Another state, another poll, more support for marijuana reform, plus a Good Samaritan 911 bill moves in Maryland, a welfare drug testing bill moves in Indiana, Minnesota takes a chagrined second look at its welfare drug testing law, Norway's conservatives have a hash scandal, Dutch cops warn against legalizing grows, and more. Let's get to it:
Pennsylvania Poll Finds Near Majority for Legalization, Supermajority for Medical Marijuana [10]. A Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics (MCAP) poll released Friday has support for marijuana legalization in the Keystone State at 48%, with 42% opposed. A solid majority, 59%, supported decriminalization. On medical marijuana, a whopping 85% believe patients should be allowed to use it when prescribed by a doctor. "Our findings suggest that the position of Pennsylvanians on the legalization of marijuana is largely consistent with the nation as a whole," MCAP Director Joseph Morris said in a statement.
Medical Marijuana
Oregon Dispensary Applications Start Monday [11]. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Dispensary Program will begin taking applications for a dispensary license Monday. Click on the link to go the Oregon Health Authority's relevant pages.
Maryland Draft Regulations for Medical Marijuana Programs Released [12]. The Maryland Medical Marijuana Commission has released its proposed regulations for medical marijuana programs and growers. The commission is looking for comments, and interested parties have two weeks to get them in. Click the link to read the draft regs.
Drug Policy
Drug Reform Journalist Dean Becker Publishes Book to End the Drug War [13]. And it's called To End the War on Drugs. Becker is the man behind the Houston-based Drug Truth Network [14], where he has hosted more than a thousand Pacifica Radio programs going out to 90 affiliates and interviewed just about everybody is who is anybody in the world of drug reform (and many of the opposition, too). It's available as a paperback or e-book; click on the title link for all the details.
Drug Testing
Minnesota Revisiting Much Criticized Felon Welfare Drug Testing Law [15]. A law that went into effect last year requiring counties to determine which welfare applicants had felony drug convictions and subject them to drug tests to qualify for benefits would be changed under a bill heard Tuesday by the House Health and Human Services Policy Committee. House File 1987 [16], introduced by Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul), would make participation by counties optional. Counties and welfare rights and civil liberties advocates have argued that the law is a costly unfunded mandate that has little real world effect because the number of people who test positive for drugs under it is miniscule. The committee held the bill for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill. A similar measure awaits action in the Senate.
Welfare Drug Testing Bill Advances in Indiana [17]. A bill that would require welfare recipients previously convicted of a drug crime to pass a drug test before receiving benefits passed the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday. House Bill 1351 [18] has already passed the House and another Senate committee and now heads for a floor vote.
No Link Found Between Positive Tests for Marijuana and Work-Related Accidents [19]. Past marijuana smoking, as indicated by the presence of inert metabolite in standard urine tests, is not associated with work-related accidents, according to a new study [20] published in the Journal of Addictive Diseases. "This study fell short of finding an association between marijuana use and involvement of workplace accidents," the author concluded. He added, "This study cannot be taken as definitive evidence of absence of an association between marijuana and work related accidents but the findings are compelling."
Harm Reduction
Maryland Good Samaritan 911 Bill Passes House [21]. A bill that would provide limited immunity for anyone seeking medical assistance for a potential overdose victim unanimously passed the Maryland House of Delegates Thursday. Passage of House Bill 416 [22] would mean that no person can be charged with possession of drugs or alcohol, or violation of an outstanding non-violent arrest warrant, if police or emergency personnel are called to administer aid to an overdose victim. This applies to the individual overdosing and a friend or bystander calling on the victim's behalf. The bill now moves to the Senate.
International
Mexican Vigilantes Take Cartel Fight to Key Port [23]. Vigilante groups that emerged in the western state of Michoacan to fight off the grip of the Knights Templar drug trafficking organization have now moved to the outskirts of the key Pacific port city of Lazaro Cardenas. The move comes as the Mexican government attempts to integrate the vigilantes into a military-controlled Rural Defense Force. The groups first sprang up a year ago, when state and local authorities proved ineffective against the cartel, and now, they and the military have driven the Knights out of a number of Michoacan communities.
Dutch Police Fear "Extreme Violence" if Marijuana Cultivation is Legalized [24]. The Dutch National Police have come out against legalizing marijuana cultivation because they fear criminals will attack the pot farms with "extreme violence," according to a letter to regional governments from Deputy Chief Constable Ruud Blik. Mayors of more than 50 cities had recently called for growing to be legalized, and the Heerlen Mayor Paul Depla found himself "bewildered" and "disconcerted" by Blik's remarks. "We want to take marijuana cultivation out of the criminals' hands with legal plantations. But the National police says: no, we're not doing that, because then criminals threaten to rip our plantations. Out of fear of reprisals we do nothing, then, and leave the marijuana cultivation in the hands of criminals. That is an upside down world, and unworthy of the rule of law," Depla said.
Hash Smoking Scandal for Norway's "Zero Tolerance" Conservative Government [25]. A Norwegian politician with links to the prime minister in Norway's new conservative coalition government has admitted smoking hashish "on one occasion," embarrassing the government, which campaigned on "zero tolerance" drug policies. To make matters worse, one-time toker and alternative MP Erik Skutle then spoke out against the policy, saying marijuana should be sold in pharmacies in state-owned shops. "I think we have a better chance of controlling and reducing consumption if we sell them over the counter, rather than having a total ban," he said.
British Drug Minister Will Ask China and India to Crack Down on New Synthetic Drugs [26]. British drug minister Norman Baker said after a Home Office summit on "legal highs" that he would approach the Chinese and Indian governments in a bid to curb new synthetic drugs not covered by existing drug laws. Baker said he hoped to have "frank and honest" discussions about curbing the illicit laboratories' activities with source countries such as China and India at next month's meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. While Britain and other countries have moved to quickly ban new synthetics, New Zealand has instead chosen to regulate them.