Journalist (and New Mexico goat farmer) Doug Fine has written the handbook to America's next hemp revolution. It's pretty inspiring, and a fun read, too. Check out our review of Hemp Bound.
A report from the London School of Economics released Monday night outlines the enormous negative outcomes and collateral damage from the war on drugs and calls for new, evidence-based approaches to drug use and the drug trade.
A bid to ease access to medical marijuana for vets failed in Congress, but not by much; California continues to grapple with local regulation issues, limited CBD medical marijuana bills continue to prove popular, a Washington state family can't use a medical marijuana defense for growing medical marijuana, and more.
Signature-gathering for an initiative to legalize marijuana in Washington, DC on this November ballot is ongoing through July 6. If you are in the area and have ten hours a week or more, you are eligible to apply for a paid position. The campaign is also seeking volunteers.
Saturday is Global Marijuana March Day. People will be hitting the streets in at least 160 cities in 35 countries on every continent except Antarctica.
More jail guards gone bad, a Florida cop slinging steroids heads for prison, a California cop stealing pain pills from the elderly does, too, and so does a TSA agent who took bribes to look the other way.
Asset forfeiture gone wild is in the news, so is a Delaware drug lab scandal, there's a major report on imprisonment from the National Academy of Sciences, Silk Road is back, and more.
Washington state should see marijuana retail stores open in July after license lottery winners were announced, limited CBD medical marijuana bills continue to move, a Washington state family of patients faces a federal trial, and the OAS wraps up its drug meeting in Washington, DC.
Uruguay prepares for the formal rollout of its marijuana commerce rules; meanwhile, across the Rio de la Plata estuary, Argentina sees the largest pot protest in history. Also, things are looking good for the Florida medical marijuana initiative, there's going to be a hemp planting in Kentucky, and more.
Uruguay issues rules for legal marijuana growing and sales, the Argentines attack US drug policy, a new London School of Economics report trashes the drug war as a failure, the DEA orders a massive increase in marijuana for research purposes, a Minnesota medical marijuana bill is moving, and more.
A reform rollback in New Zealand, a hearing on DC decrim in Congress tomorrow, a medical marijuana trial becomes a travesty, the DEA makes another change-nothing drug bust, and more.
Hemp Bound: Dispatches From the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution by Doug Fine (2014, Chelsea Green Publishers, 145 pp., $17.50 PB)
Hemp shouldn't have anything to do with drug policy. It's a cannabis sub-species low in THC so it doesn't get you high, but impressive as an industrial agriculture crop, one with uses in a broad and ever-increasing range of activities. The applications are numerous, and farmers in countries around the world, including just across the border in Canada, are making a living growing for an ever-expanding market, both here in the US and abroad.
Drug War Chronicle shouldn't be writing about hemp any more than it should be writing about corn or flax or soybeans. This should be the stuff of rural radio station farm shows and county agricultural extension office pamphlets.
But here we are -- because in what is arguably the single stupidest manifestation of the war on drugs, and the war on marijuana in particular, our farmers can't grow it. And that's because the DEA cannot be convinced to change its boneheaded position that hemp is marijuana. In fact, it even took getting slapped down by a federal appeals court to force the DEA to allow hemp products -- oil and seeds, fibers, biofuels -- to be imported into the country.
Still, the ban on US domestic hemp production is hurting American farmers, American agriculture, and the American economy. Farmers in North Dakota can stare across that imaginary line in the prairie and see their Canadian counterparts pocketing $250 an acre in what is a billion-dollar a year industry north of the border. Meanwhile, the Chinese are now years ahead of us in the tech for "cottonizing" hemp; making it a soft, desirable fiber.
All that's standing in the way is the DEA. North Dakota is among 13 states that have already passed laws defining hemp as distinct from marijuana and removing barriers to its production. And now, with the recent passage of the federal farm bill complete with a hemp amendment authorizing universities and agriculture departments in those 13 states to produce hemp for research purposes, hemp is about to bust out of the gate.
It's not quite there yet. That's going to take the DEA having a change of heart -- fat chance -- or, increasingly more likely, an act of Congress. There are hemp bills in both Houses this session, and while I would be surprised if they passed this year, it's coming. It's coming both because of rapidly changing attitudes about marijuana and because it is just too damned stupid to shoot ourselves in the foot any longer by letting everybody else but us grow this valuable agricultural commodity.
And Doug Fine is here to cheer it on. The veteran journalist (and New Mexico goat farmer with an organic bent) came to hemp the way many of us have -- through marijuana -- as he researched his third book, Too High to Fail: Cannabis and the New Green Economic Revolution. Now, with Hemp Bound, he's embraced an enthusiastic new role as an apostle of weed's country cousin. He's taken up the mantle of Jack Herer, but with more rigorous scientific backing, and while he doesn't want to shout out "Hemp will save the world!" one gets the definite sense that he thinks it's really going to help.
And he's done the research to back his claims. Fine interviews people in all aspects of the hemp industry, from Canadian farmers, scientists, and government officials to a Denver hemp-powered limo driver, a Dutchman whose company manufactures hemp fiber panels for the European luxury car market, and a Brit whose company uses hemp as a building material. The extent of the global hemp industry is truly eye-opening, and Fine is very seriously urging us here in the US to quit screwing around and get on the bandwagon.
Hemp Bound is not only informative and exciting, it's a fun read. Fine writes with passion, verve, and humor, and a sharp eye for bullshit. The chapters are fact-filled, but short, and are interspersed with interviews with the various players. And he gets bonus style points for managing to use the word "Saskatchewanian" (let that roll off your tongue), although there are style points foregone by using "separate the wheat from the chaff" instead of a hempier "separate the bast from the hurd" (if that's the correct analog; I defer to the true hemp experts here).
Mostly, Hemp Bound is a plea for us to take advantage of this plant. Fine waxes missionary over its multiple applications -- as he notes, a Popular Science article from the 1930s cited 25,000 industrial uses -- which I like to simplify and summarize as "The Three Fs" -- food, fiber, and fuel. And, if Fine and the people he talks to are correct, he's got good reason to be enthusiastic. With hemp, one can do good (by producing healthy, sustainable products with few nasty inputs and reducing reliance on petroleum products) and do well (make some money) at the same time.
