The marijuana industry is maturing as a political player in California, and some of its advocacy methods are downright old-fashioned.
In a sign of our strange times, DEA officials are issuing clarifications, criticisms, even leaks about the hardline and distorted approach of the Trump administration.
A dirty Des Moines cop goes down for planting evidence, plus more jail guards gone bad.
The 2017 International Drug Policy Reform Conference is the major biannual gathering of drug policy reformers from around the world.
Global NGOs have written to the Colombian president to express concerns about forced eradication of coca crops, a Nevada judge removes a marijuana sales bottleneck, Massachusetts has a new police force aimed at "extremists and drug traffickers," and more.
Philippines bishops and citizen demonstrators alike take aim at Duterte's lethal drug war, the US Civil Rights Commission takes aim at the Trump administration's embrace of federal civil asset forfeiture, and more.
There is a boycott against a Los Angeles marijuana business expo over the presence of Roger Stone, Seattle safe injection site supporters sue to block a NIMBY initiative, a federal judge rules that an Arizona case challenging civil asset forfeiture can proceed, and more.
It's slow in the dog days of August, but there is a bit of news out there: Indianapolis cops have to revise their vehicle seizure practices, Alaska regulators are seeking public comment on proposed on-site marijuana consumption regulations, and more.
This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here.
Marijuana is already a multi-billion dollar a year business in California, and with recreational sales to adults coming online next year, it's about to get even bigger. Now, the legal pot industry is beginning to throw its weight around in state office-level politics, and it's doing it the old-fashioned way: with a checkbook.
Gavin Newsom is raking in the bud bucks. (ca.gov)
Fundraising for the 2018 gubernatorial campaign is already well underway, and according to a recent
Los Angeles Times analysis of campaign contributions, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is running away with the cannabis cash. Pot growers, retailers, and others in the industry have donated more than $300,000, swamping industry contributions to his Democratic competitors, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa ($5,000) and Treasurer John Chiang ($100).
That means that Newsom has hoovered up around 98% of pot industry contributions in the Democratic race for the nomination so far. There's a reason for that -- actually a couple of reasons.
First, the charismatic former San Francisco mayor has been a key player in the state's path toward full legalization, just as he was an early supporter of gay marriage. One of the first state-level officials to come out for freeing the weed, he has used his largely ceremonial position as lieutenant governor to champion the cause, creating a blue-ribbon commission and holding public hearings to develop policy to support what would ultimately become Prop 64, the legalization initiative approved by voters last fall. He's earned some political goodwill from the pot people.
Second, he's actively courting the industry. The Times reports that Newsom has held four industry fundraisers so far, including this one in March, hosted by the Indus Holding Company, maker of such marijuana-infused treats as Toasted fRooster and Crispy Kraken chocolate bars:
"The fundraising dinner for Gavin Newsom in Salinas was in most ways a typical night for a political candidate. Local business leaders paid up to $5,000 for a chance to talk with the man aiming to be California's next governor over cauliflower bisque, strip steak and Meyer lemon pudding cake... The hosts... were in the agriculture business... [b]ut they left their signature dish off the menu: candy infused with marijuana."
There is a lot at stake for the marijuana industry. Regulatory and tax policies for the new legalization regime are being developed now. As both wielder of the veto pen over legislation and head of the executive branch that will implement legalization, whoever the next governor is, he or she will be a critical player making decisions that will help decide who makes a fortune and who doesn't.
And that worries Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, which represents small growers in Northern California's traditional pot-growing Emerald Triangle. He told the Times the money to Newsom is coming from large enterprises and wealthy individuals seeking to cut out the ma-and-pa growers who paved the way.
"There are fierce and cutthroat business practices coming," he said. "We're pushing to keep craft growers in business."
The $300,000 raised so far by the pot industry is only a small part of Newsom's $14 million campaign war chest, but it's more than raised by any agricultural sector in the state, and it's a clear sign of pot's increasing political clout. But with legalization already won -- at least on the state level -- that clout is going to be focused on who benefits and how.
