A UN expert calls for drug legalization and an end to the "narco-terrorism" war, Virginia's Senate leader faces federal marijuana charges, and more.

Drug Policy

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UN Expert Urges Rejection of "Narco-Terrorism" War, Calls for Drug Legalization. In a statement published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights accompanying his new report, Ben Saul, the UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, urged governments Thursday to stop treating profit-driven drug trafficking as terrorism and to pursue public-health approaches, harm reduction and drug legalization. He warned that terrorism designations can expose migrants, humanitarian workers and others to sweeping sanctions and criminal penalties and argued that decades of militarized drug enforcement have failed to curb trafficking and have often aggravated violence.

Citing at least 239 people reportedly killed in 71 US military attacks on civilian vessels over the past year, Saul said the killings could amount to crimes against humanity and called for accountability. He also called for stronger financial investigations, anti-corruption measures, controls on military-grade firearms and investment in public services. His recommendations come from an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council, not an adopted position of the UN as a whole.

Watch Saul's October 22 press conference on UN Web TV (25 minutes).

Marijuana Policy

DEA Judge Rejects Reopening Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing, Allows More Briefs. Marijuana Moment reported Thursday that DEA Administrative Law Judge Derek Julius rejected opponents' effort to add new testimony and document discovery to the marijuana rescheduling proceeding, but admitted a Government Accountability Office report identifying gaps in federal scheduling procedures and allowed additional briefs about it. In a Tuesday filing, the agency had argued that the report did not justify reopening the evidentiary hearing. Opponents argue that the missing procedures undermine the government's position.

In his October 22 order, Julius said the proposed testimony concerned issues outside the hearing's scope or matters the parties had already had an opportunity to explore. He invited briefs on the report's weight and effect on the case by October 29, with replies due November 5. The proceeding remains paused until that briefing period closes. The dispute concerns the ongoing marijuana rescheduling proposal, following April's separate reclassification of state-licensed medical marijuana and FDA-approved marijuana products as Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

Worcester Council Opposes Massachusetts Marijuana Repeal Measure. Marijuana Moment reported that the Worcester City Council voted 6-0 with five abstentions for a resolution opposing Question 8, the ballot proposal that would end adult-use retail sales and home cultivation while retaining the medical program and limited legal adult possession. Mayor Joseph Petty introduced the resolution, arguing that repealing legal sales would cost jobs and public revenue while pushing sales into the unregulated black market. Some of those who abstained said that while they personally opposed the ballot measure, they didn't think it was their place to tell voters how to vote.

Virginia Senate Leader Lucas Faces Federal Marijuana Charges. Federal prosecutors charged Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas and six others Thursday in a marijuana-trafficking and money-laundering case, the Associated Press reported. Prosecutors allege she used her political influence to protect the operation. Lucas surrendered to authorities and was released on her own recognizance after appearing in court. She said she would not be intimidated.

Lucas is a long-time critic of President Trump. Prosecutors announced her indictment at a Norfolk, Virginia, press conference attended by US Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel. "We don't do political paybacks," Blanche told reporters with a straight face. Prior reporting has noted the investigation began during the Biden administration, though an anonymously sourced tip cited in the New York Post suggested it had been shut down.

The charges are allegations, not findings of guilt. The case arrives as Virginia prepares to implement legal adult-use retail sales -- and with midterm elections less than two weeks away.

Medical Marijuana

Massachusetts House Passes Veterans' Medical Marijuana Access Provisions. The Massachusetts House voted 152-0 on October 21 to pass an amended supplemental budget bill, H.5700, to be engrossed. As Marijuana Moment reported during the bill's consideration, its medical marijuana provisions would allow veterans receiving care at a VA facility to qualify for medical marijuana without obtaining a medical marijuana recommendation if they have documentation of a debilitating condition from the Department of Veterans Affairs. This change would remove the obstacle posed by VA clinicians' inability to complete medical marijuana recommendation forms. The bill would also add post-traumatic stress disorder, opioid use disorder, and conditions producing chronic pain to the qualifying list. The provisions still require Senate action and enactment before taking effect.

Nebraska Growers Seek Testing Rules and Fee Relief as Sales Remain Delayed. The Nebraska Examiner reported that the state's four licensed medical marijuana cultivators sent a joint letter to the Medical Cannabis Commission asking for clarity on how their harvests can meet state testing requirements and to reconsider burdening them with recurring fees before they can take their products to market. Under the commission's proposed regulations, annual licensing and tracking fees would total $36,500, plus additional compliance costs. The letter also raised questions about laboratory authorization, sample transportation, and use of out-of-state laboratories. The growers are also calling for legislative protections for physicians who recommend medical marijuana.

