Chronicle Mini-Book Mini-Review: A Weed Grows in Boston

A Weed Grows in Boston: There's A Secret Next Door by Valerie Vande Panne (2024, Valerie Vande Panne, 29 pp., $12.99 PB, $2.99 Kindle)

Fifteen years there was no legal marijuana in Massachusetts, but the alternative press still thrived. Much has changed since then, but with A Weed Grows in Boston, award-winning journalist, long-time drug reformer (and drug reform critic), and old buddy of mine Valerie Vande Panne turns back the clock to revisit a different era and the result is most enchanting.

This is a very thin book, and there's a reason for that: It is a reprint of her 2009 Boston Phoenix article about "Mary Jones," a quintessential suburban soccer mom strung out on pain pills after an injury who overcame her addiction through marijuana, learned to grow her own, and then turned her green thumb to producing good weed for stoners and good medicine for the ailing. That article won awards then and is still a great read today.

Vande Panne's ability to get her subjects to open up allows readers to get a real sense of a most non-stereotypical marijuana production operation. While there is paranoia galore -- it was back when weed was illegal in the Bay State, after all -- there are no hippies, no menacing gangstas, just picket-fenced suburban quietude and a charming home filled with pot plants. Vande Panne opens a window on pot use and production in a most unexpected place by a most surprising woman.

If you want to get Mary Jones's story -- her fight with pain pills and turn to weed, her turning her medicine into a financial lifeline for her family, her giving back to the community by donating pot butter to the medically needy, and her family's acceptance of her criminal exposure -- you can read A Weed Grows in Boston in its entirety before you've finished that joint.

In an afterword, Vande Panne says she lost touch with Mary Jones shortly after the original publication of the story but that she still hears vague good things about her. That left this reader wanting to know more. Has Mary Jones become a medical marijuana mogul? Does she now own a dispensary? Has she retained her communitarian values? Is she still growing and smoking? The answers will have to await the sequel.

In the meantime, A Weed Grows in Boston is a fun and inspirational ride on the Wayback machine.

To order the book on Amazon, go here.

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This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

A hundred grand in drug money is missing from a narcotics office in Pennsylvania, a Wisconsin cop cops to forging signatures in a drug investigation, and more. Let's get to it:

In North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, $100,000 in seized drug money and drug buy money was reported missing from the state attorney general's narcotics office there on May 1. A criminal investigation is underway, but authorities are remaining tight-lipped. Agents from the attorney general's office have found at least $77,000 in drug fund seizures and $24,000 in drug buy money cannot be accounted for. The Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office is reportedly investigating the case, but the department will not confirm or deny that the investigation is going on.

In Smyrna, Delaware, a state prison guard was arrested on April 23 for taking bribes to smuggle drugs into the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center. Guard Jahee White, 31, went down after a joint investigation by local police, the Department of Correction, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Delaware Department of Justice's Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust. The investigation found that White brought the drug contraband -- including counterfeit drugs -- into the prison and accepted bribes to "further his drug distribution operations." He is charged with three counts of using an official position to engage in criminal conduct, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession with intent to deliver a counterfeit controlled substance, receiving a bribe, promoting prison contraband, and second-degree conspiracy. All eight charges are felonies. Lacking a $95,000 bond, He currently resides at a different correctional center.

In Los Angeles, an LA County sheriff's deputy was arrested on April 30 for allegedly smuggling drugs into the county jail. Michael Meiser, 39, worked at North County Correctional Facility as an investigator focused on keeping the jails free of drugs and gang activity. He allegedly smuggled heroin into the jail complex at Castaic. It is unclear exactly what charges he faces except that they are "felony charges," according to the sheriff's department.