But Hemp Bound is also an introduction to hemp and a how-to manual for American farmers thinking about making the leap. I come from an agricultural state. I know real live farmers. They are skeptical and tend to smirk at hippies, but they can also look around their acreages and see the ditch weed. Guys who are struggling to make a living with a thousand acres of corn and soybeans may be amenable to hemp if they think they can make a go of it. The profit is only $250 an acre, but when you have a thousand acres, that adds up, and farmers can count.
Fine speaks directly to these guys, some of whom are going to be the pioneers in America's next hemp boom. He can talk the talk that farmers talk. I think Hemp Bound needs to get in the hands of a lot of farmers, and I've made arrangements to see that it gets to a couple I know in central South Dakota. It also needs to get in the hands of legislators, state and university ag departments, and anyone else interested in starting our hemp revolution. We have some catching up to do, and Hemp Bound is our handbook.
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A report from the London School of Economics released Monday night outlines the enormous negative outcomes and collateral damage from the war on drugs and calls for new, evidence-based approaches to drug use and the drug trade.
The report,
Ending the Drug Wars: Report of the LSE Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy, has chapters authored by leading drug policy experts from around the world and has been signed onto by five Nobel Prize-winning economists, as well as political figures including British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Luis Fernando
Carrera Castro, former Polish President
Aleksander Kwasniewski, former US Secretary of State George Schultz, and former European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Dr. Javier
Solana, among other luminaries.
"It is time to end the 'war on drugs' and massively redirect resources towards effective evidence-based policies underpinned by rigorous economic analysis," the report says forthrightly. "The pursuit of a militarized and enforcement-led global 'war on drugs' strategy has produced enormous negative outcomes and collateral damage. These include mass incarceration in the US, highly repressive policies in Asia, vast corruption and political destabilization in Afghanistan and West Africa, immense violence in Latin America, an HIV epidemic in Russia, an acute global shortage of pain medication and the propagation of systematic human rights abuses around the world."
The stark prohibitionist approach to drug control has been a flop even by its own measures, the report found.
"The strategy has failed based on its own terms," it noted. "Evidence shows that drug prices have been declining while purity has been increasing. This has been despite drastic increases in global enforcement spending. Continuing to spend vast resources on punitive enforcement-led policies, generally at the expense of proven public health policies, can no longer be justified."
The report chided the United Nations for its continued adherence to such failed policies and urged it to accept experimentation while emphasizing public health and human rights.
"The United Nations has for too long tried to enforce a repressive, 'one-size-fits-all' approach," the report concluded. "It must now take the lead in advocating a new cooperative international framework based on the fundamental acceptance that different policies will work for different countries and regions. This new global drug strategy should be based on principles of public health, harm reduction, illicit market impact reduction, expanded access to essential medicines, minimization of problematic consumption, rigorously monitored regulatory experimentation and an unwavering commitment to principles of human rights."
"The drug war's failure has been recognized by public health professionals, security experts, human rights authorities and now some of the world's most respected economists," said John Collins, coordinator of LSE IDEAS International Drug Policy Project. "Leaders need to recognize that toeing the line on current drug control strategies comes with extraordinary human and financial costs to their citizens and economies."
"Repressive drug laws cost governments billions of dollars and result in horrible epidemics of infectious diseases and serious human rights abuses," said Dr. Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, the director of the Open Society Global Drug Policy Program, which hosted a launch event for the report at the LSE Monday night. "We know the terrible costs of failed strategies and what can be gained from smarter approaches."
More fuel for the fire as an increasingly broad-based global movement for drug reform takes aim at the UN and its 2016 General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs.
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A bid to ease access to medical marijuana for vets failed in Congress, but not by much; California continues to grapple with local regulation issues, limited CBD medical marijuana bills continue to prove popular, a Washington state family can't use a medical marijuana defense for growing medical marijuana, and more. Let's get to it:
NationalLast Wednesday, the US House narrowly defeated an amendment to allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana. Nearly 200 members of Congress, including 22 Republicans, voted in favor of an amendment Wednesday intended to allow physicians within the Veterans Affairs system to recommend medical marijuana to veterans in states that allow it. The bipartisan-sponsored amendment failed 195-222. The amendment, sponsored by Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Sam Farr (D-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Jared Polis (D-CO), was the first of its kind to be introduced on the House floor. It would have become part of House Resolution 4486, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
California
Last Thursday, backers of an initiative to allow and regulate dispensaries in Riverside handed in signatures. The group, Riverside Safe Access, turned in about 20,000 signatures. They need about 12,000 to qualify for the next regular city election in June 2015 and about 15,000 signatures to call a special election sooner.
Last Friday, a Fresno County judge put fines for medical marijuana growers on hold. Superior Court Judge Bruce M. Smith ruled that county officials can't start collecting fines from two property owners who appealed the new medical marijuana cultivation ban. One grower caught with 43 plants faces a $43,000 fine under rules adopted by the county. The board of supervisors was set to hear an appeal from another property owner Tuesday. In that case, the property owner was hit with a fine because his tenant grew 30 plants on his property.
Also last Friday, activists sued the city of San Diego to block recently passed dispensary regulations. The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients Inc. filed the lawsuit charging that the city's regulations are too restrictive, will result in few dispensaries in the city, and will result in dispensaries being concentrated in certain areas of the city.
On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo city council rejected a ban on outdoor grows. After more than three hours of public comment, the city council voted 4-1 to reject an ordinance banning outdoor medical marijuana grows. The ordinance was brought before the council after neighbors complained of a large outdoor grow operation in the backyard of residence near Leff and Nipomo Street. Neighbors complained of a constant stench of weed, increased traffic, and the fear of crime. But the city council said the ordinance went too far in penalizing medical marijuana growers who are not a problem for neighbors.
Also on Tuesday, the Healdsburg city council approved the outdoor cultivation of up to three plants. Patients, or their caregivers, will be allowed to grow three plants in their backyard or sideyard only, and also be able to cultivate up to six plants indoors. In response to perennial complaints about backyard marijuana gardens, Police Chief Kevin Burke last year proposed guidelines that would allow only indoor cultivation, with grow lights. But the proposal met with opposition from medical cannabis users, who said being forced to grow indoors is a significant expense, especially for low-income patients who need it.
On Wednesday, activists handed in signatures for a Butte County initiative that would strip supervisors of the right to regulate medical marijuana grows. The initiative proposes to do two things: re-establish a previous version of medical marijuana growing regulations in the county.It would also prohibit the supervisors from amending cultivation rules without putting up for a vote of the people. Activists handed in more than 10,000 signatures; they need 7,600 of those to be valid to qualify for the November ballot.
