Last year, the Justice Department encouraged federal drug prisoners to apply for clemency and commutations. More than 30,000 have, and now they are starting to trickle out of prison.
The president is calling for the reduction or elimination of mandatory minimum sentences, the removal of barriers to reentry, and more.
Medical marijuana continues to be an issue in Congress, medical marijuana programs in Illinois and New York move ahead, a federal appeals court decision hits dispensaries in the pocketbook, and more.
The beat goes on. Cops stealing weed in Texas, heroin in DC, and big sums of cash in Virginia, jail guards dealing smack, and more.
A bill to allow marijuana businesses access to banking services has been filed in Congress, Oregon's largest airport okays flying with marijuana (in-state only), Indiana's Church of Cannabis is suing the state, the Pope drinks coca tea on his way to Bolivia, and more.
Nearly half the country thinks roads will be less safe with pot legalization, researchers debunk the gateway theory... again, applicants pile up for medical marijuana programs in Florida and New York, Connecticut's governor signs a bill doing away with mandatory minimums for drug possession, and more.
More marijuana reform initiatives get filed, Wisconsin's governor modifies a food stamp drug test bill to make it mandatory and suspicionless, the world's wealthiest drug lord breaks out of prison, and more.
A novel legal tactic by marijuana foes rears its ugly head, last minute maneuvering scuttled social clubs in Washington state, Bernie Sanders wants cheaper Naloxone prices, Illinois' first medical marijuana grow gets underway, and more.
The president gives a major speech calling for greater criminal justice reform, there's a revised version of a California pot legalization initiative, North Carolina is moving to ban new synthetic drugs, the Israeli Knesset squabbles over marijuana policy, and more.
This article was published in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here.
President Obama announced today he has granted clemency to dozens of federal inmates, the vast majority of them sentenced under draconian crack cocaine laws. More than 30,000 federal prisoners have applied for clemency since the Obama administration issued a call for them to do so last year.
President Obama (whitehouse.gov)
The remaining clemency applications are still being processed, but many more could be released before Obama's term expires in January 2017. The Justice Department says it prioritizes applications from low-level, nonviolent offenders who have already serve at least 10 years behind bars and who would have been sentenced to much less time if convicted for those same offenses today.
"We spend over $80 billion incarcerating people, often times who've only been engaged in nonviolent drug offenses," Obama said in his announcement of the commutations. "I'm commuting the sentences of 46 prisoners who were convicted many years or in some cases decades ago. These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years. Fourteen of them had been sentenced to life for nonviolent drug offenses so their punishments didn't fit the crime. I believe there's a lot more we can do to restore the sense of fairness at the heart of our justice system and to make sure our tax dollars are well spent even as we are keeping our streets safe."
Drug offenders account for nearly half of the more than 200,000 doing time in federal prisons. That is a more than 20-fold increase in the number of federal drug prisoners in 1980, just before the start of the Reagan-era war on drugs.
The federal prison at Butner, North Carolina, (bop.gov)
Today's commutations of 46 sentences bring to 90 the number of people to whom Obama has granted clemency during his administration. While more are expected, administration spokesmen made clear that merely wielding the clemency power is not enough.
"While I expect the President will issue additional commutations and pardons before the end of his term, it is important to recognize that clemency alone will not fix decades of overly punitive sentencing policies," said White House counsel Neil Eggleston.
This is just the beginning of a week heavy on criminal justice issues for the president. Tomorrow, Obama is expected to make a major speech on criminal justice reform before the NAACP, and on Thursday, he is scheduled to visit a federal prison, which would make him the first president to ever do so.
"I am elated that President Obama continues to use his executive powers to grant freedom to those drug offenders who have served draconian sentences," said Anthony Papa, media relations manager of the Drug Policy Alliance, who was granted clemency in New York State in 1997 after serving 12 years under the notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws. "I hope this sends a message to governors of states that have the power to grant clemencies to those who deserve a chance to be reunited with their families."
The United States remains the world leader in incarceration. (nadcp.org)
The president sent
a letter to the prisoners whose sentences he commuted: "I am granting your application because you have demonstrated the potential to turn your life around," he wrote. "Now it is up to you to make the most of this opportunity. It will not be easy, and you will confront many who doubt people with criminal records can change. Perhaps even you are unsure of how you will adjust to your new circumstances."
He urged the soon-to-be-freed prisoners to lead by example.
