It's all over except for the governor's signature, and he says that will happen in a "big" ceremony after Memorial Day.
Faced with having no drug possession law at all come July 1, the legislature came up with a compromise.
A jealous North Carolina deputy cooks up a plot to frame his ex-girlfriend's new beau, and more.
New Hampshire's governor changes his tune on marijuana legalization, the Connecticut House approves psilocybin decriminalization, and more.
The House passes a bill to fund research into the veterinary-drug-turned-fentanyl-supplement Xylazine, a former Filipina president introduces a medical marijuana bill, and more.
A Florida marijuana legalization initiative will get a state Supreme Court review, Washington's governor signs into law a bill protecting pot-smoking employees, and more.
Pot isn't the only thing you can buy in some Los Angeles-area pot shops, overdose deaths appear to have plateaued last year, and more.
A major civil and human rights group comes out against one federal fentanyl bill, bipartisan senators and representatives file another one, and more.
Minnesota is one Senate vote away from legalizing marijuana, the RESTORE Act gets reintroduced, and more.
A bill protecting medical marijuana patients advances in Louisiana, a bill broadening expungement and freeing some pot prisoners advances in Connecticut, and more.
An Oregon bill to mandate fentanyl education in the public schools goes to the governor, a House committee rejects a Republican's marijuana legalization amendment, and more.
San Francisco's mayor is ready to roll out a pilot program to arrest public drug users, yet another federal bill aimed at the fentanyl trade gets filed, and more.
No more pot smoking on the streets of Amsterdam's red light district, a bipartisan marijuana legalization bill gets filed in Ohio, and more.
The Louisiana House votes to radically quicken expungements for pot possession offenses, a Texas medical marijuana bill is dead in the water in the state Senate, and more.
With final votes approving the House File 100 marijuana legalization bill in the House and Senate last week, Minnesota is only a governor's signature away from becoming the 23rd state to legalize marijuana and the second, after Delaware to do it this year. And in comments after the legislature sent him the bill, Gov. Tim Walz (D) has made it crystal clear that he will sign the bill into law -- with a "big" ceremony after Memorial Day.
While licensed adult-use legal marijuana sales are months away, marijuana will be legal to possess and home cultivate beginning August 1, and expungement provisions of the law also go into effect then.
"When the bill reaches my desk, Minnesota will become the 23rd state in the nation to legalize adult-use cannabis," Walz said. "It's going to take a while. We have to put the regime into place. We’ll have to make sure the licensing stands up. And what we've said is -- what you're going to have certainty about is -- is that you're going to know what the product you're buying is, there's going to be a regulated, safe environment and we're going to be able to stand that up," he vowed.
As for phased legalization, with the August date for the end of pot prohibition and legal commerce beginning after regulators set up a system, "I think the legislature did a smart thing here," Walz said. "I think this is what Minnesotans expect. We've seen it in other states that it worked. We have the advantage of learning from what they did."
The state is moving quickly. The Office of Cannabis Management, which will be the regulator but which has not even been officially formed yet, already has its own web site. It contains information for recreational marijuana users, medical marijuana patients, people who want to get into the industry, and people seeking information about expungements. "We're going to be working on the expungements to get people back to where they should have been, and then we will set up the infrastructure to make sure that we're licensing and regulating the dispensaries," Walz said.
"We've been working on this for about four years, talking to people in Vermont and Colorado. We want to make it a smooth transition. But I think the biggest thing is that, on August 1, just making sure we're not going to spend precious dollars in our policing focusing on possession of cannabis, rather than looking at other crimes we should be working on," he said. "It just takes a little bit of time. We'll implement it. We'll get it in. And I think this is the direction Minnesota wanted us to go."
Under the bill (about to become law), people 21 and over will be able to possess up to two ounces in public as of August 1. They will also be able to grow up to eight plants at home, four of which can be in flowering, and they can possess up to two pounds of the fruits of their harvest at home. People can also transfer up to two ounces without remuneration to other adults.
Also beginning August 1, certain misdemeanor marijuana records will be automatically expunged. A new bureaucratic entity, the Cannabis Expungement Board, will also consider some marijuana felonies for relief, including potential sentence cuts for those still behind bars.
The legal marijuana commerce is expected to take between a year and 18 months to get up and running with licenses issued and sales underway by then. Existing medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to get combination licenses to compete in the adult use market as of March 1, 2025.
Cities and counties cannot ban legal marijuana businesses, but they can impose "reasonable" regulations. They can also chose to operate their own dispensaries, like a state liquor store.
Retail marijuana sales will be taxed at 16.875 percent, which adds a 10 percent pot tax to the state's 6.875 percent sales tax. Four-fifths of marijuana tax and fee revenue will go to the state's general fund, with some funds earmarked for grants to marijuana businesses and drug treatment efforts. The other 20 percent will go to local governments.
The law will also allow onsite consumption for special events, as well as marijuana delivery services.
The new law will attempt to address equity concerns by scoring applicants higher if they live in low-income neighborhoods, have marijuana convictions or family members with them, or are military veterans with less than an honorable discharge because of a marijuana-related offense.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is liking what it is seeing in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
"The majority of Minnesota voters support repealing marijuana prohibition and replacing this failed policy with legalization and regulation," NORML's Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. "Passage of this legislation is the result of years of grassroots activism by consumers and stakeholders, including Minnesota NORML. In fact, the impetus for the formation of Minnesota NORML was based upon a police raid and resulting marijuana arrest. These sorts of destructive actions are now poised to come to an end in Minnesota."
And perhaps that can be a lesson to the state's prohibitionist neighbors in the Dakotas, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
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Washington state is bordered on the north by British Columbia, which has decriminalized drug possession (at least for the next five years) under a federal waiver in January, and on the south by Oregon, which decriminalized drug possession by popular vote in 2020. But Washington state lawmakers this week made it clear that they would not be following their neighbors down the decriminalization path.
