Chronicle AM: Paul v. Bush on Drug Policy, Russians Warn of DC Addicts, Global Drug War Report, More (2/26/15)

The Russians go all Reefer Madness on DC, Rand Paul takes on Jeb Bush's drug policy "hypocrisy," a second Ohio legalization initiative hits a road block, a new report examines the harms of global drug prohibition, and more. Let's get to it:

How Russia views DC residents after legalization.

Russia Warns DC Marijuana Legalization Will Create City of Addicts. The chief drug specialist for the Russian Health Ministry, Yevgeny Bryun, has warned that, after legalization, the entire city is set to become addicted to weed. "When the authorities take their cue from the sinister interests of the population, what happens is everyone becomes a drug addict," Bryun said."The path from marijuana use does not always lead to hard drugs in 100% of the cases," he said. "But there is a pattern. The use of marijuana is a gateway to more serious drug addiction, and people who have genetic and inherent risk factors will definitely become drug addicts."

Rand Paul Criticizes Jeb Bush for "Hypocrisy" on Marijuana. The Kentucky senator criticized the former Florida governor for "hypocrisy" on drug policy Wednesday. Bush has admitted to using marijuana in his student days, but opposed medical marijuana. "When Jeb was a very wealthy kid at a very elite school, he used marijuana but didn't get caught, didn't have to go to prison." Paul said. "I think it shows some hypocrisy that's going to be very difficult for young people to understand why we'd put a 65-year-old guy in jail for medical marijuana. What I'm talking about is not the hypocrisy of wealth, it's the hypocrisy of evading the law, because the law seems to target and seems to go after poor people, often people of color," Paul continued. "What's hypocritical is if you're very wealthy, [if] you're able to escape the long arm of the law is then to really want to throw long sentences, 15 years, 20 years, 50 years in prison for marijuana at people, so I think that's where the hypocrisy comes in."

Ohio Attorney General Rejects Second Legalization Initiative. Attorney General Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that he had rejected the End Ohio Cannabis Prohibition Act because it didn't come up with the 1,000 initial signatures required to get a ballot summary. Responsible Ohioans for Cannabis are the sponsors of this initiative. They're not to be confused with ResponsibleOhio, whose own initiative was recently rejected because of ambiguities in its ballot language.

Medical Marijuana

Idaho Senate Committee Approves Introduction of CBD Cannabis Oil Bill. The Senate State Affairs Committee today approved introducing a bill that would "clarify" that CBD cannabis oil is not marijuana under the state's Controlled Substances Act. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Curt Mckenzie (R-Boise) is not yet available on the legislative web site.

Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Bill Gets Hearing. Doctors gave conflicting testimony Wednesday at a hearing on Senate Bill 3, a full-blown medical marijuana bill. Representatives of the Pennsylvania Medical Society balked, saying there weren't enough studies to show medical marijuana works, but other physicians disagreed. Click on the link for more detail.

Utah Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced. State Sen. Mark Madsen (R-Saratoga Springs) has introduced Senate Bill 259, which would allow for the use of "non-combustible" marijuana on a doctor's recommendation. He said he decided to file the bill after traveling to Colorado and trying it there to ease back pain. "Frankly, at a certain point they told me to wait and that the effects would come over time but after a couple of hours I asked myself, 'Is this what all the fuss is about?' I mean it helped, but, 'Schedule 1' The most dangerous drug there is? I'm not sure that's true and the basis for good policy."

Virginia Governor Signs CBD Cannabis Oil Bills. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has signed into law a pair of CBD cannabis oil bills, Senate Bill 1235 and House Bill 1445. The drug could now be available for Virginians as early as April.

Hemp

Minnesota Hemp Bill Advances. The House Agriculture Committee has unanimously approved House File 683, which would allow limited hemp growth in the state. Sponsored by Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria), the bill now goes to the House Government Operations and Election Policy Committee. A similar bill is moving in the state Senate.

International

Global Drug War Wreaking Havoc on Farmers, Women, Environment, Report Says. A new report from the Britain-based advocacy group Health Poverty Action, Casualties of War, says that wealthy countries are exacerbating poverty by pressuring governments to enforce prohibitionist policies that hurt farmers and waste billions of dollars each year on enforcement. The global drug war is also wreaking environmental damage, hurting health care systems, and eroding women's rights in drug producing countries such as Afghanistan, Colombia, and Guinea-Bisseau, the report says.

This article was published by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares 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.)