"Remember that you have the capacity to make good choices. By doing so, you will affect not only your life, but those close to you. You will also influence, through your example, the possibility that others in your circumstances get their own second chance in the future. I believe in your ability to prove the doubters wrong, and change your life for the better."
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In a 45-minute speech at the NAACP convention in Philadelphia Tuesday, President Obama laid out a far-reaching roadmap for criminal justice reform, including calls for reducing or eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, reviewing the use of solitary confinement, and eliminating barriers to reentry for former prisoners.
c-span.org
The president has touched on many of the themes before, but the Philadelphia speech was the first time he tied them all together into a plan for action. The speech likely signals upcoming executive actions on criminal justice reform.
Obama recited the by now well-known statistics demonstrating American's over-reliance on incarceration: America is home to 5% of world's population but 25% of world's prisons; that African Americans and Latinos make up 30% of the U.S. population, but 60% of American inmates; that one out of three black men are now likely to serve time in prison, among others.
While the United States has 2 ½ million people behind bars, only about 200,000 of them are in the federal prison system that Obama has the ability to impact. Of those, 98,000 are doing time for drug offenses.
He used those stats to bolster his case for broad criminal justice reform, calling the criminal justice system an "injustice system."
"Any system that allows us to turn a blind-eye to hopelessness and despair, that's not a justice system, that's an injustice system," Obama said. "Justice is not only the absence of oppression, it's the presence of opportunity."
Washington has seen limited criminal justice reform during the Obama years, particularly with legislation partially undoing the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity and later actions making it retroactive. Then-Attorney General Eric Holder signaled to federal prosecutors that they should move away from mandatory minimums, and the Obama administration has asked federal drug prisoners to seek sentence commutations.
At the convention, Obama also touted initiatives including the Department of Justice's Smart on Crime program aimed at reducing the impact of our harsh laws, My Brother's Keeper, and the Clemency Project.
The president commuted the sentences of 46 drug offenders on Monday, and applications from some 30,000 more are in the pipeline.
Obama said the time was ripe for further reforms, citing bipartisan interest in the issue, and even mentioning the Koch Brothers and Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul as allies in the fight. They made "strange bedfellows" with Democrats and the NAACP, he said, but that's what sometimes happens in politics.
"We're at a moment when some good people in both parties, Republicans and Democrats, and folks all across the country are coming together around ideas to make the system work smarter. To make it work better and I'm determined to do my part, wherever I can," Obama said a day earlier in announcing the sentence commutations.
On Thursday, Obama will continue his criminal justice-themed week with a visit to the federal prison in El Reno, Oklahoma -- the first visit ever to a federal prison by a sitting president. He is expected to meet with inmates there, and he told the NAACP crowd he met with four former prisoners -- one white, one Latino, and two black -- before taking to the podium there.
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Medical marijuana continues to be an issue in Congress, medical marijuana programs in Illinois and New York move ahead, a federal appeals court decision hits dispensaries in the pocketbook, and more.
NationalLast Wednesday, House Republicans blocked a bid for more marijuana studies. Republicans in the House killed an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have reclassified marijuana so laboratories could conduct "credible research on its safety and efficacy as a medical treatment." The amendment would have encouraged the DEA and the National Institutes of Health to work together to allow studies of the risks and benefits of using marijuana to treat various diseases and conditions. The amendment, sponsored by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Sam Farr (D-CA), as well as marijuana legalization foe Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), would have created a new designation in the federal drug scheduling scheme, Schedule 1R, for research.
On Monday, US senators sought information from federal agencies on progress on medical marijuana research. A group of eight United States senators Monday sent a letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requesting information about the agencies' efforts to facilitate and coordinate scientific research on medical marijuana. The letter was signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).
California
Last Thursday, a federal appeals court ruled that dispensaries can't deduct business expenses. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that they can't take the deductions because their product is prohibited under federal law. The ruling came in the case of the embattled Vapor Room dispensary, whose owner had claimed $650,000 in business expenses in 2004 and 2005. The IRS balked, and now the appeals court has sided with the IRS.
Florida
On Monday, state officials said the CBD cannabis oil grow program had 24 applicants. Some 24 commercial plant nurseries have applied for state licenses to grow marijuana and produce CBD cannabis oil to treat epilepsy and other medical conditions. The state is divided into five regions, and only one license will be awarded for each region.
Illinois
On Monday, the first cultivation center in the state began medical marijuana production. The Ataraxia cultivation center announced that it is beginning to grow medical marijuana. The group says it thinks it is the first in the state to do so. The grow is located in Albion.
