Drug War Chronicle #836 - May 29, 2014

There's More to Colorado Than Marijuana [FEATURE]

Colorado has certainly garnered a lot of attention since voters there decided to legalize marijuana in the 2012 election, but when it comes to drug reform, there's a lot more going on in the Rocky Mountain State than just buds, blunts, and bongs. In the past few years, Colorado has taken significant steps toward more enlightened drug policies, and with the powerful coalitions that have emerged to push the agenda, more is likely to come.

Passed last year while all the attention was on the legislature's race to get marijuana commerce regulations passed, the single most significant piece of broader drug reform legislation was Senate Bill 250, which aims to rein in and redirect corrections spending by reducing the number of drug offenders in prison.

The bill creates a separate sentencing system for drug offenders and allows people convicted of some felony drug charges to be sentenced to probation and community-based sentencing and see that felony charge changed to a misdemeanor conviction upon completion of probation. It allow provides that savings from the sentencing changes be plowed back into drug treatment.

The bill didn't come out of nowhere. It was the outgrowth of a 2008 law that created the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice. That panel brought together in one effort the heads of all the relevant state agencies as they grappled with how to reduce recidivism and put a brake on prison spending. It also provided an opportunity for groups like the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) to start confronting the commission with research-based evidence about what does and doesn't work.

"There is a lot of good evidence-based practice that shows what we did in the past didn't work, and a lot of it had to do with national attention," said Pam Clifton, communications coordinator for the CCJRC. "People were asking 'How come half your people are going back to prison?' Well, we didn't have funding for treatment in Colorado. If you didn't have any money, there wasn't any place for you to go. Another problem was helping people on the front end. How can we be more proactive with people on probation? The recession gave us a little bit of leverage."

But to get sentencing and drug reforms passed required not just a commission to come up with best policies and practices, but a political leadership that was willing to act. That came in 2008, when Colorado turned from red to blue, with a new Democratic governor, Bill Ritter, and Democrats in control of the legislature.

"When Bill Owens (R) was governor, he wasn't going to let anything happen," said Clifton. "But with the commission, a lot of conversations got started and we were able to educate about why change was needed, so when we had a change in leadership, there was a mandate from the commission to get good legislation passed. A lot of the recommendations the commission made went directly to the legislature, and when a bill showed up from the commission, it had a better opportunity to survive the process."

And while, as noted above, the legislature has passed other reforms, Senate Bill 250 was the biggie.

"That was the landmark legislation that really changes things," said Clifton. "This was the whole state -- prosecutors, defense counsel, the commission, us -- coming together and agreeing it was the right approach."

The bill only went into effect last October, so its results remain to be seen. But advocates are confident it has not only changed the conversation about drugs and sentencing, but that it will pay off in terms of fewer prisoners doing less time at less cost to the state -- and with less harm to the futures of drug offenders in the state.

"It's too early to tell what impact Senate Bill 250 will have," said Art Way, Colorado manager for the Drug Policy Alliance. "It was definitely a step in the right direction, though. It shrank the number of felony degrees for drug charges from six to four, and now, many low-level drug felonies can wobble down to misdemeanors thanks to that bill. It's not true defelonization of use and possession, but it still gives defendants some opportunities to avoid the label of felons."

And the CCJRC deserves some major credit, he said.

"The CCJRC has been doing great work in the past decade revealing that we are on an unsustainable path," said Way. "The Department of Corrections budget was only increasing year after year, and they were able to make this a fiscal argument as well as a human argument. They've been at the forefront here."

Another front where Colorado is forging ahead is harm reduction. Needle exchange programs were legalized in 2010 and there are now six across the state, the state passed a 911 Good Samaritan law in 2012, and a law allowing friends and family members of injection drug users to carry and administer the overdose reversal drug naloxone (Narcan) passed last year.

Activists have also managed to push through laws exempting needle exchange participants from the state's drug paraphernalia laws, and in Denver, an ordinance last year allowed the first mobile needle exchange in the state.

"We've been really excited, not only about all these programs, but also about getting these policy wins," said Lisa Raville of the Denver-based Harm Reduction Action Center. "Every time we go to the capitol, we've been winning. The legislature is very excited about harm reduction."

After passing Senate Bill 250, this year was relatively quiet on the sentencing and drug reform front. There are a number of reasons for that, some of them having to do with gauging public (and legislative) attitudes in the wake of a well-publicized violent crime, the killing of state prison chief Tom Clements by a parolee.

"Our corrections director was murdered last spring, and that caused a lot of ripples and made people at the capitol freak out a bit, so we wanted to tread lightly," said Clifton. "And things are really tricky in Colorado now," she added. "Elections are coming up, and everyone's concerned about what color we're going to be come November. Our elected officials are all being very cautious right now."

