Consequences of Prohibition
Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
Congress has passed a bill to legalize hemp, the CDC issues a new report on overdose deaths, St. Vincent and the Grenadines legalizes medical marijuana, and more.
Fentanyl is now the leading drug implicated in overdose deaths, according to the CDC. (Creative Commons)
Colorado Senator Seeks to Add Marijuana Amendment to Criminal Justice Bill. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) will try to add an amendment to the pending prison and sentencing reform bill that would effectively end federal marijuana prohibition. Gardner seeks to add his STATES Act (S.3032) as the amendment. That would allow states to implement their own pot laws without fear of federal interference.
California Regulators Issue Final Version of Regulations. California marijuana regulations are now set after regulators issued their third and final version of the rules. Among the highlights: Deliveries will be allowed statewide, contract manufacturing will be allowed (licensed companies make and package products for unlicensed companies), and regulations for childproof packaging have changed to place the burden on retailers.
St. Paul City Council Backs Resolution To Legalize Recreational Marijuana. Minnesota's second largest city now officially supports marijuana legalization. The city council voted 6-1 Wednesday to support a resolution calling for it. Governor-Elect Tim Walz (DFL) is also down with the idea.
Medical Marijuana
Nebraska Medical Marijuana Initiative Campaign Gets Underway. Two state senators, Anna Wishart, and Adam Morfeld, both Democrats from Lincoln, announced Thursday that they had created a campaign committee to put a medical marijuana constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot. The committee is Nebraskans for Sensible Marijuana Laws.
Industrial Hemp
Congress Approves Industrial Hemp Legalization. Hemp, hemp, hooray! With a final vote in the House on Wednesday, the 2018 Farm Bill, complete with a provision legalizing domestic hemp production, was approved by Congress and now heads for the president's desk. The bill clears the way for American farmers to participate in what is already a billion-dollar domestic hemp industry that is currently reliant on foreign imports.
Opioids
Fentanyl Now the Most Common Drug in Fatal Overdoses, CDC Reports. Fentanyl is now the most commonly used drug involved in drug overdoses, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fentanyl was involved in more than 30,000 overdose deaths, while second place heroin was implicated in more than 27,000 deaths. There were some 63,000 overdose deaths in 2016, many of them involving multiple substances.
International
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Pass Medicinal Marijuana Bill. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has become the first Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Member State to decriminalize marijuana for medical purposes and scientific research. "There is broad recognition and buy-in of the economic benefits this tightly controlled and regulated industry is expected to bring in terms of direct employment, the creation of support industries and foreign investment," said Agriculture Minister Saboto Ceaser.
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
Cory Gardner (R-CO) Represents Russia's View On MJ Legalization
The problem with Cory Gardner (R-CO) is the same problem with Matt Gaetz (R-FL); which is, they are BOTH 100% Trump loyalists -- that is to say, THEY ARE LYING, TREASONOUS, FASCIST, REPUBLICAN MOTHERFUCKERS!! ...with no integrity, and no credibility.
Cory Gardner tried THREE TIMES to take away HIS OWN CONSTITUENTS HEALTH CARE. He was met with massive protests at his home office each time, and he refused even to meet with his own constituents, earning him the nickname "CARDBOARD CORY" (which was the lifesize cardboard cutout photo of him that served as his proxy during the townhall debates he ducked out on.)
Reality Check Test Question for Republicans: Cory Gardner is hellbent on taking away his own constituents' Healthcare. Do you seriously think he gives A RAT'S ASS about the health and well-being of medical marijuana patients?
I see it all clearly now, don't you? Trump is a Putin operative, and Gardner/Gaetz/et al. are Trump sycophants. They are fucking authoritarian fascists, and authoritarian fascism is the death knell for marijuana legalization, because it is the death knell for American democracy, upon which the future of marijuana legalization depends.
This can only mean one thing: As they have done with the NRA, Russia has infiltrated the marijuana legalization movement.
Where are they, you say? Point to one?
Okay. Right there: Cory Gardner.
Gardner's and Gaetz's loyalties are 100% With Trump
Both Cory Gardner and Matt Gaetz have memorized, and regurgitated, the political talking points of the marijuana legalization community, which are in themselves reasonable and truthful, making Gardner and Gaetz SOUND reasonable and truthful when they barf them back up.
But their loyalties are with Trump all the way, and you know it’s true. And Trump’s loyalties are first to himself, and then secondly, to Putin. Putin and Trump think we marijuana users are all disgusting addicts who need to be eliminated from society. And Gardner and Gaetz are all in with all that.
That kind of makes any verbage Gardner or Gaetz parrot in support of marijuana legalization, about as repugnant as flowers from a rapist.
Gardner and Gaetz are doing much more to hurt our cause than to help it.
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