Politics & Advocacy
New York lawmakers only have until tomorrow to pass a marijuana legalization bill, China gripes about legalization in the US and Canada, the movement to decriminalize psychedelics is spreading, and more.
Interest in psychedelic decriminalization is sprouting up like magic mushrooms. (Creative Commons)
New York Legalization Negotiations Continue as Clock Ticks Down. With the legislative session set to end Wednesday, lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) are continuing to try to reach an agreement to pass the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. One of the obstacles is disagreement over how and where to allocate marijuana tax revenue, with some progressive legislators pushing for a fixed percentage of revenues going to communities most adversely affected by the war on drugs, while the governor wants more executive branch control over the funds.
Medical Marijuana
Washington State Will Not Ban Sugared Edibles. State regulators are not banning sugared edibles after all. The state Liquor and Cannabis Control Board had announced last fall that it would reevaluate all edible products, especially those that might be appealing to children. But this week the board okayed edibles as long as they conform with appearance and marketing standards designed to avoid enticing children.
Psychedelics
Movement to Decriminalize Psychedelics Spreads Nationally. Decriminalize Nature, the group behind Oakland's successful natural psychedelic decriminalization ordinance, says activists from more than half the states have expressed interest in pursuing similar moves in their cities. With Oakland and Denver leading the way, activists from Berkeley are expressing strong interest, with San Diego and Boston primed to be next. The group has also gotten inquiries from Phoenix, Los Angeles, Eugene, Santa Cruz, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and the Hawaiian Islands.
Foreign Policy
Beijing Says US Marijuana Legalization Threatens China. Liu Yuejin, deputy director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission, told a press conference Monday that marijuana legalization in parts of the US and Canada is "a new threat to China." Liu said the number of marijuana users in the country had grown by more than 25% last year, rising to about 24,000 people (which is an incredibly miniscule number in a country of nearly 1.4 billion). "In two years, we have found increasing cannabis trafficked from North America to China," he added, although he did concede there were "few cannabis abusers in China" relative to the total population. China intercepted about 110 pounds of pot in 2018, or 0.00004 grams per person.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
alcohol abuse threatens China a helluva lot more than weed
same as everywhere else, alcohol use is far more likely to lead to catastrophe than cannabis use. Booze has a connection to violence and extreme behavior that cannabis just doesn't.
In reply to alcohol abuse threatens China a helluva lot more than weed by saynotohypocrisy (not verified)
FACTS
POT IS SAFER THAN ALCOHOL: FACT.
TRUMP COLLUDED WITH RUSSIA: FACT.
Get the idea? You can have your own opinions, but you can't have your own facts.
Republicanism is Reefer Madness on steroids
Two assertions:
1. Marijuana is safer than alcohol.
2. Trump colluded with Russia.
How could one ever depend on a Republican to work for the marijuana legalization movement -- to defend the cause against "reefer madness" type disinformation, to correct the record with accurate facts -- when it is the case, as it is for Republicans, that all facts are considered negotiable?
The SAFER political campaign was successful because it was simple and incontrovertible: marijuana is safer than alcohol. Why is it incontrovertible? Because it's a fucking fact!!
But the second assertion, "Trump colluded with Russia", is as factual as the first. It, too, is incontrovertible: we all heard ("Russia, if you're listening...") and saw (the Helsinki summit) Trump collude with Russia.
To deny either of these assertions is to be delusional, or a fucking liar, or both!
With respect to the marijuana legalization movement, I don't care if a president -- any president has an affair and doesn't want to discuss it with America. Sleazy, yes -- but not a threat to the marijuana legalization movement.
But when a goddamn president colludes with a hostile foreign power to cheat and steal an American presidential election -- NOW THAT'S A FUCKING PROBLEM!!
WHITE SUPREMACIST, FASCIST NAZI ASSHOLE TRAITORS TO AMERICA ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO REPRESENT THE MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION MOVEMENT!!
Major Premise: Violent, fascist authoritarianism is an existential threat to marijuana legalization.
Minor Premise: Republicans are violent, fascist authoritarians.
Conclusion: Republicans are an existential threat to marijuana legalization.
Collusion with Russia may not
Collusion with Russia may not be a crime, but it is treason. That is worse.
There will be no legal weed under the government of Putin.
So fuck yes, collusion is a big fucking deal!!
Add new comment