Like the CCJC, the harm reductionists were quiet in the legislature this year. It was a time for solidifying gains and getting previous victories implemented, Raville said.

"This is an election year, and we knew they would be playing defense at the capitol," she said. "We decided this year would be all about promoting harm reduction policies and procedures. When we got those laws passed, we assumed that the legislature and the courts would implement them, but they didn't, so we spent the first six months promoting implementation, working with the legislature, as well as working with doctors and pharmacies so they know about these new laws."

But that doesn't mean the Harm Reduction Action Center is giving up on the legislature.

"Depending on how the election goes, our goal next year is total syringe decriminalization," said Raville. "We have the exemption for needle exchange participants, but there are still folks who won't ever access a needle exchange program, and we want them exempt as well. Now, you can get eight to 15 days in jail for every syringe, clean or used."

Raville pointed to the success of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition in getting a similar measure passed last year in the last year in getting a similar measure passed in the Tar Heel State. That partial decriminalization bill allows people carrying needles to avoid arrest if they inform officers they are carrying them.

"Robert Childs and the NCHRC got that passed with the support of law enforcement, who didn't want to get pricked," she said. "That's inspired us to work closely with the Denver Police Department. We have two officers on our advisory board."

"We have an overdose issue here in Colorado," Raville noted. "ODs have tripled in the past 10 years, and we have a fatal overdose every day and a half in the state. Not many doctors are prescribing naloxone, but we've had 92 overdose reversals so far. And a couple of hospitals in Denver are discharging overdose patients with a prescription for naloxone. We're trying to make that the standard for hospitals across the state."

While it was relatively quiet this year in the legislature, activists had to play defense on one set of bills and managed to kill them. That was a pair of bills to amend the civil code for child neglect to explicitly include marijuana use as an indicator, even though the state has legalized both medical and recreational marijuana use and possession.

"Stopping that bill was our top concern this year," said Way. "We worried that amending the civil code the way those bills tried to do would simply help law enforcement during drug investigations by leveraging parental rights. This wasn't a public health approach; it was a law enforcement bill couched as a public health and child protection bill," he said.

"The bill's fiscal notes only involving increasing bed space for what they expected to an influx of people put in jail," he noted. "There was nothing about access to treatment or reunification with kids. It was a standard, punitive drug war approach to a public health issue, and we were able to kill it for the second year in a row."

The CCJRC, for its part, is continuing to push for reform. While it wasn't ready to share its strategic planning for the near future, Clifton did say that the group is working around implementation of the Affordable Care Act's provisions requiring insurance companies to cover drug treatment.

"We've convened a stakeholder group from around the state -- health care and criminal justice people -- to make sure they knew each other as a step toward successfully implementing the ACA, getting more people in treatment, and reducing the prison population. We're teaching people how to navigate the system and teaching the system how to help people navigate it," she said.

And while sentencing reform and harm reduction efforts in Colorado haven't, for the most part, been about marijuana, the whole opening on marijuana has given political and social space to drug reform efforts that go beyond pot.

"The conversation about marijuana has absolutely helped," said Raville. "We legalized it and the sky didn't fall. This has helped normalize pot and normalize drug use more broadly. And it's been a good opportunity to talk to people about how voting matters."

"Marijuana reform has helped legislators understand what we mean by a public health approach," said Way. "We hope to now be able to address drug policy on a broader level with the legislature."

But much of that will depend on what the makeup of the legislature looks like after November. Still, Colorado has shown what some persistence, some coalition-building, and some science, evidence, and compassion can accomplish.

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ALERT: House to Vote on Medical Marijuana Amendment This Week!

As soon as this Thursday, the US House of Representatives will vote on an amendment that would prohibit the federal government from spending taxpayer money to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. Though similar amendments have been offered in the past, this year it is being offered by 10 sponsors -- five Republicans and five Democrats -- and several weeks ago a different medical marijuana amendment that would have allowed VA doctors to discuss it with their patients got 195 yes votes. There is a better chance than ever that this could pass, and we can certainly get closer and advance the issue -- if you take action.

Please use our online form to email your member of Congress in support of the Rohrabacher-Farr medical marijuana amendment to the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriation bill. When you're done, please call your Rep's office to voice your opinion on the phone as well, which will have more weight than just an email. You can look up your Rep's phone number on our web site, or you can call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be transferred.

When you're done, please email this alert to your friends, or use our site's tell-a-friend form to spread the word. Thank you for taking action.

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DEA Backs Down; Kentucky Will Get Its Hemp Seeds

Kentucky agricultural officials told the Associated Press Thursday evening that the DEA had approved a permit allowing the state to import a 250-lb shipment of hemp seed to be used for research purposes. The DEA had originally balked at issuing the permit, only to be hit with a firestorm of criticism, including sharp words from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who just happens to be from Kentucky.

