Maine's legislature overrides a veto to pass a bill implementing legal marijuana sales, California's senior senator finally comes on board with legalization, Canada's legalization push faces some hiccups, and more.
Dianne Feinstein Drops Opposition to Legal Marijuana [22]. California's senior US senator, Democrat Dianne Feinstein, a longtime foe of marijuana legalization, has seen the light. In an interview Tuesday with McClatchy, she said she was now open to considering federal protection for state-legal marijuana. "Federal law enforcement agents should not arrest Californians who are adhering to California law," said Feinstein, who is facing a primary challenge from Kevin de Leon, who supports marijuana legalization.
Maine Legislature Overrides Governor's Veto of Marijuana Legalization Implementation Bill [23]. Both the House and Senate voted Wednesday to override Gov. Paul LePage's (R) veto of LD 1719 [24], the bill designed to allow the state's legal marijuana industry to get up and running. The bill would establish a system of licensed retail marijuana outlets to sell marijuana to adults. Recreational marijuana sales would be taxed at 20%, while medical marijuana patients would continue to pay a 5.5% tax.
Heroin and Prescription Opioids
Synthetic Opioids Fueling Rise in Overdose Deaths [25]. Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are now the most common drug involved in fatal drug overdoses, researchers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported Tuesday. Fatal overdoses involving synthetic opioids accounted for 14% of all overdose death in 2010, but 46% in 2016. Of more than 42,000 opioid-related overdose deaths, synthetics were implicated in more than 19,000, prescription opioids in more than 17,000, and heroin in more than 15,000. The numbers add up to more than 42,000 because many ODs involve multiple drugs.
Drug Testing
Trucking Industry Wants Hair Testing for Drivers [26]. The Alliance for Driver Safety & Security, also known as the Trucking Alliance, has announced it will push for a new federal drug testing law to undergo drug testing to prove they have been free of opioids or other illegal drugs for at least 30 days. That means testing hair follicles, which allows drug use dating back weeks or months to be spotted. The industry complains that urinalysis drug testing isn't catching enough opioid addicts or "lifestyle" drug users.
International
Canada Prime Minister Leaves Door Open for Possible Legalization Delay [27]. Faced with calls from two Senate committees to delay the marijuana legalization bill, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau left the door open for a possible slowdown in enacting the government's marijuana legalization bill. The Senate aboriginal peoples committee has called for a one-year delay for broader consultations with indigenous communities, and a separate committee has called for a delay to clarify what will happen to Canadians trying to enter the US. Trudeau didn't reply directly when asked about a possible delay, but said, "We'll continue to consult a broad range of Canadians, and as our parliamentary secretary Bill Blair says regularly, legalization is not an event, it's a process. And that process will continue," he said.
Colombia Coca Eradication Falls Far Short of Goal [28]. The government will successfully eradicate only about 60% of the coca plantings it pledged to eradicate last year, President Juan Manuel Santos said Tuesday. And it will take longer than the government first announced. Colombia had vowed to eradicate 125,000 acres of coca planting by the end of last year, but Santos said it would only eradicate about 75,000 acres, and that would be by the of this month.
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