In Coalinga, California, a correctional sergeant was arrested on May 1 for allegedly sneaking drugs into the Pleasant Valley State Prison. Sgt. Greg Clark, 51, was caught with fentanyl and other drugs on him while inside the prison. He is now a former correctional sergeant. There is no information on the precise charges he faces.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a former Greensburg police officer pleaded guilty May 1 to dealing meth with her then boss, the Greensburg police chief. Regina McAtee, 51, pleaded to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. As part of her guilty plea, McAtee admitted that she conspired to distribute methamphetamine (in the form of fake "Adderall" pills) with former Greensburg Chief of Police Shawn Denning and other drug suppliers. McAtee admitted that she and Denning would order the pills from online suppliers, that McAtee would pay for the pills, and that the pills would be delivered to McAtee's residence. McAtee sold some of the pills back to Denning, who would then distribute the drugs to others. Denning pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge on April 16. Both are looking at up to 20 years in federal prison.

In Appleton, Wisconsin, a former Appleton Police narcotics investigator was convicted May 2 of falsifying signatures on official paperwork related to a drug investigation. Former narc Jeremy Haney, 37, a 15-year veteran of the department, was working with the Lake Winnebago Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group (LWAM) when he forged signatures on paperwork authorizing a tracking device be placed on a vehicle. As part of a "large-scale, multi-defendant drug conspiracy case" in May 2022, LWAM investigators installed a GPS tracking device on a vehicle operated by a suspect they believed was working with others to distribute large amounts of fentanyl, according to a criminal complaint. Haney had requested a court order for 90 days of surveillance, but prosecutors changed that to 45 days. After the order was issued, Haney altered it to change the time frame back to 90 days, forging the signatures of the prosecutor and the judge. The prosecutor noticed the alteration while reviewing paperwork, and Haney went down. He pleaded no contest to misconduct in public office for falsifying information in a report, a Class I felony. He was fined $640, plus $1,158 in court costs.

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No MedMJ for South Carolina This Year, Mexico Deploys Troops to Border Amid Cartel Clashes, More... (5/2/24)

A House panel advances a bill aimed at therapeutic psychedelics for military veterans, a South Carolina committee chair pronounces a medical marijuana bill dead, and more.

Medical Marijuana

South Carolina Medical Marijuana Bil Won't Get Vote This Session, Committee Chair Says. State Rep. Sylleste Davis (R), chair of the House Medical Cannabis Ad Hoc Committee said Tuesday that a medical marijuana bill that has already passed the Senate, Senate Bill 423, is unlikely to get a vote before the session ends next week.

The committee held a hearing on Tuesday, but no vote was taken. Rep. Davis said the committee would not meet again to advance the bill before the session ends.

"We just don't have a lot of time," Davis said. "But I do think this was a worthwhile effort. It certainly isn't time wasted. We learned a lot today and got some good information."

The bill's slow walk in the House did not make bill sponsor Sen. Tom Davis (R) happy.

"I intentionally, you know, got the Senate to move it up and move it quickly," he said. "It got passed out, I think, the first or second week in February to get it over to them in time. And, so, they've had over two months, and it's just been sitting in committee. And, look, that is frustrating."

"I just implore you to please send it to the House so that the full body of legislators can give it the vetting, and hopefully the support that the Senate did after six years of contentious consideration," said Margaret Richardson, a patient with trigeminal neuralgia -- a chronic pain disorder -- who's worked for years to bring medical marijuana to South Carolina.

But the committee wasn't listening, at least not this time.

Psychedelics

Federal Therapeutic Psychedelics for Vets Bill Advances in Committee. The House Veterans Affairs Health Subcommittee voted Wednesday to approve a GOP-sponsored bill focused on therapeutic psychedelics for veterans, advancing it as part of a bloc of legislation packaged together.

The legislation sponsored by Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to notify Congress if any psychedelics are added to its formulary of covered prescription drugs. The VA would have to notify Congress within 180 days of federal approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA currently has not approved any psychedelics to be prescribed as medicines, but that could change soon: The FDA is reviewing a new drug application for therapy with MDMA (Ecstasy) on an expedited basis and it has designated both psilocybin and LSD "breakthrough therapies." Meanwhile, the VA is preparing to support research on the use of psychedelics to treat PTSD and depression.