Florida
On Monday, the legislature approved a limited CBD medical marijuana bill and Gov. Rick Scott (R) said he would sign it. Senate Bill 1030 allows the use of CBD cannabis oil to treat epileptic seizures.
Iowa
Last Thursday, the senate passed a limited CBD medical marijuana bill. After an emotion-charged debate, senators voted 36-12 to pass Senate File 2360, a bill that legalizes the possession and medical use under certain conditions of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of marijuana that backers say possesses a wide range of therapeutic benefits. Ten Republicans joined 26 Democrats in passing the bill. Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City) is the sponsor.
On Monday, Gov. Terry Branstad (R) said he was unsure if he would sign it. He said he hadn't read the Senate File 2360 yet and noted that he has 30 days to take action. "This is not something that's been approved by the (Food and Drug Administration)," Branstad said in response to questions from reporters during his weekly news conference.
Louisiana
Last Wednesday, a medical marijuana bill died in committee. There will be no medical marijuana legislation passing through the Louisiana legislature this year. Senate Bill 541, sponsored by Sen. Fred Mills (R-New Iberia) was defeated in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on a vote of 6-2.
Minnesota
On Tuesday, the Senate approved a medical marijuana bill. The Senate approved Senate File 1641, which would allow for up to 55 dispensaries statewide and allow patients suffering from a list of approved medical conditions to use the plant -- but not to smoke it. A companion measure in the House is even more restrictive. It could be up for debate as early as Friday.
New York
On Tuesday, a long-stalled medical marijuana bill got is first Republican sponsor. Sen. Joseph Robach (R-Rochester) added his name this week to the Compassionate Care Act, joining 17 other Democratic senators who have co-sponsored the measure. The bill's primary sponsor is Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat. Republican Senate leaders have held up the bill. Senate GOP leader Dean Skelos said Tuesday there was a "good possibility" some sort of bill would be approved this session, but that he would only support a limited CBD bill.
Oregon
Last Wednesday, the Oregon Health Authority released a list of localities that have dispensary moratoriums. According to the state, 131 cities and 25 counties enacted moratoriums on dispensaries. Oregon has 242 incorporated cities and 36 counties. Oregon passed a law regulating dispensaries, but localities could enact moratoriums until yesterday. Those moratoriums can only extend through May 2015.
Pennsylvania
Last Thursday, Gov. Tom Corbett (R) said he now supports a limited CBD medical marijuana bill. He remains opposed to legalizing marijuana for medical use but now makes one exception: the use of a marijuana extract to treat severe seizures in children, his office said. Corbett's office first confirmed to The Associated Press that the Republican governor had met with several parents to tell them in person about his decision. The move came a day before patients and their families had vowed to stage at a sit-in at his office.
Washington
On Tuesday, a federal judge denied a medical marijuana defense for a family accused of growing medical marijuana. A federal judge won't allow a family of a medical marijuana patients from Washington state to defend themselves against drug trafficking charges by arguing their pot plants were for medical purposes. US District Judge Fred Van Sickle of the Eastern District of Washington on Tuesday rejected the planned medical marijuana defense of Larry Harvey, 70, his wife Rhonda Firestack-Harvey, 55, and three others facing trial next week, saying they could not argue that growing marijuana was for medical purposes and legal under Washington state law. "The intent of the defendants is not relevant to the issues," Van Sickle said. "There's this concept of reliance on state law and the like. That's not relevant either." Because the federal government considers marijuana illegal, federal courts generally don't allow evidence that the drug may have been used for medical purposes, even when medical marijuana is legal under a state's law, as it is in Washington. The Harveys, their son, Rolland Gregg, 33; Gregg's wife Michelle, 35; and family friend Jason Zucker, 38, sought to describe their doctor-recommended medical marijuana cultivation at their upcoming trial on federal drug charges.
[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]
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Join a Team That Will Make History in Washington, DC by Legalizing Marijuana
The DC Cannabis Campaign, Yes on Initiative 71, Needs Signature Gatherers Immediately.
Enjoy the spring weather in DC while making a living wage.
20 Positions Available -- May 6, 2014
Candidates are expected to collect at least 100 complete signatures per seven hours of work and maintain a valid signature rate of 30% or better. Candidates will need to wear neat street clothing, and work outdoors in all weather conditions collecting signatures. There is a lot of walking or standing required. It is a must candidates are outgoing enough to ask strangers if they are a DC Registered Voter and if they will sign the petition to legalize small amounts of marijuana. Non-DC residents will need to have a valid ID from out of state taken to the DCBOEE at 441 4th Street 2nd floor to become qualified signature collectors. The position is available to US citizens only. Long term opportunities are possible for top signature gatherers. Transportation inside Washington, DC is reimbursable.
Positions end July 6! Send reasons why you want legalize marijuana and your contact info to [email protected], or come by the office at 2448 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008, seven days per week, 9:30am to 6:00pm, and tell campaign organizers in person why you want a job and why you want to legalize marijuana. Call (202) 733-4640 if you have questions. (Volunteer signature-gatherers are also needed.)
Note: Candidates must collect minimums and maintain valid rates. Candidates who fail to make minimums of ten hours or 150 signatures per week with a valid rate of 30% or higher will have their contracts terminated.
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For more than 30 years, marijuana fans and legalization supporters have marched on the first weekend in May in support of the cause. Despite legalization having occurred in Uruguay and the US states of Colorado and Washington, this year is no different.
As of Friday,
at least 160 cities in 35 countries have signed up for marches Saturday (or thereabouts). That number may be an undercount; some countries where there will be marches in many cities do not have complete lists. Those include Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, New Zealand and Spain.
In previous years, crowds have been tens of thousands strong in some cities, including Vancouver, Toronto, Rome, and Buenos Aires. But marches have also taken place in smaller towns and cities across the world, with attendance ranging from mere handfuls to thousands.
This year, marchers will take to the streets in Aceh, Indonesia; Albany, New York; Alva, Oklahoma; Amsterdam, Antofagasta, Chile; Antwerp, Atlanta, Auckland, and Austin; Texas. And that's just the letter "A."
Other notable march cities include Erbil, Iraq; Iqalit, Nunavat, Canada; Johannesburg, Lima, Mexico City, and New York City.
Click on the link above to find the Global Marijuana March city closest to you. And wear comfortable shoes.