New York
Last Friday, the Department of Health said the medical marijuana distribution program had 43 applicants. Nearly four dozen companies have applied for licenses to grow and distribute medical marijuana under a program approved by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). The state Department of Health is expected to decide which applicants will get licenses sometime within the next couple of weeks.
[For extensive information about the medical marijuana debate, presented in a neutral format, visit MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org.]
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The beat goes on. Cops stealing weed in Texas, heroin in DC, and big sums of cash in Virginia, jail guards dealing smack, and more. Let's get to it:
In Sullivan City, Texas, a Sullivan City police officer was fired last Thursday amid accusations he stole marijuana from the evidence room. Angel de la Mora admitted having stolen the weed, and went down after a fellow officer noticed him "behaving oddly." He had mixed some of the marijuana with rubbing alcohol, a local folk remedy for aches and pains.In New York City, a Rikers Island jail guard was arrested last Wednesday in a sweep that netted 12 alleged members of the Bloods on drug charges. Rikers guard Covel Duncan and the other 11 are all charged with intent to distribute over a kilogram of heroin between November 2014 and June 2015, authorities said. They're all looking at up to life in prison.
In Leesburg, Virginia, a former Loudon County sheriff's deputy was indicted by a federal grand jury last Thursday on charges that he embezzled $200,000 from a sheriff's office asset forfeiture fund. Frank Michael Parsons, 44, faces four counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal benefits. Parsons oversaw the asset forfeiture program, and is accused of stealing the money over a three-year period.
In Easton, Connecticut, four Connecticut law enforcement officers were arrested Tuesday on federal they were involving in a steroids and prescription opiates distribution ring. Easton Police Commissioner Raymond Martin, 48, went down after what the DEA and FBI called a long investigation into steroid shipments from China. He is charged with conspiracy to possess oxycodone with the intent to distribute. Also arrested in the case were a Newtown police sergeant and dispatcher and a state judicial marshal.
In West Palm Beach, Florida, a former Palm Beach County Sheriff's narcotics detective pleaded guilty last Friday to charges he trumped up a drug charge against a Riviera Beach man. Joaquin Fonseca-Ortiz, 49, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges of official misconduct. In return, prosecutors dropped three other charges, including possession of cocaine, a felony. Under the agreement, he will serve six months house arrest and will have work release.
In Washington, DC, a former FBI agent was sentenced last Thursday to three years in federal prison for stealing heroin seized as evidence. Matthew Lowry's thefts, which he said were to feed his own habit, resulted in the dismissal of cases against 28 drug defendants, including 25 who had pleaded guilty and were freed from prison.
In St. Louis, a former St. Louis police officer was sentenced Tuesday to two years in federal prison for giving a gun to a drug dealer in order to help him stay in business. Don McGhee pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in April, about a week after being indicted. He went down after a pistol-grip shotgun he had given to the dealer was seized in a later drug raid and traced back to him.
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A bill to allow marijuana businesses access to banking services has been filed in Congress, Oregon's largest airport okays flying with pot (in-state only), Indiana's Church of Cannabis is suing the state, the Pope drinks coca tea on his way to Bolivia, and more.
Marijuana PolicyFederal Marijuana Banking Legislation Filed. Today, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Michael Bennett (D-CO), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act, a bill that would allow banks to provide depository and other financial services to state-legal marijuana businesses. Currently, because marijuana is illegal under federal law, both medical and non-medical marijuana businesses are unable to access banking services like any other business. Consequently, many marijuana businesses operate on a cash-only basis, leading to huge public safety issues as businesses become the target of robberies, and are forced to hire armed security to protect their takings.
Indiana Marijuana Church Sues State to Block Enforcement of Marijuana Laws. The Indianapolis-based First Church of Cannabis is going to federal court to try to stop the state from enforcing marijuana prohibition against church members. The church argues that doing so prevents members from fully exercising their religion. Their attorney says he will rely on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to make his case.
Flying With Marijuana Now Okay at PDX. Now that pot is legal in Oregon, Portland International Airport (PDX) has announced that passengers can travel with their marijuana -- as long as they don't leave the state. The airport said that if TSA agents find marijuana on travelers, they will notify Port Police, who will then check to see if the amount is less than the legal limit, the passenger is old enough to carry it, and that the boarding pass shows the passenger is on an in-state flight. If those conditions are met, passengers can fly with their weed. Passengers caught trying to fly out of state with legal amounts of weed will be asked to leave the line and get rid of it before boarding.