International

Mexico Sends Hundreds of Troops to US Border Amid Uptick in Cartel Violence. The Mexican army has deployed 600 soldiers to the border states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon following a spurt in violence there, including mass kidnappings and an attack on a military base.

The area, once under the control of the Gulf Cartel, was then dominated by the Zetas, who began an enforcers for the Gulf Cartel. But now the Zetas have been hampered by the arrest of their leadership, leading to factional fighting to see who will replace them. The Northeast Cartel and the Zetas Old School are the main contenders.

Recent weeks have seen the killing of a mayor running for reelection in Tamaulipas, Noe Ramos Ferretiz, and an attack on a military installation in the Tamaulipas town of Migel Aleman. Repeated armed clashes between cartel factions were reported in the area as well.

"The Zetas are not a congruent entity anymore, but some offshoots are quite active. We are seeing major factions operating in cities along the border, said Michael Ballard, vice president of intelligence for Virginia-based Global Guardian. "It's a small slice of what they used to control, but those two states are still among the primary routes for heroin and cocaine to make its way to the border and the U.S. There's a reason why border cities and states remain hotly contested and you have a lot of violence."

Ballard said that while the levels of control and violence are lower than they were under the Zetas, "make no mistake, they are still dangerous, and we broadly recommend against travel to Veracruz or Tamaulipas unless it's absolutely necessary."

Citing a "Mexico first" policy, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has refused to expand the fight against the cartels on US orders. "We are not going to act as police officers for any foreign government," he said.

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VT Senate Approves Safe Injection Site Bill, CT House Approves Bill to Regulate Cannabis Products, More... (5/3/24)

A Republican US senator from Tennessee engages in some Reefer Madness, a safe injection site in Burlington, Vermont, is one step closer to happening, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Republican Senator Reveals Neanderthal Views on Marijuana Reform. Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican, recently revealed views on marijuana reform that come straight from the era of Reefer Madness. He called marijuana a "gateway drug," a theory that has long been discredited. And he said that Democrats' moves to legalize marijuana reflect "pro-criminal, anti-American policies."

"What the Joe Biden administration -- what Leader Schumer -- is trying to do is basically stimulate more crime on American streets," Hagerty said. "Here we have Chuck Schumer basically lowering the barriers for gateway drugs like marijuana, and it's going to damage society, and this is exactly what Democrats have been pushing. This is not good for America."

The push for marijuana legalization is an effort to "incentivize more drug usage in America," he said. "We need to be constraining drug usage, not encouraging it."

As for the SAFER Banking Act, Hagerty claimed it "facilitates an entire infrastructure, an ecosystem, for more drug usage in America."

"We need to be constraining drug usage, not encouraging it," he said.

He also called Biden administration marijuana reform efforts "obscene" as he accused it of engaging with reform for "completely political reasons."

He also does not favor any regulation of the industry even where it is legal. "I don't think we should be doing anything to facilitate an ecosystem of drug abuse," he said. "That's precisely what's going on."

Interestingly, Hagerty and his GOP colleagues seem to understand the consequences of prohibition. They opposed a proposed ban on menthol cigarettes, saying it would empower international criminal organizations to take advantage of the illicit market that would emerge.

Connecticut House Approves Bill to Regulate the Sale of Cannabis Products. The House on Tuesday approved a bill to regulate the sale of hemp products containing THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, House Bill 5150. The measure passed on a vote of 130-16.

While marijuana has been legal in the state since 2021, lawmakers did not anticipate the flood of hemp products that have entered the state without being regulated. Those products, including THC-infused beverages, would face limits on where and to whom they could be sold, with some products barred for people under 21.

The bill broadens the definition of a "high-THC hemp product" and creates a new category of "THC-infused beverages," which would be required to comply with regulations for the manufacture of hemp products. High-THC products can only be sold by licensed marijuana retailers, and this bill bars high-THC products from being sold in grocery stores, convenience stores, and drugstores.

