Skip to main content

Chronicle AM: NM Legislature Passes Civil Asset Forfeiture Ban, No Jail for Junkies in WA County, More (3/23/15)

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #879)
Consequences of Prohibition

A ban on civil asset forfeiture passes the legislature in New Mexico, there was a legalization demo in New Jersey and a medical marijuana rally in Tennessee, a UN agency says the herbicide used to spray Colombian coca crops causes cancer, and more.

Snohomish County, WA, is not jailing heroin addicts for nonviolent, misdemeanor offenses. (wikimedia.org)
Marijuana

Massachusetts Attorney General Opposes Legalization. Attorney General Maura Healey said today that while she supported a successful decriminalization initiative a few years ago, she doesn't support legalization. "I supported the effort to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana a few years ago, and I appreciated the motivation behind that move and ultimately, the law," Healey told Boston Herald Radio. "What I oppose though now is full legalization of marijuana." She said her views were informed by discussions with her counterparts in Washington and Colorado, who told her they had not seen a drop in drug trafficking and that people came from out of state to buy marijuana. A legalization bill is pending, and the state could see two different initiative campaigns next year if the legislature fails to act.

New Jersey Legalization Advocates Smoke Out in Trenton. More than a hundred people showed up for the "Spring Smoke Out" rally at the statehouse in Trenton Saturday. Led by veteran Garden State pot activist Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion, the group toked up amid chants of "One, two, three four, smoke, smoke, smoke some more!" and demanded an end to pot prohibition.

Medical Marijuana

Idaho CBD Cannabis Oil Bill Heads for Senate Floor Vote. A bill that would allow for the use of cannabis oil to treat severe forms of epilepsy passed the Senate State Affairs Committee last Friday and now heads for a Senate floor vote. The measure is Senate Bill 1106. Another cannabis oil bill that would only allow an affirmative defense, Senate Bill 1146, also awaits a Senate floor vote.

Louisiana Medical Marijuana Bill Pre-Filed. State Rep. Dalton Honore (D-Baton Rouge) has pre-filed a bill that would allow for the use of marijuana for specified medical conditions, including seizure disorders, glaucoma, cancer, and the side effects of cancer treatments. The bill is House Bill 6. Last year, similar legislation failed to get out of committee in the face of opposition from law enforcement. The session begins April 13.

Tennessee Advocates in Smoky Mountain Medical Marijuana Rights RallyHundreds of people showed up for the Smoky Mountain Medical Marijuana Rights Rally and march in Johnson City Saturday. The rally comes as the state legislature considers a number of medical marijuana-related bills.

International

Bolivia Lashes Out at US Anti-Drug Report. The Bolivian government rejects the State Department's anti-drug report, released last week, which said the country is not complying with international anti-drug trafficking obligations."The report is unacceptable. The only thing it does is to put more obstacles to the hypocritical call to reestablish bilateral relations. This is the double standard policy that he US has and will always have," Government ministry spokesman Hugo Moldiz said.

Ten Killed in Mexico Cartel Attack on Police. Suspected drug gang members attacked a convoy of Mexico's newly militarized police force, the gendarmerie, in Jalisco state last Thursday, leaving five policemen dead, as well as three gang members, and two bystanders. It was one of the deadliest attacks on police since President Enrique Pena Nieto took office in December 2012.

UN Agency Links Herbicide Used to Spray Colombian Coca Crops to Cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a research arm of the World Health Organization, said last Thursday it had reclassified the herbicide glyphosate as a carcinogen. It cited what it said was convincing research showing that the herbicide creates cancer in lab animals and that it could cause non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in humans. Under a US-government supported program, Colombia has sprayed more than four million acres of land with the stuff in a bid to destroy coca crops. The Colombian government, however, expressed concern, but didn't say it was ready to stop the spraying. Eliminating cocaine "transcends" other concerns, said Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

CajunAggie (not verified)

I live in Louisiana, and if it is allowed to be voted on here by the public, it should pass with a small majority.  Thanks go out to Rep Dalton Honore, Sen Fred Mills, and all the others who support this.  

Although most people don't know it, we already have a medical marijuana law on the books since 1994 for terminally ill patients, but there is no way to legally access it (so Louisiana doesn't get counted amongst the 23 states with medical marijuana).  I've written my representatives and they seem to be open to at least discussing it.

Our biggest obstacle is the law enforcement community and the prison industry.  We are the jailing capital of the world with more people in jail per capita than anywhere else in the world.  Not something to be proud of, but they have a pay-per-prisoner exchange scheme here that allows parishes (same as counties) to make money housing criminals because of our over-crowded system.  

In Louisiana, 1-4 plants will get you 5 yrs hard labor, 5-10 will get you 10 yrs, and more than 10 plants is a 20 to life sentence (and these are mandatory minimums). Over 1 ounce is automatically considered distribution (as if a case of beer makes you a distributor).  Make sense to any of you?  

Mon, 03/23/2015 - 10:58pm Permalink
the virgin terry (not verified)

In reply to by CajunAggie (not verified)

a great many laws and other things in amerikan culture make no sense, other than catering to a few narrow 'special interests' (not the greater public interest), or simply manifesting dogmatic ignorance, bigotry, and that word again, no(n)sense. besides the 'special interests' being served, stupidity is being served, and nothing more.

Mon, 03/30/2015 - 2:08am Permalink
the virgin terry (not verified)

didn't anyone else notice that the story on the new mexico asset forfeiture in the headline and opening paragraph, was in fact missing from the article? somebody made a mistake.

Mon, 03/30/2015 - 2:12am Permalink

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.