It is possible that the next battleground for legalizing marijuana could be Alaska. On Friday, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell certified the initiative language for “An Act to tax and regulate the production, sale, and use of marijuana.” If supporters gather 30,169 valid signatures the initiative can be place on the ballot. The aim is to put in on the primary election ballot next year.

The initiative is based on the new laws adopted by voters in Colorado and Washington State. It would make it legal for adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. Individual would also be able to grow a limited number of plants at home in a secure location.

It would also create a system for the retail sale of marijuana. Marijuana sales would be subject to an excise tax and would be regulated by either the Alcohol Beverage Control board or a newly created Marijuana Control Board.

While a Republican leaning state like Alaska might seem to be a strong choice there are several factors make is a surprisingly good target for a legalization effort. Alaska has by far the youngest demographics in the country and support for marijuana reform is highly correlated with age.

Over at the StoptheDrugWar.org investigative journalist Clarence Walker has an interesting story of how a corrupt cop conspired with a judge to plant drugs on a woman. The whole article is worth reading:

“This C.J. guy confessed to me and Garmley that Judge Cochran paid him money to plant the drugs on Garmley’s vehicle,” Poston told the Chronicle. “She told both me and GBI investigators that on the night prior to her arrest, C.J. came by her house around 1:30am acting strange, asking Garmley if her father, who no longer lived with her, wanted to trade off his guitar. Mrs. Garmley said as C.J. talked, she noticed him watching her cell phone, but she moved it. C.J. said the judge told him that if he got ahold of Garmley’s phone that he would get paid more, particularly because Garmley had the judge’s phone number and text messages.”

Realizing that his cell phone log could be subpoenaed regardless of whether his messages were deleted, Greeson finally cracked, telling investigators that Henderson had asked him to pull the drug-planted car over and to keep quiet about it.

This story highlights one of the main problems of the drug war that doesn’t get much attention.

For most serious crimes that carry long prison sentences like rape, murder, grand theft, arson, etc… it is fairly difficult to frame a person. To begin with, a crime must be committed against another person. So you need to either commit the crime yourself or tamper with the evidence in a way that would let the real criminal go free. You also need to make sure the person you are framing won’t have an alibi.

The drug war, though, makes it frighteningly easy to frame someone for a serious drug crime. Harsh drug possession laws are almost unique in this regard. All you need to do is plant what is a relatively small bag of powder on a person or their property to basically guarantee a felony conviction.

There is no way to reliably know how often this situation has been abused, but this story proves it is does sometimes happen.

The voters of Nevada legalized medical marijuana back in 2000 but there has never been an easy legal way for patients to access it besides growing their own. That will soon change.

Wednesday Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) signed into law SB 374. The bill was earlier overwhelmingly approved by the state legislature. After more than a decade it will finally establish a system of medical marijuana dispensaries in the state.

All dispensaries will need to be registered and licensed with the state. The bill sets limits the number of dispensaries and where they can be located to avoid an over-concentration of medical marijuana establishments in any one place.

A small 2 percent tax will also be imposed on medical marijuana sales. The revenue generated will be used to pay for cost of regulating the new system and fund schools.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg might think medical marijuana is the “one of the great hoaxes of all time,” but he only represents a fringe minority in his state. A new Quinnipiac poll finds that the voters of New York overwhelmingly think medical marijuana is a good idea which should be legalized by the state legislature.

According to the poll, 70 percent of voters in the state think it should be legal for patients to use marijuana for medical purposed if it is prescribed by their doctor. Only 26 percent of the state share Bloomberg’s opinion that medical marijuana is a bad idea.

There is majority support for medical marijuana among all age groups, income brackets, and regions of the state. The poll found 58 percent of Republicans and 65 percent of older voters think it would be a good idea for the state legislature to approve medical marijuana. These are the two groups who tend to be most opposed to any marijuana-related reforms, yet even they overwhelmingly support giving sick people legal access to medical marijuana.

Earlier this week the New York Assembly overwhelming approved AB 6357, which would legalize medical marijuana. The bill now moves on to the state senate where it faces a tough challenge. If the senators of New York are listening to their constituents, they would move quickly to approve the bill.

Starting next month possession of marijuana will be decriminalized in Vermont. Thursday afternoon Governor Peter Shumlin (D) officially signed into law a bill significantly reducing the penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana. The bill, H 200, was approved by large majorities in both the House and the Senate.

Previously, possession of a small amount of marijuana was a misdemeanor punishable by up six months in jail and a $500 fine for a first offense. Subsequent offenses could theoretically result in up to two years in jail.

Under the new law, possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults 21 and over will result in only a civil fine. The maximum fine will be $200 for a first offense, with slightly higher fines for repeated offenses. People under the age of 21 caught with marijuana will also be required to undergo substance abuse screening.

Vermont is now the 17th state to adopt a law that decriminalizes or legalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana for adults. The law will go into effect starting July 1st.