Breaking News:Dangerous Delays: What Washington State (Re)Teaches Us About Cash and Cannabis Store Robberies [REPORT]

White House Releases Annual List of Drug Producing & Transit Countries, WA Drug Decrim Initiative Organizing, More... (9/16/21)

Granite State lawmakers are looking at a voter-approved constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana, Washington activists are laying the groundwork for a 2022 drug decriminalization initiative, and more.

President Biden wags a finger at Bolivia and Venezuela over their failure to meet US drug war goals. (whitehouse.gov)
Marijuana Policy

New Hampshire Lawmakers Move Toward Marijuana Legalization Constitutional Amendment. Stymied at the state house, three state representatives have separately filed requests with the Office of Legislative Services for help drafting a bill that would let the voters decide directly whether or not to legalize marijuana. The bill would take the form of a constitutional amendment, but for it to pass, it would require a supermajority of 60 percent in both the House and Senate. It would also require the support of 67 percent of voters once it made the ballot. Meanwhile, lawmakers will take up a legalization bill early next year. A legalization bill managed to pass the House last year but died in Senate committee.

Drug Policy

Washington State Drug Reformers Announce Plan to Put Drug Decriminalization Initiative on 2022 Ballot. A group of drug reformers organized as Commit to Change WA has announced plans to try to qualify a drug decriminalization initiative for the 2022 ballot. The group has yet to release a draft of the proposed initiative but said they will file it in January. Still, the group identified three broad principles for the measure: Ending treating drug use as a crime, a robust commitment to incorporating the experiences of actual drug users, and an emphasis on public health approaches. Neighboring Oregon decriminalized drug possession at the ballot box last year, becoming the first state to do so.

Foreign Policy

White House Releases Annual List of Major Drug Producing and Transit Countries. President Biden on Wednesday released the annual list of drug producing and transit countries, as required by the 2003 Foreign Relations Act. "I hereby identify the following countries as major drug transit or major illicit drug producing countries:  Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela," Biden wrote. Of the 22 countries, the president designated only two -- Bolivia and Venezuela -- as "having failed demonstrably to make substantial efforts during the previous 12 months to both adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements and to take the measures required by section 489(a)(1) of the FAA." It may be worth noting that the only two countries to be so designated have socialist governments. Biden did, however, waive the requirement that aid to the two countries be cut off, writing that "the United States programs that support Bolivia and Venezuela are vital to the national interests of the United States."

Permission to Reprint: This article is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license.
Looking for the easiest way to join the anti-drug war movement? You've found it!

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <i> <blockquote> <p> <address> <pre> <h1> <h2> <h3> <h4> <h5> <h6> <br> <b>

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Drug War Issues

Criminal JusticeAsset Forfeiture, Collateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Court Rulings, Drug Courts, Due Process, Felony Disenfranchisement, Incarceration, Policing (2011 Drug War Killings, 2012 Drug War Killings, 2013 Drug War Killings, 2014 Drug War Killings, 2015 Drug War Killings, 2016 Drug War Killings, 2017 Drug War Killings, Arrests, Eradication, Informants, Interdiction, Lowest Priority Policies, Police Corruption, Police Raids, Profiling, Search and Seizure, SWAT/Paramilitarization, Task Forces, Undercover Work), Probation or Parole, Prosecution, Reentry/Rehabilitation, Sentencing (Alternatives to Incarceration, Clemency and Pardon, Crack/Powder Cocaine Disparity, Death Penalty, Decriminalization, Defelonization, Drug Free Zones, Mandatory Minimums, Rockefeller Drug Laws, Sentencing Guidelines)CultureArt, Celebrities, Counter-Culture, Music, Poetry/Literature, Television, TheaterDrug UseParaphernalia, Vaping, ViolenceIntersecting IssuesCollateral Sanctions (College Aid, Drug Taxes, Housing, Welfare), Violence, Border, Budgets/Taxes/Economics, Business, Civil Rights, Driving, Economics, Education (College Aid), Employment, Environment, Families, Free Speech, Gun Policy, Human Rights, Immigration, Militarization, Money Laundering, Pregnancy, Privacy (Search and Seizure, Drug Testing), Race, Religion, Science, Sports, Women's IssuesMarijuana PolicyGateway Theory, Hemp, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Marijuana Industry, Medical MarijuanaMedicineMedical Marijuana, Science of Drugs, Under-treatment of PainPublic HealthAddiction, Addiction Treatment (Science of Drugs), Drug Education, Drug Prevention, Drug-Related AIDS/HIV or Hepatitis C, Harm Reduction (Methadone & Other Opiate Maintenance, Needle Exchange, Overdose Prevention, Pill Testing, Safer Injection Sites)Source and Transit CountriesAndean Drug War, Coca, Hashish, Mexican Drug War, Opium ProductionSpecific DrugsAlcohol, Ayahuasca, Cocaine (Crack Cocaine), Ecstasy, Heroin, Ibogaine, ketamine, Khat, Kratom, Marijuana (Gateway Theory, Marijuana -- Personal Use, Medical Marijuana, Hashish), Methamphetamine, New Synthetic Drugs (Synthetic Cannabinoids, Synthetic Stimulants), Nicotine, Prescription Opiates (Fentanyl, Oxycontin), Psilocybin / Magic Mushrooms, Psychedelics (LSD, Mescaline, Peyote, Salvia Divinorum)YouthGrade School, Post-Secondary School, Raves, Secondary School