Since taking office in May of 2018, Parson has acted on just one of these cases. But Parson does not deserve all the blame; previous governors such as Eric Greitens and Jay Nixon also deserve blame for creating this mountain of inaction. Parson though currently controls the Missouri government, so the duty falls to him to remedy the problem.

Historically speaking, Missouri acts of clemency usually revolve around highly publicized cases, as in the instance of Darrell Mease, whose sentence was commuted in 1999 after the visit of Pope John Paul II. But clemency should not strictly pertain to these extraordinary cases.

Given the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use, the governor should immediately grant a full pardon to anyone in a Missouri prison who has been convicted of a marijuana-related offense. Not only should this be an easy task for the governor to accomplish since it is the logical thing to do, but it will also initiate dismantling the rest of the backlog. It would get the ball rolling so to speak.

While Missouri is currently on track to full legalization of marijuana, it still has some of the toughest marijuana laws in the nation on the books. While possession of under 10 grams of marijuana is decriminalized for a first-time offense, selling and trafficking cannabis is still heavily cracked down on.

Attempting to sell less than 5 grams of marijuana is categorized as a Class C felony in Missouri and punishable with up to seven years in prison and $5,000 fine. While obviously logically contradictory, the current laws have contributed to enormous amounts of people wasting away in prison in Missouri for marijuana-related offenses. 

But why should Parson grant clemency to these people in addition to all those in Missouri prisons who used marijuana for medicinal uses? The governor should do so because marijuana legalization is coming quickly to Missouri. Marijuana is already decriminalized in the state, meaning that any adult possessing 10 grams or less of cannabis is only fined anywhere from $250-$1000 and charged with a misdemeanor for a first-time offense.

Ballot initiatives to recreationally legalize marijuana are collecting signatures to be on the ballot in 2020, which could make cannabis fully legal in the state by 2021. Even if this initiative does not succeed in passing, it is only a matter of time before marijuana is recreationally legalized in Missouri. The legal marijuana train is coming, and Parson better hop on before it is too late.

Granting clemency to those with marijuana-related convictions in Missouri would also generate positive press for the Parson administration. Acting on only one of the 3,500 petitions for clemency is a sin against his office. It not only signifies laziness but an utter contempt for the prison population of Missouri.

Since 1981, Missouri governors have acted on about 6,000 petitions for clemency. This means that on average that Missouri governors have responded to 158 petitions for clemency per year. Parson is totally behind the 8-ball in rejecting clemency in his only foray into the topic. Pardoning those in prison for marijuana offenses would signify that Parson is committed to lowering the backlog.

By granting clemency to these people, the governor would also contribute to lowering the prison budget in Missouri. For the 2016 fiscal year, the Missouri Department of Corrections spent $710 million dollars to maintain the Missouri prison system.  Granting clemency to inmates with marijuana convictions would reduce this budget substantially, freeing up money that Parson should then return to the taxpayers. 

This avenue would be a nice start for Parson to take in approaching the clemency backlog. He has already kicked the ball down the road in refusing to hear any petitions. The governor should learn from his mistakes and lead in 2020.

Missouri residents should prod the governor along by signing the marijuana initiative to get it on the ballot in 2020. This would signify to Parson that Missouri is ready for a change, spurring him to grant clemency to all those in prison on marijuana-related offenses.

From this, Parson should begin to attack the rest of the backlog. Not only would this address the serious neglect of clemency petitions, but it would also thrust Missouri into the progressive world of marijuana legalization.

The post Marijuana Legalization and The Crisis of Clemency in Missouri appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

By Steve Birr

The mayor of Philadelphia is advocating state lawmakers fully legalize marijuana and make it available for sale only through state-run liquor stores.

Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney made the suggestion during a local radio interview Wednesday, explaining it will benefit Philadelphia and the state by making it harder for minors to access the substance. Support for the decriminalization or legalization of recreational marijuana is building among lawmakers in the state, but many are still wary of taking action until their medical marijuana program, signed into law in April 2016, is fully implemented, reports Penn Live.

Kenney is a longtime advocate of marijuana legalization and argues it would rake in huge revenue for the state, money that currently flows to the black market.