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More jail guards gone bad, a Florida cop slinging steroids heads for prison, a California cop stealing pain pills from the elderly does, too, and so does a TSA agent who took bribes to look the other way. Let's get to it:
pile-of-cash_161.jpg
In Chaparral, New Mexico,
an Otero County jail guard was arrested last Wednesday on charges he was smuggling drugs into the jail. Luis
Delgadillo, 37, went down after he was caught on surveillance cameras handing a package to a prisoner and another prisoner was overheard on a jail phone call saying
Delgadillo had brought the dope in. The inmates tested positive for opiates, and
Delgadillo was found in possession of meth, heroin, and
Suboxone when the FBI subsequently searched his vehicle. He is charged with federal drug trafficking conspiracy. He's looking at up to 40 years.
In Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, a York County Prison guard was arrested last Wednesday for allegedly selling drugs, although no sales are alleged to have taken place at his workplace. Marino Magaro, 24, was arrested following an undercover drug investigation and is charged with delivery of a controlled substance, three counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He's out on bail now.
In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a former West Palm Beach police officer pleaded guilty last Friday to selling drugs illegally while in uniform and carrying his service weapon. Dewitt McDonald pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally selling steroids and other prescription drugs. McDonald also admitted in March that he delivered drugs to another police officer while carrying his weapon and on duty. He faces a sentence of between five years and life in prison. A Fort Lauderdale federal judge is scheduled to sentence him on July 18.
In Martinez, California, a former Concord police officer was sentenced last Friday to six months in jail for stealing prescription drugs from the elderly at a senior housing complex. Matthew Switzer, who had been a drug dog handler, copped to two counts of first-degree burglary, one count of second-degree burglary, one count of fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs and one count of elder abuse. He was actually sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison, but had two years suspended.
In Los Angeles, a former TSA officer was sentenced Monday to nearly six years in federal prison Monday for taking bribes to allow drugs to be smuggled through her screening station at the Los Angeles International Airport. Joy White, 29, is one of seven screeners arrested in April 2012 in the scheme to smuggle drugs, including kilos of cocaine, through X-ray checkpoints and onto planes. Screeners made up to $2,400 each time they looked the other way as suitcases filled with drugs passed through their X-ray machines. White is the fourth of the seven sent to prison; three others await sentencing.
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Asset forfeiture gone wild is in the news, so is a Delaware drug lab scandal, there's a major report on imprisonment from the National Academy of Sciences, Silk Road is back, and more. Let's get to it:
Silk Road is back and as busy as ever.
Colorado Bill to Seal Old Marijuana Convictions Wins Committee Vote. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bipartisan sponsored bill that would allow someone to have their marijuana conviction sealed, if the conviction is now legal under Amendment 64. The committee heard nearly two hours of public comment before approving the measure, Senate Bill 14-218. The bill passed on a 3-2 vote and is now headed to the Committee on Appropriations.
Medical Marijuana
Louisiana Medical Marijuana Bill Dies in Committee. There will be no medical marijuana legislation passing through the Louisiana legislature this year. Senate Bill 541, sponsored by Sen. Fred Mills (R-New Iberia) was defeated in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on a vote of 6-2.
Iowa Limited CBD Medical Marijuana Bill Passes Senate. The Iowa Senate on Thursday approved a narrow opening for Iowa parents with children suffering from severe epilepsy to be able to access cannabis oil as a treatment option. After an emotion-charged debate, senators voted 36-12 to pass Senate File 2360, a bill that legalizes the possession and medical use under certain conditions of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of marijuana that backers say possesses a wide range of therapeutic benefits. Ten Republicans joined 26 Democrats in passing the bill. Sen. Joe Bolkcom (D-Iowa City) is the sponsor.
US House Narrowly Defeats Amendment to Allow VA Docs to Recommend Medical Marijuana. Nearly 200 members of Congress, including 22 Republicans, voted in favor of an amendment Wednesday intended to allow physicians within the Veterans Affairs system to recommend medical marijuana to veterans in states that allow it. The bipartisan-sponsored amendment failed 195-222. The amendment, sponsored by Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Sam Farr (D-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Jared Polis (D-CO), was the first of its kind to be introduced on the House floor. It would have become part of House Resolution 4486, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
Asset Forfeiture
Florida Sheriff on Asset Forfeiture Rampage. Marion County Sheriff Chris Blair is seizing criminal suspects' assets like never before, according to this report from The Ocala Star Banner. Prior to Blair taking office in 2012, asset forfeiture cases averaged 38 a year, but jumped to 57 last year, and there are already 33 so far this year. Now, Blair is expanding the practice beyond drug cases to include common crimes. Suspects face being stripped of their property after being arrested by officers for DUI, shoplifting, burglary, armed robbery, resisting arrest, driving with a suspended or revoked license, or grand theft. One woman had her 2008 Chevy seized after being caught with a few oxycodone pills. Here's the money quote (so to speak), as Blair's office explains the increase in seizures: "It shows the difference between a sheriff with 35 years of law enforcement experience and a sheriff who came from the business world," Chief Deputy Fred LaTorre explained. The whole article is worth the read; click the link.
Class Action Lawsuit Coming Over Nevada County's Highway Robbery Asset Forfeiture Program. Humboldt County already had to give back the money it stole from driver Tan Nguyen under the guise of its highway asset forfeiture program -- and pay his lawyer's fees -- but now the county faces a class action lawsuit from other victims of its overzealous law enforcement practices. After Ngyuen won his case against the Humboldt County Sherff's Department, 20 more people have come forward to say that they too had been stopped in Humboldt County and forced to give up money without any charges or even being accused of a crime. In many cases, they weren't even slapped with a speeding ticket. "What they're doing is profiling. They think they're stopping people who are on their way to California to buy drugs, and then bring them back to the Midwest or the Eastern states, and then sell them," said John Ohlson, he attorney for the cash seizure victims.
Drugged Driving
"Impaired" Driving Bill Wins Vermont Senate Committee Vote. The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday approved a drugged driving bill, House Bill 501, but not before amending it to remove the zero tolerance language in the version passed by the House. Instead, the Senate version now says the amount of drugs in your system has to actually impair your ability to drive. While the distinction between the two bills seems small, it may be a tough fight to hammer out a compromise by next Friday, when the session adjourns. The version of the bill cited here is the original; the amended version is not yet available.
