The National Governors Association weighs in with a progressive, if limited, approach to dealing with drug overdoses.
The NAACP reiterates its call for marijuana legalization and adds a call for workers' rights, Ron DeSantis doubles down on harsh rhetoric directed at Mexican drug cartels, and more.
The National Governors Association has a plan for dealing with drug overdoses, Peru and the US have renewed an agreement to force down drug smuggling aircraft, and more.
Marijuana legalization is stalled in the US Virgin Islands, the Thai cabinet approves a pilot program of medicinal opium and magic mushroom cultivation, and more.
Oregon's governor has vetoed a bill that would have moved toward a state bank to serve marijuana businesses, a coalition of public health and drug reform groups calls out the way some of the opioid settlement money is being spent, and more.
Minnesota regulators provide some hints on what it is going to take to get legalization up and running, four people busted after an informant planted drugs on them are suing a Texas sheriff, and more.
Faced with an ongoing drug overdose epidemic that may have peaked in recent months but is still killing around 100,000 Americans each year, with fentanyl implicated in the great majority of deaths, the nation's governors are moving to get a grip on the problem. On Tuesday, the National Governors Association (NGA) released a roadmap to help support governors and state officials in developing policy solutions to address unprecedented opioid overdose rates. Titled Implementing Best Practices Across the Continuum of Care to Prevent Overdose, the roadmap outlines concrete solutions across the full spectrum of health services, from the foundations, to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.
By limiting their policy prescriptions to health services, the governors avoid tackling the prickly politics of drug prohibition and the role it plays in the overdose crisis. The words "legalization" and "decriminalization" do not appear once in the 79-page report. On the other hand, law enforcement is not mentioned as playing a role in addressing the problem, either.
Developed in coordination with the O'Neill Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, the roadmap is based on the contributions of more than 30 subject matter experts and 20 states and territories -- providing governors with specific, actionable recommendations to prevent overdose across five pillars of the Substance Use Disorder Continuum of Care.
This is not the first time the governors have addressed the topic. In fact, this report can be seen as an update to the NGA's 2016 Roadmap, which covered much of the same territory. The latest iteration, however, reflects the evolving nature of the ongoing drug overdose epidemic and includes strategies specific to the rise of illicitly manufactured fentanyl.
The continued attention is needed. From 2019 to 2021, overdose death rates increased in all 50 states; death rates in 40 states increased by more than 25 percent. The national overdose death rate in 2021 reached 32.4 per 100,000 people, compared to 6.1 in 1999. Overdose deaths among adolescents increased 109 percent from 2019 to 2021, despite low youth substance use rates.
For each of the five pillars -- foundations, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery -- the NGA roadmap makes specific recommendations:
Foundations
- Establish a state government coordinating body to set a statewide vision for overdose prevention.
- Invest in state infrastructure to maximize resources.
- Seek and include the perspectives and leadership of people with a variety of lived experiences.
- Invest in evaluation and test new ideas. Promote evidence-based requirements for funded prevention initiatives.
- Nurture and grow a mental health and substance use workforce that reflects the populations served.
Prevention
- Champion and invest in initiatives that support family cohesion and well-being.
- Promote evidence-based requirements for funded prevention initiatives.
Harm Reduction
- Maximize federal resources and braid funding to promote health and reduce harm for people who use drugs.
- Implement targeted and low-barrier distribution strategies for overdose reversal agents (ORAs) such as naloxone.
- Champion changes that allow for the distribution of harm reduction tools.
Treatment
- Implement and invest in policies and programs that expand Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) access beyond the office setting.
- Implement and invest in evidence-based treatment and access models.
- Maximize federal funding resources for treatment.
- Assess state-level policies that restrict access.
- Make all MOUD treatment forms available to those involved in the criminal legal system.
Recovery
- Foster communities that support recovery.
- Champion changes to policies to establish recovery residence standards.
- Invest in small businesses and community-based organizations led by and employing people with lived experience who represent the communities they serve.
The roadmap goes into gritty, granular detail on each of these recommendations and policy-makers and advocates alike would be well advised to dig deeper. Overall, the NGA provides a progressive, evidence-based approach to dealing with drug overdoses. There is much to apply here.
back to top
The NAACP reiterates its call for marijuana legalization and adds a call for workers' rights, Ron DeSantis doubles down on harsh rhetoric directed at Mexican drug cartels, and more.