Although the omnibus farm bill passed earlier this year included an amendment allowing for research into hemp in states that had authorized it, which Kentucky has, the seeds imported from Italy were held up at a US Customs warehouse in Louisville. Kentucky sued the DEA last week over the issue after the agency refused to issue a permit.

But state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said late Thursday that the seeds would be released Friday and that the hemp could be in the ground as early as this weekend. Officials had worried that the DEA's obstructionism would stall planting until it was too late in the season, a date they pegged at around June 1.

"There was no sense to this," Comer said.

"This is a historic day," he continued. "We've done something that no one thought we could do a year-and-a-half ago. We legalized industrial hemp and we've proven that it's an agricultural crop and not a drug."

A Justice Department spokeswoman told the AP that the DEA had indeed issued the permit Thursday. Justice, the DEA, and Customs were all named in the suit filed by the Kentucky Agriculture Department. Attorneys for the federal government and the state met with a federal judge Wednesday.

But that wasn't the only meeting going on. Sen. McConnell sat down with DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart Wednesday to urge her to reconsider.

"It was the intent of my provision in the farm bill to allow states' departments of agriculture and universities to explore the commercial use of industrial hemp as a means for job creation and economic development," McConnell said.

Whether it was a federal judge or a powerful home-state political figure, or a combination of the two, somebody got the DEA's attention. Now, the agency is getting out of the way, and Kentucky can get down to the business of planting its first hemp crops in decades.

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Medical Marijuana Update

We could see a congressional vote on barring the feds from interfering in medical marijuana states this week, California stays contentious, the New York Assembly passes a medical marijuana bill (again), and more. Let's get to it:

National

As early as Thursday, Congress will vote on banning the DEA and Justice Department from interfering in medical marijuana states. The House could vote as early as Thursday on the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which would ban the Justice Department and its agencies, including the DEA, from using federal taxpayer funds to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. The time to contact your representatives is now. Click on the link for more information.

California

Last Thursday, Santa Monica medical marijuana opponents announced an initiative campaign to regulate dispensaries there. The city has a proposed zoning ordinance that would allow for two dispensaries, but initiative proponents want to "have medicinal collectives operate with reasonable regulation that mirror those put forward by the League of California Cities and California Police Chiefs Association" in pending Senate Bill 1262, which would put the state in charge of licensing dispensaries. The council voted last month not to endorse that bill.

Also last Thursday, Bakersfield officials sent letters to five dispensaries demanding they shut down within 30 days. The city council banned dispensaries last July and won a court challenge to that ban last month. The city said it selected dispensaries that had complaints from neighbors. City officials say there are 21 dispensaries operating in the city and that they plan to move against the others, too.

On Tuesday, the ACLU of Northern California sued Fresno city and county over total bans on marijuana cultivation. "The bans are at odds with state law enacted by the voters of California," the ACLU said. The lawsuit charges that the Fresno ordinances are invalid because they are preempted by the state's medical marijuana laws. Read the ACLU complaint here.

Also on Tuesday, the Desert Hot Springs city council voted unanimously to allow dispensaries and ordered city staff to come up with draft regulations by June 5. Palm Springs is currently the only city in Riverside County to allow dispensaries. Members agreed in general that a tax should be collected and that the number of dispensaries should be limited.

New Mexico

Last Thursday, medical marijuana advocates launched a campaign to force a rewrite of proposed new rules. The state Health Department released proposed rule changes a week earlier that advocates say will make access to medical marijuana more difficult. The Don't Take Away My Medicine campaign is being led by the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Patient's Alliance, the South East New Mexico Medical Cannabis Alliance, and the Drug Policy Alliance. Click on the title link for more details.

New York

On Tuesday, the Assembly passed a comprehensive medical marijuana bill. It approved Assembly Bill 6357 by a margin of 91-34. This is the fifth time the Assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill, only to see them die in the Senate. The Senate version of the bill, Senate Bill 4406, has already passed the Senate Health Committee and now awaits consideration in the Senate Finance Committee. The chairman of that committee said he would allow it to come to a vote -- if the Senate leadership agrees.

North Carolina

Last Thursday, a bill calling for a referendum on medical marijuana was filed. Rep. Kelly Alexander (D-Mecklenburg) has filed House Bill 1161, which, if approved, would put a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to legalize the use and cultivation of marijuana to treat specified medical conditions. Alexander had filed a medical marijuana bill last year, but it went nowhere in the legislature. The new bill would have to get super-majorities in both chambers of the legislature before it could go to the voters.

On Tuesday, a limited CBD medical marijuana bill was filed. Rep. Pat McElraft (R-Carteret County) Tuesday filed a bill to allow for the use of high-CBD cannabis oil for people suffering "intractable seizures." The measure is House Bill 1220.