Law Enforcement
Delaware Drug Lab Scandal Could See Thousands of Drug Cases Thrown Out. The Delaware Public Defender's Office on Wednesday filed "the first wave" of legal challenges to try and overturn 9,500 drug convictions because of tampering and thefts at the state's drug testing lab. This is on top of the more than 3,700 pending drug prosecutions in Delaware courts that are at risk of being dismissed due to the scandal at the Controlled Substances Lab inside the Delaware Medical Examiner's Office. And on the same day that public defenders delivered five archive boxes containing 112 motions for post-conviction relief to prosecutors and the court, state officials revealed that an employee at the Medical Examiner's Office has been suspended with pay as an investigation into the missing drug evidence continues. Click on the link for all the sleazy details.
Georgia Narc Denied Immunity in Killing of Innocent Pastor in Drug Investigation. A narcotics officer who fatally shot a Baptist pastor in Georgia persuaded a federal judge to partly reduce the jury-imposed $2.3 million verdict, but failed in his bid to claim qualified immunity because he was acting in his capacity as a law enforcement officer. Billy Shane Harrison shot and killed Pastor Jonathan Ayers after Ayers attempted to flee in his car from undercover officers attempting to question him in a drug investigation. The judge in the case ruled that "defendant could not have reasonably believed that Ayers posed an imminent threat of serious harm or that deadly force was necessary to prevent his escape," the 11-page ruling states. "And because it is clearly established that it is unreasonable for a police officer to use deadly force under such circumstances, defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law based on qualified immunity is denied." No criminal charges were ever filed against Harrison for the killing.
Maine Governor Says He Found Money to Pay for More Drug War. Gov. Paul LePage (R) announced Wednesday that his administration has found $2.5 million to pay for a drug enforcement bill that would add agents, judges and prosecutors and increase funding for addiction treatment programs. The bill was enacted with broad bipartisan support, but the Legislature's budget committee did not fund it. On Wednesday, the LePage administration said it has found a projected surplus in the state's unclaimed-property fund, which is overseen by the State Treasurer's Office and consists of money and personal assets that are considered lost or abandoned. The governor said he will propose emergency legislation today to allocate the surplus to the drug enforcement initiative. But it's unclear whether the Legislature will consider it. The ACLU of Maine, which has consistently opposed the bill, urged lawmakers to reject LePage's proposal. "The governor continues to push a proposal that would scale up an already bloated criminal justice system while giving a back seat to more effective treatment programs," the group said. "Plenty has been said about the need for a balanced approach, but this proposal is nothing of the sort... A truly balanced approach would mean scaling back law enforcement while increasing treatment and prevention."
Sentencing
National Academy of Sciences Report Calls for Big Cuts in Imprisonment. A groundbreaking report released yesterday by the National Research Council, the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences, documents the unprecedented and costly price of US incarceration rates. As the report points out, this unprecedented rate of incarceration is a relatively new phenomenon in US history. America's prison population exploded largely as a result of the failed drug war policies of the last 40 years. The report calls for a significant reduction in rates of imprisonment and says that the rise in the US prison population is "not serving the country well." It concludes that in order to significantly lower prison rates, the US should revise its drug enforcement and sentencing laws.
Sentencing Commission Submits Federal Sentencing Guideline Amendments to Cut Drug Sentences. On Wednesday, the US Sentencing Commission submitted its proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines to Congress. In addition to recommending reductions in some drug sentences, the Commission is also seeking public comment on the issue of whether to apply the amendment to the drug quantity table retroactively. Comments can be made through July 7 and can be emailed to [email protected].
Federal Judge Calls for Clemency for Convicted Cocaine Dealer. In an opinion issued Tuesday, US District Court Judge Paul Friedman urged President Obama to commute the sentence of Byron McDade, who was convicted following a jury trial in 2002 of conspiracy to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. Friedman sentenced McDade to 27 years in prison, the shortest sentence possible under federal sentencing guidelines, which were mandatory at the time. Prior to his conviction in the drug case, McDade had only a single misdemeanor on his record, for which he paid a $10 fine. "The sentence this Court was required to impose on Mr. McDade was unjust at the time and is 'out of line' with and disproportionate to those that would be imposed under similar facts today," Friedman wrote in his opinion dismissing McDade's latest bid to overturn his conviction. "While the Court is powerless to reduce the sentence it was required by then-existing law to impose, the President is not. The Court urges Mr. McDade's appointed counsel to pursue executive clemency on Mr. McDade's behalf so that justice may be done in this case." The administration recently called on federal drug prisoners to seek clemency.
International
Silk Road Internet Drug Sales Web Site Still As Busy As Ever. Eight months after federal agents brought down the man alleged to be running an underground Web site called Silk Road that had become a thriving venue for drug trafficking, not only is the site up and running again but the new version is more vibrant than ever. Busted Not Broken, a report from watchdog group the Digital Citizens Alliance claims the "online black market economy has done a complete somersault in the six months since the fall of the original Silk Road. New players have arisen, including a second incarnation of 'Dread Pirate Roberts' and a revived Silk Road (which seems to be thriving, even after law enforcement arrested and charged some of the new site's prominent figures) has replaced the original."
Jakarta Drug Crackdown An Exercise in Futility. The vice governor of Jakarta, commonly known as Ahok, has announced a crackdown on drugs in the Indonesian capital, but a thoughtful analysis from asiancorrespondent.com's Patrick Tibke shows how it is in exercise in both futility and hypocrisy. Click on the link; the read is worth it.
Lebanese Druse Leader Walid Jumblatt Says Legalize Marijuana. Walid Jumblatt, stalwart of the Lebanon's Druse community and leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, said Thursday he supported marijuana legalization, for both medical and economic reasons. "Never in my life have I smoked marijuana, but I support growing cannabis for medical use and to improve the living conditions of farmers in north and the Bekaa Valley," Jumblatt told Al-Jadeed TV. "Let's legalize cannabis and regulate its cultivation," the politician said. Crop substitution programs in the Bekaa Valley, which once saw a multi-billion marijuana trade, have been a failure, he added.
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Washington state should see marijuana retail stores open in July after license lottery winners were announced, limited CBD medical marijuana bills continue to move, a Washington state family of patients faces a federal trial, and the OAS wraps up its drug meeting in Washington, DC. And more. Let's get to it:
Marijuana Policy
Colorado Cannabis Credit Union Bill Modified Into Study Bill. A bill to create credit union-style financial institutions to handle money for the state's marijuana industry has been turned into a study bill.