Commission Chair Lorelle Mueting, who was originally appointed to the commission by medical marijuana foe Gov. Jim Pillen (R), said growers had been warned that the rest of the supply chain might not be ready when they harvested, and that they had assured the commission they could store their product. The commission meets again on November 16 to consider public comments on its proposed regulatory scheme.

Harm Reduction

Utah Proposes Changes to Syringe-Exchange Supply Rules. Utah health officials have proposed revising the state's syringe-exchange rule to remove cookers and tourniquets from its list of prevention materials and establish procedures for obtaining government permission before conducting exchanges on property owned, operated or controlled by a government entity, implementing existing statutory requirements. The proposal appears in the October 15 Utah State Bulletin as rule R384-900, on printed pages 24–28. Public comments are due November 16, with November 23 listed as the anticipated effective date. The notice proposes changes to the rules governing programs serving people who inject drugs; it does not establish that the changes have already taken effect.

Psychedelics

Licensed Colorado Psilocybin Center Opens in Manitou Springs. KRDO-TV reported that the Pikes Peak region (around Colorado Springs) now has its first state-licensed psychedelic-assisted therapy center with the opening of the Elevated Healing Center in Manitou Springs. The center is not located in Colorado Springs, the area's primary city, because its zoning ordinance requires a one-mile separation from schools, residential daycares, substance-use treatment facilities, and other healing centers, effectively barring such facilities from the city. Elevated Healing founder Scott DeWalt said that psilocybin is secured on site and that prospective patients undergo mental health and medication screening before participating.

Kratom and 7-OH

Hillsborough Advances 7-OH Restrictions to November Hearing. FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported that Hillsborough County (Tampa) commissioners voted Wednesday unanimously to advance a proposed ordinance targeting concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, and related synthetic kratom products. The proposal does not include herbal kratom, but that could be included as the measure advances. County officials said they want to act now in case statewide emergency restrictions expire. The county still needs to take a final vote, and a public hearing is set for November 10.

Extrajudicial Killings

Philippine Truth Commission to Hear Mother's Account of Her Son's Killing. The Philippine Truth Commission announced Thursday that Nanette Castillo will testify at its fifth public truth-telling session Friday about the 2017 killing of her son Aldrin, a 32-year-old welder. He was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Tondo in what his mother believes was a case of mistaken identity. In addition to the mother's testimony, the Friday session will look at police and medical records, and forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun will present her findings. The session begins at 9:30 a.m. Manila time, October 23 (9:30 p.m. Eastern on October 22), at Adamson University and will be streamed on the commission's YouTube channel and Facebook page. The commission is also seeking access to case records and protection for witnesses.

ICC Prosecutors Remove Incident Outside Duterte Charge's Time Frame. Philstar.com reported Wednesday that International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have removed an alleged killing identified as Incident 57 from their trial brief against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte. The move came after an October 9 ruling that found the killing had occurred outside the period covered by the relevant confirmed charge. He is charged with the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder in connection with alleged killings during both his time as Davao mayor and his presidency. Prosecutors left their witness and evidence lists unchanged, arguing that the material remained relevant; the report does not establish that the court has accepted that position. That October 9 ruling also allowed seven additional incidents to be included, bringing the total to 56. Trial is set to begin on November 30.

See also the UN expert's warning about US boat strikes in Drug Policy.

Watch Nanette Castillo's testimony to the Philippine Truth Commission:

International

INCB Consults Governments on Medical Cannabis Regulation. The International Narcotics Control Board held an informal consultation October 21 on the expanding cultivation and use of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes. In its account dated October 21, the board said more than 180 regulators discussed legislative changes, reporting requirements and suspected diversion. More than 20 countries reported significant exports of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes in 2026. The consultation did not adopt new binding rules or change the drug-control conventions.

WHO Drug-Dependence Committee Reviews Emerging Substances. The World Health Organization's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence is meeting October 19–22 to review substances for possible international control. Its published documents include critical reviews of cychlorphine, desalkylgidazepam, ethylbromazolam, etomethazene and spirochlorphine, alongside preliminary reviews of etomidate and medetomidine. The committee's scientific assessments inform the international scheduling process. Final recommendations were not available on the meeting's documents page when checked Thursday; the reviews are not themselves decisions to place these substances under international control.

Mexico Charges Former Chihuahua Prosecutor Over Unauthorized US Drug-Raid Role. Reuters reported Wednesday that Mexican federal prosecutors have charged former Chihuahua attorney general César Jáuregui with treason, alleging that he allowed US CIA agents to participate in an April drug raid without federal approval. The incident came to light after the two CIA agents died in a crash coming back from the raid. Jáuregui, who has denied authorizing the agents' participation, according to El País, was ordered jailed by the judge, who is considering whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed. The next hearing is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, Reuters reported.