Marijuana Policy
NAACP Renews Support for Marijuana Legalization, Adds Call to Protect Industry Workers' Rights. That National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has adopted a resolution reiterating its support for federal marijuana legalization and added a new call to protect workers' rights in the fledgling industry. The resolution was adopted late last month at the NAACP's 114th National Convention.
"NAACP calls for the legalization and de-scheduling of cannabis at the federal level and reaffirms its past resolutions on cannabis, the cannabis industries, decriminalization, and equity, and expresses an intent to advocate for federal, state, and local medical and adult-use cannabis legislation that includes labor peace agreements as a condition of licensure," the resolution says.
In the call to protect workers' rights, the resolution points out that "the majority of people in the cannabis industry will be workers rather than owners" and advocates that "the workers who grow, process, test, distribute, and sell cannabis deserve a fair and safe workplace and family-sustaining job like every other worker."
And that means union representation, the resolution said: "Access to union representation, training and apprenticeship will help ensure that a broad range of workers can benefit from the cannabis industry, especially workers from communities that have been disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition in the past," it says.
Opiates and Opioids
Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Deal that Protects Sackler Family. The US Supreme Court on Thursday put a hold on a bankruptcy deal with Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, that capped liability for the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma, at $6 billion and would have shielded family members from any further civil lawsuits over the opioid epidemic sparked by the introduction and massive marketing of OxyContin.
The Supreme Court issued the order in response to a Justice Department filing objecting to the settlement. The department argued that it allowed Sackler family members to hide behind legal protections meant for debtors in "financial distress," not billionaires. It said it would hear arguments in December to seek whether the settlement complies with the US bankruptcy code.
Under the deal, the Sacklers had agreed to pay billions in exchange for full immunity from all civil cases. The Supreme Court's order is likely to delay payments to the thousands of plaintiffs who have sued Purdue Pharma and the Sacklers.
Foreign Policy
Ron DeSantis Says He Is Open to Using Drones Against Mexican Drug Cartels. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has once again identified Mexican drug cartels as one of his favorite targets as he seeks to gain traction against former President Donald Trump. At a campaign event in Iowa Thursday, he said he would be open to using drone strikes against Mexican drug cartels.
"We will absolutely reserve the right if they're invading our country and killing our people," DeSantis said in response to a voter's question. When asked to clarify, he said: "I said I would use whatever force we need to defend the country. We'd be willing to lean in against them, and we reserve the right to defend our country," he added.
Earlier in the campaign, DeSantis called for the use of deadly force against migrants suspected of trafficking drugs, a call he reiterated Thursday. "We're authorizing deadly force. They try to break into our country? They will end up stone-cold dead," he said to a rousing round of applause.
International
Ecuador Presidential Candidate's Assassination Linked to Local Drug Gangs with Ties to International Drug Trafficking Organizations. Anti-corruption crusader, journalist, and former legislator Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed at a campaign event in Quito Tuesday evening not long after receiving threats from local gangs tied to Albanian, Colombian, and Mexican drug cartels.
The assassination came amid a rising tide of violence linked to conflicts betwee two gangs, Los Choneros and Los Lobos. Los Choneros are linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, while Los Lobos have ties to competing international drug organizations. In recent months, judges, prosecutors, journalists, politicians and political candidates have been killed in gang attacks, with the mayor of the western city of Manta assassinated just two weeks ago. Gang-related violence has also roiled the country's overcrowded prisons, with some 600 inmates killed in three separate bouts of prison rioting.
Ecuador is not a producer of cocaine, but is bordered by leading producer countries Colombia to the north and Peru to the south and is an increasingly important transshipment point for cocaine headed to North America and Western Europe.
"The killing of Fernando Villavicencio is a wake-up call for Ecuador's democracy," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "The rise of organized crime is putting the lives of Ecuadorians and their institutions at risk. Urgent, rights-respecting security policies are needed to protect them effectively."
In response to the violence, President Guillermo Lasso has declared a range of localized states of emergencies, suspending constitutional rights. The government has also deployed the military and conducted prison raids. After the killing of Villavicencio, Lasso expanded the state of emergency across the entire country.
