Chronicle AM: Trump Trash Talks Mexico on Drugs, AZ Pot Legalization Init Has 200,000 Signatures, More... (4/12/16)

The Donald returns to one of his favorite themes, Arizona legalization initiative organizers have hit the 200,000-signature mark (they need 150,000 valid ones), patients in New York protest that state's restrictive medical marijuana law, Western Australia wants to force meth users into drug treatment without having to convict them of a crime first, and more.

Trump accuses Mexico of "poisoning our youth" with drugs. (wikimedia.org)

Medical Marijuana

Colorado Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana at School Moves. A bill that would require schools to allow students to use medical marijuana on campus has passed its legislative hurdle. House Bill 1373 was approved 10-3 by the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee and now heads for a House floor vote. State law already gives school districts the power to allow the use of medical marijuana under certain circumstances, but no district has done so.

New York Patients, Families Rally in Albany to Demand Fixes for State's Medical Marijuana Law.  Dozens of advocates gathered in Albany Tuesday to urge legislators to support a slate of bills that would amend the Compassionate Care Act, New York’s medical marijuana law. The law, which was passed in June of 2014, took eighteen months to implement and has been criticized for being one of the most restrictive and burdensome programs in the country. Launched in January of this year, to date, only 494 of the state’s 79,000 physicians have agreed to participate and only 2,390 patients have been certified by their doctors to enroll in the program. This lackluster start is likely due to a number of barriers and restrictions in the program that make it both difficult and unappealing for physicians and patients to participate.

Drug Policy

Trump Blames Mexico for America's Drug Problems. Returning to one of his favorite themes—Mexico bashing—GOP presidential contender Donald Trump Monday warned that drugs from Mexico are "pouring into the country" and "poisoning our youth." His comments came as he defended his plan to build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it. The US trade deficit with Mexico is $58 billion a year. "And that doesn’t include the drugs that are pouring into the country poisoning our youth," Trump added. "They’re poisoned with this crap. People won’t be driving their pick-up trucks through the wall or over the wall, he added. Did you ever see that? The trucks go over, they unload the drugs and then they go back. So we get the drugs and they get the money. Not very good folks. That’s going to all change."

International

French Minister Reignites Marijuana Legalization Debate. A French junior minister, Jean-Marie Le Guen, secretary of state for relations with parliament (and an MD) has reignited discussion of marijuana law reform there by saying "prohibition is not effective" and that a public health approach was needed. Le Guen clarified that he was not speaking for the government, but said the subject should be debated by the next president. His remarks did not go over well with drug reform-averse French politicians, including his fellow governing Socialists.  "And what will we do tomorrow? Will we legalise cocaine and weapons because we cannot stem the flow of weapons? That's not serious!" retorted Socialist Senator Samia Ghali. A spokesman for the government added that the Socialist Party was free to debate the issue, but the government isn't interested "neither in work nor thought."

Victoria Becomes First Australian State to Legalize Medical Marijuana. The state Parliament has passed the Access to Medicinal Cannabis Bill, making Victoria the first state in the country to approve medical marijuana. State Health Minister Jill Hennessey said children with severe epilepsy will be the first to be able to access the medications next year. The state government will set up an Office of Medicinal Cannabis to regulate the industry and educate patients and doctors about their roles and eligibility to prescribe or use medical marijuana.

Western Australia Wants to Subject Meth Users to Forced Detention, Treatment. The state's Mental Health Minister, Andrea Mitchell, said forcing meth users into drug rehab was the way to deal with the state's growing number of them. "I've got a responsibility to balance the rights of the individual with also protecting the community, and I need to do that with the burglary and the assaults and the other side of things that do tend to happen with people with a meth problem," she said. "And I also have a duty of care to protect that individual and give that individual the best possible chance of coming out of that and being a responsible citizen." The scheme would require legislative changes to allow the state to hold against their will people who have not been convicted of any crime.

 (This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org"s lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays 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.)