately 15,000 articles on Cannabis sativa L. and cannabinoids and over 2,000 articles on endocannabinoids" are available in the scientific literature.

Commenting on the review NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, "Opponents of marijuana law reform - including those who oppose the therapeutic use of cannabis - are fond of claiming that further study of marijuana is necessary before we can amend current law. Yet in reality, cannabis is arguably the most investigated plant on Earth. It's clear that it's politics, not science, that is driving the criminal prohibition of cannabis and unfortunately the publication of another dozen - or even a thousand - studies is not going to change this reality."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. Full text of the study, "Pharmacological and therapeutic secrets of plant and brain (Endo)cannabinoids," appears in the journal Medicinal Research Reviews.

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Donation links to NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) | MPP (Marijuana Policy Project)

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Already covered...

Governor vetoes medical marijuana bill

NORML Affiliates Celebrate Fall 'Harvest' Festivals

Medical Journal Touts 17,000 Pot-Related Studies

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