[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]

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South Florida Man Dies 11 Days after Being Shot in SWAT Drug Raid

A Hallandale, Florida, man has died less than two weeks after being shot during a SWAT team drug raid at his home. Howard Bowe, 34, becomes the 17^th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Hallandale Police Department SWAT team arrived at Bowe's home in the pre-dawn hours of May 8 to serve a search warrant related to suspected drug distribution at the duplex where he lived. Details of what exactly went down are unclear, but both Bowe and his pit bull were shot. The 13-year-old dog died at the scene. Howe died at a local hospital Tuesday evening.

"It appears the officers from the SWAT team felt threatened," Maj. Thomas Honan, a spokesman for the agency, said on the day of the shooting. He said the elderly dog broke free from its chain and charged the officers.

Bowe's friends and family members want to know what really happened.

"Everyone's still in shock," said Mike Ashley, a friend of Bowe's since school days. "I feel like there's a lot of unanswered questions."

Bowe's sister Corneece, who lives in the other half of the duplex told the Sun-Sentinel earlier that her brother had a car wash business and lawn mowing service and had never been violent. She had been awakened the morning of the raid by the sound of police gunfire, she said.

"They came in the back door," Corneesa Bowe said. "Why shoot an unarmed person?"

Neighbor Fred Webb told the newspaper Bowe was "an honest man who worked every day" at his business, a mobile car wash. A trailer for the car wash was parked next to the duplex. "I can't understand it," Webb said. "I hope he's all right."

Police have not said whether they recovered any drugs or weapons.

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One Dead As Car Carrying Marijuana Crashes During Police Pursuit

One man is dead and another hospitalized after the car they were in flipped and crashed during a high-speed police pursuit outside the East Texas town of Bullard Saturday night. Christopher Blake Lucas, 26, becomes the 18^th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

According to KLTV News, citing Texas Department of Public Safety officials, a state trooper tried to pull the vehicle over for "a routine traffic stop" when it took off on a paved rural road. Officers later spotted the car on another paved rural road, and threw down spike strips.

The spike strips popped three of the car's tires, but it kept going, then failed to negotiate a turn and flipped. Lucas, the driver, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The officials said four pounds of marijuana were found in the car. The injured passenger will be charged with possession of marijuana and evading arrest once he is released from the hospital, DPS said Monday.

[Editor's Note: This one is a judgment call for inclusion in our list. Although police said it was "a routine traffic stop," there are several reasons to consider it a drug war death. First, "routine traffic stops" are often pretexts for drug law enforcement efforts. Second, even "routine traffic stops" can quickly turn into drug law enforcement efforts. Third, and mainly it is probably safe to presume this guy was running because he had four pounds of pot in his vehicle, not because he didn't want to get a speeding ticket.]

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This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

The Dallas city council pays out for another brutal drug raid, and a Florida narc can't keep his crack straight. Let's get to it:

In Dallas, the Dallas city council approved a $105,000 settlement last Wednesday for a man beaten unconscious during a Dallas police drug raid in 2010. Danny Cantu said police threw a flash-bang grenade in his home, broke down his doors, and violently assaulted him. Police said they used a no-knock search warrant and aggressive tactics because they thought he was a major drug dealer, but all they found was a sawed off shotgun and a tenth of a gram of cocaine. Cantu was never charged with a crime, and the council approved the payment without debate. It is just the latest in a string of high-profile, six-figure lawsuits against the department in recent years.

In Palm Beach, Florida, a Palm Beach sheriff's department narcotics detective was arrested last Tuesday for lying about crack cocaine buys in a search warrant. Detective Joaquin Fonseca is accused of saying he bought the crack at a house he raided, but video surveillance showed that his efforts to buy crack there were actually rebuffed. Dash cam video from Fonseca's car showed that he bought crack from a different dealer and used that as evidence for the search warrant. And when he was booked into the jail, he was found to be carrying more crack cocaine. He is charged with official misconduct, cocaine possession, and making false statements.

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Chronicle AM -- May 22, 2014

A new poll suggests Vermont is ready to legalize it, and so is the mayor of Rome, a San Francisco crack pipe exchange is set to expand, a West Virginia county's latest grand jury indictments shine a light on drug war in the Appalachians, Bermuda marijuana growers want an emergency exemption for medical marijuana, and more. Let's get to it:

Marijuana Policy

Vermont Poll Has 57% Support for Legalization, Taxation, and Regulation. A new poll from the Castleton Polling Institute has 57% of respondents saying they would support legalizing marijuana for adults, taxing it, and regulating it like alcohol. Only 34% were opposed. The poll has +/- 4% margin of error. The Vermont legislature approved a bill in April that includes an amendment initiating a study to evaluate the potential impact of making marijuana legal for adults and regulating it similarly to alcohol. Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) is expected to sign it into law.