Gabon Seeks to Protect Iboga. The Guardian examines conservation and benefit-sharing as pharmaceutical interest grows. Gabon's official September 18 cabinet statement records approval of a draft decree prohibiting exports of iboga and its derivatives in any form. The government says the measure is intended to protect the plant, associated cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, and provides for penalties under criminal, forestry and customs law. That cabinet action predates this week's reporting; the statement does not by itself establish when the export restrictions entered into force.

See also the UN expert's call for a new approach to drug policy in Drug Policy, and related international coverage in Extrajudicial Killings.

Research

State-Legal Cannabis, Treatment Funding, Overdoses, Opioid Prescribing, Pain Treatment, Pregnancy Prosecutions, Polling

A new poll of marijuana consumers by NuggMD for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) finds that candidates' positions on marijuana policy would influence their decisions either strongly or somewhat at the ballot box in November. Among Democrats, 83 percent said so; among Republicans, 73 percent said so. Overall, the figure was 78 percent. The poll surveyed 654 marijuana consumers in legal marijuana states.

Missouri's regulated cannabis market accounts for an estimated 93 percent of reported cannabis spending, according to an October state-commissioned market study highlighted by NORML Thursday. The estimate indicates that the legal market dominates reported spending, but does not by itself measure displacement of unregulated sales over time. It draws on a March survey of 1,033 past-month cannabis consumers whose responses passed the study's screening, rather than a complete accounting of purchases. The figure measures reported spending, not the percentage of transactions or consumers using legal stores. The authors acknowledge that some respondents may have confused licensed dispensaries with unregulated cannabinoid stores.

Pregnancy Justice has documented at least 902 criminal cases related to pregnancy, pregnancy loss or birth in the three years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Its October 20 interim report identifies substance-use allegations in 871 cases, including 550 in which those allegations were the sole basis for prosecution. The study covers June 2022 through June 2025, and data collection remains ongoing. Most cases involved a live birth. The findings describe charges brought against pregnant people, not proof that drug use harmed a pregnancy, and highlight the central role of drug enforcement in pregnancy criminalization.

Acute kidney injury was documented in more than a third of the overdose hospitalizations examined, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study included in the October 22 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study reviewed nearly 1.3 million hospitalizations involving opioid, cocaine, or psychostimulant overdoses and found documented acute kidney injury in 34.5 percent of them. Among overdose hospitalizations involving acute kidney injury, 60.9 percent involved dialysis, respiratory complications, shock or hypotension, or death in the hospital. The proportion of overdose hospitalizations with acute kidney injury rose during 2016-2022, then fell during 2022-2025. The authors recommend broader overdose prevention, naloxone and treatment access, early detection of kidney injury, and follow-up care after discharge. The study counted hospitalizations—not unique patients—and does not identify which substances caused the injuries.

A review posted by RAND October 12 finds that adult-use marijuana legalization has sharply reduced adult cannabis arrests, with little substantial change in violent crime or other drug offenses, although some property offenses may increase modestly. The authors find a net reduction in crime, but no clear corresponding improvement in criminal-justice efficiency or meaningful reductions in racial disparities. A second RAND-listed study compares federal grants directed to treatment organizations with grants directed to states: organization-focused financing better sustained the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) treatment model in the short term, but the difference was no longer statistically significant 37-60 months after funding ended. This measures continued use of the treatment model, not patients' recovery.

Two October 21 JAMA research letters examine opioid trends. An analysis of emergency medical services records found that nonfatal overdoses and naloxone administrations declined after May 2023, without an increase in naloxone use relative to recorded overdoses. The authors suggest fewer overdoses may help explain falling deaths; the findings do not establish that naloxone is ineffective, and reversals without EMS involvement are outside those records. A separate national and county-level study examines national and county-level trends in opioid dispensing.

Meanwhile, New York's Office of Cannabis Management announced October 2 a trial of a cannabis-based treatment for chronic pain for chronic painful lumbosacral radiculopathy, or sciatica, in patients inadequately helped by non-opioid medicines. The placebo-controlled trial will test the oral THC-containing preparation VER-01. The trial announcement describes research to be conducted, not a finding that the treatment works.

Events

Psychedelics Today's Vital Conference takes place in Breckenridge, Colorado, November 7–8, with a welcome gathering November 6 and an optional workshop November 9–10.

The National Harm Reduction Coalition will hold its 30th-anniversary celebration and fundraiser November 6 at House of Yes in Brooklyn; its invitation lists October 23 as the early-bird ticket deadline and November 2 as the general ticket deadline.

On November 17, Ohio State University's Drug Enforcement and Policy Center hosts Designing Second Chances: Comparing Clemency in Ohio, Minnesota, and the Federal System, an online discussion from noon to 1:15 p.m. Eastern examining the three clemency systems.

The Philippine Truth Commission's upcoming public session is covered in Extrajudicial Killings.