But Human Rights Watch said what the country needs is to address the root causes of criminality, including high levels of poverty and social exclusion. The authorities should seek to permanently reduce the power of organized crime groups, including by considering alternative approaches to drug policy that would reduce the profitability of the illegal drug trade, the group said.
"The ongoing states of emergency have not made Ecuadorians safer," Goebertus said. "The government needs to put in place an effective and legitimate security policy that protects them and seeks to dismantle organized crime groups.
(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)
back to top
The National Governors Association has a plan for dealing with drug overdoses, Peru and the US have renewed an agreement to force down drug smuggling aircraft, and more.
Marijuana Policy
South Dakota Activists to Try Again with 2024 Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Local activists are hoping the third time is the charm when it comes to legalizing marijuana possession in the state. A 2020 legalization initiative was approved by voters only to be shot down by a state Supreme Court acting at the behest of Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and her political allies, and a 2022 legalization initiative was narrowly defeated at the polls.
Now, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws has filed initial papers for a 2024 legalization initiative. This measure would legalize the possession of up to two ounces by people 21 and over and allow for the home cultivation of up to six plants. The initial draft contains no mention of taxed and regulated marijuana commerce.
The public now has until August 21 to comment on the draft. Once state authorities have okayed petitions for circulation, supporters will need 17,509 valid voter signatures by May 7, 2024 to qualify for the 2024 ballot.
Drug Policy
National Governors Association Releases Roadmap for Tackling Drug Overdose Epidemic. The National Governors Association (NGA) released a roadmap to help support Governors and state officials in developing policy solutions to address unprecedented opioid overdose rates. Titled Implementing Best Practices Across the Continuum of Care to Prevent Overdose, the roadmap outlines concrete solutions across the full spectrum of health services: foundations, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.
Developed in coordination with the O'Neill Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, the roadmap is based on the contributions of more than 30 subject matter experts and 20 states and territories -- providing Governors with 17 specific, actionable recommendations to prevent overdose across five pillars of the Substance Use Disorder Continuum of Care.
An update to NGA's 2016 roadmap, the new publication reflects the evolving nature of the ongoing drug overdose epidemic and includes strategies specific to the rise of illicitly manufactured fentanyl. The roadmap highlights 10 states' initiatives that exemplify best practices and innovative strategies in overdose prevention.
Vivek Ramaswamy Breaks with GOP Pack on Drug Decriminalization. Republican presidential nomination contender Vivek Ramaswamy is creating some space in a crowded field by edging away from the Republican consensus on a hardline drug policy. While on the campaign trail, he has frequently addressed issues around the war on drugs and the toll of fentanyl overdose deaths.
"You don't hear me talk about the war on drugs. I'm not a war on drugs person," Ramaswamy said while appearing at an event in New Hampshire in June. "I am probably the only person in the modern history" of the party to talk about "off ramps" for people trying to get off drugs, including the use of "psychedelics, from ayahuasca to ketamine," he said.
"I'm eyes wide open and willing to be bold in crossing boundaries we haven't yet crossed to address the demand side of this as well," Ramaswamy said. "I think in the long run, and I'm talking about over a long run period of time, decriminalization, serially, is an important part of the long run solution here… That's gotta be part of the solution," he later added.
Similarly, last month, he said that rather than being "a war on drugs guy," he was "actually a path to legalization guy for a lot of different drugs, and a path to reasonable decriminalization. Many veterans are dying of fentanyl. I think fewer would be dying if there was access to ayahuasca, if there was access, legal access, to psychedelics more broadly. We can talk about, we can have a reasonable conversation about ketamine and others. So, I'm in that direction," he said.
He also argued that marijuana should be decriminalized now. "We got to catch up with the times. It's not a popular position in the Republican Party, but I'd just, again, I guess I'm going to speak the truth. Whether you vote for me or not is your choice. I think the time has come to decriminalize it," he said.
International
Peru, US Revive Air Security Agreement to Combat Drug Trafficking. The government of President Dina Boluarte has announced an air security agreement with the US that aims to prevent drug smuggling aircraft from entering Peruvian airspace. The agreement revives a bilateral security agreement with the US that was ended 20 years ago after Peruvian fighter jets downed a civilian aircraft with American missionaries aboard, killing one missionary and her infant daughter.