Poll: 56% Support for Denver Marijuana Social Use Initiative. A Public Policy Polling survey released today has a solid majority supporting an initiative to allow the use -- but not the sale -- of marijuana at businesses restricted to those 21 and over. The initiative specifies that businesses with liquor licenses would have the option of allowing marijuana use on premises. The Campaign for Limited Social Use needs to collect 4,726 signatures by early August to qualify for the November 2015 ballot.
Medical Marijuana
House Republicans Block Bid for More Medical Marijuana Studies. Republicans in the House Wednesday night killed an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have reclassified marijuana so laboratories could conduct "credible research on its safety and efficacy as a medical treatment." The amendment would have encouraged the DEA and the National Institutes of Health to work together to allow studies of the risks and benefits of using marijuana to treat various diseases and conditions. The amendment, sponsored by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Sam Farr (D-CA), as well as marijuana legalization foe Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), would have created a new designation in the federal drug scheduling scheme, Schedule 1R, for research.
International
Pope Francis Drinks Coca Tea On Flight to Bolivia. The Pope sipped on a brew of coca, chamomile, and anise seeds as he flew from Ecuador to the high-altitude airport at La Paz, Bolivia. The drink, made from leaves of the coca plant, is commonly used by travelers to fight altitude sickness. The airport at La Paz is at nearly 14,000 feet.
Canadian Electronic Music Festival Back On, Will Do Pill Testing. The Evolve Festival will go on as scheduled in Nova Scotia beginning tonight and will still offer the harm reduction measure of offering pill testing for attendees. Festival organizers announced earlier this week they would offer pill testing, but their insurer then canceled their liability insurance, leaving the event in doubt. But now, a new insurer has been found, and organizers say they will do pill testing.
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Nearly half the country thinks roads will be less safe with pot legalization, researchers debunk the gateway theory... again, applicants pile up for medical marijuana programs in Florida and New York, Connecticut's governor signs a bill doing away with mandatory minimums for drug possession, and more.
A new law should reduce prison overcrowding in Connecticut. (nadcp.org)
Gateway Theory Debunked… Again. A new study in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse has found that while marijuana use may typically precede the use of other drugs, there is no evidence it causes people to move on to them. Teens smoke pot for specific reasons, the researchers found, and it is those reasons -- not marijuana use itself -- that prompt them to try other drugs as well. Kids who smoke pot because they are bored are more likely to try cocaine, while teens who smoke pot for personal insights are more likely to try psychedelics. "We found that marijuana use within itself wasn't a risk factor for use of other drugs," said lead author Joseph Palamar, an assistant professor in the New York University Langone Medical Center's department of population health. "People do generally use marijuana before other drugs, but that doesn't mean marijuana is a cause of [using] those other drugs." The study was based on data from the annual Monitoring the Future study of American high school students.
Gallup Poll: 47% Say Marijuana Makes Roads Less Safe. Public attitudes toward marijuana and driving are fairly evenly split, with 47% saying it would make the roads less safe and 50% saying it would make no difference, according to a Gallup Poll released today. The poll results present a potential point of attack for legalization opponents, who have increasingly resorted to fears of drugged driving as other arguments against legalization have evaporated. But as Gallup notes, "… these data may defuse arguments that increased legalization across the US will influence driver safety. With just 30% of Americans currently saying that an increase in legal marijuana would make driving a lot less safe, and 50% saying it will not make much difference, the pro-legalization forces may have an advantage." Click on the link for more details and methodological notes.
Alaska Marijuana Industry Trade Group Forms. The Alaska Marijuana Industry Association formally announced its existence Thursday at an Anchorage press conference. The nonprofit group intends to represent marijuana business owners in the state, once those businesses are licensed.
Medical Marijuana
Federal Appeals Court Rules Dispensaries Can't Deduct Business Expenses. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that they can't take the deductions because their product is prohibited under federal law. The ruling came in the case of the embattled Vapor Room dispensary, whose owner had claimed $650,000 in business expenses in 2004 and 2005. The IRS balked, and now the appeals court has sided with the IRS.
Florida CBD Cannabis Oil Grow Program Gets 24 Applicants. Some 24 commercial plant nurseries have applied for state licenses to grow marijuana and produce CBD cannabis oil to treat epilepsy and other medical conditions. The state is divided into five regions, and only one license will be awarded for each region.