(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org"s lobbying arm, the 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.)
back to top
This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared here.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has never been known as a forward-thinking place when it comes to drug and crime policy, but these days, the hide-bound drug fighting agency is coming off as much more reasonable on drugs than its bosses, President Trump and Attorney General Sessions.
DEA doing its thing. (Creative Commons/Wikimedia)
And as is the case with everyone from Republican elected officials to top corporate executives, the Trump administration's bad case of crazy is forcing even the DEA to distance itself from some of Trump's more ill-thought and insidious mouthings.
No, the DEA hasn't gone soft. It's still out there doing its best to enforce federal drug prohibition, and just last year it was old school enough to refuse to move pot out of Schedule I. But several recent incidents show a DEA behaving in a more responsible manner than the president or his attorney general:
1. The DEA has been accepting applications from scientists to grow marijuana for research purposes, only to be blocked by the Sessions Justice Department.
For years, researchers have complained that a government monopoly on marijuana grown for research purposes has both stifled useful research and illustrated the DEA's role in hindering science. Late in the Obama administration, though, the agency relented, saying it would take proposals from researchers to grow their own crops.
But The Washington Post reported last week that DEA had received 25 research proposals since it began accepting applications a year ago, but needed DOJ's approval to move forward. That approval has not been forthcoming, much like DOJ when queried about it by the Post. DOJ may not have had anything to say, but some insiders did.
"They're sitting on it. They just will not act on these things," said one unnamed source described by the Post as a "law enforcement official familiar with the matter."
Another source described as a "senior DEA official" said that as a result, "the Justice Department has effectively shut down this program to increase research registrations."
2. The DEA head feels compelled to repudiate Trump's remarks about roughing up suspects.
The Wall Street Journal obtained an email from acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg to staff members written after President Trump told police officers in Long Island month that they needn't be too gentle with suspects. Rosenberg rejected the president's remarks.
Saying he was writing "because we have an obligation to speak out when something is wrong," Rosenberg said bluntly that Trump had "condoned police misconduct."
Instead of heeding the president, Rosenberg said, DEA agents must "always act honorably" by maintaining "the very highest standards" in the treatment of suspects.
It is a strange state of affairs when an agency many people consider to be the very embodiment of heavy-handed policing has to tell its employees to ignore the president of the United States because he's being too thuggish.
3. The DEA has to fend off the Trump/Sessions obsession with MS-13.
Trump loves to fulminate against MS-13, the vicious gang whose roots lie in the Salvadoran diaspora during the US-backed civil war of the 1980s, and to use them to conflate the issues of immigration, crime, and drugs. His loyal attorney general has declared war on them. Both insist that breaking MS-13 will be a victory in the war on drugs and are pressuring the DEA to specifically target them.
But, the Post reported, Rosenberg and other DEA officials have told DOJ that the gang "is not one of the biggest players when it comes to distributing and selling narcotics."
In the DEA view, Mexican cartels are the big problem and MS-13 is simply one of many gangs the cartels use to peddle their wares. DEA administrators have told their underlings to focus on whatever is the biggest threat in their area -- not MS-13 -- because "in many parts of the country, MS-13 simply does not pose a major criminal or drug-dealing threat compared with other groups," according to unnamed DEA officials.
"The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they could face professional consequences for candidly describing the internal disputes," the Post noted.
The president and the attorney general are seeking to distort what the DEA sees as its key drug enforcement priorities so Trump can score some cheap demagogic political points, and the DEA is unhappy enough to leak to the press. We are indeed in a strange place.
back to top
A dirty Des Moines cop goes down for planting evidence, plus more jail guards gone bad. Let's get to it:
In Raleigh, North Carolina,
a Wake County jail guard was arrested July 28 for selling drugs to inmates. (The bust was not publicized until this week.) Andrew Richard Byrd, 25, went down after he was caught with drugs at the jail. He's charged with possession of a controlled substance on jail premises, providing drugs to inmates, and conspiracy to distribute Schedule III controlled substances. And he's been fired.
