Harris Campaign Accuses Trump of Lying About Pot Policy, Houston Narc Goes on Trial for Murder, More... (9/10/24)

The Colombia government and a dissident FARC faction are headed back to the table for peace talks in Havana, and more.

Kamala Harris (Creative Commons)

Marijuana Policy

Harris Campaign Accuses Trump of Lying About Supporting Marijuana Reform But Fails to Detail Her Pot Platform. The campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris (D) is arguing that Donald Trump's recent support for marijuana reform is "blatant pandering" and runs contrary to his administration's record on marijuana policy. Since last weekend, Trump has signaled support for Florida's Amendment 3 marijuana legalization initiative and for rescheduling at the federal level.

"Donald Trump cannot paper over his extensive record of dragging marijuana reform backward," the Harris campaign said in a statement. "As president, Trump cracked down on nonviolent marijuana offenses -- undermining state legalization laws, opposed safe banking legislation, and even tried to remove protections for medical marijuana," spokesperson Joseph Costello told NBC News on Monday. "Donald Trump does not actually believe in marijuana reform, but the American people are smart enough to see through his campaign lies."

But although Trump Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded Obama-era guidance urging prosecutorial discretion in enforcing the marijuana laws, no large-scale federal crackdown occurred. He did not publicly oppose or support marijuana banking legislation.

The Harris campaign has been mum about its candidate's position on the issue, and a new, long-awaited policy page on her campaign web site does not address the issue. However, Harris previously sponsored a marijuana legalization bill, and at a March White House event with marijuana pardon recipients reaffirmed her support for legalization. Her running mate Gov. Walz supported several marijuana reform measures while in Congress, and signed a legalization bill in Minnesota last year.

Law Enforcement

Houston Cop Goes on Trial over Misbegotten Drug Raid That Left Two Innocent Civilians Dead. The trial began Monday in Houston for former Houston Police narcotics officer Gerald Goines, who is charged with murder in the deaths of two homeowners gunned down by cops on a drug raid based on a made-up informant. The 2019 raid left Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife Rhogena Nicholas, 58, dead after they opened fire on the assailants breaking down their door.

Goines, who led the raid, is accused of lying about the couple to obtain a search warrant, saying they were dangerous heroin dealers when the only drugs found in the home after the raid were personal use amounts of marijuana and cocaine. He is also accused of making up the informant the search warrant affidavit was based on.

A dozen officers tied to the narcotics squad that carried out the raid have subsequently been indicted on various charges following a corruption probe into the squad. The state Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned at least 22 convictions linked to Goines. Another Goines arrest that remains under scrutiny is his 2004 arrest of George Floyd, whose 2020 death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer sparked a nationwide reckoning on racism in policing.

"After more than five years of providing extensive discovery, attending numerous hearings, and navigating various trial delays, the time for justice looms now," prosecutors said in court documents.

"Mr. Goines has the best counsel you could possibly get," Houston defense attorney Michael Wynne said. "But I think they got an uphill battle here."

International

Colombia Peace Talks with Dissident FARC Faction to Resume. The government of leftist President Gustavo Petro and the Segunda Marquetalia, a dissident FARC guerrilla faction, jointly announced Monday that they would resume peace talks in Havana, although they did not set a date. The Segunda Marquetalia had unilaterally agreed to a ceasefire in June, but talks broke down in July, with the guerrillas complaining that the government had failed to quash arrest warrants against their leaders.

The faction broke with the main body of the FARC after the 2016 peace agreement between the government and the leftist guerrillas. It was one of several leftist factions to remain under arms and, like the other factions, as well as rightist paramilitaries and unaffiliated drug trafficking groups, relies on the coca and cocaine trade to help finance its campaigns.

In the Monday statement, both sides condemned a weekend incident where an indigenous person was killed and six others wounded in an army operation in a coca-growing area of Narino department, where Segunda Marquetalia is active.

(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org's 501(c)(4) lobbying nonprofit, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this website. 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.)