Bloomberg Supports Cuomo's Call To Revise New York Marijuana Possession Laws

Arrests for marijuana possession are among the top crimes caught under the NYPD's Stop and Frisk policy. That policy has been under attack for its disproportionate focus on minorities throughout the city.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has now floated a proposal to reduce the penalty for possession of a joint to a violation, essentially decriminalizing the possession of amounts under 25 grams.

Mr. Bloomberg, whose administration had previously defended low-level marijuana arrests as a way to deter more serious crime, said in a statement that the governor’s proposal “strikes the right balance” in part because it would still allow the police to arrest people who were smoking marijuana in public.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, plans to hold a news conference at the Capitol on Monday to announce his plans to seek the change in state law. Administration officials said the governor would seek to downgrade the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana in public view from a misdemeanor to a violation, with a maximum fine of $100 for first-time offenders.

Mr. Bloomberg said his police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, would attend the governor’s news conference “to show our support for his proposal.”

“We look forward to working with legislative leaders to help pass a bill before the end of session,” the mayor said, referring to this year’s legislative session in Albany, which is scheduled to conclude in three weeks.

In his statement, the mayor noted that last September, Mr. Kelly issued a memorandum to officers clarifying that they were not to arrest people who take small amounts of marijuana out of their pockets after being stopped by the police.

Mr. Bloomberg said that the governor’s proposal was “consistent with the commissioner’s directive.”

Bloomberg's changed stance increases the chances that the proposal may gain traction in the state. Reducing the penalties would also reduce the number of people who would be brought into the criminal justice system and reduce costs over the long haul - though that has the potential to be offset by an increase in crime. Expect Republicans to focus on the potential for higher crime, though they may also see the reduced costs for incarceration and processing of low-level drug crimes. Even Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey has called for revision of drug crime penalties to reflect the fact that the state can't afford to incarcerate low-level drug offenders.

IRS Ruling May Deal Crushing Blow To Medical Marijuana Industry

An IRS ruling today may have dealt a crushing blow to nonprofit providers that issue medical marijuana as allowed under state law. The key provision is IRC Sec. 280E, which disallows deductions for the following:

...deductions incurred in the trade or business of trafficking in controlled substances that federal law or the law of any state in which the taxpayer conducts the business prohibits. For this purpose, the term “controlled substances” has the meaning provided in the Controlled Substances Act. Marijuana falls within the Controlled Substances Act.

Since federal law hasn't been amended to exclude medical marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act, the IRS has to disallow any deductions that the providers have taken. These are deductions that any business would take as a matter of course - business expenses for example.

That is a huge tax burden and one that makes little sense. Moreover, the legal provision of medical marijuana at Harborside in Oakland has resulted in quite a tidy sum of tax revenues: $1.1 million in taxes to the city of Oakland, $2 million to the state of California and $500,000 to the federal government. The IRS ruling would increase the federal government tab to $2.5 million, but would end up killing the business. Other providers in a similar position would see a similar hit.

I don't fault the IRS for pursuing this particular case, as they are required to follow the law as in effect. It's up to Congress to fix this.

Corzine's Last Acts and Christie's Inauguration

Today marks the end of the road for Governor Jon Corzine. Before he left office, he granted several pardons, but the big news is that he signed the medical marijuana bill into law that makes New Jersey the 14th state to legalize the use under strict circumstances. The medical marijuana law is effective in six months.

The marijuana bill (S119) is expected to take effect in six months. Only patients with specific illnesses would be permitted to get a prescription: cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gherig’s disease), severe muscle spasms, muscular dystrophy, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease and any terminal illness if a doctor has determined the patient will die within a year.

The law allows the state health department to include other illnesses when it writes rules implementing it.

The law has other restrictions, such as forbidding people from growing their own marijuana, ensuring it is dispensed through licensed “alternate treatment centers,” and requiring designated caretakers who retrieve the drug on behalf of someone severely ill to undergo criminal background checks.

While some people think that the bill sends the wrong message to children, I think that the medicinal benefits outweigh the problems. Under controlled circumstances, marijuana appears to have medicinal value and can help patients suffering from a range of ailments. It's about moderation and the law balances the medicinal benefits while preventing the drugs from falling into the wrong hands.

Speaking of moderation, New Jersey will also now require chain restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus, even as other reports indicate that the calorie counts may be off by up to 20% and still be acceptable. For a restaurant like Harold's (which isn't a chain and wouldn't be required to post the calorie counts),  the law will have no effect. Then again, one of the reasons that people go to Harold's is to attempt to polish off a  platter or portion that can provide a week's worth of caloric intake. The calorie content in such a case would be to see how much you can eat in a sitting.