Medical Marijuana

North Carolina Legislator Files Bill for Medical Marijuana Referendum. Rep. Kelly Alexander (D-Mecklenburg) has filed a measure, House Bill 1161, that, if approved, would put a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to legalize the use and cultivation of marijuana to treat specified medical conditions. Alexander had filed a medical marijuana bill last year, but it went nowhere in the legislature. The new bill would have to get super-majorities in both chambers of the legislature before it could go to the voters.

Harm Reduction

San Francisco's Crack Pipe Exchange Program to Expand. A crack pipe exchange program operated by volunteers from the Urban Survivors Union, a drug users' rights group, is set to expand even though the city won't condone or fund the program. Volunteers have been distributing about 50 clean crack pipes a week in the Tenderloin, SOMA, and Polk Gulch neighborhoods, even though city officials say there is no evidence it is an effective harm reduction measure. Seattle is the only other city in the country with a similar program.

Sentencing

Federal Smarter Sentencing Act Picks Up Another Sponsor. Rep. David Price (D-NC) has become the latest representative to endorse the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013 (House Resolution 3382). The bill would reduce some drug mandatory minimums, allow judges greater leeway to sentence beneath the mandatory minimum, and allow for reduced sentences for crack offenders whose offense took place before passage of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. Price is the 32^nd cosponsor and the second this week.

Law Enforcement

In One West Virginia County, Drugs Dominate Grand Jury Indictments. Holy hydrocodone, Batman! The Fayette County grand jury in West Virginia has just released its May batch of bills of indictment, and 71 out 101 of them were for drugs and related charges. There are a whole lot of "conspiracy" and "possession with intent to distribute" charges, too. The indictments don't specify which drugs were at play, but there are a bunch of "obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, or forgery" charges as well, and a handful of meth lab charges. Click on the link for the whole list.

International

Mayor of Rome Says Legalize It. Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino said Wednesday he supports legalizing marijuana in Italy. "I am in favor of the possibility of deregulating cannabis for medical or personal use," he told the 8^th Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy. "In 2011, more than one million plants were confiscated in our country compared to 73,000 in France," Marino continued. "Organized crime still manages large portions of international traffic and there are enough reasons to reopen the debate today in Italy. We live in a time in which reform for drug laws is necessary on an international and national level. For Italy I personally have a very clear idea of what needs to be done: the decriminalization of marijuana should be considered a starting point because the years of prohibition have not brought any results to prevent the dramatic increase in the use of drugs. In addition, new forms of legalization could be experimented with in medicine for people's health but also to target organized crime." Marino's comments come just weeks after the Italian parliament approved a new law amending the country's drug laws and treating marijuana as a "soft drug" with reduced penalties.

Portugal Soon to Get First Safe Injection Site. The Lisbon city council has approved the location for what would be Portugal's first "assisted consumption room" for drug users. Portugal approved safe injection sites several years ago, but left implementation up to local councils. None had moved to do so until now.

Bermuda Marijuana Growers Seek Emergency Amnesty for Medical Grows, Offer Up Over 50 Locally Available Varieties. Bermuda attorney and marijuana reform activist Alan Gordon, speaking on behalf of a collective of nearly two dozen Bermuda marijuana growers, called today for the government to act immediately to allow for the use of medical marijuana, as called for in last month's Cannabis Reform Collaboration report. "There is only one way to allow the immediate medical cannabis called for by the CRC Report," Gordon said. "We need to just do it instead of just shuffling paperwork. Eighty small medical grade cannabis trees are available to start, and over 50 medical cannabis strains currently on-island." Click on the title link to read more.

NORML Canada Conference This Weekend in Toronto. NORML Canada is holding its annual conference this weekend in Toronto. Click on the link for the details.

Indonesia's New Drug Treatment Over Prison Scheme Faces Challenges. In another excellent analysis from Asiancorrespondent.com, Patrick Tibke looks at Indonesia's progressive new guidelines for the "Processing of Drug Addicts and Drug Abusers into Rehabilitation Centers" and warns of the obstacles ahead in actually implementing such reforms. As he notes, the move was not new legislation, but simply gives a push to the country's 2009 Narcotics Law, which first allowed for the rehabilitation of drug users instead of their incarceration. Whether and how this will actually be implemented remains to be seen. It's a good, thorough read; click on the link for the whole thing.

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Chronicle AM -- May 23, 2014

There's a slim majority for marijuana legalization in New York, an Oregon legalization initiative gets another big-bucks boost, New Mexico patients fight back against proposed new rules, actor Don Johnson speaks out on drug policy, a global campaign for medical marijuana as a human right is underway, and more. Let's get to it:

Marijuana Policy

Louisiana Legislature Approves Law Making Possession Not Automatic Parole Violation. The state Senate yesterday approved House Bill 681, a tiny step toward the reform of marijuana laws in the Bayou State. Under current law, a misdemeanor marijuana possession is an automatic parole revocation for a parolee; this bill would give judges some discretion to impose administrative sanctions instead. The bill has already passed the House and awaits the governor's signature. Clicking on the title link will allow you to email Gov. Jindal (R) to urge him to sign the bill.

