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Drug Policy Forum - 2020 Platform Resolutions - What You Can Do Now

2/1/2020

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2020 Platform Resolutions - Drug Policy Forum

Here are the Drug Policy Forum party platform resolutions. Print the ones you support and bring them with you when you caucus on Monday, February 3rd.

2020_platform_resolution_-_drug_policy_forum_-_expanding_medical_cannabis.docx
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2020_platform_resolution_-_drug_policy_forum_-_expanding_medical_cannabis.pdf
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Issue: Expanding Iowa’s Medical Marijuana Bill ​

Whereas in 2019, the Iowa Legislature overwhelmingly passed House File 732 that
would have expanded the state's restrictive medical marijuana program which was vetoed by 
Gov. Kim Reynolds at the end of the legislative session, and the legislature did not reconvene to take up an override;
 
Whereas the Medical Cannabidiol Board - which oversees Iowa’s low-THC medical
cannabis program - recommended that the legislature remove the three percent THC
potency cap and replace it with a purchasing limit of 4.5 grams of THC over 90 days, which does not go far enough to establish better therapeutic dosing standards, leaving most seriously ill
Iowans behind;
 
Whereas the Medical Cannabidiol Board conceded that a doctor should have the right to recommend dosing;
 
Whereas the Medical Cannabidiol Board also recommended adding PTSD to the list of medically qualifying conditions, thus protecting our veterans and other citizens who suffer from this diagnosis; and  
 
Whereas that recommendation is awaiting consideration from the Board of Medicine; now, let it be 
 
Resolved that it’s time for Iowa to pass effective and compassionate legislation regarding a comprehensive medical cannabis program that includes: 
            1.  removing the THC cap
            2.  allowing flower/bud, steam vaporization
            3.  including multiple strains of cannabis for patients.
​
 


Issue: Marijuana/Cannabis Legalization

2020_platform_resolutions_-_drug_policy_-_cannabis_legaliztion.docx
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2020_platform_resolutions_-_drug_policy_-_cannabis_legaliztion.pdf
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Whereas, marijuana/cannabis prohibition hasn’t worked, with marijuana use being mainstream widespread;
 
Whereas prohibition wastes public resources, while marijuana taxation brings in much-needed revenue;1
 
Whereas prohibition sends an overwhelming number of Americans through the criminal justice system, ruining countless lives; 
 
Whereas arresting marijuana offenders prevents police from focusing on real crime;2 and, 
 
Whereas prohibition is detrimental to the environment;3 now, be it

Resolved that Iowa lawmakers support marijuana/cannabis legalization.

 
1 The Congressional Research Service projected that replacing marijuana prohibition with taxation and regulation would yield $6.8 billion in excise taxes alone. In Washington State, taxes on cannabis sales brought in more than $400 million in 2017.
 
2  More than 650,000 marijuana arrests and citations — more than for all violent crimes combined. Meanwhile, FBI data showed that less than 46% of violent crimes and only 18.3% of property crimes were cleared nationwide. Data published in Police Quarterly showed a higher percentage of some crimes were solved after legalization in both Colorado and Washington.
 
3 Illicit marijuana growers sometimes use banned pesticides, divert waterways, and leave hazardous waste in state and national parks. Regulated cannabis businesses are monitored to ensure compliance with zoning and environmental laws.
​

 

Issue: Marijuana/Cannabis Decriminalization

2020_platform_resolutions_-_drug_policy_-_cannabis_decrminalization_.docx
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2020_platform_resolutions_-_drug_policy_-_cannabis_decrminalization_.pdf
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Whereas Iowa is seriously lagging behind the 26 states and the District of Columbia that have stopped jailing and criminalizing residents for possessing small amounts of marijuana;
 
Whereas under current Iowa law, first-offense possession of even a single joint is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, one of the most severe first-offense penalties in the
country; and
 
Whereas these draconian penalties hit low-income and communities of color the
hardest and, according to the ACLU, people of color in Iowa are almost eight times more
likely to be arrested for marijuana prohibition than their white counterparts; now, be it
 
Resolved that lawmakers support reducing or eliminating marijuana/cannabis possession penalties, and putting an end marijuana/cannabis prohibition.
​



Issue: Removing Marijuana/Cannabis from Schedule I Classification

2020_platform_resolutions_-_drug_policy_-_cannabis_schedule_i_removal.docx
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2020_platform_resolutions_-_drug_policy_-_cannabis_schedule_i_removal.pdf
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Whereas, on October 27, 1970, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control
Act was enacted;
 
Whereas Title II of that act, titled the Controlled Substances Act, established
categories varying from Schedule I (the strictest classification) to Schedule V (the least
strict); and
 
Whereas Marijuana was placed in the Schedule I category, thereby prohibiting its use for
any purpose; now, be it
 
Resolved that Congressional lawmakers remove marijuana/cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
​