House Bill 14-1398 was amended in the House Finance Committee Thursday evening. Rep. Kevin
Priola (R-Henderson) said he offered the amendment because he didn't feel comfortable approving a first-in-the-nation policy on short notice as the legislative session winds down. The session ends next week.
Colorado Bill to Seal Criminal Records for Minor Marijuana Convictions Fails. A bill to seal criminal records for some minor marijuana convictions died in a Senate committee Thursday. Senate Bill 14-218 was defeated in the Appropriation Committee after having been amended to apply only to crimes that were considered petty offenses before legalization. Advocates had hoped the bill could open the door to a broader sealing of marijuana-related convictions.
Washington State Announces Winners of Marijuana Store Lottery. The Washington State Liquor Control Board has announced the winners of the lottery for marijuana retail licenses. Some 334 stores will be licensed, but there were 1,174 applicants; thus, the lottery system. Some jurisdictions with little or no competition didn't require lottery participation, but most had multiple applications for the same spot. The board says it expects to start issuing retail licenses no later than the first week of July, so stores could be open there by the end of that month.
Medical Marijuana
Florida Legislature Approves Limited CBD Medical Marijuana Bill; Governor Says He Will Sign It. In something of a surprise move, the House yesterday approved a bill allowing the use of CBD cannabis oil for epilepsy. Senate Bill 1030 then went back to the Senate today, which approved it on the final day of the legislative session. Gov. Rick Scott (R) surprised supporters and told reporters late Thursday that if they pass it, he will sign it.
Latest Version of Minnesota Medical Marijuana Bill Bans Smoking It. The Senate Finance Committee has approved a medical marijuana bill, but one that doesn't allow patients to smoke it. Senate File 1641 would allow patients to use a vaporizer in non-public places, though. Sponsor Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) said he reluctantly included the smoking prohibition to appease opponents. Meanwhile, the sponsor of the House version of the bill, House File 1818, Rep. Carly Marlin (DFL-Hibbing) has now modified her bill to make it a limited clinical trial bill. It would also prohibit smoking. Medical marijuana advocates are split on the move, with some saying they feel betrayed. Minnesota is proving an awfully tough nut to crack when it comes to medical marijuana.
More Than Half of Oregon Cities and Counties Have Dispensary Moratoriums. The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday released a list of local governments that have imposed moratoriums on medical marijuana dispensaries. According to the state, 131 cities and 25 counties enacted moratoriums on dispensaries. Oregon has 242 incorporated cities and 36 counties. Oregon passed a law regulating dispensaries, but localities could enact moratoriums until yesterday. Those moratoriums can only extend through May 2015.
Pennsylvania Governor Now Supports Limited CBD Medical Marijuana Bill.Gov. Tom Corbett (R) remains opposed to legalizing marijuana for medical use but now makes one exception: the use of a marijuana extract to treat severe seizures in children, his office said Thursday. Corbett's office first confirmed to The Associated Press that the Republican governor had met with several parents to tell them in person about his decision. The move came a day before patients and their families had vowed to stage at a sit-in at his office.
Washington State Family of Medical Marijuana Patients Fights Federal Drug Trafficking Charges, Faces Decades in Prison. A Kettle Falls family and a close friend are being tried as drug traffickers by federal prosecutors, even though they were in compliance with state medical marijuana laws and even though they don't appear to meet Justice Department criteria for prosecution. Larry Harvey, his wife, their son and his wife, and a family friend have refused plea offers that would have seen them sent to prison and are now preparing for trial. The Huffington Post has an extensive report; just click on the link.
Harm Reduction
Missouri Legislature Passes Bill to Provide Overdose Reversal Drug to Police and First Responders. The legislature Wednesday night gave final approval to House Bill 2040, which will allow police and emergency first responders to carry and administer the opiate overdose reversal drug naloxone (Narcan). No word on if the governor intends to sign the bill into law.
International
OAS Drug Commission Concludes Biannual Conference. The Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Organization of American States (OAS) concluded on Thursday its 55th Regular Session with a review of current drug policies in the hemisphere, in compliance with the mandate that the hemispheric institution received from the leaders of the region at the Summit of the Americas in 2012. Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza highlighted the contributions that the hemispheric institution has made to the global drug problem, and called both the Report on the Drug Problem in the Americas (Analytical Report and Scenarios Report), and the Declaration of Antigua Guatemala adopted by all Member States of the OAS at the 2013 General Assembly in in Guatemala, that calls for a Special General Assembly focused on the discussion of the issue, "substantial contributions to the discussions on this topic that are being developed around the world." Insulza added that the conclusions of the Special General Assembly that the OAS will hold on the world drug problem in September in Guatemala "will surely represent a major contribution to the debate on drug policy that the United Nations will undertake in 2016."
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Uruguay prepares for the formal rollout of its marijuana commerce rules; meanwhile, across the Rio de la Plata estuary, Argentina sees the largest pot protest in history. Also, things are looking good for the Florida medical marijuana initiative, there's going to be a hemp planting in Kentucky, and more. Let's get to it:
The sun rises on industrial hemp in America. (votehemp.com)
. A bill to create "cannabis credit co-ops" to handle financial services for marijuana businesses passed the House last Friday.
House Bill 14-1398 now heads to the Senate. The legislative session ends this week.
Florida Poll Has Support for Legalization at 53%; For Medical Marijuana, It's 88%. A new Quinnipiac Poll shows majority support for marijuana legalization and near unanimous support for medical marijuana in the Sunshine State. There is no legalization on the ballot there this year, but there is a medical marijuana initiative, and with numbers like these, it has a pretty darned good chance of passing. That would make Florida the first full-fledged medical marijuana state in the South.
Medical Marijuana
Minnesota Medical Marijuana Muddle. Two separate, competing medical marijuana bills are now in play in Minnesota, Senate File 1641 and House File 1818. The St. Paul Pioneer Press has a good article summarizing the bills, the differences, and the politics behind them. Both bills are set for hearings today. Click on the title link to get the low-down.
Hemp
Hemp Planting Event to Take Place Next Week in Kentucky. The industrial hemp advocacy group Vote Hemp has announced that it has partnered with the Kentucky nonprofit Growing Warriors to organize an industrial hemp planting in Mount Vernon, Kentucky, on Friday, May 16. Growing Warriors is a group that seeks to get returning veterans involved in agriculture. The seed planted will be provided by the state Department of Agriculture and will be grown as part of a research and development program with Kentucky State University. Click on the link for more details.