Quinnipiac Poll: 51% of New Yorkers Say Legalize It. Support for marijuana legalization in the Empire State is at 51%, according to a new Quinnipiac University Poll. The poll also had support for medical marijuana at 83% and comes as the state Senate is considering a medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 4406.

New Approach Oregon Legalization Initiative Gets Another $100,000 Donation. The Drug Policy Alliance has kicked in another $100,000 to get the New Approach Oregon initiative on the November ballot. That's the third $100,000 donation to the group in less than two months, including an earlier $100,000 from DPA's political campaign arm, Drug Policy Action. The initiative needs some 87,000 valid voter signatures to make the ballot, and it's not the only one in play. Medical marijuana entrepreneur Paul Stanford's Oregon Cannabis Tax Act initiative and his Oregon Cannabis Amendment initiative are both also in the signature-gathering phase. The latter needs more signatures -- 116,000 of them -- because it is a constitutional amendment.

Medical Marijuana

New New Mexico Program Rules Provoke Campaign to Start Afresh. Medical marijuana advocates are launching a campaign to force the state Health Department to go back to the drawing board after it released proposed rule changes last Friday that advocates say will make access to medical marijuana more difficult. The Don't Take Away My Medicine campaign is being led by the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Patient's Alliance, the South East New Mexico Medical Cannabis Alliance, and the Drug Policy Alliance. Click on the title link for more details.

Drug Policy

Miami Vice Star Don Johnson Says Legalize It All. Miami Vice star Don Johnson, perhaps now better known as "Dakota Johnson's dad," has come out with a frankly anti-prohibitionist stance on drug policy. The 65-year-old actor who got famous fighting 1980s drug traffickers in the TV show told HuffPostLive on Thursday that America should "legalize every drug and tax it" -- with no exceptions. Does that include hard drug like heroin? "Absolutely," he said. "When we privatize prisons we've turned it into a business," Johnson continued. "And so when you turn it into a business you need clients, and so we arrest a lot of people that don't belong in prison, but they are clients to the privatization of the prison." That's just "stupid," he added. "If you legalize and decriminalize drugs, you take the glamour out of it. You take the gangs out of it, you take the drug dealers out of it and you make a less glamorous thing."

International

Italy to Count Drug Money, Other Illicit Commerce in GDP Calculations. The Italian government statistics agency Istat said Thursday in will include estimated revenues from drug trafficking and the sex trade in figuring the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Bank of Italy said it estimated the value of the illicit economy -- also including cigarette and alcohol smuggling -- at 10.9% of the GDP, which could make Italy's economic growth look better than the 1.3% estimated earlier this year.

Overview of Drug Trafficking and the Colombian Peace Process. The Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation has published an article on Colombia, the drug trade, and the peace process by Fabio Andres Diaz. He argues that the peace process is unlikely to result in a reduction of drug cultivation. Those interested in the subject should take a look by clicking on the title link.

British Medical Journal Article Discusses Comparative Marijuana Legalization Models, Prospects for Change. A new article in the British Medical Journal looks at how marijuana is being regulated and/or legalized in different countries around the world, including Holland, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, and the United States. "Cannabis Regulation: High Time for Change?" is available without going through a pay wall by clicking on the title link.

Global Campaign Calls for Access to Medical Marijuana as a Basic Human Right. An international consortium of medical cannabis organizations are demanding that humans, regardless of state or allegiance and without qualification, be able to use cannabis therapeutically. In a joint declaration, the organizations from Europe and North America refer to Article 3 of the Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948. The new declaration is the beginning of a worldwide campaign on the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. It says: "Every medical doctor has the right to treat his or her patients with cannabinoids and cannabis products according to the rules of good medical care" and "every patient has the right to access cannabis and cannabinoids for medical treatment supervised by a medical doctor, regardless of social status, standard of living or financial means." The initial signatories include medical marijuana and medical groups from the US, Germany, Italy, and Norway. Click on the title link for more information.

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Chronicle AM -- May 27, 2014

Chuck Schumer wants $100 million to fight heroin in New York, a congressional vote to stop the DEA from attacking medical marijuana in states where it is legal is coming soon, the New York Assembly is voting today on a medical marijuana bill, an Oklahoma prescription drug bill dies, and more. Let's get to it:

Marijuana Policy

Decriminalization Initiatives Planned for Albuquerque and Santa Fe. ProgressNow New Mexico and Drug Policy Action, a 501(c)4 that's affiliated with Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico, are planning municipal decriminalization initiatives for the November election in New Mexico's two largest cities, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The initiatives envision decriminalizing up to an ounce, with a maximum $25 fine. Backers filed a petition with the Santa Fe city clerk this week; Albuquerque efforts should be coming soon.