It will different this time, said Peruvian Defense Minister Jorge Chaves, who emphasized that any interdictions of aircraft under the agreement will be carried out through nonlethal means.
"With this, Peru will be able to exercise and use non-lethal air interdiction. Drug gangs and cartels are notified," said Alberto Otárola Peñaranda, President of the Council of Ministers. "The country will start an intense fight against the entry of illegal planes that violate our sky. We will act without contemplation to intercept them," he stressed.
Swiss Court Rules That Small Amounts of Drugs Should No Longer Be Confiscated. The Federal Tribunal, the country's highest court, ruled recently that people caught with "small amounts" of illicit drugs should be able to keep them. The decision came in a marijuana case, but is likely to also be applied to other drugs, such as cocaine, according to Swiss legal experts.
It is unclear, however, what "small amounts" means for different drugs. And it is important that the different cantons develop coordinated definitions and approaches since they are the government units that will implement the changes.
(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)
back to top
Marijuana legalization is stalled in the US Virgin Islands, the Thai cabinet approves a pilot program of medicinal opium and magic mushroom cultivation, and more.
Marijuana PolicyUS Virgin Islands Marijuana Legalization Stalls. Gov. Albert Bryan, Jr. signed a marijuana legalization bill into law in January, but seven months later, progress is stalled. The Office of Cannabis Regulations does not have the money to hire staff, the Cannabis Advisory Board lacks enough members to constitute a quorum, and the legalization law itself needs to go back to the legislature to address flaws that have emerged since it passed.
As a result: "For the average individual, use of the product in a legal way, currently, really doesn't exist," said board Chairwoman Dr. Catherine Kean.
The board last met in public 11 months ago and was preparing to approve rules for medical marijuana, which had been approved in 2019, when it abandoned the process in anticipation of the new law legalizing recreational and sacramental use by people 21 and over.
"The course that we had been on was completely changed. It meant that all the rules and regs that we had and were about to launch and move into the portion where we put out RFPs, or requests for proposals for contractors to assist with licensing and testing," Kean explained. "So, we're essentially put back to the drawing board. That meant that legal counsel had to review the bill, as did all of us. We had to review the bill, we had to go back to our legal counsel, have our legal counsel come up with new rules and regulations for the new adult recreational bill, so that was a very lengthy, time-consuming process," Kean said.
While the government has made efforts to remind citizens that marijuana remains illegal, the grey market is thriving and marijuana is widely available for sale throughout the territory.
Medical Marijuana
Alabama Company Asks Judge to Block Medical Marijuana Licenses. A company that failed to win a medical marijuana license asked a judge Tuesday to block the state from issuing licenses to anyone. The company argued that a state commission improperly deliberated behind closed doors before choosing winners of the lucrative licenses.
Last week, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission nominated and approved companies after meeting in private for several hours. Alabama Always, a company that was not among the winners, said the commission violated the Open Meetings Act, and is seeking a temporary restraining order to block the licenses from being issued.
The company claimed commissioners "retreated into executive session, only to emerge three and a half hours later and ratify a slate of applicants that it had voted on during executive session."
The commission, though, said that while commissioners met in private to receive information about license applicants, it did not deliberate in private.
Now, the court will sort it out. In the meantime, Alabama patients are left out in the cold.
International
German Cabinet Approves Scaled-Back Marijuana Legalization. The cabinet on Wednesday approved a scaled-back plan to legalize the personal use of marijuana by allowing adults to possess up to 25 grams of the drugs. They can also grow up to three plants for private use or participate in a co-op or collective that can have up to 500 members. The law will be evaluated after four years.
The legislation, which is expected to approved by lawmakers before year's end, marks "a turning point in an unfortunately failed cannabis drug policy," Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said.
The German government initially proposed a broader legalization complete with commercial sales, but ran into obstacles with the European Union and dropped commercial legalization -- for now. It now says it will consider a pilot program of commercial sales some time in the future.
Thai Cabinet Approves Medicinal Trials of Opium and Magic Mushrooms. The cabinet has approved a royal draft decree to allow the cultivation of opium and magic mushrooms for medicinal use on a trial basis.
