Drug War Daily Digest – November 3, 2026

A Maryland task force recommends a medical psilocybin pilot. Law enforcement officials oppose a Massachusetts measure to end licensed adult-use marijuana sales, and a newly disclosed Ontario report describes proposals to prevent overdose deaths.

Marijuana Policy

Law Enforcement Association and Officials Oppose Massachusetts Question 8. The National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers urged Massachusetts voters on November 2 to vote no on Question 8. Beginning January 1, 2028, the measure would end licensed adult-use marijuana sales and nonmedical home cultivation. The medical program would continue, and adults 21 and older could still possess up to one ounce. Separately, more than 50 current and former law enforcement officials signed a letter arguing that closing licensed stores would send customers to sellers who need not check ages or test their products, Tom Angell reports for Marijuana Moment.

New York Repeals Cannabis Licensees' Labor Peace Agreement Requirement. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed Senate Bill 10643 on October 28, immediately repealing the requirement that cannabis licensees enter labor peace agreements. As signed, the law also requires applicant disclosures and creates a board to recommend minimum hourly wages in the cannabis industry. Those provisions are scheduled to take effect January 31, 2027.

Hochul said in her approval memorandum that legislative leaders had agreed to pursue a further amendment to remove the wage board and give the Cannabis Control Board discretion to prioritize adult-use applicants who voluntarily sign labor peace agreements, TG Branfalt reports for Ganjapreneur.

Psychedelics

Maryland Task Force Recommends a Medical Psilocybin Pilot. Maryland's Task Force on Responsible Use of Natural Psychedelic Substances proposed a supervised psilocybin pilot for adults 18 and older with a qualifying condition, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression. Its October report calls for a licensed provider to certify eligibility in writing and for clinical screening to determine the appropriate level of care. Licensed facilitators would prepare patients for treatment, supervise dosing and provide follow-up care. The proposal also calls for licensed growers, product testing and monitoring of outcomes and adverse events.

To make the pilot accessible, the task force proposed reduced certification fees and sliding-scale service fees for veterans, fee relief for low-income patients and consideration of rural and underserved counties when licensing service sites. Establishing the pilot would require legislative action.

Hemp

EU Council Backs Recognizing Hemp Flowers and Leaves as Agricultural Products. On October 19, European Union agriculture ministers agreed on a negotiating position that would bring flowers and leaves, as well as seed and fiber, under common agricultural rules for qualifying hemp. Ben Stevens reported on the proposal on October 29 in Business of Cannabis. The Council text retains certified-seed requirements and a 0.3 percent delta-9 THC limit for eligible varieties. Member states could still restrict end uses on public health or security grounds, consistent with EU law. The Council and European Parliament must agree on final legislation.

Harm Reduction

Unpublished Ontario Draft Details Overdose Prevention Proposals. Ontario's chief prosecutor and chief coroner convened more than 100 people in Toronto in February 2024 to discuss how to prevent drug poisoning deaths. Participants included people who use drugs, health workers, police and prosecutors. The facilitators' 19-page June draft records calls to expand treatment, supervised consumption and drug checking and to explore a regulated drug supply. Participants also discussed how police and prosecutors were diverting some possession cases from court. The draft says it does not represent the views of the Ministry of the Attorney General. Researcher Nick Boyce obtained it through a freedom of information request in mid-2026 and reported his findings November 3 in Drug Data Decoded.

In April 2024, while the draft was being prepared, ministers from Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta agreed to expand access to recovery-oriented care and share practices. Boyce argues that Ontario's subsequent emphasis on the Alberta model sidelined options discussed at the symposium. For example, Ontario later announced that its new treatment and recovery hubs would exclude supervised consumption and prescribed safer supply. Boyce could not establish whether the provincial cabinet or the health ministry ever saw the symposium draft.

See Research below for the analysis of private equity ownership of methadone clinics.

Extrajudicial Killings

Facebook Post Falsely Attributes Shoot-to-Kill Threat Against Dela Rosa to Philippine Lawmaker. On October 31, a Facebook page attributed a fabricated quote to Rep. Lordan Suan of Cagayan de Oro. It claimed he would call a House committee hearing and seek a resolution urging police to shoot Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa if he failed to surrender. The Philippine government's October 30 deadline had already passed. Suan denied making the statement on November 2, Lourence Angelo Marcellana reported in Rappler. The Philippine National Police said it had issued no such order and would follow its usual arrest procedures in executing the International Criminal Court warrant.

International

Nepal's Supreme Court Orders Rules for Medical and Industrial Cannabis. Nepal's Supreme Court ordered the national government to establish a licensing and monitoring system for commercial cannabis cultivation, processing and trade for medical, scientific, agricultural, horticultural and industrial purposes. Durga Dulal reported November 1 in the Kathmandu Post that the court's May 18, 2025 judgment had only recently become public. The judges said existing drug law already gave the government authority to make rules and set a deadline of three months from receipt of the order. They called for consultation before any change to the law on recreational use.

Research

Cannabis Prices and Methadone Access

Most Consumers in NuggMD Poll Expect Rescheduling Tax Savings to Lower Prices. NuggMD asked 654 cannabis consumers in states with legal markets whether they expected businesses to pass on savings if federal rescheduling gave them tax relief. Seventy-four percent said yes, Tom Angell reports in Marijuana Moment. The October 8–15 poll measured consumers' expectations about prices.

Study Finds No Countywide Increase in Methadone Supply After Private Equity Acquisitions. About 35 percent of US opioid treatment providers are affiliated with private equity firms, Brown University researcher Yashaswini Singh wrote October 28 in The Conversation. In a 2025 study with colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh and RAND, Singh examined acquisitions and methadone shipments through 2019. Ownership became more concentrated, but the researchers found no detectable increase in methadone shipped to clinics across affected counties.

Singh reports that Community Medical Services, a private-equity-backed company, owns all four methadone clinics in Montana. The company says much of its recent expansion elsewhere came from opening new sites. Singh also describes an Arizona patient who drives 45 minutes to one of its clinics, illustrating the travel burden patients can face.

(AI technology assisted in the news gathering and initial stage drafting of this Daily Digest.)