Mexico's president says no US troops will operate in her country, Trump considers marijuana rescheduling after $1 million-a-plate fundraiser with pot investors, more.

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

Massachusetts Proposed Initiative Would End Commercial Marijuana Sales, Home Cultivation. A group of state citizens who seek to roll back marijuana legalization have filed two versions of an initiative that would end commercial marijuana sales and ban home cultivation, An Act to Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policy.

The initiatives would repeal Chapters 94G and 64N in the Massachusetts general laws. Those are the sections of the state law that governs the use, sale, and taxation of adult-use marijuana. Possession of less than an ounce would remain legal, but possession of between one and two ounces would be a civil offense punishable by a fine of $100. And home cultivation would be criminalized.

The initiatives allow for the continued use and sale of medical marijuana, but would impose limitations on THC content.

The state legalized marijuana in 2016, and legalization maintains strong public support, with an April 2024 poll showing 65 percent in favor of keeping the current system.

Campaigners face a multi-step process to get the measure before the voters in November 2026. They must first gather more than 75,000 valid voter signatures by December 3. If they do, the measure then goes to the legislature next January. If lawmakers do not approve the measure, campaigners would then have to gather an additional 12,429 valid voter signatures by next July1 to qualify for the ballot.

Foreign Policy

Trump Orders Military to Go After Drug Cartels. President Donald Trump recently signed a secret directive to the Department of Defense to use military force against Latin American drug cartels that his administration has designated as terrorist organizations. Those include Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, the Salvadoran MS-13, and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, as well as the Cartel de los Soles, which the administration has linked to Venezuelan President Roberto Maduro.

The directive signals that Trump is willing to use military force to carry out what is generally considered a law enforcement responsibility to fight drug criminals and provides an official basis for doing so. But it also raises the question of whether US forces who kill civilians outside specific congressional authorization in an armed conflict would be considered murderers.

"President Trump's top priority is protecting the homeland, which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.

The US military has been involved in counterdrug operations in Latin America in the past, but those operations have been described as providing support for law enforcement.

Although Republicans have embraced the idea of using military force against the cartels, using military force inside another country without its consent would be a major violation of international law. Similarly, Congress authorized the use of force in the war on terror after the September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda attacks, but that authorization does not automatically include any groups the administration decides to call terrorists.

Mexican President Says Country Will Not Allow US Military Operations on Its Soil. News that President Donald Trump has authorized the US military to go after certain Latin American drug cartels has sparked a quick reaction from Mexico, home to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the administration has designated a terrorist organization.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that while Mexico cooperates with the US to fight drug cartels and related criminal activity, it will not let the US military operate on Mexican soil.

"The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military," Sheinbaum said. "We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion," Sheinbaum said. "That is ruled out -- absolutely ruled out."

US military action in Mexico "is not part of any agreement," Sheinbaum said. "When it has been brought up, we have always said 'no,'" she added.