There has been an opening for drug decriminalization in the Washington ever since the state Supreme Court threw out the state's felony drug possession statute in 2021 in Washington v. Blake because it did not require the defendant to knowingly possess forbidden drugs. Rather than have no drug possession statute at all, the legislature that year produced a bill to make it a misdemeanor. That bill was set to expire on July 1.
This year, as the clocked ticked down, lawmakers debated a variety of possibilities from decriminalization to re-felonization, and at the session, a conference committee produced a version of the drug possession law, Senate Bill 5536, that called for making possession a gross misdemeanor (punishable by up to 364 days in jail, as opposed to 90 for a misdemeanor) and skimped on funding for treatment. No Republicans voted for the final version of the bill, saying it was soft on crime.
Democrats and progressives were angered by the imposition of the gross misdemeanor penalties and the levels of treatment funding. Enough disaffected Democrats voted no to kill it.
"The notion that this bill is soft on crime is ridiculous. The House caved to pressure to escalate the penalty back up from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor, with diversions allowed only with the consent of the prosecutor," said Allison Holcomb, director of political strategies for the ACLU of Washington. "A gross misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to 364 days and a $5,000 fine is harsher than the felony penalty that applied before the Blake decision. The standard range for a felony [drug possession] offense was 0-60 days for the first three offenses, lower even than a misdemeanor -- 90 days."
The session ended last month without a new drug law and that left open the possibility that the state would soon have no drug possession law at all. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) then called a special session to meet this week with the drug possession law as its sole agenda item.
On Tuesday, the legislature passed a revised version of SB 5536, and Gov. Inslee signed it into law that night.
The bill signed into law maintains drug possession as a gross misdemeanor, but limits jail terms to 180 days -- not the 364-day term typical for that level offense. And it creates a new offense of public drug use with the same penalties. For both offenses, the maximum fine was lowered to $1,000.
It also includes $44 million to expand treatment and recovery efforts, more than double the $20 million allocated in the original bill.
But to appeal to conservatives, it also allows localities to continue to prohibit harm reduction services, including needle exchanges and safe injection sites, and it continues to give courts and prosecutors some discretion in a new pretrial diversion program, including jailing defendants who repeatedly reject drug treatment.
"This bill is not designed to fill our jails, it's designed to fill our treatment centers," said Inslee as he signed the bill. "And the investments we're making will create treatment resources in small townships and big cities. This is a statewide solution to a statewide problem."
Some progressives who voted for the bill still had concerns. State Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma) said the state was still relying on the criminal justice system to bully people into treatment that too often isn't there.
"We don't have the infrastructure to offer services to everyone who will need it, and that gives me great pause," Trudeau said.
But veteran drug reformer state Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) called it "a fair compromise that addresses urgent concerns about public disorder but follows evidence-based practices in helping people in need."
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A jealous North Carolina deputy cooks up a plot to frame his ex-girlfriend's new beau, and more. Let's get to it:
In Covington, Louisiana, a St. Tammany Parish jail guard was arrested Monday after she was accused of bringing drugs into the parish jail. Now former guard Olivia Boswell went down after someone told the sheriff about drugs in the jail and he determined she was the person responsible. She is charged with malfeasance and introduction of contraband into a penal institution. She had worked at the jail for less than a year.
In Wadesboro, North Carolina, a former Anson County sheriff's deputy pleaded guilty last Friday to planting heroin and other drugs in his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend's car. Former deputy David Burroughs led a plot involving three other deputies, one of whom pulled over the boyfriend, claiming he had been speeding and that he smelled marijuana inside the vehicle. The boyfriend was then handcuffed and put in a patrol vehicle, which made a mysterious stop outside a nondescript building near an airstrip on the way to the sheriff's office.
The boyfriend was told by deputies that a narcotics investigator had to pick something up, and what that something was was the drugs used to frame him. At the sheriff's office, he was told he was about to be charged with drug dealing offenses, but that same night, other deputies released him and gave him back his vehicle. A month later, the State Bureau of Investigation told him that Burroughs had planted the drugs in his car.
Burroughs was arrested in 2019 and charged with making a false police report, obstructing justice, breaking and entering a motor vehicle and possession of heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty to only obstruction of justice and possession of heroin and was sentenced to two years' probation. But he and the other three deputies involved now face a civil suit.
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New Hampshire's governor changes his tune on marijuana legalization, the Connecticut House approves psilocybin decriminalization, and more.
Marijuana Policy
New Hampshire Senate Again Kills Marijuana Legalization Bill. As in years past, the Senate has once again killed a marijuana legalization bill, House Bill 639, leaving the state the only one in New England to still maintain marijuana prohibition. Republicans, who control the Senate, killed the bill on a near party-line vote, with one Democrat joining with them. They cited an ongoing drug addiction and overdose crisis in the state.
"Recreationalizing marijuana at this critical juncture would send a confusing message, potentially exacerbating the already perilous drug landscape and placing more lives at risk," Republican Senate President Jeb Bradley said in a written statement.
New Hampshire Governor Now Ready to Support Marijuana Legalization. Gov. Chris Sununu (R), a longtime opponent of marijuana legalization, is ready to change his tune -- as long as legalization is on his terms. In a press release Friday, he touted his signing of a decriminalization bill and the expansion of medical marijuana under his administration, but signaled his openness to some form of legalization in the near future.
"In the past, I said now is not the time to legalize marijuana in New Hampshire. Across this country and in the midst of an unprecedented opioid crisis, other states rushed to legalize marijuana with little guardrails. As a result, many are seeing the culture and fabric of their state turn," he said.
"NH is the only state in New England where recreational use is not legal. Knowing that a majority of our residents support legalization, it is reasonable to assume change is inevitable. To ignore this reality would be shortsighted and harmful. That is why, with the right policy and framework in place, I stand ready to sign a legalization bill that puts the State of NH in the drivers seat, focusing on harm reduction ?-- not profits. Similar to our Liquor sales, this path helps to keep substances away from kids by ensuring the State of New Hampshire retains control of marketing, sales, and distribution? -- eliminating any need for additional taxes. As such, the bill that was defeated in NH this session was not the right path for our state.