A separate provision of the bill would expand "disproportionately impacted area," those parts of the state deemed to have been disproportionately affected by criminal cannabis laws and from where applicants for licenses to sell recreational marijuana were given priority. Under the bill, some social equity cultivator applicants could partner with hemp producers to receive a license that allows cultivation outside a disproportionately impacted area. It would also expand what is considered a disproportionately impacted area to include state tribal reservations and other land owned by the tribes.

The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Harm Reduction

Vermont Senate Approves Bill for Burlington Safe Injection Site. The Senate on Thursday approved a bill to allow and fund a safe injection site in the state capital of Burlington, House Bill 72. The move is part of a pilot program aimed at reducing overdose deaths.

"As long as there's demand for addictive substances, these problems will persist," said Sen. Ginny Lyons (D) during debate. "HB 72 will allow for the establishment of a safe haven for those with addiction at overdose protection centers. "I know that many of you in this body think of this as a controversial topic, and I had been with you for a long time," Lyons continued. "I had my reservations as this issue was discussed over the past seven years. And now we have a robust body of research having multiple positive effects of overdose prevention centers and no negative ones. It's time for us to move forward."

The bill passed the House in January but was significantly amended in the Senate. It originally allowed for two safe injection sites but now allows only one. And the amount of funding was cut from $2 million to $1.1 million. So now, the House will have to either approve those changes or send the bill to a conference committee to iron them out.

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Pot Use Among Workers at "Historic" High, Afghanistan Opium Eradication Clashes, More... (5/6/24)

Minnesota lawmakers are working to expedite the arrival of legal marijuana, voters in the West Texas city of Lubbock resoundingly rejected marijuana decriminalization, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Drug Testing Company Says Marijuana Use Among Workers at "Historic" High. The drug testing company Quest Diagnostics has released a study finding that marijuana use among American workers reached a "historic" high in 2022. Of six million workplace urine tests Quest conducted that year, 4.3 percent came back positive, up from 3.9 percent in 2021.

The 2022 figure is the highest number of worker drug tests positive for marijuana ever recorded by Quest, which has been studying workplace drug testing since 1988.

"This historic rise seems to correspond with sharp increases in positivity for marijuana in both pre-employment and post-accident drug tests, suggesting that changing societal attitudes about marijuana may be impacting workplace behaviors," Keith Ward, general manager and vice president for employer solutions at Quest, said in a statement.

Quest says the industries that saw the largest increases in positive test results for marijuana were hospitality and food services (up 42.9 percent), retail (42.6 percent), and finance/insurance (38.5 percent).

Dr. Suhash Harwani, senior director of science for employer solutions at Quest, noted the correlation between the positivity rates and states that have legalized recreational and medical marijuana.

"In the general US workforce, states that have legalized recreational and medical marijuana use exhibit higher positivity rates than the national average. States that have not legalized marijuana appear to have positivity rates below the national averages," Harwani said in a statement.

Minnesota Senate Approves Expedited Timeline for Launching Licensed Marijuana Businesses. The Senate last Friday gave its approval to Senate File 4782, which would speed up the process of licensing marijuana businesses by creating a path for pre-approval of their licenses.

"This newly regulated, legalized and regulated industry is in its infancy, and we’re here to continue the work we started last year," Sen. Lindsey Port (DFL-Burnsville) said. "Like any new industry, it will not be fully grown on day one. This bill works to ensure a successful market launch and support the industry and Minnesotans involved in this industry as it grows and develops."

In addition to speeding up licensing, the bill would also shift responsibility for hemp-derived products from the Department of Health to the Office of Cannabis Management. It would also allow social equity applicants to begin growing marijuana later this year. They would be subject to state medical marijuana growing rules until the Office of Cannabis Management creates permanent rules next year.

