Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
The Ohio GOP is hard at work on coming up with ways to mess with the voter approved marijuana legalizaion initiative before it goes into effect next month, New Hampshire's GOP governor comes up with some last-minute must-haves that derail a move toward marijuana legalization, and more.
New Hampshire Marijuana Legalization Commission Ends Work Making No Recommendations. A commission charged with coming up with a way to legalize marijuana has ended its work without coming up with a solution. That means New Hampshire is likely to be the only New England state where marijuana is still illegal well into the future.
Gov. Chris Sununu (R), who had earlier opposed legalization, endorsed a state-control model earlier this year, like how the state sells liquor. "The governor is open to discussing a franchisee-based system, but the success of such a model is in the details," his office said "The governor has been clear that any system meets his outlined framework – or be met with a veto."
While the commission worked to get close to that goal, coming up with a state-selected franchise plan for retail sales, Sununu threw a wrench into the work on Monday. His office told the commission that he would only accept 15 storefronts under a franchise model and demanded a ban on lobbying and political contributions by cannabis licensees. "At the very last meeting, the last half-hour, now, all of the sudden, we're considering things that flew in from the governor's office last-minute?" said state Sen. Becky Whitley, D-Hopkinton. "This is not how we legislate."
Some commission members were especially taken aback by the governor's proposes lobbying ban. "It's definitely something of concern, something we haven't seen before in other aspects of New Hampshire law," said Frank Knaack, of the ACLU New Hampshire.
Ohio Republican Bill Would Let Cities Ban Marijuana Use, Home Grows. Just weeks after Buckeye State voters approved marijuana legalization, including the right to home cultivation and a ban on municipalities blocking marijuana businesses, Rep. Gary Click (R) has filed a measure, House Bill 341, that removes the home grow and no municipal control provisions, giving cities the power to regulate or even ban marijuana businesses and even marijuana use.
Click's bill also messes with the initiative's plans for distributing marijuana tax and fee revenues, which currently allows for them to be evenly divided between social equity, community funds, administrative costs, and drug treatment. Click's bill would keep the four pots, but add funding for law enforcement, primarily by reducing the share going to administrative costs from 25 percent to 3 percent.
The bill comes as the state's Republican political establishment, led by Gov. Mke DeWine, seeks to impose changes on the new law before it takes effect on December 7.
"This is a discussion starter rather than the binary choice that was on the ballot," Click said. "It starts the conversation. Obviously, people want recreational marijuana. But they didn't get to dialogue in details. This is the opportunity for citizens to express their voices in the committee process. I am open to amendments that reflect the will of the people."
Psychedelics
Indiana Legislative Committee Recommends Launch of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy Pilot Program. The legislature's interim study committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services is recommending that lawmakers authorize a psilocybin pilot program to research psychedelic-assisted therapy for mental health in the 2024 session.
A committee report noted that while psilocybin remains on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the "prevailing view is that psilocybin should not be a Schedule I drug and has proven meical benefits."
The committee recommended that "the Indiana General Assembly take an approach that strikes a balance between access, research, and prudence.” Specifically, the body advised authorizing state research institutions “to conduct a pilot clinical study utilizing established therapeutic protocols as a starting point to explore the efficacy, safety, and feasibility of psilocybin assisted therapy in Indiana."
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.
Add new comment