“The hardest place to get served underage in Philadelphia when I was growing up was a Pennsylvania state liquor store,” Kenney said Wednesday, according to Penn Live. “To me, we have the perfect system to set up the legal recreational use of cannabis through a controlled state store system, allowing the state to capture all the income that is going to the underground.”

A new poll from Franklin & Marshall College shows 56 percent of voters in Pennsylvania support full legalization of marijuana, up from only 22 percent support in 2006. Despite the popular support, current proposals in the legislature are unlikely to gain much traction.

Voters in the state are getting more vocal in their criticism over the current status of marijuana in the state. Protests broke out after police raided a marijuana party at a warehouse in Philadelphia arresting 22 people April 22. Invitations posted on Instagram advertised the party, which had hundreds of guests.

Police said the event amounted to a giant group of people smoking, buying and selling marijuana and noted they also seized handguns and bulk amounts of cash during the raid. Authorities also pointed out the safety hazards such events pose to the community and to those in attendance. Residents of the local neighborhood said the warehouse is a popular location for these kinds of parties and were happy the police took action to shut it down.

Protesters gathered in front of the police station a day after the arrests, calling the incident an unprovoked raid of an otherwise peaceful gathering.

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The post Philly Mayor Wants State To Start Selling Weed In Liquor Stores appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

By: Elias J. Atienza

Maine State Senator Eric Brakey has been called the next coming of Rand Paul; and he is bent on joining the libertarian-leaning Senator by overcoming Maine’s Senator Angus King (I) in the 2018 midterm elections.

The 28 year old two-term state senator worked for Ron Paul‘s 2012 presidential campaign and championed causes such as gun rights and welfare reform, while also breaking from his party for his support of marijuana legalization and opposition to mass surveillance.

“I am proud to announce that I am running for the United States Senate to lead the charge in returning power back to the American people,” said Brakey in a statement. “For far too long, career politicians in Washington like Senator King have maintained power with empty promises and insider deal-making.”

Senator King is facing an attack on two fronts. Despite being an independent, he caucuses with Democrats. However, he voted with in lines with Trump’s agenda almost 50 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight. A progressive challenger from the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party could possibly attack King for being insufficiently progressive.

In addition, King will be under attack from conservatives due to his lackluster conservative record. He has a 3% from the Conservative Review and will be barraged by his opposition to Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Neil Gorsuch.

Brakey will be the underdog.  But he’s been deemed the “political wonderkid” and a good fundraiser. The Senate seat is not guaranteed for King despite his high approval rating.

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The post Libertarian Republican Eric Brakey Is Challenging Angus King for Senate appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

What was sure to be a historic election night for marijuana law reform turned out to be almost perfect. Nine states had either recreational legalization or medical legalization on their statewide ballots and voters in 8 of those states approved legalization measures.

Legalization for everyone aged 21 years or older passed in California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts. Medical bills passed in Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota, while voters in Montana approved an expansion of their medical program, which has been decimated by the state legislature in recent years.

The only blemish on the night came with the defeat of Proposition 205 in Arizona. Activists there have to start over, but AZ now has California and Nevada as legalization states on its border. That, along with the major momentum the anti-prohibition movement has after last night, should make their job a lot easier.

“Election Day dealt another body blow to our nation’s costly, failed, and discriminatory policy of marijuana prohibition,” the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said in a statement on last night’s results. “If anyone thought our victories in 2012 and 2014 were a passing fad, it is now clear that they were mistaken. With adult use measures being approved in four states (CA, MA, ME, NV) and medical marijuana initiatives passing in another four (AR, FL, MT, ND), the era of marijuana legalization is upon us. By standing together and fighting for our shared beliefs, we spread the seeds of the cannabis revolution far and wide.”

Some activists worry about what the incoming Trump Administration might do in regards to states that have legalized marijuana for various purposes. “President-Elect Trump has clearly and repeatedly pledged to respect state marijuana laws, and we fully expect him to follow through on those promises, not only because it is the right thing to do but also because these reforms are broadly supported by a growing majority of voters,” Tom Angell, the founder of Marijuana Majority, said in a statement. “Reversing course and going against the tide of history would present huge political problems that the new administration does not need.”

Toward that end, Marijuana Majority has started a petition that calls on President-Elect Trump to keep his promise and allow states to decide their own cannabis policies without federal interference.