While the nanny staters think that such things will help reduce obesity and force change from the top down, the single best way to reduce the waistlines of Americans is for individuals to engage in portion control. They don't have to polish off their plates; and the plates themselves can be smaller. Switching to a slightly smaller plate can reduce caloric intake without any extra effort on the part of the individual. Yet, restaurants are obliged to provide heaping portions because it's about the perceived value of the meals and not the health benefits of (or problems with)  those meals.

So, with that in mind, Republican Chris Christie takes office today and faces  a monstrous deficit and budget problems that are bigger than those of many other states. The state pension obligations are a ticking time bomb, education spending remains out of control and the tax burden continues chasing individuals and businesses out of the state leaving an ever smaller tax base on which a greater tax burden is heaped. These are not inconsequential problems and the legislature isn't likely to give Christie much leeway in trying to deal with these massive issues.

New Jersey Lame Duck Legislature's Last Stand

A bill allowing the distribution of medical marijuana at state-run dispensaries passed the Assembly today and it is likely to be passed by the State Senate with Gov. Corzine signing the measure as he leaves Trenton on January 19. It passed by an overwhelming majority - 48-14. Users would not be able to grow their own marijuana, which is a departure from the California medical marijuana law.

The Assembly and Senate versions need to be reconciled, but that appears to be a minor issue and New Jersey can expect to be the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana.

It's expected that incoming Gov. Chris Christie would be amenable to the medical marijuana provisions.

New Jersey considers a medical marijuana law

Meanwhile, the vote on giving illegal aliens in-state tuition is pretty much a dead issue.

The legislature's session ends today, so any legislation that isn't signed into law is effectively killed until it gets reintroduced in the new session.

UPDATE:
The legislature passed the medical marijuana bill, and all it needs is Corzine's signature before Tuesday and New Jersey will be the first in the region to legalize medical marijuana.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine has said he would sign it into law before leaving office next Tuesday. Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie, speaking at a press conference on Monday before the vote, reiterated his support for legalizing the medical use of marijuana as long as the final bill contained safeguards to ensure that it did not end up encouraging the recreational use of the drug.

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, a Democrat from Princeton, said the New Jersey law would be the most restrictive in the nation because it would only permit doctors to prescribe it for a list of serious chronic illnesses. The legislation would also forbid patients from growing their own marijuana and using it in public, and it would regulate the drug under the strict conditions used to track the distribution of medically prescribed opiates like Oxycontin and morphine.

“I truly believe this will become a model for other states because it balances the compassionate use of medical marijuana while limiting the number of ailments that a physician can prescribe it for,” said Mr. Gusciora, who sponsored the bill.

California Docs Prescribing Medical Marijuana For ADHD

What will they think of next. Some doctors are taking the opportunity to prescribe medical marijuana for those kids suffering from ADHD.

Since 2004, California has given out more than 36,000 medical marijuana prescriptions. The number of these prescriptions going to children is not known, though experts say it's on the rise. And it's creating quite a controversy.

"Let me count the ways in which prescribing marijuana for teens with ADHD is a bad idea," Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, told Sphere.

"The active ingredient in pot, THC, causes short-term memory problems and inattention, the very same things you want a medicine for ADHD to help alleviate," Hinshaw said.

Others have fewer qualms about giving a kid with ADHD some pot.

"I'd have no hesitation giving a youngster with ADHD a trial of oral marijuana," Lester Grinspoon, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of "Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine," told Sphere.

Instead of simply prescribing a drug, how about double blind tests to see if there's actually any medical benefit from the use of medical marijuana instead of blindly claiming that it works or not.

Still, I can see plenty of opportunity for abusing this - both in diagnosis with ADHD and in treating with medical marijuana.

Harry Potter Actor Busted For Unlawful Herbology

He portrays one of bullies who constantly needles Harry Potter in the hit franchise. Now, Jamie Waylett is going to have quite the hard time dealing with the Muggle police:

Jamie Waylett, who plays the beefy bully Vincent Crabbe in the "Harry Potter" movie franchise, was busted for growing 10 marijuana plants in his north London home by Scotland Yards. He was arrested in April after cops found the budding sorcerer with bags of the magic weed in his car.

Waylett, 18, was charged on Tuesday shortly before the London premiere of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth installment of the wildy popular series based on the books by British author J.K. Rowling.