That Minnesota marijuana legalization bill continues to advance, the city of Amsterdam is banning outdoor pot smoking in its red light district, and more.

No pot smoking on the streets of Amsterdam's red light district, but you can still light up on coffeeshop patios. (CC)

Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Wins Yet Another Committee Vote. The effort to legalize marijuana continued its long march through the legislative committee process Thursday with the Senate Environment, Climate and Legacy Committee approving the Senate version of the bill, Senate File 73. That is the fifth Senate committee to advance the bill. The House version of the bill is also moving, having passed through seven committees already. This means the bill is roughly two-thirds of the way through committee votes, with a total of 18 anticipated before it heads for floor votes.

Asset Forfeiture

Texas Bill Would Reform State Asset Forfeiture Process and Take Step to Opt Out of Federal Program. Rep. Terry Canales (D) has introduced a modest reform of the state's civil asset forfeiture laws, House Bil1714. The bill does not abolish civil asset forfeiture, but raises the burden of proof on prosecutors from "a preponderance of the evidence" to "clear and convincing evidence." Passage of the bill would also take a big step toward opting Texas out of a federal program that allows state and local police to get around more strict state asset forfeiture laws. The bill says: "A law enforcement agency or attorney representing the state may not directly or indirectly transfer seized property to any federal law enforcement authority or other federal agency and may not coordinate with the authority or agency regarding seized property unless" the value of the seized property exceeds $50,000 and the crime committed is "interstate in nature." The bill has yet to be referred to a committee.

Drug Policy

American Society of Addiction Medicine Calls for Drug Decriminalization. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), which has historically aligned itself with prohibitionists and resisted modest marijuana reforms, is now calling for drug decriminalization. Citing "structural racism and stigma that are entrenched in US drug policy," ASAM issued a policy statement Thursday that said the group "supports shifting the nation’s response to personal substance use away from assumptions of criminality towards health and wellness. Policymakers should eliminate criminal and onerous civil penalties for drug and drug paraphernalia possession for personal use as part of a larger set of related public health and legal reforms designed to improve carefully selected outcomes. In the interest of harm reduction, policymakers should also eliminate criminal penalties for the manufacture and delivery of drug paraphernalia."

International

Amsterdam to Ban Pot Smoking on the Street in Red Light District. As part of a package of rules aimed at cracking down on noisy tourists who have drawn repeated complaints by residents, the city will ban pot smoking on the streets of its red light district beginning in May. "This should reduce the nuisance caused by drug use in public spaces, particularly by tourists," Mayor Femke Halsema said. The mayor said residents had been "excessively bothered" by crowds and nuisances related to mass tourism in the district. The new rules also mandate that brothels close by 3 a.m. and that bars close by 2 a.m. People will still be able to smoke pot outside on the patios of the city's famous coffeeshops.