A Kansas poll shows that lawmakers are well behind their constituents when it comes to marijuana policy, former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is unrepentant in testimony about death squads and his drug war, and more. 

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

Kansas Poll Has Strong Support for Medical Marijuana, Adult-Use Legalization. Even as state lawmakers again put off considering medical marijuana legislation, a new poll shows that they are increasingly out of touch with their constituents. The Kansas Speaks survey from Fort Hays State University has support for medical marijuana at 73 percent and support for legalization at 61 percent. On legalization, that figure rises to 65 percent when respondents were asked taxing weed to generate revenue for the state. 

Kansans would rather tax weed than increase taxes on cigars and cigarettes (57 percent) or on alcohol (50 percent). 

Respondents were also asked whether they would support a political candidate who supported medical marijuana. Around 60 percent said they were "highly likely" or "somewhat likely" to vote for such a candidate. 

The poll comes as the legislature's Special Committee on Medical Marijuana met for a second hearing about a path toward medical marijuana but rejected a proposal that would have urged the legislature to move ahead with it. 

Medical Marijuana

Kentucky Takes Next Step Toward Medical Marijuana. During a live-streamed lottery led by Gov. Andy Beshear (D) on Monday, the state announced the names of 26 businesses that will receive medical marijuana business licenses. The first round of licensing covers only cultivators and processors. 

Cultivator licenses allow businesses to grow medical marijuana and sell it to licensed processors, producers, or dispensaries, while processor licenses authorize the purchase, processing, and sale of medical marijuana to other producers or dispensaries. 

The state received more than 5,000 business license applications but only 774 cultivation or processing applications had been approved. They then participated in a random lottery to see who would get the coveted licenses. 

"We considered the best processes used in each state and determined this was the most fair and transparent way to build this exciting new industry in the Commonwealth of Kentucky," said Sam Flynn, Executive Director of the Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis.

Under legislation signed into law by Beshear last year, medical marijuana will be legal in the state as of January 1. A lottery for dispensary licenses will take place on Thursday. It was slightly delayed by a deluge of late-arriving applications.

International

Sinaloa Cartel Faction Fight Shows No Sign of Slowing. The death toll from factional clashes within the Sinaloa Cartel that began on September 8 has climbed to around 200 after state authorities said Sunday that at least 14 people were killed in cartel clashes on Saturday. 

Tensions within the cartel had been rising since co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was kidnapped and delivered to US authorities by one of the sons of imprisoned co-founder Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is now serving a lengthy prison sentence in the US himself. The son also turned himself in and is now reportedly engaging in plea negotiations with prosecutors in Chicago. 

Recent weeks have seen repeated shoot-outs on the streets of Culiacan, the state capital, as well as the shuttering of schools and businesses amid the violence. The new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has sent hundreds of troops and armored personnel carriers to the state, but the fighting continues. 

The official death toll was at least 172 on October 18 and keeps climbing. 

Philippines Hearing on Duterte's Drug War Begins; Duterte Unrepentant. The official numbers say fewer than 7,000 people were killed in a bloody drug campaign during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, although human rights groups say the real number is in the tens of thousands. Now, for the first time, Duterte has testified in an official investigation of his drug war, and he remains unrepentant and, he says, ready to do it again. 

It was also the first time he came face to face with family members of victims, as well as with former Sen. Leila de Lima, who was imprisoned for nearly seven years on bogus drug charges after criticizing the drug war. 

Duterte admitted to having organized a death squad as mayor Davao City, but said it consisted of criminals, not police. He said he told them "Kill this person, because if you do not, I will kill you now."

"I can make the confession now if you want. I had a death squad of seven, but they were not police, they were gangsters."

His promise to replicate his anti-crime campaign in Davao City helped propel him to victory in the 2016 election. He testified Monday that as president, he told police to "encourage" drug suspects to fight back so they could kill them. 

"Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do, and whether or not you believe it... I did it for my country," he said in an opening statement. "I hate drugs, make no mistake about it."

And he is ready to do it all over again, saying that criminals are already coming back since he left office. "If given another chance, I'll wipe all of you," he said.