A companion bill has already passed the House, but because the Senate bill was amended in committee, a conference committee of House and Senate lawmakers must now thrash out the differences.

Lubbock, Texas, Voters Reject Marijuana Decriminalization. Marijuana decriminalization suffered a surprising loss in Lubbock, where voters rejected the decriminalizing Proposition A by a margin of nearly two-to-one.

The proposal was first considered by the city council, which voted unanimously last November to oppose it after Freedom Act Lubbock gathered enough signatures to force this issue. Once it was rejected by the city council, Freedom Act Lubbock took it direct to the voters.

Opponents said that the proposed ordinance would be unenforceable because it contradicted state law and cited state Attorney General Ken Paxton's (R) lawsuit against the cities of Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos for passing similar ordinances.

Opponents also cited the long-discredited gateway theory that marijuana use would lead to hard drug use.

"The majority of the time, it started somewhere for people with hardcore addictions. Where did it start? It started typically with marijuana," said Terisa Clark of Project Destiny, which organized against the ordinance, warning that "illegal and unregulated marijuana destroys communities, lives, and the future."

International

Afghan Opium Eradication Drive Sparks Conflict, Deaths. Violence erupted Saturday in Badakshan province as local residents, mainly impoverished farmers, clashed with Taliban security forces attempting to eradicate opium poppy crops.

Hundreds of local residents protesting the Taliban's move to destroy local poppy fields as part of its national anti-opium drive allegedly attacked the security personnel, leading to a violent response. They had accused Taliban forces of forcefully entering their homes and "torturing" residents.

"Angry protestors attacked security personnel, in defense the security forces attempted to disperse the protests, which unfortunately resulted in the deaths of two people," provincial spokesman Amiri said.

"The Taliban government should sit down and offer a solution if there is a problem, instead of invading people’s homes, violating their privacy, and torturing residents," said local activist Aroj Islampur.

Chief Taliban spokesman Zabibullah Mujahid said the campaign in Badakshan was part of a nationwide drive to eliminate opium production. "Regrettably, there have been incidents where offenders attempted to attack the security forces involved in the fight against poppy cultivation," he said.

Although Afghanistan was the world's leading opium producer over the past three decades, in 2022, Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada issued a decree strictly prohibiting poppy cultivation, with violators to face crop destruction and legal penalties. Since then, the country has seen a 95 percent in poppy cultivation.

That has had negative impact on hundreds of thousands of poor farmers and rural laborers, particularly in Badakhshan and southwestern Helmand province, which were major opium producers. Clashes like those Saturday have occurred in other regions as well over the past two years.

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Delaware Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Commerce, New Zealand Call for Drug Legalization, More... (5/7/24)

A proposed psychedelic initiative is now drawing organized opposition in Massachusetts, a psychedelic study bill is moving in Vermont, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Delaware Releases Proposed Regulations for Legal Marijuana Commerce. The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner (OMC) has released draft rules and regulations for legal marijuana commerce set to roll out next year. Pot businesses, other interested parties, and the general public have until June 3 to comment on the proposed rules.

The OCM's plan is to approve final rules by mid-July and be ready to issue business licenses as early as September, with cultivation licenses coming in November and manufacturing licenses coming in December.

Among the highlights: All plants and products must be tracked from seed to sale, cultivation sites must have an environmental and sustainability plan, licensees must become operational within 18 months, and applicants must undergo complete financial and criminal background checks.

Proposed rules around packaging include restrictions on similarities to commercial candy or cartoon characters, restriction on the amount of THC that can be sold in a packaged product (50 milligrams), no neon colors, no depictions of celebrities or celebrity likenesses, or "anything likely to appeal to children."

Marijuana delivery services would be banned, as would product samples. Any advertising is banned within 500 feet of a school, daycare center, church, or other site where children gather.

The OCM will implement a lottery to award a minimum of 125 business licenses, with at least 47 earmarked for social equity applicants.