Medical Marijuana

Congress to Vote Soon on Banning DEA, Justice Department From Interfering in Medical Marijuana States. The House could vote as early as this week on the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which would ban the Justice Department and its agencies, including the DEA, from using federal taxpayer funds to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. The time to contact your representatives is now. Click on the link for more information.

New York Assembly to Vote Today on Compassionate Care Act. The Assembly is set to vote today on the Compassionate Care Act (Assembly Bill 6357), a comprehensive medical marijuana bill for the Empire State. Patients and supporters from all over the state are heading to Albany for a day of last-minute lobbying and to watch the Assembly debate and vote on the bill. The Senate version of the bill, Senate Bill 4406, has already passed the Senate Health Committee and now awaits consideration in the Senate Finance Committee.

North Carolina Lawmaker to File CBD Medical Marijuana Bill. State Rep. Pat McElraft (R-Carteret County) has announced that she will file a bill allowing for the use of high-CBD cannabis oil to reduce seizures in epileptic children. It's not a medical marijuana bill, she said, rather "this is only a medicine for these children so they can develop motor skills."

Drug Policy

Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission Act Gets Marked Up Thursday. The House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere will be marking up House Resolution 4640, "to establish the Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission" Thursday. "Mark up" means subcommittee members will debate, amend, and rewrite the bill.

Prescription Drugs

Oklahoma Prescription Drug Crackdown Bill Dies. A bill that was the centerpiece of Gov. Mary Fallin's (R) effort to crack down on prescription drug abuse is dead after being defeated in committee last Friday. The bill, Senate Bill 1820, would have required doctors to check the state's existing Prescription Monitoring Program registry every time they wrote or refilled a prescription for a Schedule II or III controlled substance. Those schedules include opiate pain relievers such as oxycodone and hydrodocone, as well as many non-opiates, including hormone supplements. The bill was opposed by doctors.

Law Enforcement

Chuck Schumer Wants $100 Million to Fight Heroin in New York. US Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) is seeking $100 million in taxpayer dollars "to fight the scourge of heroin." He wants the money to go to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. He said he would seek the funding in a pending appropriations bill.

In Licking County, West Virginia, the Drug War Dominates the Court Docket. The most recent felony indictments in Licking County Common Pleas Court show that more than half (60%) are for drug offenses. Seven of the 12 indictments were for drug offenses, and six of those were for either "aggravated drug possession" or "abusing harmful intoxicants."

In Mendocino County, California, Marijuana Dominates the Court Docket. Busy, busy. Mendocino County jail bookings for May 11-15 show 22 people taken to the slammer. Fifteen of them were marijuana sales and/or transport and one was for "possessing proceeds from drug transactions." Marijuana offenses accounted for more than two-thirds of all bookings. There were also two arrests each for assault with a deadly weapon and DUI, and one each for indecent exposure, battery, and embezzlement.

Sentencing

California Bill to End Mandatory Jail Sentences for Drug Use Killed. California law requires a mandatory 90-day jail sentence for anyone convicted of using or being under the influence of drugs (not including marijuana). A bill that would have ended the mandatory sentences, Assembly Bill 2515, has now died in the Assembly. It needed 41 votes for passage, but only got 34 because many members didn't vote. There were only 16 votes against it.

International

Jamaica Marijuana Conference Calls for Road Map to Decriminalization within Four Months. The first Jamaica Cannabis Conference took place over the weekend and ended with a call from participants for the government to create a pathway to decriminalization within four months. The conference also called for recognition of Rastafarians' sacramental rights to use ganja, a sustained drug education program in the schools, and a properly regulated medical marijuana industry.

Barcelona Now a Stop on the Marijuana Tourism Trail. Spain has decriminalized marijuana possession, people can grow their own in small amounts, and cannabis clubs are offering the chance to join by phone or email and purchase marijuana. As a result, marijuana tourism is up in Barcelona, and local authorities are beginning to think about ways to regulate it all. Click on the link to read more.

Zambia's Green Party to Continue Campaigning for Marijuana Legalization. Zambia's Green Party will continue to campaign for marijuana legalization, its leader, Peter Sinkamba said last Friday. "As the Green Party, we have a task to sell the Green agenda by not joining any politics on the constitution-making process, but ensure that marijuana is legalized," he said. "This is the only way we can create employment for the people and make medicine available for every citizen. You know marijuana is used for many things including the provision of medicines, hence the need for it to be legalized and get the benefits that will help the country make its own medicines." The Greens are not represented in the Zambian parliament.