Missouri Legislator Vows to Keep Fighting for Hemp. State Sen. Jason Holsman (D-Kansas City) has been pushing hemp legislation at the state house for years. It isn't going to happen this year, he said, but vowed to keep pushing. "Are we a free people to grow a plant that we find industrially applicable especially when it comes to clothing, rope, fibers and all the things we know that we know we can do with the hemp plant?" he asked.
International
Uruguay Unveils Marijuana Commerce Plans. Uruguay is expected to formally roll out its marijuana commerce rules tomorrow, but word has already leaked out that they will allow consumers to purchase up to 10 grams a week at a price of less than $1 per gram. Consumers will have to register before they can buy it in pharmacies, which should have legal marijuana in stock by December. The government will issue between two and six licenses for commercial growers, which it calls on to get planting "no more than two weeks after the decree enters into force."
Buenos Aires Sees Largest Global Marijuana March Ever. An estimated 150,000 people filled the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina, from the Plaza de Mayo to the Plaza del Congreso Saturday in what is certainly the largest marijuana protest ever. "No Jail for Cultivation -- Regulate Cannabis Now!" was the theme of the march. Click on the link to see a pic of the crowd.
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Uruguay issues rules for legal marijuana growing and sales, the Argentines attack US drug policy, a new London School of Economics report trashes the drug war as a failure, the DEA orders a massive increase in marijuana for research purposes, a Minnesota medical marijuana bill is moving, and more. Let's get to it:
Legal marijuana sales and cultivation is about to get underway in Uruguay. By the way, that's Argentina just across the estuary.
DEA Orders Massive Increase in Marijuana Production for Research Purposes. They're going to be busy this year at the US government's pot farm in Mississippi. The DEA announced Monday that it has dramatically increased the amount of marijuana to be grown for research purposes. The DEA had originally set the quota at 21 kilograms of marijuana, but has now increased that amount 30-fold, to 650 kilograms. The DEA acted at the behest of the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which says the increase is needed "to provide for current and anticipated research involving marijuana."
Medical Marijuana
Minnesota Medical Marijuana Bill Heads for Senate Floor Vote. A proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Minnesota is headed for a vote by the full state Senate. Senate File 1641 passed out of the Senate Finance Committee Monday. It would authorize up to 55 dispensaries and provide access to marijuana for patients with specified medical conditions, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, PTSD, and several conditions that cause chronic pain. Patients would not be allowed to smoke marijuana, but could vape it. A more restrictive bill is moving in the House.
Iowa Governor Unsure About Signing CBD Medical Marijuana Bill. Gov. Terry Branstad (R) said Monday he's unsure if he'll sign a CBD medical marijuana bill that has passed the legislature. He said he hadn't read the Senate File 2360 yet and noted that he has 30 days to take action. "This is not something that's been approved by the [Food and Drug Administration,]" Branstad said in response to questions from reporters during his weekly news conference.
International
Uruguay Releases Regulations for Legal Marijuana Commerce. Today, Uruguay's new marijuana commerce regulations (link is in Spanish) go into effect. The government will now embark on the implementation of the legal marijuana market, which is expected to be up and running by the end of 2014. The regulations for medical marijuana are to be released later this summer. Under the new regs, Uruguayans 18 and older can grow their own (up to six plants), grow as part of a club or collective (up to 45 members and 99 plants), or buy up to 10 grams of marijuana a week at a licensed pharmacy. Marijuana consumers will have to register with the government for one of the three options. The registry data will be confidential and protected. All forms of advertising and promotion of use are prohibited, as is smoking in closed, public spaces, in the workplace, and at health establishments, schools and sports institutions. Driving under the influence of marijuana is not allowed, and the newly created Institute for Regulation and Control of Cannabis (IRCCA), tasked with regulating and controlling the whole system, will set the THC limits and types of test performed for DUI. Consumption at or during work is also prohibited. The price will vary, but will start at roughly $1 a gram.
Argentine Cabinet Chief Blasts US Drug Policy. Argentine Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich has joined Security Secretary Sergio Berni in harshly criticizing US drug policies. The attacks come in the wake of a US State Department report saying there was a "dramatic" increase in drug consumption there. Over the weekend, Berni rejected the report as "arbitrary" and said the US "imports drugs and exports death." Those statements were "clear, eloquent, and convincing," Capitanich said Monday. "Some countries are intent to teach lessons on drug policy when they should be taking a closer look at what happens in their own countries," he added.
London School of Economics Report Calls for New Approaches to Failed Drug War. A report from the London School of Economics released Monday night outlines the enormous negative outcomes and collateral damage from the war on drugs and calls for new, evidence-based approaches to drug use and the drug trade. The report, Ending the Drug Wars: Report of the LSE Expert Group on the Economics of Drug Policy, has chapters authored by leading drug policy experts from around the world and has been signed onto by five Nobel Prize-winning economists, as well as political figures including British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Luis Fernando Carrera Castro, former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, former US Secretary of State George Schultz, and former European Union High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Dr. Javier Solana, among other luminaries. There's lots of good reading in it; click the link to access it.
European Drug Monitoring Agency to Release Annual Report Later This Month. The European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Abuse (EMCDDA) will present its annual overview of the European drug situation on May 27. Click on the link for more details.
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A reform rollback in New Zealand, a hearing on DC decrim in Congress tomorrow, a medical marijuana trial becomes a travesty, the DEA makes another change-nothing drug bust, and more. Let's get to it:
New synthetic drugs are going back to the black market after New Zealand rolls back its effort to regulate them. (wikimedia)
ACLU DC Branch Will Testify on District Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Tomorrow. The American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation's Capital will testify before the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, Subcommittee on Government Operations about the District of Columbia's marijuana decriminalization bill tomorrow. The legislation would remove the criminal penalties under District of Columbia law for the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana within the District. The bill passed the DC council overwhelmingly and was signed by Mayor Vincent Gray. It cannot become law until Congress and the president have had 60 days to review it. The Subcommittee on Government Operations called the hearing to discuss the enforcement in the District of local and federal marijuana laws. The ACLU will testify that nothing in the bill would prevent federal law enforcement officers from enforcing federal law throughout the District.