"New Hampshire must avoid marijuana miles ?-- ?the term for densely concentrated marijuana shops within one city or town. Any city or town that wants to ban shops should be free to do so. The state would not impose any taxes, and should control all messaging, avoiding billboards, commercials, and digital ads that bombard kids on a daily basis."
Opiates and Opioids
Senators Hassan and Shaheen Cosponsor Bipartisan Bill to Combat Fentanyl Crisis. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) have cosponsored the bipartisan Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act. This bill targets the illicit fentanyl supply chain by strengthening current law and allowing the Treasury Department to increase penalties for synthetic opioid trafficking and money laundering. The FEND Off Fentanyl Act is a sanctions and anti-money laundering bill that will allow US government agencies to more easily go after illicit opioid traffickers. The bill would:
- Declare that the international trafficking of fentanyl is a national emergency.
- Require the President to impose sanctions on transnational criminal organizations and drug cartels' key members engaged in international fentanyl trafficking
- Enable the President to use proceeds of forfeited, sanctioned property of fentanyl traffickers to further law enforcement efforts
- Enhance the ability to enforce sanctions violations thereby making it more likely that people who defy U.S. law will be caught and prosecuted
- Require the administration to report to Congress on actions the U.S. government is taking to reduce the international trafficking of fentanyl and related opioids
- Allow the Treasury Department to utilize special measures to combat fentanyl-related money laundering
- Require the Treasury Department to prioritize fentanyl-related suspicious transactions and include descriptions of drug cartels' financing actions in Suspicious Activity Reports
Psychedelics
Connecticut House Approves Psilocybin Decriminalization Bill. The House on Wednesday voted to approve House Bill 6734, which would decriminalize the possession of psilocybin mushrooms. The bill decriminalizes the possession of up to half an ounce of 'shrooms, with the only penalty being a $150 fine on a first offense and fines of up to $500 for subsequent offenses. Currently, possession of psilocybin is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. The bill now goes to the Senate.
International
Philippine Court Acquits Duterte Critic Leila de Lima of Drug Charges. Former Senator Leila de Lima, who has been held prisoner for six years after criticizing former President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug, was acquitted Friday of a drugs charge that was laid after Duterte accused her of taking bribes from drug gangs in prisons in the wake of her Senate investigation of his drug crackdown that left thousands dead. This is the second charge on which she has been acquitted; a third remains, but critics of the campaign against her have called for the remaining charge to be dropped.
"I had no doubt from the very beginning that I will be acquitted in all the cases the Duterte regime has fabricated against me based on the merits and strength of my innocence," she said in a statement. "I'm still asking for even more prayers for another case," she added as she returned to prison pending resolution of that charge.
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The House passes a bill to fund research into the veterinary-drug-turned-fentanyl-supplement Xylazine, a former Filipina president introduces a medical marijuana bill, and more.
Drug Policy
House Passes Bill to Fund Research into Xylazine. The veterinary drug Xylazine, also known as Tranq, has entered illicit drug markets, leaving behind a toll of disease, amputations, and overdoses. Now, the House has responded by passing H.R. 1374, the Tranq Research Act. The bill would fund research into the drug at the National Institute of Science and Technology. Companion legislation in the Senate, S.1280, is currently before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Meanwhile, another effort to address Xylazine by making it a Schedule III controlled substance, S.993, is before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Alaska House Approves Bill to Increase Drug Distribution Sentences. The House last Thursday approved House Bill 66, which would increase penalties for people who distribute fentanyl, other opioids, and methamphetamine. The bill would allow for second degree murder charges for people who distribute those drugs if someone suffers a fatal overdose on them. Previously, people only faced a manslaughter charge. A second degree murder conviction has a maximum 99-year prison sentence. The bill also increases penalties for people who distribute a broad class of drugs, including Adderall and psychedelic mushroom, to people under 19 and incapacitated people. The bill is now before the Senate Judiciary Committee and must pass the full Senate this week because the session ends at the end of this week.
International
Amsterdam Bans Outdoor Pot Smoking in Red Light District. The city council has announced that as of mid-May, the city's famous Red Light District, home to legal prostitution and numerous cannabis coffeeshops, is going smoke-free when it comes to marijuana. That means pot smoking will be restricted to the cannabis cafes, but the council also said he could extend the ban to outdoor seating areas of the cannabis cafes if necessary. The move is part of the city's effort to create a more calm and comfortable environment for residents, who have been complaining for years about the high volume of tourists in the city center -- about 18 million annually. The council also mandated that sex workers shut down by 3:00am instead of 6:00am and that bars and restaurants will have to close at 2:00am on weekdays and 4:00am on weekends. Also, liquor outlets in the central city will be barring from selling alcohol from 4:00pm Thursday through Sunday.
Philippines Medical Marijuana Bill Filed. Former president and current Senior Deputy House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez have joined forces to file House Bill 7187, which would legalize marijuana for medical purposes. The measure is identical to a medical marijuana bill she filed in the previous congress. That bill never got a House floor vote.
"I really believe in medical cannabis. As you know I have my problem here (cervical spine) and when I'm in a country that allows it, I put on a pain patch, but here in the Philippines I cannot do it," Maccapagal-Arroyo said. "I authored that bill because I believe that it can help me and many other people, but there was a lot of objection to the bill from the House and from the Senate. That's why we are just letting the legislative process take its course," she explained.
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A Florida marijuana legalization initiative will get a state Supreme Court review, Washington's governor signs into law a bill protecting pot-smoking employees, and more.