Psychedelics

Massachusetts Group Forms Organized Opposition to Potential Psychedelic Initiative. The forces of reaction are gathering in the Bay State. A Massachusetts General Hospital surgeon, Dr. Anahita Dua, is leading a newly formed group, the Coalition for Safe Communities, to oppose a potential psychedelic initiative, the Natural Psychedelic Substances Act.

The initiative is two-pronged: On the one hand, it would allow for the therapeutic use of psychedelics under supervision; on the other hand; it would allow for the home cultivation of natural psychedelics. It is the latter provision that is sparking the opposition.

"We're not arguing against the therapeutic value," coalition spokesman Chris Keohan said. "We see real danger in the ability to grow at home, especially the square footage it allows. This allows for 144 square feet of home growth, which is the equivalent of the average bedroom in Massachusetts. Since the measure allows individuals to give out the psychedelics they grow at home to others, it creates a massive loophole that will open the door to an unregulated and unsafe black market," Keohan said.

The coalition is allying itself with anti-reform organizations the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions and Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

The initiative is being backed by New Approach PAC, which has lined up a multi-million-dollar campaign war chest, including a million from Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. A spokesperson for the campaign, Jennifer Manley, said it was "reckless and irresponsible to disregard top medical research institutions studying and working with psychedelics."

"Now isn't the time to limit mental health options in Massachusetts," she said. "We owe it to people that are suffering from PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other treatment-resistant issues to give them another option that may really help them."

Adults could possess up to one gram of psilocybin, one gram of psilocyn, one gram of dimethyltryptamine, 18 grams of mescaline, and 30 grams of ibogaine on their person at one time under the proposal, and they could also give away that amount to another adult so long as they do not charge for it or promote it publicly. If someone grows more than the possession limit, he must keep it at home.

After a successful first round of signature-gathering last year and the legislature's inaction on the issue, the initiative campaign now has until July 3 to come up with 12,429 valid voter signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

Vermont Psychedelic Working Group Bill Advances. The House Human Services Committee has approved a bill to create a psychedelic-assisted therapy working group to make recommendations on whether and how the state should regulate legal access to substances like psilocybin and MDMA, Senate Bill 114.

The bill has already passed the Senate, but its scope was narrowed by the House committee, which removed a provision that would have called on the working group to reconsider the "criminalization of psychedelics under State law" as well as provide "potential timelines for universal and equitable access." That means that if it now passed the House, it will have to go back to the Senate for a concurrence vote or see differences resolved in conference committee.

The committee also removed members of the Psychedelic Society of Vermont and the Brattleboro Retreat, a psychiatric and addiction hospital, from the task force. It replaced them with representatives from the state Department of Mental Health and the nonprofit Vermont Medical Society.

The bill now awaits a House floor vote.

International

New Zealand Experts Sign Open Letter Calling for Drug Legalization. More than 150 experts enlisted by the Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa (HRCA) have signed an open letter to the government calling for drug legalization. The signatories include experts in drug policy and criminology including professors, academics, researchers, clinicians and health professionals.

The HRCA is calling for a new, "fit-for-purpose drug law."

"It is clear that the Misuse of Drugs Act is not fit for purpose," said HRCA founding member Wendy Allison. "After 50 years it has failed to reduce drug use or drug harm. In fact, every problem we have around drugs in Aotearoa has developed under prohibition. It is time for a new approach."

HRCA chair Lachlan Akers added to the statement, saying a new drug law would "benefit our society as a whole."

"It's time to stop funding criminal organizations by letting them control New Zealand's drug market. We need to end prohibition to prioritize the health and wellbeing of people who use drugs," said HRCA Chair Lachlan Akers.

In the letter, HRCA calls for the "failed and damaging prohibitionist drug laws" to be rescinded and replaced by a new Psychoactive Drugs Act that would legally regulate the supply of all psychoactive drugs. "It's time to chart a new pathway forward -- one guided by compassion, science, evidence, experience and human rights," the letter reads. "Aotearoa New Zealand has the opportunity to be a world leader with transformative, fit for purpose, evidence-based drug laws. Together we can build a more just, humane and coherent approach to legal and illegal drug use in Aotearoa New Zealand."

