Attorney General Holder endorses federal drug sentencing reductions, CBD medical marijuana bills move in the South, a New Hampshire decriminalization bill advances, Zohydro may get some competition, and the UN is generating plenty of news, and more. Let's get to it:
Marylanders Rally for Legalization. Nearly 100 supporters of sweeping changes in Maryland's marijuana laws rallied in Annapolis Thursday before planned legislative hearings on bills to legalize -- or at least decriminalize -- possession of the drug. The House Judiciary Committee is hearing a series of marijuana reform bills this afternoon, including a legalization bill (House Bill 880) from Rep. Curt Anderson (D-Baltimore).
Maryland Poll Has Slim Majority for Legalization. As the legislature considers marijuana reform bills, a new Goucher Poll has support for legalization at 50.1%, with 39.4% opposed. The poll also had a whopping 89.6% in favor of medical marijuana.
New Hampshire Decriminalization Bill Passes House. The House approved a decriminalization bill by a veto-proof margin Wednesday. House Bill 1625, sponsored by Rep. Adam Schroadter (R-Newmarket) and a bipartisan group of seven cosponsors including Sen. Jeff Woodburn (D-Dalton), would make possession of up to one ounce of marijuana punishable by a civil fine of up to $100. It would also make cultivation of up to six plants a Class A misdemeanor instead of a felony. Currently, possession of any amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000. Now, it's on to the state Senate.
Medical Marijuana
Kentucky Senate Approves CBD Medical Marijuana Bill. The Senate passed a bill allowing doctors to prescribe and patients to use CBD cannabis oil for medical reasons Wednesday. The bill passed with no opposition. Senate Bill 124 now goes to the House.
Georgia Senate Committee Approves CBD Medical Marijuana Bill. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee unanimously approved House Bill 885, which would allow patients to use CBD-based cannabis oils. It also amended the bill to allow parents to bring the oil into the state without facing penalties. The bill has already passed the House and now awaits a Senate floor vote.
South Carolina Senate Panel Approves CBD Medical Marijuana Bill. A subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Medical Affairs approved a bill allowing people suffering from epilepsy to use CBD cannabis oil Wednesday. Senate Bill 1035 still needs to pass the full committee. Similar legislation is moving in the House.
Hemp
Tennessee Hemp Bill Wins House Committee Vote. A bill that would allow the cultivation of hemp for research purposes passed the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday. House Bill 2445 now heads for the House Finance Ways and Means Committee.
Drug Testing
Mississippi Food Stamp Drug Testing Bill Heads to Governor. A bill that would require applicants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to undergo drug testing if there is a suspicion they are using drugs passed the Senate Wednesday and now goes to the desk of Gov. Phil Bryant (R), who has made it a keystone of his legislative agenda. House Bill 49 passed the Senate after debate in which supporters couched the program as an additional benefit that could help somebody struggling with addiction, while opponents said it was unfairly singling out the poor.
ASAM White Paper Calls for Vastly Expanded Drug Testing. The American Society for Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has published a white paper by former NIDA director and present day drug testing consultant Robert Dupont calling drug testing "underutilized" and arguing it should be expanded to be include people of all ages in virtually all aspects of daily life. The totalitarian vision is ably critiqued by NORML drug testing expert Paul Armentano (click the title link), as well as by progressive talk radio host Thom Hartman, who countered Dupont with an op-ed entitled "It's Time to End All Drug Testing." Both Armentano's and Hartman's critiques are worth the read.
Prescription Opioids
Oxycontin Maker Offers Alternative to Zohydro. Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of Oxycontin, says it has completed testing of an abuse-resistant version of the painkiller hydrocodone, a surprise development that could derail sales of the recently launched Zohydro, a similar medication that has been criticized for lacking such safeguards. Purdue Pharma says it plans to submit its extended-release hydrocodone drug to the Food and Drug Administration later this year. Shares of rival Zogenix Inc. plunged more than 20% after the announcement, which appears to jeopardize sales of the company's just-launched drug Zohydro. Zogenix began shipping Zohydro to pharmacies last week.
Sentencing
Attorney General Holder Endorses Proposal to Cut Federal Sentences. US Attorney General Eric Holder today endorsed a proposal from the US Sentencing Commission to reduce the sentences of people convicted of federal drug trafficking offenses by about a year, from an average of 62 to months to an average of 51 months. "This overreliance on incarceration is not just financially unsustainable," Holder said. "It comes with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate."
International
Listen to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs Sessions. You can do it by clicking on the UNODC's webcast page at the link above. Also, Oregon activist Doug McVay has uploaded audio of the second part of today's plenary session here. There will be more updates on McVay's weekly Drug War Facts podcast.
UNODC Panel Says Criminalizing Drug Use "Not Beneficial". Today, a key working group of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced the release of groundbreaking recommendations discouraging criminal sanctions for drug use. The Scientific Consultation Working Group on Drug Policy, Health and Human Rights of the UNODC -- which includes Nora Volkow, head of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) -- is releasing the recommendations at the High-Level Segment of the 57th UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. The working group recommendations say "criminal sanctions are not beneficial" in addressing the spectrum of drug use and misuse.