Marijuana Policy
Florida Marijuana Legalization Initiative Gets State Supreme Court Review. State Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) on Monday formally submitted the marijuana legalization initiative from Smart and Safe Florida for vetting by the state Supreme Court. Proposed initiatives need more than 222,000 valid voter signatures to qualify for review by the court, and the Smart and Safe Florida initiative has already wildly exceeded that number. The high court will determine issues such as whether the proposed ballot language is clear and whether it is limited to a single subject. When Moody filed the initiative for review Monday, she signaled that she would oppose it, writing that "the proposed amendment fails to meet the requirements" of part of state law. Opponents successfully used Supreme Court review to block two legalization initiatives in 2021.
Minnesota Lawmakers Finalize Adult-Use Legalization Language, Prepare to Send It to Governor's Desk. With the legislative session set to end this week, lawmakers have resolved differences between the legalization bills passed by the two chambers, Senate File 73 and House File 100, and each chamber is now preparing for final floor votes, which could happen as early as Wednesday. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz will sign it into law once it reaches his desk. The final agreement sets possession limits at two ounces for flowers and allows for the home cultivation of up to eight plants, four or which can be mature. The measures also include the automatic review and expungement of certain marijuana-related offenses and sets up a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce. Retail sales will be taxed at 10 percent and onsite consumption will be allowed at permitted events.
Washington Governor Signs Bill Protecting Employees from Drug Testing for Marijuana. Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has signed into lawSenate Bill 5132 to lay out broad protections for employees who consume marijuana while imposing limitations on employment drug testing for marijuana. There are exemptions for exemptions for jobs that involve federal security clearances or background investigations, in law enforcement, the fire department, first responders, corrections officers, the airline or aerospace industries, or in safety-sensitive positions.
The law says: "It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in the initial hiring for employment if the discrimination is based upon: (a) The person's use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace; or (b) An employer-required drug screening test that has found the person to have non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids."
Drug Policy
Washington State Lawmakers Reach Deal to Keep Drug Possession a Crime. Faced with a July 1 deadline to replace the state's felony drug possession law, which was invalidated by the state Supreme Court in 2021, bipartisan legislative leaders announced Monday that they had reached a deal under which simple drug possession would be a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail for the first two offenses and up to a year after that. Police and prosecutors, though, would be encouraged to divert cases for treatment and other social services, and the compromise includes millions of additional dollars to pay for that. Prosecutors would have the ability to ask courts to end pre-trial diversion if defendants fail to make substantial progress. The legislature is set to vote on the proposal today. Lawmakers earlier rejected efforts both to reinstate the felony drug possession charge and to decriminalize drug possession.
Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) called it "a fair compromise that addresses urgent concerns about public disorder but follows evidence-based practices in helping people in need."
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Pot isn't the only thing you can buy in some Los Angeles-area pot shops, overdose deaths appear to have plateaued last year, and more.
Psychedelics
Los Angeles Pot Shops Are Openly Selling Magic Mushrooms. Some Los Angeles-area marijuana retailers are openly selling psilocybin mushrooms even though they remain prohibited under state and federal law. (A measure that would decriminalize them, Senate Bill 58, is currently before the legislature.) The sellers are responding to high demand for the popular psychedelics.
In one Los Angeles County shop visited by the Los Angeles Times, customers must hand over their drivers' licenses to a receptionist and put away their cell phones before being buzzed into a secured room to check out the psychoactive wares. A large glass jar is "filled to the brim with stubby mushrooms, which have brown caps and psilocybin's characteristic bluish tint," while other jars filled with "mushroom-infused" liquids are also on offer. As are chocolate bars with magic mushrooms and magic mushroom gummies.
The flouting of the drug laws is not without risk. The LA County Sheriff's Department says it has served search warrants at about 50 pot shops selling magic mushrooms in the last six months alone In April 2022, the department reported making 227 arrests at "illegal marijuana dispensaries" and seizing thousands of pounds of marijuana, as well as "29 pounds of mushrooms."
"They won't typically openly sell them," said Lt. Jay Moss of the Sheriff's Department's narcotics bureau. "They'll usually have a small amount -- two to 10 pounds, I'd say -- of mushrooms, and you have to ask for it because they don't have it on display. They might be somewhere out of view, like in the back. We investigate and serve search warrants at these illegal dispensaries in attempts to shut them down," he said. "The analogy is kind of like whack-a-mole: you shut them down and they reopen in another location."
Harm Reduction
White House Seeks to Prod Naloxone Makers. The Biden administration is seeking to prod manufacturers of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone to increase access to the drug and lower its cost. Dr. Rahul Gupta, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP -- the drug czar's office) "plans to have conversations with manufacturers to share his key principle moving forward: the easier it is for people to access naloxone, the more lives we can save," an ONDCP spokesperson said. The planned meeting is part of Biden administration efforts "to ensure naloxone is both accessible and affordable to everyone who may need it," the spokesperson added.
American health regulators approved an over-the-counter version of Narcan earlier this year. The Food and Drug Administration approved the first generic version of the drug in 2021.
Public Health
Fatal Drug Overdoses Hit Record High Last Year but Appear to Be Plateauing. Drug overdose deaths increased slightly last year after jumping mightily during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggesting that the increase in overdoses is leveling off. The CDC estimates the overdose death toll last year at 109,680, up two percent over the 107,622 deaths in 2021. But the increase is far lower than the 30 percent increase in 2020 and the 15 percent increase in 2021.
"The fact that it does seem to be flattening out, at least at a national level, is encouraging," said Katherine Keyes, a Columbia University epidemiology professor whose research focuses on drug use. "But these numbers are still extraordinarily high. We shouldn't suggest the crisis is in any way over."
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A major civil and human rights group comes out against one federal fentanyl bill, bipartisan senators and representatives file another one, and more.
