California Cities Reduce MJ Penalties

[cenacle]

[Forward from Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)]

San Francisco votes to make marijuana offenses "lowest law enforcement priority"

Yesterday, in a groundbreaking development for marijuana policy in California, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 7-3 to make most adult marijuana offenses the city's lowest law enforcement priority â€" making San Francisco the largest city in the country to effectively end adult marijuana arrests.

This vote comes on the heels of the three victories in California on November 7, when the voters of Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Santa Monica passed similar measures by large margins. (That same day, the voters of Missoula County, Montana also passed a similar measure.) The MPP grants program provided almost all of the funding for these campaigns.

As a result of yesterday's vote in San Francisco, nearly 1.4 million Californians will now live in cities that have de-prioritized marijuana offenses â€" the four listed above, plus Oakland in 2004 and West Hollywood earlier this year.

This is one of MPP's most important roles â€" to assist local activists in creating homegrown campaigns that bring about constructive change in their communities.

San Francisco's new ordinance makes marijuana offenses by adults 18 and older the lowest priority for the city's police, with exceptions for marijuana offenses that occur in public or involve minors, a threat of violence, or driving while intoxicated. The law also directs the San Francisco city clerk to send letters to state and federal elected officials noting that the ordinance passed and stating that the city supports the taxation and regulation of marijuana. Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the ordinance shortly.

MPP's support helped to catalyze a broad coalition whose advocacy made this victory possible; that coalition included the local offices of the Drug Policy Alliance and NORML, as well as numerous extraordinary local activists.

With record numbers of Americans calling for an end to marijuana prohibition, these kinds of aggressive lobbying and initiative campaigns are more important than ever.

Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. Please visit www.mpp.org/vote and spend five minutes to complete MPP's supporter survey. In so doing, you will be entered into a drawing to win a free ticket to MPP's party at the Playboy Mansion. (The event will be held in Los Angeles in May 2007; more details will be released in the next two weeks.) Five runners-up will win MPP T-shirts.

P.P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.5 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2006. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

[winder]

That's a step in the right direction.

[Cassie]

Been too busy to read and now I'm on holiday. Just found this and am stunned I didn't hear the word before now.
Thinking of all the people who will now be able to live less stressful lives.
 
*raises pipe in salutation*

[Bushpig]

Congratulations, a step in the right direction!