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Marijuana Policy

Pennsylvania Lawmakers File Bipartisan Marijuana Legalization Bill. Led by Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Emily Kinkead (D), 17 lawmakers are cosponsoring a marijuana legalization bill that has been circulating in draft form in recent months, House Bill 2500. The bill got its formal rollout today.

Surrounded by legal marijuana states, Pennsylvania has lagged behind, and the bill sponsors said those states are positioned to "capture Pennsylvania dollars into their market."

The bill would legalize the possession of up to 30 grams by people 21 and over and allow medical marijuana patients -- but not adult-use consumers -- to grow up to five plants at home.

After two months of discussion, the original draft was altered to consolidate regulation of both medical and adult-use marijuana within the state Department of Agriculture. Social equity language in the draft has vanished, and it was amended to include strict limits on marijuana billboard advertising.

The original draft did not include any pathways for expungements, commutations, and resentencing for marijuana offenders; it now does. The original draft also allowed for up to three marijuana business licenses per operator; now that number is capped at one. There would be an eight percent sales tax and a five percent excise tax for marijuana products.

Medical Marijuana

Nebraska Medical Marijuana Initiatives Will Appear on November Ballot. Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) certified a paired set of medical marijuana initiatives for the November ballot on Friday. The group behind the effort, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, went for the bifurcated approach to avoid constitutional challenges at the state Supreme Court that derailed earlier initiative efforts.

The first measure, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Patient Protection initiative, would create a doctor-patient system for medical marijuana to protect patients from arrest. It would allow patients to possess up to five ounces of medicine.

The second measure, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Regulation initiative, would create a framework for a regulated medical marijuana industry in the state. The plan envisions a commission to create rules and regulations for a commercial marketplace, with licensed businesses before October 1, 2025.

But while Evnen certified the measures for the ballot, he also said an ongoing investigation into signature gathering for the measures "has uncovered serious questions" and at least one signature gatherer has been charged with a felony.

"I am certifying the petitions because, at this point, they appear to have met the threshold signature requirements," Evnen said in a statement. "That could change in light of the Attorney General's investigation. Both cannabis petitions will appear on the ballot, but a court could order later that the initiatives be thrown out."

International

Japan Confirms Marijuana Use Will Be Punished By Up to Seven Years in Prison. The Health Ministry confirmed Thursday that it will indeed criminalize marijuana use as part of an overhaul of marijuana policy that includes expanding access to marijuana-derived medicinal products. Under the revised laws, people caught using marijuana face up to seven years in prison.

Under current law, possession and cultivation of marijuana is illegal, but use is not criminalized. Officials said the harsh stance was necessary to address rising drug use and serve as a deterrent. Japan is already notorious for its tough drug laws, but this takes that approach to a new level.

But while cracking down on non-medical marijuana use, the country is opening the door to medical marijuana products, especially marijuana-derived drugs. Patient groups have been lobbying hard for CBD medicines, which are already approved in large parts of the world.

Mexican City of Culiacan, Home of Sinaloa Cartel, at Standstill Amid Fears of Cartel Clashes. The state capital of Sinaloa, the western Mexican state that is home to the Sinaloa Cartel, was at a virtual standstill Thursday as residents and officials hunkered down amid clashes between rival factions of the drug trafficking organization. Businesses and schools in the city of a million inhabitants closed their doors and Mexican Independence Day festivities were canceled.

The Sinaloa cartel is on the verge of civil war after one of the sons of imprisoned cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman kidnapped remaining cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and delivered him to US authorities at a Texas airfield. "Los Chapitos" are now aligned against "Las Mayistas," provoking the deployment of military special forces, planes, and heavily armed helicopters, but factional clashes are continuing across the city, according to locals.

"The government doesn't control anything, absolutely nothing," said Ismael Bojórquez, director of the weekly newspaper Riodoce in Culiacan. "There is a lot of fear. The people are defenseless."

He said that cartel gunmen have clashes, kidnap victims, and burn vehicles, and then the government comes and takes away the burned vehicles -- no more. Faced with the local government's lack of action, residents are taking their own precautions, such as keeping their kids out of school.

Both Sinaloa Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha and outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador have downplayed the conflicts, saying that security forces are handling the situation. But even Rocha admitted that violence is continuing. Security forces are "dissuading some violent acts but above all reducing the risks to the population to a minimum," Rocha said. Still, for security reasons, "there will not be any celebration" for the September 15-16 independence holiday, he said, adding that school will be suspended Thursday and Friday because so few students showed up.

"There's obviously a fight for power" inside the cartel, Bojóquez said. "The only thing the government is doing is watching, observing the clash between the Chapitos and El Mayo's people," he said. "There's no action against the drug trafficking cells."