The Justice Ministry presented the proposal, which also has the support of key government bodies including the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry, Interior Ministry, Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council, and the Royal Thai Police.
Under the pilot project, the International Narcotics Control College will grow opium, while the Government Pharmaceutical Organization will extract morphine from the poppies in a bid to reduce dependence on foreign opiate medication supplies.
The decree also aims to enable the growth of magic mushrooms in designated universities and educational institutions across four regions of Thailand. The aim is to create anti-depressant drugs from psilocybin.
back to top
Oregon's governor has vetoed a bill that would have moved toward a state bank to serve marijuana businesses, a coalition of public health and drug reform groups calls out the way some of the opioid settlement money is being spent, and more.
Marijuana Policy
Ohio Will Vote on Marijuana Legalization in November. The Secretary of State's Office announced Wednesday that the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol had gathered sufficient valid voter signatures to qualify its marijuana legalization initiative for the November ballot. The group had originally come up short on signatures but used a 10-day window to find more signatures to go over the top.
The proposal would legalize the possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana or 15 grams of extract by adults. It would also legalize the home cultivation of up to 12 plants. It also envisages a taxed and regulated market in legal marijuana, with retail pot sales taxed at 10 percent.
Nearly six in 10 state voters support marijuana legalization. If it passes in November, Ohio will become the 24th state to free the weed.
Oregon Governor Vetoes Bill to Create State Bank for Marijuana Businesses. Gov. Tina Kotek (D) has vetoed House Bill 2673, which would have created a State Bank Public Task Force as the first step in an effort to create a state-owned bank to help the state's legal marijuana industry. As in other states, the industry is blocked from accessing most financial institutions because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
The bill would have directed the task force to make recommendations regarding the establishment of a state bank and directed the task force to investigate the provision of financial services for marijuana businesses.
In her veto message, Kotek wrote only that: "While the Governor supports exploring the creation of a state bank, this bill has several logistical challenges, including directing the Oregon Business Development Department (OBDD), which already manages over 80 programs, to manage a new task force, establish an RFP process, and finalize a substantive report on an abbreviated timeline."
Drug Policy
Organizations Oppose "Problematic" Use of Opioid Settlement Money, Want "Evidence-Based" Solutions. A coalition of more than 130 public health and reform groups is charging that the ways some states are using funds from massive settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors are "problematic" and is demanding that states use the settlement funds for "evidence-based solutions."
The coalition, which includes the Drug Policy Alliance and AIDS United, wants the funds to be used for easing access to all FDA-approved medications for addiction treatment (methadone, buprenorphine) and the whole panoply of harm reduction measures, including safe injection sites. They also call for expanding housing, outreach, and wraparound services for current drug users and people with drug convictions, and supporting second-chance employment opportunities, recovery-to-work programs, and expungement of criminal records.
"Secured through the suffering of people who use drugs and their loved ones, these funds should be used to help individuals directly impacted by the failed 'War on Drugs,'" according to a brief from the organizations. "Sadly, in many places, people are not seeing opioid settlement dollars put toward things that would actually improve their lives."
Based on the drug companies' role in the opioid addiction crisis of the past quarter-century, the settlements are estimated to amount to at least $50 billion over the next 18 years and require recipients to spend at least 85 percent of the funds to "abate the opioid epidemic." But the coalition points to a program in Louisian where 20 percent of the funding is going to sheriffs, one in Wyoming that is buying new police cruisers, and one in New York that is paying overtime for narcs as evidence that the terms of the settlement are not always being followed.
Psychedelics
California Natural Psychedelic Legalization Bill One Step Closer to Final Assembly Committee Vote. A bill that would legalize the possession and facilitated use of certain natural psychedelics is one step closer to a final Assembly committee vote after clearing a procedural hurdle Wednesday. The bill, Senate Bill 58, has already passed the upper house.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee advanced the measure to its suspense file, meaning it is set for final action to see whether it advances to the floor. That decision should come by September 1.
The bill would legalize the "possession, preparation, obtaining, transfer, as specified, or transportation of" specific amounts of psilocybin, psilocyn, DMT, ibogaine and mescaline for personal or facilitated use. The bill would legalize up to two grams of DMT, psilocybin, and psilocyn, as well as up to four ounces of "a plant or fungi containing psilocybin or psilocyn. It would also legalize the possession of up to 15 grams of ibogaine.
back to top
Minnesota regulators provide some hints on what it is going to take to get legalization up and running, four people busted after an informant planted drugs on them are suing a Texas sheriff, and more.
