Los Angeles sees the nation's first legal cannabis cafe, the Arizona legalization initiative draws industry opposition, the Justice Department says DEA didn't adequately regulate opioid manufacturing, and more.

[image:1 align:left caption:true]Marijuana Policy

Senators Introduce Federal Student Financial Aid Bill. US Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced new bipartisan legislation Tuesday they say would allow students with a felony drug conviction access to the American Opportunity Tax Credit for higher education. The Eliminating Discrimination and Creating Corridors to Expand Student Success Act of 2019 (ED ACCESS Act) would fix this inequity by repealing the lifetime ban. The measure does not yet have a bill number.

Arizona Legalization Initiative Campaign Draws Industry Opponents. A new marijuana industry group has formed to fight the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, which itself is backed by other industry groups. The new group calls itself the Arizona Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and has its own ideas about what legalization should look like. The group complains that the initiative is tailored to the needs of existing dispensary owners, that there wouldn't be enough licenses available, and that the proposed 16% sales tax rate is too high.

Pennsylvania Bill Filed to Legalize via State-Run Model. State Rep. David Delloso (D) on Monday filed a bill that would legalize marijuana and allow adults 21 and older to possess, consume, cultivate and purchase marijuana through a state stores system run by the Liquor Control Board. Retail pot shops would be taxed at 19%, and all of that revenue would go toward the state general fund. The bill would also create a distinct regulatory scheme for industrial hemp. The bill is not yet available on the state legislative web site.

Tennessee Steps Back from Marijuana Enforcement. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has announced that it will no longer test amounts of marijuana less than a half ounce, making it virtually impossible for prosecutors to build a case against small-time possessors.

Nation's First Cannabis Café Opens in Los Angeles. The first-ever licensed cannabis café in the US has opened in Los Angeles. The Lowell Café opened its doors to the public in West Hollywood on Tuesday. The café is a hybrid marijuana lounge and restaurant where you can order some weed along with your meal.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Justice Department Says DEA Failed to Properly Regulate Opioids. In a new report from the agency's inspector general, the Justice Department found that the DEA fell short in regulating the supply of prescription opioids in the past two decades. The agency continued to raise manufacturing quotas for opioids with little regard to oversupply or misuse, the report found. The DEA "ill-equipped to effectively monitor ordering patterns for all pharmaceutical opioids, which could enable the diversion of these prescription drugs and compromise public safety." Although alarm bells were already ringing by the turn of the century, the DEA allowed manufacturing levels of oxycodone -- sold as OxyContin by Purdue Pharma -- to nearly quadruple between 2000 and 2013.

International

Dutch Supreme Court Rules Ayahuasca Illegal. The Dutch Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that ayahuasca falls under the country's hard drug laws and that its import is illegal. The ruling came in the case of a woman who had imported about 70 pounds of ayahuasca tea from Brazil for use in Santo Daime church rituals. Because the substance contains DMT, which is covered by Dutch drug laws, ayahuasca is covered as well.

Mexican Marijuana Legalization Bill Would Create State-Run System. Diputado Mario Delgado Carrillo, coordinator of the ruling MORENA Party's bench in the Chamber of Deputies, filed a bill Tuesday that would legalize marijuana through a government-run system. Under the bill, a regulatory body called Cannsalud would be in charge of the legal market, which would be the "exclusive property of the federal government, with a technical, operational and management autonomy for the realization of its primary purpose" to create a legal, regulated system. "With this, the cannabis market is not left to autonomous regulation by individuals, but the state is involved as a constant supervisor and controller of the activity of this substance within a margin of legality that guarantees a benefit for all," Delgado said. "This is a first step towards the opening of a new lawful market, and a public company is proposed as an obligatory intermediary in order to identify and contain the risks inherent in the establishment of a new market, when there are already international commercial interests that seek to maximize its utilities above the protection of people's health," he said.