Marijuana Policy
Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Ready for Final Votes This Week. House and Senate conference committee negotiators have resolved the remaining differences between the House and Senate marijuana legalization bills and ready to send the final bill to floor votes in both chambers this week. The final sticking points were on the marijuana tax rate and appropriating revenue. Negotiators agreed to the 10 percent retail sales tax in the Senate bill (the House had voted for 8 percent to be adjusted every two years) and agreed that 80 percent of marijuana revenues will go to the state and 20 percent to local governments to cover expenses related to implementing legalization.
Medical Marijuana
Nebraska Activists File Papers for 2024 Medical Marijuana Initiative. The group Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana has filed papers to mount petition drives to put a pair of medical marijuana initiatives on the 2024 ballot. One would set up the doctor/patient system, while the other would regulate the industry. Activists have been trying for eight years to get the legislature to pass a medical marijuana bill, to no avail. Last year, a signature-gathering effort for a medical marijuana initiative came up short because financial problems blocked the group from hiring professional petitioners.
"We have no choice but to keep petitioning our government," said group spokeswoman Crist Eggers. "The legislature refuses to act despite the will of over 80% of Nebraskans, from all parties, regions, ages, etc., supporting this."
Asset Forfeiture
New York Senate Committee Passes Bill to End Civil Asset Forfeiture and Opt State Out of Federal Forfeiture Program. The Senate Codes Committee on Monday approved a bill that would end civil asset forfeiture, Senate Bill 2192. Under the bill filed by Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D) forfeiture could only occur if the "prosecuting authority secures a conviction of a crime that authorizes the forfeiture of property and the prosecuting authority establishes by clear and convincing evidence the property is an instrumentality of or proceeds derived directly from the crime for which the state secured a conviction." The bill would also address "policing for profit" by requiring that forfeiture proceeds go to the state general fund. Currently, the seizing agency gets to keep up to 60 percent of the proceeds. And the bill would opt the state out of the federal "equitable sharing" program that allows law enforcement agencies to skirt state asset forfeiture laws by handing cases off to the feds, who then return most of the money to the seizing agency. The bill now heads to the Senate Finance Committee.
Drug Policy
Bipartisan Bill Aims to Counter National Security Threat of Illicit Drug Trafficking. US Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) and Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are leading a bipartisan effort directing increased federal attention to fentanyl trafficking by utilizing the tools of the Department of Defense (DoD) and involving Mexico as an active partner to combat this crisis and disrupt drug cartel and trafficking activity.
The Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023 would attempt to address cross-border drug trafficking by:
- Declaring fentanyl trafficking a national security threat stemming from drug cartels and smugglers,
- Directing the Pentagon to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy, including enhanced cooperation with foreign nations,
- Requiring the Secretary of Defense to increase security cooperation with the Mexican military, and
- Addressing coordination efforts between the military and federal law .enforcement agencies.
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Opposes HALT Fentanyl Act. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights on Wednesday sent a letter to the House leadership to express its "strong opposition" to H.R. 467, the HALT Fentanyl Act.
"This bill permanently schedules fentanyl-related substances (FRS) on schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) based on a flawed class definition," the letter says. "Additionally, it imposes mandatory minimums and fails to provide an offramp for removing inert or harmless substances from the drug schedule. The class wide scheduling that this bill would impose would exacerbate pretrial detention, mass incarceration, and racial disparities in the prison system, doubling down on a fear-based, enforcement-first response to a public health challenge. Under the class wide control, any offense involving a "fentanyl-related substance" is subject to federal criminal prosecution, even if the substance in question is helpful or has no potential for abuse."
The Leadership Conference represents more than 230 national organizations.
International
Singapore Executes Marijuana Offender for Second Time in Three Weeks. For the second time in three weeks, Singapore has hung a man for trafficking marijuana. The unnamed 37-year-old Malay Singaporean was executed at dawn Wednesday at Changi Prison for trafficking about 3.3 pounds of pot. On April 26, Singapore executed Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, for trafficking 2.2 pounds of pot despite an international outcry. Under Singapore law, trafficking more than 1.1 pounds of pot can garner a death sentence. The city-state halted all executions during the coronavirus pandemic, but hanged 11 people last year -- all for drug offenses.
"If we don't come together to stop it, we fear that this killing spree will continue in the weeks and months to come," said Kokila Annamalai of the Transformative Justice Collective, which campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore.
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Minnesota is one Senate vote away from legalizing marijuana, the RESTORE Act gets reintroduced, and more.
Marijuana Policy
Minnesota House Gives Final Approval to Marijuana Legalization Bill. The House on Friday voted to approve a marijuana legalization bill that is a conference committee compromise of House and Senate versions of the legislation. The Senate could vote on the bill as soon as later today. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz will sign it into law once it reaches his desk. The final agreement sets possession limits at two ounces for flowers and allows for the home cultivation of up to eight plants, four or which can be mature. The measures also include the automatic review and expungement of certain marijuana-related offenses and sets up a system of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce. Retail sales will be taxed at 10 percent and on-site consumption will be allowed at permitted events. The two marijuana bills are Senate File 73 and House File 100.
Drug Policy
RESTORE Act Introduced in Congress to Lift SNAP Felony Drug Ban. The RESTORE Act -- legislation that would immediately repeal the lifetime federal ban on individuals with felony drug convictions from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) -- was introduced Thursday in the Senate by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and in the House by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) with Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) as a cosponsor. Initial Senate cosponsors include Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN).
In 1996, Congress imposed the lifetime SNAP ban as a part of the welfare legislation signed by President Clinton. Although states can opt-out of enforcing this ban, state policymakers must affirmatively do so, and 22 states continue to limit SNAP eligibility for people with felony drug convictions. The RESTORE (Re-Entry Support Through Opportunities for Resources and Essentials) Act fully repeals this federal ban and eliminates the ability of states to continue to deny SNAP eligibility due to a felony drug conviction. The legislation also codifies a USDA administrative waiver to SNAP state agencies that allows individuals to apply for SNAP 30 days prior to their release from incarceration.
Over 150 organizations have endorsed the RESTORE Act, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Alliance To End Hunger, and the American Public Health Association.
