The near-perennial campaign to legalize medical use of marijuana got off to its best start ever with the 14-1 endorsement from a key House committee Thursday.
A bill that would legalize marijuana possession and create a state-regulated system of legal marijuana commerce was introduced in the Oregon legislature Monday. That makes Oregon the eighth state to either see such a bill this year or have one pending. The others are Hawaii (already dead), Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
On Monday, cops raided the home of Cathy Jordan, president of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, and seized all her pot after a government employee who was visiting a neighbor spotted some marijuana plants on her property.
Flanked by more than 150 advocates from around the country, Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer on Monday put forward his legislation allowing states to legalize medical marijuana in an effort to end the confusion surrounding federal pot policy.