Dallas to Vote on Pot Decriminalization, PA Study Finds Racial Profiling Traffic Stops No Longer a Problem, More... (8/15/24)

The Olympia, WA, city council has voted to decriminalize natural psychedelics, the former head of the British Virgin Islands is headed to a US prison for drug trafficking, and more. 

Psilocybin mushrooms. Olympia, Washington, has become the latest locality to move to ease access to them. (Creative Commons)

Dallas City Council Puts Marijuana Decriminalization on November Ballot. The state's Republican political establishment hates the idea, but Dallas is about to join a handful of other Texas cities in attempting to set its own, more progressive marijuana policies. The city council on Tuesday approved a slate of changes to the city charter to go before voters in November, including one that would decriminalize the possession of up to four ounces of weed. 

The move comes after organizers with Ground Game Texas handed in sufficient numbers of voter petitions to force the council to respond. The group calls its charter amendment the Dallas Freedom Act. 

The amendment directs the Dallas Police to "stop issuing citations or making arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession." It also prohibits city funds or personnel from being used to conduct testing on "any cannabis-related substance" to figure out if it meets the legal definition of marijuana under state and federal laws.

The amendment also bars police from using the smell of marijuana as probable cause for a search "except in the limited circumstances of a police investigation." And the proposal says officers can be punished if they are found to be violating the policy.

Psychedelics

Olympia, Washington, City Council Passes Resolution Decriminalizing Psilocybin, Other Psychedelic Plants and Fungi. The city council in the state capital, Olympia, on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution that decriminalizes the possession of psilocybin and certain other psychedelic plants and fungi. It is the fourth entity in the state to do so, after the cities of Seattle and Port Townsend, as well as Jefferson County. 

The city council resolution says that "the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of anyone engaging in entheogen-related activities should be among the city of Olympia’s lowest law enforcement priorities." It also expresses support for "full decriminalization of these activities" at the state and federal levels. And it says that 

"no City funds or resources should be used for investigation, prosecution, or arrest of individuals possessing or using entheogenic plants or fungi."

The resolution does not list all plants and fungi covered by the change, but it says it it is aimed at substances "including, but not limited to" psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca tea, mescaline and iboga.

The change officially takes effect 30 days after passage, said Councilmember Clark Gilman, who sponsored the measure.

"The Olympia City Council was very proud to pass this resolution making psilocybin and plant-based medicine the lowest enforcement priority and to call on state and federal governments to decriminalize," Gilman said. "Our decision was shaped by powerful testimonials and information that came from many community advocates, and we came to understand that it’s a medicine and another way of people seeing healing and a better quality of life."

The move is backed by the group Decriminalize Nature Olympia, which began advocating for the change in earnest last year.

Criminal Justice

Pennsylvania Study Finds Racial Profiling in Traffic Stops No Longer a Problem. An Ohio State University researcher who analyzed Pennsylvania traffic stops as part of a settlement over allegations of racial profiling in traffic stops has found that the problem has largely gone away. The researcher, Robin Engel, analyzed some 450,000 traffic stops and found that drivers of all races and ethnicities were pulled over at comparable rates. 

"The findings across multiple analyses demonstrated no substantive racial and ethnic differences in the initial reason for the stop by the Pennsylvania State Police," Engel said as he released the study. 

Researchers also found that while trooper decisions on how to enforce the law after traffic stops were mostly based on legal factors—not race or ethnicity—troopers were slightly more likely to engage in "discretionary" searches of black drivers than white or Latino ones. 

This report echoes one from last year that found racial and ethnic disparities in traffic stops have become rare, most likely because of increased scrutiny and supervision in the field, but also because of new training that emphasizes treating people equally. The now widespread use of police body cameras may also be playing a role. 

Former British Virgin Islands Premier Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison for Cocaine Trafficking, Money Laundering. Former British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Alturo Fahie has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison on cocaine trafficking and money laundering charges. He is the second former foreign head of state to be convicted of federal drug charges this year, after former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. 

Fahie had been convicted earlier this year of facilitating the safe passage of thousands of pounds of Colombian cocaine through ports in the British Virgin Islands. He was arrested in April 2022 by the DEA after agents pretending to be Sinaloa Cartel members lured him to the US, where he agreed to participate in a fake smuggling scheme. During March and April 2022, Fahie, a BVI ports official and the official’s son participated in a series of meetings with the purported Sinaloa Cartel drug trafficker to broker the arrangement. Fahie and the two others "agreed to secure licenses, shield the cocaine-filled boats while in BVI’s ports, and grease the palms of BVI government officials and employees," trial testimony revealed. The group discussed running 6,600-pound loads of cocaine once or twice a month for four months. In exchange, Faie and the port director would get a cut of the millions in cocaine profits. 

The British Virgin Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom and consists of four main islands and more than 50 smaller ones east of Puerto Rico. It has a well-documented history of being a base for drug smugglers, tax evaders, and money launderers. A 2022 Transparency International report found "endemic problems" with the BVI as the "destination of choice for the corrupt and other criminals to hide and launder their ill-gotten gains."