Harm Reduction
Minnesota Governor Signs Bill Legalizing Drug Paraphernalia, Residue, Testing, and Syringe Services. Gov Tim Walz (DFL) has signed into law an omnibus criminal justice and public safety bill that includes provisions legalizing the possession of drug paraphernalia, clarifying that small amounts of drug residue are no longer a basis for a drug possession charge, authorizing "syringe service centers" that can do needle exchanges, give referrals to treatment to mental health and social services, test for blood-borne pathogens, and removing statute language that currently prohibits possession of products use for "testing the strength, effectiveness, or purity of a controlled substance."
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A bill protecting medical marijuana patients advances in Louisiana, a bill broadening expungement and freeing some pot prisoners advances in Connecticut, and more.
Marijuana Policy
Connecticut House Approves Bill to Broaden Expungement, Release Prisoners on Some Marijuana-Related Charges. The House last Thursday voted to approve House Bill 5457, which would require court to reduce sentences or dismiss charges for a number of marijuana-related offenses and release from jail or prison people who are currently incarcerated on those charges. The legislation would make expungement or sentence reductions automatic for offenses such as possession of marijuana drug paraphernalia, distribution of up to four ounces of marijuana, possession of up to four ounces of marijuana, and cultivation of up to six plants.
Minnesota Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Bill, State to Become 23rd to Free the Weed. Minnesota is set to become the 23rd legal marijuana state after the Senate on Saturday approved Senate File 73just two days after the House passed it. The bill was the result of a final conference committee negotiations after the two chambers earlier approved slightly differing versions of the legislation. Gov. Tim Walz (DFL), a proponent of legalization, has vowed to sign it into law. Beginning this summer, Minnesotans will be able to grow up to eight plants at home, though only four can be flowering. Once legal marijuana commerce is up and running, people will be able to buy up to two ounces of buds, eight grams of concentrates, and 800 milligrams of edibles at one time and possess those amounts in public. The retail tax rate for marijuana will be 10 percent, and home growers can legally possess up to two pounds of marijuana from their harvests.
Medical Marijuana
Louisiana Bill Protecting Patients Seeking Unemployment Benefits Wins Committee Vote. The House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations last Thursday narrowly approved House Bill 351, which would ensure that people with medical marijuana recommendations are not disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. The bill's digest says it "provides that a qualifying medical marijuana patient who receives a recommendation from an authorized clinician to use marijuana for a therapeutic use shall not be disqualified for unemployment compensation benefits." The bill now heads for a House floor vote.
International
Iran Hangs Three on Drug Charges. Three men -- Shahab Mansournasab, Samad Geravand and Saeed Geravand -- were executed by hanging after they were caught with more than 39 kilograms of heroin and precursors. They were charged with "corruption on earth" after admitting they planned to sell the drugs in Tehran. Under Iranian law, anyone convicted of possessing more than 30 grams of heroin is eligible for a death sentence.
Iran used to execute hundreds of people annually, but in 2017 adjusted its laws and the number of drug executions dwindled. This year, however, the Islamic Republic has increasingly resorted to the death penalty as it faces a months-long civil uprising that began with the death of a woman at the hands of religious police for improperly wearing a hijab. It is unclear how many of this year's executions are for drug offenses, but Iran hung a man it described as the "sultan of cocaine" earlier this month. Last week, it hung a man for running a human trafficking network and prostitution ring and three men convicted of killing a police officer and two members of the paramilitary Basij during the unrest.
Ireland Drug Checking to Expand at Festivals After Successful Rollout of Pilot Program Last Year. After a pilot program to check drugs at the Electric Picnic festival last September successfully detected high-potency MDMA and new psychoactive substances, the Health Services Executive (HSE) has announced that drug checking will be expanded to more festivals this year. It is part of broader harm reduction effort by the HSE. Under the program, festival-goers can submit samples to be tested without fear of arrest and are then informed of the substances' content. HSE-trained volunteers will also be available to talk about drug treatment services, drug trends, and harm reduction practices with festival-goers.
Switzerland To Expand Marijuana Trials to More Cities. The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has given the green light to expansion of ongoing trials on legal marijuana sales to include the cities of Bern, Biel/Bienne, Lucerne, and Geneva. Such programs have already been underway since last year in Basel and this March in Zurich. The trials are supposed to produce data that will inform the government's policy on marijuana. They aim to investigate the health and social effects of tightly regulated, non-profit marijuana sales in pharmacies and will involve a thousand participants -- only half of whom will be allowed to buy the regulated marijuana in pharmacies.
The FOPH has also approved a pilot program in Vernier, where a single authorized dispensary called the "Cannabinotheque" will sell marijuana under a membership model. It will last for three years and also includes a thousand participants. Currently, recreational marijuana remains illegal in the country, although it legalized medical marijuana last year.
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An Oregon bill to mandate fentanyl education in the public schools goes to the governor, a House committee rejects a Republican's marijuana legalization amendment, and more.
Marijuana Policy
House Rules Committee Rejects Marijuana Legalization Amendment. During a hearing on HR467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl (HALT) Act, the House Rules Committee rejected an amendment to legalize marijuana. The amendment came from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and would have legalized marijuana by removing from the list of controlled substances in the Controlled Substances Act. (For a related story on the HALT Act, see below.)
New Hampshire Marijuana Legalization Struggle Revives after Governor's Comments. Earlier this month, the Senate once again killed a bipartisan marijuana legalization bill passed by the House, seemingly settling the issue for this legislative session. But the following day, Gov. Chris Sununu (R), who has long opposed legalization, said he could support it "with the right policy and framework in place," and now, legislators have responded by filing a bill they hope meets his desires.
The measure comes in the form of an amendment from Rep. John Hunt (R) and would legalize the possession of up to four ounces of marijuana or 20 grams of concentrated cannabis products. The state Liquor Commission would be charged with regulating and selling marijuana, but it would also allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to remain open and eventually transition to adult recreational sales. The amendment would give localities the power to ban marijuana businesses.