New York Medical Marijuana Program Gets 43 Applicants. Nearly four dozen companies have applied for licenses to grow and distribute medical marijuana under a program approved by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). The state Department of Health is expected to decide which applicants will get licenses sometime within the next couple of weeks.
Sentencing
Connecticut Governor Signs Drug Sentencing Reform Bill. Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) signed into law his "Second Chance Society" legislation, which eliminates mandatory minimum sentences for small-time drug possession and caps those sentences at one year. The measure also speeds up the pardon and parole process for nonviolent offenders. About 500 people are estimated to be imprisoned in the state solely for drug possession.
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More marijuana reform initiatives get filed, Wisconsin's governor modifies a food stamp drug test bill to make screening mandatory, the world's wealthiest drug lord breaks out of prison, and more. ;
Marijuana Policy
Florida Legalization Initiatives Filed. At least two marijuana legalization initiatives have been filed with the secretary of state this month. One would direct revenues generated by legalization to pay teacher salaries. Neither appears to be a serious, well-financed effort. They will need 680,000 valid voter signatures to make the 2016 ballot.
South Dakota Decriminalization Initiative Filed. A group of activists has filed an initiative to decriminalize the possession of an ounce of less of weed in the state. The effort is being led by South Dakotans Against Prohibition, and is being portrayed as providing protections to medical marijuana patients as well as recreational users. A medical marijuana initiative in the state is already in the signature gathering phase.
New Synthetic Drugs
DC Mayor Signs Into Law Bill With Harsh Civil Penalties for Selling Synthetics. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) last Friday signed into law a bill that imposes harsh penalties on retail outlets selling synthetic marijuana. The legislation gives the DC Metro Police immediate authority to close businesses found selling the drugs and gives the mayor the power to impose a $10,000 fine.
Drug Testing
Wisconsin Governor Modifies Food Stamp Drug Test Bill, Removes "Reasonable Suspicion" Requirement. Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed his state budget into law Sunday, but not before making two changes in the part of the law that authorizes drug testing of food stamp recipients. The testing was limited to people whom state workers had "reasonable suspicion" were using drugs, but Walker removed that language, saying there shouldn't be limits on who it can drug test. That means the law will almost certainly face a constitutional challenge since similar suspicionless, mandatory drug testing laws have been overturned by the federal courts. Walker also removed language that would have provided free drug treatment to people who tested positive. He officially announced today that he is seeking the GOP presidential nomination.
Sentencing
Obama Commutes Sentences for 46 Drug Offenders. President Obama announced today he has granted clemency to dozens of federal inmates, the vast majority of them sentenced under draconian crack cocaine laws. More than 30,000 federal prisoners have applied for clemency since the Obama administration issued a call for them to do so last year. Click on the title link for our feature story on this.
International
Chapo Guzman Breaks Out of Mexican Prison. In a huge embarrassment to the Mexican government, imprisoned Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman tunneled his way to freedom out of the Almoloya de Juarez maximum security prison west of Mexico City Saturday night. This is the second time Guzman has broken out of a Mexican prison. In 2001, he escaped from another high-security prison and wasn't recaptured until last year. Guzman is likely the world's wealthiest drug trafficker. His cartel is responsible for tens of thousands of killings in Mexico's drug war in the past few years.
(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays 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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A novel legal tactic by marijuana foes rears its ugly head, last minute maneuvering scuttled pot social clubs in Washington state, Bernie Sanders wants cheaper Naloxone prices, Illinois' first medical marijuana grow gets underway, and more.
Bernie Sanders calls for lower Naloxone prices (sanders.senate.gov)
Marijuana Foes Using RICO To Go After Legal Marijuana Businesses. A Washington-based "anti-crime" group, the Safe Streets Alliance, is using a federal law crafted to fight organized crime to go after marijuana businesses in Colorado. It recently forced one shop out of business after suing not just it but a laundry list of businesses associated with it, and has another lawsuit pending in southern Colorado. None of the lawsuits has been decided, but the mere filing was enough to get rid of one business.
No Marijuana Social Clubs for Washington State. In a last minute amendment to House Bill 2136, the recently passed legislation tweaking the laws around the state's marijuana industry, the legislature outlawed the establishment of marijuana social clubs. Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes is unhappy: "It makes it a felony to actually operate a business like this. Frankly, it's a stupid provision and I think that it's overkill," Holmes said. Holmes had been working on a model social club ordinance for Seattle. He said he was irked that the amendment was added and approved without notice.