In Mount Olive, West Virginia, a Mount Olive Correctional Center guard was arrested last Friday on charges he took bribes to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the jail. Toby Lyle Stover, 43, went down after authorities used surveillance video and cell phone records to show he set up a fake company to receive payments from inmates and that he delivered drugs, knives, and cellphones. He has been hit with seven counts each of bribery and aiding an adult in confinement.
In Des Moines, Iowa, a former Des Moines police officer was charged Tuesday with planting drug evidence in a bid to falsely arrest a 21-year-old man on meth charges. Tyson Teut, 30, had resigned last year amid allegations of wrongdoing and now has been formally charged with perjury and felonious misconduct in office. The man he arrested was convicted of meth possession, but that conviction was later overturned.
back to top
vigildpa09_9.jpg
The 2017 International Drug Policy Reform Conference will convene in Atlanta, Georgia on October 11-14. More than 1,500 people who believe the war on drugs has failed will be in attendance to network, to strategize and to lift up policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.
Attendees will join a broad range of drug policy stakeholders -- activists, academics, healthcare and public health advocates, veterans, formerly incarcerated people, elected officials, students, and many others from around the country and across the globe!
This year, attendees will have the opportunity to spend three days deepening connections with people committed to finding alternatives to the war on drugs while participating in sessions facilitated by leading experts.
Visit http://www.reformconference.org to register. Get updates on the Reform Conference on Facebook and Twitter, and follow hashtag #NoMoreDrugWar.
There is an early bird registration rate available until August 25.
back to top
Global NGOs have written to the Colombian president to express concerns about forced eradication of coca crops, a Nevada judge removes a marijuana sales bottleneck, Massachusetts has a new police force aimed at "extremists and drug traffickers," and more.
Colombian peasant harvesting coca (dea.gov)
Nevada Judge Clears Way for More Distribution Licenses. Carson City District Judge James Russell on Thursday lifted a temporary restraining order that had forced the state to limit marijuana distribution rights to liquor wholesalers. The state's legalization initiative had required officials to limit distribution rights to liquor wholesalers for the first year and a half -- unless they couldn't keep up with demand. In his ruling Thursday, Judge Russell held that they had demonstrated they couldn't.
Asset Forfeiture
Illinois Asset Forfeiture Reform Law Now in Effect. An asset forfeiture reform bill passed earlier this year, House Bill 303 (with asset forfeiture reform added as an amendment to an unrelated bill), is now in effect. The bill does not end civil asset forfeiture, but increases the standard of evidence needed to seize property and adds reporting requirements for all seizures.
Law Enforcement
Massachusetts State Police Division Created to Go After Extremists and Drug Traffickers. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito (R) announced Thursday the formation of a new State Police division to address threats from "extremists and drug traffickers." The new Fifth Division will collect and analyze criminal intelligence and provide protection for large-scale events and key infrastructure, Polito's office said.
International
Global NGOs Concerned About Forced Eradication in Colombia. In a letter to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), a global network of 177 NGOs, expressed strong support for the Peace Accord signed by the Colombian government and the FARC, while also expressing deep concern regarding intensified, and increasingly militarized, forced coca eradication efforts, especially in areas where communities have already signed crop substitution agreements. Forced eradication in areas where communities have signed crop substitution agreements perpetuates violence and generates new conflicts, undermines the very spirit of the voluntary crop substitution agreements and confidence-building efforts with local communities, and potentially threatens the effective implementation of the peace accord, the groups charged.
back to top
Philippines bishops and citizen demonstrators alike take aim at Duterte's lethal drug war, the US Civil Rights Commission takes aim at the Trump administration's embrace of federal civil asset forfeiture, and more.
India's first medical marijuana research grow license holders, the CSMR and the Bombay Hemp Group.
