Biden's Criminal Justice Task Force Gets Ahead of Him, Rio Drug Gangs Coordinate Favela COVID Response, More... (6/15/20)

Pot decriminalization bills are popping up in New Jersey, hemp is now legal in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Rio's drug gangs get busy with coronavirus, and more.

A Brazilian favela, or slum. In Rio de Janeiro, drug gangs are coordinating the response to coronavirus in the favelas. (CC)

New Jersey Sees Second Marijuana Decriminalization Bill. Last week, a decriminalization bill, S2535, was introduced in the Senate. On Monday, another decriminalization bill, A1897, advanced from the Assembly Community Development and Affairs Committee. The Senate bill would decriminalize the possession of up to a pound of weed, while the Assembly bill only decriminalizes up to 10 grams. The Senate bill has $25 fines; the Assembly bill has fines starting at $150, going to $200 for a second offense, $500 for each following offense.

Medical Marijuana

Ohio Regulators Recommend One New Qualifying Condition, Reject Two Others. A state medical board committee has recommended adding cachexia, or wasting syndrome, to the state's list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. The committee rejected adding autism and anxiety, though. The board will finalize the decision during a board meeting next month.

Hemp

Northern Marianas Governor Signs Hemp Bill. Gov. DLG Torres has signed into law a bill legalizing hemp in the US territory. The new law allows the Natural Resources-Division of Agriculture to regulate the hemp industry in the CNMI "consistent with the federal requirements."

Drug Policy

Biden-Sanders Task Force Members Push for Legalizing Marijuana and Other Drug Reforms. Joe Biden may not have yet endorsed marijuana legalization, but members of a criminal justice task force he organized appear to be getting ahead of him. One unnamed member, a former federal prosecutor, says that Biden's proposal to decriminalize marijuana doesn't go far enough and should be replaced with legalization, and another, former Attorney General Eric Holder suggested broader drug decriminalization without actually using the word. He said dealing with drug use should be a public health issue and taken "out of the system" of law enforcement.

International

Rio de Janeiro Drug Gangs Now Pushing Social Distancing, COVID Medications. With the government of rightist authoritarian populist President Jaoa Bolsonaro largely absent and in denial about coronavirus, residents of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro are seeing drug gangs effectively replace the state as responders to the pandemic. They are handing out alcohol, gel, medications, and cash to local residents.

(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.)