Health Minister Shane Reti has yet to comment.

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NH Pot Legalization Bill Still Lives, Deadly Bomb Strikes Taliban Opium Eradicators, More... (5/9/24)

Mayor Eric Adams (D) is heralding a crackdown on illicit pot shops in New York City, the Supreme Court demurs on faster hearings in asset forfeiture cases, and more.

Marijuana Policy

New Hampshire Marijuana Legalization Effort Still Alive. Weeks after being declared "dead on arrival" in the Senate, a House-passed marijuana legalization bill, House Bill 1633 has come back to life and is now closer to what Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has said he can live with.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to overhaul the House bill, replacing it with an amended version that more closely adheres to Sununu's desires: a franchise model capping the number of stores at 15, local control over allowing pot shops, and limits on franchisees lobbying the legislature.

The measure won the backing of Democrats even though they objected to its tougher treatment of public consumption.

"The vast majority of our constituents believe that cannabis should not be illegal," said state Sen. Shannon Chandley (D-Amherst).

But the bill's prospects are still clouded. Both Senate President Jeb Bradley (R) and Senate Majority Leader Sharon Carson (R) say they remain opposed to legalization. Carson even suggested that Granite Staters who want to buy weed "just go across the border and drive home."

New Hampshire is the only New England state to maintain pot prohibition.

New York City Crackdown on Illicit Pot Shops. Municipal authorities have launched what they are calling a city-wide crackdown on illicit pot sales, with sheriff's deputies and police visiting at least 20 locations suspected of unpermitted marijuana sales and padlocking the doors of one shop in Tribeca.

Hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of unpermitted pot shops operate in the city. Mayor Eric Adams (D) put the number at 2,800 as he vowed to go after them.

"The team is going to be ready to go hit those 2,800," the mayor said Tuesday. "We have a lock with your name on it."

The clampdown comes after the legislature granted officials new powers to crack down on the illicit market, which has thrived as the state struggled to get the legal market up and running since legalization in 2021.

Adams had earlier vowed to shut down all illicit pot shops "within 30 days" of receiving the new powers to do inspections and lock violators' doors. But on Tuesday, he declined to reiterate that promise or say how many have been shut down so far.

Asset Forfeiture

US Supreme Court Declines to Require Quicker Asset Forfeiture Hearings. In the cases of two women whose vehicles were seized for drug offenses when their owners were not driving them, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the women were not entitled to immediate hearings to reclaim cars that were seized for crimes they did not commit.

In the case of Halima Culley, her 2015 Nissan Altima was seized when police caught her son with marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and a loaded weapon; in the case of Lena Sutton, a friend was driving her 2012 Chevy Sonic when police found methamphetamine in the vehicle. Both women filed class actions against the state and local governments for violating their due process rights by not providing prompt hearings on the seized vehicles.

But "the court's precedents already require a timely hearing," Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority. "Congress and the States have long authorized law enforcement to seize personal property and hold it until a forfeiture hearing," he said. "The absence of separate preliminary hearings in civil forfeiture proceedings -- from the Founding until the late 20th century -- is weighty evidence that due process does not require such hearings."

But three justices -- Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor == dissented, saying the court went further than the narrower question that was presented and that the decision hamstrings lower courts from addressing what Sotomayor called the myriad abuses of the civil forfeiture system.

"In short, law enforcement can seize cars, hold them indefinitely, and then rely on an owner's lack of resources to forfeit those cars to fund agency budgets, all without any initial check by a judge as to whether there is a basis to hold the car in the first place," she said.

The case is Culley v. Marshall, U.S., No. 22-585.

International

Three Taliban Killed in Bomb Attack on Opium Eradication Operations. Just a day after national and provincial Taliban officials said unrest over opium eradication in Badakshan province had died down, three Taliban security personnel were killed when a bomb-laden motorcycle was exploded amidst their eradication operations.

