Kamala Harris Says She Will Federally Legalize Marijuana, NJ Hemp Conundrum, More... (10/14/24)

The Mexican federal government has sent hundreds of troops into the country's lime-producing heartland to help growers fend off drug cartels, and more.

Mexican lime producers are being targeted by drug cartels that want to expand their extortionate operations. (Creative Commons)

Marijuana Policy

Kamala Harris Pledges to Federally Legalize Marijuana. Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris pledged on Monday to legalize marijuana at the federal level, ensuring that "safe cultivation, distribution and possession of recreational marijuana is the law of the land."

Harris said in a statement that legalizing recreational pot will "break down unjust legal barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back."

Her pledge came as part of a broader package of initiatives targeting Black male voters, who some polling suggests may be amendable to attention from the Trump campaign. She also said she would invest in more Black male teachers, create a health equity initiative for Black men, and offer a million forgivable loans to Black entrepreneurs. She also sought to position herself in juxtaposition to the Trump administration’s response to state-level legalization efforts. "It's a stark contrast with Donald Trump, whose Department of Justice threatened federal prosecutions for marijuana in states where marijuana use is legal, threatening the unjust and disproportionate use of marijuana possession laws to put Black Americans behind bars," the Harris campaign said.

While the Trump Justice Department struck down Obama administration guidelines instructing federal prosecutors not to interfere in legal marijuana states, Trump has recently said he would support the marijuana legalization initiative on this year's ballot in Florida.

New Jersey Bans Sale of Intoxicating Hemp Products -- Or Does It? As of this past weekend, the sale of intoxicating hemp products is forbidden in the state. Except that it isn't.

An amended hemp bill signed into law last month by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) attempted to regulate intoxicating hemp products, including delta-8 and THC-infused seltzers. It required manufacturers and retailers to obtain a license from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission and included a ban on those products until regulations were created.

But a federal judge ruled last Thursday that parts of the new hemp law were invalid because they gave an unfair advantage to in-state hemp businesses. That same day, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission announced that it would only enforce the age-restriction provisions of the hemp law and not enforce other provisions, including the temporary ban on intoxicating hemp products, while the court decision is under appeal.

All the maneuvering is leaving the hemp industry -- sellers and producers of both intoxicating and non-intoxicating hemp products alike -- uncertain of its future in the state.

"I don't think this did any favors for the hemp industry," said Joshua Bauchner, an attorney representing cannabis and hemp clients across New Jersey. "What we have now is that the whole hemp industry is going to be subject to the CRC."

"When you rush a bill through, when you don't allow the discourse to happen, you end up passing a bill that falls short," said Philip Petracca, owner of the hemp company Bella Ray Beverage. "As quickly as they rushed this bill through, there should be that same sense of urgency to fix this."

And there is talk of a legislative fix. Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, said she was "committed to working with the administration and the assembly to clarify any necessary technical details. While I am pleased that the court order upheld the ban on selling intoxicating hemp products to minors, we must recognize that, without comprehensive regulation, these substances will continue to present a significant threat to the health and well-being of our communities," she said. "Other states have been successful in this pursuit, and New Jersey should be no different."

International

Mexico Sends Troops to Protect Michoacan Lime Growers from Drug Cartels. The Mexican Defense Department (SEDENA) has deployed 660 soldiers and militarized national guard officers to the western state of Michoacan after lime growers there complained of extortion by drug cartels.

The soldiers are visiting packing houses, escorting trucks filled with limes, and patrolling around wholesale markets in the state's main producing areas, including the towns Apatzingan, Aguililla and Buenavista. Those locations have been the scene of intense conflicts among rival cartels in past years, but this year it is a group known as Los Viagras who are raising tensions.

In August, threats from the group led producers to shut down operations, prompting the federal response after the state government claimed the shutdown was mainly because growers were unhappy with the prices they were getting.

Drug cartels have broadened the scope of their operations to include extorting legitimate sectors of the economy. Indeed, the largest vigilante movement in recent Mexican history was among lime growers in Michoacan in 2013, who clashed repeatedly with cartel gunmen.

In another sign of cartels expanding their reach, the Oxxo convenience store chain (the Mexican equivalent of 7-11) closed all 191 of its stores in the city of Nuevo Laredo, citing cartel extortion efforts.

(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.)