Issue: Overdose Prevention and Harm Reduction Access

2020_platform_resolutions_-_drug_policy_-_harm_reduction.docx
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2020_platform_resolutions_-_drug_policy_-_harm_reduction.pdf
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Whereas the Iowa State legislature has continued to deny access to life-saving harm reduction tools such as safe syringe access, safe consumption sites, and a state standing order to dispense naloxone; and
 
Whereas Iowa legislators continue to ignore evidenced-based interventions for their constituents while 33 states have established syringe access programs; removed paraphernalia laws; and are considering safe consumption sites to reduce disease transmission of HIV, Hep C, and to prevent overdose death; now, be it

Resolved that Iowa lawmakers immediately support safe syringe access, safe consumption sites, and a state standing order for the life-saving overdose reversal drug, naloxone. 



​Caroline Vernon​
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Candidate Questions - Drug Policy Reform

4/23/2019

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Candidate Questions - Drug Policy Reform

Let’s get organized before the next presidential candidates come to town! It’s hard to know what questions to ask, but here is a list that we have created. If you have additional questions you think should be asked, please contact our Office Manager, Amber Bordolo and we will add to this list.
 
If you attend a candidate’s event, print off this list (see the download link below) and have it handy in case you have an opportunity to ask questions. Listen carefully to the answers on the topics below. Take notes if you can, and report back to us in the Blog Comments below.
 
These are also good questions that should be addressed to your State legislatures when they hold legislative sessions or campaign for re-election.
 

1.  What is your stance on the federal expansion of access to medical cannabis?
 
2. What is your stance on federal legalization of marijuana?

3.  In Iowa, a black person is six times more likely to be arrested for a non-violent marijuana-related offense than a white person, despite equal patterns of use.  What is your stance on decriminalizing marijuana and instead allowing opportunities of record expungement for formerly convicted non-violent marijuana offenders?
 
5.  In Iowa, we are working to expand access to clean needle syringes.  Data has proven that safe needle access plays a profound role in reducing overdose and death rates. Do you support increased syringe access on a federal level?

4.  What is your stance on the decriminalization of larger categories of drugs as a measure to keep fewer non-violent offenders out of jail?

 
questions_for_candidates_-_drug_policy_reform.docx
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Drug Policy Forum - Monthly Meeting, February, 2019

2/25/2019

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PACG Drug Policy February Meeting  -
​Tuesday, February 26th at 6:00 pm

Fresh Deli, Davenport Freight House, 421 W River Dr, Davenport, IA (map)

After learning so much from our great panel at our Iowa Public forum on February 16th, we are empowered to take our advocacy to the next level in Iowa.  Iowans, please send your legislators a note by completing a post card:

To Senators Grassley & Ernst
To Congressman Loebsack
To Governor Reynolds

We will also discuss developments of our upcoming Illinois Public forum on Cannabis Legalization. Rev Sharp with Clergy for a New Drug Policy will explain the new legislation and answer important questions.

If you are a cannabis advocate, we hope you will join us!

Caroline Vernon

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Contact Your Senators Regarding Marijuana in STATES Act

12/31/2018

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Action Alert! Senator Grassley Squashes Debate on Marijuana STATES Act

Iowa Senator Quashes Floor Debate On Marijuana STATES Act
Drug Policy Forum 

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) recently blocked lawmakers from considering an amendment on the floor of the US Senate that sought to permanently remove the threat of federal intervention in states that regulate marijuana sales.

The amendment, offered by Colorado Republican Cory Gardner, was largely identical to Senate Bill 3032: The STATES Act, which creates an exemption under federal law for those jurisdictions that legally regulate marijuana production and retail sales. Senator Gardner has stated that he has the votes to pass the measure on the floor, and that the President would sign the bill into law. To date, however, the measure has yet to receive either a debate or a vote by members of the Senate.

Senator Grassley, who has previously bottled S. 3032 in committee, quashed Sen. Gardner's effort to attach the language to broader sentencing reform bill, The First Step Act. Senator Grassley called the amendment a "backdoor to legalization," and said that its intent was "inappropriate to consider in the context of a criminal justice reform bill."

Senate members eventually passed The First Step Act. House members followed suit on Thursday. The measure now awaits action from the President.

As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Grassley has refused to permit votes on any Senate bills pertaining to marijuana law reform. However, in November, he announced that he would be stepping down as Committee Chair.

ACTION 1:  Please contact Senator Grassley and WEIGH IN -- if Rep Gardner had the votes in the senate, why is Grassley preventing debate on this issue?

https://ballotpedia.org/Who_represents me

ACTION 2: As Senator Grassley will be stepping down as Chair of the Judiciary Committee, it is important that we WEIGH IN with the new chairman once appointed -- stay tuned.

Caroline Vernon
carolina1961@gmail.com
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