"The explosion took place as the police convoy was passing for the purpose of opium poppy eradication," said interior ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qaniee, adding that five other people were injured.

After years as the world's primary source of opium, the Taliban banned the trade in 2022 and are attempting to strictly enforce the crackdown this year. But the ban has a deleterious impact on hundreds of thousands of peasants and rural laborers who depend on the poppy for a livelihood, and unrest has roiled the province in recent days. At least two people were killed earlier in clashes between the Taliban and protesting farmers.

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DEA Releases Annual Threat Assessment, PA Set to Ban Xylazine, More... (5/10/24)

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) gets banned from a fifth Native American reservation over her cartel comments, 18 are dead in prohibition-related violence in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, and more.

Drug Policy

DEA Releases Annual Drug Threat Assessment; Does Not Note Role of Prohibition in Exacerbating Harms. The DEA on Thursday released its National Drug Threat Assessment 2024, saying the country is "in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced" and citing "the shift from plant-based drugs, like heroin and cocaine, to synthetic, chemical-based drugs, like fentanyl and methamphetamine."

Repeating decades of prohibitionist policy prescriptions, the DEA's assessment focuses on interdiction, with the agency saying its "top priority is reducing the supply of deadly drugs in our country and defeating the two cartels responsible for the vast majority of drug trafficking in the United States."

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram added that, "At the heart of the synthetic drug crisis are the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels and their associates" and vowed renewed efforts "to target these networks and save lives."

The announcement of the report's release did not mention the word "marijuana," nor did it address why decades of failed interdiction and suppression policies should be followed by more of the same.

Pennsylvania Governor Ready to Sign Xylazine Ban Bill. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) will sign a bill making the animal sedative xylazine -- popularly known as "tranq" -- a Schedule III controlled substance. The drug, which does not respond to opioid overdose reversal drugs, is increasingly evident in the drug supply and is linked to a growing number of overdose deaths.

Under state law, Schedule III drugs are substances or chemicals defined as having a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Other drugs in the same category include Tylenol with codeine, ketamine, anabolic steroids, and testosterone. The illicit use or distribution of Schedule III drugs carries penalties of up to 30 years in prison.

The measure, House Bill 1661, won final approval in the legislature on Wednesday.

The legislation builds on Shapiro's executive order last year moving to restrict access to the drug, which has been linked to more than 3,000 overdose deaths nationwide by the DEA and numerous deaths in Pennsylvania.

South Dakota Governor Now Banned from Fifth Reservation over Cartel Remarks. It's not just dog lovers who have a bone to pick with Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who has recently become infamous for writing about how she shot and killed one of her puppies. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban her from entering the reservation because of remarks claiming that tribal leaders on South Dakota reservations were in cahoots with Mexican drug cartels.

"As Tribal leaders, it is our duty to honor the voice of our people. Although, it is always a goal to engage in constructive dialogue with our political counterparts at the federal and state level, it is equally important we take actions that protect our values, ensuring a safe and inclusive environment, and preventing further marginalization of tribal nations," the council said.

The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate is the fifth tribe to ban Noem from tribal lands, following the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

International

Mexico Prohibition-Related Violence Leaves 18 Dead in Zacatecas. State prosecutors in the west-central state of Zacatecas said Thursday that at least 18 people had been killed in cartel-related violence, with nine bodies deposited in the town of Fresnillo on Wednesday and nine more left in the city of Morelos a day earlier.

The bodies were found after drug gang members blocked roads and burned vehicles in the wake of the arrest of 13 gang members by local authorities. Some of the bodies were found with signs warning rival gangs that this could be their fate, too.

Zacatecas is a key transit point for drugs heading north to the US market and has been the scene of vicious turf wars between the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels. It is also now one of the deadliest states in Mexico. The US State Department has warned citizens to "do not travel" to Zacatecas.

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