The walls of marijuana prohibition are crumbling. Now is the time to swing our hammers against that wall harder than ever.

The post Marijuana Legalization Wins in 8 of 9 States on Historic Election Night appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

Election Day is tomorrow. Are you voting for Trump or Hillary?

Never mind, I don’t care and your vote is statistically meaningless and little is going to change. But there are some states where your vote can actually mean something. In some states, voters will be deciding on marijuana legalization.

And I’m not talking about medical marijuana. Yes, that’s important, and states like Florida and Arkansas have big votes on the issue. But at best medical cannabis is limited and is becoming more so all the time. I’m talking about any-adult-can-go-into-a-retail-shop-and-buy-marijuana-for-any-reason-legalization. If you live in one of these 5 states you can actually make a difference.

California: The big prize for legalization proponents tomorrow. In terms of population size and economic impact, CA dwarfs all other legalized states combined. Prop 64 would allow adults to posses up to an ounce of marijuana, grow 6 plants at home and buy marijuana in retail shops.

Arizona: Many experts expect this to be the closest recreational legalization vote of the night. Prop 205 would also legalize an ounce of possession in public and allow for 6 plants to be grown at home. The number of retail shops would be capped at 10% of the total number of liquor store licenses in the state, which is currently less than 180.

Nevada: Question 2 is similar to the Propositions discussed above with the exception that only those who live at least 25 miles away from a retail shop will be able to grow at home. It’ s silly provision meant to limit competition, but still better than the status quo.

Maine: While similar in many ways to the measures above, Question 1 would allow up to 2 1/2 ounces of public possession and would also allow for marijuana “social clubs” where cannabis could be consumed on the premises.

Massachusetts: Question 4 has been absolutely hammered by top politicians in the state and has had fundraising problems; despite all this, it is doing well in the polls. It would legalize one ounce of public possession and allow the growing of 6 plants home. Question 4 also comes with, surprisingly, a lower tax burden than measures in other states.

Tomorrow is a big day. Don’t smoke too much weed and forget to vote in the states listed above.

For full Marijuana Election Night coverage, tune in to CannabisRadio.com starting at 6pm ET/3pm PT on November 8th!

The post Voters in 5 States Decide on Recreational Marijuana Tomorrow appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

Newly leaked emails from Wikileaks show that Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton gave a thumbs down to the idea of marijuana legalization in a paid speech in 2014.

More specifically, Clinton’s comments came during an on-stage O & A with the Chairman and CEO of Xerox:

URSULA BURNS: So long means thumbs up, short means thumbs down; or long means I support, short means I don’t. I’m going to start with — I’m going to give you about ten long-shorts.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Even if you could make money on a short, you can’t answer short.

URSULA BURNS: You can answer short, but you got to be careful about letting anybody else know that. They will bet against you. So legalization of pot?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Short in all senses of the word.

These revelations obviously make one wonder if Hillary Clinton is just paying lip service to the notion of re-scheduling cannabis and letting states be “laboratories of democracy” as she has said publicly, just to fool some of the basement-dwelling stoners who supported Bernie Sanders into voting for her.

“While Clinton has made no secret in public appearances that she isn’t ready to endorse full legalization, she has usually framed her position as taking a wait-and-see approach, wanting to give laws like those in Colorado and other states a chance to work before she makes up her mind about ending prohibition,” wrote Tom Angell at Marijuana.com.

“The leaked Xerox excerpt, in contrast, positions her as strongly opposed to legalization.”

As Tom also points out, it’s possible that Clinton’s position on legalization has simply evolved over the last 2 years. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Hillary Clinton has changed her position on an issue. But therein lies the problem: can we ever really be sure what Hillary Clinton actually thinks about something?

The post Hillary Clinton: Against Marijuana Legalization “In All Senses of the Word” appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

New, stricter, rules on the labeling of cannabis edibles have taken effect in Colorado after complaints from many that marijuana edibles look much like regular edibles and it’s hard for children to tell the difference.

Authorities in CO — one of four states that have legalized marijuana possession and use by adults for any reason — have come up with a new “universal symbol” that will not only be visible on edible packaging but will also be imprinted on the edible itself when possible: a diamond shape with the letters T-H-C emblazoned in the middle.