UNODC Sees "Serious Setbacks" in Fight Against Drugs. Addressing the opening session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNOC) head Yury Fedotov said the global fight against drugs had suffered "serious setbacks," including record opium crops in Afghanistan, violence linked to drug trafficking in Central America, and weak West African states succumbing to the blandishments of traffickers. While he said legalization was no solution, he did add that: "A public health response to the drug use problem should consider alternatives to penalization and incarceration of people with use disorders."
Caricom Creates Commission to Study Marijuana Legalization. The leaders of the Caricom Caribbean trade bloc announced today that they are creating a commission to study the impact of legalizing marijuana. The move came at the end of a two-day summit where members discussed a preliminary report on decriminalization. The commission is charged with presenting its report in early July for a Caricom summit in Antigua.
Iran Executed More Than 300 People for Drugs Last Year, Report Says. A report from the nonprofit group International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran released Wednesday says Iran executed 331 people on drug-related charges last year. The drug executions accounted for almost half of all executions in the Islamic Republic, the report found. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime sponsors anti-drug programs in Iran, and is under increasing pressure from European donor countries to put in place measures to stop its support from contributing to the death penalty.
Dire Prospects for Afghanistan Drug War, Analysis Finds. A new analysis from Alex Pollard-Lipkis of Foreign Policy in Focus finds that "if costly drug war strategies in Afghanistan have been unsuccessful even with a strong US military presence, they won't stand a chance after the US withdraws." The analysis critiques contemporary US approaches and peeks into the post-US future. Click on the title link to read the whole thing.
Comments
Robert Dupont
Anyone who gives a Dupont the time of day on drug testing should be run out of town . The magazine Popular Mechanics from February 1938 had an article titled " New Billion - Dollar Crop " [ Hemp ] . Hearst , Dupont and scumbag Anslinger went into action . This is your Cannabis prohibition roots . Google it for yourself and learn something . The Hearst timber industry , the Dupont synthetic industry and ol` Harry and his alcohol cops . This is the continuation of the Dupont war on Cannabis . Robert Dupont has no credibility on this issue .
In reply to Robert Dupont by kickback (not verified)
Dupont
In reply to Robert Dupont by kickback (not verified)
Dupont
Robert Dupont, ASAM, FSPHP and the coming "new paradigm"
Please take a look at Robert Dupont's keynote speech before the annual Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association. http://bit.ly/1eCO7U7
He describes a "new paradigm" for drug and alcohol testing that he wants to expand to EAPs and schools. This is a Zero-tolerance frequent testing with "swift and certain" consequences operation of coercion, control, and fear. He designed the model over the past 15 years with the ASAM and FSPHP. ASAM is a corporate (drug testing labs, Hazelden and other 12-step rehab centers, etc) and political (AA) Front group that is the propaganda, misinformation, and lobbying arm. Unrecognized by the American Board of Medical Specialities they created a fake Board Certification (ABMS) by certifying themselves, claimed to be experts in Addiction medicine, changed public policy, regulations, and law by strategic self serving lobbying, and convinced regulatory boards, politicians, and other groups they are experts. Dupont and his cohorts publish junk studies that serve as stepping stones to successive positions in ASAM and IBH (another prohibitionist front).
These "Board Certified" ASAM doctors then joined State "Impaired physician" programs across the Country (organizations designed originally to help doctors with substance abuse problems), gained power, and formed the FSPHP. They systematically removed physicians in the PHP programs over time if they were not prohibitionist zealots. Those removed were threatened with lawsuits by FSPHP legal that if they violated "peer review" or confidentiality agreements they would take heavy legal action so they could not report the misconduct, ethical, and legal violations they witnessed.. ("win or lose we will bankrupt you"). The FSPHP then incorporated nationally and now controls the PHP programs in all states.
During the past decade they have strengthened their opacity, impunity, and immunity and altered existing statutes and regulation. They are accountable to no one, unregulated, and have no oversight.
They have the power to target ad remove any doctor they choose to. If they require a monitoring contract the doctor must sign it and do whatever they say with no appeal. They control the process and have conflict of interest relationships with specific facilities where they are engaging in political abuse of psychiatry, false diagnoses, and fraud. They routinely commit forensic fraud with junk-science alcohol tests they introduced (EtG, PEth), and this is all designed to be hidden from public scrutiny. Suicides in doctors has gone up dramatically over the past 5 years as they completed the coup.
There is a culture of silence in the medical community. No one dare speak against them. There is a pervasive climate of fear. And it is also the major reason so few doctors are interested in being involved with medical marijuana. The FSPHP is tracking those that are and have the power to bring them in at any time. This has already been done in Oregon and it sends a powerful message. This was by design. Even though most consider him an archaic 77 y/o drug war dinosaur, Bob Dupont is the single biggest barrier to medical marijuana and this needs to be exposed. The FSPHP needs to be dismantled on the state level. In multiple states doctors have gone to law enforcement, the AGO, the FBI, the ACLU, and the media only to be turned away. Many are killing themselves as no one is listening.
He is now calling this system of abuse, coercion, and control the "new paradigm" based on one-sided propaganda. Few are speaking out. But if you take a look at the comments section here you will be shocked! http://bit.ly/1gnYPTs
This is the master plan of Dupont. He apparently did not kill enough kids in Straight, inc and the spawn it started.
And he now plans to make this Zero-tolerance prohibition swift-consequence model the standard for the nation. A police state of total prohibition. He already has the scaffold in place and if we don't stop him he very well could get it done.
--Warren Mullaney, MD
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