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Chronicle AM -- May 28, 2014

Look out 2016, here comes Nevada! Also, a US congressman rips into NYPD over marijuana arrests, a New York medical marijuana bill passes the Assembly, Dallas pays out big time for police misbehavior, former DEA head Asa Hutchinson wants more drug war for Arkansas, and more. Let's get to it:

Marijuana Policy

Nevada Legalization Initiative Campaign Gets Underway. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol yesterday commenced its campaign to put a legalization initiative on the 2016 ballot. Two Nevada politicians who are members of the campaign, Sen. Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas) and former Republican Senate Caucus executive director Joe Brezny, were the first to sign the petitions. Canvassers need to come up with 101,000 valid voter signatures by November. If that happens, the measure goes to the legislature. If the legislature declines to act or rejects the measure, it goes to the voters in November 2016.

Oak Park, Michigan, Activists Sue Over Decriminalization Initiative Delay. The Safer Oak Park Coalition has filed a lawsuit against city officials charging that they are delaying efforts to put a decriminalization initiative before the voters. The Coalition handed in more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot on April 27, but city officials said it was too late to have a ballot measure ready for the August primary election. Unless the lawsuit prevails, Oak Park residents will have to wait until November to vote on the issue.

New York City US Congressman Rips NYPD Over High Marijuana Arrest Numbers. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, called on the NYPD yesterday to quit arresting so many people for minor pot possession. More than 28,000 were arrested last year -- 86% of them black or brown -- even though Mayor Bill DeBlasio (D) called the mass arrests and the racial disparity in them "unjust and wrong." The rate of arrests so far this year has dropped by 9%, but that's still 7,000 pot busts in the city this year alone, and the numbers were heading up at quarter's end. Arrests topped 50,000 in 2011, before NYPD was instructed to quit violating the spirit of the state's decriminalization by arresting people for "open possession" after intimidating them into emptying their pockets.

Washington State Parolees Can Smoke Marijuana. The Washington Department of Corrections says it will stop testing the state's 14,000 parolees for THC because marijuana is now legal in the state. "We don't want to hold them to that level, when, as a citizen, you wouldn't be held to that level either," a department spokesperson explained. The department isn't endorsing marijuana use, she added, "We are simply aligning with state law."

Medical Marijuana

New York Assembly Passes Comprehensive Medical Marijuana Bill. The Assembly Tuesday approved Assembly Bill 6357, a comprehensive medical marijuana bill, by a margin of 91-34. This is the fifth time the Assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill, only to see them die in the Senate. This year, a bill is moving in the upper chamber, and a key committee head has signaled if he may be willing to let it come to a vote -- if the Senate leadership agrees.

North Carolina Lawmaker Files Limited CBD Medical Marijuana Bill. She said she would, and now she has. Rep. Pat McElraft (R-Carteret County) Tuesday filed a bill to allow for the use of high-CBD cannabis oil for people suffering "intractable seizures." The measure is House Bill 1220.

Drug Policy

Former DEA Head Asa Hutchinson Vows More Drug War if Elected Arkansas Governor; Democratic Foe Says He's Tough on Crime, Too. Former DEA head Asa Hutchinson, running as a Republican for the Arkansas governor's seat, Tuesday unveiled a plan to address drugs and crime that includes $1 million a year in additional funding for the state's parole system, $300,000 a year for reentry programs for ex-convicts, and more, as yet unspecified, money for the State Police, more drug courts, more drug task forces, and maybe even a new prison. He also hinted that he might want to "re-tweak" a 2011 sentencing reform bill to give prosecutors "more flexibility" in prosecuting property and drug crimes. Hutchinson's Democratic opponent, former US Rep. Mike Ross, also "has a strong record of being tough on crime and supporting our law enforcement community," his campaign retorted Tuesday.

Law Enforcement

City of Dallas Keeps Paying Out for Police Misbehavior. Last week, the Dallas city council approved a $105,000 settlement to a man beaten unconscious by police during a fruitless drug raid. It's just business as usual in Dallas, where the pay-out was just the latest in a series of series of high-profile, six-figure lawsuits against the Dallas PD in recent years, including at least one other drug-related case. The city council approved the most recent settlement without debate.

International

Australia's New South Wales Greens Launch Medical Marijuana Bill. The NSW Greens Tuesday launched their campaign to pass a medical marijuana bill Tuesday. The bill, the Drug Legislation Amendment (Use of Cannabis for Medical Purposes) Bill 2014 would allow people suffering from terminal illnesses to possess up to 15 grams of marijuana upon a doctor's recommendation. The bill is in line with the recommendations of a cross-party Upper House inquiry into the issue last year.

(This article was published by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares the cost of maintaining this web site. 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.)

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