Colorado Legislature Approves Bills on Hashish, Edibles. House Bill 1361, which limits hash sales, and House Bill 1366, which further regulates edibles, both passed the Senate Wednesday, the last day of the session. Under current law, consumers can purchase up to an ounce of hash at a time, but that will be reduced by some as yet unspecified amount. The edibles bill would ban manufacturers from making edibles that "a reasonable consumer would confuse with a trademarked food product" (goodbye, Reefers Cups) or that are "primarily marketed to children." Both bills await the governor's signature.
MPP Releases Report on Collateral Consequences of Marijuana Convictions in New Hampshire. The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) has just released a new report, Marked for Life, that shows how the lifelong stigma associated with a marijuana conviction can derail dreams by making it difficult to obtain jobs, an education, and even housing. The moves two weeks after the state Senate refused to consider a marijuana reform bill, but the session isn't over yet, and MPP and its allies say they are not giving up for the year.
Medical Marijuana
Federal Judge Denies Medical Marijuana Defense to Family Accused of Growing Medical Marijuana. A federal judge won't allow a family of a medical marijuana patients from Washington state to defend themselves against drug trafficking charges by arguing their pot plants were for medical purposes. US District Judge Fred Van Sickle of the Eastern District of Washington on Tuesday rejected the planned medical marijuana defense of Larry Harvey, 70, his wife Rhonda Firestack-Harvey, 55, and three others facing trial next week, saying they could not argue that growing marijuana was for medical purposes and legal under Washington state law. "The intent of the defendants is not relevant to the issues," Van Sickle said. "There's this concept of reliance on state law and the like. That's not relevant either." Because the federal government considers marijuana illegal, federal courts generally don't allow evidence that the drug may have been used for medical purposes, even when medical marijuana is legal under a state's law, as it is in Washington. The Harveys, their son, Rolland Gregg, 33; Gregg's wife Michelle, 35; and family friend Jason Zucker, 38, sought to describe their doctor-recommended medical marijuana cultivation at their upcoming trial on federal drug charges.
New York Medical Marijuana Bill Gains First Republican Sponsor. Sen. Joseph Robach (R-Rochester) added his name this week to the Compassionate Care Act, joining 17 other Democratic senators who have cosponsored the measure. The bill's primary sponsor is Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat. Republican Senate leaders have held up the bill. Senate GOP leader Dean Skelos said Tuesday there was a "good possibility" some sort of bill would be approved this session, but that he would only support a limited CBD bill.
Minnesota Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill. The state Senate Tuesday approved Senate File 1641, which would allow for up to 55 dispensaries statewide and allow patients suffering from a list of approved medical conditions to use the plant -- but not to smoke it. A companion measure in the House is even more restrictive. It could be up for debate as early as Friday.
Law Enforcement
Courts, Legislators Moving to Curb Police Access to Prescription Drug Databases. For years, police across the country have had easy access to databases of prescriptions for controlled substances used by individuals they suspect of committing a crime. Not anymore. Some courts and legislators are now starting to restrict the data, amid concerns by privacy advocates and defense lawyers who say warrantless searches of these databases violate privacy rights, The Wall Street Journal reports. In February, a federal court in Oregon ruled for the first time that federal agents need a warrant to search that state's prescription-drug database. Last year, Rhode Island raised the barrier of entry to its database, and legislators in Florida and Pennsylvania are considering new limits on law-enforcement access to the records in those states.
DEA in Nationwide Raids on Synthetic Drugs, Sellers. The Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday broadened its national crackdown on synthetic drug manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers as federal agents served hundreds of search and arrest warrants in at least 25 states. Agents served warrants at homes, warehouses and smoke shops beginning early morning. The largest single operation was a statewide effort in Alabama. Agents also were active in Florida and New Mexico, among other states. Wednesday's crackdown was focused strictly on US targets and involved 66 DEA cases, seven investigations led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agents and several others led by Customs and Border Protection that focused on express consignment shipments. Last year, the DEA and Customs and Border Protection wrapped up a 7-month investigation that ended in 150 arrests and the seizure of about a ton of drugs. And now it's rinse and repeat.
Sentencing Reform
Harry Reid Says Sentencing Reform Debate Could Hit Senate Floor Soon. CQ Roll Call (behind a pay wall; no link, sorry) reported Tuesday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was asked whether he intended to bring Sen. Richard Durbin's (D-IL) sentencing reform bill, Senate Bill 1410, to the floor for debate soon. "The answer is yes," Reid said, adding that he has been consulting with Durbin about it. The bill would slash mandatory minimums for some drug crimes and give judges more discretion to impose sentences beneath federal guidelines.
International
New Zealand Reverses Course on Regulating Synthetic Drugs. In a disappointing about-face, New Zealand reversed course on allowing some synthetic drugs to be legally sold after a rising public clamor about them. A law change effective Thursday will ban the sale and possession of all synthetic drugs. That ends the sale of 36 substances, many of which had been designed to mimic marijuana. Five other substances were banned earlier this year. The country last year gained international attention after enacting a novel new law that allowed those synthetic drugs thought to be low-risk to be sold while waiting for pharmaceutical-style testing. The law still allows manufacturers to sell the drugs if they can prove them low-risk after rigorous testing. But health officials have yet to develop testing protocols. And manufacturers may find the hurdles insurmountable after lawmakers on Wednesday also banned the use of animals in testing the products.
Tunisia Activists Urge Reform of Harsh Marijuana Laws.Tunisia's tough law on cannabis use, laying down jail terms of at least one year, is "destroying lives" and overcrowding prisons, according to a group of activists urging reform. Since the law was passed more than 20 years ago, "tens of thousands of Tunisians have been convicted," the group said in an open letter to the government. "But the number of people sentenced and the number of users continue to grow, proving that this law is not a deterrent. It has failed," said the group, named Al Sajin 52 (or Prisoner 52) as the law is called. Health ministry director general Nabil Ben Salah said the health and justice ministries are trying to "humanize" the marijuana law, but that decriminalization is not an option.
Drug War Violence Flares in Northeast Mexico. Federal security forces killed five gunmen in separate shootouts in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, just across the border from McAllen, Texas, Monday. Army troops, meanwhile, detained 15 suspected criminals in different operations across the state. The Gulf and Zetas drug cartels have been fighting for control of Tamaulipas and smuggling routes into the United States for years, and now Gulf cartel factions are also fighting among themselves. The violence has spiked in recent weeks, but federal officials have not taken any additional measures to deal with the situation in the border state.
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