Arkansas Gets First Dispensary Application. The state Department of Finance and Administration reported that it received its first medical marijuana dispensary application last Friday. The state will issue up to 32 licenses for dispensaries, but the deadline for applications is September 18.
Asset Forfeiture
US Civil Rights Commission Criticizes Trump/Sessions on Asset Forfeiture. As part of a multi-pronged critique of the Trump administration, the Civil Rights Commission issued a statement condemning Attorney General Sessions' decision to reverse Obama-era policy and return to full-throated embrace of civil asset forfeiture. "The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, by unanimous vote, strongly disagrees with the Department of Justice's recent decision to expand federal participation in the practice of civil asset forfeiture. Civil asset forfeiture, defined as the taking of property by law enforcement without a criminal conviction, was sharply curtailed by the Department in 2015. Efforts to limit the practice have bipartisan support," the commissioners noted in its statement. The commission issued similar statements criticizing the administration's stances on voting rights and transgender people in the military.
Harm Reduction
Washington King County NIMBY Anti-Safe Injection Site Initiative Qualifies for Ballot, But Maybe Not for November Election. An initiative that aims to block safe injections from being set up in Seattle's suburban King County has qualified for the ballot, county officials confirmed last Thursday. But because county officials were slow to get around to counting signatures, it missed a deadline for appearing on the November ballot, and now, the Metropolitan King County Council will have to decide whether to put the measure, known as Initiative 27, on the November ballot or delay it until a February election. Initiative supporters have said they fear it will be too late by February.
International
India Issues Its First Medical Marijuana Grow License. The Indian government last week issued its first license to grow medical marijuana for research purposes. The license went to the Council of Scientific and Medical Research, which will collaborate with the Bombay Hemp Company. The two groups seek to develop marijuana-based drugs.
Philippine Bishops Speak Out on Duterte's Bloody Drug War. With an uptick in Duterte's war on drugs leaving 81 dead in four days last week, Filipino bishops are raising the alarm. Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos said most of the killings in his diocese were "extrajudicial killings" and wondered why the police had to kill so many so fast. "We do not know the motivation of the police why they had to do the killings in one day, maybe to impress the President who wanted more," he told Vatican Radio. Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of the Kalookan diocese said just as people were labeled "communists" before killing them in the last century, now being labeled a "drug suspect" leads to the same result. "I don't know of any law in any civilized society that says a person deserves to die because he or she is a "drug suspect," Bishop David said.
Hundreds Demonstrate in Manila Over Drug War Killing of Teenager. Protestors gathered at the People Power monument in Manila Monday to demand an impartial investigation of drug war killings. The death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos at the hands of narcotics police last week was "a tipping point" for demonstrators, they said. "He has become a central figure because his death is the only one that has evidence [against the police]," Shamah Bulangis, secretary general of Akbayan Youth, told the Inquirer. "It gives us more balls to say that this government is corrupt in its war on drugs."
Uruguay Legal Marijuana Faces Banking Problem. Some banks in Uruguay are refusing to do business with pharmacies that sell legal marijuana because they say it would put them in conflict with international financial laws. And the problem could get worse since a government official last Friday warned banks that they ran the risk of violating laws that ban handling money tied to the marijuana trade.
back to top
There is a boycott against a Los Angeles marijuana business expo over the presence of Roger Stone, Seattle safe injection site supporters sue to block a NIMBY initiative, a federal judge rules that an Arizona case challenging civil asset forfeiture can proceed, and more.
Roger Stone. The legalization-loving Trump confidant is sparking some pushback from the industry. (Wikimedia)
Pot People Boycott Los Angeles Cannabis Expo Over Presence of Trump Confidant Roger Stone. Numerous speakers and exhibitors are boycotting the Cannabis World Congress and Business Exhibition set for September 13 because of the inclusion of former Trump campaign strategist and political dirty trickster Roger Stone. Led by the Minority Cannabis Business Association, more than 30 speakers and exhibitors have pulled out. There is also a Change.org petition calling on event organizers to drop Stone. "Inviting Mr. Stone to speak to the crowd, especially as we see the rise of overt racism and anti-semitism, is an affront to the very movement you purport to promote," the Change.org petition says.
