Guam Passes Medical Marijuana Law

With 56 of 58 precincts reporting as of press time, the US island territory of Guam has passed Proposal 14A, a medical marijuana law referred by the legislature to voters.  The vote stands at 18,674 YES to 14,453 NO for passage by 56.4 percent of Guam voters.

Marijuana Majority’s Tom Angell notes the global rise in marijuana support, telling us that “The marijuana majority is a truly global phenomenon. People all across the world are ready to move beyond failed prohibition laws, especially when seriously ill patients are criminalized just for following their doctors’ recommendations. With these election results, US territories stretching from Guam — where America’s day begins near the International Date Line — to Hawaii and Alaska have sensible laws that let patients use marijuana without fear of arrest. And this is just the beginning of a very big day. It’s likely that we’ll see other important marijuana reforms enacted today as election results come in from races across the US”

The law, known as the “Joaquin (KC) Concepcion II Compassionate Cannabis Use Act”, will allow qualifying patients to cultivate and possess a three-month supply of cannabis, an amount to be determined by the Department of Public Health and Social Services.  Qualifying conditions include cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage resulting in intractable spasticity, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, hospice care, PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune inflamatory disorders.  There will be a registry of patients and their caregivers and registry cards will be issued.  No system of dispensaries appears to be created by the law.