These new rules now join a host of others that regulate edibles in the state, including child-proof containers and warning labels.

Of course, many people are worried about children ingesting cannabis edibles, and that’s a valid concern.

From USA Today:

There are no numbers in Colorado or any marijuana state on how many children or adults accidentally eat pot. But a 2016 study tracing admissions at Children’s Hospital Colorado just outside Denver found that more kids were treated for accidental pot ingestion after legalization, from 1.2 per 100,000 population two years prior to legalization to 2.3 per 100,000 population two years after legalization.

These are small numbers statistically, but when it’s your child, you don’t care much about stats.

It is important to note, however, that other products that may be harmful to children don’t come with similar labeling, like wine coolers that look like juice and vodka that tastes like candy. In some cases, we assume a certain level of adult responsibility when it comes to overseeing children. It seems that level is not enough when it comes to marijuana edibles, as seen in this graphic from marijuana columnist and radio host Russ Belville:

As much talk as there is about legal cannabis being treated like alcohol, we all know it’s not going to be. There is a stigma that surrounds marijuana in the minds of many that simply does not exist when it comes to alcohol. Is that fair? No. Will it be one of the prices paid for getting government permission to legalize a plant that should have never been deemed illegal in the first place? Probably.

So businesses will have to spend even more money complying with more government regulations just for the special privilege of selling things to people that they weren’t allowed to sell for decades. The government will dictate every step of the process, from grow to sale, then take their cut as well. And they reserve the right to change any rule at any time for any reason.

While legalization is very much preferable over people going to jail, it’s not really something that can filed under the category of “freedom.” But that can be said about many things in the United States today.

Maybe it’s the best that can be hoped for in this day and age.

The post Colorado Mandates Labels to Protect Kids from Weed, But Not Booze appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

To those on the outside looking in, it may seem like marijuana legalization is inevitable, a foregone conclusion. Nothing can stop the train of freedom as it rolls down the tracks to Weedtown! But if you look down the tracks a little way, you can see an obstruction: it’s a big pile of money, blocking the track, between us and Weedtown!

Next to that big pile of money is casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a sad, decrepit little man who is shoveling money onto the pile. See, Sheldon Adelson doesn’t approve of legal marijuana, even for medical purposes. He sunk Florida medical marijuana in 2014, almost single-handedly. He recently bought the biggest newspaper in Nevada and made them change their editorial stance on legalization. He has been a longtime contributor to the GOP and conservative causes. And now Adelson has recently given another $1 million to defeat medical marijuana in Florida…again.

Of course, this begs the questions: what the f#%k is this guy’s problem? What makes a man donate so much money to the effort of keeping sick people from having the choice of cannabis as medicine? Their are a few options to consider when seeking an answer to those questions:

• Defeating legalization helps Adelson’s businesses. But most of his businesses are casinos and it’s not like the Las Vegas Review-Journal changing its stance on legalization is going to cause a surge in readership, so we can probably dismiss this one.
• Adelson really believes that cannabis leads to harder drugs and legalizing it in any way will lead to the destruction of the youth of America and therefore cause the destruction of the future of the United States. Despite the fact that the “Gateway Theory” has been thoroughly debunked, this would not be an uncommon opinion among people who grew up in the “reefer madness” era that preceded the late 1960s. He simply may not know any better and have no interest in gaining new knowledge on the subject.
• Adelson is old and jaded and just doesn’t care about sick people. He’s an evil little man who likes to cause suffering because of some wrong he was done in the past or because he has some sort of complex that causes him to never be happy, no matter how much he accomplishes, and he likes to spread that suffering.

There are other possibilities, but these are the more plausible ones. So, which is it? This is mere speculation of course, but I’m going to go with a lot of #2 with some of #3 mixed in.

In the end, of course, the reason doesn’t matter; the result is the same. Adelson fuels anti-legalization forces with cash, which keeps sick people from being able to legally obtain medical cannabis. And if you’ve ever spent money at The Venetian, Sands Macao, The Palazzo, The Venetian Macao, Sands Expo and Convention Center, The Plaza Macao/Four Seasons Macao, Sands Bethlehem, Sands Cotai Central, Marina Bay Sands, The Parisian Macao or ever bought an edition or subscription of the Israel Hayom or the Las Vegas Review-Journal, then you’ve helped him do it.