Asset Forfeiture
Arizona Federal Court Rules Asset Forfeiture Challenge Can Proceed. Last Friday, a federal court ruled that a far-reaching lawsuit challenging the profit motive at the core of Arizona's civil asset forfeiture law can move forward because the plaintiff has properly asserted that policing for profit violates her constitutional rights. The case was filed by the ACLU, the ACLU of Arizona, and the law firm Perkins Coie on behalf of Pinal County resident Rhonda Cox, whose pickup truck was seized and kept by local law enforcement even though she was never convicted of a crime. "For too long, Arizona's civil asset forfeiture laws have motivated law enforcement officials to line their pockets rather than fight crime," said Emma Andersson, staff attorney with the ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project. "The court's order is a huge step towards protecting our client from this perverse system that is fundamentally incompatible with the right to have due process before the government can deprive you of your property."
Harm Reduction
Seattle Safe Injection Site Supporters Sue to Block King County NIMBY Initiative. Safe injection site supporters have filed a lawsuit to invalidate an initiative that would ban the facility in suburban King County. Under a plan supported by local officials, the Seattle area would see two such facilities, one in the city and one in the county, but Initiative 27 would ban them in the county. In the lawsuit, site supporters argue that citizen initiatives should not override public health decisions. Unless the lawsuit, filed by a group called Protect Public Health, is successful, the initiative will go to voters in February. Initiative supporters had sought a November vote, but slow action by King County officials resulted in the initiative not being certified in time for a vote this year.
International
Paraguay Marijuana Production Surging. It's long been "the Mexico of South America," given its history of mass producing low-quality marijuana for consumption by wealthier neighbors, but a new report from the country's National Anti-Drug Secretariat says pot production is booming, and it blames poverty and a lack of viable substitute crops. Authorities there have seized 1.4 million pounds of pot this year, more than double what they seized last year.
back to top
It's slow in the dog days of August, but there is a bit of news out there: Indianapolis cops have to revise their vehicle seizure practices, Alaska regulators are seeking public comment on proposed on-site pot consumption regulations, and more.
Alaska wants to let pot buyers smoke their purchases where they got them. Public comments being sought now. (Sandra Yruel/DPA)
Alaska Regulators Seek Public Comment on Onsite Marijuana Consumption. The state's Marijuana Control Board has created a draft proposal that would allow some pot shops to provide a space for on-premises consumption of products bought there. Now it's giving the public a chance to weigh in. People who want to comment have until October 27.
Nevada Gaming Commission to Discuss Marijuana-Related Issues. The state Gaming Commission will hold a special meeting Thursday to address problems the gambling industry may have to confront after the state legalized marijuana. The commission is likely to discuss ways to keep gaming companies from being associated with marijuana businesses, which are illegal under federal law.
Asset Forfeiture
Indiana Federal Judge Restricts Indianapolis Police Seizure Practices. The Indianapolis Metro Police Department may no longer hold seized vehicles for up to six months before deciding whether to file formal asset forfeiture paperwork, a federal district court judge ruled on Monday. The ruling came in a class action lawsuit challenging such seizures. "The Court concludes that the statutory provisions allowing for the seizure and retention of vehicles without providing an opportunity for an individual to challenge the pre-forfeiture deprivation are unconstitutional," US District Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson ruled in remarks reported by The Indianapolis Star.
Harm Reduction
Kentucky First Responders Get Naloxone. Gov. Matt Bevin (R) joined officials from northern Kentucky and executives from Aetna to announce Wednesday that first responders in the northern and Appalachian regions will receive720 doses of the overdose reversal drug naloxone in a bid to prevent overdose deaths. Drug overdose deaths in the state were at record levels last year, up more than 7% over 2015.
back to top