Medical Marijuana
US Senators Seek Info from Feds on Progress on Medical Marijuana Research. A group of eight United States senators Monday sent a letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) requesting information about the agencies' efforts to facilitate and coordinate scientific research on medical marijuana. The letter was signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).
First Illinois Cultivation Center Begins Medical Marijuana Production. The Ataraxia cultivation center announced Monday that it is beginning to grow medical marijuana. The group says it thinks it is the first in the state to do so. The grow is located in Albion.
Harm Reduction
Bernie Sanders Calls on State Governments to Lower Price of Opiate Overdose Reversal Drug. The Vermont senator and Democratic presidential contender says other states should emulate New York, which negotiated a price cut with the manufacturer of the opiate overdose reversal drug naloxone. "The opioid abuse epidemic is a public health emergency that must be addressed, and no company should jeopardize the progress many states have made in tackling this emergency by overcharging for a critically important drug like naloxone," Sanders joined Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) in saying in a letter to the National Governors Association and National Association of Attorneys General.
International
Colombia Marijuana Price Plunge Sees Farmers Switching to Coca, Avocados. Prices for Colombian marijuana have dropped by two-thirds in the past year, largely because of oversupply due to a bumper crop last year. That has farmers getting out of the pot business and looking for alternatives, including coca and avocados. Marijuana was a decent cash crop for impoverished farmers; now, they'll have to try something else.
(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays 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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The president gives a major speech calling for greater criminal justice reform, there's a revised version of a California marijuana legalization initiative, North Carolina is moving to ban new synthetic drugs, the Israeli Knesset squabbles over marijuana policy, and more.
Wisconsin's Republican governor wants to drug test food stamp recipients and is going to court to fight for it. (wikimedia.org)
Second Version of California Marijuana Control, Legalization, and Revenue Act Filed. The folks behind the initiative have revised and updated it. This is one of four legalization initiatives already filed. Everyone is still waiting for one from the California Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform to drop. To read the latest version of the Marijuana Control, Legalization, and Revenue Act, click on the title link.
New Synthetic Drugs
North Carolina Set to Ban N-Bomb, Other New Synthetics. A bill that would make the synthetic drug NBOMe (N-Bomb) and other designer drugs illegal is one vote away from passage. House Bill 341 would add 12 known variants of NBOMe to the state's Schedule I list. It would also add methoxetamine, a synthetic form of ketamine often marketed as Special K, and acetyl fentanyl, a synthetic form of the opioid fentanyl. Variants of methylphenidate (Ritalin) would also be banned, and some recent synthetic cannabinoids, too. The bill has passed the House and now awaits a final Senate floor vote.
Criminal Justice
President Obama Calls for Greater Criminal Justice Reform. In a speech before the NAACP Tuesday, Obama called for reducing or eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, reconsidering solitary confinement, increased reentry programs for people leaving prison, and an end to asking about criminal histories on job applications. He also called on Congress to pass sentencing reform legislation by year's end. Click on the link for much more.
Drug Testing
Wisconsin Challenges Federal Ban on Food Stamp Drug Testing. The state attorney general Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking to clarify whether federal law would allow the state to drug test food stamp recipients. Gov. Scott Walker (R) earlier this week signed a measure to do so into law. The US Agriculture Department says that drug testing food stamp recipients is not allowed, but Attorney General Brad Schimel (R) said that policy is contrary to federal law that allows states to test them.
International
Israeli Knesset Members Boycott Marijuana Policy Meeting to Protest "Pro-Legalization" Views of Panel Head. Most members of the Knesset Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse failed to show up for a committee meeting on "progressive cannabis policies" Tuesday, saying they were protesting the pro-legalization stance of committee chair Tamar Zandberg of the Meretz Party. Conservative MPs accused Zandberg of "turning [the committee] into the caucus to promote cannabis... instead of the goal for which the committee was formed: to fight drug abuse and drug-related crimes, rehabilitation of users, and public campaigns to prevent drug and alcohol abuse in general and especially among youth." Zandberg was unbowed. "I support legalization and I have never hidden it, and I plan to lead the committee with up-to-date and relevant discussions based on data," she added. "The committee will seriously deal with a long line of topics, including medical marijuana, dealing with alcoholism, and trying to change the policy of criminalizing cannabis." She accused the protesting members of being a "nature reserve of moralizers."
(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays 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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