Only one thing can slow the momentum of marijuana legalization: money. The Grim Reefer has a lot of it and it seems that he plans on putting that money to use.

The post Sheldon Adelson Spends Another $1 Million to Stop Medical Marijuna appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

The town of Aurora, Colorado is making so much tax money off of legal marijuana sales that they are planning on using some of it to fund programs to help the homeless.

The town plans on donating about $1.5 million in tax revenue to local non-profit organizations that focus on helping homeless people find shelter and jobs.

From a libertarian prospective, there is so much good and bad wrapped up in this one story. For instance, marijuana is being sold legally to adults for any reason in Colorado and that is great, considering how much of an abject failure cannabis prohibition is. But those sales are being taxed, and taxation is theft.

As a practical matter, however, taxes come with the society we live in and a lot fewer people would vote for marijuana legalization if tax revenue wasn’t involved. An argument can be made that the prospect of tax revenue is what will get cannabis over the hurdle from illegality to legality in the long run.

And as with all tax revenue, that money is being spent on something those who were taxed may or may not be in favor of. Of course, it could be worse: the city of Aurora, CO could set up a government agency designed to help homeless people and throw tax money at it and hope it works. At least in this instance they are donating the money to non-profits that have experience in this area.

We can debate all day whether or not this money will actually help homeless people to not be homeless anymore, and whether legal marijuana should be taxed at all is certainly a valid area for argument. But from the perspective of cannabis users, stories like this are great. Instead of soccer moms and hockey dads seeing “stoners” in their mind when they hear about marijuana legalization, many of them are going to see what can be “accomplished” with the tax revenue that will be the result.

This will drive a lot of votes to the “legalize” side, and considering only about 13% of adults use cannabis on a regular basis, those votes are desperately needed to reach the 50% threshold it takes in most states to end the war on cannabis users.

The post Colorado Town Uses Marijuana Tax Money to Fight Homelessness appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.

Last week the California Secretary of State’s office announced that the “Adult Use of Marijuana Act” has qualified to be on the statewide ballot, which means voters in the Golden State will have a chance to vote on recreational marijuana legalization for adults.

Related: California Voters Will Likely Decide on Marijuana Legalization This November

If the measure passes, those aged 21 years and older will be able to buy cannabis, possess up to an ounce, and grow up to 6 plants at home. A regulated recreational sales market will be created as well.

“Today marks a fresh start for California, as we prepare to replace the costly, harmful and ineffective system of prohibition with a safe, legal and responsible adult-use marijuana system that gets it right and completely pays for itself,” said Jason Kinney, spokesperson for AUMA.

There are those in the cannabis activist community who have already come out against AUMA, claiming it’s not “real legalization.” To be clear, no one wants un-taxed, unlimited marijuana legalization more than me. The fact that the government – the same government that kept cannabis illegal for so long – is now going to make billions in tax revenue off of legalization is quite maddening. But allowing people to remain criminals and continue to have their lives ruined by prohibition while we all wait for the “perfect legalization” that will never come is even crazier.

The bottom line is that AUMA is a vast improvement over the current system in California, which is what it should be compared to.

AUMA has a lot of support, not only in polls but also in terms of financial support (including tech billionaire Sean Parker, Weedmaps and the Drug Policy Alliance) as well as endorsements (including CA Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, the state Democratic Party, at least three members of the California congressional delegation, the state NAACP, the state ACLU, the California Cannabis Industry Association, and the California Medical Association). The measure also has the backing of the Marijuana Policy Project, a national cannabis advocacy group.

Most importantly, AUMA has the eyes of the world on it. Passage will open up a legal cannabis market in the state, an event that will have economic reverberations throughout the country due to its massive size. Conversely, defeat will be a boon to anti-legalization forces who will use it to show that legalization is not inevitable and that there is still a reason to fight (and raise funds).

Quite the battle – the biggest in the short history of marijuana law reform – is shaping up in California over the next 4 months, and much remains to be seen. No matter what happens, it’s certainly going to be interesting.

The post California Voters to Decide on Marijuana Legalization This November appeared first on The Libertarian Republic.