The U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island has warned property owners that taking on tenants in the marijuana industry can result in facing forfeiture proceedings.
In a move echoing that of U.S. Attorneys in California and Colorado, Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha has warned would-be landlords of dispensaries that the Department of Justice is watching, and will send letters of forfeiture if need be.
Neronha's office reconfirmed that no one intends on prosecuting sick patients, but rather, the large-scale marijuana operations.
Late Wednesday night, the Connecticut House of Representatives voted in favor of a bill legalizing medical marijuana for the state. Gov. Dannel Malloy has said that if the bill clears the Sente, he will sign it.
The bill's 96-51 victory was not the first time medical marijuana has been approved by the Connecticut House; it has been brought up in the Connecticut legislature in eight of the last 10 years. In both 2004 and 2007, medical marijuana cleared the House of Representatives, but the bill had never made it past former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who was in office until January of 2011.
Some traditional farmers are sharpening their pitchforks over a Lake County, California ballot measure that would protect medical marijuana growers under "right to farm" laws.
Arguing that marijuana is an "agricultural product", Measure D, The Medical Marijuana Cultivation Act of 2012 "would allow oversight," says the Lake County Citizens for Responsible Regulations website, "to ensure that detrimental pesticides and herbicides are not being utilized, that environmental and nuisance laws are being followed, and that growers are operating in full compliance with state law."
Today, a Republican-led New Hampshire House voted in favor of legalizing medical marijuana within the state. The wide-margin win is a relief to proponents of the program, who still have a long road until legalization is possible.
The House's 236-96 supermajority in favor of SB 409 sets a similar stage to the legalization bill in 2009, which enjoyed a large House victory but ended in veto after the Senate passed only 3 votes shy of the necessary three-fifths to override it.
Governor John Lynch has made it clear (as recently as Tuesday) that he will veto any bill having to do with medical marijuana, so if the Senate comes up short again when it votes, medical marijuana will have to wait another year.