Marijuana Policy
Minnesota Regulators Lay Out Roadmap for Implementing Marijuana Legalization. At an information meeting Wednesday night, officials with the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) laid out the long process of implementing the state's decision to legalize marijuana, including an update on the search for an OCM director, as well as outlining an array of issues still to be decided through an expedited rulemaking process.
'This is really a unique opportunity for us to assess the business needs, to evaluate the authorities that the legislature and the governor have given to the Office of Cannabis Management and then to meet those business needs in a way that really helps us ensure the success of the cannabis industry in Minnesota,' Charlene Briner, OCM's implementation director, said at the meeting.
Although legalization took effect earlier this month, meaning possession and home cultivation is now legal, officials said it could be close to two years before the state sees its first licensed retailers. (An exception is retail outlets on Native American reservations; at least two pot shops are already open on Native American land.)
Among the tasks to be completed before sales can begin are setting up OCM governance, filling the 51 seats on the Cannabis Advisory Council, consulting with the public, and crafting rules to guide the new industry.
"This is really an all-hands-on-deck endeavor," Briner said. "There is a tremendous hunger for information about what this will look like, about how we're going to go about rulemaking," she said. "We're trying to be very proactive, as much as possible, to provide external communications."
Ohio GOP Governor Opposes Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has come out unequivocally against the marijuana legalization initiative sponsored by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. The measure will go before voters in November.
The measure would allow people 21 and over to possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot and grow up to six plants, as well as setting up a system of taxed and regulated legal marijuana commerce.
"I think it would be a real mistake for us to have recreational marijuana," DeWine said.
DeWine said that he visited Colorado shortly after that state made recreational marijuana legal. "I went out there and talked to the people at the children's hospital, law enforcement and to people in business. It is an unmitigated disaster," he claimed. "I would just ask people to look what's happened in other states and see if we really want to bring that to Ohio."
The 76-year-old governor also warned that today's marijuana "is not your grandparents' marijuana; it's much more potent."
DeWine's comments drew a quick retort from Tom Haren, a spokesman for the legalization campaign.
"I'll tell you why it's not your grandfather's marijuana: your grandfather's marijuana wasn't tested in a pharmaceutical-grade testing lab. It wasn't produced in a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) quality cultivation facility, right? It wasn't subject to a statewide rigorous regulatory framework."
As for the Colorado "disaster," Haren said: "The governor must not have spoken to anybody from Colorado recently, because what I can tell you is their program is a huge success."
Drug Policy
Seattle City Council Votes Down Effort to Fast-Track Law Empowering City Attorney to Prosecute Drug Users. The city council Tuesday night narrowly rejected a proposal to fast-track a municipal ordinance that would have allowed the city attorney to prosecute people for drug possession and public use. The council instead voted to have the bill go through the regular committee process, meaning that any action will be delayed until after the August recess.
The latest version of the bill says that in the future police will adopt alternative to arrest such as diversion and treatment as "the preferred approach" to drug possession and public drug use, but that is not good enough for some council members. They argue that the language does not require diversion, does not fund alternatives to arrest, or provide examples of when diversion would be appropriate.
"It seems important that the resources be sufficiently invested into the alternative strategies so that people are not being given a false promise that there will be a diversion strategy, [but] we don't have those resources," said Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said. "And where will that funding come from?"
Law Enforcement
Texas Sheriff's Office Sued by Victims of Drug-Planting Informant. Four people who were sent to prison based on drugs planted by an informant are now suing Bexar County (San Antonio) Sheriff Javier Salazar and two deputies, Ferman Guzman and Alex Uriegas, who did not properly vet the informant.
In July 2021, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office admitted that drugs had been planted in the four cases. The informant in the cases was supposed to share information about drug cases with law enforcement and prosecutors, but instead he just framed people.
Two of the four served two years in prison before being released in 2020 while a third died in jail before his innocence could be vindicated.
The plaintiffs are suing over the unlawful entry and search of the home, seizure of property, unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, and official oppression in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution.
back to top