The measure is expected to pass the House, which has already approved several legalization bills this year, but the Senate remains a challenge. With the governor's new openness to legalization and the presence of several newly seated Republicans senators who supported a similar proposal when they were in the House, perhaps this time the result will be different.
Opiates and Opioids
More than 150 Groups Urge Congress to Vote No on HALT Fentanyl Act. In a letter to the House leadership and key committee chairs as the House Rules Committee held a hearing on HR467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl (HALT) Act Tuesday, more than 150 national, state, and local public health, criminal justice reform, and civil rights organizations urged the defeat of the bill.
"This bill permanently schedules fentanyl-related substances (FRS) on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) based on a flawed class definition, imposes mandatory minimums, and fails to provide an offramp for removing inert or harmless substances from the drug schedule," the signatories wrote.
They called the class wide scheduling approach "a radical departure from drug scheduling practices" because it relies on chemical structure alone without accounting for pharmacological effect and noted that at least one FRS may be an opioid antagonist like naloxone. They also noted that passing the bill would "place undue restrictions on research for therapeutic potential of FRS" and resorts to mandatory minimum sentences, which they called "an inappropriate mandate that criminalizes possibly inert or harmless substances."
Oregon Bill Requiring Fentanyl Education in Schools Goes to Governor. A bill requiring school districts to provide education on fentanyl, Senate Bill 238 A, passed the Senate last month and the House last week and is now awaiting the signature of Gov. Tina Kotek (D). The bill requires the State Board of Education and the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission to develop curricula for schools to implement in the 2024-2025 school year. That curriculum will educate students on the dangers of synthetic opioids, as well as counterfeit and fake drug, as well as on laws that provide immunity or other protections for people who report drug or alcohol use or who seek treatment for someone suffering a drug overdose.
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San Francisco's mayor is ready to roll out a pilot program to arrest public drug users, yet another federal bill aimed at the fentanyl trade gets filed, and more.
Marijuana Policy
New Hampshire Poll Has Strong Support for Marijuana Legalization. After Gov. Chris Sununu (R) last week signaled he was now open to marijuana legalization and as the legislature for the last time this session attempts to pass a marijuana legalization bill, a new Granite State poll shows strong popular support for doing just that. The poll had 72 percent supporting legalization -- 52 percent strongly and 20 percent somewhat -- and only 21 percent opposed -- 13 percent strongly and eight percent somewhat. Seven percent were neutral.
Opiates and Opioids
Federal Fentanyl Bill Would Get US Military Involved. The ongoing fentanyl crisis has generated yet another bill in Congress, this one led by Sens. oni Ernst (R-IA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) in the Senate and Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Salud Carbajal (D-CA) in the House of Representatives. The Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023 would:
- Declare fentanyl trafficking a national security threat stemming from drug cartels in Mexico,
- Direct the Pentagon to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy, including enhanced cooperation with Mexican defense officials,
- Require the Secretary of Defense to increase security cooperation with the Mexican military, and
- Address coordination efforts between the military and federal law enforcement agencies.
Drug Policy
San Francisco to Set Up Pilot Program to Arrest Public Drug Users. On Tuesday, the city's Department of Emergency Management confirmed that a pilot program that would allow police to arrest people using drugs in public and "address situations when someone is so far under the influence of drugs that they may pose a danger to themselves or others" will be part of Mayor London Breed's budget proposal due June 1.
The move came just hours before Breed was forced to cut short a UN Plaza news conference on the topic as she faced protestors and heckling, including one protestor who threw a brick, injuring a teenager.
Breed's approach to the rising clamor over public drug use and disorder is drawing critics not only in the street but on the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Dean Preston called the pilot program "reactionary, cruel and counterproductive."
Harm Reduction
New York Safe Injection Site Bill Wins Committee Vote. The Senate Health Committee on Tuesday approved a bill to authorize the establishment of state-approved safe injection sites, S. 00399. Companion legislation is also moving in the Assembly. The bill would require the Department of Health to authorize at least one safe injection site with medical personnel on hand that also must provide syringe exchange services, educate clients on safe consumption practices, provide naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses and collect aggregate data on participants and their experiences. Staff and participants would be given immunity from prosecution for the sanctioned activities.
"Harm reduction works. Harm reduction is a modality -- a way to approach dealing with an issue which assumes, first, that a person who uses drugs is a person, and that they have to be met where they are," bill sponsor Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D) said at the hearing. "Fact number two, criminalization has not worked. Over decades of the drug war, it is pretty clear that we have lost said war," he said. "The notion that we could arrest our way out of addiction -- that we could arrest our way out of overdoses and deaths -- has been proven to be a lie based on all of these years of experience. Criminalization does not work."
Two city-sanctioned safe injection sites in New York City have been operating since the end of 2021.
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No more pot smoking on the streets of Amsterdam's red light district, a bipartisan marijuana legalization bill gets filed in Ohio, and more.
Marijuana Policy
Ohio Bipartisan Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed. Even as signature-gatherers are out pounding the streets for a final round of signatures to put a legalization initiative on the November ballot, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers have reintroduced their own legalization bill, the Ohio Adult Use Act. The act would legalize the possession and cultivation of marijuana by people 21 and over and would set up a system of regulated marijuana sales with a retail tax of 10 percent.
Opiates and Opioids
House Approves HALT Fentanyl Act Making Broad Classes of Fentanyl Analogues Illegal. The Republican-led House on Thursday approved HR 467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act. The bill's summary says: "This bill permanently places fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act… Under the bill, offenses involving fentanyl-related substances are triggered by the same quantity thresholds and subject to the same penalties as offenses involving fentanyl analogues (e.g., offenses involving 100 grams or more trigger a 10-year mandatory minimum prison term). Additionally, the bill establishes a new, alternative registration process for schedule I research that is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs or that is conducted under an investigative new drug exemption from the Food and Drug Administration."
The bill was strongly opposed by congressional progressives and a wide swathe of civil society organizations who worry that the Biden administration and congressional Democrats (74 House Democrats voted for the bill) are supporting crackdowns on drug users and sellers at the expense of public health efforts. The bill now goes to the Senate. The White House issued a statement saying it supports aspects of the bill such as permanent scheduling, but also wants to do more promote public safety. It has not threatened to veto the bill.
Psychedelics
California Senate Approves Bill to Decriminalize Natural Psychedelics. The state Senate on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 58, which decriminalizes the possession of "certain hallucinogenic substances," including psilocybin, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, and mescaline. The bill also repeals laws banning the cultivation of "spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material which contain psilocybin or psilocyn."
Peyote is excluded from the list of decriminalized substances because, bill author Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) noted, the cactus is "nearly endangered" and should be reserved for spiritual use by members of the Native American Church.
The bill now heads to the Assembly. In 2021, Weiner introduced a similar bill that passed the Senate only to die without a floor vote in the Assembly.
International
Amsterdam Red Light District Street Pot Smoking Ban Goes into Effect. A municipal ban on smoking marijuana on the streets of Amsterdam's famous red light district went into effect Thursday. The area is known for its brothels, sex clubs, and cannabis cafes and attracts millions of tourists each year, but the traffic is viewed as a nuisance by many residents. The move is part of a push by Mayor Femke Halsema to "clean up" the area. People are still allowed to smoke pot in the cafes and on their terraces, but those caught smoking in the street will face 100 Euro ($110) fine.
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The Louisiana House votes to radically quicken expungements for pot possession offenses, a Texas medical marijuana bill is dead in the water in the state Senate, and more.
Marijuana Policy
Louisiana House Approves Bill Streamlining Marijuana Expungements. The House on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to approve House Bill 286, which would streamline the expungement process for people with first-offense marijuana possession convictions. Under the bill, people convicted of possessing less than 15 grams of marijuana can petition the courts to expunge their records after 90 days from the date of conviction. Under current state law, people must wait at least five years before seeking expungement. The bill sponsored by Rep. Delisha Boyd (D) now goes to the Senate.
Massachusetts Shelves Pilot Program for Social Consumption Spaces. The state Cannabis Control Commission has scrapped a pilot program to allow on-site marijuana consumption shops in 12 municipalities, saying it will instead focus on developing broader regulations for onsite consumption and how to license such businesses. That means the Bay State is unlikely to see any consumption spaces open this year. A state law allowing limited consumption areas in existing pot shops went into effect nine months ago. Commissioner Nurys Camargo said dropping the pilot program would encourage municipalities to decide whether or not they want to allow on-site consumption.
Medical Marijuana
Texas Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill Appears Dead. A bill from Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth) that would have expanded the state's low-THC Compassionate Use Program to include chronic pain patients who otherwise would be prescribed opioids, House Bill 1805, appears dead in the Senate after passing the House. The bill was referred to the Senate Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee but did not get a committee hearing.
Opioids and Opiates
House Slammed for Passing HALT Fentanyl Act in Rerun of "Failed Drug War." The House's passage Thursday of HR 467, the Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act generated strong condemnation from drug reform, civil and human rights groups as well as pleas for the Senate to kill it. The bill would classify all fentanyl analogues as Schedule I drugs and resort to mandatory minimum sentences for those found guilty of their distribution. The bill passed with near-unanimous GOP support (only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted "no"), but also with the "yes" votes of 70 House Democrats.
"It's sad to see lawmakers revert to over-criminalization once again when we have 50 years of evidence that the war on drugs has been an abject failure," said Laura Pitter of Human Rights Watch, one of nearly 160 advocacy groups that signed a letter earlier this week imploring Congress to reject the HALT Fentanyl Act.
"By passing this bill, the House has signaled that Congress is entering a new carceral era," said Liz Komar, sentencing reform counsel for the Sentencing Project. "The federal prison population has been on the rise since the beginning of the Biden administration after seven years of decline," said Komar. "The passage of the HALT Fentanyl Act would deepen that trend by doubling down on failed drug policies that prioritize prisons over drug treatment and overwhelmingly harm Black and Brown communities.
"If mandatory minimums and harsh sentences made communities safer," Komar added, "the overdose crisis would not have occurred. We urge the Senate to reject this bill and all expansions of mandatory minimums and reverse this punitive trend."
"Our communities deserve real health solutions to the overdose crisis, not political grandstanding that is going to cost us more lives," said Maritza Perez Medina, director of the office of federal affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, as she urged the Senate to kill the bill.
Prodded by AP Story, DEA Yanks Drug Distributor's License Over Filling of "Suspicious" Orders During Opioid Crisis. The DEA on Friday revoked the license of one of the country's largest drug distributors to sell opioid pain relievers because it failed to flag thousands of suspicious orders amid the opioid crisis. The move comes nearly four years after a judge recommended the harshest penalty for Morris & Dickson for its "cavalier disregard" of rules aiming at thwarting opioid abuse and two days after the Associated Press reported that the DEA had allowed the company to keep shipping opioids despite the judge's ruling.
In the 68-page order, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said the company did not accept responsibility for its past actions, including shipping 12,000 "unusually large" orders between 2014 and 2018 and only flagging three of them as "suspicious."
The loss of the distribution license could drive the company out of business, but Morris & Dickson said it had spent millions of dollars in recent years to upgrade its compliance systems and looked to be holding out hope of reaching a settlement with DEA.
The company's larger competitors -- AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson -- have already agreed to pay the federal government more than $1 billion in fines and penalties for similar violations, as well as paying out $21 billion to settle claims from a nationwide settlement. The actions of the drug distributors played a contributing role in this century's opioid crisis, but the reaction to that crisis has also contributed to problems for chronic pain patients in obtaining the medicines they need.
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